FOCUS ON WHAT’S BETTER
Opening Prayer
Lord God, help me to get in tune with what you would say to me in your Word today. Holy Spirit, give me understanding and the will to act on what you teach me.
Read LUKE 10:38-42
At the Home of Martha and Mary
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one.[a] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Footnotes
- Luke 10:42 Some manuscripts but only one thing is needed
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Understanding the Bible and responding to it require God’s help— we can’t do it on our own.Christians are notoriously busy people—often too busy. Church-organized activities and the many needs of family, friends, neighbors, and various good causes prompt us to do more and more. But we know from yesterday’s reading that we can’t earn our way into God’s good books, and we may find we’re doing all these things at the expense of time to pray and hear from God.
At Martha’s home, Jesus prompts us to ask the question, ‘Exactly how much do we need to do?’ And his answer is ‘less’ (see v 42). Jesus doesn’t say exactly what the ‘only one’ thing is that’s needed, but somehow it relates to the time Mary spends hanging on Jesus’ words, wholly dependent on him.
Someone once said to me, ‘If you’ve got too much to do and too little time to do it, to be sure, you’re doing something God doesn’t want.’ That certainly made me sit up and think. To be honest, it’s still a challenge for me to sit still, keep quiet, and listen to him, but I’m trying. Do you linger in God’s Word, meditate on its meaning and application, or is it always a rush? Do you need to rethink?
Apply
Are there places where the “stuff” of life is getting in the way of real time with God and his Word? If you don’t already have them, set up a specific uninterrupted time and out of the way place to meet him in his Word and in prayer each day.
Closing prayer
Jesus, Bread of Life, with you, I will never go hungry or be thirsty. You offer me everything I need to be satisfied. Forgive me when I take you for granted or am distracted from coming to you.
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