Are you devoted or demoted?

What am I truly devoted to...?"

Devote: To give over or direct (as time, money, or effort) to a person or cause, or activity (transitive verb).

I find it interested to learn that a transitive verb has two characteristics. First, it is an action verb, expressing a doable activity like kick, want, paint, write, eat, clean, etc. Second, it must have a direct object, something or someone who receives the action of the verb. Therefore, to devote oneself needs a person or object to receive the gift.

Devoted: Characterized by loyalty and devotion (adjective).

I find this interesting because it describes me as the one being devoted.

Devotion: The fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal devotion to the cause (noun).

I find this interesting because it is the gift that is handed to the other person or object.

Thus...it takes two to have "Devote, Devoted, Devotion." That may seem obvious to many of you...but lets look what we are truly devoted to...our stuff, our food, our home, and the list goes on. It seems to me that we devote ourselves to "ourselves." What about being a Christ-Follower...what should I be devoting myself too?

Psalm 86:2, "Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you."

Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

Paul wrote in Romans 12:10, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." And in Colossians 4:2, "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."

I need to work on and watch what I devote myself to. That which I am devoted to defines the character I posses. In other words, my character is defined in my devotion. My devotion reveals that true nature of my heart and loyalty to those around me.

"Dear God, help me be more devoted to You, my wife, my children, my church, my family, my friends, and even those that do not know you. Bring your characteristics of devotion in my life and may I be as passionate about it as you were, even if it means being crucified for your sake. You know I love you and humbly ask this in Jesus Name. Amen."

Your fellow devotee - Don

When is it time for us to do a beautiful thing....?

Dr. Robert F. Browning preached a sermon a few years ago on the passage of Matthew 26:6-13. It is the passage where in Matthew she is unknown, but in other Gospels it is revealed as Mary, pours a very expensive bottle of perfume on Jesus in preparation for his death. It is a beautiful scene and for a description you can see my last post at A Beautiful Thing...

In Dr. Browning's sermon he lays out four great points for us today to apply to this text:

The Woman had to decide what to do with the perfume she was saving. Was it time to sell it and use the money to feed the poor or use it to express love and appreciation for this honored guest?

This is the kind of decision that keeps me up at night, a choice between good and good. Decisions between good and bad are relatively easy to make, not that I always do what is right. A choice between two good opportunities can be agonizing, though, and I think Mary would agree.
This expensive perfume could have been used in a variety of ways, all of them good. She could have sold it as the disciples recommended and used the proceeds to feed the poor. It could have been saved as a hedge against an emergency. Or, it could have been used sparingly to make special occasions even more special. There were many good ways to use this perfume. She chose, however, to use it, all of it, to anoint the head of Jesus that evening and she had a room full of angry preachers that disagreed with her.

Can you imagine how this woman felt when she heard this? She had to second guess herself and wonder if she had made a big mistake. After all, how could twelve preachers be wrong and one obscure woman be right? There was certainly no precedence for this.

What relief she must have felt when she heard Jesus rebuke them and compliment her. Can you imagine what this did for her self-esteem? Now she had another reason to love him even more.
By the way, let me caution you about judging other people’s actions. You may be condemning the very thing that pleases God the most. Just because someone doessomething that you see no rationale for does not mean it is foolish. The fact that something could be used differently to help many people doesn’t make it wasteful. Everything we have can be used in a variety of productive ways. Allow people to use what they have in ways they think are best under their circumstances. If you need help understanding this, seek the counsel of the disciples that were with Jesus that night.

This woman had to decide when to use this perfume on Jesus, while he was alive or after he was dead. If she had waited to use this perfume as a portion of the burial spices after the crucifixion, I doubt that anyone would have criticized her. She would have been praised for her generosity.

However, she chose not to wait until Jesus died to pour it on him. She decided to do it while he was alive and could receive the full benefit from it. She poured it on his head as an act of love and gratitude. Somehow she had to let him know her feelings for him and this seemed to be the best way.

Was it extravagant? Sure and it was meant to be. She refused to calculate to see how little she could use to express her gratitude, but poured the entire contents of the bottle over his head as a demonstration of her deepest feelings.

