Someone once said that worship is the act of sacrificially giving to Jesus something that is precious to us. What would that be for you? Your money? Your time? Your job? For the Mary of Bethany, it was a container of perfume.

First of all, the alabaster jar of ointment contained something that was very precious, but as long as it stayed in the container, it didn’t benefit anyone. But when the perfume was poured out upon Jesus its fragrance filled the house. God has given each one of us a spiritual gift. It may be great faith, acts of service, hospitality, teaching, or some other gift. But if you keep that gift to yourself, it benefits no one. It is your responsibility as a Christian to figure out what your gift is, and then to use it for the glory of God and the benefit of those around you.

When Mary wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair, she walked away smelling like Jesus did. When we use what we have for Jesus, others can sense that we have been with Him. If your gift is mercy, you display the mercy that Jesus showed to us when He died in our place. If your gift is evangelism, then you display the love that Jesus has for sinners. The use of our spiritual gifts causes others to sense Jesus’ presence in our lives.

Mary couldn’t do much, but she did what she could. Mary couldn’t keep the Jewish leaders from falsely accusing Jesus. She couldn’t keep the soldiers from crucifying Him, or the crowds from mocking Him. But she could show her love and devotion by sacrificing the most precious thing that she possessed. You may be thinking, I can’t teach, I can’t sing, but too often we focus on what we can’t do instead of what we can. So what if you can’t teach? Not everyone is meant to be a teacher. Can you call someone on the phone and invite them to church? Can you go and visit someone who is in the hospital? For us to accomplish great things in God’s Kingdom, we must all work together, doing whatever we have the ability to do.

Jesus told the disciples to leave Mary alone and to stop criticizing her. We must never disregard or devalue anyone else’s acts of service. The sad thing is that I see Christians do that all the time. The people who do these things are just like the disciples in the story…too busy complaining about others to worship their Lord and Savior.

Some believe that Mary’s act of devotion was the thing that caused Judas to decide to switch teams. Judas was the most vocal of the disciples in criticizing Mary for what she had done, but it wasn’t because he was concerned for the poor; it was because he was the treasurer of the group and had taken some of their money for himself. Judas wanted to get his hands on that money. So when Jesus condemns the disciples for criticizing Mary, Judas decides to get his money another way…by betraying Him. Judas went to the religious leaders and promised to hand over Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

What is Jesus worth to you? To Mary, He was worth everything that she had. To Judas He was worth 30 pieces of silver.                       (SHAWN ROSE)

The Bible does not tell us that we should not feel angry. It points out that we should handle our  anger  correctly.   If we vent our anger thoughtlessly, we may hurt people and destroy relationships. Yet, if we bottle anger up, it can cause us to become bitter and can destroy us from within. We should deal with our anger immediately in a way that builds up our relationships. When we nurse our anger, we will give the devil an opportunity to divide us. Do not let a day end before we begin to work on mending our relationships.

Are we angry with someone right now?
What can we do to resolve our differences?
Work on it straight away, right this minute.

“ANGER” – is just one letter short of the word ‘DANGER’.
When we lose control we also lose respect.
When we lose control, we risk losing the chance to find a constructive solution.
On the other hand, anger toward human suffering is generally a catalyst to seek change.

A quick temper can be like a fire out of control, burning us, and everyone else in its path. Anger brings division! It sometimes causes hasty decisions that may cause bitterness and guilt. And yet, anger, in itself, is not wrong. Anger can be a legitimate action to injustice and sin. Always look for the cause. Can we feel ourselves getting angry? Are we reacting to something evil that needs to be put right? Or are we responding selfishly to a personal insult? Learn to control our temper and ask God to help us. Channel our feelings into effective action. Conquer selfish anger through humility and repentance. Ask the Lord to help us with this.

We need to recognise the things we cannot control. We cannot control other people’s attitudes and actions. Be very careful when, where and how we vent. Our words can come back and bite us. Learn to keep our distance from angry people. Being angry can be contagious!

God bless you as you mull over this week’s reflection. Ditch the anger and start now. Learn when it is cool to be angry for a good cause and learn to be angry without sinning. Think about things overnight and then perhaps be silent anyway when anger is not righteous!

