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“Savior Answers Compassionately Redeeming Infallibly Forever Imparting Cleansing Emancipation! (S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E)”

Ramesh C. Reddy
Publisher

SCRIPTURE:
"Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." (John 12:3, NIV)

APPROACH QUESTION:
How far would you go to show your appreciation to Jesus?

Background:
Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11. We learn there that Mary and Martha are sisters of Lazarus. Now six days before the Passover, a dinner was held in honor of Jesus at the place where Lazarus lived with his sisters. Now the story unfolds beautifully.

Observations:
I asked myself what 3 things did Mary do?

1. Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume.

2. Mary poured it on Jesus' feet.

3. Mary wiped his feet with her hair.

Observation/Interpretations:
I asked myself how much quantity is a pint?
What came to my mind is the quantity of liquid in a 'pint of milk' that is bought in a grocery store. That is the amount of liquid Mary used when it came to the pure nard.

I asked myself the significance of Mary taking 'a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume?'
It was not just any kind of perfume but a pure and expensive perfume that cost an year's wages. That's what Mary decided to use on Jesus to show her appreciation to Him which is evident by point  2: 'Mary poured it on Jesus' feet.'

I asked myself why is it important to know that Mary poured this pure and expensive perfume on Jesus' feet?
People walked a lot either bare footed or with slippers/floppies  which meant their feet got really dirty. The amount of traveling Jesus did with his disciples made Jesus have dirty feet. The feet were not just dirty but they were stinky because of all the manure on the ground, etc where people walked. Mary wanted to show her appreciation to Jesus by offering something that required a great sacrifice on her part and giving Jesus the best instead of the leftovers or a cheaper version. She basically gave Jesus one year's worth of her life to show her appreciation for raising Lazarus from the dead. She had taken the initiative to take care of Jesus' stinky and dirty feet in a special way with a YEAR'S WORTH OF WAGES by pouring it on Jesus' dirty/stinky feet.

Here alone we see a complete surrender of a YEAR'S WORTH OF WAGES for Jesus' sake. A sacrifice was made by a family for their love of Jesus. This sacrifice was not made secretively but publicly. It makes sense for dirty/stinky feet to be washed but it is surprising to do a washing using a YEAR'S WORTH OF WAGES. Yet, this is what Mary did.

It shows her love and her family's love for Jesus in a tangible way. It shows their complete hospitality to Jesus too. Before that the room must have been stinking with stinky feet but the vaporization of the bad odor just began with the POURING. Pouring expensive perfume alone was very touching and special for me to read about but Mary goes a step further which is evident by point 3: 'Mary wiped his feet with her hair' WOW!!!

I asked myself the significance of 'Mary wiped his feet with her hair?'
It is important to remember how stinky/dirty feet could have been in those days when you entered a house from the outside. The feet could have had stains of manure sticking or the odor of it, etc but Mary uses her hair to wipe his feet. A woman's hair was worth her glory in those days. Even now woman are very careful how they take care of their hair with perms, shampoos, conditioners, etc which give a nice fragrance when women walk by after shampooing. But Mary decided to use HER OWN HAIR to wipe Jesus' feet to take his dirt upon herself as a token of inexpressible gratitude. It also showed her humility and attitude towards the Lord and her desire to do something that did not look pleasant on the outside from a bystander's perspective. Yet, to Mary it did not matter because she went ahead with her tangible actions of appreciation.

IMPLICATIONS:
I saw important implications for my own life. Mary was so appreciative that Jesus' raised Lazarus from the dead that she made a sacrifice to show that appreciation in a tangible way. I need to surrender all that I am and everything I have for Jesus' sake. The money I make, my body, etc should all belong to Jesus to be used for His sake like Mary did because of the sacrifice Jesus made for me. When I think about all Jesus did for me, it is not too much to ask to give Jesus my all in all and my best instead of the leftovers, etc. True surrender comes with a sacrifice.

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him." (Romans 12:1, NIV)

I need to also remember that people around me will not understand but think it is a waste of money, talent, time, etc when I make sacrifices doing things with Jesus or for Jesus when that could have been used for other things but that should not stop me from serving the Lord and honoring Him especially when there is opposition.

Wiping dirty/stinky feet with her hair was not appealing to Mary but because of her love for Jesus, it became a joyous act done with joy. In the same way, what I know I should do for Jesus may not necessarily seem appealing but for Jesus' sake and His Kingdom's sake, I should do it out of appreciation, love, and joy.

Now as we look back, what Mary did for Jesus was based on Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, etc. We on the other hand, have been raised from the dead ourselves but in a much more powerful way. We have been given eternal life and been ransomed from the deadly virus known as sin. Sin had us in its grasp and made us dead but Jesus Christ intervened by washing us not with perfume for no amount of perfume can wash away the odor of sin. Jesus POURED OUT HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD FOR US AND WASHED US WITH HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD SHED ON THE CROSS TO RESCUE US.

