DISCUSION DE LAS OBSERVACIONES Y SUGERENCIAS

God is saying to us, “I have set before thee an open door”

(see Rev. 3:7-13). This is one of those seasons when God seems to be throwing open the door of Heaven and saying, “Come in to a new place of intimacy and communion with Me.” You

don’t need to worry about the blessings if you sit in the lap of the Blesser! Just tell Him that you love Him and every blessing you ever imagined will come to you. Seek the Blesser, not the blessing! Seek the Reviver, not revival! Seek His face, not His hands!

Often I see the aisles of churches strewn with people who have climbed into the lap of the Father. I see them hiding their faces underneath benches and pews as they seek the face of God. Something is happening in the Church today, and it has nothing to do with the hype and manipulation of man. Aren’t you sick of all that? Aren’t you hungry for an encounter with God that’s not contaminated by the vain promotions and manipulations of fleshly leaders? Don’t you long to have God just introduce Himself to you? You are not alone. There was one woman who marked the road of repentance with her tears and dismantled her glory for the Lord.

And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with him. And He went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to meat.

And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,

And stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now when the Pharisee which had bidden Him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner.

And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have some-what to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.

And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell Me therefore, which of them will love him most?

Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he for-gave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

And He turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest Me no water for My feet: but she hath washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.

Thou gavest Me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss My feet.

My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed My feet with ointment.

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are for-given; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

And He said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also?

And He said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace (Luke 7:36-50).

You may be only a few spiritual inches away from the encounter of a lifetime. If you want to see the face of God, then just follow Mary to the feet of Jesus. Pull out your alabaster box of precious sacrificial praise and worship. You’ve been holding your treasure back for too long, but there is One here who is worthy of it all. Don’t hold anything back!

The Gospels of Matthew and Mark also record this event, and they say that Simon was or had been a leper.⁴Many scholars believe that the account recorded by Dr. Luke is the story of an earlier event, but even so, Simon the Pharisee was still a spiritu-al leper because he was afflicted with the disfiguring sin of hypocrisy. You can always count on some Pharisees with the lep-rosy of hypocrisy showing up to look with disdain as you rush in to throw your best at the Lord’s feet, but who cares? Who knows what problems will be lifted from your shoulders in that moment? Who knows what worries, fears, and anxieties will fade away when you hear Him say, “I accept you.”

In God’s eyes, we are all lepers in the spirit realm. We need to be those who return to the One who delivered us to offer thanksgiving. God’s acceptance means you can ignore all the other voices that say, “I reject you.” I don’t mean to be rude, but who cares how many other lepers reject you when you have been healed and accepted by the King?

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Mary’s harshest critics weren’t the Pharisees or Sadducees. The disciples of Jesus were ready to throw her out when Jesus quickly intervened.

And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on Me.

She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint My body to the burying.

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her (Mark 14:6,8-9).