Real-ationships VS Sand Lickers

     We all get thirsty. We are human. Thirst drives you to a water fountain, a soda machine, or to your kitchen sink. You'll find yourself stopping whatever you are doing just so you can get something to wet your pallet. Now picture yourself right here;

   Yep. You're in a desert. Stranded. Now imagine yourself thirsty and in desperate need of just something to drink. There's no supply of any liquid anywhere except you notice a cool fresh glass on lemonade sitting upon a rock only about a foot taller than you are (Lemonade in a desert? Girl, you're cray!) You take one look at it, but walk about saying "Oh. Its too high up." So you go searching and end up licking the sand hoping that it will quench your thirst (Call me cray).

Isaiah 41:17
“When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them."

    So why do we lick up sand when there's a refreshing glass of lemonade just in reach?  Well, after reading the verse above, we can come to this conclusion why so many people are licking up sand. Can you think of someone going in and out of love? A new boyfriend or girlfriend every week? Or maybe even every month? Everyone looks for that special someone, but some people feel that is their top priority. These people go in and out of "like" with someone over and over, and they are constantly heart broken. We all have that urge for a love in our hearts.

    The kind of person I described above is a sand licker. Another kind of sand licker is one focused on money, possessions, looks, and titles. Sand lickers search for love in all the wrong places. Obviously, sand can never quench our thirst, and neither will these things satisfy our need for a love. Now don't get me wrong, its okay to think about how much money you have or how your boyfriend or girlfriend is doing, but sand lickers search for a love from these things that only comes from God. Unlike a relationship with boyfriends and girlfriends, God gives us a realationship. His love never fails, it always endures through every circumstance, it never leaves us, it never forsakes us, it never changes its mind, and most importantly, God's love is real. Sand lickers choke on what they have, but when they stop licking up sand, its their choice if they reach for the glass of lemonade; the real thirst quencher who gives us with the realest realationship; God.

John 4:14
"But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”

Matthew 5:6

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

Makeshift Love

    I don't know about you, but I hate being cold. Being cold is one thing I don't handle well. I get angry easier and I'm unhappy. Overall, I'm just unpleasant to be around when I'm cold. Well, the heater in my house broke two days ago. My house dropped to about 59 degrees. That made me about the crankiest person alive because I hate being cold! Out of desperateness, we put a space heater at the end of the hallway and another in the living room. It raised the temperature of the house to 61 degrees, but that's still pretty cold. Later on that night, I was laying on the couch doing a word search (for some odd reason) and then the power went out! I thought I was on a show called, "Could She Handle Being Amish?" But! The next day, the power was back, the repair man came, and all was good in the world. Well, all was good in my home.

So whats my point? 

"And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength." - Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT

    God is love. Love is God. If you feel love, God is surely inside of you. If God is inside of you, then you surely feel love. They are a package deal because God Is Love. He is also a bunch of other wonderful things to, but they all come from is unfailing love. His love never ever changes. His love for you and me and your mom and your brother and your karate teacher and your babysitter and your teacher and your friends and your coach and your neighbor and your stranger and your classmates and every person on this planet will always be the same. God will always love you no matter what you have done.
     Sometimes, situations we face, good or bad, let our love for God fade or diminish. Say you're failing a class, got in trouble for something you didn't do. Sometimes we practically blame God. Okay, less in those situations, I understand that. I am familiar to the scenario when someone blames God for an abusive childhood, being constantly bullied, or a loss of a close family member.

"Why, God?" You say, "Why did you let this happen to me?"

     Surely, if God loves me, this would have never happened to me. God must hate me for doing this. If I didn't lie, or cuss, or bully, or murder, God would love me and I would be truly happy. 

   So what happens next? We place our love in someone or something else. We look for something to satisfy our love. Maybe your dad mistreats you, so you look for attention from another guy to fill the void. You look for love. Maybe people bully you at school, so you turn to a knife on your wrist to make that pain you get inside from their insults and comments seem less to you. Whatever the scenario is, it all comes down to this;

You're looking for love.

