“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Psalm 23 v 5
It never ceases to amaze me how the Lord Jesus serves. In the upper room, He washed the disciples” feet symbolizing not only service but also forgiveness. It is definitely necessary for us to see the fact that He, who should have been served was serving the disciples. Normally, the lady who was present in the home would bring round a bowl for those about to eat at the table to wash their fingers in. (This practice is still symbolized at the Passover meal today by the washing of the fingers). However, Jesus took it a step further by washing the feet, showing our need to go the second mile in our service to others.
However, the discussion with Peter is included to show us another reason for the feet washing. Peter was not keen on having Jesus wash his feet,(most likely realizing that they had failed to notice the opportunity to serve each other), but on finding out it was a necessity, He suddenly wanted not only his feet washed, but all of him. When Jesus pointed out that Peter was clean all but his feet, He was making clear that because Peter believed, therefore he was saved, and He was in essence “cleansed. Since feet get dusty and dirty with walking on roads, so Peter in his daily life would be in continual need of feet cleansing from sin and failure and continually need forgiveness from the Lord. In His willingness to wash Peter”s feet, He was showing us how willing He is to cleanse and forgive us.
Even when it was necessary to get ready for Passover, it was Jesus who booked the room and made the preparations. Yes, He serves at every possible opportunity. He takes the first steps toward us every time we fail, fear or when we don”t feel adequate for the task. As we look at this verse in Psalm 23 we see that when all around our enemies are against us, Jesus is preparing a feast for us. Can you imagine it? We are sitting at a table, which our Blessed Lord has prepared for us and all around us enemies are seething because they can”t harm us. The table is laden with all good things and the enemies are salivating as they watch us eat. That knowledge is enough to help us through a tough day, to make us want to serve Him better, too exciting not to tell others about and strengthening and encouraging for whatever lies ahead.
As we look for opportunities to serve Him today, remember, what He does for us. When we face enemies of danger, addiction, weakness, or temptation, feast from the table of provision He has made. He has given us the Holy Spirit as comforter, companion and guide. He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He has promised that “when we pass through the waters, He is with us. He will forgive our shortcomings, our lack of faith and give us peace in the midst of all the trouble the evil one can cause.

Today we decided to visit Blue Ridge Community Church, because its Fathers Day, and my Father-In-Law is involved in music at the church. While pulling into the parking lot we were guided into our space by a parking attendant in a bright yellow jacket and hat. Thinking to myself that this would be a miserable service to volunteer for in the 95 degree Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) weather, I got out of the car and looked up to notice that the man who had directed us to our spot was actually Woody, the senior pastor of the church. It took me by surprise at first, and then I thought he must be really dedicated to be working the parking lot and then planning on going to preach, what a committed guy! When we got inside and were seated for the service we found out that the senior pastor would not be speaking today, the message was going to be brought by someone else, and that struck me even deeper. This Sunday would have been Woody’s “day off” he didn’t have to preach, the responsibility for giving the message wasn’t on his shoulders so he could have just coasted through the day and enjoyed church, but instead he was sweating out in the parking lot with the rest. Then I realized that instead of taking his role of pastor and shepherd of the church as a “job” he viewed it as a service, and if he wasn’t going to be serving today in the pulpit, he was going to be serving elsewhere, wherever he was needed… even if it meant getting sweaty and dirty. How often have you seen your senior pastor directing traffic in order to help people get into church?

To me this spoke to me profoundly on this Fathers Day because it was a fantastic example of what a leader should be. Someone who takes his role as leadership role as an opportunity to serve, and as father’s we have that privilege daily. Its so easy to think that the weekend is our “days off” because we’ve spent all week working to provide for our family, but the weekend is a wonderful time to practice that servant leadership and to perform the duties that could be seen as menial or small (cleaning, cooking, etc…), but are necessary to keep the daily tasks manageable for the family as a whole. Thank you pastor Woody for the reminder and Happy Fathers Day!

Having just returned from a trip to Israel, I have so many thoughts and impressions which I have to contemplate, process and digest. In the few days we were there we went from one end of the country to the other and of course each place left a lasting impression.

One of the memories I have was of the Negev desert and the wilderness of Zin. Before going, I was told of its beauty, the wonderful hues and shades which change with the sunlight. However, although all that is true, I had some very different impressions while there, and it left me with fearsome memories. I was struck by the total barrenness of the area. Miles and miles of rocky, sandy land with no water to be seen, except in the few wadis (waterholes) which are few and far between. Not only were there no trees or plant life, but I was struck by the fact that so little wildlife is there. A few Ibex (mountain goats) and very little else.

Thinking back to the Children of Israel, how awful would it be to be wandering in the desert for 40 years and to know nothing else? How terrible to be lost in it! Each area looks the same and without direction one could easily become lost.

At night, the desert is pitch black and very warm, not cooling down much from the daytime. It gives the impression of a black, heavy blanket being thrown over your head, causing a claustrophobic effect. When a breeze does stir up it is a warm wind and the biggest effect it has is to fill your eyes, nose ears and even mouth (if you don”t shut it), with sand.

The Hebrew children were in the wilderness 40 years because of disobedience. How sad! But it is a perfect example of how much we miss when we don”t obey our Lord”s commands or follow in His Will. When we deliberately disobey, we deny ourselves so much of the refreshment of God”s presence and our lives become barren and empty, just like the desert. Not only that, but others are not refreshed or blessed by His spirit flowing through us and therefore lives are not touched for His Glory.

Thankfully, if we have known what it is to walk daily in His presence, we will soon realize how miserable we are in this “wilderness” state and come back to the Lord for forgiveness and renewal. But for those who continue to walk without Christ, they know nothing else but the desert. Some of the Hebrew children were born in the desert and knew nothing but the desert, not realizing the reason for their misery.

We had a pleasant grill in the desert one night with an explanation of the Gospel from the stars, but even then I was thankful for the other team members and glad to get back to civilization at the end of the evening.

Arriving back in fertile area, the green seemed greener, the water more clear and it was like a feast of refreshment for my eyes to see colors other then shades of brown/beige. This reminded me of the blessing of the Holy Spirit in our lives, making our lives fruitful for the Kingdom of God.

The experience left me with the reminder that there is no better place to be than close to the Lord and living in his perfect Will. If you have gotten into a wilderness place, don”t stay. Ask Him to forgive you and fill you with His Holy Spirit. If you don”t know Jesus as your Saviour, He will forgive your sins and bring you out from the desert place if you ask Him to. He says in John 4 v14, “Whoever drinks of the water which I will give him will never thirst, but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain springing up into everlasting life.”