For Reading and Meditation:      Acts 15:1-11Now that we understand what Scripture means by the term "heart" - the core of our being - we ask ourselves another important question: What does our Lord mean when He uses the word "pure"? "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." The word "pure" (Greek: katharos) means a heart that is clean or clear. Unfortunately, purity does not seem to be popular in contemporary Christianity. The emphasis nowadays seems to be more on power than on purity. Most Christians I talk to want to know how they can possess and develop spiritual gifts. Few, generally speaking, want to know how to experience the blessing of what our text today calls a heart purified by faith. Sixteen hundred years ago St Augustine expressed a sentiment in words which might well sum up the thoughts of many - thankfully, not all - in today's Church: "Lord, make me pure ' but not just yet." Most of us would be willing to identify ourselves with the conditions laid down in the first five of our Lord's Beatitudes, but how do we feel about the condition of being pure in heart? Are we ready and willing to pray: I want, dear Lord, a heart that's true and clean A sunlit heart, with not a cloud between. A heart like Thine, a heart divine. A heart as white as snow. On me, dear Lord, a heart like this bestow.O yes, dear Father, from the depths of my being I cry - make me clean. I have come so far with You - how can I turn back now? I'm a candidate for both power and purity. Give me the deep inner cleansing I need - today. For Jesus' sake. Amen.<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around"><div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>John 13:1-17</li><li>2 Corinthians 7:1</li><li>James 4:8</li><li>1 John 3:3</li></ul></div>

<div><div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div><ul style="margin-top:0px"><li>What was Peter's request?</li><li>Make it your request today.</li></ul></div></div>

Let a little light into your soul every day with this wonderful devotional from English pastor Selwyn Hughes.

Every Day Light with Selwyn Hughes

"' he purified their hearts by faith." (v. 9)

For Reading and Meditation: &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;John 13:1-38
What other teacher has taken the Ten Commandments and had the right to add another commandment to them? But this is precisely what Jesus did, as we see from our text today. "A new command I give you," He said. "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
The Old Testament and other religious writings enjoined loving one another. What was new was this: "As I have loved you." Our Lord's conduct - "as I have loved you" - produced a new code for the human race. Paul, writing to the Philippians, catches the spirit of it when he says: "Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5, Moffatt). Here morality reaches its high-water mark. From the moment Jesus uttered the words that are occupying our attention, there came into human life something more than a code - there came a Character. Now, therefore, our code is a Character - the Character of Jesus.
When someone asks me if I believe in the Ten Commandments I say: "Yes, and very much more besides. I believe in Jesus." The Ten Commandments are an injunction - and a God-given one. But Jesus is an injunction plus an inspiration. To follow an injunction is to obey an imposed morality, but to follow a Person and do the things He does is an inspired morality. One is legalism, the other love. One binds you, the other frees you. One makes you feel trammelled, the other relaxed and spontaneous. Our code is not a commandment but a Character. One greater than the commandments is here.
O Christ, Your law lays upon me an injunction, but Your life entering into my life inspires me to live up to that injunction. It is this that makes Your yoke so easy. I am deeply, deeply grateful. Amen.
<div class="tl-lightgrey mt20 pt20 flexbox-row-wrap jc-around">
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<div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">AdditionalVerses</div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0px;">
<li>John 15:1-17</li>
<li>James 2:8</li>
<li>Matthew 7:12</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
<div class="fs-17 fg-mustard bold center-it">Questions to Consider</div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0px;">
<li>What was the basis of Christ's love?</li>
<li>What is the basis of our being able to fulfill the Royal Law?</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you...

