A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                               LOVE POURED OUT PART I

"I, Jesus, received an interesting invitation... It was an invitation to have dinner at the home of a religious leader... I did accept the invitation.... And so I went to the house of Simon the Pharisee.... I was taken to My seat at the table when I arrived.... I have to say My feet were dirty.... That is not surprising because I had been walking outside.... It would have been good if Simon had provided Me with some water to wash them.... However, he did not do so even though that is the custom.".... Please read out the typed out attachment when you will learn that Jesus has been invited by one of the Pharisees for dinner....

             ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES 

                                               LOVE POURED OUT PART I

 Jesus receives an invitation from one of the religious leaders to have dinner at his home. And Jesus accepts the invitation as you can read in Luke 7:36

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so He went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table.

Has Jesus perhaps been invited to the home of this religious leader because he is interested in becoming one of Jesus' followers? We will find out if this is the case when we continue the story.

 

                               A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                        A FAVOURED HOME PART XX

"I, Mary, am living in Bethany... I live here with my sister Martha and my brother Lazarus.... Martha and I thought we had lost Lazarus.... Because he had died.... But then Jesus and His twelve disciples arrived in our village.... He went to the tomb Lazarus' body had been placed in four days before.... Jesus called for him to come out... Lazarus did... We are now enjoying a dinner together to celebrate his being back with us.... Martha showed her love for Jesus by cooking a most delicious meal.... I am less practical... I showed Jesus my love by pouring our my one precious gift, a very expensive perfume, over His feet.... We both love Jesus so very much and both showed it in our own way... Perhaps, there may be some people who love Jesus in a more practical way, just as Martha did.... Or there may be people who love Jesus more like I did.... I wonder if Jesus would like for all of us to worship Him by meditating on His Word as I may be more inclined to do, as well as doing practical things as Martha may be more inclined to do."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Jesus would like you to be like Mary as well as be like Martha....

                  ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                              A FAVOURED HOME PART XX

Martha and Mary both love the Lord and both show it in their own way. I wonder who you can identify with most. You may say, "I can really identify with  Martha for I am a very practical person like she is. I can see myself saying and doing the same things she did. Or you may say, "I can identify more with Mary for I love to sit and pray and meditate on God's Word." I would like to suggest that you can learn from both women. For those of us who tend to be more practical, Mary can teach us to sit at the feet of Jesus. Of course, today you cannot literally sit at His feet but you can sense His Presence with you when you read and when you pray. But the Lord does not only want you to be like Mary and sit as His feet 24 hours a day 7 days a week so you can learn from Him. He wants you to be like Martha as well, meaning He would like for you to do things He has prepared for you to do as you can read in Ephesians 2:10

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

When you spend time in His presence, reading His Word and praying, the Lord will begin to give you a sense of what He has for you to do. Moreover, He will give you the ability to do it, whatever it is He has prepared for you to do, so you will be able to do it well and be a blessings to others.

P.S. We have come to the end of the story "A Favoured Home". In our next post we will begin to look at a story called "Love Poured Out."

        

 

                             A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                           A FAVOURED HOME PART XIX

"I, Mary, am living in Bethany.... I live here with my sister Mary and my brother Lazarus... We are having Jesus and His twelve disciples over for a special dinner... Martha has been cooking the food..... It is her way of showing her love and gratitude to Jesus.... For He has given us back our brother Lazarus.... Only a few days ago Lazarus was in a tomb... He had been there for four days.... Because he had died four days before.... But then Jesus came and raised him from the dead.... We are just so grateful.... Words cannot express how we feel.... So Martha showed her love by cooking these most delicious dishes.... And I showed my love by pouring my one special treasure, a bottle of very expensive perfume, over Jesus' feet....Judas felt I had wasted this perfume.... But I know I have not....However, I did not know if others agreed with Judas.... To my joy I heard Jesus explain to everyone that I have not wasted this perfume.... On the contrary, I have prepared Him for His burial.... My heart burst when I heard Jesus say that I have prepared Him for the moment of His death!!.... I, as a woman, who is considered inferior in my society, have been honoured by the Lord to prepare Him for His burial... Do I fully understand what that all means?.... No, not yet.... But I am sure I will one day... Perhaps one day soon."... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Jesus comes to Mary's defense.... 

