The Mission of Mary Magdalene

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire.  (Luke 24:32)

A man makes his plans, but the Lord directs his steps.

That’s what it says in Proverbs 16:9.

We see a great example of this when looking at Mary Magdalene at the tomb of Jesus.

Jesus was crucified.  He declared, “It is finished.”  And Mary Magdalene was part of the crowd who watched.

Joseph of Arimathea took His body down, and he and Nicodemus prepared it for burial and placed it in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock.  And they rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb.

Then Matthew 27 verse 61 adds this interesting part of the story:  “And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.”

The crowds were gone.  The sun was setting.  The great Jesus was in the tomb.  And there was Mary Magdalene, sitting opposite the tomb, watching.  Observing.  Thinking.  Feeling.

Fast forward and we find Mary Magdalene and other women returning to the tomb with spices to anoint the body of Jesus.

They had plans.  They thought it through, made preparations. set the time, got together, and went to the tomb.

But when they got there, Jesus was gone!

Mark 16 says that inside the tomb there was a young man in a long white robe who said, “Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples – and Peter – that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”

Mary Magdalene had a very clear idea of what she was going to do that Sunday morning, but God had other ideas.  She had her plans, but what she didn’t know is that God had a mission for her.

And I believe God has a mission for each of us.  Yes, we are to do good.  We make plans and organize our days, that’s all good.

But watch for it.  Watch for God to intervene and give you a mission.  

Maybe you have a dream of what you want to do with your life.  Maybe you are making a list of pros and cons.  You’re making plans.

But watch for it.  Watch for God to intervene, to interrupt your plans and in their place give you a mission.    

Because a man makes his plans, but the Lord directs his steps.

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.

Seasoned With Salt

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire.  (Luke 24:32)

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt…”

Speaking with grace might seem obvious, but what does it mean “seasoned with salt”?

Here’s one way to look at it.  Seasoned with salt makes it delicious and people want more of it!

How do most people feel about potato chips without salt?  Yuck…that’s how they feel about it.

How about peanuts without salt?  Or meat without salt?  Or maybe worst of all…popcorn without salt!  On and on it goes.

But put a little salt on those chips and look out…you can’t stop with just one.  You want more and more.  Why?  It’s the salt, man!

So the question is…is our speech like that?

Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt…”

Ephesians 4:29 says that our speech should “impart grace.”  Does our speech impart grace?  Does the other person feel the grace when we speak?  Are we imparting grace if they don’t feel any grace?

Here’s one way we can know if we are speaking with grace and imparting grace.  People will want more!

True grace is a balm to our soul.  When we get it, we love it, and we want more.  Just like a person wants more of those chips seasoned with salt, they want more of those words seasoned with grace.

Sometimes in the church we lean on harsh words and judgment and criticism.  We think people are going to get better when we lay down the law, and yet Romans 2:4 says that God’s KINDNESS leads us to repentance.  It’s God’s grace toward us, giving us what we don’t deserve, and NOT giving us what we DO deserve.  That’s grace.

So let’s do better.  Let’s fill our speech with grace that it may impart grace to the hearers.  And instead of pushing people away, they will be drawn in and want to hear more, because speaking with grace is like adding a hint of salt.  It tastes so you good you just want more and more and more.

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.