Putting It All Together
What have we learned from Jesus’ conversations with Martha and Mary?
1. Stop, Drop and Listen. Our first glimpse of Mary’s relationship with Jesus was found in Luke chapter 10 verses 38-42. Jesus said this about Mary, “she hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (verse 42). Mary chose to stop what she was doing, drop to Jesus’ feet and listen to him. Verse 39 says, “she sat at Jesus’ feet and heard (understood) his word” . She resolved to do this, even at the scolding of her sister, Martha.
2. Follow Mary, she’s on the move. Glimpse #2 is found in Luke chapter 11 verses 1-45. We learned that the purpose of this passage of scripture is “that God might be glorified” (verse 4) and that those in attendance would “believe” (verse 15). We also saw Mary, again, at Jesus’ feet in verse 32. She fell at his feet, crying out in mercy and exclaiming that, “if Jesus had been there, her brother had not died” . I believe, that we can also see into “the attitude of Mary’s heart” in the way that the ‘Jews, who were mourning with her, “followed her as she ran to Jesus” (verse 31), and in the way that Jesus was “heart touched” (verses 33 & 34) by her weeping (and the weeping of the ’Jews who followed her). BELIEVE, WITH A FAITH FILLED ATTITUDE OF THE HEART! In verse 45, we see that “many of the ‘Jews, which came to Mary, saw the things which Jesus did, and believed” .
3. In glimpse #3, we see Mary’s Extravagant Devotion-Serving From Her Heart (John 12:1-8). I believe, that the fact that Mary was willing to “Stop, Drop and Listen”, the lessons she was learning from the Lord, and the attitude of her heart, gave her divine revelation. Jesus said, “Mary kept this valuable ointment for the day of my burial” (verses 7-8). Only one who had spent time with the Master, listened and heard (understood) his word, could have done what she did. She was serving Jesus, again at his feet, giving to him what was needed (there was purpose in her serving).
If we learn nothing else, from this woman named Mary from Bethany, we should learn that to BE Disciples of Christ, we need to become available to Him. We need to:
1. STOP ~ Purposely find the time to spend with Jesus
2. DROP ~ Place ourselves in a position to hear Jesus
3. LISTEN ~ To hear and understand Jesus
As Disciples, we will do these things so that God will be glorified, so that we will gain divine revelation, and so that we will serve Jesus Christ. We will serve Him according to His needs and serve our fellow man according to his/her needs. We do this by BEcoming like Jesus. We BEcome like Jesus, by spending time with Him, spending time in His Word, and by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“The Disciple” Points of Interest
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Become available to Christ
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Become a constant attendant to Christ
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Look at the ‘Big Picture’, to gain total understanding
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Choose that ‘good’ part
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Jesus is your friend, and His love for you is compassionate
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Follow Mary, she’s on the move
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The heart of the matter
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Stop! Drop! Listen! Believe! Serve!
THE DISCIPLE
“A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher” Luke 6:40 AMEN!
This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Bible Studies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
