Hello First Family,

Today’s Devotional thought comes from our Youth Pastor, Jeff Dawsey. Enjoy!

Today’s Code word is PRICE TAG.

I spent most of 2008, living in Korea for the army. During this era, the hip-hop culture wore clothes and kept the price tags on them to show off how much money was paid for them. My cheap behind wouldn’t spend more than $30 on anything, so I never played the game, until I came upon a pair of pants that had an $835 price tag on them. Whoa! Did I really just pay that amount for those jeans? Of course not! But, when I got back to the states, my jeans became very popular, to the point that I sold them for well-over their true value.

              The reality is everything has a price tag. It represents what something is worth, it’s value. But, what most people don’t know is that this is how the word “worship” was created. It is Old English, and the root word is literally “worth.” So, when we worship someone/something, we are demonstrating his/its worth.

              The first commandment God gives deals with worship. He tells us that we “shall have no idols before” Him. In other words, we should never worship or esteem anyone/anything with more—or even similar—value as God. When this happens, we commit idolatry.

              One of the greatest pictures of true worship in the Bible comes from no other than a prostitute. Yes, a prostitute! In Matthew 26, Mark 14 and Luke 7 (maybe John 12 also), we learn that this woman creeps—uninvited—into the Pharisee’s house where Jesus was at the time. Crying, full of sin (Jesus makes this clear) and seeking His forgiveness from Him, she pulls out an expensive perfume that was worth a year’s wages. And, unbeknownst to everyone, she begins to pour it on Jesus’ feet, washing and kissing them with her hair and tears.

              Think about this: A prostitute’s biggest advantage is appearance. But, here, she showed that she no longer cared for it. She was met with angry eyes, as she crashed the party of “holy men.” She was met with hateful remarks, as she “wasted” her expensive perfume that she spent her life worshipping. And again, she was met with secret insults, as she kissed and dirtied her face and hair from Jesus’ filthy feet. Yet, she didn’t care because she attributed more worth to Jesus than everything else.

              As we draw near Resurrection Sunday, consider your worship. Is Jesus truly more valuable to you than anyone or anything? What’s your evidence? Is it mere lip service, or does your life easily show this?

Let’s no longer walk in idolatry, but let’s set a PRICE TAG on Jesus that far exceeds the value of anyone or anything in this life…like this prostitute!

See ya tomorrow on our Journey to the Cross!

Pastor Jeff