Day 275 – We should be a Mary in a Martha world.

Today’s Reading: Luke 7 – 11

Luke 10:39-42 “And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Over the past couple of years, I’d been getting irritable over the littlest things because of all that had to be done in 24 hours and the lack of sleep trying to do it all. But I loved cleaning, mowing, having people over, planning parties, and everything else Martha liked.

However, 20 years ago, I fell in love with something even more than the art of “Martha”, I fell in love with the heart of “Mary”. That’s when my early mornings with Jesus began, and prayer time, Bible readings and writing all started. This was the place in my journey where my walk with Christ took off. At that time and up until a few years ago, I still felt like I could be Mary and Enjoy my Martha tendencies. Then the house got bigger, the yard got larger, the chores got longer, and my children hired me on as their taxi driver. (Has someone invented a “Cuber” Child-“Uber” yet?)

Jesus didn’t tell Martha she was doing anything wrong, Mary was just doing what was right. We have to have time for Jesus, so we have to find time to cut. I gave in and my husband helps a ton and someone mows our lawn. I also, recently, learned how to say no to things I enjoy but aren’t the best yes I can say at the time. There are seasons for everything. But laundry and pulling weeds stay with me, they’re my favorite. At some point we must give up things that we enjoy to find the best thing, time with Jesus.

Day 274 – Let good be overflowing like a fountain from your heart.

Today’s Reading: Luke 3 – 6

Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

As often as I get frustrated with my children, I also see the good that is overflowing from each one of them.

Years ago, my husband and I were getting ready for bed and hidden in our covers was a note and picture from one of our daughters to our son in Heaven. She knows she can’t mail this to him or hand it to him on earth, but she wanted to make it none the less out of the deepest desire to show him her love for him and that she still thinks of him daily. She won’t receive anything physical on earth from her brother, but her expression of love for him will be noted by her Father in Heaven and He will give her peace, more love, and great comfort.

God sees and loves the good we do in secret, the things no one else will see, and the love someone will experience without knowing where it comes from. These are gifts out of the goodness of our heart and flow into the lives of others. They are like the fruit on the good tree, great to eat, juicy, ripe, and best right off the vine.

We will see this goodness and know that the person that’s produced the good fruit is full of an overflowing love straight from the greatest source ever. When we are full of Jesus, we will be full of love and it will multiply and overflow. The greatest kind of love we can produce will be that given as a gift expecting nothing in return.

Luke 6:35 “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”

This is the kind of love that is undeniably from the good tree, even when it sometimes sheds it’s leaves in the Fall.

My children are not perfect and have rough bouts, but when I’m not watching they produce some of the most genuine love, bearing the good fruit of Christ’s example. So, Let His love be the desire that overflows from your heart forever.

Day 273 – Even when we feel out of place, we may be right where God wants us and needs us.

Today’s Reading: Mark 16 – Luke 2

Luke 2:7 “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

You would think God would want His Son to be born in a comfy bed where Mary could rest her head with Joseph coaching her through. Instead, Mary and Joseph find themselves on the road to register their family along with thousands of others for the king. They arrive in a small town with one stop light and not enough beds for the number of people visiting there. The innkeeper had no room for them, so they were given a stable and feeding trough to deliver the child they would call the Messiah.

This was definitely not comfortable and Mary probably felt completely out of place. She’d already been impregnated by the Holy Spirit with the Son of God, and no one had room for her to deliver this child?! Was this a bad dream? Yet shepherds out in the field had already heard about the Messiah’s birth and they were seeking the promised one. Mary didn’t hate her circumstances, and in actuality, stored up all these things in her heart.

Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”

Like Mary we can often find ourselves in situations or periods of time where we just don’t feel like we fit in, God must’ve gotten this whole thing wrong! Maybe we feel like we didn’t pray enough or correctly. It’s in these times that God has a greater plan for us, and we find ourselves waiting for power to be restored, internet to come back on, cell service to normal. But God sees it in a different light as an opportunity to breathe in his fresh air through the open windows, a chance to meet our neighbors outside, giving us time to come together and enjoy the simpler things in life.

Day 271 – It’s time we all have Faith!

Today’s Reading: Mark 10 – 12

Mark 11:22 “And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.”

