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Habits of Holiness
By Pastor Gary Walker
“For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not as a
result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good
works, which God prepared beforehand so that we
would walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
Most of us are familiar with this portion of
Scripture. We know that we are saved by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone. We also know
that we’ve been “saved to serve”—that God has
specific purposes for our lives and it’s our job to
determine those purposes and live out the will of God
on a daily basis.
So how does that happen? How do we determine
God’s marching orders for our lives in the long-term
and the short-term? How can I be at peace with God
and the world around me in knowing that the Holy
Spirit is in control and leading the wary instead of my
own desires and agenda getting in the way?
Let me suggest a very simple, biblical procedure taken
from the gospel of Luke, ch 10:38-42. It’s the story
of Mary and Martha and their encounter with Jesus as
He was passing through Bethany and spending time in
their home. You’re probably familiar with the story
and how the two sisters had different priorities while
Jesus was with them.
The text states that Martha greeted Jesus and then
began to serve this group of travelers at a
ferocious pace. Three words in the text
describe her mental state: distracted,
worried, and bothered.
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Have you ever
been there? I know I have. Instead of
putting the relationship first and spending
time with people, we get into our “task”
mode and start running around with a whip
and a whistle and expect everyone else to be
as miserable as we are.
That’s what happened to Martha and when
she saw her sister Mary seated at the Lord’s
feet, hanging on every word and looking so
peaceful and serene, that was all she could
take. So she interrupted Jesus and asked
Him to rebuke Mary so she would start
helping her. I’m sure she was quite
astounded when Jesus commended Mary
for making a good decision on how to use
her time and that the blessing of that
decision would not be taken away from her.
So what’s the point of the story? Should
we just spend our time snuggling up to
Jesus and reading the word and not worry
about serving others? I don’t think so.
Jesus had just told the story of the Good
Samaritan which is all about serving others
(Luke 10:30-37). And the Bible is full of
stories and exhortations to love and serve
others just in the same way that Christ
came to serve and give His life as a
ransom for many.
Main Points from this passage:
1. The most important priority for a
Christ follower is to acknowledge His
Lordship in our lives and be willing to
listen to Him speak to us on a daily
basis through Bible reading and
prayer.
2. When we will do this on a consistent
basis, He will reveal to us the places
and people we are to serve, so that
our serving will bring great joy to us
and those we serve and we won’t
feel distracted, worried and bothered
in our serving.
Mary or Martha: What’s it going to be? |
