Moments in the life of a Pastor

Luke 10:38-42

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

If there is one thing that drives us almost insane, that we cannot stand, one thing that makes us uncomfortable it’s… silence, stillness.

Psalm 37:7, we are told, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him.”

In Psalm 46:10, we are told, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

We don’t like to be still and silent, and it’s not a modern problem, although I suspect that technology has not helped us any. Look at Martha and Mary, Jesus comes to their home. Mary is content to be still and silent, to be with the Lord. Martha can’t do that, she is busy and becomes “distracted and upset at many things.” So it is with us, Jesus is in the midst of our life, but we become distracted and upset at many things. We live in a Martha World it’s so busy, our lives are so full, but the truth is we like it that way.  Because a busy life makes us feel important, valuable, and it gives us a sense of worth. For many of us Jesus is not enough, we feel we need something more than Jesus to validate our lives – we need a busy schedule. We fall into the trap of believing that if we are busy, then we are important, because we are needed.

Mary and Martha both loved Jesus very much, but Martha didn’t realize that in her desire to serve Jesus, she was actually neglecting him. She was so busy at doing things for Him that she had no time to spend with him. Like Mary and Martha our encounter with Jesus is all about Choices, the physical and the spiritual.

THE PHYSICAL CHOICE

This is the choice Martha made. You see custom in her day demanded a meal for a guest, so she set herself about the task of preparing one. Yet Jesus was not looking for someone to feed Him, but for someone whom He could feed.

THE SPIRITUAL CHOICE

This is the choice Mary made. In the eyes of some, she could be criticized because she chose not to bring out the china and the potato casserole. But she wasn’t being lazy, she just made a choice to be with Jesus. What will be your choice? No one else is responsible and no one can steal that decision from us. So, the lesson we so desperately need to learn is that what we do with Jesus is far more important that what we do for Jesus. It’s all about the choice, Mary is mentioned three times in the Gospels and each time she is at the feet of Jesus. We need to Divert Daily, Withdraw Weekly, and Abandon Annually

When was the last time that the presence of God made you forget what was going on around you? Whose feet are you planning your schedule around yours or the Saviors?

Matthew 6:5-9

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.    9 “This, then, is how you should pray:  “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,

Most of us appreciate a little attention and there’s nothing wrong with being appreciated. But when we cherish the praises of men more than we cherish the praises of God, then we have a problem. We like the noise that comes from the applause of men more than the applause of heaven. Who’s glory are you seeking yours or His? But Christianity is not an attention getting religion, it’s an attention-GIVING relationship. Whose attention are you seeking? I think so often we stay away from time alone with God because we are afraid of the silence. If we are honest we are addicted to the noise and distractions. We have become an ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) society. We are so afraid of the silence that we chase ourselves from one activity to the next in order to keep busy so we don’t have to spend a moment alone with ourselves.

Jesus invites us to find a place to get alone with God where we can shut the world out and let Him in.    Where is your room, your secret place, are you ready to close the door on the world and open up your room to God? In the quiet we hear His voice, we enjoy fellowship with Him. We need to take the time to talk to God, but also allow Him to talk to us. What we find in the secret place, is silence and solitude, where we can pray without distractions.

Silence is not to be shunned as empty space, but to be befriended as fertile ground for intimacy with God. Its motivating desire is to be free from the addiction to noise so we can be totally focused on the Lord; to open ourselves to God in a place beyond noise. Solitude involves scheduling enough uninterrupted time in a distraction-free environment that you experience isolation and are alone with God. We see isolation as a prison experience yet it provides freedom for our heart and mind. Solitude is a regenerative practice of being in His presence.

Jesus taught that prayer starts with our Father. Will you close the door on the world and go into your room of silence and solitude and be alone with God? Jesus invites you into the secret place.