The Word of God for wisdom:
Proverbs 8:12-13 (HCSB)
12 I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness and have knowledge and discretion.
13 To fear the LORD is to hate evil. I hate arrogant pride, evil conduct, and perverse speech.
The Word of God for inspiration:
Psalm 31:9 (HCSB)
9 Be gracious to me, LORD, because I am in distress; my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow— my whole being as well.
The Word of God for encouragement:
Matthew 26:6-13 (HCSB)
6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had a serious skin disease,
7 a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked.
9 "This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor."
10 But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for Me.
11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.
12 By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial.
13 I assure you: Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her."
Matthew 26:14-16 (HCSB)
14 Then one of the Twelve—the man called Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests
15 and said, "What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?" So they weighed out 30 pieces of silver for him.
16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray Him.
My observation:
Today's focal passage from the Gospel of Matthew provides a vivid contrast in how two people used opportunities.
Mary used her opportunity to show her devotion to Jesus. Some opportunities present rare moments. If we don't seize the moment, the opportunity will be lost. By taking advantage of her opportunity Mary did something that Jesus called noble.
Conversely, Judas thought she had wasted the opportunity by her anointing of Jesus before his impending death. The response of Jesus was that you will always have an opportunity to give to the poor because they will always be among you.
Judas failed twice, and the second failure was worse than the first. He used the opportunity presented to him to betray Jesus.
My prayer:
Father God, my dear Father, I ask for wisdom and discernment so that I might respond with gratitude to the opportunities that are presented to me. Father, I pray that I will see opportunities as gifts from the heart and the hand of my loving heavenly Father. Lord, I pray that I will receive them with a grateful heart, and use them wisely to bring honor to Your name.
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1 Peter 2:2-3 (ESV)
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
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