ANOINT. Matthew 26:6-12.

Anoint. There’s a word we don’t use every day. It means “set apart.” When you anoint something, you dedicate it for special use. The high priest, the temple, and the things in the temple were anointed for special service. Christians anoint the sick by placing olive oil on their foreheads, following James 5:14. Others anoint houses, dabbing oil on the frames of each room and praying for the building and those who will enter it.

Samuel anointed young David by pouring oil over his head while speaking great words.

Prophets, priests, and kings were all anointed. The dead were anointed.

Jesus was anointed. The word “Messiah” means “the anointed One.” Hebrews says he was “anointed with the oil of joy above all His brethren,” making Him the most joyful man who ever lived.

Jesus was physically anointed twice within a matter of days:

“Jesus came to … Lazarus’s [home]… so they gave a dinner for Him… Then Mary took a pound of fragrant oil—pure and expensive nard—anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.” [Judas complained.] Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has done it for the day of my burial” John 12:1-7.

“While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon… a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table.” [There were complaints.] Jesus said, “Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for Me… By pouring fragrant oil on Me, she has prepared My body for burial” Matthew 26:6-12.

If I had been there, would I be the anoint-er, or the critic?

Can you support passionate, outlandish worship, or does it make you uncomfortable?

Are you David, dancing when the Ark was returned, or his wife Michal, who scorned his worship and was punished by God with infertility?

Dear God, help us love Jesus with passion that would anoint His head and feet with oil. Help us worship more and judge less.

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THY WILL BE DONE. Mark 14:36.

Often our greatest hurts come without warning—you break a bone, lose a loved one, fail a task. The pain is real, but the triggering event is behind you.

But what about when horror looms ahead of you? In some ways, dread is so much worse.

Before the crucifixion, “Jesus knew everything that was about to happen to Him” John 18:4. Imagine that.

At the end of another productive day—after the Last Supper and washing the disciples’ feet—Jesus took Peter, James, and John into the Garden:

“He began to be SORROWFUL and DEEPLY DISTRESSED. Then He said, ‘My soul is SWALLOWED UP IN SORROW—TO THE POINT OF DEATH. Remain here and stay awake with me’” Matthew 26:37-38.

Mark writes, “He began to be deeply distressed and HORRIFIED” 14:33. Luke says that after Jesus began to pray:

“An angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. Being in anguish, He prayed more fervently, and HIS SWEAT BECAME LIKE DROPS OF BLOOD falling to the ground” 22:44.

(So AFTER the angel gave Jesus strength, He began to sweat drops of blood? How overwhelmed do you have to be that sweating drops of blood is an improvement?) Consider the phrases in just the Holman translation: Sorrowful, deeply distressed, swallowed up in sorrow to the point of death, horrified, sweat drops of blood. This is a man FILLED WITH DREAD.

WebMd describes hematidrosis (sweating blood) as “extremely rare… tiny blood vessels in the skin break open… caused by extreme distress or fear, such as facing death, torture.” Again—Jesus was filled with dread. But a few minutes later He faces arrest, torture, trials, and death with bold courage. How?

I believe it was His powerful prayer:

“Abba, Father! All things are possible for You! Take this cup from Me. Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done” Mark 14:36.

He seems to have prayed the same thing for an hour or two. And He left strengthened and encouraged, so bold in fact, that the men who came to arrest Him fell at His feet when they saw His courage! (See John 18:4-11.)

Pray: “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

Read Mark 14.

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REPETITION. Matthew 26:39,42,44.

Have you noticed repetition in the Bible?

Song of Solomon says over and over: “Do not awaken love until the proper time.” Why the repetition? For emphasis. God repeats it so you will see how important it is. Flee lust. Remember that you’re too young, or remember that your circumstances are not right. Avoid the intense entanglements of love and dating—keep an appropriate distance until the time is right.

What else is repeated? So many things. God gave Pharaoh two dreams that were similar. Joseph explained that the two were one and the same, but God used two dreams for EMPHASIS. To show how important it is—to hammer home His point.

Books like Psalms and Proverbs include hundreds of repeated lines—to make a point with people who are not paying attention.