    Sweet, sweet love. So you go and do what you do and your satisfied, but it doesn't fill you. You still feel that emptiness in your heart. So you go further with this guy or you cut other places with that knife, and before you know it, you're in trouble.


You were looking for a little bit of love

and now you're pregnant.

You were looking for a little bit of love

 and now your family is standing before your grave

wondering what they did that was wrong.

     You see, love isn't something we can recreate. Love is God. God is love. True love comes from God alone. No one else. No earthly habit, no earthly desire, nothing can ever replace God's love for us. So why do we try to create makeshift love when we know that only true love comes from God? 

     We lose or never seek out our love for God, just like when my heater broke. When my heater broke, we tried used space heaters, but it was never enough. This is just like when we don't count on God anymore to provide for us and love us, we turn to other habits and desires looking for that same feeling we get from God. Just like how attention from guys or cutting satisfies you for a little, so did the space heater. But just like the space heater only raised the temperature in my house a few degrees, these desires we turn to don't satisfy us completely like that half empty feeling we get. Just like the power going out on top of it all, we go overboard and things get worse, and in some cases, it becomes to late. 

     In some scenarios, its too late! When the heater guy came and fixed me heater, everything was okay and I'm nice and warm and cozy again. But we are talking about the hope of salvation! Each and every one of us has been repaired, like a heater, by a team. That team consists of a friend or family member, and the coach is God. Remember God? He's the one with the never ending, never changing, never failing Love! That team who brought us to God was lead by their love for God and their desire for you to have His love filling, even overflowing, your heart. That repair man made me and my house warm and wonderful again. Just like God is the only one who can repair your broken heart and set you on fire for Him again! And your teammates help you each step of the way so you don't have to endure through every trial alone. 

God;

loves

blesses

calls

strengthens

forgives

purifies

each and every one of us

 Makeshift loves are found everywhere. 

There are so many people looking for love in all the wrong places.

Never replace your love with something that will never love you like God does.

Makeshift loves are never stable. They always end in disaster.

But I can promise you that our great and glorious God will never change his love for you.

No matter what you do, God will always love you

and your brother

and your mom

and your teacher

and your neighbor

and your stranger

and your friends

and your coach

and your classmates

and your karate teacher

and your babysitter

and every person on this planet

with a love so much greater than any makeshift love.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels for demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love." -Romans 8:38

Annnnnnnd.... Score!!!

     In whatever we do, we want to be successful.  Nobody wants plays a sport to lose every single game and not try.  Nobody studies hard all night long just to fail the test on purpose the next day.  That would be pretty weird.  Paul didn't go through so many trials just to give up.  What Paul did was keep faith, and as you read this passage in Philippians that he wrote in jail (See Acts), think about what you do that work hard on and press towards, whether it be college, a sport, or something little.

Philippians 3:12-21
Pressing Toward the Goal

¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. ¹⁵ Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. ¹⁶ But we must hold on to the progress we have already made.
 ¹⁷ Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. ¹⁸ For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. ²⁰ But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. ²¹ He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.


     Paul had such a strong faith.  In everything he did, he didn't worry about the people around him that insulted him or even hurt him.  His eyes were fixed on Heaven and what God had in store for him. If you read Acts, you learn the many trials of Paul. He is sent to preach many different places where people want to kill him. He gets faces a storm on a ship for over twelve days and wrecks anyways. He is bitten by a poisonous snake. He is kidnapped by foreign people. If Paul were to panic and try to handle all of this on his own, he would have died. People would have died during the storm. The poisonous snake would have effected him.  The people would have killed him.  Who knows what could have happened if Paul didn't keep pressing toward the goal of Heaven?

