The INCREDIBLE GIFT!

2 Kings 5:8-14 New International Version

Saturday - August 7 - Read John 13:1-8

Washing feet was the job of the lowest servant in a household, definitely not something an honored guest like Jesus would do. They walked around in sandals and bare feet all the time! On dusty roads where donkeys, mules, cows, goats and sheep all did what animals do! Like Naaman, Peter did not understand what this incredible act of humility and washing meant. He did not understand that Jesus had come to die on a brutal, disgusting, bloody cross in order to wash away the true “leprosy” of sin that has infected and destroyed our hearts. Jesus came to forgive our sins and make us new. With our sins washed away we are created/born new as children of God (John 3) and given God’s promise of favor, which will never be taken away or lost.

Wednesday - August 4

Every year, tens of thousands of people from around the world make a pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago to the shrine of St. James, where tradition says his remains are buried. This is an example of the many ways people make big, grand gestures to God or do something to experience God’s transcendence in their lives. Naaman was expecting something along these lines. He already made a pilgrimage and brought a massive fortune to pay for a great healing experience. Elisha didn’t even come out to see him! Instead, a messenger told him to wash in the dirty, little Jordan River, the same river Jesus was baptized in years later. Baptism appears to be small, simple and insignificant. Is baptism by a pastor really that important? Yet it is the incredible gift of God’s promise of forgiveness, mercy, and salvation.