 

                    ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES 

                                         A FAVOURED HOME PART XIX

Jesus listens to Judas and then turns to him to tell him off for He knows the reason why Mary poured perfume on His feet as you can read in John 12:7-8

"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for My burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have Me."

Jesus understands that Mary has done this to to prepare Him for His buriall. And Mary, very likely, knows that the time for His crucifixion is near. Other disciples may not have grasped that fact but spending time as His feet has helped Mary understand that Jesus has come into the world to die for her and that the time of His death is close at hand.

 

                           A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                        A FAVOURED HOME PART XVIII

"I, Mary, am living in Bethany.... I live here with my sister Martha and my brother Lazarus.... Tonight we are having a special dinner.... Our guests are Jesus and His twelve disciples.... We have asked Him to come over to thank Him for giving us back our brother Lazarus.... He had died but Jesus has brought him back to life....We are so grateful.... My sister Martha has cooked a most wonderful meal to say Thank You to Jesus....But I am not a good cook.... However, I have found another way to say thank You to Jesus.... I have taken my precious perfume and have poured it over His feet....I then wiped His feet with my hair... The whole house is filled with the fragrance of the perfume.... One of Jesus' disciples, Judas, is not happy with my actions.... But I am overjoyed that I have been able to show my Lord and Saviour how much I love Him.... I may not look dignified with my hair loosened.... But that does not matter to me.... What matters to me that Jesus knows my love and devotion for Him.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that one of Jesus' disciples, Judas, objects to Mary's actions....

 

                    ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                           A FAVOURED HOME PART XVIII

   Everyone at the table watches what Mary does, shocked by her actions for no woman would loosen her hair in public. But Mary does not care about her dignity. All she cares about is showing her love and gratitude to Jesus, just as Martha did by cooking her most special dishes for Him. Then Judas speaks up, complaining about Mary's behaviour as you can read in John 12:4-6

But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray Him, objected. "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? it was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

Judas may sound very self-righteous but Jesus, no doubt, knows he does not mean what he says being a thief. 

 

 

 

                                 A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES 

                                             A FAVOURED HOME PART XVII

"I, Mary, am living in Bethany.... I live here with my sister Martha and my brother Lazarus.... Lazarus had been very ill and had even died.... But our Friend Jesus raised him from the dead.... I am so grateful... He and His twelve disciples have now come over.... Martha has been very busy in the kitchen preparing a meal for them.... I have heard her sing while preparing the food.... That means she is happy... I am so pleased she is happy.... For she is in her element making some special dishes for Jesus and the Twelve....After all, she is a great cook.... I know that Jesus understands Martha wants to show Him her love and gratitude by preparing this fabulous meal for Him.... But I am not a great cook.... I prefer to sit at Jesus' feet learning from Him... I would like to show Him my love and gratitude as well.... I cannot do so by cooking a special meal for Him.... But I can do it in another way.... My way...  I know just what to do... I have something very special to give to Him.... I will retrieve it from my bedroom... Jesus will appreciate my gift even when there are others who may not.".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn about Mary's special gift for Jesus.....

 

                     ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                             A FAVOURED HOME PART XVII

Mary wants to show Jesus her love and gratitude as well, but she does it in a different way as you can read in John 12:3

Then Mary took a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

While Martha is serving her delicious dinner, Mary slips into the bedroom. She knows that she is not the excellent cook that Martha is and she knows that she will never be as good as Martha when it comes to cooking the special disher Martha is known for. However, she knows that she can show her gratitude to the Lord in a way that will please Him as much as eating her sister's dishes will please Him. So she quietly slips into the bedroom and gets from the special place where she keeps her treasures, a bottle of special perfume she has kept all these years for she knows the moment has come to use this perfume. But she knows too that this perfume is not to be used on herself. So she re-enters the dining room where everyone is gathered around the table, moves behind Jesus and without saying a word, pours the perfume over His feet. She then looses her hair and uses it as a towel to dry His feet with.