And think of this: in the garden, Jesus prayed “not my will, but thine be done.” Then He walked over and talked to His disciples. Then He prayed it again: “Not my will, but Your will be done.” Then He talked to the disciples again. Then He prayed a third time: “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” Matthew 26:39,42,44.

How important is that? Do we pray that way? Do we surrender our will to the Father?

Do we surrender over and over and over?

Maybe if we did, we would have the kind of courage and power that Jesus had when He faced the cross a few hours later.

GOD’S POWER ENTERS OUR LIVES WHEN WE SURRENDER OUR WILLS TO HIM.

Take all your burdens to God—health, academics, algebra, teachers, students, friends, and enemies, and pray “NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE.” And pray it over and over and over.

That’s when God will do mighty things.

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Billy Graham said, “Ours is a Singing Faith.”

I don’t know about you, but even having been a singer all my life, I sometimes think of male singers as trendy little guys in skinny jeans, or hipsters with an oxymoronically-named man bun.

I have sung bass in choirs with all the manliest bearded men: big, strong, tattooed Marine veterans and tough guys of every stripe. I’ve sung alongside former college football players, farmers, cowboys, and oilfield workers, the sort of gentlemen no one calls “guys.” These are MEN.

But too many men today are afraid to sing well, hesitant to belt out songs of worship for fear of being perceived as “artsy,” or sensitive or less-manly.

But not singing is the devil’s goal.

He uses all this manly vs unmanly confusion to kill the worship of men.

Jesus was a real man. A man of tremendous courage. A man of grit. A man who faced torture with boldness. And Jesus was a singer, a worshiper. And so were all 12 disciples. Peter, Andrew, John—men of courage and guts.

After the Last Supper, “they sang hymns and went out to the Mount of Olives” Matthew 26:30. Think of it: Jesus chose to sing on the most difficult night of His life, the night when He would sweat drops of blood. Facing that–He found time and energy to sing.

These heroic men were singers.

Men who love Jesus are commanded to sing to Him. It is repeated throughout the Bible: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord” Psalm 100:1. “Come before His presence with singing” Psalm 100:2.

Billy Graham said, “Ours is a singing faith.”

It’s true. Never let anyone (even a fancy-haired worship leader in skinny jeans) make you think singing is not manly. Men who love God are commanded to belt the music out with the powerful, deeper-pitched instrument that God made just for men.

Jesus was a manly singer. Be like Jesus.

P.S. Check out this US Navy men’s chorale performing the Naval Hymn before the Bush family here in Houston at St. Martin’s Episcopal–the cathedral where President and Mrs. Bush’s funerals were later held.

Read Psalm 100.

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Which is More Important, Your Body or Your Soul? Matthew 26:6-13.

The philosophy of Materialism holds that MATTER (material) is the fundamental substance in nature, and all things are the result of material processes. If you feel romantic, it is because of pheromones. If you love your children, it is because of oxytocin. If you enjoy art, movies, or classical music, it is because of dopamine. If you believe in God, even that is due to brain chemistry.

One opposite of Materialism is the historical view of Gnosticism. Gnosticism held that the material world was bad and only spiritual things mattered. That led to the idea that you could do whatever you want to with your body ( be gluttonous, lustful, lazy, etc.,) because the body was bad anyway and only the spirit mattered.

This view retains a foothold today, as “hookup culture” argues what one does with his or her body has no relevance to life, or to mental or emotional health. The idea is that your body is a shell you live in, but one in no way connected to who you ARE. Thus, you can pierce it, cut it, disfigure or mutilate it, change it from one sex to the other, etc., because the physical life is not connected to who you are as a person. (For more, see Nancy Pearcey’s book LOVE THY BODY–which I have not yet read.)

So which is right? Is your physical body what matters and everything else the result of brain chemistry?

Or are your heart and soul what matters and the physical body an irrelevant vessel you can use any way you like?

Which is more important, your body or your soul?

