Tag Archives: good deeds

How about that tenth commandment? (Matthew 26:10-13) June17, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Ezekiel 7-12

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 26:10-13
Jesus: Why don’t you leave this woman alone? She has done a good thing. It is good that you are concerned about the poor, but the poor will always be with you—I will not be. In pouring this ointment on My body, she has prepared Me for My burial. I tell you this: the good news of the kingdom of God will be spread all over the world, and wherever the good news travels, people will tell the story of this woman and her good discipleship. And people will remember her.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

A woman, other writers identify as Mary Magdalene comes into the house where Jesus is eating. Breaks open a jar filled with alabaster, a very expensive perfume, and proceeds to pour it on Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her long hair. Some of the disciples are indignant and complain about the waste of this expensive gift and admonish her, telling her she should have sold it and given the proceeds to the poor.

Are you ever guilty of the disciples’ error? I have to admit, I have been. And I’m pretty sure if you thought about it a little bit, you’ve probably been guilty of the same error. Someone doing good for another person and we stick our nose in it and complain about it. We think they should be doing something else instead. Essentially, that’s what the disciples were saying. Hey, Jesus. Why are you letting her waste that perfume on your feet? She could be doing something else with the money that stuff costs.

So many times we want to second guess the good actions of other people. Did you every stop to think that maybe God prompted that person to do that act at that time for that person for a particular reason? Maybe that person needed some encouragement at just that time to keep them on track in their spiritual journey. Maybe the act performed was just the demonstration of God’s love that convinced the recipient that God is real and pointed them to His saving grace and merciful forgiveness.

We don’t know why God prompts His children to do particular things at particular times. But sometimes He does. And sometimes those acts may seem extravagant to some. But what causes us to think that way in the first place? I think it’s often that tenth commandment that gets in the way. He didn’t do that for me, so why should he do it for her? I didn’t get that extra helping of potatoes so why should He? The church recognized them for cleaning up the yard, I was there, too, why didn’t I get mentioned? Can you say covet?

We let our selfishness get in the way. Even the disciples’ comment harks back to selfishness. They wanted their plans carried out, not God’s. Why are you letting her pour perfume on you, instead of doing what we want here to do with it? If it’s up to us, we would sell it and take care of other people. Our plan is to use the proceeds for other purposes. We want to do what we want to do. Isn’t that essentially what they’re saying here? It sure sounds like it to me.

That’s the problem we have when we begin to criticize the good actions of others. When we try to categorize and assume something better or something different or something else that fits our plans should be done instead of the good work an individual is prompted to carry out for God with their personal property, we get ourselves in trouble. It’s that tenth commandment thing rearing its ugly head. We need to be on our guard as soon as it pops out of its hole.

If it’s the church’s money or an organization’s money, the answer might be different. Then the property belongs to God and is managed by a council or pastor on behalf of the congregation that it serves. In that case, there are boundaries within which to operate because the funds are not one person’s. The property is not one person’s. The decisions are not solely one person’s. So when one person does something outside the guidelines and boundaries the congregation prayerfully sets in place through the leadership of the church, there may be reason to criticize one person’s waste of the congregation’s resources.

But personal resources, when God says to do something, it’s always best to listen and do it. As with Mary’s case, there was a purpose. She prepared Jesus for burial because the women would not have time on the day He died. She probably didn’t even think about what she was doing when she went to see Jesus and anoint Him with her perfume. But as Jesus said, “wherever the good news travels, people will tell the story of this woman and her good discipleship. And people will remember her.”

Will the same be said about you for the good you do to others or because of the criticism you have for the good deeds others have done? How about that tenth commandment? 

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.

Love, do you pass the test? (Matthew 22:37-40) May 23, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

Subscribe in: iTunes|Download

Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Exodus 29-32

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 22:37-40
Jesus (quoting Scripture): “Love the Eternal One your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is nearly as important, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The rest of the law, and all the teachings of the prophets, are but variations on these themes.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There must be a bazillion songs about love. And no wonder. Love is a wonderful thing. The problem with most of those songs, though, the world has so corrupted even the word that we don’t know what love really means any more. Most of the songs deal with satisfying some selfish desire for carnal pleasures. But that’s not what Jesus was talking about when He talked about loving God and loving others.

We’ve fallen into the world’s trap that somehow love is for us instead of for someone else. We think love is supposed to make us feel better or gain some place in the life of someone else. We talk about sharing our love with someone, but look at that phrase. Jesus never talked about sharing our love. He just said to love. Sharing implies keeping some for ourselves. Divvying up the pie, so to speak. But Jesus doesn’t see love that way. Jesus says give it all away. He wants us to follow His example.

So what did Jesus do? He emptied Himself. He loved like no one else. Jesus took on the sins of the entire world so that He could forgive us of those sins. He loved us enough to die for us. He left the throne room of heaven and wrapped Himself in the frail flesh of humanity, suffering the same things we suffer, enduring the same pains and heartaches and disappointments we endure so that when He stands before the Father, He can act as our perfect advocate.

He gave all of Himself for us. He loved us to the extreme. Not the mushy, gushy, lustful stuff the world calls love, but God’s kind of love that sacrifices all for the good of someone else, even if that someone is your enemy. That’s what Jesus did for us while we were still sinners, far from God. Working against Him. Doing things far outside His will.

Jesus says there are two commandments on which every other law rests. Love God and love your neighbor. It’s all about love, so we should understand what love is. The love of God is deeper, wider, higher, and longer than we can imagine. It began before the world came into being and will last long after it disappears from the scene. Love never fails. It’s always there and always comes through. It strengthen us in the darkest night. Love keeps us safe from the wiles of the enemy so we can stand before God at the end of time.

So if we follow Jesus example in loving others, it means we give of ourselves for their benefit, not ours. You still find that definition of love in the dictionary, but it has moved to the fourth place in Webster’s. Here’s how it reads: 4 a : unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2) : brotherly concern for others b : a person’s adoration of God. See we keep pushing it further and further down the line of definitions because we want what suits us, not what suits God.

The first definition listed in the dictionary today? Selfish desire; self-satisfaction. Listen to it: 1
a (1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties maternal love for a child (2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests love for his old schoolmates b : an assurance of affection give her my love. All of these look at satisfying something inside us. They point toward our affection, our desire, our feelings.

God’s kind of love reaches out despite the wrongs that might be done against us. God’s love does good whether or not there is affection or attraction or kinship or ties. God’s love reaches out to perform acts of kindness to show mercy and grace to those who do not deserve it just because people are part of God’s creation. If God made them, they are good and so we love them because we love Him.

Love becomes an action verb that says we participate in making life better for those around us because we can. Not because we have to or even because we want to, but we do good for others because we can. That is love. Doing good expecting nothing in return. Wanting nothing except to pour out our lives as an offering to God in the form of service He asks us to do for those who do not deserve it because He poured out His life for us when we didn’t deserve it either.

That’s real love. Do you pass the test? 

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.