Pastor Weekly - 9/16/26
Hello ICC Family!
When I went outside this morning, it changed my whole day! The air seemed fresh. The temperature and the humidity were down. The sky was bright blue. There was even a slight breeze! It was such a pleasant change from this summer’s relentless heat that I sat down on the patio. We haven’t sat outside since early June! I pulled out my Bible, and in those few minutes, my heart was reset. Because it gave me another opportunity to see Jesus and appreciate his goodness and blessing.
In John 12 we have John’s version of the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ head and feet with an expensive perfume. Judas Iscariot scolds her for what he says is a wasteful act. This perfume could have been sold and the money used to feed the poor, Judas says, even though in actuality he just wanted the opportunity to steal the money. That is when Jesus chimes in…
7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.
8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
John 12:7-8
There are many lessons to be taken from Jesus’ rebuke, but I think the primary one is that Jesus loved Mary’s devotion. You see, Mary often saw Jesus and appreciated his goodness and blessing even when others could not, and she expressed her love and appreciation for him in ways that others did not. Piper elaborates on Jesus’ view of Mary: “Mary has seen my glory. Mary has tasted my grace. Mary has glimpsed my truth. And Mary’s heart has been formed by this experience. And she has reached for the most lavish thing she could find to express the inexpressible: a heart that matches my worth…”.
He goes on to describe this scene further… “Look at how lavish this display of love is. Three hundred days’ wages! Gone in a moment of lavish affection. Think what she could have bought with this! But her brother is alive. And Jesus is the one who raised him and Jesus is the reason its worth living. He is the resurrection and the life. There is no measuring the value of Jesus. There is no quantifying his worth. So there is no way to calculate the cost of love. There is no way to put the heart in a scale and say, this much affection for Jesus and no more. Jesus is inexpressibly wonderful, and Mary is inexpressibly affectionate. They match.”
Each of us will express our love and appreciation for our Savior differently. The Lord might move our hearts to worship him in a way that would be “inexpressibly affectionate.” But before we can do that, we have to be amazed and overwhelmed by him and his love and mercy for us. We need to stop and see him much more often than we do, so we can realize that He truly is “inexpressibly wonderful.”
It is supposed to be just as nice tomorrow morning. Take a moment to sit outside - even if it is just a moment - and be still with the Lord. It will encourage your spirit, brighten your day, and remind you that He is worth anything and everything you give him!
Blessings to you all!
And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
When I went outside this morning, it changed my whole day! The air seemed fresh. The temperature and the humidity were down. The sky was bright blue. There was even a slight breeze! It was such a pleasant change from this summer’s relentless heat that I sat down on the patio. We haven’t sat outside since early June! I pulled out my Bible, and in those few minutes, my heart was reset. Because it gave me another opportunity to see Jesus and appreciate his goodness and blessing.
In John 12 we have John’s version of the story of Mary anointing Jesus’ head and feet with an expensive perfume. Judas Iscariot scolds her for what he says is a wasteful act. This perfume could have been sold and the money used to feed the poor, Judas says, even though in actuality he just wanted the opportunity to steal the money. That is when Jesus chimes in…
7 Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial.
8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”
John 12:7-8
There are many lessons to be taken from Jesus’ rebuke, but I think the primary one is that Jesus loved Mary’s devotion. You see, Mary often saw Jesus and appreciated his goodness and blessing even when others could not, and she expressed her love and appreciation for him in ways that others did not. Piper elaborates on Jesus’ view of Mary: “Mary has seen my glory. Mary has tasted my grace. Mary has glimpsed my truth. And Mary’s heart has been formed by this experience. And she has reached for the most lavish thing she could find to express the inexpressible: a heart that matches my worth…”.
He goes on to describe this scene further… “Look at how lavish this display of love is. Three hundred days’ wages! Gone in a moment of lavish affection. Think what she could have bought with this! But her brother is alive. And Jesus is the one who raised him and Jesus is the reason its worth living. He is the resurrection and the life. There is no measuring the value of Jesus. There is no quantifying his worth. So there is no way to calculate the cost of love. There is no way to put the heart in a scale and say, this much affection for Jesus and no more. Jesus is inexpressibly wonderful, and Mary is inexpressibly affectionate. They match.”
Each of us will express our love and appreciation for our Savior differently. The Lord might move our hearts to worship him in a way that would be “inexpressibly affectionate.” But before we can do that, we have to be amazed and overwhelmed by him and his love and mercy for us. We need to stop and see him much more often than we do, so we can realize that He truly is “inexpressibly wonderful.”
It is supposed to be just as nice tomorrow morning. Take a moment to sit outside - even if it is just a moment - and be still with the Lord. It will encourage your spirit, brighten your day, and remind you that He is worth anything and everything you give him!
Blessings to you all!
And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
Posted in Pastor Weekly
Recent
Archive
2026
April
July