From the Heart by B.Demaere

  Sibling’s Rivalry (Luke 10:38-42) Attention We all seek it whether it be from parents or peers and even from our own boss.   We are natural boasters.   There is a mature way to seek attention and a bad way.   Even from God, many people in the Church seek it by works or duties and its all by grace.   We get ourselves so windup for glory and then fall on our faces in defeat because we have missed the mark.   That is the actual meaning of sin: missing the mark.   Life could be a lot simpler if we well! Focused. Martha and Mary You can see that these two, with Jesus in their home were competing for attention from the Lord.   After all, it’s not every day you have Jesus sitting at your table and yet we do in our own way have him with us.   Only this time he was there physically.   I could have pictured Martha being busy and noisy with pots and pans saying to herself or out loud, “Look at me Jesus, I am here cooking you a meal, am I not special?” But Jesus calmly enjoyed his time tea

  Love surpasses Religion (Luke 7:36-50) Simon, the Pharisees had welcomed Jesus in his house.  After all, it made him look great in the eyes of his peers and his disciples.  A woman of poor reputation, probably an adulteress or prostitute came in the house.  (God often uses ‘sinners’ to test religion’s authenticity and this situation is no exception).  This woman opened her heart to Jesus and poured all the love she had for him.  It was worship at its highest degree.  She knew who Jesus was and she didn’t care about her own reputation anymore.  She had none left.  She had probably spent all her love on men to no avail.  Now she fell empty of self at Jesus’s feet with the most expensive perfume she could find.  She had made lots of her money through prostitution and now she was not willing to use it on herself but on Jesus the only one who could save her soul.  What are you using your money on?  What was this Pharisee using his money for?  But she was using her money to exalt Jesus.