Luke 10:38-42

Further Kairos Takeaways

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“Jesus continued from there toward Jerusalem and came to another village. Martha, a resident of that village, welcomed Jesus into her home. Her sister, Mary, went and sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him teach. Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.

Martha (interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.

Jesus: Oh Martha, Martha, you are so anxious and concerned about a million details, but really, only one thing matters. Mary has chosen that one thing, and I won’t take it away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

Tonight’s guest speaker, Jason Cook, spoke from Luke 10:38-42 about choosing the better way. In this culture where we idolize busyness and being on the go non-stop, we look to Martha as having chosen rightly.

Yet Jesus sees Mary doing nothing but sitting at His feet and listening as having chosen the better way. Instead of doing a million things for Jesus, she’s chosen to be with Jesus.

It’s very easy to get so caught up in serving Jesus that we forget to spend time with Him. Christianity can become so much about activities and rituals that  we forget what it’s really all about.

Jesus is saying two words that have almost become anathema in this day and age– SLOW DOWN. Stop and listen. Rest in My presence and learn from Me.

Sometimes, we need to stop talking at God, running down our laundry lists of requests and petitions, be still and listen.

There’s a time for asking, but there’s also a time for adoration. There’s the command to keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking, but there’s also the command to be still.

Maybe today we can choose the better way, if only for a few moments, to hear the voice of Jesus over all the other voices clamoring for our attention.

 

Only One Thing Matters

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“Jesus continued from there toward Jerusalem and came to another village. Martha, a resident of that village, welcomed Jesus into her home. Her sister, Mary, went and sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to Him teach. Meanwhile Martha was anxious about all the hospitality arrangements.

Martha (interrupting Jesus): Lord, why don’t You care that my sister is leaving me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to get over here and help me.

Jesus: Oh Martha, Martha, you are so anxious and concerned about a million details, but really, only one thing matters. Mary has chosen that one thing, and I won’t take it away from her” (Luke 10:38-42, The Voice).

This Advent season may find you stretched too thin. You might feel like you’re being pulled in a hundred different directions toward a hundred different destinations, each one seemingly as important as the rest.

I believe the word from God for this season is this: the best place to be is at the feet of Jesus. Only one thing matters as we approach Christmas– creating margins and spaces in your life and heart to be able to hear the voice of your Good Shepherd.

Only one thing matters– seeing the Christ in Christmas an adoring the infant King, wrapped snugly and laying in a manger. As the worship song says, everything else can wait. Some of those to-do list tasks can even be left undone.

If you achieve all your holiday goals and purchase every last present and miss Jesus, you’ve missed Advent.

The best witness you can give this Advent season is to say no to the excess spending and the tyranny of the urgent while being still before the presence of God, wherever you are and whatever you’re doing.

You don’t have to be idle to be still. You can go about your daily life with a sense of urgent expectancy and waiting with hope. You can adore the Christ by your Christlike attitude in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, by your kindness and patience toward others, remembering that the one thing that matters most is not in your wallet or in your shopping bags or in your day planner but rather in the middle of your Nativity scene, laying in that manger.