In Other Words

“Martha was busy for Jesus,and that left her too busy to be with Jesus.”

~ Jon Walker "Growing with Purpose: Connecting with God Every Day"


Have you ever felt like God was trying to tell you something???? I wrote yesterday about the importance of spending time ALONE with God every day. I read a devotion in my Bible about needing a daily quiet time. My devotion tomorrow at the Internet Cafe is about having a "MARY" Christmas...being Mary and not Martha during the busy Holiday season (please stop by tomorrow to read it....).

So, God, are you trying to tell me SOMETHING??????

I love the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10). I can relate to BOTH sisters. I have the heart of Mary, wanting so much to sit in His presence soaking up every Word.... But, I tend to have the hands of Martha.... busy, busy, busy, busy. When I study the story I see that Martha is doing a "good" thing- she is serving Jesus! But, Jesus tells her she is not doing the BEST thing. The BEST thing is to sit at His feet soaking up His Word, communing with Him, being filled by His very Presence.

How many times am I busy FOR Jesus to be busy WITH Jesus?

Busy doing the "good" things.....

Teaching Sunday School....

Leading a small group....

Blogging....

Leading a young girls' group....

Coaching Confirmation leaders.....

Volunteering at school....

Sending out Operation Christmas Child boxes...

Visiting the nursing home...

Calling my mom...

All of these things are GOOD. But, when I fill all of my time SERVING, I have none left for SOAKING. And....I soon find myself with the same ATTITUDE as Martha.

Banging cabinet doors.

Huffing and puffing.

Slamming dishes.

Rolling my eyes....

Until I impatiently whine, "Jesus, make her(him/whoever!) help me!!!!"

When I make sure to be busy WITH Jesus, He will show me how to best serve Him. He does want me to serve Him. But, I need to be FILLED with HIM, FULL of HIM before I can share Him with others.

I love that we see Martha later serving with a better attitude! (John 12:1-3). I tend to believe that she learned this valuable lesson....

Here is another devotion I wrote about the two sisters that you may like to read.

This was a great quote this week and one we all need to ponder as the holiday season quickly approaches...

Our hostess this week is Debbie @ http://www.heartchoices.com/

Please do join us by writing and/or visiting those who've linked-up on Debbie's blog...

Are you BUSY?

Martha.

Mary.

You know them....

These sisters both dearly loved Jesus, and were dearly loved by Jesus. He came often to visit and teach them. As the story goes, Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha was preparing a meal for them.

In fact, the Bible says, “Martha was distracted by her many tasks.”

Ever been distracted with your MANY TASKS?

You know, I’m sure Jesus would have been happy with peanut butter and jelly, but Martha must have been putting out quite a spread.

I’m the same way- when company’s coming, I dust the lampshades, clean out the closets, prepare at least 12 different appetizers, put out the matching napkins and plates.

Well, there is our Martha, “distracted by her many tasks,” and getting irritated at her sister.

Can’t you picture her in the kitchen, having a “pity party,” talking to herself, listing all of the things she is doing WITHOUT any help? As she is working, she is getting madder and madder that she is the only one doing these tasks. I picture her slamming the cabinet doors, banging the dishes down. Sighing loudly, you know, the “Huhhhhhhhhh,” thinking that if Mary and Jesus hear, maybe they will get the point?

Finally, Martha explodes!

She comes to Jesus, whining, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

Now, take a step back, and look at what Martha is doing- she is making a meal for JESUS.

She is serving the Lord.

She is doing a “good” thing. Like, Martha, I can fill my life with so many distractions- sometimes very “good” things, and like Martha, I get overwhelmed and frustrated, and I begin feeling sorry for myself, and I, too, usually explode. “Don’t You care, Lord? I’m doing this all by myself! Make Brian help me.”

What does Jesus tell Martha?

He says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”

How many times when I am banging doors, slamming dishes, and sighing loudly, having my own pity party, feeling sorry for myself, complaining that life is not fair, do I hear my Lord whisper to me, “Tracy, Tracy, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.”

The ONE thing that is needed is getting to feet of Jesus, like Mary. It is putting everything else aside and spending this close, intimate time with Him. ONE thing, only one thing!

You see, when you are at the feet of Jesus, you hear his voice. You are still and quiet and listening. You are in a posture of looking up.

He will whisper to you what is important, what His will is. You may find that His priorities for you are much different than your own. You begin to hear and understand, and begin to ask, “In light of eternity, what really matters? What is really important?”

And, notice what Jesus says, “Mary has chosen what is better, AND IT WON’T BE TAKEN FROM HER.”

Don’t skip that message from Jesus. You see, Satan loves to attack us in this area. He tries to make us feel guilty for being unproductive. We think, “We got to get up and get some work done! There is laundry, there are dishes, there are bills to pay!” But, Jesus is telling us to not be distracted by these things, that it is better to sit at His feet, and when we chose to, it won’t be taken from us.

Ladies, look how busy Jesus was! He spent His days healing crowds of people, teaching, and ministering. But, the Bible says that He got away often to be alone with the Father. Jesus made it a priority.

Serving Jesus, like Martha, was a good thing, but the best was sitting at His feet.

How do we get at the feet of Jesus? How do we deepen our relationship with God?

Just as in the same way we spend time with our loved ones- spouses, children, and friends- we need to seek out God to spend time with Him. Jeremiah says, “When you seek God, you will find Him, when you seek Him with all of your heart." And, James tells us, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”

Prayer is our way to draw near to Him. And, what is "prayer"? Simply TALKING to God!

Through prayer and bible reading, we get to know God.

Oswald Chambers says our spiritual lives, which are nourished by prayer, will suffer if we don’t pray. He says, “When a person is born again from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve or nourish that life. Prayer is the way that the life of God in us is nourished.”

Have you been fed lately?