John 13:21- John 14

When Jesus begins saying what John records n Jn14,Jesus knows that his disciples have just heard news that they were probably not planning on....news that went against the grain of their plans/what they thought following Jesus would mean for them.The disciples more than likely still thought that Jesus was going to set up His Kingdom/that Jesus was soon going to be crowned King and that they would be rewarded because of their position w Christ/because they were Christians(disciples of Christ r not actually called Christians until Acts11:26,after much suffering & persecution had sifted those claiming to b “Christ Followers”).But n John13 Jesus tells them that he is going to b betrayed(Jn13:21) & that he is going away to a place that they can not come(Jn13:33).This is not what they were planning on!Jesus being betrayed & LEAVING them ALONE was NOT what they thought following and learning from Him for the last three years was going to “DO FOR THEM”.We often have the same thing happen n our lives when we have been hoping that our faithfulness n seeking & following Christ,& our sincere praying is going to bring about what we want,& at the very least make our lives easier...& then something very different comes.The disciples had the same perspective challenge that we have.Because our paradigm of thinking&living is naturally absent of The Eternality God created us to have,our perspective for what we want & our comfort are based on the temporal and not the truths of Eternity!Jesus knows this about His Disciples/about us!So n Jn14:1 he says,”Let not your hearts b troubles.Believe n God;believe also n me.In my Father’s house r many rooms/mansions/dwelling places.If it were not so ,would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?And if I go & prepare a place for you,I will come again & will take you to myself,that where I am going you may b also.And you know the way where I am going”.The 1st thing Jesus does,is give them a PERSPECTIVE ADJUSTMENT.Jesus knows that unless we have a true perspective about life(that we are ETERNAL,& that it is eternally detrimental to believe anything else),we will b discouraged by news that we r probably not planning on....news that goes against the grain of our plans/what we think following Jesus means for us.Jesus points us/directs us to have an Eternal Perspective about life!A Perspective that lifts our VISION above the discouragements & disappointments of temporal things,and focuses instead on the promises of God(Jeremiah29:11,”For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.”)->PROMISES that have ETERNAL implications/that will last FOREVER!When Thomas hears this,he needs CLARIFICATION!Jesus points Thomas&us to the TRUTH that we r created to b ETERNAL & that we r created to have an ETERNAL relationship w our Father n Heaven(“Let not your hearts b troubled.Believe n God.In my Father’s house r many rooms/mansions/dwelling places). n Jn14:6 when Jesus says,”I am the way,& the truth & the life.No one comes to the Father except through me.If You had known me,you would have known my Father also.From now on you do know him and have seen him”.Jesus points is to THE STARTING PLACE for coming to know the Truths about the Eternality of our being,about LIFE itself....by trusting that Jesus IS THE WAY,&THE TRUTH & THE LIFE!Everything else&everyone else will leave us n the despair of never being satisfied for long by temporal things,&/or seeking things&/or people(false gods) that lead us to ultimate despair of the worst kinds!Dear Lord,so many times I feel the despair & discouragement that these disciples must have known when they heard that their plans/what they expected was not going 2 come true.When discouragement comes,point me back to Trusting You as Lord,and Your love & Your plans for me that have nothing less than what is TRUE & ETERNALLY BEST for me.

