Deuteronomy 15:11
*First off Happy Valentines Day! Make sure to take a look at 1 Corinithians 13:4-8 (it'll tell you some things about LOVE)*
But anyways the title of the scriptures today is "Jesus Anointed at Bethany" and these 11 verses are saying some things. To be honest I really don't even know where I want to begin there is so much I want to say. Today I want to look at 3 people:
1.Mary
2. Judas
3. Lazarus
These three people really stand out to me because I feel like they represent people who are either in my life right now, or people who were in my life.
1. Right off the bat when I read about Mary in v3 I immediately think of the word HUMBLE again and also RESPECT. She cleaned Jesus' feet with perfume and wiped it with her hair....yes HER HAIR!!! I'm shocked by this. Truly. How many of us would wipe anyones feet with our hair? Today we would look at it as something that would be degrading ourselves. Think about it, to wipe someones feet with your hair you have to be on your knees in front of that person with your head down. Just to wipe someones feet. Most of us would feel humiliated. Mary shows the ultimate amout of respect for Jesus by doing that. Without saying a word we can tell how much Mary loves, cares, and respects Jesus. How do we show our respect to others? How do we show our respect to Jesus? Do we only use our words? Well I've heard many times that actions speak louder than words, and Mary definitely proves this. But I think nowadays we are so worried about what this person or that person will say that we decide to not humble ourselves the way Mary does. I am pretty sure that everyone in the house was looking at Mary like "What is this female doing? Wiping feet with her hair O__o" But Mary didn't care, she was only worried about showing her respect for Jesus. The man who was about to die on the cross for her sins and our sins.
2. Most of us already know that Judas is the one who betrayed Jesus. V4 tells us this and v6 even tells us that he was a theif. So why did Jesus choose him as a disciple? To me Judas being chosen as a disciple is a perfect example of showing us that everything happens for a reason.
But let's take a look at v5, because what Judas said was not real at all. Judas doesn't care about the poor, he only cares about somehow getting the money for himself. He only asks the question to criticize Mary, to bring her down for her good deed. How many times have we brought someone down just to make ourselves feel better? *raises hand* How many times have we tried to make ourselves look better and stand out just because we were jealous of someone else? *raises hand* We all know that bringing someone down doesn't necessarily make us look better, and as children of God it shouldn't make us feel better either.
But to be real, Judas asks a legit question in v5. That money couldve been used to feed the poor. But oohhhh does Jesus have an answer for that in v7-8 ( I love the way Jesus defends Mary. Put Judas on hush mode). Jesus says that you will always have the poor but He won't always be there. Jesus is telling us to focus on the NOW! (Duet. 15:11) What can you do TODAY to help someone? Tomorrow isn't promised so get on up and make that change right now! God is the only one who knows our future, the best we can do is pray, ask God to lead us, and take each day one step at a time. So let's do that. Live for today.
3. Lazarus. The man that Jesus wept for and raised from the dead. Lazarus is a walking miracle. But what speaks to me about Lazarus is in v9-11. Everyone wants to see the man Jesus brought back to life, and when they see him these people begin to really believe in Jesus and become followers of Jesus. But the priests they don't like that, so they say "Well, we gonna go ahead and kill Lazarus since he is one of the reasons some of the people are starting to believe in Jesus." That's messed up. Lazarus is "guilty" by association. Because Jesus brought him from the dead, the priests want to kill Lazarus too. SMH. Take a look at your circle. Are you guilty by association? You might be the only person in your group of friends that goes to church, prays, and thanks God everyday. But if you in the car when one of your friends decide to rob a place whose going to get in trouble too? Look at your circle people, because those are your influences! No matter how hard you try and be strong eventually the temptation is going to wear you down. But why would you want to surround yourself with people who are tempting you negatively, specially when there are people who are willing to help you do better? Lazarus is guilty because Jesus rose him from the dead which increased Jesus' followers. I'd rather be guilty for that, than "innocent" and spending all my time with Judas the theif.
- Be more humble, and stop worrying about how other people will look at me or what they will say about me. I need to be able to show my respect and praise to God all the time without worrying about how others will look at me. No one should be able to stop my praise. Even on SNS
- Start encouraging others. When I help others I believe others will help me. Bringing people down because of my jealousy isn't going to make me feel better. Maybe for the moment but not in the long run. Also I need start worrying about tomorrow. Focus on the now. Take things one step at a time as the Lord leads me. Just.....Chill.
- Surround myself with positives. People who are going to encourage me and hold me accountable. People who aren't going to lead me down a destructive road but a constructive road. I think that if I do this, my relationship with God will automatically increase.
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