Fan or Follower? It's a heart condition.

In Luke 7, Simon, a Pharisee, invites Jesus into his house for supper. In that time, part of the first-century Middle Eastern etiquette there were 3 things that were expected, even mandatory.

1. You would greet your guest with a kiss on the cheek out of respect. If they were an honored guest you would kiss their hand showing an even higher respect.

2. You would provide a wash basin for your guest to wash their feet, or have one of your servants wash their feet. This was mandatory no matter the person. If they were an honored guest, you would wash their feet yourself, showing respect.

3. You would provide olive oil for anointing your guests head. Olive oil wasn't an expensive oil, but was mandatory especially when you had a distinguished guest.

Simon had studied the Scriptures for years. By the time he was 12 he had the first 12 books of the bible memorized. By the time he was 15 he had the entire Old Testament memorized. Simon knew a lot about Jesus, but did not know Jesus. He was a fan. He knew Jesus's stats, all the facts about Him, without knowing HIM. He had a lot of knowledge of Christ. Head knowledge.

Fans have a tendency to confuse their knowledge for intimacy.

The problem isn't knowledge. The problem is that you can have knowledge without having intimacy. Clearly where there is intimacy there should be a growing knowledge, but far too often there is a knowledge without a growing intimacy.

The woman in Luke 7 who comes to Jesus's feet crying and washing them was a prostitute. Simon calls her a 'sinner' when she walks in the courtyard. The gasps she must have gotten when she entered. The awful looks of disgust she must have gotten. Yet, she did not care. Jesus was her focus and she did not turn to her left or to her right to see what others thought of her. She was headed to Jesus and nothing they did could stop her.
What she did, what she went through to get into Simon's courtyard to see Jesus and then what she did for Him was reckless, impulsive, it's inappropriate, and exactly the kind of follower Jesus wants.

In that time, women wore their hair up in public. Letting their hair down in front of a man was such an intimate expression that it was literally grounds for divorce.

The perfume in the flask around her neck was used one drop at a time. When she cried, she saw her tears making streams in the dirt on His feet. She poured the entire bottle on His feet, she probably didn't dare ask for a towel from the people who scorned her, so she used her hair to dry His feet. She did not see her perfume as being wasted, she did not care what others thought of her or what might happen to her for coming in uninvited to a Pharisee's house.

She was a follower of Jesus. No matter the cost, she would honor and bless Jesus with everything she had.
"Then He (Jesus) turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed my feet with fragrant oil." Luke 7:44-46.

In the end, the religious leader with all the knowledge is the fan. And the prostitute who intimately expressed her love for Jesus is shown to be the follower.

Have you had a moment with Jesus like this women in Luke 7? When's the last time you've poured yourself out before Him? When was the last time the tears streamed down your face as you expressed your love for Him? When is the last time you demonstrated your love for Him with reckless abandonment?

                               .....Just some thoughts I had this evening....

Through Christ we can be OVERCOMERS!

