Love you all, praying for you,
I just love God’s Word. It gives commands and instruction, the law of the LORD, the teachings of Christ, but it also gives a history of examples. People just like us who were faithful and Godly - giving us an example to follow. Life is full of moments… little ones and big ones – and then there comes the really big one. The moment of a lifetime. Matthew 26:10 – Aware of this, Jesus said to them, Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her. The moment of a lifetime came for this woman, and she was ready, she was prepared, and in that moment – she shined. Those moments come when you don’t expect… suddenly they are upon you. So how do you prepare for that moment of a lifetime? You obey in this moment! That’s how you prepare. Some stories in Scripture are of David who killed Goliath, or the guy who when the Israelites all ran away, took his stand in a field and slew the entire advancing army – til his sword stuck to his hand. Those are amazing stories, but I so also appreciate the ones of ordinary people, who do unexpected things, not requiring great skill or superhuman strength, but great faithfulness. For this woman, when she came to the moment of her life… she was ready. Some debate about who this woman might be, whether Mary Magdalene, or Mary the sister of Lazarus – who we know was the same Mary who wiped Jesus feet with her hair. It happened in Bethany, the hometown of that Mary, but the two mentions of this woman and her act of worship – in Matthew and Mark do not mention her by name. Perhaps God didn’t want us to get caught up in who she was, but what she did to worship Jesus. Some might just assume that’s the kind of person she was, maybe a giver, or a server… but no matter what came naturally, this went beyond. Imagine if that were you... Has God every asked you to do something that took a level of sacrifice and risk beyond what you are used to? For you to be ready in that moment, your pursuit is what will prepare you… that’s why her character was ready for it. First she recognized Jesus as the Son of God, she recognized him as King, and she treated him accordingly. But it still had to be a struggle. Can I really afford this? This is a lot of money! Maybe her life savings, we know it was over a year’s wages. God, Do you really want me to do this? This money could be used to help many other people… What will everybody else think or say about me? What if Jesus doesn’t want me to, or gets angry with me? Is this really you, or just my idea? The internal struggle must have been great. She had no idea she was preparing his body for burial, there was no way she could know that. She just did what God prompted her, no matter what the risk was. She came to the most memorable moment of her life, the moment she would forever be remembered by – and she responded in obedience, out of love and devotion to Him. What nobody else did, or would even think of doing, She did because she was used to responding with her spirit, not her mind – because it didn’t make sense. Pilate came to a similar moment in life. He knew the leaders of the Jews were merely jealous of Jesus and wanted to kill him. His wife even came to him with her dream – completely distraught about this innocent man. But Pilate’s character wasn’t developed by a love and obedience of God, so he missed His Only Son. Instead (while the woman who loved God more than money or anyone’s opinion of her, did what God prompted which would be remembered for the ages) Pilate caved to the peer pressure and murdered an innocent man. Not just any man, the Savior of the world (for which he too, would be remembered). The woman had no idea what she was doing this for, much less that she would be remembered for all time, by this one act of obedience. Something this significant couldn’t have been on an impulse or whim, this kind of response could only come from a complete love of God, a devotion to His presence, and a habit of responding - which started long before this. So how do you prepare for that most memorable moment of your life when it comes? So you don’t miss it? Love the LORD your God with all your heart. Make His presence your priority so His voice will become so clear, and practice obeying in the little things, so when the big thing comes, it will be no different. Praying that you will realize how important PRISM is – it will help you to know his heart. And how important PiVAT before dinner is… it’s not just going through the motions, this daily exchange of your plans for His plans for you, not only brings success to each day, it prepares you for the moment of your lifetime. It helps you get good at hearing his voice, so you can respond in obedience, so he can confirm it. He will confirm through PRISM and others, what He told you in PiVAT before dinner. It happens all the time. It’s how you learn to hear his voice – so you are ready for your moment of a lifetime, because you are faithful in this moment. Praying that you will be ready for the big one, because you are faithful in this one. Love you all, dad
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