Bible League: Living His Word Jesus answered, "You don't know what I am doing now. But later you will understand."— John 13:7 ERV During an evening meal with His disciples, Jesus stood up and took off His robe. He wrapped a towel around His waist, poured water into a bowl, and began to wash the disciples' feet, drying their feet with the towel. When his turn came, Peter objected. He said, "Lord, you should not wash my feet" (John 13:6). That's when Jesus spoke the words of our verse for today: "You don't know what I am doing now. But later you will understand." In fact, a little later Jesus did give Peter and the disciples some explanation and understanding (John 13:12-17). He washed their feet to give them an example to follow. They should wash each other's feet. That is, they should serve each other just as Jesus served them. No doubt, as the years passed by, the disciples would come to an even greater understanding of why Jesus washed their feet. The Lord is doing things in our lives as well. He is a master artist and we are His masterpieces (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). We don't always understand, however, why He does what He does. Maybe we are going through some hard times. Maybe some plans we had have been frustrated. Maybe a direction in life has opened up that we never expected or desired. It could be any of a number of things. The Lord is working on His masterpieces and the masterpieces don't always understand why, or even realize that it is the Lord that is doing the work. The promise of Jesus in our verse for today, however, is that someday we will understand. Someday it will all make sense. We may come to understand that the hard times we went through were meant as discipline from the Lord that was for our own good. We may finally realize that the plans we had would have been a disaster if we were allowed to follow through with them. Someday, we may see that the new direction that opened up was the best thing that could have ever happened to us. The point is, we may not fully understand what the Lord is doing in our lives now, but we should trust Him anyway. We should trust Him that what He is doing is for our good. Bible in a Year Old Testament ReadingZechariah 7, 8, 9 Zechariah 7 -- Execute true judgment, and show kindness, instead of mere fasting NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Zechariah 8 -- The Coming Restoration of Jerusalem; Encouragement to Build the Temple NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Zechariah 9 -- Prophecies against Neighboring Nations; Rejoice, daughter of Zion, your King comes to you! NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB New Testament Reading Revelation 19 Revelation 19 -- The Four Hallelujah's; Christ the Rider on the White Horse NIV NLT ESV NAS GWT KJV ASV ERV DRB Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library. Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.Insight We should not become lazy and complacent because Christ has not yet returned. Instead, we should live in eager expectation of his coming. Challenge What would you like to be doing when Christ returns? That is how you should be living each day. Morning and Evening by Spurgeon Galatians 2:20 The life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God.When the Lord in mercy passed by and saw us in our blood, he first of all said, "Live;" and this he did first, because life is one of the absolutely essential things in spiritual matters, and until it be bestowed we are incapable of partaking in the things of the kingdom. Now the life which grace confers upon the saints at the moment of their quickening is none other than the life of Christ, which, like the sap from the stem, runs into us, the branches, and establishes a living connection between our souls and Jesus. Faith is the grace which perceives this union, having proceeded from it as its firstfruit. It is the neck which joins the body of the Church to its all-glorious Head. "Oh Faith! thou bond of union with the Lord, Is not this office thine? and thy fit name, In the economy of gospel types, And symbols apposite--the Church's neck; Identifying her in will and work With him ascended?" Faith lays hold upon the Lord Jesus with a firm and determined grasp. She knows his excellence and worth, and no temptation can induce her to repose her trust elsewhere; and Christ Jesus is so delighted with this heavenly grace, that he never ceases to strengthen and sustain her by the loving embrace and all-sufficient support of his eternal arms. Here, then, is established a living, sensible, and delightful union which casts forth streams of love, confidence, sympathy, complacency, and joy, whereof both the bride and bridegroom love to drink. When the soul can evidently perceive this oneness between itself and Christ, the pulse may be felt as beating for both, and the one blood as flowing through the veins of each. Then is the heart as near heaven as it can be on earth, and is prepared for the enjoyment of the most sublime and spiritual kind of fellowship. Daily Light on the Daily Path Mark 2:5 And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."Jeremiah 31:34 "They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." Mark 2:7 "Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?" Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. Psalm 32:1,2 A Psalm of David. A Maskil. How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! • How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! Micah 7:18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. Ephesians 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. 1 John 1:7-9 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. • If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. • If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. • If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us. Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Romans 6:14,18 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. • and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. 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