Would you spend thirty thousand dollars on perfume for your girl friend or wife? How about that much money spent on perfume for a burial! Probably not! Most Christian’s today would have picked up a bottle of perfume at Dollar Tree for Jesus! The pence or denarius was a day’s wage in the first Century! The pence was equal to ten asses or donkey’s and would have the purchasing power to get this many for a day’s wages! The day laborer and the Roman soldier got one denarius or about 20 cents for a day of labor! The denarius was a small silver coin. So the woman that anointed Jesus with this precious perfume spent 300 days labor for this act of love! The average American worker makes about 100 dollars per day wage. So the American worker at 300 day’s labor would spend thirty thousand dollars on Jesus perfume! If you were a millionaire and made 365 million dollars per year then he would spend 300 million dollars on Jesus perfume! Is it any wonder the crowd got upset at this woman? She was making them look bad! The crowd said the money could have been given to the poor! Jesus said the poor you always have with you! Since the 1960’s the American taxpayer has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on programs for the poor but the poor population has grown in numbers since then? Jesus complimented her and told her this anointing was for my burial. What she did stands as a memorial to her forever! You will meet her in Heaven! Today it is just like pulling teeth to get Christian’s to tithe their income to the church? They will not do it unless they get an income tax deduction! Forget about the offering? I find it difficult sometimes when people want God’s Blessings but will not invest into His Kingdom? We get prayer requests for health and prosperity but not a penny investment into God’s Kingdom? The only rationale I can come up with is that they do not believe God exists but in case He does pray for me! It is like playing the lottery! Buy me a ticket in case you win! This woman had wisdom to invest in the Kingdom while she was living on earth that paid eternal dividends! Her memorial stands 2000 years later! Another interesting word us for perfume is spikenard. Two Greek words make up this English word! It literally means a genuine true beloved friend of foreign origin! Are you a true beloved friend of Jesus? Is He like a treasure of foreign origin to you? Like my grandpa used to say put your money where your mouth is! Put up or shut up! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: beloved
Religion Versus Grace! Mark 1:1
Jesus did not come to correct behavior! Jesus came to give us a new identity! We are all adopted into a family where we learn a new and better way to live! Religion tries to change us from the outside in! Religious Zealots only reward performance! God said this is my beloved Son who I am well pleased! Remember Jesus had not done any miracles yet! Do you love your son or daughter because they are a gift to you from God or will you only love them based on an expected performance? The Holy Spirit will empower you to live a better way! Real change is an inside job! You must be born again! Jesus said we must repent and believe! This if done will change everything! Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. For the complete message go to: NewLifeChurch.org View his Podcast.
Human Love versus God’s Love!
Human love has little regard for truth! It makes the truth relative, since nothing, not even truth, must come between it and the beloved person. Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) Assassinated by Adolf Hitler in 1945. Jesus said, “I am the truth, the way and the life and no man cometh to the Father but by me!”
Mistaken Identity!
My Pastor Steve from Macon Georgia is a very talented man and oversee’s a congregation of about 1200 people. As a college student at Lee College he took a summer job in the local town at a funeral home. He thought the experience of ministering to the grieving would help him prepare for the ministry. That summer the funeral director made steve supervisor over 6 people because steve was so talented. This particular day they had two funerals scheduled. Both were scheduled to begin at 2:00 PM in churches located in opposite ends of the city. One deceased was a man and the other a woman. Well, Steve got the caskets mixed up and sent them to the wrong locations! To make matters worse they were both open viewing! When the lids were both lifted at 2:00 PM shreaks and screams began! Steve thought it was just emotions from the crowd for the dearly beloved. Then he heard one lady say he looks like her old boyfriend? Another said he was going to sue the funeral home? After some bad words were said to steve he realized his mistake! He quickly loaded the casket and headed for the other church! He got stopped on the way and got a speeding ticket. When he got to the other church there was not a warm reception for him there either! Monday morning was a difficult morning for steve as the funeral directory called him into his office. He explained to Steve that anything less than termination would not be accepted by the community. Steve got another job in fast food just up the road in the next town. We love and appreciate Pastor Steve Sawyer and the years he ministered to our family in Macon Georgia! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com