ONE THING I SEEK

39  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ⁴⁰ 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!”

⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one.^[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”   (Luke 10:39)

Martha was distracted. Mary sat at Jesus feet. Both of these sisters loved the Lord intensely.  Both of these sisters wanted to pour out their love and adoration on Jesus.  

At times I am like Mary and at other times I receive the Lord`s word of correction like Martha.

(He corrects those He loves "because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son." Hebrews 12:6)

I may hear the Holy Spirit within me say "Mona, Mona, you are concerned about many things.."

The Lord is calling us to seek Him.  To give Him all our concerns and worries. 

After I confess to the Lord my concerns, I   LET GO !

Yes, LET GO !

God, our Father who loves and cares for us wants us to sit at His feet, to enjoy His beautiful presence and to learn of Him.

Sometimes I may try to justify my concerns because they are for others, or for my church, or for my family.

No matter what it is,.. the Lord wants us to give it to Him.

In Philippians 4:6 the Lord commands us to "Be anxious for nothing.."  that is NO - THING. 

We are to give Him everything in prayer and with thanksgiving we receive His peace.

He is God and He is Good.  He takes our worries and cares and in return lavishes His peace upon us.

How beautiful and loving He is!

The "one thing" Jesus was referring to when He spoke to Martha is found in the following verse, and that is to seek Him and to dwell in His presence.

I am glad that Martha was still close enough to hear Jesus speak to her.

 4 One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and [insistently] require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty [the sweet attractiveness and the delightful loveliness] of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4 AMP)

This morning I came across an article in the COMPASSION magazine.  I am touched, blessed, and know the truth behind these words.
I walked the red dusty roads of Kampala, Uganda and Kitale, Kenya witnessing the very lives that this woman speaks of.

Written by Ann Voskamp:

"When I sat under a tree in Africa for a Church`s Sunday School class sitting in the class with our sponsored child, Anna -- a class that had no million dollar roof, no walls, no chalkboard or crayons, papers, flash, glitz or gloss -- just one tree and one grinning Compassion teacher with a falling apart Bible -
When that teacher stood under that tree on a Sunday morning and told the kids, dressed up in not a whole lot more than tattered rags, "God lets us all give just like the widow`s offering," ..he was smiling like he swallowed the infamous original canary.  He couldn`t stop laughing giddily.
"You don`t have to wait to have more, you don`t have to wait to have much, you don`t have to wait at all."

And I`m looking into the eyes of all these African children, all these hungry, dancing eyes and the Compassion teacher`s literally dancing under the tree:  "You all get to give!"
It`s not just the rich who get to give -- it`s all those who give who get to be rich.

And I`m sitting under a tree in Africa with the richest in the world and it`s not Bill Gates and it`s not Warren Buffet and it`s not the family with 2 cars, a flat screen t.v. and one week in Disney.  It`s a bunch of kids in Africa in ripped shirts and torn shoes, who have no knives or forks and sleep on floors.

It`s only the people who give sacrificially who get to live richly."

Thank you Ann, for your words of hope...hope for the needy, the lost, the empty and the searching in our North American nations.

Peace

Peace....something I crave, something I long for...something God promises!

Therefore, today I will receive peace.  Jesus offers a peace that the world can`t offer.
He said in John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

We can go to Jesus for His perfect peace. He tells us that He gives it...we only are to receive it.
His peace has no fear but is completely content.  The amplified version of Philippians 4:7 says it this way:
"And God’s peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Peace is described as being "that tranquil state",  "assured of salvation through Christ" and "fearing nothing", "being content".
Peace will keep us free from worry, fear, anxiety, restlessness.
By trusting in Him we are at peace.
The verse right before this one (Philippians 1:6) tells us how to get that peace..."Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God."

Give your wants to God....with thanksgiving.  Being thankful is so important to having peace.
A thankful heart receives the request through faith and trusts in God to take care of our every concern that we give to Him.
This, my friend is freedom.  

How do we keep this peace?  To find out, we need to read on in Philippians.

Philippians 4:8 reads "For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them]."

Fix our minds on what is true. God`s word is true, and lovely and worthy of praise.
Meditate, think upon Him and His ways throughout the day and you will surely keep the peace that He so freely gives.
In everything give thanks, this is the will of God, and your peace (His peace in you) will remain.

Awake!

Awake!

Awake you who sleep. Arise from the dead. And Christ will give you light. (Ephesians 5:14)

It is time for us to awake to the light.

I spent the night at my parents`  summer home and my mom was concerned that the light from the window would wake me too early in the morning.

The sun rises early in June. Too early for me to get out of bed, so I buried my head in the covers and covered my face with my hair to keep out the light.

Light wakes us from our slumber.  God wants us to wake up to His light. He shines His light on our path so that we can see our way.  His word is a lamp to our feet.  He shines light on our next step so that we can see where we are going.

To Zechariah the angel of the Lord awakened him and said "what do you see?"  (Zechariah 4:2)

When the light of the Lord awakens us, we will see.

God wants to lead us.  Do not bury your head.  Lift your eyes to the light of the Lord and let Him show you all He has for you.  He will reveal to you His plans and purposes.

Awaken!
"Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you."  (Isaiah 60:1)