Carl McKever's Blog: Author's Blog - Posts Tagged "christianity"
Feet of Jesus
Luke 10:38-42 presents an interesting story about the feet of Jesus. Jesus went to go visit Mary and Martha, the sister of Lazarus. Martha moaned and complained to her sister Mary because she stayed sitting at Jesus' feet for a very long time. She wouldn’t leave the presence of Jesus. Martha was so concerned about preparing for dinner and making sure everything was ready by dinner time. She confronts Mary about the situation and while confronting her, Jesus tells her to stop worrying about unnecessary things. Today, I ponder why Mary stayed at the feet of Jesus.
The feet of a human body are the lowest position on the body. The feet represent “humility” and “submission”. The Bible doesn’t say what Mary was concerned about, but we can tell by her actions she understood the answer came from spending time with Jesus. Mary bowed before the presence of the Lord in “humility” and “submitted” to the things Jesus told her. During this era, it was common for women to take care of household duties, such as preparing dinner.
Sitting at Jesus' feet is an act of listening to what Jesus has to say and then obeying what He says. Mary shows us an example of inner worship while Martha displays external service. In order to be effective in our outward service for God, we must first spend time at Jesus' feet in His presence. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast every carry and worry to the Lord because he cares about us. Psalms 55:22 tells us God will not allow the godly to slip and fall. God already knows every detail of our lives, but He still wants us to address the details with Him.
When I think about how Jesus used His own feet, I think about missions. His mission was to do the will and purpose of His father. His father’s will and purpose was to redeem a lost world, backslidden by sin, and give humanity a second chance to eternal life. So, he traveled from one area to another carrying the Good News, known as the gospel, to people. Ephesians 6 refers to this spiritual attire as the “shoes of the gospel of peace”.
There is also another scene where Jesus went away from the crowd and prayed to His father in the Garden of Gethsemane. He told his disciples to stay awake, watch, and tarry. Matthew 26:39 tells us that Jesus Himself bowed His face to the ground. This was an act of submission to His father’s will. We gain a heart and passion to do God’s will when we sit at the feet of Jesus. We were created and design to worship with Him and fellowship with Him.
I’m also reminded of the Great Commission given by Jesus to His disciples. Matthew 28:19-20 tells us to go into all the earth, make disciples, teach and preach the gospel, and baptize others in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Sitting at the feet of Jesus is our source of strength to do whatever it is He has asked us to do. Life is tough and it’s also busy. In all of the hustle and bustle, I pray we take time every day to sit at the feet of Jesus to hear what He has to say. It may not always be something pleasant to our ears, but just imagine how liberating it is to know “fully” the plans God has laid out for you. This takes the guesswork out of worrying if our external acts of service is pleasing Him or is in His will for us.
©Carl McKever, 2016
The feet of a human body are the lowest position on the body. The feet represent “humility” and “submission”. The Bible doesn’t say what Mary was concerned about, but we can tell by her actions she understood the answer came from spending time with Jesus. Mary bowed before the presence of the Lord in “humility” and “submitted” to the things Jesus told her. During this era, it was common for women to take care of household duties, such as preparing dinner.
Sitting at Jesus' feet is an act of listening to what Jesus has to say and then obeying what He says. Mary shows us an example of inner worship while Martha displays external service. In order to be effective in our outward service for God, we must first spend time at Jesus' feet in His presence. 1 Peter 5:7 tells us to cast every carry and worry to the Lord because he cares about us. Psalms 55:22 tells us God will not allow the godly to slip and fall. God already knows every detail of our lives, but He still wants us to address the details with Him.
When I think about how Jesus used His own feet, I think about missions. His mission was to do the will and purpose of His father. His father’s will and purpose was to redeem a lost world, backslidden by sin, and give humanity a second chance to eternal life. So, he traveled from one area to another carrying the Good News, known as the gospel, to people. Ephesians 6 refers to this spiritual attire as the “shoes of the gospel of peace”.
There is also another scene where Jesus went away from the crowd and prayed to His father in the Garden of Gethsemane. He told his disciples to stay awake, watch, and tarry. Matthew 26:39 tells us that Jesus Himself bowed His face to the ground. This was an act of submission to His father’s will. We gain a heart and passion to do God’s will when we sit at the feet of Jesus. We were created and design to worship with Him and fellowship with Him.
I’m also reminded of the Great Commission given by Jesus to His disciples. Matthew 28:19-20 tells us to go into all the earth, make disciples, teach and preach the gospel, and baptize others in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Sitting at the feet of Jesus is our source of strength to do whatever it is He has asked us to do. Life is tough and it’s also busy. In all of the hustle and bustle, I pray we take time every day to sit at the feet of Jesus to hear what He has to say. It may not always be something pleasant to our ears, but just imagine how liberating it is to know “fully” the plans God has laid out for you. This takes the guesswork out of worrying if our external acts of service is pleasing Him or is in His will for us.
