Mary and Martha (Part 2)

Last week I wrote some thoughts on what I believe Mary and Martha represent related to contending for faithfulness to Jesus as First Love in the midst of internal and external pressures to prioritize that which screams the loudest for our attention in everyday living.

This week I'll share some steps for cooperating with the Spirit of Jesus to fight for a life of spiritual intimacy and of living from the inside out rather than being driven from the outer life. I'll put these steps into two categories - first, the changing of mindsets and second, practical steps:

1. Change of thinking

a. Be convinced that the attitude and action of Mary to pause everything in order to hear Jesus' words is His priority for all of His own. Talk to the Lord about this; ask the Holy Spirit for living understanding of His heart in this. Read the writings of the great saints throughout the generations; those most fruitful were those who prioritized prayer and devotion to Jesus no matter how busy their lives are/were. (Men like Oswald Chambers and Watchman Nee warned believers that our bentness as fallen humans is to prioritize ministry to people at the expense of ministering to God.)

b. Prepare your heart and mind for the fact that while this sounds wonderful in theory, you will have to fight for this reality every day and that it will cost you to actually live this way, just as it cost Mary. You are swimming upstream to do this, even in the Church. Having said that, I'll add that there is much grace for this once the heart and mind is set in this direction.

c. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. Only He (God, the Third Person) can truly love God in and through you; and only He knows you perfectly and can lead you in this journey. Ask Him for ongoing revelation of the Father's heart of affection for you and the Bridegroom's heart of desire for you even in the midst of what you define as weakness and failure on your part; without this understanding, it is very hard work to find time to be with Him (or when being with Him, to have an open spirit), because of fear of how He will receive you when you approach Him.

2. Establishing a habit

a. Set a time in your schedule to regularly sit at His feet to listen to Him in and through His Word. Without actually putting something on the calendar for meeting with Him, we can't know Him and experience Him as He wants us to. This will look differently for each person, but just as in a healthy marriage, the spouses find time to be alone together, so we need this with Jesus. It is this faithful regular seeking to know what He is really like that will sensitize you to feel His gentle and subtle nudges during the busy times of your day.

b. Find devotional helps to use in your time with Him. There is plenty available, especially now that there's easy access to the internet. Make sure it's grounded in the Word and in the Spirit. Since much of our struggle in seeking God is based on wrong ideas of how He views us, I would suggest that you read and meditate, with the help of the Holy Spirit, on portions like Hosea, Jeremiah 2, Song of Songs. The International House of Prayer has much material available on these themes: www.ihop.org.

c. Ask someone to be your helper if you need this in order to establish the habit. Being in solid Christian relationships is imperative for ongoing growth in knowing Jesus, no matter how long we have walked with Him. As you get established in your personal walk with Him, He will lead you to partner with others to develop a shared walk with Him.

Many of you already have a vital walk of intimacy with Jesus; in that case, I simply encourage you to continue on and look for ways to grow and to help others develop in their personal life and experience with the living God. May the Lord empower your heart through the revelation of His desire for you!