       In everything we do, none of us are perfect, but there is nothing wrong with trying.  Just like Paul, we should all forget our pasts and look forward to the reward in Heaven.  Just like you would in a game. You may trip and people may laugh at you, but you get right back up and keep going to that goal to score.  Maybe someone let you down in the past.  It's time to keep your eyes from looking back and not forgiving that person, and forgive them. The most important thing this passage says we must do is hold on to the progress we have already made.  We all weren't perfect at playing soccer, football, etc when we started. In fact, when I started riding horses, I was terrible! But as times goes by, we learn more and get better.  We are all the same in serving God.  As new Christians, like myself, you have to learn about God. Read the Bible, step out on faith, pray, and everything like that! 

     When you play a sport, you practice and have games.  When your a Christian, everyday is a game. Everyday, try and score a goal.  How? Reach out to someone.  Be a friend to someone who needs one. Do whats right even when it seems hard.  When your on a team, you never want to score for the other team.  Go toward the right goal, and don't let anyone stop you.

Chain Reaction

 

 
There's a girl in your school who you've known for years. You never thought much about her, but no one likes her. Everyone calls her fat, so she overdoses on diet pills and starves herself to be skinnier. She doesn't have any friends.

 

There's a guy in your school who you've known for years. You never thought much about him, but no one likes him. Everyone says he cuts himself and does drugs. He doesn't have any friends.

There's a little girl who you don't know. Her names is Gracie. She wants to be just like her older siblings. There is one problem though. Her older sister is overdosing on diet pills. Her older brother is using drugs and cutting himself. This little girl wants to be just like them. She doesn't know any different.

Hebrews 11:1

  "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

You cannot be a race car driver unless you learn to drive.

You cannot be a musician unless you learn how to play an instrument.

You cannot be a soccer player unless you learn to play the game.

You cannot be a pilot unless you learn how to fly.

You cannot be used by God unless you are willing to step out on faith.

Feeling a single touch of the Holy Spirit personally makes me excited and peaceful. I get this itch to just spread the word of God and all he has done for me. (Which is why I began writing these, hint hint!) I always pray for God to use me everywhere I go and in whatever I do, and he never lets me down. Its so great! 

One thing that people always get mixed up are "believing in something" and "having faith in something." They are very similar things. Both are amazing to have in God. Its so great to believe in God, and its the first step of every Christian lifestyle. But the next step, which is rather big, is having faith in God. 

faith

 /feɪθ/ Show Spelled[feyth] Show IPA noun

1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another's ability.

2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.

How many times do you trust in God in whatever you do? How many times does God tell you to do something and you trust him to do it? How many times do you not listen because you're afraid? Its typical for what God tells you to do to be uncomfortable. Jesus died for us, and those nails weren't comfortable in his wrists. As children of God, we aren't welcome on this earth. Its sinful! And God calls us to be pure like him. So it isn't easy or comfortable to step out on faith. Rarely, will you feel comfortable with what God tells you to do. Most of the time, it will be what you least likely want to do. But as I said, this world isn't for us, but God is! So what can stand against us when he is so great? Having faith in the highest is what makes us the strongest when it may feel like its making us the weakest.

Little Gracie is now eighteen years old. 

At 14, Gracie was addicted to heroine and overdosed on pills.

At 15, she became pregnant and gave birth to a little girl.

At 16, Gracie began cutting out of depression.

At 17, she gave her daughter up for adoption.

At 18, Gracie is a reflection of her siblings.

Gracie didn't know better. She just wanted be to like her big brother and sister.

What if there was someone who stepped out on faith and reached those older siblings? They brought them to church, they were saved, they lived for God, and Gracie saw?

Little Gracie is now eighteen years old.

At 14, She was baptized in the Holy Spirit with her brother and sister

At 15, Gracie started an outreach program at her school and spread the word

At 16, She went on a mission trip with her church and made an impact on little girls that were just like her.

At 17, She raised thousands of dollars for missionaries around the world.

At 18, Gracie graduated college as an Evangelist. 

