Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy With God in the Busyness of Life

This book has been on my shelf for quite a while... half read, I might add. (That is not unusual for me... I am a bigtime reader, and usually have several books going at once... sometimes a book gets set down, in favor of another, and then I forget to "resume".)

At any rate, I was recently studying the passage of Scripture where Jesus is at Martha's house - and Mary is sitting at His feet listening, and Mary is "worried and anxious about many things". But Mary has chosen the "one thing that is needed" - the "better part".

I wonder - how often are we worried and anxious about many things - rather than choosing the one thing that is needed? Beloved - focus on Christ - He is that ONE thing... He will ensure that what you need to do gets done, and if you rest in Him, your burden will be light...

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy With God in the Busyness of Life

Calling All the Single Ladies!

For all you single gals out there (ok, all US single gals!) – here's one to read!!

 

Andrea

 

 

by Sarah Bubar Status: Single That's what my Facebook profile says. Like a large banner stamped across my homepage: I. Am. Single. The holidays are just around the corner with February soon following. It's the time of the year when even shopping heightens my awareness to the fact that I am single. Now, the end of the year approaches and still brings with it an idea that something is missing from my life. But is it? The Lord has done His work in my life in this area and true heart-contentment has finally settled my heart, but even still, I find there are twinges of dissatisfaction that tell me I'm still without. When those feelings arise, I must remember what the Lord taught me. There are 4 myths in regards to singleness that, even in my 30's, I'm still having to adjust in my heart. MYTH #1: I'll be happy if I'm married because I won't be alone anymore. I used to think that marriage would be the cure-all for the loneliness blues. The life of the Samaritan woman in John 4 taught me that marriage does not equal happiness. This woman had been married five times already and she wasn't any closer to happiness than she was before. This temporary happiness was why she again found herself in another senseless relationship. Then she met Jesus, a man who cared for her, not just for what she could do for him. How often have we dated someone or been in a relationship with someone solely based on how it made us feel? But the truth is that our fulfillment and true happiness comes through our relationship with Christ. Just like the Samaritan woman I will never be truly happy with my life, no matter the status, unless I am happy in my relationship with Christ. MYTH #2: I'll feel complete if I'm married. I'll have accomplished something with my life. Can women accomplish something great in life single? What about Ruth? She is the model of the Proverbs 31 woman, and yet the crux of her written story covers the time in her life when she wasn't married. Consider "modern day" single women like Amy Carmichael, Lottie Moon, Sophie Muller, Carolyn McCulley, and Nancy Leigh De Moss. When God calls a woman to do something, He equips her to do His calling, regardless of her marital status. The truth is that completeness is found only in Christ! Ephesians 1 tells us that God has blessed me with every spiritual blessing in Christ (vs. 3). Even before Creation, He chose me to be holy and blameless and He lavishes me with grace (vs. 4, 8). MYTH #3: It must be God's will for me to get married because I want it so badly. I believed this one for years! I kept praying and praying, expecting God to take that desire for marriage away. It wasn't until a couple of years ago that the Lord really hit me over the head with this truth: In light of eternity, it doesn't matter if I enter Heaven married or single. The only thing that will matter is what I've done for Christ! Scripture contains scores of verses talking about God's will. In almost every circumstance (Rom. 12:2; Eph. 6:6; 1 Thess. 4:3, 5:18; 1 Peter 2:15, 4:2) God's will is about my character not my marital status; God is more concerned about who I should be than who I should be with. MYTH #4: If I never get married, it must be a punishment of some kind. I've lost count the number of times I've confessed sins to God in hopes that my singleness wasn't a punishment for them. I've questioned God's love for me because He wouldn't give me what I wanted. I have seen the root of jealousy grow within my deceived heart because God was fulfilling the dreams of friends around me while I stood there – single! Like a child throwing a tantrum, I have watched myself clutching onto relationships that God was weeding from my life. But the truth is, if you delight yourself in the Lord, your desires will change – or at least be put in perspective! Psalm 37:4's promise to "Delight yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." can often be misused. It's not a magical equation for getting what we want. But it is the key to being truly fulfilled as I find my satisfaction in God and in my relationship with Him. As I delight myself in Him, my desires change to God's desires and what He wants for my life. If you are like me, these truths are going to be something that you need to work through, to process. It's not just going to happen overnight. And just when you think you've got it, February will show up on your calendar. Don't be discouraged. I know the process; but I also know the peace. Allow God to lead you through both. Related posts: Single & Fully Feminine Radiant Singleness – Krissy’s Story She Does Him Good (even before she meets him)

