Morning by Morning, March 31 - Very Costly Anointing
Good morning, Lord Jesus. You call my name to come along and follow You along the journey of my day in the constant communion of prayer. ...
"Now while Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it, they were angry and said, 'Why this waste? For this ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor.' But Jesus, aware of this, said to t hem, 'Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service to Me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have Me. By pouring this ointment on My body she has prepared Me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this good news is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in remembrance of her' " (Matthew 26:6-13).
The anointing of the oil poured over Your head prepared You for burial. And the anointing of Your Spirit poured over my heart prepares me for the death to my self and the resurrection into life in Christ.
The ointment was very costly. And so is the anointing of Your Holy Spirit. It costs us all we have. It costs us our self-centered pride, our insistence on our own will apart from Your will, our claim to absolute ownership of all we have and all we are.
And the disciples who saw the extravagance of her sacrifice were angry. Though their time would come when they would also experience the anointing of Your Spirit, they had not yet come to the place of complete surrender of self. They were resentful of one who was, mocking her and judging her for wasting her time and her resources, foolish in her choices of priorities.
They didn't get it because they didn't have It. They had not yet been willing to sacrifice their lives for the sake of Christ, to be emptied of themselves that they could be filled with Your Spirit. "Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God's Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Lord, don't let me be that kind of disciple. Don't let me ever settle for that -- following You with my words, but not fully following You with all my heart, resentful of those who long to be closer to You and of those who seem to have Your blessing and favor, as they offer all they are and all they have to You alone. Give me a right heart, an extravagant heart, that's willing to pour out my life for the fullness of life in You.
This is what it really means to follow You on the journey to the cross. Your invitation to Your first disciples is still Your invitation to every disciple: "Whoever does not take up the cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 10:38). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
Friend, May you freely pour out all you have and all you are to Christ alone, as He anoints you with His Holy Spirit to fully follow Him, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy Hays | Messiah Ministries
Healing from the Inside Out
Pastoral Director | Rapha God Ministries
4 Dominion Drive, Building 1
San Antonio, Texas 78257
Please share this word to encourage a friend!