John 13:12-17

After Jesus gets on His knees b4 each of His disciples,& washes their feet,He says,”"Do you know what I have done to you?You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am.If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”(John13:12b-17).Jesus knows we have an inherent propensity toward all kinds of pride & arrogance.Some less obvious than others...but we all have this.And it is at the root of sin,with any kind of SPIRITUAL PRIDE probably being the worse of the worst!N Jesus’ statement here,He is addressing spiritual pride of all kinds!Jesus says that we need to keep a RIGHT PERSPECTIVE n our hearts&lives w respect to others,particularly our brothers&sisters n Christ(Jesus is now speaking to ONLY those that r True Disciples!He waited until Judas left to say&do these things)!The 1st perspective adjustment is that Jesus IS Teacher&Lord,we r not!Even those who r teachers,r not Lord!AND those of us who r truly called to b teachers r just that->called by/gifted by The Lord to teach.AND James 3:1-2(”Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.”) says that The Lord holds teachers accountable for what&how they teach,because He cares so much about “what” is taught&how “it” is taught!N other words,teachers should b totally dependent upon The Lord for their teaching.So,no one,not even teachers/pastors/mentors,etc.,have any reason to have a speck of pride nor arrogance n our relationships with each other.Whatever insight/knowledge they/we have is only bcuz The Lord has blessed them/us w it!And they/we have been blessed so they/we can SERVE!Not so they/we can b placed on pedestals of higher regard nor “entitlement”.Jesus next calls us to do what He just demonstrated to the disciples!Jesus did not call out any of the disciples bcuz of the dirt on their feet,nor did He hammer any of the disciples for what He probably saw/knew some of the dirt might’ve indicated about particular sins.Jesus HUMBLED HIMSELF b4 all of the dirt(showing the EXTENT of HIS LOVE,James13:1),& ALL of the disciples!Not a single disciple was treated differently for any reason!They ALL HAD DIRTY FEET!And DIRT IS DIRT....as SIN IS SIN!They ALL,and we ALL need our feet washed.Jesus is not only teaching us that we need to have a transparency n our lives with fellow Trusted Christians n our lives,He is also teaching that if we r that Trusted one n someone’s life...we need to humble ourselves b4 that person n order to help that person/wash their feet!When we learn of another’s “dirty feet”,our propensity is to sometimes think that we r a little better Christian bcuz we “don’t have THAT sin in my life”,& SPIRITUAL PRIDE creeps n2 our heart/life.Jesus demonstrated that these thoughts r WRONG!Jesus demonstrates the RIGHT thought becomes our heart beat when we humble ourselves b4 that person and help them “wash their feet”...not condemn them for the dirt in their feet!After all...we also need someone n our life that will do the same for us!We NEED each other!Jesus then ends this teaching w a PROMISE when He says,”If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them”.If we learn from and follow Jesus’ reaching&demonstration n these verses...our lives will be blessed n ways that only Jesus can bless!Lord Jesus!Let this lesson always b on my heart,so that any kind/all kinds of spiritual pride may b snatched from life when it begins to creep n2 my life.Help me 2 remember Your demonstration of how You responded to the dirty feet of Your disciples...and help me to respond with the same heart that You did...AND help me to remember that I also have dirty feet that another one of Your disciples is going to help me with...& help me to b transparent with the disciples You send to wash my feet.

John 13:8-10

As we walk w Christ during our every day,moment by moment doing life ,we r not going to do everything perfectly nor say everything perfectly!And sometimes we will royally mess up!We may know the times that we r not perfect,& b ashamed of the times we royally mess up. Our enemy the devil will turn these times into a level of arrogance &/or guilt that grow to make us have doubts about our personal salvation,& can lead us to even question the “REALNESS” of WHO Christ is,& WHAT He says He does for us when we trust Him as Savior&Lord.During The Last Supper w His Disciples,just before going to The Garden of Gethsemane,Jesus addresses these issues when He wraps a towel around His waist and gets down on His knees to wash the feet of His disciples!When Jesus is on His knees n front of Peter with a basin of water,Peter doesn’t understand what Jesus is doing-Peter can not fathom The King of Kings/The Son of God/The Messiah on HIS KNEES touching his dirty feet...let alone washing the dirty-smelly things!Peter knows where his feet have been,& what nasty things he has probably walked through...& he might even b embarrassed about how he picked up some of the dirt on his feet.So,w a bit of arrogance&pride,mixed with misunderstanding the full extent of Jesus love(John1b,”Having loved his own...he showed them the full extent of his love”),Peter says,”No...you shall never wash my feet”(John13:8).There were multiple reasons that Peter didn’t want Jesus touching his feet,at least one being pride& not wanting Jesus to know/see the dirt of his feet,let alone wash this dirt from his feet.Jesus responds,”Unless I wash you,you have no part with me”.Peter still doesn’t understand what Jesus is about to do,& Peter says,”Then Lord...not just my feet but my hands and my head as well”!Peter had a guilt that made him feel that his whole body had been contaminated/tarnished by where his feet had been/the dirt on his feet!Jesus responds,”A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet;his whole body is clean.And you are clean”(John13:10a).Jesus knows what is n Peter’s heart&mind about the dirt on his feet/his guilt,& Jesus addresses this head on by telling Peter that he has been made clean by his trust&faith n Christ!Jesus is telling Peter that he has no need for a “REDO” of what has already been DONE when he turned his life over to seek&follow Christ!When Jesus knelt b4 Peter to wash his feet,Peter realized that Jesus was about to see the dirt on his feet from his daily life...he felt bad/guilty...& his pride almost kept him from having his feet TOUCHED & WASHED by The King of Kings/The Son of God/The Messiah!By THE ONLY ONE that would REALLY KNOW everything about what was being washed away!Before Jesus knelt n front of each of the disciples he knew what every speck of dirt was from and whatever stories were to be told by every speck of dirt from where each of the disciples had walked.Jesus is saying to us,unless we r transparent w Jesus about the dirt on our feet,& let Him wash this from our life...we have no part of Him n our heart!As we walk every step through our daily lives,there are many steps we will take that make our feet dirty...take us where our best conscience might have not have wanted us to go/or say what we would rather not come out of our mouths/do what we have rather not done,etc.Even though we have had a bath when we trust n Christ,the devil will twist this dirt of our every day life n2 guilt and/or arrogance!Both almost kept Peter from the BLESSING of having Jesus PERSONALLY washing the “dirt of his daily walk” from his feet...from his conscience &thereby from his life(Romans8:1-2,”Therefore,there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,bcuz through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin & death.”).Unless we talk w Jesus about our daily lives,including the mis-steps & mistakes we make,we run the risk of letting the daily dirt build up & b turned n2 guilt & condemnation by the devil...,which may lead us n2 a season of walking away from the Lord,instead of waking WITH the Lord.And!Jesus says that this may also b a sign that n reality w have “no part of Jesus”(John13:8b)!This also means that admitting our need to walk&talk w Jesus about these things is a sign that we do indeed have Jesus’ Spirit living n us!Dear Jesus,I have let pride&arrogance n my life keep me from having these regular walks&talks with You that You r telling me through these verses r so very important to my life!Help me to want You to help me learn from my mistakes and the words I misspeak,by letting You wash the dirt from my daily walk!Please remind me of “the extent of Your Love” that only wants these walks&talks w me for my own good,& not for the purpose of making me feel guilt nor condemnation of any kind.

