Today's Reading: Mark 14: 1-11
**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.
Please click this link to read Mark 14: 1-11
Bible Study
The 9.0 earthquake I got yesterday is now heading up to Jesus. That's how N.T. Wright describes today's passage:
If the storm clouds are gathering over Jerusalem in chapter 13, in chapter 14 they are coming together over the head of Jesus himself. The parallel between the two is important: the fate Jesus has predicted for the Temple is precisely what will now happen to him...From this point on, Mark's story is entirely focused on the coming crucifixion of the Messiah.
The first part of this passage shows how the woman anointed Jesus with a very expensive perfume(vv. 1-9). The second part of this passage shows how Judas got the similar amount of money from the chief priests to betray Jesus! What a contrast!
The action of the woman gives us two important messages:
1. Jesus is our most beloved
The value of the perfume is a year's wages! Any one of you have ever make an offering of a year's wages before? You do not need to do that unless you have this kind of ""Alabaster" call. But, you do have to know that we as human beings will give the most to those we love the most. The woman's giving is a good example of what does it means by giving it all, though not like Jesus to give His life to us!
2. When we give it all we may fulfill God's purpose yet we do not know
The woman just wanted to give it all to Jesus as her most beloved. Yet, what she did not know is that by giving like that she fulfill God's purpose in human history to set a good example of what is "giving" and what is "betraying"! That's the contrast of the woman and Judas!
What cast do you want to play? What cast have you been playing? Loving money, power and your own way instead of loving Jesus?
Have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to God as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"
Spiritual Journal
What I heard from Jesus today is: Who's your most beloved?
Today Jesus put before us two powerful pictures or movie to change our lives from "getting" to "giving".
The first picture is how you use your imagination now to see the scene of the woman anointing Jesus. What can you see and feel of the woman's eyes loving Jesus and how Jesus' eyes loving the woman of her giving.
The second picture is how wicked the high priest and Judas were. Their eyes of selfishness, bitterness, darkness and emptiness!
What have you seen? How are you going to be willing to let Jesus to change your life from now on following the woman and Jesus good examples to give rather than to get?
Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us to put these two contrasting pictures into our mind that we can be transformed by your love to love you the most. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Chinese praise song - 你是我的一切 You Are My All In All
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