Thursday, October 31, 2013

Wash the Dust Off Your Feet!

Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all. John 13:10

And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: Genesis 3:14.

When Satan was cursed by God in the garden, he was ordered to eat dust all the days of his life. For a long time, I didn't really understand what that meant. Now, we all know that snakes crawl on their belly and do eat things from the ground, but there is a spiritual meaning to this curse God placed on the serpent as well. Jesus gave us a clue when He washed His disciples' feet before the Last Supper. He pronounced all of them clean (except Judas) but directed them to follow His example and wash each other's feet. What does this really mean?

Well, as we born-again/new creations IN Christ Jesus go about our lives on this earth, we will pick up some of the devil's "food" on our feet -- meaning this dust will attach itself to us, because we are still dwelling in these fleshly bodies which have not been regenerated. This spiritual dust has to be washed off spiritually by staying in God's Word and believing in His promises. God's Word is the spiritual bread that we are to live by--the spiritual food of grace and truth in Christ Jesus. 

The devil's dust or food is sin-focused, curse-focused, guilt-conscious, condemning, death-glorifying, and basically man-worshipping. It quickly adheres to us and will cling there until we wash it off spiritually through the Word, prayer, and worship. This washing is a daily discipline that is called the good fight of faith. 

What does this "washing" look like, exacting? It isn't doing good deeds for others (which isn't a bad thing!), but rather staying focused on who Christ is in our lives and what He has done for us. We are to meditate on our new position IN HIM and all the blessings that are associated with being born again. We are to feed on this manna from heaven.

Remember when Satan tempted Jesus and wanted Him to turn stones into bread and eat from that? Matthew 4:4. Jesus refused. He quoted God's Word from Deuteronomy, stating that "Man shall not live by bread alone BUT by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God!" Deut 8:3.  I believe those stones represented the law (10 commandments) and their reminder of sin, curse, death, and damnation--basically, the devil's food. Jesus warned us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees--beware of those religious folks who pressure you to eat stony dust (where sin and the curse are the main ingredients) and not the fresh manna from heaven, which is the grace and truth of Jesus Christ. Whether these modern-day Pharisees realize it or not, they are doing the devil's work by turning your sights away from grace toward your short-comings, inadequacies and failures! Remember, Satan is the accuser!

Truth:  If you are born again, you now live under God's love and His perfect liberty IN Christ Jesus! James 1:25, 2:8. Anyone who walks in these two laws, knows he or she is clean, righteous and made pure by the precious blood of Jesus. He or she doesn't need a lot of "thou shall nots" to follow God's will. His or her newly reborn spirit will cry out "yes" and "Amen" to the Holy Spirit's leading and guidance. 

Don't let anyone rob you of the revelation of this wonderful truth! Wash Satan's dust off your feet every day by immersing yourself in God's Word--it doesn't take much. Even one little scripture will do the trick! Some of my favorites: Ps 23, Ps 91, Ps 112, John 3:16, all of John 17, Eph 1-2. And there are more! 

Dig into God's Word and wash your feet--every day!