Laurie Hopkins

The woman with the Alabaster box came to unabashedly worship Jesus.  

Simon didn’t understand this woman or her worship and because of that he judged her.  

Simon hadn’t  even extend the common courtesies of the day to Jesus when He entered his home; water for his feet, a kiss and oil for his head and yet he stood in judgment of this woman and her worship.  

Jesus points out “to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”  

In our day and age, as Christians, there are times when we are not even extending common courtesies to Jesus in our own lives and yet we find ourselves in situations where we judge the worship of those around us.  

They are too much, they are worshiping too little, or they are worshiping in a way that is unfamiliar to us.  

Jesus points out clearly that those who recognize that they have been forgiven much are the ones most likely to love and therefore worship without reserve.  

The outward appearance of worship doesn’t tell the story of the heart in worship –

 only Jesus knows the reservedness of the worship we offer to Him. 

Let’s start focusing on ensuring our own worship is pure before God and stop looking at those around us.

What are some of your favorite ways to worship Jesus? 

John the Baptist spent his whole life preparing the way for Jesus to come.  

At all times in his preaching He pointed away from himself and toward the coming Messiah. 

He baptized Jesus and saw the dove descending upon Him.  

Several times in the Gospels he identified  Jesus as the Lamb of God.  

And yet, when John found himself in prison he sent his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He was the “Coming One”.  

It doesn’t matter how clear we are on who Jesus is, there will often come a time in our lives, when the going gets tough, that we may question the Lord and who He is because we don’t understand what we are seeing.  

John found himself in this position.  

He knew that Jesus was the “Coming One” and yet when Jesus wasn’t doing the things that John expected him to do and when John found himself imprisoned, he asked the question.  

What I love about this passage is Jesus’ response.  

He didn’t berate John for asking.  

As a matter of fact, He goes on to tell the people that there was not a greater prophet born of women, than John.  

What Jesus does is refocus John.  

He tells the disciples to go and tell John what they have seen and heard, “that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them”. 

He doesn’t defend His practice and His plans, rather He reminds John about what John knows of the Messiah.  

Jesus will often do that in our lives as well.  

Instead of berating us for asking the question, Jesus will refocus us on what we know to be true about Him, rather than defending the path He is taking us on.  

Are you in a similar position to John today?  

Ask the question and allow Jesus to refocus you!  

He is a gracious God.

Are you able to be honest with God when you have questions?  What has your experience been in taking things to God when you don’t understand the process?

“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? “Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat  vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock. “But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 6:46-49

The commands of Jesus are a surefooted foundation for our lives.  

Jesus does not give us direction to spoil our fun or ruin our day.  

Jesus, in telling us how to live within ourselves and with others is helping us to build a firm foundation on which we can build successfully.  

The man building without a firm foundation is only building a house of cards, which will fall quickly and with much damage, as soon as the flood comes against it.  

The man building on the rock (that is Jesus) is building with brick and stone which will not be moved in the face of the flood.  

Similar to calling Jesus Teacher (like we talked about earlier in the week) and not aiming to be like Him, Jesus speaks about calling Him Lord without having intention to do the things He has said. 

In the same way we call Him Teacher, are we calling out Lord, Lord in a causal and offhanded manner, or are we calling out with the understanding that we are to follow His sayings? 

The fact of the matter is that the floods will come. 

Is your foundation firm enough to withstand them?

How do you understand Jesus’s direction in your life?