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| << June13, 2007 - Anna, A Faithful Woman Who Saw Jesus |
August01, 2007 - Are You Foolish or Wise? >> |
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July 7, 2007 Mary and Martha - Someone Get Mad by Pam Kumpe If Jesus comes for a visit how would you respond? Jesus entered a village and Martha welcomed him into her home. Martha’s sister, Mary sat down at the Lord’s feet listening to what he was saying, but Martha was distracted by her many tasks – Now Martha came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me with all the work, by myself? Tell her to help me.” I love it, the Lord sees and recognizes what it most important and he tells Martha, “You are worried and distracted by many things, but there is need of only one thing and yes, Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Two sisters. Two choices. Each responded to Jesus’ presence in different ways. Mary takes a seat, while Martha cleans. One rests. One works. One complains. The other doesn’t. Martha tries to engage Jesus, to gain his support in getting on to Mary for not helping with the chores. So whose side would you take? If Jesus was at your house, you might do as Martha did, preparing the best meal you could, or you could take Mary’s role, sit down and listen to Jesus. Each sister did what she thought was best. Sure, the custom of the day during Jesus’ time was for a woman to welcome a guest inside and prepare a meal. So in a way, Martha did as many women would have done, she got busy with her tasks. Mary didn’t stick to custom, she chose Jesus instead. Then when Martha turns to Jesus for help, he sides with Mary, which obviously surprised Martha. I see from this passage in Luke 10, that God values someone listening to him, over someone being worried and bothered about many things. Some people are a little more compulsive like Martha, but I can see by Jesus’ response; there’s a time for listening and a time for being with the Savior. Balance is the key. I can get too busy accomplishing things, and thus, I can’t hear God. I plan my schedule and leave little room for God to work his way into my activities. I need to have quiet devotion, sitting down with Jesus so I can hear his voice. Now there’s a place for activity, for service in the Lord’s work, in your home and in serving others; because we need to do both – listen to God and serve. There’s a story that Abraham Lincoln once told about a two men who were in a woodchopper’s contest. They were chopping wood to see who chopped the most by the end of the day. One hurried so fast, his pace set records and he never let up, he kept a steady and consistent work habit all day. By the end of the contest, he was exhausted and had a tall stack of wood. Now the other woodchopper took another approach, he stopped for breaks every hour on the hour. He ate a good lunch and still took those breaks during the afternoon. By the end of the day, his stack was huge, and much larger than the man who worked with out taking breaks. The first man asked, “How did you do that? You took so many breaks and yet your stack of wood is larger than mine. What did you do?" The man answered, “I sharpened my axe each time I took a break." Wow. I need to spend time with the Lord, so that I can sharpen my spiritual axe too. Each day I have things to accomplish – I chop away, making a stack of accomplished chores but if I don’t take time for God, my spiritual life suffers. I need to listen to God – I should do this often. It is the better choice, the best choice, period. If you are too busy, running around like Martha then take a lesson from her sister Mary, and spend some time with Jesus. Pull up a chair, get comfortable, be still and listen to the Lord – he has so much to say. His word is a lamp to your feet, a light for your path – enjoy his fellowship for there is joy in the presence of the Lord. Thank you for spending time with Martha and Mary, may the Lord bless you today - spend some time with him. Blessings from East Texas, Pam Kumpe www.pamkumpe.blogspot.com |
| << June13, 2007 - Anna, A Faithful Woman Who Saw Jesus |
August01, 2007 - Are You Foolish or Wise? >> |
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