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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. John 13:1

Read: John 13:1-17
Listen: John 13

TODAY’S MESSAGE

Jesus knows he’s going to die. It’s his last meal before he’ll hang from a cross, the most brutal and humiliating execution the Romans could conceive. He only has a few more opportunities to teach his disciples. They still don’t understand what he’s all about. So, he wraps a towel around his waist and begins to wash their feet. Confident in who he is and what he is doing, he wants them to see there’s a different way to live. It’s not the way of self-promotion or power, but instead of service. It’s the way to true blessing.

Jesus’s instructions teach us about the path to true blessing. Our world is full of things that promise satisfaction, but it’s fleeting. We chase more stuff, a better job, a more adventurous vacation or a more prestigious friend group. That’s not the way of Jesus and it won’t bring true blessing. It may feel like it satisfies, but only for a while. Jesus’s way to blessing is counterintuitive but leads to a deeper, richer, more satisfying life.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Start the week with a prayer of surrender. Consider this model prayer: “God, help me believe your way of living is what leads to true satisfaction. I want a blessed life. Help me to trust that your way is the best way. I surrender my selfish desires to you and ask for your Holy Spirit to give me the strength to serve those around me.”

2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.

June is WORSHIP. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.

Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.