Siting at the Feet of Grace

Recently I was reading the account of Jesus at the hoe of Mary and Martha in the gospel of Luke (10:38-42). Recall the scene in your mind. Jesus was with his disciples when Martha opened up her home to him. Remember that Mary (Martha’s sister) was sitting at the feet of Jesus, while Martha was busy worrying about the preparations.

Can you imagine? Jesus is in your home! You want everything to be perfect. You begin cleaning and there is nothing out of place. You are slaving all day long over the hot stove baking and cooking and cleaning. You then come to the realization that your sister, Mary, is in the other room just listening and talking with Jesus. You become green with envy! After all, you’re the one that invited him over in the first place. You should be the one listening to his words. But no, you’re stuck in here baking while Mary is the one who is being lazy and making you do all the work. You become furious, and finally you just can’t take it anymore. You come stomping into the room where the others are and you say, “Lord! Don’t you care that Mary has left me to do all the work? Tell her to get in here and help me!”

Then Jesus says these words to her, “Martha, only one thing matters. Mary has chosen what is better.”

The only thing that matters is sitting at the feet of our Lord and learning from him and listening to him. Have you ever been guilty of being too busy to get down at the feet of our gracious Lord and learn from him? I pray that you learn what is most important and sit at his feet and not become so busy with other things that you become blind as to what is really important.

The second chapter of Philippians uses words such as encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, and compassion. Later on in verse ten, the Bible says “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”

Encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness, and compassion all come with bowing down at the feet of Christ. Make it your goal to take the time to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from him. Bow down and humble yourself and realize what is most important: Jesus! I challenge you to join Mary and sit down at the feet of grace.

Leave a Legacy

There are people who have been a part of my life that have left a legacy for me. Their names have never been in bright lights. People are not surrounding them with cameras flashing asking for their autograph, yet they have left a legacy. They have made an impact in my life which I am forever grateful. It was often the small things they did that made the greatest impact. The 3rd grade teacher who gave me a Bible when I did not have one of my own. I do not remember her name or any of the classes she taught. I did not understand the words in the King James Bible she gave me, but I remember that she cared about me enough to take me to the church book store and buy me a Bible.

I recall the man who took me to the basketball games at Oklahoma Christian when I was in middle school. I don’t remember what class he taught at church, but I do remember the way he cared about me and it left a legacy for me to love others.

My parents have always cared for me and wanted the best for me. They have left a legacy for me. I do not remember all the words they have spoken, but I do know their love for me.

I want to ask you the question—what legacy are you leaving? How will you be remembered? I hope to be remembered as one who loves people. I want to live my life in such a way that all those who know me understand that I loved them. I like when people remember a sermon I preached. I love when kids remember an illustration I gave to explain a Bible point; but more than anything I want people to know I loved them and that God loves them. I want to leave a legacy. However, sometimes life gets in the way. I get so busy going from one task to the other and one activity to the other, that I fail to love. I fail to leave a legacy.

How about you? Do you find yourself so busy that you do not have time to love people? Do you find you do not have time to serve others? Maybe you are going through life staying busy and you even have your name in the paper and you make the headlines, but you are not leaving a lasting legacy—is it really worth it? We have a lot of kids at our church who need someone to leave a legacy for them. They need to know they are loved and cared for. Yet, in our busy way of life, we cannot find the time to love them. We cannot find the time share our hearts, to teach a class, to leave a legacy. What legacy are choosing to leave?

The Denial

John records a scene in chapter thirteen of his gospel about Jesus that is so heartbreaking. Jesus knows that his time to bear the cross is drawing near. In verses 37-38, we are told of an incident that brings tears to eyes of many. “Peter asked him, ‘Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life you.’ Then Jesus answered, ‘Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!” Can you see the tears in Jesus’ eyes as he speaks those words? Can you hear the pain in his voice? He knows that Peter loves him. He knows that Peter is sincere, but he also knows that Peter will indeed deny him three times.

How many times do we deny Christ? How many times do we say with all sincerity, “I will lay down my life for you,” but when the hardship comes we deny him? With a compassion that can only be felt by our Lord, he weeps and cries over us. With tears in his eyes and with nails in his hands and feet, he says, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He forgave Peter for denying him, just as he continually forgives us.

Today, we choose to celebrate that forgiveness. We rejoice with Peter in experiencing the grace and mercy of a God who loves us beyond all comprehension. Even now as you have so many thoughts on your mind and heart about all those times you denied your Jesus, you can take comfort in those words spoken on the cross and for eternity, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

Sickness

What a strange title to a blog post. Let me explain. Sickness seems to be going around our house. I was sick for a couple of weeks and when I started to get better, it hit Timothy. He is fine now, but Kellie is really sick. It is never fun to be sick, but it seems to be a part of life sometimes. I wish people did not have to get sick. I wish we could all live happy, healthy productive lives without sickness. However, we live in an imperfect world. We live in a world that is sick and diseased. We live in a fallen world.

I have learned some lessons that I think are good reminders through this season of sickness. While I did not enjoy being sick, I hated seeing my family being sick. I hate the sad look on my kids faces and I hate seeing them hurt. I hate seeing my wife struggle with the most basic of tasks due to sickness. I wish I could take it from them. I wish I had the ability to take their sickness upon myself in order for them to be free of the sickness.

I believe God has the same feelings in regard to us. We are His children. He hates to see us suffer from the sickness in our lives. Although I believe he never intended for us to get sick, we live with sickness in our lives. This sickness is much deeper than a cold, flu, or even cancer. We live with a sickness in our souls. We are in need of someone to take this sickness away. This sickness affects our families, our relationships, our lives. This sickness of sin creates a vacuum that separates from our Father. This spiritual cancer penetrates our hearts and we become termanally ill. That is until a cure is found.

The good news for us is that Jesus is the cure. God saw our sickness. He observed our pain. He looked at the tears in our eyes. He saw our hopeless situation and he responded. He sent His Son to be our cure. Jesus took our spiritual sickness and carried it to the cross. He is the cure to our soul's diseases. He is the perfect remedy to our sinful hearts. His name is Jesus - and He is our healer!

The Reset Button

There is something I love about video games. (Yes, I am 30 years old and still play video games.) Although I am impressed with the graphics and realistic special effects in many video games, that is secondary to me. The thing I love about the video game is that if I mess up, I can hit the reset button. I can actually begin the quest in the game and if I make a mistake, I can push reset and the game starts over like I never made the mistake.

Do you ever wish life had a reset button? Failed the test - push reset. Say something you regret - push the reset button. The daily pace of life is getting too much to handle - push reset. The new year means a new start, but we know that just because the calendar says January and the year has changed from 2007 to 2008, we do not forget what happened last month or last year. But the wonderful reality is that in Christ, we have a reset button. He gives us a new start. A new life. The old is gone and we are made new. God hits the reset button . Now, that is good news.