 

The Seeming Oppression of Biblical Womanhood, Part II

Here is the second part of Kim's blog on complementarianism… 

 

 

We obey His commands out of a deep love for Him – because He first loved us. "Beloved, let us love on another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." We love because He put His love in us, and we know the love of the Father. Author and counselor Elyse Fitzpatrick encourages us with this, "How often do you contemplate God's love for you? I don't mean His love for His chosen ones in general, I mean His love for you personally, a woman made in His image. Do you remember that He chose you out before the foundation of the world? Do you see that your name is eternally inscribed upon the palms of His hands? Do you revel in the compelling love that provides what you needed before you were even aware of your needs? Dear sisters, since God loves us so much, surely we ought to love our husbands." (Helper by Design, 129). The greatest display of that love is the Gospel – the good news that Christ died on a cross on our behalf. Christ died in our place. We couldn't not have died because the guild penalty would not have been covered. But, Christ was our perfect sacrifice. And our adherence to the laws of God, especially in this light of biblical womanhood, have a great reach for the gospel. Carolyn Mahaney puts it this way, "The commands found in Titus 2 have been given to us for an all-important reason that transcends time and culture. That reason is the gospel of Jesus Christ. These virtues are not about our personal fulfillment or individual preference. They are required for the sake of unbelievers – so that those who are lost might come to know our Savior." (Feminine Appeal, 26). If complementarianism seems oppressive, it is the result of sin in the world, not the laws and rules of God in and of themselves. Sin has distorted everything. Three ways I see that sin affects complementarianism is: our own drive toward perfectionism, sinful ruling of man (abuse, tyranny, not loving their wives as Christ loved the church), or legalism (thinking our good behavior will enable our right standing with our Savior). None of these lie at the foundation of complementarianism. All of them lie in the root of sin. Remember, when the roles of men and women were established was in the pre-fall Garden of Eden, not a post-fall Eden. Beth Impson chimes in with "The Fall left us with sin natures, part of which include man's tendency to lord power over the woman in his life and woman's tendency to desire inappropriate control and independence. Redemption in Christ frees us from the power of sin but fleshly patterns and worldly influences can confuse our daily walk and our understanding of the masculine and feminine natures God has given us." (Called to Womanhood, 121) Three take-aways: 1. If single female: pursue Christ. Pursue His Word and how you are to live out your faith, your love of God, and your femininity. 2. If married female: pursue Christ. Don't become discouraged. Love God, love the God who made you exactly who you are, serve as to the Lord. 3. If single males: Encourage your sisters in Christ with the Word – not with man-made laws. Don't expect them to be perfect, none of us are (and women, this goes for you looking for Mr. Right as well, don't expect perfection.) 4. If husbands: love your wives as Christ loved the church, encourage her as your wife. She will not be like someone else's wife – and expectations can be oppressive. Talk about these, open lines of communication, not accusation or disappointment. All (women): live out the truths of Complementarianism (Ephesians 5,1 Peter 3, Titus 2, etc) in light of the Gospel – not the oppression of a sinful society.

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The Seeming Oppression of Biblical Womanhood, Part I

Kim Davidson over at the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, blogging on submission - perhaps the most misunderstood topic for women seeking to follow God's plan for marriage... I recommend taking a few minutes to read what she has to say on the matter - click the link below...

