Easter Devotionals - Mark 14:3-9
As we continue our Easter readings and devotionals, Josh reads from Mark 14:3-9 about the anointing of Jesus, and our encouragement to be extravagant worshippers.
As we approach Easter Sunday, we will be hearing readings from members of the Redeemer family, which we hope will help to prepare our hearts.
Alongside these readings we’ll be publishing blogs which make use of a Lenten Devotional published by Redeemer Presbyterian Church. We hope these devotionals and readings will help to reveal the comfort, challenge and joy found within the passages of scripture.
Today’s passage is read by Josh, and the passage is Mark 14:3-9.
The Anointing
“What a waste!” That is the complaint made regarding the woman’s use of her expensive perfume to anoint Jesus. Jesus will have none of it. He finds a purely cost-benefit analysis of our actions to be inadequate and bankrupt. Even though the money from the sale of the perfume could have been used to do a lot of good things, Jesus considers her act to be completely appropriate. Why? Because it is an act of worship. And he knows that life begins with what you worship.
Worship the wrong things and nothing else will come out quite right. But worship the living God who has given himself for us in the sacrifice of Jesus and you have a new sense of what matters and you will prioritize your life accordingly. Suddenly you find yourself “wasting” your life on Jesus by giving your life to his agenda rather than your own. That will include caring about justice for the poor.
Contrary to what is sometimes assumed, Jesus is not minimizing our responsibility to the poor in this passage. He actually is quoting from Deuteronomy 15, which encourages radical generosity to the poor. However, such generosity flows from worshiping God. First things first! Put God ahead of all else as the only one worthy of your worship and you will find you are pouring yourself out in all sorts of beautiful ways in service to the world.
Prayer
Lord, too often I worship the wrong things. Help me to see that my life is to be “wasted” on you and only then will it become something beautiful for you to use in your world. In Christ’s Name, Amen.
Copyright (c) 2012 by Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
Redeemer reads Philippians 2
In today’s video, Josh helps us to focus on following the example of Jesus, and looking out for others ahead of our own needs.
Welcome! Here at Redeemer we believe that the Bible is the word of God, that it’s alive, and that its words can and should shape every aspect of our lives as Christians. But we also know it’s not easy to get into the habit of reading it every day! So we are following the CBR Bible Reading plan - which can be found below - to help us read the bible together.
We are currently reading the book of Philippians, and every week day we will be releasing a video on our social media & YouTube accounts, with a member of our Redeemer family explaining what they feel God is saying to them through the passage!
Today we hear from Josh as he shares with us from Philippians 2.
If you have time, and a desire to know more, you’ll find ideas for further study of todays passage below.
Further Study
Josh not only recorded the video above, but he also has written something for the further study section of today’s blog! Enjoy!
It’s really easy to think of ourselves first. When i get up in the morning and make myself a bowl of cereal, my first thought isn’t ‘I reckon Jonny (my bro) might want some breakfast too, maybe I’ll pour him a bowl.’
My first thought is ‘I’m hungry’. Inevitably, I sit down next to him to chow down on a glorious bowl of weetabix minis and he looks at me with a face that says ‘Where’s my bowl.’ I haven’t given his dietary needs that morning a second thought.
Now in Philippians 2, Paul doesn’t say much about breakfast cereal, but what he does talk about is kindness. Instead of looking out for the number one, instead of serving ourselves, he asks us to think of others first. Truly and deeply love one another and, it says ‘...in humility value others above yourselves’.
Now when I was pouring a bowl of cereal with the perfect ratio of milk to weetabix, I didnt think about anyone else's needs. It was such a small thing, I just wanted to satisfy my hunger. It would have been so flipping easy to make another bowl for Jonny but he wasn't even on my agenda.
Instead what I can do is align my mindset with that of Jesus. A man who always thought about others first, put himself last, even to the point of death on a cross. The love and care that Christ has given us, should pour out into those around us. Even if that means making someone breakfast.
Further Reading
This vid by Paul LeBoutillier is lit.