Martha and Mary

Many Christians talk about ‘dry seasons’. Times in which we feel very little ‘zing’ in our Christian life, times when it can feel like God is distant. I have heard that Mother Teresa wrote to her close friend in Rome and in her letters she expressed that she hadn’t heard the voice of her Lord for years.

When these ‘dry’ times come upon us I believe the easiest solution is to just get busy being a Christian. In James it says ‘Faith without action is dead’, so if you are having problems in your relationship with God, why shouldn’t you get busy serving Him ? I believe the answer is in Matthew 7:21-23;

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ .

Our first priority is to KNOW GOD. We must be able to ‘Be still and know that He is God’. We must build our relationship with Him, spending time in prayer, reading our bible and worship. That is how we will know what the will of the Father IS so we can do it.

AND then we serve. Without a strong, intimate relationship with God, our church activities and ministry work are pointless. I believe Mother Teresa hadn’t heard from God for so long because she didn’t need to. She knew Him so well that she could walk her Christian life with very little direction from Him.

A friend of mine once said that often God ‘shouts’ at a new Christian, He is very real and frequently directs their path. That is because they need that direction. As we mature as Christians, God’s voice gets quieter and quieter. He shouldn’t need to be so obvious for us. We have a strong faith, we have a good understanding of Him. We have the bible to direct us. We are walking in his ways.

Kind of like a boss with a new employee, at first they will direct and teach everything to their new employee. But as the person starts to get it and the boss can trust them to do their job, the boss will have less and less input.

Wherever you are in you walk with Christ my prayer for you today is this,

Lord, that You would check our hearts. Let us know if You know us not. Help us to prioritise You in everything we do. Help us not to offer up lip service and run around doing what we think You want but help us to KNOW You. Speak to us Lord, reassure us Lord, direct us Lord.

If we are on the right path with the Lord his assurance is that we will have the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23)

If any one of these is lost, even though you may be rising in the ranks of your church, even though your soup kitchen may be feeding thousands every night, no matter what your circumstances, stop and pray.

There may be a whole host of reasons why your peace has gone but there is only one answer, ask He who supplies it how you can get it back.

 

Luke 10:38-42  (NIV)

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ 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!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, ⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

 

A Great Piece of News

In November of 2007 we had a retreat for about 40 kids from 2 orphanages in Surabaya. The months leading up to the retreat were like riding a rollercoaster. We had money and then we didn’t, we had a team and then we didn’t and so on. 2 weeks before the retreat we found out that our musician couldn’t make it. My wife’s cousin volunteered for the job.

My wife has 8 aunt’s and uncle’s and about half of them are Muslim and half Christian. The cousin that volunteered for music duty was Muslim. He practiced Christian songs and came along. He thoroughly enjoyed the retreat and became close friends with a number of the other participants. The next year he was our number one choice for keyboard duty. Once again he came and was very enthusiastic. We invited him to our church’s Christmas celebration the next week and he came along.

The next day, we were at a mall when he called and said he wanted to meet us to ‘discuss something important’. We met and he told us he had a dream that he was on the outbound at retreat and the other kids in his group had just climbed up an embankment but he couldn’t get up. He said he became extremely scared but then there was a bright light and a hand reached down to him and pulled him up. The ‘person’ said “ Hold my hand and do not let go, you are no longer one of the lost.”

Krisma (the cousin) asked us what the meaning was. We turned the question back on him and he said he believes the person in his dream was Jesus and he was asking him to follow Him. We then asked Krisma what his response was and he replied “ I want to follow Him.”…..”Then it is done, you are saved.”

We took Krisma to buy a few Christian books but there was something troubling hi. His father had given him permission to join the retreat but the last words he had said before Krisma left the house were “ You can go, just don’t become a Christian.” We told Krisma to pray and build his relationship with God and to be ready as there were no guarantees that life would get easier.

Just 2 weeks after this conversation, we went to pick up Krisma to take him to our Friday prayer group. He told us that his parents had said to him that it was his choice if he wanted to become a Christian. My wife was shocked as Krisma’s dad is quite strict and she thought he would have a very hard time accepting the news that his son had converted.

The news that Krisma had been saved was a real boost to me. My wife and I had both prayed that Krisma would be touched by what he experienced at the retreat but when it happened it was a real boost to my faith. The added bonus of Krisma’s dad accepting his decision really reinforced to me that if you trust God, he will clear a path for you. Krisma went to a prayer group of teenagers he met at church yesterday. He went alone because my wife was in hospital. The sms he sent us said;

“Praise God, I have my own cell group now. We will meet on Monday and they will pick me up. We will pray for Ce2 (my wife). I am sure she will be home from the hospital soon because MIRACLES are real and Jesus has already planed it and His plans are so beautiful.” GBU

I hope this little story encourages you. God’s word never goes out in vain.

“Everything we do is just a drop in the ocean, but if we don’t do it the ocean isn’t full.” Mother Teresa

An Illustration

If you type the word tongue in a bible word search it comes up over 100 times. God’s word constantly tells us to ‘be careful with our tongue’ that it has ‘the power to set people on fire with flames from hell itself’ and that it can be a blessing and speak wisdom.

One of my favourite illustrations was a friend who asked 3 people to do a little competition for her. She gave each person a tube of toothpaste and asked them to squeeze all the toothpaste out as fast as they could. They complied and within seconds there was a winner. She then said the next part of the competition was to put the toothpaste back as fast as they could. They were dumbfounded and admitted that would be pretty hard.
She concluded by saying that our words come out just as easily as the toothpaste but it is impossible to take them back.

We all need a reminder now and then. Try building people up with your words. Tearing people down is obviously a bad thing but neglecting to be a Godly influence by the things you say is also bad. Remember, out of the heart the mouth speaks. Take note of the words you speak, do they represent a problem in your heart ? If so, take it to God in prayer. There is no excuse clause for your situation determining the condition of your heart or the words you speak. He must be in you and you in Him. If that is so, your words will reflect Him.

Its not easy but “ God doesn’t require that we succeed, only that we try “ Mother Teresa

God Bless You