I don’t know what you intend to spend on the funeral of your loved ones, but whatever it is, cut it in half if at all possible and spend that money on them before they die. This will be one of the best decisions you ever made. Ask Jesus. I can only imagine how grateful he was that this woman used this perfume on him while he was alive. Encouragement and support were exactly what he needed at this time in his life. He was days away from being tortured and crucified. Could he go through with this mission and be faithful all the way to the cross? Would his death really make a difference in the lives of people? Did anyone appreciate the sacrifices that he was making? Obviously one person did and showed it that night.

This woman had to decide when was the best time to pour this perfume over his head. Should she do this while he was eating or wait until another time? She would run the risk of being misunderstood and condemned if she did it in public and would certainly interfere with his meal. Perhaps it would be best to do it another time in another place. However, she chose not to wait. Why?

Call it instinct if you want or divine providence. I think this woman knew that Jesus was in great danger and that something could happen to him at any time. In her heart, she knew that she might not have another opportunity to express her love for him and encourage him to continue on his mission. The feelings in her heart had to be expressed and the time to do this was during that meal in Simon’s home. Taking this risk would be part of her gift to him, too.
Did Jesus appreciate what she did? Without a doubt. He told the disciples that “she has done a beautiful thing to me and wherever this gospel is preached throughout this world, what she has done will be told in memory of her” Matthew 26:10,13.

This woman is still speaking to us today. She is speaking of timing, what is it time for you to do? What do you need to do this morning to let Jesus know that you love him? Is it time for you to accept him as Lord and follow him in baptism and discipleship?What could you do to demonstrate your gratitude for him that he would label “beautiful?”

What about the other people in your life? Do they know how you feel about them? Who do you know that is struggling and needs encouragement? What beautiful thing could you do for them in Jesus’ name that would lift their spirits and give them hope?

I hope you will do it because I have a feeling when you do it will cause Jesus to smile and say, “That’s another beautiful thing done to me.”

I could not agree more. Thank you, Dr. Browning. May each of us seek to do more beautiful things for Jesus. You know I love ya, Don

A Beautiful Thing.....

This is a great blog post by A.I. Tyke on his blog/commentary at Atone. Praying it touches you as it has me.

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”

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. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” - Matthew 26:6-13

It was a beautiful thing. An unknown woman brings a jar of very expensive perfume and breaks it over Jesus’ head. The Lord of the Universe, now dripping with perfume commends her, and the woman is praised in the presence of Jesus and his disciples.

Though the matter simply could have ended there, Jesus went on. He wanted to teach us something about the deeper beauties of what this woman did. She had prepared Jesus for his baptism. She had anointed him for the death-shattering task he would face in just three days. In her gift of love, this woman prepared the Godman, the Son of the Living God, for the tomb. A tomb that would try to hold him, but wouldn’t. A tomb that would try to claim him, but couldn’t.

This lowly woman was a second-class citizen in a forgotten Roman occupied territory. There was no earthly reason for anyone to commend her, let alone listen to her. And yet this woman stood in the gap for the prophets of old. It wasn’t Samuel who came with his oil to anoint this King of Kings. It wasn’t the chief priests or the wisest of the pharisees who came to anoint the Messiah. Instead, a humble woman came in her love for Jesus and broke over his head what was probably her most precious earthly possession.

The woman did what couldn’t have been done later. After his death, Jesus’ body would be spirited from the cross and prepared for a hasty burial. There was no time for the purchase and preparation of the spices that were customary before burial – that would have to wait for another two days on account of Jesus dying on the verge of the Sabbath. But there was time now to prepare him now, and whether or not she fully realized what she was doing for him, the generous woman drenched Jesus in perfume out of the joy of her heart and the gratefulness of her soul.

