You alone are worthy of my days.

Mark 14:1-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now the Passover and Festival of Unleavened Bread were two days away; and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how to arrest Him covertly and kill Him; ² for they were saying, “Not during the festival, otherwise there will be a riot of the people.”

³ While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper, He was reclining at the table, and a woman came with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head. ⁴ But there were some indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? ⁵ For this perfume could have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. ⁶ But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me. ⁷ For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. ⁸ She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. ⁹ Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went off to the chief priests in order to betray Him to them. ¹¹ They were delighted when they heard this, and promised to give him money. And he began seeking how to betray Him at an opportune time.

¹² On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” ¹³ And He sent two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you; follow him; ¹⁴ and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ ¹⁵ And he himself will show you a large upstairs room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” ¹⁶ The disciples left and came to the city, and found everything just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.

¹⁷ When it was evening He came with the twelve. ¹⁸ And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me—one who is eating with Me.” ¹⁹ They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” ²⁰ But He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips bread with Me in the bowl. ²¹ For the Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”

James 1:27 says: Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. Religion is defined as: A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader. Religion then motivates and impacts what we believe, what we value and what we do.     God did not create us for religion though, He created us for relationship with Him. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus says: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Before our religious beliefs, values and actions are evident to others, we must first love God with our whole heart, soul and mind.  In today’s text it says: While He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the Leper, He was reclining at the table, and a woman came with an alabaster vial of very expensive perfume of pure nard. She broke the vial and poured the perfume over His head. But there were some indignantly remarking to one another, “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume could have been sold for over three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor.” And they were scolding her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone! Why are you bothering her? She has done a good deed for Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me. She has done what she could; she has anointed My body beforehand for the burial. Truly I say to you, wherever the gospel is preached in the entire world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”  Our greatest priority in our relationship with God should be to worship Him extravagantly, to love Him with our whole heart, soul and mind. There is nothing of this world that we can give to God because as Psalm 24:1 says: The earth is the LORD’S, and all it contains, The world, and those who live in it. James 4:17 says: For one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, for him it is sin. To have any higher priority in our lives or in our days, than to love and worship God is sin. Anything else, even religion, that we prioritize over our relationship with Him is sin.

In today’s text, regarding His betrayal and the one who betrayed Him, Jesus says: “The Son of Man is going away just as it is written about Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”  Many people value and prioritize this life, the few years that we have been given to live here, in the world. Our lives though, even if they are long and full in human terms, are but a twinkling in the scheme of eternity. To live with any priority other than to love and worship God, may not be the same as to betray Him, but it is sin. In the scheme of eternity, whatever we gain or enjoy in these few years, will not be worth the consequence of our sin if we fail to first and foremost love and worship God. In Matthew 16:26 Jesus says: “For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul?” Colossians 3:17 says: Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. All that we do and say, all that we value and believe, should be an expression of our love for God.

May this song be our declaration and prayer:

Worthy Of My Days - YouTube

Worthy Of My Days
by Ted Sandquist

I will make life a psalm for you.
I will fill my lips from the cup of truth.
King of life, I choose to walk your way,
You alone are worthy of my days.

Chorus:
You alone are worthy,
God of pow’r and glory,
You alone are worthy of my days.
You alone are worthy
God of pow’r and glory,
You alone are worthy of my praise.

Take my feet to run the race for you.
Take my hands for love, take my whole heart too
King of love, I’m yours at work and play
You alone are worthy of my days

When you knock, I’ll open wide the door,
It’s my heart’s desire to sup with my Lord.
King of light, I’ll turn you not away,
You alone are worthy of my days.  Amen.