True Worship Costs Something

Do I ever honor God in a way that costs something?

This morning I was reading in the Gospel of Matthew, the story of the woman anointing Jesus with expensive ointment. It is a story I’ve passed over many times as simply a secondary detail in a more important story. But today it was the only section of my bible plan, I was forced to think about it more deeply.

If you’ve never read the story or need a refresh, the story of Jesus’ life on earth is progressing and his time of death is nearing. All of a sudden, Jesus is at the home of a leper (which is unheard of) and a woman, Mary, comes to Him. She gets out a box of perfume and anoints Jesus’ head with it. A symbol of deep respect and adoration.

The disciples became indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” (Matthew 26:9")

Jesus responds: “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me.”

What are we to make of this story?

Context

Here are some contextual points that will help set the scene for you:

• Oils/perfumes in that time period were used as a solemn act of devotion. “Anointing with oil” would have been a common practice. In more common households, cheaper oils would have been used.

• The perfume Mary used was worth more than “300 denarii” according to Mark 14:5. This translates into a year’s wage for the average worker. We could estimate around $40,000-55,000 for today.

Does the context help explain why the disciples freak out? This isn’t something she hurriedly picked up on the corner mart as a last-minute gift idea; this is a significant sacrifice of money. I can understand why they think this seems like a waste of money.

Worship

The question remains for us. Do we ever offer anything of ourselves to Christ that feels costly? More time in prayer? More devotion to our church as an act of service? More Bible reading? More graciousness and love to others as a reflection of His love towards us? More patience with hard people, as we have been dealt with patience?

We are not to do these things out of guilt. Did Mary anoint the feet of Jesus out of guilt? No. She did it out of worship. Out of seeing how beautiful and magnificent Jesus Christ was and what He was about to do on the cross.

So we, as we consider what Christ has done for us on the cross, we respond in worship. Costly worship.

Mary’s cost was financial. But it illustrates the point for us and gets at the heart we are after, wholehearted devotion. Most of us, the most costly worship we do will not be with our wallets, but with our time.

When was the last time your worship cost you something?

Considering with you,

Josh.

*Posted in partnership with Weapons of Grace - this article can be found here.

5 Ways To Connect With God Beyond Quiet Times

You hear it mentioned often in Christian circles: “How’s your quiet time going?” The term is a staple in our vocabulary. While definitions may vary, most agree that it refers to personal time spent in prayer and Bible reading as a means of connecting with God.

Perhaps more than anything else, these two practices have shaped the heart, soul, and mind of Christians for years.

While the practice of a quiet time is necessary and a beautiful rhythm of life, I fear that we’ve boxed in fellowship with God to sitting in a quiet room reading our Bibles.

In this article, I hope to help expand our vision for what it means to spend time with God.

Unhelpful Weight

I’m not against quiet times, I try to read my Bible and pray daily! But we often expect too much from them. We want to read for ten minutes and walk away with perfect understanding, fresh insight, deep emotional connection, and a spiritual breakthrough every day. That’s a lot to ask of one tool. It’s like expecting a hammer to also be a screwdriver, washcloth, and knife. One tool can’t do everything.

Maybe you are in a season of life where your “quiet time” feels unhelpful, stale, or hard to do because of busyness at work or mental depletion from being a new mother? Or maybe you just want to explore new ways to encounter and fellowship with God? What other spiritual tools might there be to connect with God? (A great resource is Donald Whitneys, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.)

5 Spiritual Tools

1. Scripture Meditation - Choose a verse or two to write down or memorize. Revisit it throughout the day, praying it back to God and reflecting on how it shapes your heart and actions. (Want more insight on meditation? Read my article here.)

2. Fasting - Giving up something you love for a specific period of time to replace that with Spiritual practices. (A great Desiring God resource can be found here.)

3. Serving – Using your gifts and time to serve God and others. We don’t often think of this as a spiritual discipline, but Christ was the ultimate servant, so does it not make sense that we could fellowship with Him in moments of service ourselves?

4. Prayer Walks - Finding a place in nature to walk and pray/talk to God about your life. You could listen to worship music or you could just look at the trees and thank God for the weather. This has been a particularly helpful practice for me lately.

5. Journaling - Writing to reflect on spiritual growth, Scripture, and prayer.

These are just a few spiritual tools we can use to connect with God in new ways. Is there a different tool you should include in your approach to following Jesus during this season of your life?

Helpful Reminders

Two helpful thoughts on the Christian practice of spiritual disciplines:

1- The word discipline is helpful in the spiritual disciplines phrasing because it highlights that almost none of these come naturally to us. Sure, some may be easier than others. But they all require some effort. Some work. Some grit. Some, well, discipline. I encourage you to ramp up your work ethic in your faith. No, we do not want to be legalistic. No, you are not loved more if you read more of your bible. But Jesus is clear: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” - Matthew 16:24

2- Be grace-oriented. If you miss a day of the spiritual practices, life is not over. Jesus does not hate you. While your spiritual maturity might be determined by the fruit of the Spirit exhibited in your life, God’s love for you is not.

We work to be faithful to God in the disciplines because of His great love for us, not to earn His great love. There is a huge difference between the two.

Growing with you,

Josh.

*This is an adapted version of my article posted here: https://www.weaponsofgrace.com/content/5-powerful-ways-to-connect-with-god-beyond-quiet-time

Be Faithful In The Small Things

We all want to do “great” things for God. To preach to hundreds. To give a great sum of money to a cause. To lead a lot of people to the Lord.

And while we should have a spiritual zeal for getting out of our comfort zones. I wonder if in our desire to “do big things” for God, we miss the more normal “small things” we actually are able to do.

What if the small things are the big things?

• That small text of encouragement, that prayer lifted up in the night.

• That $20 in the offering plate given with a pure heart.

• The saying no to sin and yes to obedience when no one sees.

• The working to be more patient with your spouse.

• The faithful reading of the Word when you feel spiritually dry.

• The wrestle to be gentle with your child.

What if those are the “big things” God has asked us to be faithful in?

“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much” - Luke 16:10.

The Mundane

Everyone wants to do big things for God, but most of life is small things. Normal things. Mundane things. Ordinary things. Was Jesus’ life all “big things”? Certainly, there were a few, but it seems like a lot of his life was pure faithfulness in the small.

Dinners with sinners and skeptics. Stopping to talk to people amidst a busy/hectic schedule. Quiet mornings alone with God on the lake. Before His public ministry, he was a carpenter. (Mark 6:3) Lots of mornings, wiping sleep from His eyes, he probably walked to the shop and began quietly making things. And who knows of the untold small conversations that changed people’s lives.

The encouragements. The challenges. The teachings.

Learn from Jesus

Yes, when the rare big things come, be faithful. But our lives will be marked by how we do the small things that we encounter every day. Even those of us who do “big things” will not be remembered for the big things, but for the small.

Your life is an accumulation of small things.

Working to do the small things well,

Josh.