What is true greatness?In the kingdom of this world, the great man is the one who has risen to a place of wealth and power. He has a retinue of aides and assistants, conditioned to follow his orders. He is accorded V.I.P. treatment and receives special favors wherever he goes. People regard him with respect and awe because of his rank. He never has to stoop to anything menial; there are always others to do that for him.But in the Kingdom of our Lord, things are quite different. Here greatness is measured by the extent to which we serve rather than the extent to which we are served. The great man is the one who stoops to become a slave for others. No service is too menial. He does not expect any special treatment or thanks. When one of George Washington's men saw him performing a menial service, he objected, saying, "General, you are too big a man to be doing that." Washington replied, "Oh, no, I'm just the right size."Commenting on Luke 17:7-10, Roy Hession reminds us that "there are five marks of the bondslave: (1) He must be willing to have one thing on top of another put on him, without any consideration being given to him. (2) In doing this, he must be willing not to be thanked for it. (3) Having done all this, he must not charge the master with selfishness. (4) He must confess that he is an unprofitable servant. (5) He must admit that doing and bearing what he has in the way of meekness and humility, he has not done one stitch more than it was his duty to do."When our Lord left the heights of glory to become a Man on this planet, he "took upon him the form of a servant" (Philippians 2:7). He was among us as One who serves (Luke 22:27). He said, "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). He girded Himself with a towel, the apron of a slave, and washed His disciples' feet (John 13:1-17)."The servant is not greater than his lord" (John 13:16). If He stooped so low to serve us, why should we think it beneath our dignity to serve others?Wast Thou, Savior, meek and lowly,And will such a worm as I,Weak and sinful and unholyDare to lift my head on high?

With reverence, humor and skill, William MacDonald wove a daily devotional tapestry that challenges the reader to think deeply and Biblically, and apply God's Word to their lives.

Truths to Live By - One Day at a Time

"…whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant." (Matthew 20:26-27)

John 13:1-14It is supposed that the strife among the disciples as to which was the greatest, led to the incident of the washing of the feet. None of the disciples was willing to perform the lowly duty of washing the feet of others. The service belonged to the youngest, or the one of lowest rank. Then Jesus quietly did it Himself. It was not in a moment of depression that He performed this deed of lowly humility. He was fully conscious of His divine character while He knelt before His disciples washing their feet. It was this consciousness of His glory that made the condescension so stupendous. It would have been no condescension for John or Peter to have washed the feet of the others.The story of Christ's act of humility is told in very beautiful words. Jesus did not consider His holy hands, too fine for the washing of the feet of the twelve men who sat around the table. Some of us think we are too great or too high in rank among men - to stoop to any lowly service like this. Our thought of our greatness and our dignity prevents us from doing the beautiful things of love. That was the way the disciples thought of themselves. Christ's act of humility is an answer to all such pride and pretension. Never was there any other being of such glorious nobility as Jesus; yet He did not hesitate to perform this lowliest of all service. Some us like to do all our serving by proxy. We will pay a deaconess or a city missionary for relieving the poor or ministering to the sick - but will not do the work with our own hands. We do not know what blessing we miss, in declining to accept such blessed service, nor how much more the service means - when we do it with our own hands. "The gift without the giver - is bare."Peter shrank from having his Master perform such menial service for him. It was natural for him to feel thus. It was his deep sense of personal unworthiness that led him to exclaim as he saw his master about to perform the lowly service, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" The answer Jesus gave bade him submit, though he could not understand what was being done. Someday it would all be clear to him.<div class="center-it mtb10">"You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." There are many things which Christ does which at the time we cannot understand. They seem mysterious to us. Yet afterwards we shall see the reason for them and find beauty in them. This is true of many of the providences of our lives. At one time Jacob said, "All these things are against me" (Genesis 42:36). But he lived to see that the very things which he thought were against him - were really working for His good. So it always is in the dealings of God with His people. We cannot understand now - but someday we shall know. "The tapestry weavers do their work on the reverse side, looking at the ends and threads, a mystery of tangle and confusion - but not seeing the beautiful picture they are making on the other side. So we are weaving our lives largely on the reverse side." Some day we shall look on the beauty we are unconsciously making in our life today.</div>There was something generous in Peter's outspoken feeling that he could not allow the holy hands of Christ to wash his feet. It showed his thought of the glory of Christ - and his sense of his own unworthiness. But the answer of Jesus was startling. "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me." It was not merely the washing of the feet to which Jesus referred. Cleanliness is a virtue, no doubt, and a duty as well; but Christian discipleship could not be made to turn on anything so incidental. This word of Christ implies among other things - that no one can be a disciple who insists upon having his own way. Utter self-surrender is the essential condition.We must put ourselves wholly in Christ's hands, and must do just as He bids us - or we can have no part with Him. It is not ours to reason why, or to make any reply - it is ours only to obey.Especially must this word of Christ be considered in its reference to spiritual cleansing. Unless Christ washes us - we can have no part with Him. No one can be a disciple, until he has been cleansed, and only Christ can cleanse us. Some people profess to take Christ as a teacher, who yet feel no need of being washed by Him. We must understand that this word is final - that Jesus will receive no disciples who do not submit to Him first to be cleansed by Him. The picture of Jesus with the basin is one of wonderful suggestiveness. He must come to all of us first in this way - that He may wash us.Peter went then to the other extreme, as his impulsive nature always did. He was wiling to submit not only his feet - but his hands and his head. Then Jesus told him that "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean." Bathing is the cleansing of the whole body; and washing is the rinsing off of the dust that gathers on the feet in walking from the bath to the table. There was no necessity for washing Peter's hands and head - he had just come from the bath, and was clean except that his feet had become soiled with the dust as he walked.But there is a spiritual meaning too. Peter was a justified and regenerated man - he was "clean." All he needed, therefore, now was that the stains of his daily sinning and from his contacts with the world, should be removed. The lesson here is important. Bathing must come before washing. That is, the mere cleansing of daily sins amounts to nothing - unless we have first been received by Christ and justified and saved by Him. The acceptance of Christ as our Savior lifts the guilt from our souls and leaves us free from condemnation. Yet after that, even the holiest need daily forgiveness for daily sins .Jesus taught the disciples the meaning of what He had done. "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet - you also should wash one another's feet." We must do all lowly service for each other. We should have in our hearts that love which will lead us into the lowliest service for even the lowliest people.Then Christ's act was more than one of service - it meant the cleansing of faults, the removing of blemishes of character, the washing of stains gathered in passing through the world. We should seek to rend this service also to each other. We are to help each other to become Christians. We are to seek sanctification, purification, and upbuilding in character of our fellow disciples. Of course, we cannot wash away sins - Christ alone can do that. But we can do something toward making others purer, better and holier. This part of Christian friendship requires great wisdom. It is not easy to reprove the faults of others. We must be careful, first of all, that our own hands are clean - before we attempt to cleanse the stains on the lives of others. We must cast out the beam from our own eye - before we can attempt to remove the mote from our brother's eye.

