Saturday 12 October 2013

Dear Pilgrim, have you clasped the feet of Jesus?

Anointing His Feet by Wayne Forte © (used with permission)

Dear Pilgrim, have you clasped the feet of Jesus in your worship of Him? Do you recall the response of the disciples when the risen, victorious Jesus came to them and said “Greetings!”


Note, they are not scrabbling in the dirt at His feet. They clasped His feet. They gripped, and clung onto, His feet. Pilgrim, have you clasped the feet of Jesus in your worship of Him?

We have a beautiful picture of this in the story of Ruth. Her mother-in-law Naomi, says to her “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?” To find rest and provision, she points Ruth to her Kinsman-Redeemer, and tells her “go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”  Uncover his feet, lie down at his feet. Dear Pilgrim, have you uncovered the feet of Jesus? Have you lain down at His uncovered feet and waited for Him to tell you what to do?

These feet….feet of which we first read in Genesis 3:15…where we find out that His heels will be bruised by Satan. We read in Psalm 22:16 that His feet will be pierced. We read in Revelation 1:15 that the feet of the risen, victorious, ascended Jesus are “like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace”. Does this not remind us of the brazen altar in the tabernacle, with its grate where the fierce fire of the Lord would burn up the sacrifice to enable the worshippers to be put right with God? But was it not bronze which was able to withstand the fiery judgement and wrath of the Lord when the rebels brought their own incense before the Lord (see Num 16:35-39)? Does this not all point to the cross and the way in which He suffered for our iniquities –it is because of our sin that these feet have suffered, it is because of our sin that these feet have been bruised and pierced, it is because of our sin that these feet have been through the fires of the furnace of God’s wrath.

Oh Pilgrim, clasp these precious feet! Clasp these feet and weep, you who would worship Him! Cover them with your tears! Then wipe His feet with your hair. Wipe the tears away. For He was not defeated by the sacrifice He made - look, He is robed in splendour, and strides forward in the greatness of His strength! “It is I, proclaiming victory, mighty to save!”. Replace your tears with kisses: “Kiss the Son!” And then pour out your perfume on His feet and fill the room with its beautiful fragrance – the perfume He has given – the prayers of the Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express – these prayers which rise like incense before Him.

Now that you have uncovered His feet, dear Pilgrim, wait and He will tell you what to do. Listen: “Your sins are forgiven…Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Allow Him to wash your feet – yes, Him, your Creator! – allow Him close enough to wash your feet that you might not only be forgiven, but cleansed. Allow His Spirit to come into you and raise you to your feet, and you will find that He makes your feet like the feet of a deer, enabling you to stand on the heights. Then allow Him to put sandals on your feet that you might be ready to go forth and proclaim the full gospel truth as He wills. And you will find that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet – as He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet, when they will become the footstool for these most precious of feet. 

2 comments:

  1. Thank you for all of your latest posts, "Dear Pilgrim..." After reading them, I am always blessed, and always encouraged to fall at his feet -again, and again-

    Love you.

    ReplyDelete