All four Gospels record stories of Jesus being anointed with the contents of an alabaster jar of perfume so expensive it could have been sold for a year’s wages. Judas complains about the waste: “Why wasn’t this fragrant oil sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?” John 12:5.  John then explains that Judas was not only a traitor, but an embezzler.[1]

But Jesus answers the complaint. “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for Me. For the poor you always have with you. But you do not always have me. By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial. I assure you: wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her” Matthew 26:10-13.

She poured out a year’s wages—an incredible sum—to honor Jesus. And Jesus honored her in return. Clearly Jesus valued His body and He valued the respect this woman showed to His body—a body that would soon be beaten beyond recognition, Isaiah 52:14.

Materialism and Gnosticism are both wrong.

We live in a physical body and we must strive NOT to sin with that body. We must respect our bodies as Jesus respected His body. We must also cultivate a thriving spiritual life and nurture mental and emotional health.

Western culture tends to break people into parts: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. But Hebrew culture focused more on the whole. You are a whole person: scripture encourages you to live a life of holiness in mind and body.

God, teach us to honor our bodies as Jesus did.

Read Matthew 26.

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[1] “He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money bag and would steal part of what was in it” John 12:6.

PARABLE FOR THE BUSINESS MAJORS. Luke 19:24,26.

How do you make money? “Buy low, sell high,” right? Buy used American blue jeans at resale shops for $2.00 a pair, then when you have enough to fill a shipping container, ship the jeans to Japan and sell them for $200.00 a pair. That’s an incredible profit! (Saw this on TV’s “SWAP SHOP.”)

But investing is easier. Buy shares of the Blue Jean Resale business, let the managers do the work, and in a year your shares may be worth three times what you invested. Invest your capital ($$) in several areas (diversify) and a majority of them will grow, while a minority may shrink. If you are well diversified, you should see a profit.

Jesus told the Parable of the Talents. A wealthy man gives to his slaves talents ($) to invest while he is away. One invests his talent and earns ten more talents. The master rewards him with authority over TEN CITIES—and invites him to “share in your master’s joy”! (Matthew 25:21.) The second invests his talent and earns five more. He gets FIVE CITIES—and the same invitation to joy. But a third, a “risk-averse investor,” hides his talent so that he will have something to return to the master. And the master punishes him for not putting it into a bank to at least earn interest.

What is the point of this “PARABLE FOR THE BUSINESS MAJORS”?

The point is: What are you doing with your talents?

Are you serving God? If so, don’t be discouraged! He sees your faithfulness and He will reward you, not only with authority and leadership, but with MORE TALENTS—and a share in His JOY!

“Take the talent away from the worthless slave and give it to him who has ten talents … For to everyone who has, more will be given” Luke 19:24,26.

God, give us courage to take risks, to serve, to be willing to engage in many activities for Your Kingdom. Reveal our talents and gifts so we can serve Your Kingdom most efficiently, doing what You made us to do. May we SHARE IN OUR MASTER’S JOY!

Read Luke 19.

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TREE CLIMBER. Luke 19:8-9.

Tree climbing rarely makes it into the history books. But has anyone NOT climbed a tree? Parents even encourage it. My dad put me in a tree for the first time—and he created a monster. We had the perfect climbing tree, with smooth bark and limbs spaced out as if someone had engineered it for children. There were no scratchy short limbs or twigs, or rough bark—it was perfect. All the kids we knew climbed that tree—someone on Facebook actually asked me about that tree recently. It was a fruitless mulberry, sparing us a lifetime of purple stains.

As I grew bigger, I climbed hundreds of other trees, their canopies the perfect escape. And as a grown man, I can still climb—but I may be hurting in the morning.

The Bible has a story about tree climbing, and this was a grown man with perhaps the stature of a child. Zacchaeus climbed a tree so he could get a better look at this Jesus guy everyone was talking about. When Jesus reached the sycamore, He said, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down. Today I must stay at your house.” So Zacchaeus climbed down and took Jesus into his home. And he responded to the Master:

“‘Look, I’ll give half my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much!’ Jesus said, ‘Today salvation has come to this house’” Luke 19:8-9.

Do you have the enthusiasm of Zacchaeus? Does Jesus excite you enough to climb a tree for a better look?

More importantly, could you give half your possessions to the poor for Jesus? Could you go from rich to middle class because you love Jesus?

