AN ACT OF EXTRAVAGANCE

Reading: Mark 14.1-11

"She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial."

Jesus' appointment with Golgotha is now two days way. He knows that his journey will require him to go to the Cross. The disciples are still choosing to downplay his comments about his death. Together they go to home of Simon the Leper to enjoy a pleasant meal and a respite from the intensity of those two days in the Temple.

During the meal a woman (which we are told elsewhere is Mary, the sister of Lazarus) comes with an alabaster jar filled with incredibly expense perfume. She breaks the jar and pours the perfume on his head. Imagine its pungent aroma permeating the room as the perfume runs down over his face through his beard.

The disciples, especially, are upset. It is too extravagant a thing to do. They could have taken the money and fed the poor, thereby increasing Jesus' standing among the people. Yet Jesus defends her. "She understands," says Jesus. She recognizes the road I must take, the death to which it will lead, and the grace that it comes from. She has chosen to prepare me for that."

It is an extravagance that begins to approach the even greater extravagance of an unconditional love that will die for our sins. When was the last time you were extravagant in the service of Jesus?

IN OVER THEIR HEADS

Reading: Mark 11.27-33

Have you ever heard the expression, "He's in a battle of wits with an unarmed man"? It's Tuesday and Jesus is right back to the Temple. The first day it was for a demonstration of passion for God. Today it's about challenging the so-called Teachers of the Law. Like a Clint Eastwood western, Jesus strides into the Temple and various groups-Pharisees, religious seekers, Scribes, Sadducees--all come at him one at a time like so many spiritual gunslingers. One after another he sends them packing, stung by his answers.

Smarting from the previous day's demonstration and Jesus' obvious support from the people, the Pharisees take their first shot as soon as they see him. "By what authority do you do this and who gave you that authority?" They want Jesus to justify himself, hoping they can regain the upper hand.

But wisdom-wise they are unarmed men in the presence of the Christ. "Before I answer your question, answer one of mine. Was John's prophetic message and baptism from heaven or from men?"

His opponents now have a problem. The people clearly believed John was a prophet and many had turned to God because of him. If they acknowledge John was from heaven, then he's going to say "Why didn't you believe him?"

They're the keepers of heaven, so they think. how will it look if they appear disobedient to God. So their answer, "We don't know."

Jesus' response is basically "I won't bother to answer you because you wouldn't recognize heaven if you saw it."

Are you questioning God's authority or when you see Him working do you rush to His side?

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn

HOLY WEEK - MONDAY

Reading: Mark 11:12-19

Key Verse: "My house will be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it a 'den of robbers." - Mark 11:17

Most people think of Jesus as "little Jesus meek and mild." In fact, people today who want to emphasize Jesus' love (read, loving and non-threatening) are a bit troubled by this story, And people who want to justify their angry, confrontative tendencies use this story as their mantra.

Jesus was clearly disturbed at the marketing and profiteering that had been introduced into the Temple. It had become a place where people were being taken advantage of. Where the worshiper had come out of an honest desire to honor God, they were forced to engage in the purchase of "just the right sacrifice" rather than simply letting God see what was in their hearts. Haggling had taken the place of psalm singing. And the people doing the selling seemed to have little regard for the worshipers and for the worship.

Jesus' response is not an angry burst of a violent spirit, it is a passionate heart for God confronting those who really belittled the things of God. Instead of casually accepting things the way they were, Jesus challenged the assumptions and actions of those who hijacked the proess of worship.

Do you have enough passion for God that you would go out on a limb, risk ridicule or repercussion rather than simply let "business as usual" occur when the business ceases truly being God's business?

(C) 2010 by Stephen L. Dunn

PALM SUNDAY

Reading: Luke 19.28-44

"I tell you ... if they keep keep quiet, the stones will cry out." - Luke 19:40

Have you ever been so excited about something that you just couldn't keep it to yourself? Perhaps you have seen the "Jared" commercials, where the young women coyly announces to her friends her engagement and new ring by saying "He went to Jared." The next thing you know she and her friends are bouncing and screaming excitedly, "He went to Jared! He went to Jared!"





