Easter Devotional

An Unforgettable Gift – Part Two

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There were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they scolded her. 
Mark 14: 4-5 ESV

When people saw Mary pouring the oil on Jesus’ head, they hushed and waited to see how He would respond. Then, without a word, Mary fell to her knees and poured out the remaining perfumed oil on the feet of Jesus, and then she wiped them dry with her hair! There was a shocked silence, but it lasted only a moment. Then Judas, began to criticize. For him, Mary’s act of love was more than unexpected, it was unwelcome. Sadly, his complaining drew in the other disciples who were caught up in his reasoning, “Why this waste?” they said. “This perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor!” But Judas didn’t really care about the poor. He really only cared about the money that he skimmed from every offering. For Judas, and those like him, religion is all a business, meant to be smoothly run, so they can reap the side benefits of a prosperous life. Mary’s heart told her that she had met someone who was greater than religious traditions, and Jesus came to her defense. “Leave her alone! She has done a beautiful thing!” No one there realized that in just a few days, Jesus would be arrested, falsely accused, and nailed to a cross. But Jesus knew and said that her gift had prepared Him for all of what was to come. If we want to be like Mary this Easter, then we must give our all for Jesus, even if no one understands. Then just as He did for Mary, Jesus will defend us and pour out His love on us in a way we will never forget!

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Reading Selection from day 26 of One Unexpected Morning

An Unforgettable Gift (Part One)

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And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. 
Mark 14:3 ESV

No one saw the miracle of Easter coming, least of all His closest friends. Yet all along the pathway of His final days on earth, our Savior left them clues as to what lay ahead. Most of our churches begin the Easter story with Palm Sunday, but I would suggest that His final journey began a few days earlier at a supper table with friends. While everyone was arriving, Martha began serving the delicious meal she had prepared, and her brother Lazarus sat next to Jesus, but Mary was nowhere to be found. When, she did appear in the doorway with an alabaster jar in her hand, most likely, no one noticed. The room echoed with the clanking of plates and the hubbub that fills the air at every celebration. Now, though few were aware of her at first, when she stood directly in front of Jesus and broke open the alabaster jar that held her treasure, they began to pay attention. As the scent of the powerful fragrance filled the room, Mary began pouring the perfumed oil over the head of Jesus in the manner of anointing that was reserved for the coronation of kings and the ordination of priests. Though no one understood what she was doing, Mary’s demonstration of love was so unforgettable that we are still talking about it today!

(Today’s reading is from One Unexpected Morning (See link below)

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Devotions for Lent

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Here in the middle of winter, it is hard to believe, but we are just a little over a week away from beginning the season, commonly called Lent. Though the word, “Lent” doesn’t appear anywhere in the Bible, it is nonetheless a good opportunity to refocus our thinking and our lives around the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Ironically, this year, Lent begins on Valentine’s Day. Now don’t try the excuse, “Honey, I would have bought you chocolates, but I thought you had given them up for Lent!” Though we all have different customs concerning Easter, one thing all of us have in common with believers from the days of Jesus is that it comes unexpectedly. In fact, if we were to examine the scriptures carefully, it might appear that the Romans, who sealed the tomb and set a guard over it were more concerned about the resurrection than the disciples. After all, Mary and the other women did not come to the tomb to witness a miracle, their plan was to bring spices to complete their traditions for burial. Later, when they went back to report the visions of angels and an empty tomb, no one was more shocked and unbelieving than the disciples. Though Jesus had taught them over and over that He was to die, be buried and raised on the third day, not one of them understood or believed it to be possible. But on that “One Unexpected Morning” the story of the lives of every man, woman and child on earth was changed. Jesus died for our sins, and was buried in a rich man’s tomb, just as Isaiah 53 had foretold. He could not be kept in the grave and was raised, just as David prophetically tells us in Psalm 16:10. Yet, no one was waiting to see the miracle at the moment that the angel rolled back the stone. The Roman guards were terrified, and the rulers of the people remained unbelieving even after their reports. Peter and John ran to see what they had not even imagined in their wildest dreams and on resurrection morning Jesus came, unexpectedly for us all, but exactly as He had promised all along! If you are looking for a devotional resource this Easter, “One Unexpected Morning”, is a 40-day Lenten reader in both large and regular print as well as in eBook form. The link below is for the large print version, but you should be easily able to find the others from that page.