When you step out on faith and spread the word of God to those who struggle with life, 

It can be a chain reaction

Who said you can't make a difference? You can! 

Yeah, it may have been uncomfortable to approach these people, but look at the results.

 

1 Timothy 4:12

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

You Are Never Alone

  For Sam,
I love you, and I'm so sorry for you loss.
You are in my every thought and prayer. You are never alone.

   Worry, Anger, Sad. These are normal things to feel throughout life, but no one likes it. Since we are human, we feel upset, angry, and worried. Common emotions that we find stressful, and it frustrates us, making us feel worthless, lonely, and like no one cares anymore. Say you've gone through losing someone, or for others, being bullied, or abuse. It starts with worry, mixes with being upset and angry while you think why me? But its your choice on how to end it. Most people chose the path to end their sorrow by feeling there is no good in the world. They decide to feel like they are worthless and alone. But I hope to change your mind.

   "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 4:6-7

   There is no one like our God. He knows these things will happen to you, but  he says, don't you worry about anything. Pray to me, and I will help you. Now, why does he just let loses or bullies or abuse happen to us? (Or anything for that matter.)  He does everything for a good reason. He is a purposeful God. He wants you to know that greater things have yet to come, but they're on their way, so pray about your worries, then stop worrying, because then you will experience God's peace. He will guard your heart and your mind as you live in him. If you have a flame for Christ Jesus, nothing will penetrate it. You'll be put down, and still praise the Lord. How wonderful is that?

  "So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world."

1 Peter 1:6-7

   As I told you, our God is a great and purposeful God. These trials that you are going through are to strengthen you, not to harm you. Remember those little emotions I mentioned like worry, anger, and sadness? Rejoice when you are put through this and your faith is still strong. This proves to God that your faith is genuine. When you remain faithful through these tough trials on Earth, you will be so greatly rewarded in Heaven. You are not a wondering soul. You are unique and special and beautiful in God's eyes. Every trial that you face, big or small, God is there. Sometimes when you feel is is so far away, that's when you must keep praising and worshiping the Lord. This makes you a treasure in his eyes, and he will be smiling down on you. I know that when I feel the smallest touch of the Holy Spirit, I become the most eccentric person! I just want to show the world that God cares no matter what I've been through. I learned that these trials he puts us through leads us to God. He will do anything in order for you to look up.
   Its like being stuck in a ditch. God throws you a rope, and Satan throws a ladder. That rope is harder to climb, but the reward is so great. The ladder is a breeze to climb, but Satan isn't holding on to it, so its not steady, and he lets you fall. But God is holding onto that rope and just wanting you to make it up to him inch by inch.

   "Then Jesus said to the disciples, “Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart."

Mark 11:22-23 

  Once again I say, our God is so great! What it says is if you need something and ask God for it, he will give it to you. But here's the catch, you cannot be greedy and ask for a new car or a million dollars. If you pray to God for hope, strength, protection, love, or anything like that, he will surely provide it to you. He is generous, and he won't take it back from you unexpectedly. You must believe in him though. If you have the littlest bit of doubt in your heart, he won't provide it. Doubting God is... well.. its wrong! 
   So many times I've heard people say "Oh.. I don't think God can fix this problem.." But then I ask them if they believe in God. They say yes.. and I say, well, if you believe in God, do you believe he created the Earth? From each crater in the Grand Canyon to the auroras in the Northern lights? They say yes. And then I ask, what makes you think that he can't fix this problem if he sculpted the Grand Canyon and painted the Northern Lights? 
  So have faith in God. He can move mountains. He can form and calm the storms and seas. He can fix whatever is going on in your life if you believe in him and trust in him. Ask him into your life, and climb that rope to God as I was saying before. 