Let's be honest here, who wants to have their feelings hurt? Who wants to feel belittled? Not me. I've had people say some pretty nice things about me, and some pretty not nice things about me, but it really doesn't matter, does it? What matters most is what Christ thinks of us. It's so easy to take to heart mean things that have been said about us, and then worry what they're really thinking of us. But really, does it matter what others are saying about us?? Nope. Not really. Not unless we're more worried about our reputation than our character.
 I had an "incident" where someone had told my parents and I somethings that were, at the time, hurtful, about me. I had no idea where it was all coming from and why on earth they were saying this. To be honest though, what hurt was that I wasn't "liked" by them, and that maybe they were "spreading lies" about me to other people. They didn't see me as the perfect human being that I was! They didn't see how good I was with A, B, and C. How could they say these awful things without even hardly knowing me?! So my first thought.... just ignore them in public next time I see them. They would see that they hurt my poor feelings and then be tripping over themselves to apologize to me! What a wonderful example of Christ's forgiveness and love I would be displaying, huh? Well, somehow in my selfish, mean, manipulative thoughts, Christ spoke through them. How could I demand kindness and a "sorry, do you forgive me" attitude from this person when I myself wasn't willing to do the same and to forgive them first? As hard as it was, and probably not extremely heartfelt the first time, I began to pray for this person, asking God to first change my heart, attitude and thinking toward them, and then to show them His love through me. WOW. On my own I would have never thought about showing them love! And ya know what? He did. ASK and it shall be given to you. He began to work in my heart. He began to help me show love. But only because Christ's Spirit convicted me, only because Christ's love covered me, and only through Christ's Power I was able to "overcome" these hard-to-take words, and not-so-sweet-and-kind to me person. And now, through Christ, I am able to thank Him for this person. If not for them, I wouldn't be conscious of the words I speak and wouldn't be praying about it so often. I wouldn't have had to go to Christ so often about this situation if it never happened, missing out on an opportunity to enter into HIS Awesome and Holy presence! I wouldn't have gotten the insights and verses that He gave me for that trial. I wouldn't have been able to be around this person and feel comfortable, if you know what I mean. ;) Now, I can see this person a little differently, and somehow, in God's goodness, He has allowed me to see them as He sees them. As a dear child of HIS.
So, moral of the story... Don't think too hard about mean-hearted words that have been said about you. Give it to Christ! He can restore. He can heal. He can convict and comfort. And if Christ is for us, who can be against us?! LIVE today, don't let words drag you down or make you feel any less of a person! This life is but a vapor, focus on the things that matter, on things that are eternal! Speak words of LIFE, not words that will hurt. PRAY. Pray for your thoughts and words to be honoring to our great God. I know, it's really hard at first... I'm not one to hold back my first initial opinion. I tend to say the first thing that pops in my head.  But if we're consistent in our praying, focusing on Christ, asking for HIS words to fill our mouths, then we will be more than conquerors! We must decrease so Christ can increase.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in YOUR sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer." Psalm 19:14

 Words can build you up
Words can break you down
Start a fire in your heart or
Put it out

Let my words be life
Let my words be truth
I don't wanna say a word
Unless it points the world back to You!

God woke you up this morning.... so smile and THANK HIM!

 Today... I'm thankful for LIFE. Sure, it's hard sometimes. And sometimes it's loud and people get on your nerves. Sometimes your expectations aren't met. Sometimes your focus wanders to things that aren't important and have no eternal value and you end up at the feet of the cross asking for forgiveness. Sometimes what you've had planned and thought for sure you'd be doing, doesn't ever happen. Sometimes, God says no. Even when you'd been thinking it was a "for sure".  But you know what? Every time He's told me no, it's because His plan is way better than my thoughtless plan could have ever been. And even after my selfish heart asks Him "Why? Now what?", He still comes to comfort me. He covers me in His love, shows more mercy and grace than I could have ever imagined. He is Constant. He is Faithful. And NOTHING can satisfy the longings of your heart like He can! So today, I'm thankful for the blessings in disguise. The "unknowns" of what I thought I had already figured out last year. And I'm thankful for a slower day at work to put my thoughts into words. As senseless as they may sound. ;) I'm thankful for His Living Word. I'm thankful for cute nieces and nephews. I'm thankful for the country life! I'm thankful for quiet time with Him. I'm thankful for the adorable kids in my church. I'm thankful for the little things He gives me that make me feel special and loved. I'm thankful that He knows me through and through. I'm thankful for younger brothers that play practical jokes on friends. ;)  










 Hudson smiled for the picture!!

 
Do you see the "heart cloud"?? Yes, you guys, Jesus loves me! This I know!!










I really do have a wonderful life! Sometimes I take things for granted and my heart isn't always grateful. But He always calls me back, shows me that HE IS GOOD and I can claim His Truths in my life and be filled with HIS JOY.
  Today..... I am Thankful.

Life is good because HE is good.