Whatever’s going on in your life, whatever struggles you are dealing with today, you must have Faith that God is with you and will never leave you or forsake you. He has some amazing plans for you and hears your utterances and requests, and needs to hear you say, “Thy will he done.”

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where all you can do is pray? In these moments we must pray trusting that God hears us. This is Faith! Trusting in that which we can’t see. Lining up our desires with His desires and knowing that He will accomplish what He has set in our hearts.

Mark 11:22-24 “And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Even when it seems impossible, like there is no right answer, God is looking at it as if it just needs our prayers.

Mark 10:27 says, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

We may not see the wind, but it’s there. When we go to fly a kite, we have faith in the wind that it will take our kite higher and higher, soaring on the waves of the wind, but not exactly seeing the waves of the wind the kite sits on. When we pray for a Miracle, we may not see the prayer answered quickly or in our time, but it will be answered.

I’ve watched as God answered my prayers in a second and watched as He has made me wait patiently for years for a clear answer. But in all of these I had faith and believed. He is faithful and it is Him who I will have Faith. So pray believing, because at some point believing will become seeing to you too.

Day 272 – Trust the cupbearer even when He decides not to take away the cup.

Today’s Reading: Mark 13 – 15

Mark 14:34-36 “And he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch.” And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”

In the early days every King had a cupbearer. This servant would try everything that the King would be given to eat or drink to make sure it wasn’t contaminated. If it wasn’t up to the King’s standards the cupbearer would take the cup back with him. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane with His disciples He fell on His knees in prayer asking God to take this cup from Him. Jesus cup was filled with death, torture, and crucifixion. He knew that there had to be a better way for salvation for the world, but He also knew His Father in Heaven knew better.

In the end it is God’s Will that prevails.

Jesus’ sacrifice of giving up His life for our sins allowed us to see the love God has for us. His crucifixion, mockery, and abuse allowed Him to relate with our life on this earth.

For the several years I’ve been dealing with horrible stomach issues and dizzy spells. It’s been a result of the stress and anxiety I’ve experienced and the way my body reveals it. Often I’ve prayed that this would go away, but more so that the stress and anxiety that causes it would go away. But just like during the time period of my greatest loss, our financial struggles, and my abuse, I’ve trusted the Lord’s Sovereignty.

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares 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.”

It’s time we trust the cupbearer even when he doesn’t take the cup from us because He knows. He knows what’s in the cup is going to be used for His Glory.

Day 270 – Use the salt before you lose the saltiness.

Today’s Reading: Mark 7 – 9

Mark 9:50 “Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Anyone that knows me well enough knows I love salt; I don’t just like it, I love it, and like the country song goes, “I want some more of it.” To me salt makes just about everything better, including melons and ice, that’s right, plain ole’ ice and salt.

Yesterday, I was having lunch with a friend that I only get to see every once and a blue moon since she lives in another country. We received our chips and then the salsa, and I began to pour salt into my salsa to then stir it with a chip. She grabbed the salt and exclaimed “Kristen”. I laughed, and then said, it’s the best salsa ever but I have to first add my salt.

Jesus said, salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness what good is it for. He was speaking of the Fire of faith that burns in your soul. If we have faith but lose the fire to proclaim daily what good is our faith? Faith on its own is good, but if it isn’t used it’s worthless.

We can’t make salt salty again and we may never have the same opportunity twice to share faith with a family member or friend. Our faith is trust in God, it’s believing the miracle may happen but trusting Him still if it doesn’t. It’s taking every opportunity to live out our faith instead of cowering behind the thoughts and opinions of others. It’s loving our enemy, our neighbor, the orphan, the widow, our past and our future. It’s knowing that God has a plan for you far greater than our ideas. This faith is the essence of salt. We don’t need to lose it, we need to use it. Let’s go and enjoy being Salt together.

Day 269 – Proclaim your story to the ears that need it most.

Today’s Reading: Mark 2 – 6

Mark 5:14-16 “The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs.”

Jesus can use us whenever and wherever, but He tends to choose where He’s needed most.

Jesus didn’t come for the heathy or the righteous, He came for those who were sick. When He was among all the people He gave His time, words, compassion, mercy and grace to those who seeking Him, but among His disciples, those who knew Him best, He got deeper, stronger, and undoubtedly more firm. For Jesus wanted His disciples to be able to go out into the world and do as He did after He he’d leave them to go to Heaven.

