The Purpose Of His Star, Evans Olang

Matthew 2:1-12, “1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen HIS STAR in the East and have come to worship Him.”

There are many things in the history of the bible when looked at carefully are foreshadows of greater things to come. They all point to Jesus and to make Him more brighter than they all.

In this chapter, Christ is born in the days of Herod the king. A king had been born in the midst of another king threatening the existing king. In the midst of all these, the bible also brings to light the wise men from the east. “These were perhaps the first fruits of the Gentiles. Probably they were Gentile philosophers, who, through the Divine assistance, had improved their knowledge of nature, as a means of leading to the knowledge of the one true God. It is not unreasonable to suppose that God had favored them with some extraordinary revelation of Himself, as he did Melchisedec, Job, and several others, who were not of the family of Abraham”

Who Is Worthy? Evans Olang

Luke 7:1-9, “And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was WORTHY for whom he should do this:” (KJV)

A story is told of a little girl who looked outside the window of her house and saw a sheep and wondered how that sheep looked so white and clean. While still looking at the sheep, it began snowing. Before long, the sheep that looked white and clean did not appear clean anymore because the white crystal snow overshadowed the whiteness of the sheep and the girl thought how dirty that sheep looked in the light of the snow. Looking at it closely, you can see that she sheep did not change, the girl saw it under a different background, that is what made the difference.

Garments Of Praise, Evans Olang

Matthew 21:16, “…Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants, You have perfected praise”

I have come to believe that to know someone really well, see how they deal with pressure. I try to void being stressed out for it is not healthy. I refuse cuss or swear when things come my way because cussing and swearing don’t help anyway, it’s not a mark of a Christian and out of cussing mouth can no sweet praises come.

I Reported What Impacted Me, Part 4of4, Evans Olang

Matthew 26:7, “A woman came to Him having a lambasted flask of very costly fragrant oil…”

As I mentioned earlier, John tells us exactly who asked the question. John 12:4-5, “4 But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot….said, 5 “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” If you know the story of Judas, he was the man who betrayed Jesus. Jesus knew him all along but still allowed him in. He knew that he was a thief yet the money collection bag was entrusted in his hands. Question, did he really care for the poor? John says that he did not and it is also a clear indication that He did not care about Jesus receiving this kind of worship. Something to ponder on, didn’t Jesus know everything that was in the hearts of the people in that room? It was just a matter of time before the hidden would be revealed. True worship will always reveal what is inside and when revealed, either you deal with it or cover it up.

I Reported What Impacted Me, Part 3of4, Evans Olang

Matthew 26:7, “A woman came to Him having a lambasted flask of very costly fragrant oil…”

The act of this woman was not rehearsed, practiced, or scripted worship, this was a decision made, action taken to worship Him holding nothing back.

Let us address a problem that arose while she worshiped. Matthew is very lenient, he brings all the disciples to the same level without pin pointing one person. Read what he says, “8 But His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why waste? 9, “For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor”, Matthew 26:8-9.

I Reported What Impacted Me, Part 2of4, Evans Olang

Matthew 26:7, “A woman came to Him having alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil…”

All the four gospels say the woman came in with an alabaster flask of very costly spikenard. Mark adds, “…Then she broke the flask…”, Mark 14:3. This woman who John tells us is Mary teaches us what worship is all about. The fact that she broke the flask has a lot to say about worship. In church it is easy to be cool, calm, and collected, and by that I mean, it’s easy to control how you worship. That is like opening a flask and pouring the amount of oil you want to pour out and closing it back. You have the power to control what comes out. A broken person is like the flask (jar) with no time to control.

I Reported What Impacted Me, Part 1of4, Evans Olang

Mark 14:3, “As He sat at the table, a woman came to him having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard.”

The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give as different accounts of events. Matthew and John were with Jesus as His disciples. Mark and Luke were not disciples however many scholars and theologians believe Mark’s account were provided to him by Apostle Peter. The four were impacted in different ways and you will see how they were each impacted by the account of their story. Though they all may have seen the same thing in reality or by narration, they did not report exactly the same way. Yes there are different accounts each of them give of certain incidents but there are some incidents that all of them did not report. Here is a classic case involving a woman who came to Jesus with an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard.

Nothing Can Talk Me Out Of What He Did, Evans Olang

John 9:1-38, “25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

What runs through your mind when you face something that appears to be a challenge or a struggle? The first thought possible and common question, “what did I do wrong”? We equate the challenge to be a punishment for something we may have done wrong. We begin to scan our memories of what it could be.

A True Worshiper Of God, Part 2of2, Evans Olang

John 4:20-26, “22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship, Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

As Jesus mentions in this passage, Samaritans were worshipers. However, their only problem is that they did not know who they were worshipping. By the same token, I am convinced that in our churches today, many people come to worship a God they know little or nothing about. They may know about Him, but have little or no understanding of who He really is; most times, because they haven’t studied His word enough to actually get to know Him.