Precious Perfume

Matthew 26

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be
preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman
hath done, be told for a memorial of her.   Matt. 26:13

LET IT GLOW

How I enjoy going to "Bath and Body" and testing their various perfumes.
It seems like a different world when I step through the door. Time stops.
Linda is lingering at her leasure. It's so relaxing. (We only have a shower,
so I can't say like warm bubble bath on a cold winter day.)

Here we have Jesus and His disciples at the home of a former leper, in
the city of Bethany. That's where Jesus' good friends  Mary, Martha, and
Lazarus lived. So they were probably there, too. It was probably Mary
who was the woman that poured the precious ointment from her
alabaster box on Jesus' head. This may have been the last visit this family
had with the Savior before His crucifixiion. Mary had spent many hours
sitting at Jesus' feet listening, learning, loving. She believed Him when
Jesus told about how He must die and rise again on the third day. More
details are found in John 12:1-8 if you want to read it.

Joanna Weaver, in her book, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World"
says this:

But what did Mary have? With no father to arrange her marriage, time
was ticking away. The alabaster jar of perfume may have been a part, if
not all of Mary's dowry. Worth more than three hundred denarii, nearly
a year's wages, this was no ordinary perfume. Though unromantic by
name, nard  was rare, made from the aromatic oil extracted from the root
of a plant grown mainly in India. It had to be imported. Mary couldn't get
it over the counter at Wal-Mart. I'm not sure she would have found it at
Saks Fifth Avenue. In fact, there is no perfume I know of today that can
even compare in worth-approximately thirty thousand dollars a bottle.
What mattered most-what matters still today-is the treasure the container
holds. And the treasure Mary poured out that day was more than an
expensive perfume. She was pouring out her very life in love and sacrificial
service.

What did Mary do? Mary showed extravagant love. She gave her all.
She showed her highest respect for Jesus as she believed He was God's
Annointed One. Take a deep breath. Can you smell it in the air?

Then the criticism start-Why not just a few drops? Why break the jar?
Why the hair? Tell her to stop sobbing. It could have been sold and the
money given to the poor. Is this why Mary was crying? The onlookers
misinterrupreted her actions. But Jesus saw her heart. He defended
her actions.

In verse 11-12, Jesus says," For ye have the poor always with
you; but me ye have not always. For in that she hath poured this ointment
on my body, she did it for my burial."

Sweet Mary knew her Savior was going to die and she wanted to do
one last thing for Him. What will be my last action or words on this
earth? Will they be remembered as sacrificial?

(By the way, alabaster is a marble-like mineral that is white. How
 beautiful and expensive the container must have been.)

LET IT GROW

Peter experienced so much while walking with Jesus. He:

• carried a basket of excess fish and bread, maybe 3 times
• saw what happened on the Mount of Transfiguratioin
• had a mother in law that was healed
• caught a fish with a coin in its mouth so he could pay taxes
• walked on water with Jesus
• experienced the miracles Jesus did
• sliced off a soldier's ear and saw Jesus put it back on

After experiencing all of those things, Peter followed him afar off
according to verse 58. Even after seeing and hearing Jesus for 3 1/2
years, Peter denied knowing Jesus. Then he wept bitterly. He realized
what he had done.
How many times do I deny knowing Jesus? Maybe not saying it in
words, but my thoughts and actions? Maybe I don't stand up for Jesus
like I should. Guilty. Do I follow Him at a distance?
I wonder, if Peter cringed whenever he heard a rooster crow the rest of his
life?

LET IT GO

Stay near Jesus.
Pour out  extravagant praise on Jesus.
Pour out extravagant love on people.
Don't deny Jesus.

Come On Ya'll

Matthew 25
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world.                Matt.25:34

LET IT GLOW

When a friend invites me to go with them somewhere, it makes me feel
special. "Come on ya'll (everyone), let's go, is a personal invitation to join
the group going.

King Jesus will invite us to come into the kingdom that was prepared
before creation and that is our inheritance from  our Father God.
Everytime I hear the song,"I Can Only Imagine," I cry.
Being allowed to enter such an awesome place as heaven will be reward
enough for me. Then seeing my Savior who took my punishment for my
sins. What love!

LET IT GROW

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40

Done what?
Feed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, lodged a stranger, clothed the
naked, visited the sick and imprisoned. Do I meet the physical needs of
people?

What about the spiritually hungry for love, thirsty for a purpose in life,
needy for shelter from hurts, naked needing the righteousness of Jesus 
to wear, the sin sick, or captives with their addictions or
past?

LET IT GO

Open my eyes to the physical and spiritual needs of people.
Meet those needs as though I am doing it as unto Christ.

Words

Matthew 24
...they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven
with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Matthew 24:30b-31

LET IT GLOW

Words. How important are they? They are very important to us. We use
words to express our ideas, feelings and thoughts, and to communicate
with others every day. They can be written, oral, or just thoughts. They
can be encouraging or hurtful.
What would we do without words?  Communication is difficult without
words. My two year old granddaughter is learning to say new words. We
often communicate with the motions of our hands. I keep her every other
week, so it's easy to understand her. How would it be with strangers?
I'm glad to have our language.

