Do you remember the story of the sisters, Mary and Martha?
Company was coming to their home, including Jesus! Oh my. I don’t know if
hospitality is your gift, but it is not mine. I would love to be the one
sitting in a corner, talking to one person, hoping someone else is handling the
cooking and cleaning. Fretting over company comes naturally to me.
Mary sat at the
feet of Jesus, worshipping, listening, just wanting to be near Him and spend
time with Him. Her sister, Martha? She was doing all of the preparing, all of
the work. Busy, busy, busy. Cooking,
cleaning, slaving away all by herself. Well, you can imagine her emotions. I
would feel the same way.
Here is the conversation
between Martha and Jesus.
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 over 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 10:40-42
Jesus understood
what needed to be done. He wants to be first, before all of “what we have to
do.” Hospitality is a vital gift in the body of Christ. Welcoming, feeding,
comforting, opening our homes and churches are necessary and wonderful. But Christ
reminds Martha of the first thing. Spending time with Him is most needed.
Jesus, may be
repeating your name, reminding you. Are you too busy with many things? Have you
moved Jesus away from being the “better choice?”
Lord,
Keep us from becoming too busy with everything else. We long
to sit at Your feet and listen and spend time with You and Your word. Help us
to find the time, placing You first in our busy lives.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Then,
because so many people were coming and going, that they did not even have a
chance to eat, He said to them, “Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place
and rest for awhile.” Mark 6:31
Is life moving too
quickly for you? Too much to do? Too much coming and going? Too many details,
social media, work, kids, life? I know the feeling. Even when we are not in our
“too busy” mode, we find ourselves forgetting to spend time with Jesus.
Our Lord is our
place of peace and rest. The details and scurrying can wait. In fact, He will
help us move step by step in peace and joy, if we just let Him. He is our Rock,
our Shepherd, our quiet place to rest for awhile.
That sounds pretty
good to me right about now. You, too? Let Him take you by the hand, lead you to
a quiet place and let Him nourish your soul. His Word feeds our deepest needs.
His love penetrates our weary hearts. His peace eases our distracted minds.
Give it all to Him in a quiet place, even if it’s just for a few minutes.
Let His peace wash
over you as you sit in a quiet place and rest for awhile.
Lord,
Thank You for Scriptures that reminds us of all you do for us.
Keep us from being distracted from what should be the first things in life. Our
very first and most vital need is to spend time with You. Lead us to that quiet
place today.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Live in light of the resurrection. We need no longer fear
death. Our souls will immediately be with Jesus and at Christ’s return, our
bodies will become immortal. Remember, the disciples saw Jesus. They touched
Him. They ate with Him. They witnessed
His return to heaven.
He now sits at the
right hand of the Father, awaiting the day He will bring us all home, to
celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles, a gathering together of all of His people.
How blessed are we! When the Jewish people did not recognize their Messiah,
even after all of the prophecies that were fulfilled at His first coming, God
moved to the Gentile world.
And soon, God will
bring us home and the world will move into the Day of Jacob’s trouble or the
seven-year tribulation. The Jewish people will, over that period of time, recognize
Jesus as Messiah and the new kingdom on earth and in heaven will begin.
The apostle, Paul, was once a Pharisee, one of the most highly regarded Jewish leaders. He wrote
most of the New Testament after his miraculous encounter with Christ. Over and over again, he is called, "the apostle of the Gentiles." He
defines many of the mysteries regarding the Gospel and the Jewish people. You
may not know that Romans 9, 10 and 11 are all about Israel. He speaks to all
Christians.
I do not
want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may
not be conceited. Israel has experienced a hardening in part, until the full
number of the Gentiles has come in. Romans 11:25
Only God knows this number. We,
the Gentiles, were welcomed into the family of God, which was supposed to be
offered to us through Israel. We have been grafted into the original root. This
may be confusing, but listen to these Words from Paul to the Gentile
(non-Jewish) world.
If some
of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have
been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the
olive root, do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If
you consider this: You do not support the root. The root supports you. Romans
11:17-18
If the Gentile
world was grafted in as a wild branch, how much more will God welcome back His
chosen people? We don’t understand it all, but the Bible has been 100 percent
true in all of the prophecies of the 1st coming (around 300) and
there are many more regarding His second coming. Everything scientifically,
archaeologically and historically recorded in the Bible has proven true. Read,
study, follow. He is coming soon.