 

 

                                A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES 

                                              A FAVOURED HOME PART XVI

"I, Martha, am the sister of Mary and Lazarus... We live in Bethany... Our brother Lazarus had been very ill and had even died.... But today he is alive and well!!... Our Friend Jesus came and raised him from the dead!!.... We are so grateful to Jesus for having done so.... Initially, Mary and I were both upset when Jesus did not turn up at the time we asked Him to come.... When He and His twelve disciples finally came to our village it seemed it was too late.... My brother had been dead for four days already.... I did tell Jesus He should have come earlier... He just listened to me and told me that He is the Resurrection and the Life.... Mary, likewise, told Him He should have come earlier... But she wept when she told Him this.... I did not... It seemed Jesus was moved to tears when Mary wept.... For He too wept... Afterwards He went to the tomb... That is when the miracle happened.... He just called for Lazarus to come out... And my brother did... Jesus and His twelve disciples are now on their way to our home... I am in the kitchen preparing a special dinner... It is my way of saying Thank You to Jesus.... This time I am not stressed out unlike another time when I was preparing a meal for them... I am only very happy and grateful that I can show my love for Him by doing what I know to do best.... Mary is not with me in the kitchen.... She does not need to.... I know that she will want to show Jesus her love for Him in her own way... I hear voices... I think Jesus and the Twelve have arrived... I will start serving the dinner.... It smells delicious."....Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Jesus and the twelve disciples have gone to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus for a special dinner...

                     ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                A FAVOURED HOME PART XVI

It is time for a special celebration so Martha prepares a dinner in honour of Jesus because He raised her brother Lazarus from the dead. You can find that story in John 12. Let's read John 12:1-2

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honour. Martha serves, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with them.

Martha is in her element preparing her special dishes for Jesus. She wants to show Him her love and gratitude for giving them back their brother Lazarus.

 

                            A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES 

                                            A FAVOURED HOME PART XV

"I, Martha, am living in Bethany with my sister Mary and my brother Lazarus who had been dead for four days.... Our best Friend Jesus had come to see us... He had twelve disciples with Him.... We were glad to see all of them.... But we were very sad as well.... For our brother Lazarus had died.... And he had been in the tomb for four days already... Jesus had wanted to go to the tomb... Se we went with Him.... While there He told us to remove the stone in front of the tomb.... I told Him that was not a good idea.... But He took no notice of my words.... So we removed the stone.... We then waited.... Jesus next prayed to His heavenly Father.... We then heard him call out to Lazarus....We did not know what to make of His statement.... Initially we did not see anything.... But we did then begin to hear something as if someone was moving around.... We looked at each other... Who could that be?.... We all knew there was only one person inside that tomb... But he was dead... We all knew that to be so... We had lain him there four days ago.... We knew too that a dead body could not move around... But we could hear noises coming from inside the tomb.... After a short while a figure appeared at the entrance to the tomb... He was wrapped up in grave clothes... Walking was, therefore, difficult to do... We could not believe our eyes.... But it was true!!.... Lazarus stood before us.... Alive!!".... Please read the typed out attachment when you will learn that Jesus tells Lazarus to come out of the tomb...

                       ATTACHMENT A PURPOSEFUL LIFE; NEW TESTAMENT STORIES

                                                 A FAVOURED HOME PART XV

The situation with Lazarus is very different from the other situations for Lazarus has not been dead for a few hours only or even for just one or two days. No, he has been dead for four days. Jesus will not have realised that for He was not with them while Lazarus was dying. He only arrived on the scene an hour or so ago. However, it seems Jesus completely ignores Martha's practical advice for He continues to tell them that they are to remove the stone as you can read in John 11:40-44

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me." When He had said this, Jesus called out in a loud voice, "Lazarus come out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

The two sisters are, of course, overjoyed that their brother Lazarus has come back to life. All they have to do is to remove the grave clothes for he no longer needs them.