John 13:3

The devil knows firsthand the Awesomeness of THE Creator God,and HIS Great Loving/HEARTS Desire for all people to become HIS children through Christ!(2Peter3:9,”The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance”.)The devil so despises The Creator God,that he wants nothing more than to turn us away from what GOD awesomely desires...turn us away away from a personal relationship w God our Father in Heaven!This is why the devil is so desperately set on destroying people....destroying me...by turning us away from Christ!The devil knows the excruciating HURT/PAIN that The Lord has for anyone that turns away from the Infinite Love of Christ!Therefore,the devil is always scheming a way to weasel his way/his ways into our hearts&minds!(1Peter5:8b,”Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”).There is a HUMONGOUS lesson about the devil and his methods/strategy for destroying us n a small bit of John13:2 where it says,”...the devil had already put into the heart of Judas Iscariot...”One of the most significant strategies of the devil is to place thoughts&ideas into our hearts&lives that are counter to anything that would honor God’s Awesome Love for us,&turn our lives away from what God desires to bless us with!This is precisely what the devil does w Judas!It was not “predestined” that Judas would succumb to the wiles of the devil!There was something n Judas that turned him away from the Love of Christ!Judas had been alongside Jesus for 3 years!During this time Judas had not only seen 1st hand the evidences of Jesus being God The Son/The Messiah,but he had also personally known The Love&Patience&Mercy&Grace of Christ!Yet,there was something n Judas’ heart&life that he was not willing to turn away from,and he probably had the same “halfhearted”/“double-minded” attitude about God that Cain had n Genesis4:6 that led Cain to his “bad attitude”/“bad heart”,when God asked Cain,”Why r u angry?Why is ur face downcast?”Usually,what leads to this kind of attitude with God is that we r not getting our way somehow....there is a selfish desire n us for something that is not being met!The Bible calls this an evil desire or lust(lust = consumed by desire for something!)of any kind.Even though Judas has every REASON to love Christ,there was something inside his heart/life that kept him away from this!James1:14-15 warns us about this-“but each one is tempted when,by his own evil desire,he is dragged away and enticed.Then after desire has conceived,it gives birth to sin,& sin when it is full grown,gives birth to death.”This is why we need to be so very careful about the thoughts we let ourselves b “entertained with”!Since one of the devil’s primary schemes is putting things/thoughts into our heart&mind that become deadly-become the very things that take us away 
from The Life God desires for us to have,& away from the good & perfect gifts God desires for us(James1:17,”Every good & perfect gift is from above,coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights...”).The Lord desires only GOOD THINGS for us,just as Jesus desired for Judas.This is why The Lord warns Cain(&Judas...&me)n Genesis4:7b,”sin is crouching at the door.It’s desire is for you,but you must master it.”And why n Proverbs5 The Lord pleas for us to “be attentive to wisdom,&incline your ear to my understanding”(verse1),so that we will know the significance of having discipline n our thought life&our hearts->keeping watch of what we allow into our hearts!Judas did not want to do this...a selfish desire of some kind had a hold on his heart&mind that he did not want to let go of it!The last verse of Proverbs5 has the same warning about this  as James1:14-14 does when The Lord finishes the Proverb this way-“He(a person turning away from the Lord)will die for lack of discipline,led astray by his great folly(lack of good sense or normal prudence).”We must b aware of the devil’s schemes to mess with our hearts&minds by putting things into our hearts&minds that are detrimental to us...& possibly lead us far away from The Love of Christ...& then we must have the heart&mind disciplines that nip these things in the bud,before they turn into sin that destroys!Lord Jesus,this makes me shutter to think of how many times I have allowed the devil to put things into my heart&mind, & I do little or nothing about it.Thank You for Your Amazing Mercies&Graces that cover me even now as I lean into Your Truths that tell me of Your Great Love for me that motivated You to take all my sin with You to The Cross!And for the promises that You desire only The Best for me...through all things,as Romans 12:2 says!And Lord...lead me with Your wisdom & discernment to know when this is happening...& how to rid my heart&mind of them.

