Jesus Wants to Spend Time With You
Devotion: Term 3, Week 8
Mary and Martha were similar in that they both loved Jesus. But the difference showed up when He visited their home. ‘… 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 few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”’ (Luke 10:38-42 NIV).
Jesus didn’t say that what Martha was doing was not good. He said that what Mary was doing was better. What was Mary doing? Sitting at His feet, listening to His words, loving and adoring Him. There is a lesson here, particularly for those involved in church work and ministry. Don’t get so involved in the work of the Lord that you fail to get involved with the Lord of the work. American author E.M. Bounds said, ‘To be much alone with God is the secret of knowing Him and of influence with Him’.
If you are not being influenced by God, who or what is influencing you? People? Pressures? Circumstances? If Jesus had come for dinner, He may well have commended Martha and told Mary to get busy in the kitchen. But His priority, before going to the cross, was to spend time with those He loved. Here is a thought that will change your attitude towards prayer: Jesus wants to spend time with you!
SoulFood: 2 Chr 22-24 Luke 17:1-10 Ps 119:121-128 Pro 22:4-7
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
Other Devotions
Devotion – Jesus Wants to Spend Time With You
Mary and Martha were similar in that they both loved Jesus. But the difference showed up when He visited their home. ‘…
Devotion – The Blessings of Battle
When you commit your life to Christ, you switch sides. Now you’re up against three things. The world with its pressures, values, and agenda. The flesh, with its impulses and weaknesses. The devil, who is out to defeat you. But God would never allow us to get into a fight we couldn’t win, so let’s consider three blessings of battle.
Devotion – The Habit of Joyful and Confident Hope
Does it feel like the attack coming against you right now is more than you can bear? If so, read this: ‘Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,’ (Romans 5:3-4 ESV). Notice that you can reach a place of spiritual maturity where you automatically respond to difficulty with ‘joyful and confident hope.’ It’s easy to say, ‘don’t worry’, but to actually do that requires experience with the faithfulness of God.