If nothing else seems to be happening that alone should give us so much joy that the Creator of the Universe came down to earth to rescue you and me by sacrificing His life for us. It was not WORTH JUST ONE YEARS WAGES' but 33 YEARS OF LIFE. Jesus gave that up for you and me to raise us from the deadly consequences of sin when we turn to Him and accept the solution for our lives.

I ask you now dear friend, what costly S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E will you make for Jesus remembering his stinky/dirty feet?
Jesus' dirty/stinky feet were met by a woman who loved Jesus so much that she spent ONE YEARS WORTH OF WAGES and used HER OWN HAIR for an one time cleaning of the dirty/stinky feet of Jesus with PURE, EXPENSIVE PERFUME.  Mary took all the stench of smell and dirt on to her hair to make Jesus' feet clean. Jesus allowed that because it was to foreshadow what Jesus would do for Mary and all the others SEVEN days later including for us.

Friend, Jesus' feet were dirty and stinky and Mary used HER CLEAN HAIR and EXPENSIVE PERFUME to do the CLEANSING.

In the same way, you and I are dirty/stinky to the core. Our sin filled lives make the stench of sin unbearable for God to allow us to enter His presence because God in His Holiness cannot allow sin in His presence. So, we are lost and condemned to death. God in His love for humanity knew that was the case and God intervened in humanity as Jesus, God-incarnate to redeem humanity.

Jesus Christ used HIS OWN BODY and HIS OWN BLOOD to do the CLEANSING.

My friend Maggie is taking a 'Bible as Literature' course and I shared with her the different typologies, analogies, metaphors, etc that we can find in the Scriptures from the Old Testament to the New Testament that eventually point to Christ's ultimate sacrifice for us to redeem us. Mary's actions reminded me of the sacrifice Jesus would make.

Mary did it out of her appreciation of what Jesus Christ did for her family but when Jesus made the sacrifice, He did not do it out of appreciation for us because we have nothing to offer to Him. Our lives are a stench of sin but God in His grace intervened for us because of His love.

There is none righteous, no one! All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but  while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us to redeem us.

Friend, Jesus loves you so much and wants to clean the stench of sin out of your life. Just as Jesus allowed Mary to POUR THE PERFUME on His dirty/stinky feet and WIPE IT ALL AWAY resulting in the effect of: 'And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume', you and I should accept the POURING OF JESUS' BLOOD on our DIRTY/STINKY SIN-FESTED LIVES so JESUS CAN WIPE AWAY ALL OUR SIN AND MAKE US CLEAN.

When we are CLEAN, it is not because we cleaned ourselves. We cannot clean ourselves because no matter how many indulgences we do, how many good things we are proud of, etc, it does not take away the bad we do. There is no such thing as 'If I do one bad thing today, then I will do two good things to erase the bad thing'.

It does not work that way in God's sight. All our good works are like filthy rags to Him. To describe it more graphically, 'filthy rags' refers to the rag used in a women's menstrual cycle. The Book of Leviticus addresses the menstrual cycle.

The good we think we do or the world thinks we do is like filthy rags to God. It is because the stench of sin in our lives overshadows the good. We are separated from God because of our sin. No matter what we do cannot make us reach God on our own. God knew that so He sent Jesus Christ into the world to bring redemption to humanity. We are part of the redeemed when we turn to Jesus.

At the dinner Jesus came to, the aroma of the dinner was overshadowed by stinky/dirty feet. Only when Mary poured the perfume and wiped Jesus' feet with her hair did fragrance fill the room.

In the same way, our lives can be a fragrance offering to the Lord only when we allow Jesus' blood to wipe away all our sins and cleanse us completely so we sacrifice our own flesh to receive the new identity in Christ to live for Him and serve Him! Otherwise the stench of sin will overshadow everything else.

When we have Christ in our lives, the good we do now is a reflection of Christ working in us and through us by the power of the Holy Spirit. When God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ covering over us.  Jesus wants to be our righteousness and John 12 gets the ball rolling. The best sacrifice you can make for Jesus is surrendering your whole life to Jesus. It starts with accepting the antidote Jesus has for you so He can clean you with His precious cleansing Blood to give you new life.

Won't you allow Jesus to WIPE YOU CLEAN WITH HIS PRECIOUS CLEANSING BLOOD?

Jesus went to the cross for you and me and made the way by taking the initiative. When Jesus did that and died for humanity, Jesus made a way for us to be ransomed. The ransom has been paid not with a YEARS WORTH OF WAGES but with ALL HIS 3.5 LITER OF BLOOD.