Dear God, fill us with enthusiasm about Jesus. Help us love you so much that we get out of our comfort zone, climb a tree, pull a muscle, give until it hurts. Make us more like little Zack, the rich, powerful man who was not too proud to climb a tree for a better knowledge of the Master.

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Salvation Has Come. Luke 19:9.

How do you get saved?

One of my favorite soul-winning tools is the Bridge to Life[1] tract published by the Navigators. In only a few pages, the writers explain some of the fundamental truths that help people find Christ. It ends with what is often called a “sinner’s prayer,” and most believe that if you pray those words, believing in Jesus by faith, you will be saved.

I love the Bridge to Life. It is a powerful message in a world where most people imagine that God is at the top of a mountain, and any path you take that leads up the mountain is fine, because eventually we will all be together at the top. The Bridge to Life tract wisely changes the metaphor from a mountain to a canyon.

God is not waiting for the lost to climb a mountain to reach Him. Instead, the lost are separated from God by a canyon called sin. The only way across that canyon is the bridge—which is Jesus. Jesus and only Jesus can bridge the gap between man and God.

The Bridge to Life tract explains salvation in wonderful, simple terms.

But Biblical salvation is not a simple matter.

When Jesus met Zacchaeus, the tax collector was enthusiastic: “I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord! And if I have extorted anyone, I will pay back four times as much!” Jesus answered, “Today salvation has come to this house” Luke 19:8-9.

Where does the text report Zacchaeus praying a Sinner’s Prayer? Or did Zacchaeus purchase salvation with his money?

And what about the poor man who said, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” and Jesus said he went home justified, Luke 18:14. All he did was beg for mercy. That’s not much of a Sinner’s Prayer.

What about the thief on the cross? He never read a Bridge to Life tract, never gave money to the church, and never got baptized or prayed a sinner’s prayer—maybe he never prayed at all. He simply looked at Jesus on the cross next to him and said, “Lord, remember me, when you come into your kingdom” and Jesus said, “Today, you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:42-43.

Finally, Moses and Elijah appear from heaven and talk to Jesus in Matthew 17:2-8. We can assume these two and thousands more received salvation by faith though they lived long before Jesus. How were they saved if they had no tracts and no Sinner’s Prayers?

Jesus revealed a variety of salvation experiences, some not even involving prayer. But they are consistent: each person displayed a humble, repentant heart.

God is not waiting on the recitation of just the right combination of words, as though salvation could be acquired through some magical spell or incantation.

Instead, God is looking at the heart.

Have you repented of your sin? Have you trusted in Jesus alone, not yourself? Have you come to the end of your rope, the end of your human efforts? Are you ready to rely fully on Jesus and Him alone? If so, perhaps you are ready to be saved. I recommend the Bridge to Life tract as one that puts things in simple terms and can provide a great deal of helpful education to someone who is new to Christianity or new to the faith.

But remember: God looks on the heart. All the “Sinner’s Prayers” in the world will not save you if your heart is not humble before Him. 

Read Luke 19.

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[1] https://www.navigators.org/resource/the-bridge-to-life/

Enraptured by the Rapture. Luke 18:31-34.

As Jesus led the disciples to Jerusalem, He warned them about His coming crucifixion. He told them—in plain terms—what would happen. His words were not poetic or artful in any way. He was not speaking in parables. He spoke the literal truth in the simplest terms—and they completely missed it. He told them what was coming in Matthew 20:17-19. He told them in Mark 10:33-34. And He told them in Luke 18:31-34. This was probably one conversation reported three different times, but it could be three conversations. Here’s how Luke reported it. Notice how plain the language is. Jesus uses no allegory, no poetry, no symbolism:

“Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem. Everything that is written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be handed over to the Gentiles, and He will be mocked, insulted, spit on, and after they flog Him, they will kill Him, and He will rise on the third day” Luke 18:31-33.

Could Jesus say it any more clearly? He is going to Jerusalem where He will be brutally murdered. Then He will come back to life. Yet they understood none of it. Why not? How could they miss it? Because God did not allow them to understand it.

“They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said” Luke 18:34.