CBMW » The Seeming Oppression of Biblical Womanhood, Part I

Avodah and Roaring Lambs

Reposting from my friend Jennifer over at Getting Down With Jesus – this is GREAT stuff to be thinking on…  how can you glorify God with your life – in whatever you do?

 

Andrea

 

I steer into the campus parking lot, see eight students with notebooks waiting in the grass for me. I glance at the clock: 3:41 p.m. I was due here a minute ago. The one student who interrupts me during class lectures, ... he lectures me now. "Why the hold-up?" he scolds, jumps to his feet before the others. He asks his question one more time, then adds: "You're late." He has a book in his hand, raises it over his head like an exclamation point. I pretend I don't hear him. I wave students into cars, instruct them to follow me to City Hall. I've been teaching my students how news reporters cover meetings. I figure the best way to learn, is to do. So today, we're covering a city council meeting. The student who scolded me takes the passenger seat ... in my car. I pull seatbelt, latch. He slips his book on the armrest between us. I turn my head, catch his eye. He smiles. "I promised you," he says, then wags a finger. "Now, ... don't forget: I need that back by the end of the semester." The book is Roaring Lambs by Bob Briner. And Bryan has written his own name in the front cover of the well-worn book, in case his absent-minded professor forgets who loaned it. *** The student told me about the book two days earlier. I was at the front of the classroom, praying -- because that is the way I start class. (I teach journalism at a Christian college.) I pray for words, for journalists, for newsmakers. That day, I also prayed this: "Father, we don't always do work that looks sacred. We live in a secular world, where we cover council meetings, fires, tornadoes. But we are called to be a holy people. And Lord, even if the work doesn't have a Jesus Label slapped on it, remind us that it is, indeed, holy. And remind us that we do our work for Your glory, not our own." I barely whisper the amen, when Bryan is speaking, finger punching the air. "Professor," he says. "I have a book you need to read." *** On the way to the Council meeting, he sets the book between us. "Thank you, Bryan. I'll be sure to return it." Good, he says. He tells me he's convinced we can do our work in the world, even if it doesn't have the Jesus Label slapped on it -- just like I'd prayed two days earlier. I nod, steer west toward City Hall. "Bryan?" I ask. "Have you heard of this word? It's spelled A-V-O-D-A-H. Avodah. It's a Hebrew words that means both work and worship. I'm just crazy about that word." "Can you imagine it?" My voice is rising now. I'm the one punching the air with my forefinger. "Our work isn't just work. It's worship, too. Covering a City Council meeting? That can be worship if we do it well, if we do it for God's glory!" He says he's never heard the word Avodah, but he nods. Because he already knows. *** Meeting adjourns. I take students home, tuck my own girls in bed, open the Roaring Lambs. Briner writes about a Christian subculture. He says we often write songs and books and stories for Christians, but sometimes exclude the world. He asks how we can really be salt for the world if we're not doing some work outside a Christian ghetto. How can we be world-changers if we're only writing our stories and our songs for people who think and believe like we do? He asserts that Christians have fled from culture-shaping arenas of art and entertainment ... and journalism. Now, to be clear, I love things with the Jesus Label on it. I favor Christian music, read mostly books on Christian living. Even my blog bears His name. But I can't get over the question on the front page of the book: "Do you have as many close friends outside the church as within?" I lean over these pages, hear them roar, and I whisper the word twice more: Avodah. Avodah. I want to live an Avodah life. I finish the last chapter. Close the book. I'll take it back to Bryan on Tuesday. And I'll thank God for the kid in the front row who was bold enough to roar. Photo: Quote plaque at Laity Lodge in Texas. RELATED ARTICLES on Avodah: "Do You Feel Broken and Fragmented?" by Ann Voskamp at The High Calling. She also writes of Avodah here, at Holy Experience. "Six Days Shalt Thou ... Worship?" by Marcus Goodyear at Good Word Editing. "Why Work is Holy" by Dave Williamson at The High Calling.