Avoid conflict and trouble, for enough of it fetches to a man without his asking, but if you are attacked, smite them hip and thigh.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Sackett)

       “And when he [Jehoshaphat] had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and were saying:  ‘Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.'”
                    –2 Chronicles 20:21 (NKJV)
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“I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain…”  Where do you sing?  A stereotypical place to sing is in the shower.  That’s a good place for me because the shower drowns out the noise from my voice.  We sing in the car, we hum a tune at our desk, we may even try to serenade a loved one.  Now here’s the important question, what keeps you from singing?  As you read the second portion of Psalm 149 in this morning‘s devotion, ponder that thought.

          5 — Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds.
          6 — Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand,
          7 — To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples;
          8 — To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;
          9 — To execute on them the written judgment–this honor have all His saints.  Praise the LORD!  (NKJV)

     Many sing or play the type of music that depicts their moods.  A guy’s girlfriend breaks up and he begins to sing the blues, when he should really be singing, “free, free again.”  Have you noticed the music they place in movies?  They make it fit the mood of the scene.  Look at this psalm again; it moves from a congregation at worship to an army in training.  Steven Lawson writes that, “worship and warfare are to be their dual commitment.  These worshipers are to be aggressive warriors, fully engaged in fighting God’s enemies.”
     The song has turned into a battle cry and notice that it is the saints who do the singing.  Judgment is coming and the saints will in some way be involved.  Of course this psalm is directed to Israel, but we know that the Word of God is inspired and is for us to use in our daily lives.  Look at what happens:  kings will be subdued and chained up, other leaders will be held in shackles of iron.  When I played ball, I never went into a game thinking that we would lose.  I knew some of the teams were better, but I also knew that there was always a chance of winning.  I wonder how many times we face a battle, spiritual or otherwise, and we go into battle thinking we are going to lose.  What an attitude–one of defeat.  This is the time to shine–to fight, and to fight with a song of victory and praise on our lips.  We should be confident when we go into battle, oh no, not in our own ability, even though the Lord has been training and equipping us for the battle; but our confidence must be in Him.  He will bring the victory!
     Let me finish this morning with this from Lawson, “Praising God is the highest honor afforded believers.  It should never be allowed to become a dreary duty…  A low view of God produces lukewarm insipid worship.  But a high view of God produces fervent, zealous adoration.”  The battle is coming and I will say has already come.  Is your soul in turmoil or are you singing victorious praises to the Lord?  Check your attitude and your gratitude.  As W. Graham Scroggie said, “Joy and judgment are wedded.  Praise and power go hand in hand.”

          “Praise Him!  praise Him!  Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
          Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
          Hail Him!  hail Him!  Highest archangels in glory;
          Strength and honor give to His holy name!
          Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
          In His arms He carries them all day long:
          Praise Him!  praise Him!  tell of His excellent greatness;
          Praise Him!  praise Him!  ever in joyful song!”
                 –Fanny J. Crosby

Life’s hard. You want to make it, you’re gonna need plenty of guts.”
                    –John Deacon  (Lobo–3)

       “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”
                    –Philippians 3:13(NIV)
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I want to throw a few thoughts your way this morning.  Let’s look first at Philippians 2:12, the second portion:  “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” (NIV)  Do not get confused or worried regarding your “born again” experience.  We do not work for salvation, but after we are saved we do works; we continue to grow in grace.  With fear means to serve God with reverence and respect.  Now add the “trembling” meaning that we are to recognize who God is, His power, His infinite works.  We are to work for Him in the great service of the nature of the work He has given us to do.
     The Christian life is to be one of joy, so it is not fear in regard to anxiety or worry.  This life that He has given us is an adventure, good and bad, a “voyage of discovery” (Beggs).  Paul is also not referring to doing good works, but he is referring to how we respond to our salvation that is already ours in Christ.  “He is not telling us how to be saved people but how to live as saved people.  Once we understand that, we are in a position to act upon Paul’s instruction.” (Begg)
     Now how to do it?  There are many answers here and many books have been written about it and I’m sure many more will be.  I want to look at only one aspect of working out your salvation and that is the call to consistency.  We must call upon His name daily to live a consistent Christian life.  John writes, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” (15:14, NIV)  Simple, straightforward statement by our Lord.  Again, this is a study in itself–how do we live a consistent life?  
     One way we are consistent, and that includes being obedient, is to pick up our cross and follow Him.  Oh, me, a cross to bear?  Yes, absolutely.  “This is not an optional extra in the Christian life; it is intrinsic to it.  The daily cross–yes we are to pick it up and bear it daily.  It is not just a “feel like it event,” or once in a while, but a daily occurence.  Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24, NIV)  Luke records it this way, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (9:23, NIV)
     I would ask that you think of those thoughts:  denying self, picking up your cross, following Jesus.  Take time to ponder them, and I’ll close with this from Lois A. Cheney–God Is No Fool.