You only have to be near a sport's bar when the Phillies hit a home run or the Eagles score a touch down and you will hear unrestrained shouts for joy. Pure praise can rarely be contained.

However, not always. Let someone shout "hallelujah!" or "amen!" these days and you would might get a different reaction, depending on whether their idea of church is reflective and restrained or exuberant and celebrative. Or let a child speak out while the preacher is preaching, and all sorts of glances are directed towards a parent who is "not exercising control" over their little one.

The people of Jerusalem had high hopes for Jesus. He already spoke as one with authority. His courage and winsome spirituality intrigued them. His miracles gave them hope. They had one more hope, that he might be the David king the prophets had promised that would finally free them from the Romans. So when he entered Jerusalem, they gave him a boisterous parade of praise.

The Pharisees were not pleased. Either because of their fear of Roman reprisals or their jealousy towards Jesus' following. They told Jesus, "Tell your disciples to be silent." And Jesus response was basically, "It's impossible. If they didn't the very stones would cry out."

Are we people of unrestrained and unashamed praise? Or are we people who fear what the world would think so we keep our opinions to ourselves?

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn

WORRY MULTIPLIERS

"Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging words cheers a person up." - Proverbs 13:23 NLT

I have some friends who are world-class worriers. Some are perfectionists who believe that they must get everything right all the time or else a bolt of lightning will come from heaven to strike them down dead. (I was just kidding about the lightning. I don't really want to add one more things for them to worry about.) Others are basically shy, behind the scenes people and they are afraid a miscue will draw unwanted attention. Others are living out old tapes. You know, the ones where you mother said, "Be sure and wear clean underwear. You never know when you'll be in an accident."

Worry is a serious problem because worry often sucks the joy out of everything.

As if people's natural tendency to worry was not bad enough, worriers often have to worry about the inspectors. You know who I mean. The people who were drill sergeants in another life. Or are frustrated science fair judges. Or who believe sidewalk inspection is a spiritual gift. Often when worriers have worked hard enough that they can allow themselves to stop worrying, the inspectors arrive and give them another reason to worry.

Inspectors are worry multipliers. They bring their set of expectations (and worries) to the table with little regard to the effort being made, the goals and guidelines the person doing it were operating from, and whether or not it is even any of their business.

Inspectors are not encouragers. The word encourage literally means "to give courage." Inspectors steal the joy of something because they make the task even more difficult. If a person is doing something because God has called them to do it, the inspectors are an irritant but the person keeps on doing it because he is trying to please God. And if the person is doing something merely out obligation, then soon they burn out because the joy has gone out.

So here's my thought for the day - worriers, stop worrying. And inspectors - GET A LIFE!

(C) 2010 Stephen L. Dunn

COUNTDOWN TO THE CROSS

Lent is nearing its end. On Palm Sunday we begin what is called Holy Week. During Lent we have reflected on both Jesus' journey to the Cross and our journey from the Cross. He died so that we might live.

Abundantly and eternally.

Now that Christ has ended our separation from God by His death on the Cross, how will we choose to live?

To answer that question, we end Lent with Holy Week. Before we emerge with Christ from the Empty Tomb, we consider one more time what is called The Passion of the Christ. Oswald Chambers has written: "The Cross is the point where God and sinful man merge with a crash and the way of life is opened--but the crash is on the heart of God."

I invite you to join us in this Countdown to the Cross. Each day during Holy Week you can find this devotional by going to the church website (www.coglandisville.org) and clicking on the link for Dr. Steve's devotional. Or you can use the pink cards today to subscribe by email. Or on the website you can sign on as a follower. Whatever works for you, but we invite you to join us reflectively and prayerfully as we count down to the Cross by revisiting the events of that week we call holy because of the work done by a Holy God.

CROSS BEARERS

Each of us has a cross to bear. It's not a punishment.
It is a part of God's design.
It is not simply a burden to weigh us down, it is an instrument of purpose.
Our cross is a reflection of our identification with Christ.
Bearing our cross allows us to be a part of what God is doing.
The original cross was an instrument of death, a symbol of shame.
Christ turned it into an instrument of new life, a symbol of greater love.
As you enter these final days of the Lenten season may you once again embrace
your cross. May you embrace it in obedience and love.
And may you follow Jesus.

