Thursday Devo

Read Luke 10:38-42. This story of Mary and Martha and yesterday's Good Samaritan story are two great descriptions of the present American Church. The good Samaritan story we read illustrates how many churches see needs and just pass buy - focused on their own interests. The American church is rooted in self-interest. Build our church, hide behind or walls - ignore the needs of those around us. After a while of ignoring them we forget they exist! If people want God - they'll come find us. The Good Samaritan story teaches us to discover those in the ditches of life and go the extra mile to love them.

The story of Mary and Martha illustrate how the Church today is worried and distracted by many things. Things like Martha was doing - things that look important but don't have Jesus front and center. So we run programs, entertain, babysit and take a lot of pictures of ourselves doing it. But Jesus clarifies - "only one thing is necessary." What is that one thing - to know the Lord. When we have sat at his feet and taken in his heart - true ministry will spill out of our lives.

I'm so encouraged when I read the gospels. Jesus wasn't a management expert. He didn't build a great organization or create new companies. He simply sat at the Father's feet - took in God and let the Father spill out of him where ever he went meeting needs. - I can do that!

Martha wasn't wrong in wanting to serve Jesus but in how she was serving Jesus. "Service" is one of the primary spiritual gifts from Romans 12. Her attitude was one of jealousy and accusation. She was serving out of anxiety and nervousness not joy. When we find ourself full or worry as we serve Jesus there's a good chance we are overly focused on being "impressive" instead of focused on simply doing our best out of love. Are we serving to get recognition or are we serving because we simply love Jesus?

Martha was attacked where we're all attacked - at her strength. If your gift is serving, organizing, researching, encouraging, truth telling, giving, or showing mercy - the enemy will try to get you to long for praise in that area - to rely on your own strength. Where we are strong we'll tend to get ahead of God - trusting self and anxiety will come. Yesterday as I was praying over the church much of the morning - and the Lord kept bringing Proverbs 3:5-6 to mind. Read this - actually read 3:5-12 in the message version - let it encourage you today!

questions

1) what keeps you worried and distracted from God?

2) are you more of a Mary or Martha?

3) examine your worries of late. How does your need to be liked or impressive play a role in your worries? How can truly believing only doing our best to let Jesus love flow out of us curb our anxiety?

prayer

Lord show me today where I need to be more like Mary and less like Martha. Show me where I've not been trusting in the Lord with all my heart and I've been leaning on my own understanding and strength. Your ways are higher than  my ways - your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. Many, O Lord my God are the wonders you have done for us, no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them they would be too many to declare. (Ps. 40:5)