Whew! Ngayon lang ulet ako nakapag-blog and I’m back! Haha :)
Last Sunday, I got a privilege to lead our dgroup (discipleship group). Dgroup are followers of Christ meeting regularly to have fellowship and accountability. I’m so blessed to have them as my sisters in Christ who constantly cared and prayed for me. When my discipler handed me the book “Woman of Faith” and asked me to lead, I really felt nervous besides that it was my first time to lead, I thought that I can’t impart anything to them. But God reminded me that it is His works not mine. I prayerfully chose Mary of Bethany to discuss and one of my sisters-in-Christ shared a pointer to me that every time I need guidance, I make an arrow prayer like this, “Your wisdom Lord please”. What I shared to my dgroup, please allow me to share it here too. I chose Mary of Bethany to discuss. So who’s Mary of Bethany? Actually, I really don’t mind her at the bible before but when I thoroughly study her account and character. I really appreciated her. She is totally devoted to Jesus and unafraid to express her love to Jesus. She remarkably anoints the body of Jesus with oil. Her accounts can be seen at Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, Luke 10:38-42 and John 11:1-12:11. First, I asked my dgroup if they have any comfort foods? Personally, I considered ice cream and siomai from siomai house as my comfort foods. And then we discussed why Mary of Bethany is crying, how God reacted to her grief, how Jesus turned her grief into joy and if there’s any circumstances in our lives where we are also deeply troubled that turned into joy or a blessing in disguise. Her extravagant gesture to Jesus seems so controversial. She went at the feet of Jesus, listened to Him and anoints His body with oil and wipe it with her hair instead of doing household chores like her sister Martha. In their culture, it was expected to women to do household chores and also, they are not allowed to show their hair in public. Judas and the others were really shocked in what she did but God defended her because she knew the heart of Mary and the depth of her love. He said, “She has done a beautiful thing for me.” He told them that the fragrance of this perfume would linger on His body while He hung on the cross and when He was buried in the tomb. We ended our discussion with the following realizations on Jesus:
♥ He is the source of our comfort. He was moved by Mary's grief and shared it.
♥ He can be pleased.
♥ He is not distant. We can build an intimate relationship with Him.
♥ He defended Mary's devotion when others rebuked her.
How about with Mary of Bethany? Why we should follow her?
♥ She loved Jesus with all of her heart.
♥ She is willing to give everything she has for Jesus.
♥ She is unafraid to express her love and devotion to Jesus.
Life’s application: [may ganun…haha.. oo!may ganung factor! :)))) ]
♥ If we are hurting from trials and problems of life, we need to worship at the feet of Jesus. Surrender everything to Him. Instead of trying different alternatives in solving it, go to God! :)
♥ Worship extravagantly and worship Him with all of our best. (With all of our heart, mind, soul and spirit) I told them to prayerfully ask God their purpose and their ministry. Who knows? Just because out of love and obedience, they might fulfilling a prophesy like Mary of Bethany.
