Tag Archives: broken and spilled out

June 19, 2024 · 5:47 AM

Expressions Of Adoration

Adoration isn’t a word we commonly use anymore. While I know what it means, I still looked it up. Almost all definitions had something like having a strong love for something or someone to the point you worship it. Worship becomes an expression of our love and respect for Hod. My wife and I were both raised in homes where our parents were at church every time the doors were open. We were also both raised by parents who lived the same way at home and at church. We had no idea until we were adults that there were people who went to,church that put on a holy mask and then took it off once they left. We both know people we grew up with who said how confusing it was for them. Their parents acts of worship were a show to them and they never got to understand adoration of God until later in life whereas we got to experience it and see it demonstrated daily.

In John 12, Jesus stopped by the house of Martha, Mary and Lazarus again. Martha was still serving and Lazarus was reclining at the table it says when Mary came in with a very expensive perfume. Verse 3 says, “Then Mary took a pound of very expensive perfume of pure nard, and she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (AMP). I would say the house was filled with the fragrance of adoration. That’s when Judas, who was about to betray Jesus, put on his holy mask, spoke up and condemned the act saying it should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Adoration made him feel uncomfortable because he felt it exposed his hypocrisy. That’s when Jesus pushed back on his comments and accepted her act of worship.

Hebrews 12:28-29 says, “Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, and offer to God pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for our God is [indeed] a consuming fire.” How do you show gratitude to God through worship and adoration? Remember worship is an act of humility rather than singing a song. It’s an expression of our love for Him and what He’s done for us. Thats why Jesus said those of us who have been forgiven more tend to love more. No matter where you fall on that spectrum, our lives must become an expression of adoration rather than in words only the way Judas was. Take time today to reflect on all you’ve been forgiven of and all that God has done for you. Then express your gratitude to Him and adoration will flow from there.

Photo by Hanny Naibaho on Unsplash

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November 25, 2020 · 6:00 AM

Mary, Martha And Judas

Recently we were driving somewhere and our son said he had a question for us. I turned down the radio and asked what it was. He asked, “Which are y’all: Mary or Martha?” I laughed that such a question would come from a 9 year old. His question is in reference to Luke 10 where Martha is busy serving Jesus while Mary just sits at His feet listening. My wife responded, “Sorry, son. You were born into a family of Martha’s!” He asked if that was a bad thing. I explained that it wasn’t because we need both Mary’s and Martha’s. The Martha’s of the world simply need to learn to not be so anxious when things don’t get done perfectly and they also need to take time to sit at the feet of Jesus and recharge. Both types are important to the Church.

We see Martha and Mary two more times in Scripture. The next time we see them is in John 11 after their brother Lazarus had died. When Jesus showed up four days later, it was Martha who ran out to meet Jesus while Mary stayed in the house. Martha expressed that if Jesus had been there, her brother wouldn’t have died. She also expressed that He was the Messiah and could raise him up. After their conversation she went to get Mary to take her to Jesus. Mary expressed the same things. It was the other people who doubted and accused when they implied that Jesus gave sight to the blind, but couldn’t keep Lazarus from dying. After that, we read that Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

The last time we meet them is in John 12, about two months later, just before Jesus is crucified. Martha was back to serving everyone while Lazarus ate. Verse 3 says, “Then Mary took a whole pint of a very expensive perfume made of pure nard, poured it on Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The sweet smell of the perfume filled the whole house” (GNT). Immediately Judas saw this as a waste of money and criticized her act of worship. In these stories, there are three types of people: one who worships with service, one who worships at His feet and those who criticize. I’ll ask my son’s question to you. Which are you? It’s all right to be a Martha as long as you’re not so busy you miss hearing Jesus. It’s all right being a Mary as long as you share what you learn at the feet of Jesus. It’s not ok to stand back from afar and criticize the way other people worship while never drawing near yourself. Each of us must worship in our own extravagant way and take time to hear what Jesus is saying to us.

Photo by Richard Burlton on Unsplash

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November 18, 2019 · 5:55 AM

Extravagant Love

A lot of Christians are skeptical of Kanye West’s conversion. If I’m honest, I put myself into that category. He has been hosting Sunday Services where people have been giving their life to Christ, he put out an album called “Jesus is King”, took the Gospel to the Harris County jail and held service at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood church. On all accounts, we question his motives and keep waiting for the moment where he lets us know he’s been trolling us. We all remember his crazy antics (like taking the mic from Taylor Swift. We know the family he’s married into. His sinful past is also well documented. Are we doubting the power of the blood of Jesus or are we holding someone’s past against them? Would we feel the same way towards a local sinner’s conversion in our own church?

In Luke 7, Jesus was invited to eat at the home of a Pharisee. While Jesus was eating dinner, verse 37 says, “There was an immoral woman of the streets, known to all to be a prostitute” who walked into the house and knelt at the feet of Jesus (TPT). She wept as she knelt. Her tears fell on His feet, and she began to dry them off with her hair as if she were apologetic that she was getting them wet. She then brought out an alabaster box of perfume and “anointed his feet with her costly perfume as an act of worship.” Then the Pharisee said, “If He were really a prophet, He would know what kind of sinful woman is touching Him.” He did. He then shared a story of two men who were forgiven large debts, but one was so much more than the other. He then asked, “Which of the two would be most thankful? Which one would love the banker more?” Then in verse 47, Jesus said, “She has been forgiven of all her many sins. This is why she has shown me such extravagant love. But those who assume they have very little to be forgiven will love me very little.”

When we see prominent sinners give acts of worship, are we jealous because of their greater love for the Savior? I still don’t know Kanye’s intentions, but what I see are the acts of someone who has been forgiven much and is expressing that gratitude. I’m learning to worry less about what He’s doing and questioning my own actions. What am I doing to continue to show my appreciation for the salvation that was freely given. Was my sin as public and as “shameful” as Kanye’s? No, but the end result would have been the same without the blood of Jesus. For that, I am grateful and should be remembering what was done for me often. It’s easy to get into the rut of Christianity. It’s easy to question someone else’s heart when I should be questioning my own. Today, it’s time to worry less about someone else’s response to salvation and look at how I’m expressing my love to Christ for paying my debt too.

Photo by John Price on Unsplash

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