The disciples became angry. Surprised by the selfless act, their first concern was over the purchase price of what was sacrificed, rather than the act itself. This woman had freely poured out her treasure on Jesus. From a heart of faith she anointed his head with oil. Yet the disciples judged her with a critical eye. Using the poor as cover, they hid what really offended them. What they were really angry about was the excess of her sacrifice and that she had emptied all of it on Jesus. Was it really necessary to break the whole flask over him? Wouldn’t a few drops have filled the room with the fragrance just as well? Wouldn’t it have been better to sell the perfume and wouldn’t they have done a better job in distributing all the money this woman’s gift could have brought them?

It is true that a few drops could have accomplished the same goal. But how often was it that Christ’s disciples were accused of such excesses? And how often are Christians scoffed at for doing too much rather than too little? What was done to Jesus by this woman will stand as an eternal example for us. We too should pour out everything we own over Jesus. We too should be inspired to exercise our faith generously, even embarrassingly so. And all because what of Jesus has done for us on the cross – and the salvation it brings that is worth far more than any bottle of perfume.

by A.I. Tyke

May each of us seek to do a beautiful thing for God in our lives. You know I love ya, Don

Being a good Reader

In order to read well, you must learn to ignore yourself. You must remember that the text is not about you. That you are reading it in order to get something from it, ultimately from its writer. Who, if he/she is doing his/her job right, is working for you, for your benefit.

The next step is to become more conscious of the whole reading-writing dichotomy. Every text is produced by an actual writer (a real person), who in the act of writing automatically places in the text a version of him/herself, the implied writer (a persona or role played by the real person writing). What may not be so obvious at first is that the implied writer automatically creates a mirror image of another persona, the implied reader, which the actual reader reading the text in question is implicitly asked to play. This complex interaction between real persons playing roles both in the act of writing and in the act of reading should get a special lift in our understanding as we reflect on the fact that the Latin origin of the modern English word "person" is persona, meaning "mask," originally a hand-held mask that actors on the classical stage used to cover their faces with while playing their roles. Both writing and reading are, in fact, acts - that is, roles that writers and readers voluntarily take on. (taken from, "The Art of Reading" by Steven C. Scheer)

Every time we open a scriptural text we must understand these two rules. Consider Matthew 26:6-13. "While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked, 'This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor?”

"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. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her'.”

Who is the implied author? The answer is the Apostle Matthew. There is some discussions as to if Matthew truly wrote the Gospel and what sources he used, but for our point in this short blog post, we are can be assured that Matthew is the author. Who is the implied reader? The implied reader would be Jewish Christians living in the Palestinian region while under Roman occupation. There are terms used to suggest their knowledge of the culture and surroundings was good. So, when Matthew records the above story of Jesus' being anointed, we can be the implied reader and join in their knowledge of Roman occupation, the awareness of the poor, the arrogance of the religious leadership, and that Jesus was going to die.

It is important for today's students of the scripture not to read into scripture facts or actions that are not there. Making this mistake is easy to do when we read ourselves as the implied reader. In the scriptural example above, we could read into the text a lack of compassion for the poor. Jesus is telling us that we will always have the poor. Yet, is that what Matthew is recording and teaching? Absolutely not! A good student knows that the are other texts that teach a Christ-follower is to be a servant and to serve the poor. The implied reader or the reader that text is intended for has an understanding that Jesus was going to die in just a short while and that what the woman did by pouring the perfume on Jesus was preparing him for His death. We don't typically pour perfume on our dead, yet in the culture of the text, there was not embalming or refrigeration. Perfume covered the smell of death. What the woman was doing we making a statement of faith, submission, and love. She was a sinner and she is anointing the One who would restore her and forgive her of those sins.

With careful study and appropriate dedication to the implied author and the implied reader, today's student can gain insights that are relevant and essential to the application of God's word. We study to show ourselves approved by God. We also hone our skill through committed and regular study of techniques around us.

"Almighty God, work with in us and guide us by your Spirit as we study your revealed scriptures. Help us to remain faithful to you and give us eyes to seize every opportunity to be the Christ-followers we desire to be. We make it our goal to please you...grant us the understanding to do so. In the name of the Anointed One. Amen."

For more study on "Anointed" check out: http://www.letusreason.org/Biblexp129.htm

You know I love ya, Don