TRUSTING IN GOD

Truth so often comes from the mouths of the young. They are not yet so fully drawn into the world's way of thinking that they have lost their simple belief in God. God is very concrete to them-a person, not an idea. Although they hear the world's complicated explanations of things, they operate from a trust level that leads them to defer to God's explanation. What the adult world sees, they see beneath and beyond.

As adults we often scoff at their naivete. "Experience will teach them life lessons that make them more discerning," we say. Yet who says simple truth is undermined by complex information? Maybe simple truth is a way to sift through the complexities and cut to the heart of the matter?

Rudolph Bultmann, a liberal theologian who often confused people with his byzantine doctrinal explanations, was once asked the most important lesson of his life. Even this complex thinker had to say, "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so."

It is for no small reason that Jesus said the the adults who scoffed at a child's understanding and religious value, "Unless you become as a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven."

Does this mean that faith is really for children and that mature people should go elsewhere? No, it just means the door to genuine faith begins with the simple trust of God and His explanations that a child readily embraces. We read our world through eyes of faith. We do not read our faith through the eyes of the world.

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn

WHY ARE WE SMILING?

What do you see in a smile? Mischief? Joy? Sheer delight?

The heart of God is best expressed in the smiles of His people? Of all the persons on the planet, Christians have the best reason to be content, joyful, delighted. In a world where God is often out of sight and out of mind, Christians know for a fact one of life's best kept secrets - that God loves us, that Christ died for us, and that nothing can separate us from that love. When the rest of the world is deadly serious and even discouraged by troubles that constantly beset us, Christians know that this life is not all there is and that these difficulties do not ultimately define us. Christians can even smile in adversity because they have found the "peace the passes all understanding" (Philippians 4).

The world may have its jokes at the expense of Christians, but in the end only those who have placed their lives in the loving care of God have a reason to smile.

DWIGHT, KELLY AND KAYLA

"... nothing can separate us from the love of God ..." (Romans chapter 8)

It's about 2:30 in the morning. I've been up for a little over an hour, but I'm heading back to bed soon--hoping to get some more sleep before heading to the church this morning for a meeting of our Agape Center Board. Often, when I get awake at this time (and that happens often), I go to the computer to read my email, check my Facebook page, and check out some of the blogs I follow. This morning I was on the FORRY BABYBLOG. Dwight and Kelly had posted just a few minutes before I logged on to tell us that Kayla was eating, but they still were not sure when they could bring her home. It was close, so close.

Dwight and Kelly are two of the most precious people in my life. I had the privilege of performing their wedding. Both are members of my Sunday School Class, the New Wineskins. Kelly was the secretary of my church council and Dwight is one of my church's elders. They so love Jesus and they so love their church, that they have embodied for many of us true servant leadership.

Kayla Ann came into their life prematurely, born in Kelly's 26th week of pregnancy. Kayla has lived the first three plus months of her life in the NICU at Abington General Hospital near Philadelphia. Kelly has spent most of her days and almost all of her nights within a few feet of her daughter. Dwight has had to travel back and forth periodically to care for his farm, but has logged more hours in Abington than in Lancaster County. First they had to wait for Kayla to reach a certain weight, then for her to be off a feeding tube and eat on her own, then for her to return to the feeding tube until she could regain some weight. And Kelly and Dwight have waited--most of the time more patiently than you can imagine, all of the time more prayerfully than most of us would operate. And Kayla has waited without really realizing--waited for the day when Mom and Dad could take her home, waited for the doctors to take out those pesky and painful tubes--waiting to go to her home near Landisville where she could begin to live the life of a little girl for whom Christ has died and God has big, big plans.

But as long as the wait has been--Kayla and Kelly and Dwight have never waited alone. The Lord has been their constant companion, watching over them, strengthening them, protecting them, guiding them, and reminding them that they are loved.

We often express the words of that promise from Romans, but it's when we must wait and hope that this truth becomes a reality.

(C) 2010 by Stephen L Dunn. Photo courtesy of FORRY BABY BLOG