Now it is time for you and I to accept the antidote so JESUS CAN WIPE AWAY ALL OUR SIN AND GIVE US NEW LIFE if we have not done that.

It is necessary so we can be ETERNALLY CLEAN in JESUS' EYES to get ENTRANCE TO HEAVEN by His BLOOD.

Friend, no matter what you have done, where you have been, what has happened to you, you are never out of His love and never out of His reach. I don't want you to think that Jesus cannot accept you. Jesus will accept you as you are. Jesus loves you so much that if you were the only one living, Jesus would have still died for you.

Jesus said, "It is the sick that need the doctor and not the healthy"

You and I have been sick with the stench of sin that will choke us if we allow it to continue. But thanks be to God for the intervention of Jesus Christ to rescue us so we can be freed. Take the rescue offered to you as HOLY WEEK BEGINS.

Come as you are and leave your life in the Savior's Hands. Jesus wants to be your loving Savior. As you come to Jesus for SAVING, He will work in your life that you will love to make Him LORD too. Mary understood Jesus as LORD as she experienced His love as SAVIOR. You can too! Now is the time of Salvation.

May our lives be transformed forever emancipating everyone truly! It can only happen with Jesus Christ. Jesus will take our stinky/dirty sin infested lives and cover us with His precious blood so when others see us, the fragrance of Jesus transformation in our lives will be smelled :)

Jesus' feet nailed on the cross began the healing process to wipe away our sin as His entire body was hung on the cross with nails piercing through the pulses in both hands and crown of thorns piercing through the head all for you and me. THIS BLOOD IS FOR YOU as His sacrifice to redeem you friend.

May you come to know Savior Answers Compassionately Redeeming Infallibly Forever Imparting Cleansing Emancipation!

If you want to visually see the pain and agony Jesus went through just for you, students organizing JESUS WEEK at the University of Pittsburgh will be showing the PASSION OF THE CHRIST on Saturday, April 03, 2010 in the Kurtzman Room of the William Pitt Union from 7:45 p.m. - followed by a discussion. You can call me or text me at 412-641-9426 with any questions.

"Savior Answers Compassionately Redeeming Infallibly Forever Imparting Cleansing Emancipation! " (S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E)/"What costly S.A.C.R.I.F.I.C.E will you make for Jesus remembering His stinky feet?"

Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you so much for how much I learned reading few verses from John 12 about what Mary did for you. Mary showed her appreciation and gratitude by making a sacrifice that cost her something. It cost her a years worth of wages and her dignity to for your sake when she poured the pure expensive perfume on your stinky/dirty feet and washed it with her hair. Oh Lord, she was making a sacrifice but what she made does not even compare to the sacrifice you made for us while we were yet sinners to redeem us. You died on the cross shedding your precious cleansing blood for me so that the stench of sin does not reach Father God but the aroma of your righteous fragrance covering over us reaches the Father when we give our lives to you and have you as our Lord and Personal Savior. Thanks so much Jesus. Help me Oh Lord to offer myself as a living sacrifice for you always and that is not too much of you to ask of me after all you have done. Thanks so much Jesus.  I need you in my life Lord and thanks for everything you do for me and have already done for me. In Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

May you experience the SAVIOR'S SACRIFICE and HIS POWER OF RESURRECTION this day, and give Him the LOCKED areas of your life too so you can experience His PEACE as you become an ACTOR in the film called LIFE being directed by your DIRECTOR, JESUS CHRIST who comes to give JOY and PEACE.

If you are reading this and do not know Jesus as your Lord and Personal Savior and would like to invite Jesus Christ into your heart and make Him a daily part of your life, you can this very moment. You will never be alone. You can claim God's promises for you in the Bible and see them come true, before your eyes, in His wonderful timing. You don't have to wait for a special time to come to the Lord. You can come right now as you pray this prayer, meaning it in your heart. You can invite the GREAT PHYSICIAN right now as you make this your prayer.