   So here is our Great God. He is purposeful and knows what trials we are going to face in our lives and what great things will happen. So he doesn't want us to worry. Think, if you knew everything that was going to happen in the future of your best friend and they began to worry about something, you'd ask them to calm down because you know whats going to happen and it will be okay. Well God tells us this. The next verses explained that the trials we face are for our good and strength. Sometimes we need to hit rock bottom in order to look up. When you keep strong through these trials, rejoice, because you have passed the test God makes to know your faith is genuine. He will reward you in Heaven. 
   I also mentioned the ditch with the ladder and the rope. Most people decide to climb the ladder, but Satan stops holding it and lets you fall over and over again. But that rope that God is holding is so hard to climb, but he has such a strong hold of it, and he will promise not to let you fall. He will give you all the advice to climb the rope to him, and inch by inch, you find yourself closer to the Holy Spirit. The last verses explained to have faith in God. If you have trust in him and believe him, you can move mountains. He will give you hope, strength, protection, love, but you cannot be greedy for a new car or a million dollars. He painted the Northern Lights and sculpted the Grand Canyon, he can surely fix your problems if you pray to him and believe in him with no doubt in your heart.

   Isn't our God so great?

Soda Pop!

  

"Hey, let me borrow that dollar. I promise I'll pay you back." "I sure hope you do."

   Say someone asked you for money like above. Let me borrow it, I promise I'll pay you back.    Well, the first thing that goes on in my mind is yeah, right, you aren't gonna pay me back. And excuse me, that wasn't a very nice way to ask. So, why should I loan you this dollar that I was gonna use to buy a soda? Gosh, man. get your own money. But if your a good friend, you'll loan your friend the dollar and hope he will pay you back.


Ahh, here comes some scripture..(:




Here is Hope;


2 Peter 3:9
   The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.


Here is a Promise;


1 Peter 1:6-7
   So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.


And Here is a Command.


Mark 8:34
   Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.




  Each of these verses I first read at complete different times of my life. And looking at them now, its so cool how they all fit together perfectly. I thought I'd let you know, God does some great things!


God gives us a promise, he gives us hope, and he gives us commands. 
   God gave us hope by sending his followers into the world so we ourselves can become his followers and be saved through Jesus Christ. 
  God gave us a promise that there will be joy beyond all the trials and hardships we face when we trust in him. He said there would be a greater day waiting where we would have no worry or fear, or hurt or pain or even suffering. He promised that each right thing we did when we faced a trial or hardship in our lives, he would recognize it with a reward.
   God also gave us commands. He gave us commands to obey, such as the ten commandments, and then he gave several others too. Not to stress us out or to think that all he wants to do is spoil our good times. Every command he gave us was purposeful. One command was to follow him into the world. Once we found Jesus, he wanted us to step outside our comfort zones and do what he had called each of us to do. 


  So what does this have to do with loaning my friend a dollar, you ask? 


    Well. First, your friend gave you a command. There was a purpose behind it. Your friend just didn't want to take your dollar to say "I took your dollar." No, your friend probably wanted to have it to get something simple like a soda. Of course, I sure hope your friend would've asked you nicely, (I just wanted to get right across the command part). But God tells us what to do. We don't necessarily have to listen, but we should obey him. After all, he did send us here for a reason.
 Second, your friend made you a promise to give you a dollar in return. Well, when we live our lives to the fullest in Christ, he makes us a promise to pay us back with a reward in Heaven. He promised there would be a life full of joy, freedom, and love. There would be no pain or suffering. 
   Finally, you gave that dollar away because you sure hope that friend will pay you back. We have hope in God. God gives us hope to stand for him. God gives us hope to be saved. He gives us hope that one day we will have a greater reward in Heaven.


  Another thing I want to add, that dollar and friend. Well, compare that dollar to our lives, and that friend of ours is God. This life is worth something, but this Earth truly isnt, so we are just a dollar. Not a penny, not a billion trillion dollars, but just a buck. Eternity is a billion dollars, and this life we live is only a dollar compared to it. So, why can't we just loan a dollar to the one who loaned us his dollar? Meaning, lets give our lives to the one who gave his for us, Jesus. 
   Once we give our lives to Christ, we will be repaid with a great reward in Heaven. Loan a dollar to a billion trillion heir, because you will inherit his riches if you do. You yourself will enter the Kingdom of God when you give your life to Christ.