God wanted them to understand nothing at the time, but to remember and understand the words LATER.

Recently people seem to be talking about the rapture more than ever. I can’t complain: the Bible says “We who are alive will be caught up together … to meet the Lord in the air” 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The rapture is in the Bible.

Moreover, God promises to bless those who study the prophecies of Revelation: “Blessed are those who read the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” Revelation 1:3.

We should study the prophecies. We should look forward to the appearing of Jesus with joyful anticipation—He will reward those who LOVE His appearing, 2 Timothy 4:8-9.

But prophecy is the most difficult language in the entire Bible. Prophecy does not use plain language, but often relies on poetry, allegory, and symbolism. Like a parable, prophecy tends to have one meaning for the many, but another for the few. But even when language is easy, God sometimes hides things from His people just as He hid the meaning of Jesus’s plain words from the disciples.

(Imagine—the disciples missed what was predicted in plain language only days before it happened. By contrast, some preachers today are dogmatic about their interpretations of prophecies written in difficult, poetic, even dream-like language over 2,000 years ago.)

Moreover, consider the confusion over the First Coming of Christ. As I have written previously, God kept key details hidden from His people:

The Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament were significantly misunderstood. We look back today and understand that there are TWO COMINGS of Christ, a first coming as a Suffering Servant on a donkey, and a second coming as a Conquering King on a white horse.

But no one in the time of Christ understood that. NO ONE. They knew the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. They were able to interpret some of the prophecies correctly. But no one on earth understood that the Messiah would be born, then die on a cross, be resurrected, ascend to heaven, and return later. NOT ONE PERSON understood those details. These were not stupid people. And they were not without the Holy Spirit. God spoke to prophets through His Holy Spirit all the time. If no one in Israel understood what was going on, it is because God chose not to reveal everything.

In the same way, God may have chosen NOT TO REVEAL EVERYTHING to us.[1]

If the disciples missed a plain-spoken prediction of events a week away, and if all the Old Testament prophets and scholars were unable to discover that the Messiah would come not once but twice, then we should exercise great humility[2] as we seek to interpret end-times scripture, and even more so as we try to connect specific passages to events in today’s news.

What is more important than assigning an end-times interpretation to every event in today’s news is the state of your heart. Do you love Jesus so much that you look forward to His return?

We must pray and humbly seek God’s face, and obey the instructions He gave us–clear instructions–and look forward to His coming with joyful anticipation, 2 Timothy 4:8-9.

Pray: “Even so, come Lord Jesus” Revelation 22:20.

Read Luke 18.

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[1] https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2023/10/20/sign-of-the-times-matthew-246/

[2] Anyone preaching on the end-times should exercise great humility, knowing God has often kept some things hidden. For this reason, I listen with skepticism to those offering detailed, super-specific interpretations linking the news of the day to the words of scripture.

How Do You Achieve Greatness? Matthew 20:26.

How do you achieve greatness? Hard work? Dedication? Long hours? Sacrifice? Talent? Competitiveness? Drive? Self-discipline? Early to bed, early to rise?

All of those things are vital for many aspects of life. But when the disciples talked about achievements and rank in God’s kingdom, Jesus had an answer so radical it was revolutionary:

“Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave” Matthew 20:26

Are you willing to be a servant? Do you give extra, stay longer, work harder, and expect nothing in return? Are you willing to wash dishes for your friends? Pick up their stuff? Do things for your home and family without being asked? Help out at school or on the job without worrying about who gets the credit?

Jesus invented and modeled what business gurus today call “servant leadership.” He did not just talk about it; He lived it. He washed the disciples’ feet. He served them at the Last Supper. He gave up His rights and power and prestige and glory in Heaven to become a crying baby in diapers. He humbled Himself, and He served. We must do the same.

Pray and ask Him to make you not a “leader,” but a “servant leader.”

Ask Him to show you things you can do today and every day to SERVE others. Help someone. God will bless you so much. Ask Him to help you see yourself as a servant. Ask Him to give you opportunities to serve and a desire to do it, especially when it is for someone who cannot pay you back.

Be a servant. Then God will make you a leader.

Read Matthew 20.

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