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But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:40-42
There are so many times in our lives when, like Martha, we get distracted. There are, after all, so many ‘good things’ that need to be done. People are being devastated by war, natural disasters, health issues and economic woes.
Then there are churches that need to be built and maintained. Youth groups that need planning. Worship teams that need to practice. Bible Studies need to be held. Accountability partners need to be met with. Prayer groups need to be held and nurtured.
And while we are doing all that, the laundry at home needs to be done. The lawn needs to be mowed. The car needs fixing. Grandma and Grandpa need to be visited…and don’t forget Aunt Tillie’s birthday card, (she never forgot to send you one). The house needs cleaning and painting. The kid’s homework and music lessons must be completed and school activities attended.
Is it any wonder we get tired? Is there any question why sometimes it’s hard to squeeze just one more thing into our lives? There are so many noble and worthy causes around us that need attention. So many people who need to hear about Jesus and to see his love acted out on a daily, personal basis. Kingdom work will never get done unless Kingdom people do it.
Maybe that’s why Martha was so intense that day. Maybe she saw how tired Jesus and his disciples were. Maybe she saw this moment as an opportunity to show Jesus just how much she loved him, appreciated him and was thankful that he raised Lazarus from the dead. Perhaps this was her act of worship to the most high God.
Christian author, Larry Crabb, states in his book “The Pressure is Off” that many Christians have burned out and given up on ministry and even church because they are just too tired and too caught up in life to fulfill the requirements of the Christian walk.
What Jesus really wants from us is to sit at his feet. He just wants to spend time with us; to share life with us. The other things need to be done, for sure. There are many ministry opportunities for us to involve ourselves in throughout the community, in our churches and in our family. But what Jesus really longs for is for you to spend just a few minutes at his feet. It’s time, not activity that builds relationship. He wants that relationship with you.
Time. Time in his word, the laundry will get done. Time. Time in prayer and meditation, the Sunday School lesson can wait. Time. It’s the one thing Jesus longs to have with you.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I confess to you that I’ve just been way to busy with good things to take time at your feet. I realize that the most important part of my day is the part where I sit at your feet. Empower me with your Spirit to make the time to spend with you so that I can have the energy I need to minister for you. In your name I pray, Amen.
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. John 14:23
Imagine what it would be like if your favorite actor, athlete, author or some other public figure gave you a call and said something like, “Hey there, I’ve been thinking of you lately and was wondering if I could stop by your house for a chat?”
What would you do? Thank him profusely and tell him under no circumstances do you want to see him? Would you suggest that you meet him elsewhere, say a restaurant or coffee shop or your favorite burger joint? What if he insisted that he come to your house and that he would be there in an hour?
No doubt you’d look around and decide what could and could not be cleaned. You’d think about repainting or re-carpeting…but you don’t have time. You may even consider borrowing a neighbor’s house and telling your guest that he had the address wrong.
Once your emotions were somewhat under control you’d think of the people to invite, the food to serve…you still have time to run to the store for a few things. Over the span of the next 59 ½ minutes you would do everything in your power to have your home looking it’s best for your guest.
Take this story to a whole new level. Now imagine that your guest really isn’t coming just for a visit. He wants to move in. He wants the room down the hall and on the left and he wants to be able to wake up every morning to have a cup of coffee with you and chat about the day ahead! Oh, and instead of this guest being some admired public figure, envision this guest as being God instead of some famous public figure! Sound outlandish? It isn’t.
Jesus told his followers that he and his Father not only wanted a relationship with them. He wanted to live with them. Let that sink in a bit. The great God of heaven, the creator of the universe, the almighty, all powerful, all knowing God WANTS to live with YOU.
Now, you may think, how would I ever be able to prepare my humble shack for God? That’s the other beautiful part of this story. You don’t have to clean up to get ready for him. God wants to come into your home and do everything that needs to be done for him to dwell with you. How’s that for an Extreme Makeover!
You may be thinking, “I’m not worth all that”, and you are right. You aren’t. But God’s desire for you is based on his love for you, not on your worthiness to receive it. All he asks of us it to love him and show him our love by obeying his word.
PRAYER: Father God, I’m in awe to think about how much you must love me if you want to live with me. There are days when I don’t even want to be around me, but you always want to be around me. I pray that you would come into my home. Forgive me for the mess I have here. Empower me by your Spirit to show you my love through obedience to your word. Amen.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15
What does the peace of Christ look like in your life? The Apostle Paul tells us, in his letter to the church in Colossae that we are to let that peace be the governing rule in all we say and do. Peace is to be the one defining characteristic of the body of Christ.
It’s important to remember that the body of Christ (what we refer to as the church) is not a building. The body of Christ is not a set of rules and doctrines designed to brainwash us into being clones of one another. The body of Christ is simply NOT church as we think of it today. The body of Christ is like any other body. It’s a living organism made up of many parts that look different, act differently, and perform different yet work in complete harmony with one another for the good of each other.
A body that is not at peace is a sick body. It is unable to function properly and fulfill its duties to one another. If you have ever hit your thumb with a hammer or stubbed your toe in the dark you know how great a body is affected when one part is not at peace. The same is true in the body of Christ. When we set up rules and regulations that exclude people or take us on a path away from the word of God we weaken the entire body.
Wherever Jesus went on earth, he brought peace. He did not bring peace in the way the religious community wanted peace. He did not bring peace politically. Jesus brought a peace that can not be acquired through religious dogma or sacrifice. He brought a peace that can not be dictated and controlled by government action. Jesus brought peace to the soul. He brought peace to the soul of the woman caught in adultery; to the parents of the demon-possessed boy; to the parents of the little dead girl.
