MEMORISE: Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her. – Mark 14:9
READ: Mark 14:3-9 (KJV)
3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head.
4 And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
5 For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
7 For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
8 She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
9 Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Timothy 1-4
MESSAGE:
Jesus was at Bethany when a woman poured costly perfume on His head. Some hypocrites saw it as a waste of resources because they felt the ointment could have sold for a great price and the returns given to the poor. Jesus saw through their hypocrisy and said in Mark 14:6-7:
“…Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.”
It is shocking that some people considered what this lady did for her Maker as a waste. To their surprise, Jesus said she would forever be remembered for that singular act as she was doing it in honour of His eventual burial. There are many lessons you can learn from this. One, we should prepare our aged parents for their funerals long before they die. We can do this by taking good care of them when they are alive. This is because whatever fortune we spend at their funeral is a mere exercise in futility. The dead do not appreciate golden caskets, neither do they eat delicacies. Two, the law of harvest will come to play. If we take care of our aged, all other things being equal, the younger generation would take care of us too.
Another lesson we can draw from this story is that whatever we do for God is not only appreciated now, it is kept in divine memory. We see this in Acts 10:4. What this woman did during the Passion Week over 2,000 years ago is till being talked about today in the 21st century. Jesus said the good deed of this woman shall be spoken of wherever and whenever the gospel would be preached and true to His word, it is happening.
We must also learn not to listen to what people say whenever we are moved by the Holy spirit to do something for God. We should be like Paul who taught us not to confer with flesh and blood before preaching the gospel (Galatians 1:16).
Don’t wait till your aged ones have passed on before celebrating them; the dead cannot appreciate any celebration. Take care of them while they are still alive, show your gratitude regularly and shower them with love continually. When you do this, they will bless you and you will be blessed indeed.
ACTION POINT: What is that thing God is asking you to do for Him? What is He asking you to do for the aged ones? Go ahead and do them NOW.
Open Heavens 2021 Daily Devotional guide was written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest evangelical church in the world and also the President of Christ the Redeemer’s Ministries.
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