OFFERING AS AN ACT OF WORSHIP

“When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, Jesus went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.”  (Luke 7:36-38 NIV)

In Luke’s Gospel, we read the story of a woman who brought to Jesus a jar of expensive perfume which she broke open and poured out on Him… as an offering. She did not have to give it, but she made a choice. She did not give from obligation, but an open heart. She did not come for an hour, put her offering in a basket, and immediately leave to go back to her daily activities. She stopped. She wasn’t too busy or distracted by the world to surrender her thanksgiving and linger with her Savior as an act of worship. This outpouring of her time cost her, but it would be repaid by an outpouring of mercy and peace from Jesus.

There are many contrasts in the passage. The Pharisees were religious and educated. The woman was sinful and wasn’t allowed to study. The Pharisees were there to question Jesus. The woman was there to worship Jesus. The Pharisees were prideful. The woman was humble. The Pharisees shunned the sinful woman. Jesus showed her mercy. Because the woman was willing to come before Jesus with her broken offering, she received wholeness and redemption. What a moment. 

-- Excerpted from “Altar’d: The Transforming Power of Surrender” by Susan O. Kent

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THE WAY TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY

“We know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”  (Romans 5:3b-5 NIV)

Imagine you are walking through a garden and you notice a butterfly struggling to emerge from its cocoon. What would happen if, in an effort to help it, you took some scissors and snipped the cocoon away?

In a few hours you would witness a tragedy. The wings, shrunken and shriveled, would not fill out with all their potential beauty. Instead of developing into a creature free to fly, the butterfly would drag a broken body through its short life. The constricting cocoon and the struggle necessary to be free from it are God’s way of forcing fluid into the butterfly’s wings. The “merciful” snip would have been in reality quite cruel.

The way to spiritual maturity is often difficult and ugly, forcing us to embrace our poverty before God and our dependence upon Him. We must learn to struggle well, not avoid the fight while building a shining exterior. Sometimes the struggle is exactly what we need.  

-- Adapted from an article entitled “Not According to Plan” by Jeff Jernigan in Discipleship Journal, No. 67

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BUSYNESS AND THE CHURCH

We Christians in America often pride ourselves on being busy with church activities. It is a compliment to say So-and-so is “active in church.” In some megachurches it is almost possible to spend all one’s nonworking, nonsleeping hours at church.

That isn’t necessarily bad. We need fellowship with other Christians, and church activities are better than many secular alternatives. But it might be healthy to consider our motives for remaining busy with church activities. According to 1 Corinthians 13, doing a lot of things is no substitute for genuine Christian love -- even though a loving Christian will, of course, do good works.

In my youth in Germany, my impression was that churches are places of worship, not activity centers. Europeans (whose rates of church attendance are much lower than Americans) still puzzle that American churches schedule so many activities outside the worship times. Personally, I like busyness, since it dispels the notion that Christianity is strictly a Sunday morning affair. Bible studies, fellowship times, prayer groups, etc., are wonderful things. My chief criticism of church busyness is this: We can bury ourselves in activities and withdraw from a world that needs to hear the gospel. Busy churches can be like monasteries – beehives of activity, but forgetful of Jesus’ mandate to “go and make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). We can’t “let [our] light shine before others” (Matthew 5:16) if our lights only shine within the church fellowship hall.

-- George Strumpf and J. Stephen Lang, quoted in “Side by Side: Disciple-Making for a New Century,” Steve and Lois Rabey, General Editors 

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FAITHFUL WAITING

"Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near."  (James 5:7–8 NIV)

In a world of instant results and endless urgency, James draws us into the quiet strength of a farmer waiting for the rains. No crop matures overnight. No growth unfolds without trust in what’s unseen.

This is the rhythm of faith -- not passive resignation, but faithful anticipation. Patience and perseverance are not weak, but deeply courageous. We wait with hope. We endure with resolve. Because we know the harvest is promised by a God who never forgets His Word. 

-- SOUND BITES Ministry™

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BAKING A CAKE

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NRSV)

The story is told of a very ill little boy who was telling his Grandma how "everything" was going wrong -- school was too hard, family problems, his severe pain, just all the hardships he was going through. Meanwhile, Grandma was baking a cake. She asked the child if he would like a snack, which of course he did.

"Here. Have some cooking oil."

"Yuck," said the boy.

"How about a couple of raw eggs?"

"Gross, Grandma."

"Would you like some flour then?  Or, maybe baking soda?"

"Grandma, those are all yucky!"

Grandma replied: "Yes, Sweetheart, those things seem bad all by themselves. But, when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He could let us go through such bad and difficult times, but God knows that, when He takes those things and puts them all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually the yucky stuff will be used to make something wonderful in our lives!"

God will work all things for our good if we but love and trust Him!

– Author Unknown

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