The Cost of My Oil

The breaking of the alabaster box and the anointing of the Lord filled the house with the odor, with the sweetest odor. Everyone could smell it. Whenever you meet someone who has really suffered; been limited, gone through things for the Lord, willing to be imprisoned by the Lord, just being satisfied with Him and nothing else, immediately you scent the fragrance. There is a savor of the Lord. Something has been crushed, something has been broken, and there is a resulting odor of sweetness. --Watchman Nee


Alabaster Box Lyrics
The room grew still 
As she made her way to Jesus 
She stumbles through the tears that made her blind 
She felt such pain 
Some spoke in anger 
Heard folks whisper 
There's no place here for her kind 
Still on she came 
Through the shame that flushed her face 
Until at last, she knelt before his feet 
And though she spoke no words 
Everything she said was heard 
As she poured her love for the Master 
From her box of alabaster 

And I've come to pour 
My praise on Him 
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box 
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears 
And I dry them with my hair 
You weren't there the night He found me 
You did not feel what I felt 
When he wrapped his love all around me and 
You don't know the cost of the oil 
In my alabaster box 


I can't forget the way life used to be 
I was a prisoner to the sin that had me bound 
And I spent my days 
Poured my life without measure 
Into a little treasure box 
I'd thought I'd found 
Until the day when Jesus came to me 
And healed my soul 
With the wonder of His touch 
So now I'm giving back to Him 
All the praise He's worthy of 
I've been forgiven 
And that's why 
I love Him so much

And I've come to pour 
My praise on Him 
Like oil from Mary's alabaster box 
Don't be angry if I wash his feet with my tears 
And dry them with my hair (my hair) 
You weren't there the night Jesus found me 
You did not feel what I felt 
When He wrapped his loving arms around me and 
You don't know the cost of the oil 
Oh, you don't know the cost of my praise 
You don't know the cost of the oil 
In my alabaster box


~~I am not sure there is anything left to say for tonight...other than THANK YOU JESUS for accepting my oil. Amen.

Grace and Compassion

Psalm 145:8-9

The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.

Grace and compassion....two of the things we are REQUIRED when we are followers of Christ and yet sometimes the most difficult.

How do we practice this when we don't want to or we think the person or people are undeserving?

• What about the one who...

• ...raped us?
• ...tortured us?
• ...robbed us?
• ...took advantage of us?
• ...used us?
• ...abused us?

• What if they are...

• ...another race?
• ...a convicted felon?
• ...gay?
• ...a murderer?
• ...a rapist?
• ...__________(fill in the blank)?

Do we show His grace to them? What happens when we don't? What about when we can't, because of where we have been or where we are in life? How do we overcome this travesty to ourselves?

Yes, NOT showing grace and compassion is a travesty. NOT only to the person who NEEDS the grace and compassion, even MORE to the person who needs to be gracious and compassionate. I have found that giving grace and compassion to the person or people I DON'T want to give it to is when I experience the greatest blessing and (most times) lesson from God.

Being gracious and compassionate comes second nature to some, yet I must admit there are times when I have REFUSED to give it and have suffered because I didn't. Today is a different time and place in life than ever. Closeness to God and seeking Him is of the utmost importance (on most days) and consistently learning how fallible, broken and human we all are (especially me) is humbling.

Truly learning to love others as Christ loves us is not always easy....I balk, I run, I trip, I stumble, I fall, I refuse, I rebel, I...especially when I am putting feelings, emotions, brokenness and other things before Christ, sometimes without even knowing I am doing it.

So the "I" is temporarily removed (yes, it does come back) and seeking Him to find what would He do becomes more important. It is not always a journey that is liked, nor is it always completed. Yet, when Christ is sought first being gracious is easier, less painful, and not so much of a battle.

Today the goal is to be gracious, compassionate, loving, caring, and forgiving. Is this going to be easy? No. Can it be done? Yes. And this is why:


~~I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13


Amen.

Helping others.

For I was hungry & you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty & you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger & you invited me in, I needed clothes & you clothed me, I was sick & you looked after me, I was in prison & you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry & feed you, or thirsty & give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger & invite you in, or needing clothes & clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison & go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers & sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:35-40 (NIV)

If someone asks you:

~ for food, do you feed them?
~ water, do you give it to them?
~ for a place to stay, do you provide shelter?
~ for clothes, do you cloth them?
~ for companionship & is confined to the "prison" of this world, do you visit them & tell them of Jesus?

What if:
~ you do not like the person asking?
~ the person has done you wrong?
~ the person is on drugs...an alcoholic...gay...had an abortion...murdered someone...a different race/nationality/ethnicity?
~ it is someone you love?

What do you do?