A unique type of devotional from the writings of James Russell Miller, published between 1908 and 1913.

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

John 13:1-14

Washing the Disciples' Feet

The love of Christ … passes knowledge. § Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. § You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. § Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. § Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. § [Bear] with one another, and [forgive] one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you. § For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. § Christ … suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps. You also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. § We also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Daily Light on the Daily Path or Daily Light is a Christian daily devotional scripture reading published by Bagster & Sons about 1875. It has been reprinted continually since then. It consists of brief groupings of scripture passages which speak to prominent Biblical themes—two themes (morning and evening) for each day of the year. It appends no commentary, but simply allows scripture to speak for itself.

Morning Daily Light

 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. 

Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. § He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth. “Messiah” . . . (who is called Christ.) § The Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit… The second Man is the Lord from heaven. § My Lord and my God! § You call me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

Evening Daily Light

 Jesus Christ our Lord. 

14 <woj>Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. </woj>

<woj>Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.<cr>1</cr> </woj>

John 13:14

 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  

From Wikipedia: 

The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The NIV was published to meet the need for a modern translation done by Bible scholars using the earliest, highest quality manuscripts available. Of equal importance was that the Bible be expressed in broadly understood modern English.

The NIV is published by Zondervan in the United States and Hodder & Stoughton in the UK. The NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011 and has become one of the most popular and best-selling modern translations.

OT: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia; additional sources;
NT: UBS Greek New Testament; Novum Testamentum Graece; additional sources;

New International Version

 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

<woj>Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. </woj>

 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.  

Bible Verse of the Day

January 2, 2020

John 13:14 NIV

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