Did you know that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute, and God changed her life?  I know it’s true!  Do you know how I know it’s true?  Because I have heard so many people repeat it over the years!

The truth of the matter is that we have no evidence to prove that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute.  Scripture mentions her several times, yet not once is there any inference that Mary was a “woman of the night.”    There is not an iota of genuine evidence to substantiate the rumors about Mary.

Do a search of scriptures about Mary Magdalene, and you will see that not one says she was a prostitute.  Scripture does tell us that Jesus delivered her from seven demons that possessed her.  After her Jesus encounter, Mary Magdalene was never the same!  She was transformed and whole-heartedly followed Jesus after that.  She was in love with her Deliverer!

Quick thoughts we can grasp from the life of Mary Magdalene:

1. The tongue was not created for the intention of tearing people down, or spreading rumors about them. Let’s grow up in Christ, and use our tongues to build up and pray for people.
2. Life change should occur when one has encountered Jesus. Mary was possessed by seven demons, and Jesus delivered her from ALL of them.  We don’t see Mary feeling sorry for herself, or talking about how unfair life had been to her.  Mary Magdalene was changed by the power of God.  She walked in new life.  She became a new creation.  She fell in love with the Deliverer.
3. When the compassionate eyes of Jesus eyes saw the wild-eyed woman of Magdala, He saw in her the blessing she would become to Jesus Himself and His followers. In His authoritative voice He commanded the tormenting demons to come out—and stay out—of her. Jesus has the power to deliver you from that which is tormenting you and controlling your life.
4. Hell gave its best shot to destroy Mary Magdalene, but Hell is never a match for the power of God.

Once Mary was healed and saved, she practiced her faith in following Jesus and ministering to Him and His disciples.  Have you had a divine encounter with Jesus Christ the Son of God?  If the answer is yes, then begin practicing your faith – not just going to church, but practicing your faith.  Faith without works is dead.

“Mary’s gratitude and love manifested itself in devotion to Christ. She owed much, gave much, loved much, served much. Has He expelled Satan from our lives? If so, are we loving and serving Him to the limit of our capacity, daily witnessing to the power of His Resurrection?” – unknown

While the facts of Mary’s life are sketchy, at best, one thing is perfectly clear: Mary Magdalene loved Jesus, and Jesus loved her.  Mary simply became a true follower and friend of Jesus Christ.

“So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.” -2 Corinthians 5:16-18

As I walked into my bedroom, my eye caught something that brought a big smile to my face.

Andrew, who will be three in July, spent the night with us, and stayed until lunch-time the next day.  Andrew is full of life and loves, loves, loves to play.  Andrew loves toy cars.  Papa keeps some small cars in a bag for Andrew to play with when he is at our house.  Andrew knows exactly where the cars are, and upon arrival, he will almost immediately open the drawer to retrieve his toy cars.

Papa was not home the morning Andrew was hanging out, and I tried to fill in for him.  (Andrew loves to play with Papa.)  I was kidding Andrew that those were my cars.  He’d respond, “No, they are my cars.”  We kiddingly went back and forth.    Those cars are precious to Andrew.

After Andrew went home, I was putting away toys, and straightening the house.  I walked into my bedroom, and something caught my eye.  On my bed is a decorative fabric liner.  Peeking out from the edge of that liner were Andrew’s cars.  He’d hidden them so that I could not get them.  He knew that the secret place, the hidden place offered protection for that which was precious.

Andrew found a secret place.

Most of us have a place we live, a place we sleep, a place we eat and a place we work.  But, do we have a secret place?

The Psalmist said, “He that dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.” – Psalm 91:1-2.

Life has seemed heavy to me recently.  Thoughts and concerns have bombarded my mind and spirit.  I have found myself restless, not sleeping well, and eating all wrong.  The reason for these things is that life is trying to steal the things which are precious:  my peace, my hope, my joy, my faith, etc.

By personality, I tend to turn to comfort food in challenging times.  There, I said it!   This “preacher” girl is imperfect.   By nature, when things are hard, I can run for the chocolate!  After all, that will certainly bring me peace, hope and joy!  NOT!

I have learned that I must run to my secret place.  I must run to a place where it’s just God and me –  a place where God can do what only God can do.  The secret place is not a place to run in and out of occasionally.  The Psalmist understood that it is when we dwell in the secret place, that we learn to say, “I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God, in him will I trust.”

Today, where will you eat?  Where will you sleep?  Where will you work?  Where will you meet God?

Andrew discovered that the precious things cannot be taken from us, when we find the secret place.