"Encourage one another
daily"
(Hebrews 3:13).
A daily, Bible-based
perspective of
hope, encouragement and exhortation. Monday, March 14, 2005
"Service and Humility" "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you" (John 13:14,15). One of the great joys of ministry is conducting a wedding. Several years ago I had the privilege of attending a 25th anniversary celebration for the first couple I married. They are still going strong and their oldest daughter is now completing her Bible College training. I can reminisce on weddings I have performed through the years and what a blessing to stay in contact with many of them and see the various fruits of a blessed marriage. On Saturday I conducted a wedding for an earnest young couple who requested an element in their service that I had never seen before. They washed each other's feet as a part of the ceremony. It was a touching scene and very illustrative of servanthood. Some share communion at their weddings which is also a meaningful witness of Christ's sacrifice for us. As they prepared for their footwashing I explained that it is a wonderful symbol of humility and servanthood. Those are two qualities needed in marriage and all relationships, for that matter. Prior to His death Jesus washed the disciples' feet. He then instructed them to wash one another's feet. Various church traditions understand this in different ways. Some believe it should be understood as a general call to serving one another in humility without necessarily practicing the literal footwashing. The church I now attend has an annual service on the Thursday before Easter when we wash one another's feet and celebrate communion which can be quite moving. I have two great memories of footwashing services in the churches I pastored and I will share one of them tomorrow. Today, though, I want to encourage my believing friends wherever you are to consider our Lord's call to serve one another in humility as our Lord Jesus so powerfully demonstrated! Be encouraged today, Stephen C. Weber I have had several people comment on the wedding service I use. I'll share it here as a template for any interested. It is a compilation from many sources and of course has several unique elements requested by the couple including the footwashing. One aspect that I have added is a very clear reinforcement of the Biblical design of marriage. Wedding Service Two practical notes: 1) A reminder that the delivery time of these daily message will vary. I could prepare them ahead and place them on an automatic schedule but choose not to do so. I want them to be a fresh word of encouragement and as I click the "send now" button I pray that it will be a blessing. Although I get up around 6:00 each morning the preparation time varies. Some mornings, such as today, I have an early meeting as well. And of course I get the interruptions such as a phone call! I aim to have it out as early as I can, but the additional html formatting now adds more time as well. 2) This is always in many ways a rush transcript and thus subject to change. Although I read it over several times and when possible Brooksyne does as well, we still miss stuff. Today I had initially had "conduct a weeding" and of course the spellchecker doesn't catch that. So if you see a misspelled word or other improper usage, please grin and bear it! ADMINISTRATIVE
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