John 12:35-43

While Jesus walked the earth he knew all the challenges that we will have in personally placing our full trust n Christ ONLY for our lives & following Him faithfully!John12:35-43 tells about one of the times that Jesus speaks to this.The people following Jesus around have either personally seen or heard firsthand about some of the amazing miracles Jesus has recently performed,including calling Lazarus out of his tomb!These experiences and what they have heard about Jesus has drawn a lot of people to Jesus!But,many of these people are going to have the same challenges we have when it comes to deciding whether or not to fully trusting their lives to Jesus and what He teaches-walking w Jesus!Even though they have “personal experiences” where they have seen and heard of things that only an Awesome God can do&say,there are many that will b drawn away by “other things”.Even though they have heard Jesus’ teachings of the Amazing Grace & Mercies of God,there will b “other things” that draw them away from these Truths!John12:42-43 tells us about the “other things”(“Nevertheless,many even of the authorities believed n him,but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it,so they would not b put out of the synagogue:for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.”).The threat to these people fully trusting&following Christ was what other people thought,and how their “status” in social circles might b negativity impacted if they actually “walked with Christ”!In other words,it was “other things”& what other people thought that drew these people away from their “personal experiences” about Jesus,& away from seeking&following Christ.Drawn away by what others might think...by succumbing to the paradigms & thinking of the world!Jesus personally warns us of this when n John12:35-36 he says,”The light is among you for a little while longer.Walk while you have the light,lest darkness overtake you.The one who walks n darkness does not know where he is going.While you have the light,believe in(put your trust in)the light,that you may become sons of the light”.We all have had,& will probably have more “personal experiences” that r Jesus showing Himself to us personally,or personally making us aware of His Mercy&Grace....”personal experiences” of knowing His Spirit’s whispering guidance & direction for the best interests of our lives...”personal experiences” of hearing or reading God’s Word and learning a bit about His Love&Guidance for our lives..,etc.When we have these “personal experiences” we will always have the choice of “walking while we have the light”,or being drawn away by “other things”!When we decide to “walk while we have the light”,we will “become sons of the light”....true followers of Christ!And the darkness will not overtake us(John12:46,”I have come into the world as light,so that whoever believes n me(seek&follow Christ)May not remain n the darkness.”).Dear Lord,I think back and remember so many times that I had “personal experiences” with You&about You,& I allowed myself to be drawn away from Your Light by “other things”.Thank You for continuing to give me “personal experiences” with You/about You,even though I tend to be drawn away by “other things”.I pray for You to remind me of what You warn me about n these verses n John,& help me to walk away from “other things” while walking with You!