“As she stood behind Jesus at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.” Luke 7:38 (NIV)

There are some powerful lessons about worship and about the transformation that happens in the life of a worshiper in Luke 7. The sinful woman in this story exhibited four traits we need to take note of:

She worshiped boldly. This woman took a risk coming to the Pharisee’s house. She could have been thrown out or stoned, but she came boldly. She marched right into the house, into the dining room, into Jesus’ presence. Why would she do that? She was looking for forgiveness. She was looking for hope and acceptance. She was looking for some kind of change in her life. She was not there just to pay homage to some holy guy.
She worshiped humbly. She wept in Jesus’ presence, wetting his feet with her tears. Then, in her deep sorrow, she got down on her knees, showing her submission to God, and dried his feet with her hair.
She worshiped honestly. Many biblical scholars believe the sinful woman must have been a prostitute because she brought an expensive jar of perfume with her. This jar of perfume had significance – it represented her life; it represented her background; it was one of the tools of the trade. When she came to Jesus with that jar and poured it on his feet, it was her confession. She was honestly telling Jesus who she was.
She worshiped extravagantly. She showed Jesus extravagant worship by using a jar of perfume that probably cost her an entire year’s wages. And she didn’t just dab on a couple of drops. Luke 7:38 says she poured the perfume on his feet. Why? This was her opportunity to come clean, to meet God, worship him and be transformed. It was her chance to start over.

You don’t have to clean up your act before you can worship God. Worship him and he’ll clean up your act. You don’t repent and confess in order to earn forgiveness. You change your ways because you’ve been forgiven.
Romans 12 says that we offer ourselves to the Lord in worship so that he can transform us. It’s the worship that comes first. That’s what we see in this woman’s life.

by Buddy Owens

Prayer is one of the true mysteries in the Bible. It is inevitable, as we grow in our prayer life, that we will struggle with an inadequate understanding of how to pray.
The example of Jesus praying in Gethsemane helps us with what we can know and understand about prayer. First, we can know that prayer does not eliminate emotional struggling.
A second thing we can learn is that prayer can make us stronger spiritually and keep us from temptation. In each account of His prayer, Jesus says to His disciples, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation." (Mark 14:38). If we watch and pray, we will be strengthened against temptation.

PRAYER
· As you continue your time with the Lord, offer to Him this praise:
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all
(1 Chronicles 29:11).

Mark 4

Faith does not come to us full-blown.
It must be cultivated and nurtured. Jesus cultivates the faith of His disciples. After an extensive time of teaching, Jesus goes out into the Sea of Galilee with the Twelve, knowing that a storm will come. He calms the storm and then asks, rhetorically, "How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40). His disciples marvel and their faith grows. We, too, must go through times of testing to become strong.

PRAYER
· Offer your praise to the God who loves you and who seeks your love in return:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).
You who are mighty have done great things for me, and holy is Your name. And Your mercy is on those who fear You from generation to generation (based on Luke 1:49-50).
· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession:
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).
· As you consider the mercy of God, confess any sins which the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:
For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever (1 John 2:16-17).
As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· the leading of the Lord in your walk with Him,
· Christians worldwide who are persecuted for their faith in Christ,
· your activities for the day.
· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer
(Psalm 19:14).