Scripture
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!”
~Luke 10:40, NIV
Quote
“Our purpose in life is to know HIM {Jesus}, to love HIM, to obey HIM, and to have intimate fellowship with HIM.”
~Nancy Leigh DeMoss {A Place of Rest, p.40}
I like Martha and not because I dislike Mary. I admire both girls but for different reasons. Martha and I have a lot in common. We are task oriented, highly driven personalities. We have our to-do list and we are intent on getting things done. We tend to view people as distractions who are keeping us from reaching our daily goal. We tend to get impatient, frustrated, and even ill when things do not go our way. Whether we realize it or not, our anger is directed toward Jesus who we blame directly or indirectly for the problem. We get so perturbed that we end up telling Jesus what to do instead of awaiting His instructions. Can you identify with this Type-A personality?
Mary’s are more phlegmatic, maybe even melancholy. They have that easy and smooth temperament: they are not easily upset or frustrated. They are laid back and not much bothers them. They move too slow for Type-A’s who sometimes view them as being lazy. Let’s face it, they are cut out of different cloth. While Martha is busy, busy, busy with preparing supper; Mary is setting at Jesus feet listening to His every word. Meanwhile Martha is in the kitchen banging pots and pans because she is seething with anger–Mary is sitting on her backside doing nothing while Martha is having to do all the work and she is not happy about it. Finally, her anger erupts and she goes straight to Jesus. She demands that Jesus do something about her sister’s laziness.
Nancy Leigh DeMoss says, “I can almost here Jesus saying…’Martha, we don’t have to have a five course meal: I’m Ok with soup and crackers. It’s OK if dinner is late or even if there is no dinner at all. None of these things really matter to Me. What matters is my relationship to you, which is why I came to your house in the first place. Actually, this is why I came into the world. Your company means more to me than your cooking. You are more important to Me than anything you can do for Me.'” Mary must have understood that the most essential thing was to get to know Jesus better, to listen to His every word and to have a relationship with Him. She made a decision to lay everything else aside and give her full attention to Jesus.
Insights From The Blog
[1] Never tell God what to do. [2] A relationship with Jesus is the only thing that is essential. [3] Developing intimacy with Jesus requires time and a conscious choice or your part to meet with Him. [4] Good things can be the most distracting than evil things. [5] Make a choice to put Jesus first. [6] Work with Him not for Him. Let Him direct your activity. Sometimes He prefers us to sit and listen rather than serve.
We have some praise to give to the LORD: we not only got our LOTTIE MOON goal in one offering {$4,500.00}: we exceeded the goal by over $1,000. By the time it is all totaled, it may be close to $6,000.
The blog is entitled Martha, Martha Two because I wrote one similar a few years ago. That blog had more hits than any I have written. Of course we are not talking thousands but I do think it was over 200 which is far above average.
I started my CHRISTMAS VISITATION last week and the girls and grands helped me yesterday. We made 12 visits as we tried to share a little cheer. We have another 30 or so to do the next two day.
Please pray for the RUSSELL family. They have had a promotion this week and James is in the Hospital at Huntsville. He is very sick and will not be able to attend his sister’s COLS. Pray for James, Priscilla and Karla.
Did we get rain or what! Ray’s branch is rolling like the White River.
You can get a huge poinsettia at LOWES for a buck and a quarter.