Religious Boxes

Mark 14:3-9 ESV

“And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, ‘Why was the ointment wasted like that? For this ointment could have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.’ And they scolded her. But Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will 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 proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.’”

What makes sense to some people doesn’t make sense to other people. But God didn’t make us all the same. But what might look foolish to some people may not be foolish to God. But the Bible will always be our measurement for what God accepts and for what he rejects. But look at some of the things that God had his prophets of old do, some of which were symbolic, and some of which were prophecies acted out rather than spoken with lips. 

The point of what I just stated is this. We shouldn’t put God or other humans in religious boxes that we have, perhaps, made for ourselves, or that our parents or our religious institutions have made for us to follow. For not all of them are of God. Yes, we must absolutely stay within the moral boundaries that our Lord laid down for us in the Scriptures for us all to adhere to, but we are not all going to worship our Lord in all the same ways.

But, there again, we must remain within the biblical boundaries that our Lord spelled out for us in the Scriptures, so there is never freedom to do what is sinful. But also the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and SELF-CONTROL. So if you are doing something “in the Spirit” over which you have no control, then, according to the Scriptures, that is not of God.

And “peace” is peace with God, not compromise with what is against God. And “kindness” is showing others grace, but this should never engage placating sin nor lying to people to make them feel good about themselves. And “love” is not romantic attraction nor what is feelings oriented, but it is preferring what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, honest, trustworthy, morally pure, and faithful. And it is doing what he prefers.

So, please don’t judge other Christians on the basis of your own religious practices or culture or traditions if they are of man and not of God. And please don’t make judgments about other people by comparing them to yourselves, for God did not make us all the same. God uniquely designed us all, and he uniquely gifted us all, and he uses those who are his followers in many different ways to reach many different people.

So, here we have this story of a woman who did something unusual, perhaps, in giving honor to Jesus Christ, and in worship of the Lord. And in our culture today we might consider that an odd thing to do. But God doesn’t look at things in all the same ways as we humans do. And if you are a woman, in particular, and if God calls you to do something that is not the cultural norm, but which is biblical, you may have men scolding you, too.

And, how I absolutely love Jesus’ response to the men who were scolding this woman for her worship of our Lord. He said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing for me.” Amen! And he said, “And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” Glory to God! What a beautiful story of the woman’s love for Jesus and his love for her!

Now, I identify with this woman. Why? Because my Lord called me nineteen years ago to write out what he was teaching me through his word each day and to post these writings on the internet, so that is what I have been doing ever since then. I share my personal devotions with the world. I just post them on the internet and I trust that the Lord will take them where he wants them to go. But for some people, that is not normal. It is odd to them.

Why is it odd to them? Because it doesn’t fit in their religious boxes. It doesn’t fit with their cultural norms. And so I don’t have many supporters or encouragers, not even from the family of God. Is it because I am doing something sinful? No! It just isn’t what they are used to. BUT.. if I was an official worker (missionary) within a particular church denomination, then I would be accepted as “of God” regardless if I was actually “of God” or not.

And I am not looking for applause here. I am just sharing an example of how we can get in our minds that things have to look a certain way or go a certain way to be religiously acceptable. And what we may be accepting as “acceptable” expressions of worship of God may have nothing to do with honest and pure worship of God, while we might be rejecting true expressions of pure worship of God because they don’t fit in our boxes.

So, again, we should not judge other people by our own selves or by our own standards or by our cultural norms or by our human traditions or by our religious upbringing or by institutional religion’s standards. God did not make us all the same. He uniquely designed each one of us for his purposes and for his glory, so we are not to be “cookie-cutter Christians.” “Different” is not necessarily bad, and “same” is not necessarily good. In fact, we are all to be different, holy unto God, used by God for his purposes and for his glory.

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263