Luke 11:38-42;
Mark 14:3-9
"In quietness and trust is your strength...."
(Isaiah 30:15)
There are as many different ways to draw near to God on our journey with Him as there are people who journey - each individual seeking and serving our Lord from his or her unique perspective.
Unlike her sister, the outspoken server Martha, Mary of Bethany was a quiet woman who experienced life with deep, heartfelt emotion. She chose to sit at Jesus' feet listening to Him speak instead of helping Martha. She longed to learn from Jesus. The more she heard Him teach, the more her heart craved His words. Eventually, she needed to express tangibly how much Jesus meant to her. One evening at dinner, as Martha busily served, Mary came into the room, stood behind Jesus, broke open an extremely expensive bottle of perfume, and, without words, poured the scented oil over Him - a sacrificial act of love and devotion for Him.
How will we show our devotion for all Christ means to us? Each of us must choose, but for some, like Mary, a quiet, heart-felt sacrifice of love, gratitude, and praise is the only way.
INSIGHT
"...MY SOLE PURPOSE IS TO LIVE SIMPLY AND PURELY IN DEVOTION TO THE LORD...BEING STILL AND WAITING, SITTING AT HIS FEET."
(CYNTHIA HEALD)
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
Job 15-16
Psalm 50
Luke 13
Luke 11:38-42
New Living Translation (NLT)
38 His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the hand-washing ceremony required by Jewish custom. 39 Then the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and wickedness! 40 Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? 41 So clean the inside by giving gifts to the poor, and you will be clean all over.
42 “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[a] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.
Footnotes:
a. Luke 11:42 Greek tithe the mint, the rue, and every herb.
Mark 14:3-9
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages[a] and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.
6 “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 7 The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. 8 She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. 9 I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Footnotes:
a. Mark 14:5 Greek than three hundred denarii
WE NEED A KING
By definition, a kingdom requires a king. And in God's kingdom there reigns an eternal king with absolute power. Do you think of Jesus that way? Do you know the joy of submitting to him as your king?
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