Daily Devotions |
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 |
Listen to Today's Prayer“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 KJV ““Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”” Matthew 11:28-30 MSG "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:30 KJV Wow, let me be transparent. Yesterday I didn't release a devotion. Though it was a slip of hand, following various struggles, I basked in the peace of having less work. I absolutely love churning in God's word to whip up the smooth interpretation that he gives me. But, it is work. Part of my routine was thrown off yesterday. I was so tired that I slept through my personal devotion time. In a hurry, I woke up settled into the word about the prayer and completely lost myself in the service of 100 Days of Excellence. This passage reiterated to me the necessity to do both. Tarry in God's presence and serve...simultaneously.
What Martha should have done was learned the unforced rhythm of grace. At some point she should have given up the heavy burden of having a perfect house for her guest and focused on her honored guest: Jesus. But HOW? How was she to cook, clean, and host while resting at her savior's feet? The answer is so simple; it is kind of upsetting. Priorities. I always remember a lesson from my third grade class. (I went to a Christian school that taught some great kernels to us.) The teacher wrote the word JOY on the board. Then she created an acronym. Jesus. Others. Yourself. I doubt that the guests would have looked down upon Martha if she stopped being cumbered and went to be with Jesus. Her priorities were mixed up. Martha was operating in OJY. The burden of others is heavy! But in the KJV version of Matthew 11:30, the Bible tells us that the yoke of Jesus is light. I'm learning something else from Matthew. When you put God first, he tends to handle everything else. (Matthew 6:33) Maybe if Martha had sat, her guests or her sisters would have filled in for her. Martha might have been blessed to be served by Jesus like those who ate the fish and loaves of bread. We will never know. But we can take this lesson to remind ourselves of the real priorities in life. I want JOY. So, I'm learning to take the yoke of Jesus first. From there I try to help where I can, serve where I'm needed, and bless those I love. When I get that order right, I'm usually already taken care of. I've typically given my problems to God. Free! 😁 By blessing others I've blessed myself. Encouraged. 👌🏽 And whatever else I really need I can focus in on. 🤔 Yes, this order is completely opposite of the way the world does things. The world tells you that if you don't worry about yourself no one will. I've been there and subscribed to that magazine and the facts are that if you surround yourself living the JOY model, you'll have people to have your back. The world (even the present church) tells us that gods serves us. Where is the wonder in a god whose primary concern is being my genie? That's the beauty of learning to follow the Master Plan, your way becomes small compared to the way laid out in the Bible. Others are the last thing the world worries about and usually only superficially. We usually only care when tragedy hits or opportunity seems to arise for us to benefit. The world is living a YJO lifestyle. And so many of us are unhappy because of it. So many of us are broken because of it. If you have gotten your priorities mixed up; if you turn to Jesus only when it serves you; if you feel like life is battering you with impossible expectations start using the JOY method today. Choose to be both Mary and Martha: serving others but only after you have spent time with Jesus. You will find yourself rocking in the sweetest rhythm of grace. Full of joy because you let Jesus lead you to serve others ultimately blessing yourself in the process.
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About the ChallengeThe 100 Days of Excellence challenge is a 100 day journey to completely rearrange the course of your life. It is about seeking the thrown of God to hear what his plan is for our lives. It is a commitment to carry out every action in your future in the spirit of excellence. Archives
December 2016
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