"And while He was in Bethany at
the home of Simon the leper, and reclining at table, there came a woman with an
alabaster vial of very costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and
poured it over His head.
"But some were indignantly
remarking to one another, 'Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for
over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.' And they were scolding her.
"But Jesus said, 'Let her alone;
why do yuo bother her? She has done a
good deed to Me. For the poor you always
have with you, and whenever you wish, you can do them good; but you do not always
have Me. She has done what she could;
she has anointed My body beforehand for burial.
"And truly I say to you,
wherever the Gospel is preached in the whole world, that also which this woman
has done shall be spoken of in memory of her.'" Mark 14:3-9
On this evening Jesus and His eager
followers take time to relax for a meal at the home of a man grateful for being
touched by Jesus and healed of a physical disease.
When a woman comes to Jesus and
performs this costly, yet simple act, He sees yet again how much work He still
has to do, as His followers argue over the value of the "wasted"
perfume!
There is nothing so valuable we
cannot risk giving it to our Lord Jesus Christ!
Yet, many times all we see is our "poorness" and
"neediness". Even though many
of us may not have money or possessions -- sometimes we fear we may not even be
able to meet our bills -- we are not facing these times alone.
Jesus died to give us strength to
keep on keeping on through the hard times.
When we have Jesus, we have all we need.
Even what we have, when given away in
His name becomes far more in His hands than it ever can in ours. It is only when we want to hold onto money
and possessions out of love for them or our fear of loss of them, that we
slowly forget the value and power of His love in us.
He is able to provide all we need,
when we need it. After all, what is the
value of Christ in our lives, if not to rest in Him?
Take care with love, especially
His! Your servant and friend in Christ,
who prays for you each morning, Darlene
URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS
·
Families
grieving for the loss of their loved ones from the plane crash of the Germanwing plane that killed 150
people.
·
Those
in Vanuatu - The cyclone was
described as apocalyptic.
·
Growing
tensions in the Middle East, especially right now in Yemen.
PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING
·
Adrian - found a finger-size tumour behind
his ear and it took a week for him to convince the doctors it needed to be
seen. They excised it and sent it to the
lab. They think it is not cancer, but
won't know till results are back. They
have adjusted his new medicines and slowly he is sounding better and
stronger. He is still praising the Lord
and preparing for Easter.
·
Paul NS - has had one of the TV series ideas
he has written (while he waits for a new role) accepted and they are now
talking of paying him an advance. Thank
you for praying. He has not had work
since 2012.
NEW PRAYER REQUESTS
·
My brother, Tim with COPD (Cardio-Obstructive
Pulmonary Artery Disease), that He has patience and wisdom to manage his health
and the limitations to his breathing. He
has had three upper respiratory infections in the past months and did not get
his flu shot this year.
·
Shan - Needs clarity of purpose and
direction for his ministry.
·
Helen Birdsall - remains in hospital
recovering. Please pray for her and her
husband.
·
Otto - home from hospital recovering from
upper respiratory infection.
·
Maureen - recovering from surgery on her
shoulder.
·
Emily - please pray for her time to rest
and consider her options and her hope to return to Australia.
·
Rachael
asks: Please pray for Chris, who is on the wait list
for a heart transplant - that if it is God's will for him to get one that the
surgery is successful and that he fully recovers.
·
Yangrae and the Uniting Church he shepherds,
that he and his family will have the energy and good health to feed the flock
he has been entrusted with.
PRAY FOR THOSE WITH HEALTH CONCERNS
·
David R - as he manages his macular
degeneration and a host f other health challenges and for Heidi who cares for
him.
·
Audley and Beverly (stroke) for their situation and his
return to the ministry.
·
Nancy has reached a plateau in her efforts
for full recovery from a life-threatening head injury. Pray she and Fred will be at peace and take some time to be grateful and
stop striving for more from her.
·
BG that is blinding headaches will
finally stop.
·
Chester as he continues to struggle through a
host of very serious medical challenges and poor care, with dwindling funds and
few friends to help. Give him energy,
strength and resolve as he deals with a worldly system that has abused him. And bring someone to him to share Christ's
decision for him.
PRAY FOR THOSE WITH ONGOING JOB-RELATED CHALLENGES
·
Hans - needs wisdom, confidence and
courage to guide him during this time, some emergency funds and a suitable job.
·
Elina - no word yet on results of her
graduate program interview. She says she
is grateful for your prayers.
·
Deepak - that his work efforts begin to
bear fruit as he works to make his business more profitable.
SOMETHING NEW FOR PRAYER WARRIORS
Elaine and Jim started a new ministry
in Hong Kong and have some great news for those with a gift and heart for
prayer: An online church with a Prayer room. It is open 24/7 and there is an army of
prayers waiting to serve. Go here and
learn more: https://www.thelittlechurchworld.org/prayer-room
ONGOING PRAYERS
·
Wezley an 18 year old who has lost her
direction and way, that she will find the Lord in her life.
·
Phil (the man who has let Adrian stay in
his home) for understanding, patience, empathy, compassion and gentleness.
·
Buddy and Susan Smith and Kevin and
Sandy Currell -
ministers of grace and salvation in Australia.
·
Fion as he supports his ageing parents and
manages a heavy load of personal challenges
·
Bettina for additional strength and wisdom.
·
Isaias and Judith (in Philippines) were called to
train other Christian lay leaders and they work tirelessly in challenging
conditions. Please keep them in your
prayers as they plan the future of the ministry. Perhaps you would like to learn more about
his work there: search Ambassadors for
Christ and look for Isaias Catorce.
PRAY FOR THE WORLD
·
For
Christ-centred, bible-based revival
in the USA and religious freedom for Christians.
·
For
the many individuals in Singapore,
China, Russia and India who read the WeakDay Devotion. (it seems to be gathering an audience in
unexpected geographic locations).
·
The
Catholic Church and the new Pope that he will always put
Jesus first.
ADDITIONAL PRAYER REQUESTS
·
That
the Lord's hand is dramatically apparent in the lives of all who receive and read these devotions. That His mighty works would be worked out in
each life for His purposes in surprising and wonderful ways!
·
Jen needs the watchful care of the Lord
in her life.
·
Linda and Ian, Rob and his daughter,
Reg, Annette and Lyle, Carla and Paul, Jeff and Rachael and their wonderful families. Thanksgiving for their practical support over
the years.
