SACRIFICE

Many of us have a savings account, a retirement plan, even insurance policies, all in hopes of securing our future. Those items are a sense of security and safety for many of us. Not things we would discard of very easily. We have seen in recent years the anguish brought on by the sudden loos of those items and how people's lives have been devastated.

1. Read Luke 7:37. What did the woman bring to Jesus?

An alabaster box filled with fragrant oils was a precious little item. It was often used as a dowry for a woman when she married. It could be traded for anything you could need. It, in essence, secured her future. I can just picture her looking at it on the shelf. Her ticket out, her future, all bottled up in a tiny little package.
The Bible does not tell us if she had a family, but I bet if she did, they thought she was nuts.
"You are going to throw your future away on Jesus?"
"You have worked so hard for that - why give it away?"
"You'll never get out now. You will stuck in this life forever!"
The devil has said those very words to us for generations.
Why waste you time and effort on someone you can't even see? You have worked hard to achieve your worldly status, you financial status, even your church status. If you follow Christ you will lose all of that. If you give your life to Jesus or if you follow His calling in this or that area, you will always be poor, shamed, humiliated. You apologize and they will think you are weak. You confess you sins and struggles and they will no longer respect you. The enemy uses friends and foes, family members and coworkers alike. We may even join him in our thoughts.
I have heard it said many times, perhaps you have too, that life with Christ is the freest gift in the world that will cost you everything.Our woman gave her past (her sin), her present (her shame), and her future (her alabaster box). She willingly laid these before Christ.
She restated with her life what David said in 1 Chronicles 21.

2. Look up this passage and read verse 18-24. Why did David insist he pay for the land and the offerings?

Both the woman in our story and David had the same heart. They were not going to bring to the Lord God something that cost them nothing. They chose to make a sacrifice. May we be as willing to pay whatever costs are required of us to draw into Jesus.
End today by asking the Lord in prayer what sacrifices, if any, He is asking of you. Maybe it is of your time, your pride, or your priorities. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you identify and make these sacrifices. Write out a short prayer describing these things.
Be blessed today! Thanks for studying. I do love ya to pieces:)