Dear Jesus, I want to be free. I don’t know everything about you. I still have a lot of questions. What I do know is that you died on the cross for my sins. When it comes to sin, I am a paralytic Oh Lord. I am infected with this deadly disease known as sin. I am not perfect but a sinner who needs your cleansing blood to clean me of my sin. I confess to you my sin and repent of my sin. I know you have forgiven me when you died on the cross and shed your blood. I want to accept that forgiveness. Thank you for shedding your cleansing precious blood for me. You were nailed to the cross because of me. It is like I actually held the hammer and pounded the nails. Thank you for willingly dying for me Jesus. Thank you for taking the shame and pain for me. Thank you for doing that to set me free. I come to the cross and ask you for your healing in my life. Thank you for the power of your love using your Blood to redeem all humanity that comes to you. Thank you for coming back to life to save us and give us Eternal Life as we yield to you. Your blood can heal us where we are. I love you Jesus. I want you Jesus. Even with my questions, I come to you now and accept you into my heart. Please Jesus come into my heart and make my heart your home. Give me a transfusion of change. Live in me Jesus and I will live for you and serve you the rest of the days of my life. I thank you Jesus for coming into my heart and making my heart your home. Thank you for living in me Jesus. I acknowledge you now as my Lord and Personal Savior. Please be the Lord and Savior of my life. Thank you for being my Lord and Personal Savior Jesus and because of what you have done for me when God looks at me, He now sees me covered in Your blood and His judgment passes over me. Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me. Thank you for being with me Lord and Personal Savior! Thank you for saving me. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Thank you Jesus I now belong to you and never need to be alone! You will always be with me and have given me Salvation.  Thank you that you have heard my prayer and answered me! Your Name I Pray Jesus! Amen!

May my spoken words and unspoken thoughts be pleasing even to you, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14)

No matter what you feel in your heart, know that Jesus has come in and resides with you! You are not alone! To make your walk strong with the Lord, spend time in prayer talking to Him as you would to a friend. You don’t need special words to talk to the Lord. Spend time in His Word reading Psalms and turning them into prayer. Next allow God to heal you and speak to you through the Gospel of John or Gospel of Mark before moving on to other Books of the Bible! Slowly, let the Lord show you to which Scriptures He wants you to go to next. It is also important to be part of a body of believers to help you grow in the faith. Find a Bible believing church that preaches the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation proclaiming Jesus Christ our crucified and risen Lord who brings us hope, healing, and help! But beware of churches who do believe in the Word of God completely but there is no freedom in Christ but legalism involved.

As a professional, it is not too late to join a church! As a student, it is not too late to join a fellowship on campus this  new year of 2010! May the Lord's presence and peace fill you with His love now and forever! Amen!

Friend, if you have prayed this prayer and meant it in your heart, you are a new creation in Christ and all old things are passed away and everything has become new! You may feel something or may not but don’t base it on feelings but base your new life in Christ on the promises of our Savior who will never leave you nor forsake you! Amen!

Spend time in His word and let the Lord speak to you! Start out in the Gospel of John! You can also check out the Gospel of Mark which are the devotionals I have been going through.  Learn from Jesus through study and prayer. Also find yourself a church fellowship and a college fellowship you can be part of where you can be part of a community of believers to supplement your own walk with the Lord. Let it be a Bible-believing and Bible-breathing church! Believe in Bible LIVE Eternally!

Feel free to email me at reddy4hisglory2004@yahoo.com if you want to meet to study the Bible, pray with, talk about Spiritual issues or whatever is on your mind! My number is 412-641-9426

"This is my work and I can do it only because Christ's mighty energy is at work within me." (Colossians 1:29, TLB)

Express Your View

2010 DEVOTIONALS:

Proverbs 23: "What  has  A.L.C.O.H.O.L done to you in life?" (March 20, 10, 9:17 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "What do you do with an I.N.T.E.R.R.U.P.T.I.O.N in life?" (March 13, 10, 11:40 p.m.)

Mark 10:13: "Why S.H.A.R.E Jesus with others in life?" (March 09, 10, 4:59 a.m) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10:13: "Why B.R.I.N.G Doggy Poo to Jesus?" (March 08, 10, 9:01 a.m) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "When have you become an A.D.U.L.T.E.R.E.R in life and what now?" (Feb 24, 10, 9:31 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "Why D.I.V.O.R.C.E the one you marry in life?" (Feb 22, 10, 12:15 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "What do you do with what is P.E.R.M.I.T.T.E.D in your life?" (Feb 20, 10, 10:08 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

1 Corinthians 13: "How will you be someone's V.A.L.E.N.T.I.N.E using 16?" (Feb 13, 10,  12:16 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 10: "Who do you become an A.T.T.R.A.C.T.I.O.N to and why?" (Feb 05, 10, 9:43 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "How can you be a S.A.L.T in someone's life today?" (Feb 04, 10, 11:27 a.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "What do you help your friends E.S.C.A.P.E from?" (Feb 03, 10, 12:30 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "Why bother with H.E.L.L in life?" (Feb 02, 10, 2:39 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

Mark 9: "When are you planning to cut your hand, foot, or eye to escape Hell?"" (Feb 01, 10, 1:41 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy

 Mark 9: "Why heed Jesus' W.A.R.N.I.N.G in your life?" (Jan 30, 10, 12:41 p.m.) By Ramesh C. Reddy