Month: June 2020

Martha, Dear Martha

Luke 10:40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparation 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!”

Today is Father’s Day. Fathers are such a blessing to a family. They are a gift from God. Today is also the day that I publish my devotionals. I usually write them on Saturday but I was out of town yesterday so I decided I would write it this morning. But my folks are coming over today to celebrate Father’s Day, so I have been distracted. I have been grocery shopping and cleaning and trying to make sure everything is just “right”. So, when I sat down to start writing, my mind was all over the place. I asked God to give me the words to share with you and he said, “Mary and Martha”.

I went to the YouVersion app on my phone and typed in Mary and Martha.  I like to read the Message version of the Bible and this is what it said:

As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. “Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.”  The Master said, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Believe it or not, both Mary AND Martha were serving the Lord in this story. Martha was serving him with her actions and Mary was serving him with her time and attention. Jesus did not berate Martha for being concerned about the food, he just wanted her to set priorities. Food will always be there to prepare, cook and eat but Jesus would not. He was passing through and what he was teaching would feed her for life.

Sometimes we are so busy doing things FOR Jesus that we are not spending any time WITH Jesus. In order to hear from Jesus, we need to spend time with Him. Just like any other relationship you have, it requires you to spend time together, to share your day with each other and to be open and honest with each other. I encourage you to remove yourself from distractions and to spend time with Jesus today.

Lord, thank you for wanting to spend time with me. Help me to make you a priority in my day. Amen.

I Am The Vine

John 15:5 “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.”

I just love the chapter in John where Jesus talks about the vine. There are so many nuggets of gold that you can take away from what Jesus is saying. In this analogy God is the gardener, Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. When we remain in Jesus and Jesus is in us, which means we are full of the Holy Spirit, we will produce fruit. In Galatians 5:22 it says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  If your desire is to have these qualities, then you must remain in the word of God. Devote yourself to something new because a well will spring forth with blessings. Designate time with Him so that He can show you the way.

Jesus also says that God, the gardener, will prune the vine. In the first part of John 15:2, Jesus says, “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit…” It is a gardener’s responsibility to care for the vines in a vineyard.  When a gardener sees a dead branch, he will cut it off from the trunk of the vine.  A dead branch is not only useless to a vine, but it can also infect the rest of the vines.  In Galatians 5:19, Paul lists the acts of the sinful nature. Then in verse 21 he says, “I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Or in short, they will be cut off from the Vine.

The second part of John 15:2 says, “…while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”  The fruitful branches are true believers that by remaining in Jesus produce much fruit.  But Jesus does not say that true believers will live happily ever after without any problems.  No, He says that true believers will be cut back too.  There will be pain.  There will be trials.  There will be sorrow.  But we can use these experiences to strengthen our character and faith.  God prunes us so that we will be even more fruitful, and this fruitfulness will glorify God.

So to recap, the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the fruits that you will produce if He remains in you and you in Him. Jesus ends his message about the vines by saying in John 15:17, “This is my command: Love each other.”  Yep, that’s what it’s all about.

Lord, thank you for speaking to us through your word. Please fill us with the desire to lean in and linger with you every day so that we may produce fruit and glorify you. Amen

All Things Work Together

Romans 8:28 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.

Have you heard the worship song called “Way Maker”? It is one of my favorite songs and we listened to it yesterday at the beginning of our company’s weekly Zoom call.  A few lines of the song say “Even when I don’t see it, he’s working.  Even when I don’t feel it, he’s working.  He never stops, he never stops working.”  Since yesterday, the words to this song keep popping into my head, showing up on my social media feed and even in my daily devotions so I was pretty sure God wanted me to share this devotional with you this week. 

God has a plan and His plan is that everyone comes to know Christ Jesus.  So, you and I, as Christians, go about our everyday life but behind the scenes, the Holy Spirit is working on people.  He is working, even when you don’t see it.  He is working, even when you don’t feel it.  He is working on your neighbor.  The neighbor that doesn’t mow his lawn and leaves his trash cans out two days too long.  He is working on the funny co-worker that always cracks a joke on all the Zoom calls.  He is working on the total stranger that you’ve “bumped” into at the grocery store 3 times.  He is working on your brother.  He never stops working and you are part of his plan.  He is going to use you, because you have been called according to his purpose.

If you are a Christian, the Bible says that ALL THINGS that have happened to you will be used by God for good.  Not just isolated incidents, ALL THINGS.  But that doesn’t mean that everything that happens to you will be good.  The pain of loss, the sorrow of depression and the sting of rejection can be used for good too.  Because you have experienced those things yourself, you can recognize them in others.  Then comes the cool part, the Holy Spirit will do what he does best and He will put people in your path.  All you have to do is look up.  Smile.  Say hello.  Have a conversation and let the love of Jesus shine out of you.  Cultivate relationships with the people God is already putting in your path.  Then over time they will begin to see that there is something different about you.  When they comment about it (and they will) you can tell them about Jesus.  Then let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

Lord, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to help me with your plan.  Please open my eyes to what the Holy Spirit is doing in the people that are all around me every day so that I can be the physical hands and feet of Jesus on earth.  Amen