           I asked some young people if they would give up and sacrifice themselves, if Christ were to call them, now, today.  They were serious awhile, fidgeted, and answered awkwardly that they were tied to their homes; their parents wouldn’t understand; and they felt this had to wait until they were older and could make their own decisions.
          I heard a young man being asked concerning his religious convictions.  He looked alternately embarrassed and irritated.  He answered with long detail of how active his wife was in the church; and how his kids went to Sunday school nearly every Sunday.  He was relieved when his questioner left him.  His eyes followed him with accusation.
          I heard a young woman being asked to dedicate a portion of her time to needed Christian works.  The eyebrows arched sharply and the replies came quickly in staccato rhythm.  In rapid succession she listed her civic duties; her responsibilities to her children; and she concluded with reference to her husband putting his foot down about her many, too many, activities.
          I heard an elderly person being asked to declare and dedicate his life in a special Christian manner.  He snorted and snapped that it was the younger people’s job.  He’d done his work in his day, and he’d earned a rest.
          The cross is a lonely place.  Even Christ didn’t pick it up quickly and easily.
          He waits for others to do it
          And He waits…
          And He waits…

Most people are so starved for warmth that the slightest kindness fills them with joy.”
                    –John Deacon  (Lobo–2)

       “Beg the LORD to save you–all you who are humble, all you who uphold justice.  Walk humbly and do what is right.  Perhaps even yet the LORD will protect you from his anger on that day of destruction.”
                    –Zephaniah 2:3 (NLT)
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It is important that you read John 13:1-17 carefully.  There is much in these verses but I want to concentrate on a couple of things.  The disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was teaching, especially Peter.  Jesus started washing the disciples’ feet (which was the job of a slave), but Peter, thinking he was humble, refused.  Jesus said this to him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” (13:8, NKJV)  Then Peter blurts, “then wash me all over–give me a bath.”  Jesus answers him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” (13:10, NKJV)
     Jesus was probably smiling and shaking His head at the same time.  As William Barclay proclaims, “The wonderful thing about Jesus was that His nearness to God, so far from separating Him from men, brought Him nearer than ever to them.”  Peter was offended so easily, then turned around after the words of Jesus and wanted his whole body to be cleansed.  There it is, like so much of Scriptural practice–two extremes.  Jesus showed His humility by doing the job of a slave.  Note this, humility is not bowing down in defeat; it is recognizing a need and meeting that need without fanfare.  Charles Swindoll points out that “authentic humility is possible only for victorious men and women.”
     Some are like Peter, so proud they’re humble, and will not allow the Lord to wash their feet.  Others say that “foot-washing” should be a sacrament, an ordinance of the church, yet Jesus didn’t not say do this.  He was showing a principle of life.  Peter cries, “no, Lord,” then wants a bath.  He was already clean.  Clean by grace and know that bathing of the body you do yourself, you work out your own salvation, however, before you enter the tabernacle you wash your hands and feet, or as Barclay puts it when you enter the “household of faith.”
     One extreme–unclean; the other–give me a bath.  This is the symbolism of the laver in the tabernacle.  The priest went through purification rituals before they could offer the sacrifice upon the brazen altar, but then coming to the holy place, in that short walk, their hands and feet would become contaminated and they must wash them again before entering.  Swindoll says, “While the believer has been cleansed of sin in the legal sense–past, present, and future sins will not be counted against him or her in eternity–the believer will continually struggle to remain clean experientially before entering eternity.”  
     Grace–salvation–has already happened, the believer is clean.  But life happens!  In this journey of faith we sin, we do things that are improper; we are unfaithful.  Yet we do not need a bath, we do not need a new beginning again, however, Krummacher points out, “The man’s walk is polluted; his feet, with which he comes in contact with the earth, are defiled.”  He needs only to have his feet and hands washed, for he is already clean.  Life is a fight, “lead me not into temptation and deliver me from evil” is something we are faced with everyday.  F.W. Krummacher states, “Where a real spiritual life exists, there is also constant activity, unceasing striving against sin, repeated humiliation before God, and renewed experience of His favor.”  We repent by washing our hands and feet, and this is done quite regularly.
     Oh, we should have foot-washing services.  No.  Listen, humility isn’t announced; it isn’t calling attention to the act of humility except in Jesus’ case where He was teaching a lesson.  How we wash feet can vary.  It can be a random act of kindness.  I remember when I was in the military I would get to feeling dirty from all the cussing and stories and crudeness around men, then a brother in Christ would come by (sent by the Holy Spirit), smile and say, “how are you doing, brother?”  I just had my feet washed; I felt clean again.  I didn’t need a bath, just a cleaning of the extremities.  That is one reason we need to be sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit–you might be washing someone’s feet.  It is not announcing that we are having a special foot-washing service.  I had this happen to me one time and fortunately I was not able to participate (whew), but I did talk to the person in charge later.  I told him that if he really wanted to show humility for him to sleep in the barracks with the boys.  What he actually was doing was showing how proud he was that he was humble enough to wash feet, but then he couldn’t bring himself to sleep with the guys.  Let me also say that the joy of humility is through doing.
     A couple more thoughts for this morning.  Wash your hands and feet regularly, there is a danger of hiding or underestimating any act of unfaithfulness that may have been committed.  Get it washed off.  Look one more time at verse 10, the last phrase.  Remember Jesus washed all twelve of the disciples’ feet, that would include Judas.  He makes a slight comment that they were completely clean–“but not all of you.”  Judas was shown a great act of humility by the Lord.  Sometimes, we do acts of kindness to those who we might think are unworthy of such.  Keep a smile on your face, be ready to help someone who is in need.  I always like what Francis Schaeffer said, “True spirituality covers all of reality.”