  Yeah, that soda pop we gave up, this earth and our flesh desires, they will all be destroyed. That soda pop won't last you forever, but when you loan a dollar, your good deed remains in your friend's heart forever. God accepts your surrender to Jesus and will remember this on the day of judgement. There is no better time then now to loan a dollar to Christ. 

Servant

   What if you were a King or a Queen? What kind of King or Queen would you be? Think about it.. You can have anything you want.. set any kind of laws you want.. Wow! I don't know about you, but I'd be setting a National Kelsey is Cool day and have all this fun stuff going on in the villages of my little country. Wow. Being royal would be so cool, I mean, legit. Lets discover a country now!

John 13:1-17

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

 ¹ Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end.^{[a] 2} It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas,^[b] son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. ⁴ So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, ⁵ and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. ⁶ When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
 ⁷ Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”
 ⁸ “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”
   Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”
 ⁹ Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”
 ¹⁰ Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet,^[c] to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
 ¹² After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? ¹³ You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. ¹⁴ And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.

Footnotes:

1. John 13:1 Or he showed them the full extent of his love.
2. John 13:2 Or the devil had already intended for Judas.
3. John 13:10 Some manuscripts do not include except for the feet.

 

    Okay, now that we read that, lets go back to talking about royalty. Let's talk about Jesus! Jesus is the Son of God. He is the way, he is the truth, he is the light. There is no other way to God, but through Jesus because he is the one who died to forgive our sins. We are all well aware of what Jesus did for us, and what he did was rather generous and just amazing. There are no words to describe a man dying for you so we can be saved when we don't deserve it. Jesus is high above all of us, am I right? Then why is this man, who is practically royalty, washing his disciples' feet? Jesus is high above them, he sits at the place of honor next to God on his throne in heaven and here he is on Earth washing these men's feet which one disciple, Judas, even ends up betraying Jesus and Jesus knows that he is going to. But Jesus still washes his feet. Why are you washing these people's feet, Jesus? You know you are practically royalty! They should be washing your feet!

    

   No. Jesus does this to show us that he is a servant of God too. He is here because God told him to come and die. Jesus is God's servant. He shows us he is by washing his disciples' feet. Not only that, it teaches us humility. Even though Jesus is going to be sent to the cross at this point and time in John any second now where he will definatley teach about humility, he still chooses to wash their feet. He is but a servant of God like us, but so much greater because he died for us and was sent from Heaven. He is the Royal Servant of the Kingdom of God. He himself is royal and a servant at the same time. 

   "Unless I wash you, you won't belong to me." Jesus told Peter this when he protested.Then Peter asks Jesus to give him a bath, and he says no because all of the disciples, but Judas, are already cleansed. Their feet just need washed. Jesus washed us all when we accepted him into our lives. He even washed us all the moment he died on the cross.

   Then Jesus says to all of the disciples that now the Lord has washed their feet, they should wash each others' feet, and take this as an example. 

   If you are following Jesus in your life, you should take this as an example too. All though Jesus now calls us friends, we are still servants to God on this Earth, just as Jesus was. We still have a calling and a plan to fulfill. Jesus fulfilled his to the fullest, and now he sits next to God in the place of honor, like a King. 

   Think about your kingdom if you were a King or Queen of a country. Would you want to rule the country with an iron fist and strike laws for the heck of it? Or would you be like God, and send your son to serve you in the greatest way, and make him forever famous?  Would you be fair and kind like God, or would you want to do what you wanted?

   As servants of God on this Earth, all we can do is what God tells us to do. We aren't Kings or Queens of a country. But what we can do is be a reflection of the Kingdom of God on this Earth. And that's all God wants, for us to glorify and spread the name of Jesus Christ as servants and friends of God.