Most of all, I'm appreciate the written Word of God. He talks to me
through It. Once while on a mission trip, my husband encountered a
Christian woman who did not have the Bible. She was so happy and
grateful to receive One in her language. Am I that excited to hear
from God when I open His Word?

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
verse 35

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall
stand for ever.       Isaiah 40:8

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Ps.119:11

How important are God's Words to me? Do I study It and memorize It
as much as I should?  One thing that will last forever is God's Word.
What He says goes. It will go on and on. It won't fade, wilt, rust, decay,
change, or be destroyed. That sounds very dependable.

LET IT GROW

In this chapter, Jesus told His disciples about the sign of the end of the
age (verses 4-26), the sign of His coming (verses 27-35), and talks
about the temple being destroyed (verse 2).
 [Information from "Illustrated Bible Handbook"]

In verse 42, Jesus tells us to "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour
your Lord doth come."

In verse 44, He says,"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as
ye think not the Son of man cometh."

So these verses tell me that I should be watching for Jesus and be ready for
Him to come back to earth.
What preparations need to be made?
Ask Jesus to be my Savior and forgive my sins-check
Be in His will for my life-check
Help family and friends get prepared-check partially.
Make preparations for my death in case it comes first-uh, some
Leave a spiritual legacy for my children and grandchildren-in progress

I'm sure you can add to my list, especially if your bus for heaven was
leaving tomorrow.

I have been working on a spiritual journal to leave my family. It
contains meaningful scriptures, words of wisdom from others, my life
lessons, sayings, highlights from Christian books I've read, and my
doctrine. I want it to be useful in their walk of life and faith here on earth.

LET IT GO

Read and memorize more of God's Word.
Watch for Jesus' return.
Be ready for His return.
Help others get ready for eternity.

Cluck, Cluck

Matthew 23
Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Matt.23:39

LET IT GLOW

When I was a child, my family had a few hens on our farm so we could
have fresh eggs. Sometimes a hen would have baby chicks hatch. We
also had cats and dogs. They were all free to wander in the yard.
When a cat or dog got too close to the chick, the mother hen would
cluck loudly and furiously until all of her babies were safely under her wings
of protection. What a sight it was to watch the baby chicks run as fast as
their tiny legs would carry them to mamma.

What's worse than a mad hen pecking you? Ouch! Nothing in my book.
Especially when you are trying to get her eggs out from under the hen.
I'm sure the cats and dogs would agree with me. If they came near that
mother hen and her chicks, she would flog them. (Is that where the
description of an angry person came from-" madder than an ole wet
hen?") Probably.

In verse 37, Jesus spoke of His love and protection He would have given
to His children of Jerusalem (Jews), but they would not come to Him as
the Messiah or Savior. I want to stay under His wings of protection by
obeying Jesus.

LET IT GROW

The scribes and Pharisees were teachers and interpreters of the Jewish
law. Jesus described them as "hypocrites." (He warned the crowd and
His disciples about them.) Jesus pronounces "woe" onto them. It means
sorrow, grief, intense unhappiness. It was because of the way they
acted. Let's check it out a little closer:

1. They did all they could to keep people from believing in Christ.
2. They stole the widows' estates.
3. They didn't practice what they taught.
4. Everything they did was for a show.
5. The things of God were not considered sacred.
6. They neglected justice, mercy, and faith.
7. Ceremonial cleanliness was more important to them than a clean heart.
8. They honored dead prophets more than truthful living ones. 

Jesus called the scribes and Pharisees serpents, a generation of vipers.
Wow! He didn't beat around the bush.
Lord, what do I need to work on so I am not a hypocrite?


LET IT GO

Listen when Jesus calls to me. Come quickly.
Work at not being a hypocrite. I don't want to keep anyone from
coming to Jesus.
    

Wedding of All Time

Matthew 22
God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Matt.22:32


LET IT GLOW

I remember the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Dianna.
It was probably the one wedding that was covered by the media world
wide. If you were like me, you ooh and awed over the whole thing-her
dress, the red carpet, the attendants, and her prince. Oh, to have been a
special, invited guest.

But as splended as that wedding was, there is one to come, even more
majestic than we could ever dream. It will be ever more excentric than
England's wedding of the century.

In verses 2-14, Jesus tells a parable about a wedding feast. In this
parable, there are special characters:
God is the King; Jesus Christ His Son is the bridgroom; the church,
we believers, is His bride; first invited guests are the Jews; the servants
are ministers preaching the gospel, inviting other guests, Gentiles to
salvation.

Christ provided salvation free for those who will accept the invitation to
come to Him. Some are not wearing the right wedding garments, which
are the righteousness of Christ and grace. The King sends them away.

Many are called to the wedding feast, but few are chosen (verse 14)
to wear the garment of Salvation, and are sent to Hell.

I don't know about you, but I want to be a included as one of Christ's
bride-the church. What a glorious wedding feast that will be!  We will
sit at the table with our Prince. Our only preparation will be to come
to Christ when He invites us to salvation.


