Oh Martha...

" ...Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, 'Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.' But the Lord answered her, 'Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.'" (Luke 10:38-42, ESV)

Fewer things in my life make me feel like I'm wasting my life more than when welcome God and I'm reading in His Word yet everything within me is reading over the to-do lists, the scripts that I've written in my mind regarding circumstances or relationship issues going on or when I'm thinking to myself, "How can I use this for others in shepherding them in their walk with the Lord?" All of these things are not bad. In fact, it might even be a good thing for me to ask myself how I can be using these things for others.

Yet, living a life of constant service is a life that does not fully recognizing Jesus Christ for Who He is. Living a life of constant service is a lie from the pit of Hell that tells Christians that God wants my service. What a lie! If God wanted man's service, He would not have sent His Son to serve and not be served. A life of constant service that neglects sitting at the feet of Jesus, like Mary, is a life that does not recognize Jesus, the Living Word, as "more to be desired...than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb." (Psalm 19:10-11, ESV)

What is your life's gold rush? What is your life's sweetener? Is your life's gold rush after the Mountain from which all the golden nuggets came from? Or just one golden nugget offspring? Is your life's sweetener the honeycomb from which all the drippings came from? Or just a single dripping?

O God let us not be Marthas who welcome you into our homes but do not recognize Who you are as the Living Word, the One from Whom we all find our life, the One through Whom we live and the One to Whom our lives are lived. May we welcome you in and sit at Your feet. Amen.

Three Times...

"And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'" (Matthew 26:39, ESV)

"Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”" (Matthew 26:42, ESV)

"So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again." (Matthew 26:44, ESV)

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it [Paul's thorn in the flesh] should leave me." (2 Corinthians 12:8, ESV)

Before Jesus was betrayed by His own disciple, Judas Iscariot, He asked God His Father three times to make another way possible for the forgiveness of sins and the restoration of fellowship between God and all people who trust in Jesus' death and resurrection for that forgiveness. The little that I know about the agonizing, human-apostacizing pain and shame of Roman crucifixion gives me no question as to just why Jesus would ask for His Father to make another way possible this forgiveness and restoration to be possible.

Jesus wasn't stupid. He lived in a Roman Empire-dominated world where Roman soldiers ran the show and if anyone tried to take the stage away from Rome (and there were quite a few of those people in Jesus' day) or any one caused enough stirring drama on the stage, so to speak, among other ways punishment was given out...they were publicly stripped naked, beaten, nailed to a cross and then put on display along the main walk ways in town for everyone going about their business to see. Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior King Who prophets spoke about for the last 1000+ years up until His arival, knew that in order for His Kingdom to be established and for Him to rightly be the exalted Savior King He "must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again." (Mark 8:31, ESV) But Jesus still humbly prayed three times for the possibility of another way, if God His Father was willing.

FWD a couple decades after Jesus' death and, yes, resurrection, and ascension back to His throne in Heaven...

Before Paul went on in his service to his Savior King, Jesus Christ, he asked his Savior and King three times to make another way possible for his thorn in the flesh to be removed. Paul knew that he would suffer greatly in being Jesus' primary ambassador and hearald of His Kingdom to the Roman empire. Paul was not stupid. He lived in a Roman colony where Roman soldiers ran the show and zealous Jewish religous leaders hated anyone who believed that Jesus was indeed the Savior King of both Jews and Gentiles. Paul knew that "through many tribulations [he] must enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22, ESV) But Paul still humbly prayed three times for the possibility of another way, if Jesus was willing.

Jesus' empathetic response,“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, ESV)

May that be so for you and your thorn in the flesh as you serve the Savior King