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Martha & Mary
"As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village
where a woman named Martha opened her home to him."
-Luke 12:38
Read the full story at
BibleGateway.com.
Domestic Encouragement
Monthly Column by Susan Sikes
First Things First
This is shown
in a very familiar story in Luke
10:38-42. As Jesus and His disciples
were traveling, Martha did what was
right and opened her home to them.
She was a lady of hospitality, ready
to serve her Master. Martha’s
problem was not a lack of service,
but that her cup had run dry so she
wasn’t enjoying serving the Lord. In
the meantime, Mary sat at the feet
of Jesus, filling her cup to
overflowing. The Bible says
Martha was distracted by all the
preparations that had to be made.
This is a legitimate problem that we
are all familiar with. I don’t know
about you, but there have been so
many times that I have gotten so
caught up in preparations that I
lost the joy of the occasion. One of
the best illustrations that comes to
mind is putting time into sweeping
and mopping the floor for a
gathering and then being uptight
that something is going to ruin my
clean floor. That may be an
illustration that is specific only
to me, however, I am sure everyone
has something they deal with. If you follow
Martha’s story a little further, you
find that she ended up being bitter
about the situation. This is one of
those NON-Christlike characteristics
I mentioned earlier. I find it
humorous (only because I have lived
it) that it was Martha who invited
Him over, and she got angry with
Mary for enjoying His
company. Jesus’ response to her
anger, “Mary has chosen what is
better,” says so much:
1.
Spending time with the Lord
is a choice.
2.
We choose our schedules and
set our own priorities.
3.
Fellowship with the Lord
needs to be 1st in our
lives, even before ministering to
others.
4.
Our needs, preparations, or
circumstances may not change, but
our attitudes can. As this year
begins, I am making a commitment to
put the Lord first. I want to sit at
the feet of Jesus every day and be
filled before I try to give to
others. I am committed to be on
guard and not let anything, not even
ministry, take the place of His
daily filling. As my husband
preached last weekend, I will put
“First Things First.” 
Have
you ever tried to fill someone’s
glass with a pitcher that was almost
empty? They don’t get much out of
it. The same is true when we try to
minister to people when our cup is
dry. In addition, we can get
frustrated and send out a few
characteristics that are not Christlike. To be the nurturing
women God called us to be, we must
be filling our cup every day with
Him.
© 2007 by Susan Sikes of Out of the Nest & Beyond.
About the Author: Susan is the author of A Woman of Noble Character. Her ministry, Out of the Nest & Beyond, trains girls in the area of homemaking skills and encourages women. She sends out a free e-newsletter “News from the Nest” each month, which includes a devotional, tips, & recipes. To find quick & easy recipes, visit www.OutOfTheNestAndBeyond.com.
Photo by Marcelo Moura.