Something To Think About:
With
Summer in full swing many of us have taken some time off from work, taken
family vacations, spent more time doing outdoor activities, had many moments of fun and relaxation with family and friends, and have enjoyed the awesome summer weather conditions that have prevailed recently.
Yet come fall, the stress level for some of us will begin to rise as we will get
back into our busy routines of getting our kids back to school and
juggling their sports
activities, Heavier work related schedules, and believe it or
not, we will begin preparing
for the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. And those people who serve at their Churches will be stepping up their level of volunteering as well due to higher church attendance and the need for more folks to plug in to help meet the needs of the Churches ministry teams. The
Question is, come Fall, how can we sustain
such busy lives and still experience peace and rest? What can we do to help us
get our focus in the
right place?
Here are some lessons we can
learn from this passage in the Bible:
Luke 10:38-42 NIV :
As Jesus
and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named
Martha opened her home to him. She had
a sister called Mary, who sat at the
Lord's feet listening to what he said. 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 only one thing is needed.
Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her."
What we can learn From Mary &
Martha:
1. We need to get our priorities
in order.
- We need to put God first in our lives
Seek God for wisdom and sustenance
Matthew 6:33
"But
seek first His kingdom and His
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well"
Psalm 119:2 NIV
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
Blessed are they who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart.
Spend time with God – in
Prayer
Mark 1:35 NIV
Very
early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and
went off to a solitary place, where
he prayed.
Luke 11:9 NIV
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Philippians 4:6-7
NIV
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present
your requests to God. And the peace of God, which
transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.
Live a God
centered life - die to self
Matthew 16:24-26 NIV
Then
Jesus said to his disciples, "If
anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me. For
whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find
it. What good will it
be for a man if he
gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange
for his soul?
2. We should not worry about
things that are out of our control. We should be more concerned about our relationship with God, which is something
we can control. We need to trust His wisdom over our own limited view of how things really
are.
Matthew 6:25
"Therefore
I tell you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the
body more important than clothes?
Matthew 6:34
Therefore do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of
its own.
Mark 12:30
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
Romans
8:28 (New International Version)
And we
know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Proverbs
3:5-6 (New International Version)
Trust in the LORD with all your
heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
3. We should not get caught up in
“worldly things” which distract us from spending
time with God.
- If we don’t spend time with God how will we know what He wants us to do. We may get caught up in our own vision for our lives and ignore God’s will if we get too distracted.
Ephesians 5:15-17
NIV
Be very careful, then, how you
live—not as unwise but as wise,
making the most of every opportunity,
because the days are
evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.
Romans 12:2 NIV
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
4. Most of all, we need to take
time to sit at the feet of Jesus.
- There are benefits to loving God and spending time with Him. Living apart from God is not beneficial.
John 6:35 NIV
Then
Jesus declared, "I am the bread of
life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in
me will never be thirsty.
John 7:37-38 NIV
"If
anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever
believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within
him."
John 14:23 NIV
Jesus
replied, "If anyone loves me,
he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him
and make our home with him.
John 15:5 NIV
"I
am the vine; you are the branches. If
a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart
from me you can do nothing.
Believers should remember that
they have received wonderful spiritual blessings from God.
Spiritual Blessings believers
have received from God:
- We have peace with God: Because we are no longer enemies of God, our peace with God is permanent and cannot be undone. Jesus paid the price for our sin and we have received forgiveness.
- We have access to God: Because of Jesus’ work on the Cross we are reconciled back to God. We are adopted into God’s family.
- We have real hope now and in the future: for our salvation and glorification. (Our present and future condition)
- We can rejoice in our suffering: Suffering has a purpose, is constructive and develops Christ like character in us. We understand that God has a plan of salvation and we have the privilege of participating in it.
- We have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit: Our deposit and guarantee that we are saved. It is God’s seal of ownership of us.
2 Corinthians
1:21-22 (New International Version)
Now it
is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our
hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
As followers of Jesus we have been given some great spiritual blessings, and we mustremember that they have been given to us, we did not earn them. What we must do is
appropriate them. We can choose how we are going to live in this world. Living with these
blessings in mind will help us live the abundant life, where we can walk each day in faith
and confidence that we can trust God with our lives. Appropriating these blessings will
add a level of joy to our lives that nothing in this world can match.
So this Summer
let’s not forget to spend time with Jesus so we can be prepared for the busy
Fall. Let’s take
Mary’s example and “sit at His feet” - focus on the author and perfector of our
faith. Let’s also listen to the
prompting of the Holy Spirit. Let’s remain in prayer. Let’s read and study our Bibles.
Let’s seek wise counsel
and Christian fellowship. If we do, we can maintain our Godly perspective even
when the world is attempting
to distracts us; we can battle the enemies attempt to bring us down; we can be
at peace when life
takes its unplanned twists and turns; we can stand firm in our faith; we can
minister to others and represent Christ
in an honorable way. As followers of Jesus our only hope is in Him. Let’s not
forget the greatest gift of all.
· The Greatest Gift : Jesus
This verse below is what is so amazing about God’s love and God’s grace:
Romans 5:8 NIV
But God demonstrates his own love for us in
this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
Remember - spend time “at the feet of Jesus”.
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