He who
testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come Lord,
Jesus. The grace of the Lord, Jesus be with Bod’s people Amen Revelation 22:20-21
The Word of God is alive. It speaks to our hearts, teaches us,
guides us and changes our lives. Jesus was a Jew. The Bible was written by
Jewish men and everything in it points to Jesus, foreshadows Jesus, predicts
Jesus, and witnesses to Jesus.
This Easter weekend
matched up with the Holy Days of the Jewish faith for only the second time in
the last century. When Jesus ate the last supper in the upper room with His
disciples, they were celebrating Passover. As He rode the donkey into
Jerusalem, the thousands of Jewish people were bringing in their lambs to be
sacrificed.
Each lamb had been
examined to make sure it was without blemish, just as Jesus was looked at with
a fine tooth comb to find evidence against Him. What did Pilate say?
So Pilate
said to the chief priests and the crowd, “ I find no fault in this man.” Luke 23:4
The perfect Lamb of
God, the perfect man, the true God was put to death at the very same hours as
the lambs were being slaughtered. And Easter Sunday morning, was the
celebration of the feast of firstfruits or Shavuot, the celebration of the
harvest.
But each
in turn. Christ, the firstfruits, then, when He comes, those who belong to Him.
1 Corinthians 15:23
Amazing! Jesus was
the first to rise from the dead, the beginning of the harvest of what is to
come. Everything in these last days will coincide with the Jewish traditions. Miraculous!
Only God and His perfect timing. Trust everything to Him. He is in control.
Lord,
Your timing is always perfect in every way. How miraculous are
Your ways! We sit in awe of You and remain faithful and steadfast as we await
Your return.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Our true home is in heaven. Our citizenship resides there and,
as we wait, we are the ambassadors for Jesus on this earth.
We are
ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on
Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20
But our
citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:2
What a privilege it
is to represent Jesus in this dark and crazy world. If only the world would
recognize the need for a Savior. As we witness the violence, the drugs, the wars,
the terror and the chaos of our society, it is easy to understand why God’s
return could be imminent. There are days I anxiously await our heavenly home.
How about you?
In the meantime,
God is using us, giving us deep peace and joy in the midst of it all. He keeps
us protected, Spirit-filled and purposeful. We are truly blessed.
Lord,
Our citizenship remains with You as You prepare a place for
each one of us. We eagerly await Your return. For now, we trust in You and Your
timing, awaiting our forever with You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
One day we will meet Jesus face to face. Our bodies will
become immortal. Did you know, after the resurrection, Jesus ate with His
disciples? Did you know that they could touch Him and see Him? And did you know
He could move from place to place instantly? Imagine that!
Dear friends,
now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.
But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see
Him as He is. 1 John 3:2
Jesus had to
reassure His disciples that it was indeed Him, raised from the dead. Thomas or
“doubting Thomas” as he became known, insisted on touching Jesus. He had a body
different from ours, but made with flesh and bones.
“Look at
My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see. A ghost does not have
flesh and bones as you see I have.” Luke 24:39
One day all of our
suffering will be over. No more grief, no more disease, no more anger or
bitterness, no more addiction and hopelessness. And our bodies will live
forever in joy.
So, it
will be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable.
It is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is
sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is
raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual
body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
We will be like
Him, a new body, raised in power, in glory, imperishable. Keep this tucked away
throughout the rest of your lives. We are raised with Christ. Do not fear
death.
Lord,
One day we will live forever in glory with You. Give us hope
each day on earth as we share the truth of Jesus and His resurrection.
Amen
Jesus is risen! Alleluia! Because He lives, so do we. We live
with Him now and forever. Most of the world religions are based on works of the
flesh. Praying a certain amount of time each day, working towards a greater
state of bliss, being kind enough, good enough, worthy enough.
Only one was
worthy, and it was Christ. His life, death and resurrection gave us the freedom
to live victorious lives, trusting in Him for our eternal home. As Paul says,
if there is no resurrection, we are to be pitied.
If only
for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 1
Corinthians 15:19
The resurrection of Jesus changes
everything. We need no longer fear the death of the body, but only the death of
the soul. Jesus is the way home.
Jesus
answered, “I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.” John 14;6
Put your faith in
the Son of God, who came to dwell among us and will return to set up a new
heaven and a new earth with us forever. Believe in Him and you will be saved.
His death and resurrection vanquished our sins, once and for all, and gave us
victory over death.
For if we
have been united with Him in a death like His, we will certainly also be united
with Him in a resurrection like His. Romans 6:5
Now if we
died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. Romans 6:8
Jesus,
Your resurrection from the dead transforms everything. You
paid the price for us and we are free from sin and death. We glorify You today
and every day. We praise You and thank You.
Amen