©Carl McKever, 2016
The Power of Confession
Last night, I had a heart-to-heart conversation with God and it’s been a long time since I’ve fully confessed ALL of my sins and transgressions before Him. You may be wondering what lead me to be so vulnerable in confessing. Prior to prayer, I was watching a sermon by Pastor Mark Ashton of Christ Community Church. It seemed a little strange to watch because I was just reviewing and going over my notes from Pastor John Weasel’s message at my local church. The Holy Spirit doesn’t make mistakes and will use whatever device and tool He can to minister to you.
I was laying in bed listening to Pastor Ashton’s message on the power of confession and how confessing meant agreeing with God. I thought to myself, “am I fully in agreement with God in every area of my life?” I wasn’t and I started confessing so many things to God; my fears, disappointments, hurts, and lack of intimacy with Him. The inner me was really my enemy and once and for all, I was ready to lay everything out in the open before God. I began telling Him about my inadequacies of being a man of God and temptations to lust. I even talked to God about my anger issues and being afraid to open up to the believers within the body of Christ.
Here’s what last night taught me… God understands and He wants to hear everything that is troubling you in your mind. More importantly, He wants to speak to you about those things and show you a way of escape. God desires freedom, peace, and a bright future for all of His children. Fear, shame, guilt, and a misunderstanding of your purpose on Earth was never and will never be in God’s will or plan for your life. After confessing everything to God on my personal altar in bed, I felt whole and so clean inside. I hadn’t felt this way in so long. It was easy to pray and worship again. It was easy to write and blog again. It was easy to spread the love of Jesus again.
How did I get to this place last night? Why did it take me so long to open my mouth and verbally confess everything to God? All I can tell you is I had to reach a breaking point where inside of my soul I really had enough. Scriptures I had forgotten years ago were brought back to me and the desire to study and really understand their meanings rekindled in me. It goes beyond a feeling to a desire and longing to do right and be clean before God. I would be lying if I told you it was an easy process confessing everything, even in private, before the Lord. I can tell you it was the best decision I had ever made.
God is an all-knowing God. He’s omniscient and it’s one thing to know God knows your sins versus verbally confessing them. John 5:6-8 talks about a crippled man who attempted to go into the pool of Bethesda each year, but someone always came in front of him. This went on for 38 years. Yes, 38 years! Jesus comes across this man and asks him the question, “do you want to be made well?” Already seeing his condition and the bystanders dismissing him, it seemed odd for Jesus to ask him this question. So, why ask?
The only way for us to be well, just like this man, is we have to acknowledge we are in need of Him and allow Jesus to come in and lead us towards our healing. Today, arise, take up your bed, and walk in the freedom and healing God has for you! Confess any shortcoming or besetting sin you may have to your Heavenly Father. 1 John 1:9 encourages and proclaims that He is faithful is just enough to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There’s power in full confession to God, the body of believers, and others!
I was laying in bed listening to Pastor Ashton’s message on the power of confession and how confessing meant agreeing with God. I thought to myself, “am I fully in agreement with God in every area of my life?” I wasn’t and I started confessing so many things to God; my fears, disappointments, hurts, and lack of intimacy with Him. The inner me was really my enemy and once and for all, I was ready to lay everything out in the open before God. I began telling Him about my inadequacies of being a man of God and temptations to lust. I even talked to God about my anger issues and being afraid to open up to the believers within the body of Christ.
Here’s what last night taught me… God understands and He wants to hear everything that is troubling you in your mind. More importantly, He wants to speak to you about those things and show you a way of escape. God desires freedom, peace, and a bright future for all of His children. Fear, shame, guilt, and a misunderstanding of your purpose on Earth was never and will never be in God’s will or plan for your life. After confessing everything to God on my personal altar in bed, I felt whole and so clean inside. I hadn’t felt this way in so long. It was easy to pray and worship again. It was easy to write and blog again. It was easy to spread the love of Jesus again.
How did I get to this place last night? Why did it take me so long to open my mouth and verbally confess everything to God? All I can tell you is I had to reach a breaking point where inside of my soul I really had enough. Scriptures I had forgotten years ago were brought back to me and the desire to study and really understand their meanings rekindled in me. It goes beyond a feeling to a desire and longing to do right and be clean before God. I would be lying if I told you it was an easy process confessing everything, even in private, before the Lord. I can tell you it was the best decision I had ever made.
God is an all-knowing God. He’s omniscient and it’s one thing to know God knows your sins versus verbally confessing them. John 5:6-8 talks about a crippled man who attempted to go into the pool of Bethesda each year, but someone always came in front of him. This went on for 38 years. Yes, 38 years! Jesus comes across this man and asks him the question, “do you want to be made well?” Already seeing his condition and the bystanders dismissing him, it seemed odd for Jesus to ask him this question. So, why ask?
The only way for us to be well, just like this man, is we have to acknowledge we are in need of Him and allow Jesus to come in and lead us towards our healing. Today, arise, take up your bed, and walk in the freedom and healing God has for you! Confess any shortcoming or besetting sin you may have to your Heavenly Father. 1 John 1:9 encourages and proclaims that He is faithful is just enough to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. There’s power in full confession to God, the body of believers, and others!
