Today’s Podcast

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1. Thanks for joining me today for “A Little Walk with God.” I’m your host Richard Agee.
2. Have you ever given someone an extravagant gift and others kind of scolded you about it? We probably all have if you think back through your life. Men can think about that tiny little rock on their fiance’s finger. That’s a lot of money for such a small thing, isn’t it? But is it really extravagant? Jesus got one of those gifts one day and everyone complained.
3. Scripture
   1. John 12:7-8
   2. Jesus:  Leave her alone. She has observed this custom in anticipation of the day of My burial.  The poor are ever present, but I will be leaving.
4. Devotional
   1. When young men get down on their knees and ask for a young lady’s hand in marriage, she usually expects a gold or white gold ring with at least one diamond in it, right? It’s just the way of things, or it least it has been for a long time.
      1. Diamonds are measured in karats
      2. 200 milligrams which is 7/1000’s ounce
      3. Perfect cut and highest quality 1 carat diamond is $17,000
      4. Is that extravagant?
      5. Ask your fiance
   2. Jesus and His disciples were eating with Lazarus at his home in Bethany
      1. Martha was working as hostess serving the guests
      2. Mary sat at Jesus feet and poured pure nard
      3. Comes from a plant grows to about 1 meter (3 ft) in height and has pink, bell-shaped flowers. It is found in the Himalayas in Nepal, China, and India at an altitude of about 9,800 to 16,400 ft. Rhizomes (underground stems) can be crushed and distilled into an intensely aromatic amber-colored essential oil, which is very thick in consistency.
      4. Other gospels tell us she broke an alabaster jar to pour out the precious liquid
      5. The alabaster stone from which the jar was carved probably came from the quarries of Alabastron in Egypt, the place from which the stone for the sarcophagus for Seti I and many of the canopic jars came
      6. Each item on its own cost months or maybe even years of labor wages for their purchase
   3. Not just Judas, but several of the disciples who were with Jesus complained about the waste
      1. Look at what that money could have bought
      2. Look how many people we could have fed
      3. Look what we could have done for the poor
      4. Look how much ministry we could have done if she had sold that perfume and given the money to us instead of pouring it out on your feet
      5. Jesus, scold her!
   4. He didn’t
      1. Sometimes extravagance is the right thing to do
      2. She showed extravagant love through her gift to the One who set her free
      3. We give extravagantly to the one we wish to live with for the rest of our lives
      4. We think nothing of shelling out those months of pay to put the right ring on our bride’s finger
      5. Why should we complain when someone pours out an expression of love for their savior?
5. If you want to learn more about my church, you can find us at SAF.church. If you like the devotional, share it with someone. If you don’t, tell me. I hope you’ll join me again tomorrow for “A Little Walk with God.”

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved. In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.