Today’s devotion highlights the value of our service, emphasizing that no substitute can replace serving the LORD!

Bible Reading of the Day
AM – 2 Chronicles 1-3
PM – John 12:1-19

𝕿𝖎𝖙𝖑𝖊: 𝕬 𝕮𝖔𝖓𝖘𝖕𝖎𝖈𝖚𝖔𝖚𝖘 𝕾𝖊𝖗𝖛𝖎𝖈𝖊
𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝟏𝟐:𝟑 𝐊𝐉𝐕
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒔𝒑𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒅, 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒓: 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.

After Lazarus was raised from the dead, the Lord Jesus Christ stayed with Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Six days before Passover, Mary anointed the Lord. Unlike her sister Martha, known for being vocal and service-oriented in 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝟏𝟎:𝟑𝟖-𝟒𝟐, Mary is more reserved in expressing her devotion. Martha often focuses on words like “me” and “my,” indicating a self-centered attitude. Feeling unappreciated, Martha receives correction from Jesus, who emphasizes the importance of devotion over distraction by citing Mary’s example in 𝐋𝐮𝐤𝐞 𝟏𝟎:𝟒𝟏-𝟒𝟐.

In our discussion, Martha and Mary are both serving the Lord, but this time, Mary exemplifies the kind of service all believers, including you and me, should aim for. Clearly, Martha learns from Jesus what acceptable service looks like. Under His guidance, Martha is transformed to serve joyfully instead of complaining.

On the other hand, it is clear that Mary was truly involved in serving, and her contributions through her service are undeniable. She uses this costly ointment—worth more than a year’s salary—to anoint both Jesus’ head and feet, filling the whole house with its fragrance.

Mary’s actions showed genuine love and devotion to our Lord Jesus Christ. 𝕿𝖗𝖚𝖊 𝖑𝖔𝖛𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖘𝖍𝖎𝖕 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕷𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖉𝖔𝖓’𝖙 𝖓𝖊𝖊𝖉 𝖙𝖔 𝖇𝖊 𝖆𝖉𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖊𝖉; when your words match your actions, it becomes clear, and others will notice.

Every act of serving the Lord will inevitably encounter opposition. Here, Judas questions Mary’s intentions behind her expensive act of worship. While he appears to care, he claims the money should be given to the poor. Still, 🆃🅷🅴 🅻🅾️🆁🅳 🅳🅴🆂🅴🆁🆅🅴🆂 🆃🅷🅴 🅱️🅴🆂🆃 🅰️🅽🅳 🅼🅾️🆂🆃 🅼🅴🅰️🅽🅸🅽🅶🅵🆄🅻 🆂🅴🆁🆅🅸🅲🅴, 🅰️🅼🅴🅽! Judas’ real character is exposed, showing his conflicted priorities that eventually led to his ruin and downfall.

Brethren, serving the Lord surpasses any amount of money, time, or dedication in importance. Remember, once you accept Him as your Saviour, you belong to Him—He is our Master! Thus, Jesus Christ warrants our fullest commitment. Avoid speaking only words—don’t just claim to love the Lord! 🆂🅷🅾️🆆 🆃🅷🅰️🆃 🅻🅾️🆅🅴 🆃🅷🆁🅾️🆄🅶🅷 🅰️🅲🆃🅸🅾️🅽! Truly loving the Lord means obeying His directive to go and share the Gospel with all creation.