John 13:3-5, 12-16

Happy Wednesday, y'all! :)

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John 13:3-5, 12-16

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him.

When He had washed their feet and put on His outer garments and resumed His place, He said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, 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 also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him."

 

I don't want to "over-spiritualize" this story and command from Jesus, nor do I want to insinuate that He didn't mean that there are times when we are to literally wash one another's feet. However, as I read this story the other day, I was struck with some parallels to a different kind of "foot washing".

Just as Jesus "laid aside His outer garments", we must lay aside our pride in order to serve. And, joined very closely to that, we also must take up humility and wrap it around us, like Jesus taking the towel and tying it around His waist. This isn't a false humility that looks down on self, it's a useful humility that enables us to serve with the gifts God has given us.

So then what of the water in the basin? Well, here's how I see it: the "water" is the word of God, able to cleanse and sanctify the most hidden parts of any life (Ephesians 5:16-17). We pour it out into a "basin" by reading it, studying it, memorizing it until it fills our entire being and is so ingrained in us we are able to use it in our lives, and speak it into the lives of others (Colossians 3:16). And so we wash the "spiritual feet" of those God may bring into our lives to minister to! Every time we share God's words with another person or group of people, it's like washing their feet as we share with them the words that have the power to bring life and cleansing.

 

Father, give me eyes to see the needs of those You bring to me, wisdom to know how best to meet those needs, words to speak when words are called for, courage to act when action is needed, and humility to serve as You served.

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you "wash the feet" of those He brings into your life!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Genesis 5:21-24

Happy Wednesday, y'all!

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Genesis 5:21-24

When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years. Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

 

Enoch has always been one of my favorite Bible characters; odd, perhaps, since these four verses and a brief mention in Hebrews 11 are all there is about him. But somehow, they tell the whole story. He walked with God! Here's what's a bit interesting: Enoch's father, Jared, lived 962 years. He is the second longest living person recorded in the Bible. Enoch's son, Methuselah, lived 969 years, making him the longest living person recorded in the Bible. Enoch, sandwiched between the two, lived a mere 365 years--it sounds really long to us, but he's got the shortest lifespan in several generations (until Genesis 11, four generations past Noah). So my point? Life does not have to be long to be full and complete. In America today we are a society that is obsessed with finding new methods and medicines for prolonging life (well, except for the lives of unborn children!). I want to seek after something better: a full life, a life centered on Jesus Christ, that it might one day be said of me "she walked with God."

 

"God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus." (Jim Elliot)

 

May the Lord bless you richly as you seek after a life made full and complete by Him alone!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Genesis 3:5-6

Morning, y'all!

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Genesis 3:5-6

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

 

Before this event, all Adam and Eve had known was God Himself. But when they decided they were no longer content with just knowing God, and wanted to know what only God knew, they got into big trouble. Aren't we like that? We also have the opportunity to know God--not exactly face to face like Adam and Eve did, but in ways that are no less real we can know Him. Yet it's not enough for us; we want to know all that God knows. I'm not saying that searching for knowledge and wisdom is a bad thing, because it's not--Proverbs makes that clear! But there will come a point where we come up against something that we will never understand or fully grasp, or we come face to face with the uncertainities of life, and at that point we have to make the choice to be content in just knowing the One who knows it all and leaving the rest up to Him.

 

Father, help me to be content with knowing You, and knowing that You know everything else. I don't have to know what's down the road to follow You, and I don't have to know all the hows and whys in order to walk in obedience to Your will! You know all that, and I know You, and that's enough for me. 

