Mary And Martha

In this last week of my promotion of my book Women For All Seasons I leave you with a post on Mary and Martha, two well known women of the Bible.
 

I believe in every church there is a woman like Martha. You know, the one you can call on when something needs to get done? She is at every fundraiser, every outreach, every celebration assisting willingly. I believe Martha in the Bible was like that. Hardworking, dependable, hospitable. Her sister Mary, on the other hand, just loved to sit at Jesus' feet and drink from His wellspring of knowledge and wisdom.

On one occasion, the Bible tells us, Jesus came to Bethany where the sisters lived, and went to stay with them, as He always did. Mary took her usual position at Jesus' feet, while Martha busied herself in the kitchen getting everything ready. When she saw that Mary wasn't coming to help her, she went to Jesus and complained, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself ? Tell her to help me!" (Luke 10: 40)

I wonder why Martha didn't address her complaint to Mary herself. Could it be that she secretly blamed Jesus for taking up Mary's time so she couldn't help her? We have to be careful not to get carried away in our zeal to do things for Christ. When we do things for the Lord, we should do them out of our love for Him, not as a duty or as a means of getting praise from others. And we should experience joy and contentment from what we do. Mary was content where she was, at Jesus' feet, but Martha, even though she was hard working, wasn't really content. 

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,
but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her"(v 41 - 42).

I believe Martha meant well, but her zeal prevented her from putting things in the proper perspective.  Instead of performing her task joyfully, she grumbled and complained because she didn't have help. Like many of us who are very active in church, at work or in the community, we often complain when we don't have enough help. We may be overburdened, but did we ask for help? Or did we try to do everything ourselves, only to realize that we have taken on more than we can handle? There's nothing wrong with asking for help when you need it. Don't wring your hands and say, "Lord, why me? Do I have to do everything around here?"

If you find yourself overwhelmed by your responsibilities, here are some things you can do:

1. Ask for help. As in the above paragraph, asking for help is nothing to be ashamed of. Read what Moses' father-in-law told him (Exodus 18: 24).

2. Choose the right people. Having people around you who are not suited to the task can cause problems.

3. Learn to delegate responsibility. This will take some of the burden off you, while giving others the chance to show their talents and skills.

4. Be willing to train others. You won't be around forever. You must have someone to take up the mantle when the time comes.

 5. Be content. 1 Timothy 6: 6 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

Related articles

• Do Complaints Roll of Your Tongue with Ease?
• Who was Martha in the Bible?

Thou Art Loosed

The story of  Jesus raising Larazus from the dead is one of the best known in the Bible. Before this

incident, we hadn't heard much about Lazarus. We knew that he had two sisters Mary and Martha and that when he took sick his sisters sent word to Jesus, expecting that He would come immediately since Lazarus was His friend. But the Bible tells us that when Jesus finally showed up, Lazarus had been dead four days. Still, Jesus asked to be taken to the burial site where He called Lazarus' name loudly and Lazarus came out of the grave.

The scripture tells us something that is significant. When Lazarus came out of the tomb he was bound hand and foot in graveclothes; even his face was bound with a napkin, as was the custom in those days.

Jesus said, "Loose him, and let him go" John 11:44).  

Had Jesus not loosed Lazarus it would have been impossible for him to get very far. Those graveclothes would have tripped him up.

The Bible gives us another illustration of a woman who had been bowed together for eighteen years and could not lift herself.

And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. Luke 13: 12.

In our world today many people are bound - by sin, drugs, alcohol, negative thinking, false beliefs. The list can go on and on. These things can cripple you and prevent you from making progress, but you don't have to stay bound. Jesus can loose you. He wants to loose you and set you free. 

John 8: 36 says,  "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." 

Do you want to be free? Then call on Jesus. He'll set you free. 

The Bible tells of another woman who was bound by demonic possession. Her name was Mary Magdalene. She was set free by Jesus and went on to become the first person to proclaim the good news of Jesus' resurrection. You can read about her here.

Related articles

• Who was Lazarus in the Bible?
• Aug. 28. Jesus Raises Lazarus

Can You Wait On God?

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run , and not be weary ; and they shall walk , and not faint  - Isaiah 40 : 31.

Do you find yourself impatient at times for God to answer your prayers? How anxious will you get when your loved one is ill and you send for someone you know can help, and that person doesn't show up? Worse yet, your loved one dies and the person you sent for still hasn't come. But then you tell yourself it doesn't matter now anyway. He's already dead. Such was the position of Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died. Jesus was their good friend. He often stayed at their house whenever He passed through Bethany. He partook of their hospitality, and He seemed to love them. He'd healed many others, surely He could heal their brother. But it wasn't until Lazarus had been dead four days that Jesus showed up.

Can you relate? Your situation may not be as bad as having a loved one die, but you may be praying and expecting God to answer your prayers and He doesn't seem to be listening. Has He forgotten you? No. In the same way He didn't forget His friends in Bethany, He has not forgotten you. He knows what He is doing. 

  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. - Isaiah 55: 8 - 9.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:- Ecclesiastes 3 : 1

But when the fulness of the time was come , God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law - Galatians 4 : 4 

God does things according to His timing, not ours, and His timing is always best.  Just wait on Him.

New Year's Resolutions

For decades the topic of New Year's resolutions has been so bandied about around this time of year, that I, for one, have come to dread it. Some people have said that they make New Year's resolutions on New Year's eve, only to break them on New Year's Day! I don't think I've ever been that bad, but I'm usually unaware of when I stop following through with my resolutions. Still, in the back of my mind nag those pesky wishes, desires and dreams that are ushered in with the confetti and firecrackers. And I find myself thinking, what if I could really lose those ten pounds this year? What if I could really stop eating chocolates and ice-cream? What if I could exercise four days out of every week?

What if ... Over the years I have come to realize the futility of those wishes and so I've stopped wishing and begun to ask God to give me the strength and the motivation to do what I need to do. And as I reflected on that this morning, the Holy Spirit laid it on my heart that He wants me to love Him more. "I do love you, Lord," I said. "I've been loving You ever since I was a child. Even when I knew very little about You."

Gently, He directed my thoughts to the kind of love He requires. The kind that Mary, Lazarus's sister showed to Jesus. This woman sat at His feet, drinking in His words, while her sister Martha busied herself being hospitable. Jesus said of Mary, "She has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10: 42). While Jesus appreciated Martha's hospitality, he clearly considered the time Mary spent with Him to be far more valuable than what Martha did. When we love someone we want to spend as much time with them as possible, and I believe this is what God was saying to me this morning. Make time for Me; put aside your busyness and spend time with Me.

In His commandments the Lord said, "... I am a jealous God" (Exodus 20:5). He is jealous of all the "gods" we put before Him. The god of work, money, position, entertainment and all the many "gods" we create. We don't want to make God jealous, do we? Because if we do, He just might remove the "gods" that are taking His place in our lives. So there's my New Year's resolution. Learning to love God and spending more time with Him in 2011.

Lord, I love you, but I confess that my love has been weak and faint. I allow too many things to get in the way of spending time with you. Help me in this New Year to spend more time at Your feet so I can get to know You better and become more like You, in Jesus' name. Amen.