LET IT GROW

A lawyer, that was a Pharisee, asked Jesus a question, "Master, which
is the greatest commandment in the law?" (verse 36)
Jesus' answer wasn't a judicial law, a ceremonial law, or a moral law.
"Love God and your neighbor," was Jesus' answer, plain and simple.

How much do I love God? Jesus told us to love God with all our heart,
all our soul, and all our mind.

Matthew Henry says,

                              "This is the will, affections, and
                    understanding;  it is the vital, sensitive, and intellectual
                    faculties.It is to be a sincere love, a strong love, a singular
                    and superlative love. We must love Him more than
                    anything else. This is the first and greatest commandment."

The second great commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves.
(verse 39) It is like unto the first. It is evidence of our love to God.

If someone says, "I love God,: but hates a Christian brother or sister,
that person is a liar; for if we don't love people we can see, how can
we love God, whom we cannot see? 1 John 4:20 NLT

We do and should love ourselves. Therefore, we can show love to our
neighbor; we do so  by honoring, esteeming, and doing good to them.

Romans 13:10 says,"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love
is the fulfilling of the law."

How much do I love my neighbor/Christian brother or sister?

Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments with these two commandments.
Do I trive to live by them or the law?

LET IT GO

Be ready and dressed for the "wedding of all times."
Love God with all of me-heart, soul, and mind.
Love others as I love myself.
Work seriously on these every day.

Here He Comes!

Matthew 21
And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried,
saying,"Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is He that cometh
in the name of the LORD; Hosanna in the highest." Matt.21:9

LET IT GLOW

Hosanna means "save we pray thee."  Sounds like the people were calling
Jesus Savior.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem (5 days before His death) on a borrowed
donkey, not in a golden charriot, humbly coming as a king. Verse 5 is
from Zech.9:9.

Did you notice the city was moved by all this. People, believers, spread
out their garments and palm branches before Him. They rolled out the
red carpet, so to speak. What a King! His blood became the red carpet
from my heart to God's heart.

Our little town of 667 has a regional airport. We have had 2 presidents
fly into our big city. Preparations for these events were made-road
blocks, air traffic stopped, highway clean-ups, media coverage, officials
present, etc.
I wonder what kind of welcome Jesus would get if He flew into town?

The question is, do I treat Jesus as King of my life?

The next time He comes, "they shall see the Son of man coming in the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels
with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect
from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Matt. 24:30-31

Revelation 19:16 says, "And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a
name written, 'KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.' "

Only He is awesome and majestic!

LET IT GROW

And said unto them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED
THE HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but ye have made it a ' DEN OF
THIEVES.' " Matthew  21:13

Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7, "...for mine house shall be called an house of
prayer for all people."

Jesus called His house "The House of Prayer."
Because some Jews traveled a long distance to the Temple for sacrifice
and worship, there were merchants in the Temple. They sold doves and
sacrificial animals. It would be hard to keep a pure animal unspotted
while traveling through rough terrain. However, the merchants were
selling for a profit, not to help fellow Jews. Also, they sold in the Temple.
Jesus turned over their  tables and said they made the Temple a den of
thieves. I think He was quite loud and upset about this.

How do I treat the House of God? Is it a respected place where burdens
are left at the altar? Do I make it a house of prayer? Does God meet with
us? Is He pleased with the way people treat His house? Listen and watch
next Sunday.

LET IT GO

Recognize Jesus as my King  and Lord.
Make the church a House of Prayer.

Busy, Busy Bee

Matthew 20
So the last shall be first and the first last; for many be called, but
few chosen.                      Matthew 20:16


LET IT GLOW

Last night as I was reading the Bible outside in the cool breeze, I heard
a bee buzzing around. It was flying from clover bloom to clover bloom
drinking in the nectar. (Our yard is full of clover blooms when the grass
grows up.) It was so busy, around my feet, but it didn't pay any attention
to me and my cat. I, too, get busy going here and there, doing this and
that.

And Jesus stood still, and called them... verse 32

Jesus and His followers were heading to Jerusalem. They were walking
along with a purpose. However, Jesus took the time and stopped to
talk to these two blind men. In all His busyness, maintaining the world is
a big job, Jesus stands still and calls out to me. Do I hear Him and
respond, or am I too busy to hear?

What do I do when Jesus passes by me? The blind men cried out for
mercy in their blindness. Do I? When I ask, Jesus gives me sight to
see the truth, just as He gave it to these two men.

LET IT GROW

Verse 27 say,"And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your
servant."

Am I serving others? Is my attitude that of a servant? Hmmmm.
Not always.

1Peter 5:5- be subject to one another and be clothed with humility: for
                  God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
                  (found in Is.57:15)
Romans 14:19-edify one another
Romans 15:2-please one another for good
1Corinthians 9:19-Paul said he made himself a servant unto all.

The way to be great and chief is to be humble and serviceable.
Many times I want or wait to be served instead of getting up and
serving others. If I am blind to others' needs, I won't get up.

James 1:22 say," But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves.

LET IT GO

See the needs of others.
Stop my busyness, humble myself, and serve the one in need.
Listen for Jesus to call out to me.