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Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’


1. The Scent of Sacrifice

John 12:3–5: “Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ‘Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?'”

One person smells a beautiful act of devotion; another only smells a wasted investment. Mary gave her best, while Judas calculated the cost. In your daily life, do you recognize the fragrance of a selfless moment, or are you too busy checking the price tag?


2. The Sight of the Impossible

John 12:9–10: “When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well…”

A man returns from the grave. For the crowd, it was a wonder to behold. For the establishment, it was a threat to be eliminated. When something happens that disrupts your status quo, do you celebrate the miracle or try to silence it?


3. The Sound of the Father

John 12:28–29: “‘Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.'”

God spoke audibly, yet some dismissed it as a mere change in the weather. Are you listening for a clear Word, or have you conditioned yourself to hear only “thunder”?


The Perspective Shift

Your perspective isn’t just how you see the world—it is how you experience the Divine. Don’t let cynicism dull your senses. Look for the miracle, breathe in the grace, and listen for the Voice.

What do you smell, see, and hear today?

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You’ve made the commitment. You believe that your “old self” was crucified with Christ. So why, on a random Tuesday, do you still feel that intense, magnetic pull toward the very things you’re trying to leave behind?

The Residual Echo

In Romans 7, Paul describes a technical reality: even though your “spirit” is made new, sin is still “lodged” in the physical members of your body—the flesh.

“But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:23)

Think of it like a habit-loop burned into your nervous system. Your spirit has been liberated, but your body still carries the “muscle memory” of your old life. The “tug” isn’t the real you; it’s a ghost in the machine.

The Strategy: Reckon and Walk

To defeat the draw, you have to stop fighting the feeling and start changing your accounting.

  1. Reckon (The Math): Romans 6 tells you to “reckon” yourself dead to sin. This isn’t “faking it until you make it.” It’s a legal fact. When the urge hits, you don’t say, “I’m trying not to do this.” You say, “That impulse is talking to a dead man. I don’t owe it a response.”
  2. Starve the Flesh: Romans 8:13 says to “mortify” (deaden) the deeds of the body through the Spirit. You don’t negotiate with the tug; you starve it by shifting your focus to the Spirit’s power within you.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

You aren’t a bad person for feeling the tug; you’re a soldier in a body that’s still catching up to your soul. Stop identifying with the impulse, and start identifying with the Victory.

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JesusCalsmsStormMatthew 8:23-26

The story is brief, Jesus enters a “ship”, the disciples follow, and the going gets rough.

Storms happened all the time, ships sank all the time; the danger was real and the disciple thought they were going to die; others had died in just such circumstances and Jesus was asleep, letting it all happen.

Frantically they wake Jesus, but his response is to rebuke them for being fearful. Then he rebukes the wind and sea and all becomes calm, inside and out.

Jesus expected his disciples to realize with him there’s no going under but over.

I chose to follow Jesus, like his disciples. The storms of life threaten like they did his disciples. I am fearful like his disciples and, like his disciples, I have Jesus present though sometimes he appears to be sleeping.

Jesus expects me to not be fearful but trust God will see me through, storms are no match for him and me together.

– fritz

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