If I say everything I think, I can slay people in my path.
I should be asking myself if it is helpful or hurtful?
And what about my timing and voice tone?
You see, only fools vent – the wise quietly hold back.
Knowing when to speak is more important than knowing what to say!
(SOURCE UNKNOWN)

LAW NUMBER ONE IS:   DO YOUR BEST WITH
WHAT YOU HAVE.
It does not matter in God’s eyes how much you
have but how well you handle it.
Barnabas is praised for his large gift of land to the early church. The widow is lauded by our Lord for her gift of less than a penny. Someone said, “I am but one … but I am one. I cannot do much … but I can do something. What I can do … I ought to do. What I ought to do … by the grace of God, I will do.”

LAW NUMBER TWO IS:   WHAT WE MANAGE IS NOT OURS.
I read recently about a strange thief in Hamburg, Germany. There was not a single brick, tile, screw, or nail in his neat little house that had not been stolen. Over a period of two years and by way of eighty different thefts, he acquired every square inch of his house at someone else’s expense. He even admitted that he had stolen the flowers blooming in his front yard. Day by day, bit by bit, he accomplished his theft.

His actions parallel the spiritually crippled behavior of many men and women. Day by day, they appropriate the things of God …. His air, sunshine, and food. They take everything He gives and use them for selfish purposes. Actually, they embezzle a life because they give nothing in return. In building their life, every single brick, tile, screw, and nail is stolen.

A constant warning from God’s Word is this: People who embezzle their lives from God are stuck with what they stole. Life management is to do your best with what you have. It is to know that what we manage is not ours.

LAW NUMBER THREE:   THE THINGS WE MANAGE ARE NOT REAL.
The wealth of this world is not real because it does not last. The goods we manage now are temporary. Life’s largest blunder is to act as though this were not so. The Psalmist said, “Their inward thought is that their houses shall continue forever, their dwelling places to all generations. They call their lands after their own names.” This is sheer mockery. For, as the Bible says of one who lusts after the treasures of earth, “when he dies, he shall carry nothing away.”

Charlemagne was, at his request, buried sitting on his throne, wearing his crown, robe, and jewels. In his lap was an open Bible, and his dead finger was resting on Mark 8:36: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul.”

Successful life management is a matter of exchanging a life you cannot keep for a life you cannot lose. It is trading the temporary goods of this world for unending, secure treasure. No matter how much or how little you may have in ability, opportunity, or wealth, you can manage your life in such a way as to be really rich.                                                                 (BOB JOYCE)

The great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was the first to discover the magnetic meridian of the North Pole and to discover the South Pole. On one of his trips, Amundsen took a homing pigeon with him. When he had finally reached the top of the world,  he opened  the  bird’s  cage and  set  it  free.
Imagine the delight of Amundsen’s wife, back in Norway, when she looked up from the doorway of her home and saw the pigeon circling in the sky above. No doubt she exclaimed, “He’s alive! My husband is still alive!”

So it was when Jesus ascended. He was gone, but the disciples clung to his promise to send them the Holy Spirit. What joy, then, when the dovelike Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. The disciples had with them the continual reminder that Jesus was alive and victorious at the right of the Father. This continues to be the Spirit’s message.                           (THOMAS LINDBERG)

Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, “How can I get the air out of this glass?” One man shouted, “Suck it out with a pump!” Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass.” After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by “sucking out a sin here and there,” but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.                                                                              (TODAY IN THE WORLD)

The Christian’s life in all its aspects—intellectual and ethical, devotional and relational, upsurging in worship and outgoing in witness—is supernatural; only the Spirit can initiate and sustain it. So apart from him, not only will there be no lively believers and no lively congregations, there will be no believers and no congregations at all.                                   (J.I. PACKER)

When the depths are upheld by the Holy Spirit, then the reaction is Christian.
(E. STANLEY JONES)

Many people feel so pressured by the expectations of others that it causes them to be frustrated, miserable and confused about what they should do. But there is a way to live a simple, joy-filled, peaceful life, and the key is learning how to be led by the Holy Spirit, not the traditions or expectations of man.                                                                             (JOYCE MEYER)