<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 14;3-9<div><br></div><div><b>3. &nbsp;And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon, the leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the jar and poured it over his head.</b></div><div><b>4. &nbsp;But there were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment thus wasted?”</b></div><div><b>5. &nbsp;For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor.”&nbsp; And they reproached her.</b></div><div><b>6. &nbsp;But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful, beautiful thing to me.</b></div><div><b>7. &nbsp;Before you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me.</b></div><div><b>8. &nbsp;She has done what she could; she has anointed my body before hand for burying.</b></div><div><b>9. &nbsp;And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”</b></div><div><b><br></b></div><div>Opportunities for a church congregation&nbsp;to do extravagant acts of generosity in glorifying Jesus are not constantly present. &nbsp;There are moments in the life of a congregation which come and then they go. &nbsp;What a church does depends on the&nbsp;perspective of the congregation.</div><div><br></div><div>If the members think that their resources are limited, if they think that earthly needs are greater than our&nbsp;heavenly spiritual&nbsp;need to glorify God, then many opportunities will slip away and be lost.</div><div><br></div><div>Extravagance in the cause of glorifying Jesus, is&nbsp;what we are called to. &nbsp;We are to give to God first. &nbsp;We are to fear, love, and trust in God above all things. &nbsp;We are to, <i>“present our bodies to God, a living sacrifice”.</i></div><div>(Romans 12;1). If by dying, we can best glorify God, then we gladly physically&nbsp;die. &nbsp;We have a life which can not be taken from us. &nbsp;The greatest, most&nbsp;unlimited treasure of Heaven is already ours, oneness with,&nbsp;and life eternal in Christ Jesus.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The Spirit of God spends wildly for the sake of the souls of men. &nbsp;The Father gives His most precious possession, Heavens greatest treasure,&nbsp;His only Son, for us.</div><div><br></div><div>That same Spirit is at work in those whose hearts have been filled with the love of God. &nbsp;Believers who walk by the Spirit are unafraid to give beyond their means. &nbsp;They know they are eternally safe, they have no fear.</div><div><br></div><div>The nameless woman greatest good and greatest love was Jesus. &nbsp;(Personally, I believe this was either Mary or Martha, sisters of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead.) &nbsp; The disciple(s) who complained about <i>“waste,” </i>their greatest love was money. &nbsp;This was Judas Iscariot who was complaining.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;Merciful Father, open our hearts to fearlessly&nbsp;love You extravagantly with our very lives. In Jesus we pray, Amen.</div><div><br></div><div>Love,&nbsp;</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day,&nbsp;every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”</div><div><div><br><br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 14;3-9
3.  And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon, the leper, as he sat at table, a woman came with an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the jar and poured it over his head.4.  But there were some who said to themselves indignantly, “Why was the ointment thus wasted?”5.  For this ointment might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, and given to the poor.”  And they reproached her.6.  But Jesus said, “Let her alone; why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful, beautiful thing to me.7.  Before you always have the poor with you, and whenever you will, you can do good to them; but you will not always have me.8.  She has done what she could; she has anointed my body before hand for burying.9.  And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”
Opportunities for a church congregation to do extravagant acts of generosity in glorifying Jesus are not constantly present.  There are moments in the life of a congregation which come and then they go.  What a church does depends on the perspective of the congregation.
If the members think that their resources are limited, if they think that earthly needs are greater than our heavenly spiritual need to glorify God, then many opportunities will slip away and be lost.
Extravagance in the cause of glorifying Jesus, is what we are called to.  We are to give to God first.  We are to fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  We are to, “present our bodies to God, a living sacrifice”.(Romans 12;1). If by dying, we can best glorify God, then we gladly physically die.  We have a life which can not be taken from us.  The greatest, most unlimited treasure of Heaven is already ours, oneness with, and life eternal in Christ Jesus. 
The Spirit of God spends wildly for the sake of the souls of men.  The Father gives His most precious possession, Heavens greatest treasure, His only Son, for us.
That same Spirit is at work in those whose hearts have been filled with the love of God.  Believers who walk by the Spirit are unafraid to give beyond their means.  They know they are eternally safe, they have no fear.
The nameless woman greatest good and greatest love was Jesus.  (Personally, I believe this was either Mary or Martha, sisters of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead.)   The disciple(s) who complained about “waste,” their greatest love was money.  This was Judas Iscariot who was complaining.
Prayer:  Merciful Father, open our hearts to fearlessly love You extravagantly with our very lives. In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love, Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”


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