The peace of Christ will dwell in us only when we come to a realization of who we are and grow in relationship with Him. His peace comes when we confess our anger, our guilt, our shame or bitterness. His peace comes when we admit to Him our doubt, our judgmental spirit, our pride. His peace comes when we leave the emptiness of religion and enter the freedom of relationship.
The defining characteristic of a body in which the peace of Christ rules is being thankful. A heart at peace with Christ is a heart that in the midst of any tragedy can be thankful. Not thankful for the pain or the loss, but thankful that Jesus loves and forgives us and promises to walk with us along the path of life.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Son of God, Savior and Lord of the world. I confess to you that there are many times I exchange your peace in my life with rules and regulations that keep me from experiencing all the joy I can have in relationship with you. I get angry. I let my past or the brutal, stupid attacks of others get in my way. I retaliate rather than let you protect me. I judge other people. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to live in peace because of the relationship I have with you. In Your holy name I pray, Amen.
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 1 Peter 3:8
I love rock and roll even though many people from my generation are somewhat skeptical or even antagonistic towards it. I enjoy the ‘new’ music styles that have infiltrated our churches as well. Our music tells us a lot about our life philosophy and we do ourselves an injustice if we get so closed in that we only like one type of music.
It’s much like deciding that we will only like carrots. So all of our lives we only eat carrots; breakfast, lunch & dinner—carrots! Pretty dull life and not even healthy.
Imagine if all the flowers were green, the grass was green, the sky was green, even the milk you pour on your breakfast cereal was green. Even if you like green you’d have to admit that we’d be tired of green and long for a few other colors.
Life lived to its fullest means that it’s full of a variety of experiences, feelings, gifts, talents abilities, likes and dislikes. Just as there are no two snowflakes that are alike, there are no two people alike. Yet when the snowflakes join together they paint the landscape with beauty and purity.
Peter calls each of us as Christ-followers to be like minded. When I think of what like-minded means I think of harmony in music, especially in a quartet. We don’t hear much harmony in our music these days but if were to listen to a really good quartet or small group in perfect harmony you’d hear some great lessons for life.
Perfect harmony means that it’s hard to distinguish who is singing which part. Each person has their own notes to sing, their own personalities, and their own tone. But the differences blend so well that it sounds like one voice. If one person is off key by only a little, the harmony is completely destroyed.
Perfect harmony means relationship. In music we call it practice or rehearsal but it’s really the same thing. The performers must build a team spirit among themselves to know when to change key or speed or even how and when to sing the words. If one person sings a word wrong, or the wrong word, or comes in too early or two late, the harmony is ruined. Practice, learning about each other, accepting each others own unique gifts and working within the framework of the music builds perfect harmony in both music and life.
Perfect harmony allows for solos and variations, or side trips. When done in harmony a solo, even though it focuses on one individual, is accentuated by the rest of the group. The soloist is much more effective in a small group when the group is supporting him/her.
Perfect harmony means that each performer is happy with their own part and not jealous of the other voices in the group. They know who they are and are content with that.
Perfect harmony is dependent on the realization that variety is a requirement and not an option. Just as in life, you may not fit into a particular group. That doesn’t mean you are less important or that the group you do find is better or worse than the other. It just means you fit in better there so that you can make beautiful harmony.
Perfect harmony allows for differences without judgment. Sing your life-notes in praise to the one who created the notes! God’s gift to you is music. Your gift to others is to sing!
PRAYER: Father, I praise you for the awesome variety of colors, smells, personalities and around me. My senses proclaim the wonder of your creation and I’m in awe of you. I ask that you would empower me by your spirit to ‘sing my notes’ the best I can. Keep me from feeling inadequate or desiring other people’s notes. May I, with your help, live in harmony with those around me. In Jesus name, Amen.
Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? Romans 2:4 (NLT)
Everyone likes to be right. Everyone likes to be in the popular crowd, the winning team, the champions. When the Apostle Paul wrote to the book of Romans, his readers were mostly made up of Jewish people who laid most of their spiritual integrity on the fact that they were the people of God. This status gave them great pride.
The problem was, according to Paul, they were basing their position on the wrong thing! There were some Jewish believers that thought themselves a step above other believers because of their Jewish heritage. Paul tells them to step back and take another look at what got them where they were. Paul reminds them that the only reason for their position of faith was God’s goodness. It had absolutely nothing to do with their religious tradition.
The message is the same for us today. Everyday we are bombarded with horrific stories of how people treat one another. Even within so-called Christian circles there are people who place their entire identity on their religious tradition, the number of ‘spiritual activities’ they participate in, the music they listen to, or even the version of the Bible they read.
Our position in Christ has nothing to do with anything we have done, either good or bad. If your past is full of addictions, poor choices, or dysfunctional relationships and you have found forgiveness in Christ, you are no different than the squeaky-clean person who has grown up in the church or hasn’t been involved in all sort so sordid activities.
God doesn’t base His love for us on a background check. He bases it solely on who Jesus is and what He did on the cross for you. There is no grading system among Christ-followers in God’s eyes. His love, forgiveness and power isn’t given according to whether you are more, or less worthy than the next person. All are equal in his economy regardless of race, gender, or denominational background. God loves you regardless of all the bad or good things you have done.
None of us are any better or worse than the next person, in God’s eyes. Don’t let others judge you on the basis of your past. Don’t judge others on what you see on the outside. Learn their story before you judge their character. Consider how good God has been to you before judging how other people are. Unconditional love for others is based on the fact that the God of the Universe loves us all the same regardless of our past.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank and praise you for the fact that even though you know how rebellious and stupid I can be, you still love me dearly. Thank you for choosing to love me in spite of myself. Forgive me of my past and empower me by your Holy Spirit to live in close relationship to you. Help me to live unaffected by those who judge me wrongly. Keep me from judging others on the basis of what I see. In Jesus name, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 