The High Calling of God

  "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple." Psalm 27:4  Recently I was in a puzzle store, looking for just the right one for my husband and me.  It is one of our favorite past times- and nothing less than 1,000 pieces, please.  There were all kinds for all ages. Just a fun place to be. In the next aisle, I kept hearing a woman talking to a little boy. She kept saying, "Now, is this the "one thing" that you want to buy?"  I couldn't hear his response, but she repeated that question several times, "Is this the one thing that you want?"   Evidently he had been instructed before he ever entered that store, that he only had one option- just "one thing" that he could have at that time. Knowing kids, and myself, for that matter, it is hard to go into a store with so many options and have to deci

  Scripture reference John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9 Concluding our Extravagant Devotion Series. “Extravagant” means "exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary". We have been looking into how Mary displayed extravagant devotion to Christ. We saw how it opens the door to the prophetic, the cost, a servant's heart, breaking the flask and how Mary stayed focused on Jesus even though she was misunderstood.  Extravagant Devotion It is spending more than necessary. It encompasses and infuses our entire being. It will cost us time, our will or even our relationships. It will lead us into a humble servant life. It will require us to stay focused on Christ- It will require us to keep our eyes fixed on the One we worship. It will cost us the breaking of our wills which will allow the fragrant oil of the Holy Spirit to

  Scripture reference John 12:1-8 Continuing our Extravagant Devotion Series. “Extravagant” means "exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary". We have been looking into how Mary displayed extravagant devotion to Christ. We saw how it opens the door to the prophetic, the cost, a servant's heart, breaking the flask and now how Mary stayed focused on Jesus even though she was misunderstood. John 12:4-6 Judas Iscariot and other disciples (stated in the other gospels)- became indignant while Mary was performing her act of extravagant devotion. There was a lot of murmuring, surmising and innuendos going on around her. Mary had to push all other thoughts aside, not look at the faces or listen to the comments. She had to make her way toward Jesus- not letting what the murmurers were muttering to distract her. Hebrews 12:2 (Amplified): &quo

  Scripture reference John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9 Continuing our Extravagant Devotion Series. “Extravagant” means "exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary". We have been looking into how Mary displayed extravagant devotion to Christ. Previously we saw how it opens the door to the prophetic, the cost and a servant's heart.  Next we will look into the act of breaking the flask of oil.  Matthew 26:6-13 & Mark 14:3-9 John doesn't mention breaking the flask, but Matthew and Mark do. Many flasks only contained about one ounce. This was twelve ounces. The flask was usually made from alabaster which was translucent and were easily broken. Webster defines "translucent" as: "1) permitting the passage of light; 2) free from disguise or falseness".  2 Corinthians 4:7 tells us "But we have this trea

  Scripture reference John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9 We are continuing our Extravagant Devotion Series. “Extravagant” means exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary. We are looking into how Mary displayed this extravagant devotion to Christ when she anointed Him.   We first saw how it opens the door to the prophetic and how costly it is.   Today we are going to look into the “servant heart” of this deep devotion. John 12:3 This act of anointing Christ disclosed Mary’s servant heart.   In those days and in that area, it was the custom to anoint a guest’s head and to provide water for their feet.   The Amplified Study Bible states: “Anointing Jesus’ head was an act of honor but anointing His feet was a display of devotion. "   Normally only servants handled a person’s feet.   This was a true act of humility on her part. Being a former nur

  Scripture reference John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9 We are continuing our Extravagant Devotion Series. “Extravagant” means " exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary." We are looking into how Mary displayed this extravagant devotion to Christ when she anointed Him.   We first saw how it opens the door to the prophetic. Today we are going to look into the “the cost” of this deep devotion. The Cost John 12:3 This was a very expensive perfume of pure nard.   In those days it would be worth about one year’s wages.   It was used only on special occasions such as burial and receiving guests into your home.   It was very costly to her and quite possibly was being saved up for her dowry. But she chose to lavish it on Christ. She made the decision to anoint Christ with something so expensive as this oil.   She decided not to save it any

 Originally posted May 2020 Scripture reference John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9 We are continuing our Extravagant Devotion Series. “Extravagant” means " exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary."  We are looking into how Mary displayed this extravagant devotion to Christ when she anointed Him. Today we will have a glance at how our extravagant devotion can lead us into the area of the prophetic. The Prophetic John 12:1-2 It was 6 days before Passover- just a few days before Christ was crucified. She was actually anointing Christ for His burial. She had no idea in the natural that He was about to die.   She was doing it as an act of honor- but- was actually operating in the prophetic. Our extravagant devotion will open doors to us in the prophetic area- if we are yielded.   It may not be huge or remarkable ways- but- we gain g

 (Originally posted January 2020) Scripture reference John 12:1-8; Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9 I saw this phrase “extravagant devotion” in one my study Bibles as it was describing Mary’s devotion for Christ.   It set me thinking and searching about my own devotion to God and what it was in Mary to have this phrase attributed to her. So, I began to do a little digging and praying. The Webster Dictionary defines “extravagant” as: "exceeding the limit of reason or necessity, lacking in moderation, balance and restraint, extremely or excessively elaborate and spending much more than necessary." There are a lot of moderate, balanced and restrained Christians in the Church today.   But God is seeking those a little “off balanced” with a lifestyle of giving “more than necessary” in their worship and devotion.   He is looking for those who display and live a life of “extravagant devotion” to Him.   This isn’t a fleshly display that we often see in churches a