When Jesus begins a work in our life we are like those following Him, wanting to hear His words and needing to be healed by Him; once His testimony is embedded and flowing through our heart, body, and soul, it is our turn to be grown by Him like His disciples. Jesus wants us to use His Testimony in us to Glorify Him and lead others to Him, not to be famous but to make Him glorious to others.

The testimony in us is not ours but His and He wants us to use it.

Sometimes He will choose to continue to pour into us for a time, but other times He knows the change in us is so drastic that he bids us farewell, encouraging us to lead others to Him by what He’s already done.

Mark 5:18-20 “As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.”

Day 268 – Do not fear the road ahead because you will never walk it alone.

Today’s Reading: Matthew 25 – Mark 1

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God has commanded us to go, but fear shocks our feet into stopping. He has emphasized the Go by encouraging us to make disciples, disciples from everywhere. (Here, there, and everywhere.) Some of us are called to just go across the street, where others are called to go around the world. Wherever it is that we’ve been called, many times it’s out of our comfort zone. And out or in, we are frightened at what may be waiting for us. What we don’t realize or take into account is that we will never have to walk this road alone. We will always know where he plans for us for go, and he will always provide everything we could ever need. Whether it be the Words we say, the food we eat, the money we use, whatever it is, He is there for us, calling us to go without hesitations!

Are you ready? Then let’s go!

Day 267 – Don’t let anyone lead you astray, but if they are leading you to Christ don’t push them away.

Today’s Reading: Matthew 22 – 24

Matthew 24:4 “And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray.”

At this point in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ disciples are concerned about when the end days will come. Jesus begins to explain to them warnings of wars, natural disasters, and others claiming to be him. He made the point that we shouldn’t let anyone lead us away from Christ and that many will try.

However, there is a difference between people leading us astray and people leading us His way.

Over the years I’ve been asked my thoughts on different people who speak about Jesus but do it in a different manner than what we’re accustomed to. I’ve thought this through and from my years of studying the scripture, Jesus spoke to my heart: if others are coming closer to Christ or being saved by Christ by the teaching of this person and this person is speaking of Biblical truths, it is good fruit that they are bearing.

Jesus told his disciples when they questioned on the works and words of a man casting out demons in the name of Christ….Mark 9:39-40 “But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us.”

All of those who believe in Jesus as their Lord and Savior have the ability and faith to lead others to Him. One person’s way may definitely be different than another person’s way, but if people are finding Christ from this way it is Good.

The end times are near, honestly, I believe they are upon us. The signs are all lining up by what Jesus spoke. So, as I watch my girls do their devotions in the morning from one teaching, and my son off at college at a different church learning under a different pastor, I’m not worried, I’m over-joyed. I’m filled with Hope because they are all growing in Christ and truly knowing Christ. Are they being taught the same way I was or by the same people, no, but they are being taught the Truth and they are loving the Truth.

Please don’t let anyone lead you astray, but if someone is bearing good fruit, I beg you to stay!

Day 266 – Serving comes before being served, and Humility comes before honor.

Today’s Reading: Matthew 19 – 21

Matthew 20:26-28 “Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Every day there is someone trying to control me, someone trying to push authority on top of me, trying to prove they are more important than me. The world would tell me to fight back, to prove myself, but Jesus example says to listen and not engage, to lay down my ego for His sake.

From the time a child is mobile they are told to be first, to win the race at all costs, to always get out ahead, and to be number 1. As the child grows these ideals are continually enforced until they reach adulthood. In the meantime, they’ve lost great friends and family relationships all because they were told to be better than those around them.

However, this way of thinking and being could be just a memory of the past if we would just teach our children how to model Christ’s example by living a life full of humility. If we would constantly lift up and encourage others and look to the ways we can help instead of being helped, we will be laying down our ego and selfish desires for the work of the Lord.

The world has it a bit backwards, living out life opposite of Christ. He came to serve instead of being served. He did His best not to BE the BEST but because He was working for His Father in Heaven. He won the war not because He fought the Hardest, but because He laid down His life for all of us. Don’t live out your life to BE the BEST, live your life the BEST you can so that Christ is Honored in all you do. When we humble ourselves He will lift us up. And that is how you become the BEST in the eyes of the one that Matters!