 

May the Lord richly bless you as you seek to just know HIM more!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Genesis 1:2-4

Happy Tuesday, y'all! :)
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Genesis 1:2-4
The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

There are times when my life seems "formless and void", without purpose or plan, yet the Spirit of God is moving and working there still. His first work is to bring light--His truth. His second is to separate the light from the darkness. Only in my life, unlike in creation, He then works to eradicate the darkness.
God also works in His own way and His own time, sometimes without "logical" sequence--ie, creating plants on the third day, but no sun (which is necessary for plants to live and grow) until the fourth day. And He is under no obligation to explain Himself! :)

Father, sometimes it's hard to see how You're working--yet I know that You are. Help me to trust in Your faithfulness to complete what You have begun in me, even when I seem to be standing still!

May the Lord richly bless you as you trust in His faithful working in your life!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Isaiah 8:11-13

Hey, everyone!

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Isaiah 8:11-13

The LORD has said to me in the strongest terms: "Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the LORD Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear Him, you need fear nothing else." (NLT)

That first command really jumped out at me: "Do not think like everyone else does." Even my thoughts and my very mindset should be different, holy, set apart for God. I'm reminded of Romans 12:2--"be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind."
The rest of this passage in Isaiah goes on to apply this "think different" command specifically to living with no fear but a holy fear of God. "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) God wants His people to live boldly, purposefully, confidently--differently. And that difference starts in the way we think.

Father, help me to develop a mindset that reflects Yours and thoughts that glorify You. I refuse to think and live "like everyone else!" I don't want to be like the world out there; I want to be like You.

May the Lord richly bless you as you think like Him, not like everyone else!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Psalm 150:2

Good morning, y'all!

So...it's been 4 1/2 very busy months since the last Mornin' SunShine. I am so sorry! Although my life has been pretty crazy (summer internship with a local ministry and a trip to Bolivia with my sister), that's a pretty lame excuse. I'm going to be working on getting back into a routine with better priorities--one of them being the Mornin' SunShine e-mails!

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Psalm 150:2

Praise Him for His powerful acts;
praise Him for His abundant greatness.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, it seems like everyone is looking for things to praise and thank God for. This verse shows us the two-fold basis of our praises: 1) what He has done and 2) who He is. This year, let's go beyond "I'm thankful for my family"...what has God done in your life this year? Who has He revealed Himself to be to you? Those things are worthy of the greatest praise we can give Him--at Thanksgiving and all year long!

 

Father, You are constantly at work in my life; help me to see and recognize Your "powerful acts" and "abundant greatness" in my life!!

 

May the Lord bless you richly as you praise Him for His power and greatness in your life!

 

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.

Genesis 15:8-11

Happy Monday, everyone! :)
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Genesis 15:8-11
And he said, "Lord GOD, how shall I know that I will inherit it?"
So He said to him, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon." Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

That last sentence used to seem slightly obscure to me; like it was just sort of thrown in there. But recently I was hit with the impact of this little verse: Abram jealously guarded his covenant with the Lord. It would have been easier to just let the vultures munch on the dead animals; apparently God didn't immediately consume this offering. It would have been easier to reason that he could just prepare another sacrifice later. But Abram didn't choose the easy way. He fought for this covenant, recognizing the vital importance of it.
This made me think--am I willing to fight for my covenant with God? Am I willing to jealously defend and protect my time and relationship with Him? There are so many "vultures" in life that are all too eager to devour the offering of my life to Him--distractions, time-wasters, even good things that would replace or cut into the time or affection that should be His. Will I let them eat away at the precious relationship I have with the Lord, or will I drive them away?

Father, what can I say? I am Yours! And I will fight with everything that is in me to protect my relationship with You!

May the Lord richly bless you as you jealously guard your relationship and covenant with Him!

Dancing in the rain,
Haley "SunShine" Miller
"Exhort one another daily while it is called 'Today'" (Hebrews 3:13)
Mornin' SunShine Website
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If this e-mail was forwarded to you and you would like to receive the Mornin' SunShine e-mails on a regular basis yourself, you can e-mail me at mornin_sunshine@psalm686.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. If you would like to unsubscribe, just e-mail me at the address above with "unsubscribe" in the subject line and I will take you off the list.