The Alabaster Jar!

Good morning to all on this wonderful Saturday morning. Waine and I are in Hawkinsville and had a delightful meal last night in Perry GA at the historic Swanson house. If you all are ever in Perry GA stop by and check it out. Please continue to pray for ET and his family. His biopsy came back positive for adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. The great thing was that as he was being told the diagnosis and prognosis he began to pray for the physician that God would give the physician grace and knowledge. The physician is Jewish so it was quite a shock to the MD when ET started to pray because most Jewish people are still looking for the Messiah and ET already knows Him. God works through all and can conquer all. Please continue to keep ET and his family in your thoughts today and thank God for your health and strength. Proverbs 1:33 says " but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm." Amen and amen!

I am continuing my journey in Matthew 26 verses 1 - 13, "When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He said to His disciples, "As you know, the Passover is two days away and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified. Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, and they plotted to arrest Jesus in some sly way and kill Him. But not during the Feast, they said, or there may be a riot among the people. While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as 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. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." Amen and amen!

The treachery of men and women is always performed in the dark. The chief priests didn't even have the courage of their convictions. They wanted Christ gone but knew that timing was everything. What they didn't understand is that their timing fit God's timetable. The Passover represented the "safe" passage of the Israelites during the last plague that would destroy the first born of each house. When the lamb's blood was smeared across the door post of the house of each Israelite, the angel of death would pass over. Jesus is the Lamb of Life, the first and only born of the Family of God,  whose blood would be shed to save us all and the chief priests DIDN'T GET it. That's how it is with sin--we don't get it, we don't get the redemptive relationship available through Christ when we live in sin. Just like the physician in ET's case, they rely on their own knowledge and feel helpless when they are not able to offer a cure. When your physician has a personal relationship with God, instead of being helpless and defensive when faced with a disease with a horrible prognosis, they get into prayer battle mode with you and claim victory over your body and grave. We all have to die in this body; eternal life only begins when we leave this body however it is still an eventuality that is difficult to face. So when we pray for healing of a Christian what are we praying for? God is not man that He should lie or the Son of man that He needs to repent. God is true to His Word and if He said it so shall it be done. These priests just didn't get it. They had no power over Christ--Christ was a willing participant in His own death as He knew He had to become sin to pay the price for us and so He allowed Himself to be prepared for death and burial! Likewise, when we pray for a Christian's healing we not only send up intercessory prayers for longevity but more so for the preparation to face whatever cup that Christian has to drink from. Hallelujah! Whatever cup we have to drink from-Christ's sacrifice has made it possible for us to drink and yet live.

This no named woman with the alabaster jar was anointing Him and His own disciples didn't get it. They followed Him and still didn't get the essence of His ministry. They thought He was sent to earth to address poverty at the hands of the Romans; oppression at the hands of the Romans; inequality at the hands of the Romans. Christ was here to free humanity from the destructive force of SIN! Even though His disciples didn't GET IT--their lack of understanding didn't stop Christ from using them to spread the Good News. Christ looks at our hearts and not our outward behavior. This is a good lesson for all of us; Christ looks at our hearts; He is sensitive to our will which may not always catch up with our spiritual nature. He looks for our willingness to let go of the ways of this world and embrace the principles of the Kingdom. I thank God for the woman with the alabaster jar and I thank Him more for His sacrifice so that I would have the ability to see Him in eternity. This world cannot be all that we have to look forward to. This world will perish but the Word of God will last forever. He is neither a liar or a thief. He is true to His Word so claim His promises today for all your needs. Stop looking to the "Romans" for the answers to the mysteries of life. God will provide all your needs today and everyday. Claim a victorious life today. Be a blessing to someone today!

Stephanie