De-clutter your Worship

Luke 10:38-41

The obvious difference here between Martha and Mary was that Martha was trying really hard to make things good for Jesus and all of her guests, and Mary was simply just stilling there listening to Jesus.

Now in our natural responses to things – I too might be tempted to say that Martha was doing more for Jesus – sacrificing more, even the opportunity to  hear from Jesus so that he and is disciples could be comfortable.

Interestingly Jesus tells Martha that the choice that Mary made was the better one.

Does that mean that it is more important for us to always just listen to God and not to do things for him ?

I am not convinced that is really the heart of this passage.

The Difference

There are 3 clues that tell me there was more to the difference between them :

• the passage says that Martha was “distracted”
• Martha choose to complain about Mary to Jesus ( her guest  - it is very inhospitable to put your guest in that position)
• Jesus tell us Martha was “Worried and Upset”

It is clear that it was not a simple matter of the acts that were different, there was a heart matter that was putting Mary in a better position than Martha.

How do I apply that ?

The take away for me is this, that while I may have a heart after God, there is a risk that I might get caught up in the way in which I am going about doing it.

The very thing we are working on, and hoping for and praying into, will start to distract us, make us worry, become negative about others – and in all of that, despite that fact that we do all of this so that we can have maturing growing encounters with God – that when we finally do have God in our house talking too us, we miss the boat!

As if somehow the act of ushering in God is more important than him being there !

Take a concrete example here. Worship in church is a way to usher in God and allow people to open their hearts to share with God… but it is not uncommon during the worship for some to complain that the one singer was out of tune, or that the timing was not quite right.. or that they should have sung that other song etc etc etc… and in doing so miss the opportunity to just spend time with God.

Summary

In short,  I think it is important that we unclutter our minds when it comes to the presence of God. There is lots we can do hope and prepare for, but once we are there, remember the simple desire you had… to have God meet with you, and enjoy it.

Let Gods Filter be your Standard of Justice

You know when you get a revelation of something that you have pretty much always known, but now it is life to you – then you try to explain it to people… it is hard.. but I will try anyway.

God is into us being real with him – warts and all. In fact he is so into it that he will expose warts you did not know you had – or warts you have hidden so well and don’t even bother you that are surprised that God would think it worth the issue to deal with it.

But there is another side to this reality that is just as important, but has much more power to disarm any attack of the enemy.

That is the truth of how God sees us, and where God wants to take us and what God wants for us. God wants us to embrace and defend that truth too.

How ?… well simply by actively choosing to place a filter of God on everything in your life. Lets take a few examples to make this less airy fairy and more concrete – but first a little parable – type of example.

If you knew that someone was innocent of a murder, but  you saw that they were being locked up. How would you feel ?

If you then saw them sentenced to death – what might you do ? If you then watched them die in the electric chair how deeply would that disgust you ? How loudly would you cry against the injustice ?

Now lets bring that into your life :

What do you think the truth is about what God has got planned for your marriage ? Do you think that he has planned for your spouse to love you deeply ? Do you think he has planned for your marriage to reflect Gods love ?

Of course he has – and if you love God that is what he is doing for you. That is the actual real truth about your marriage. Do you really think that God lied when he said that he was faithful to complete the work he has begun ?

Now any time that your marriage is not reflecting that, it is just like watching the innocent go to jail. You need to rise up against the injustice and lies that you see playing around you. That is  not the truth about your marriage.

Are your children rebellious ? Is that Gods plan for them… if not, then you need to see the injustice – that is not what Gods wants – that is not his plan – somehow a lie is being played out in front of you.

Now even if you spend your life, and die, fighting for the actual truth and never see it ( just like the men of faith in Heb 11 ) then you have lived for a worthy cause.

Chose today to view the world with Gods truth about your situation. Every time you see a situation that does not line up with the truth of God – you know that you now have something that you need to put prayer, sweat and tears into – until you see the truth prevail.

Taking marriage as an example – if you do this, then you should see the negative comments change accordingly :

“My spouse does not love me”… becomes “The truth is, my spouse loves me deeply, but something is getting in the way, and I will fight to correct that injustice.”

“My husband is a pathetic leader” … becomes “The truth is my husband is a great leader, but something is holding his back – I will pray for him and praise him in public so the truth can be exposed”

“My wife is a nag” … becomes ‘My wife is a blessing and loves to encourage, but some how the enemy has stolen her joy. I will flight that injustice, and proclaim the truth in the streets!”

“I have lost interest in my spouse and it is time to move on”… becomes “I love my spouse more than ever but I have been blinded. I will not accept the injustice”

When you live by Gods truths, then you may begin to understand how this verse “The truth will set you free” can be seen to act out in your daily life – not just the the eternal life.