Tag Archives: Luke 10:38-42

Chosen What Is Better

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - Discipleship - Luke 10:38-42 - Chosen What Is Better - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Discipleship – Luke 10:38-42 – Chosen What Is Better – Growing As Disciples

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 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!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

Choices

How will you spend your time? What will grab your attention? What will be the focus of your life? What goals will you pursue? How will you know if your life has been well lived? When your life is over, what will you have hoped to have accomplished? What will be the legacy of your life? What will you hope others will say about how you lived your life? Wow, those are overwhelming questions. How am I supposed to answer all these questions? I’m not sure if I can wisely answer all these questions. That’s a good place to start. Are you saying that admitting I am overwhelmed and lacking wisdom is a good place to start? You got that right.  

What will you do because you are overwhelmed and lacking wisdom? I know what I have done in the past. What’s that? I have worried and been upset about all the questions I can’t answer in life. I have raced around and worked myself to the bone in a futile effort to answer all my questions and solve all my problems. That is one choice. What do you think about making that choice now? That choice is a self-reliant, self-sufficient and prideful approach to life that leads nowhere good. I have stumbled through life, taken so many missteps and made tragic mistakes when I have relied on my own wisdom. That is not a choice that I want to continue to make. That’s good.

What choice do you want to make? I want wisdom from you. I want to sit at your feet. I want to listen to your guidance. I want to follow your instruction. I want to live and walk in an intimate relationship with you. I want to be able to know and do your will. I want to accomplish your purposes and fulfill your plans. I want to stop doing the trivial and urgent in favor of doing what is important and eternal. I want my life to store up treasure in heaven with you. I want to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name. I want my life to leave a legacy of good works that will draw people to you. I don’t much care what others might say about me. Why is that? When my life is over all I want to hear is you saying, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.” I want to be able to know that I have gone and done what is pleasing in your sight. That is a good choice. You are choosing what is better. You will be living a well lived life. That is very good.

Lord, I have been upset about many things. My thoughts, words and deeds have been driven by worry. I have paid attention to the trivial and urgent over the important. No more. I will make living and walking intimately with you the highest priority of my life. Amen

Key Question… Why is sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him of eternal importance?

Living It Out… Make living in an intimate relationship with the Lord your highest priority in life.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that nothing is more important than living in an intimate relationship with the Lord.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how your relationship with the Lord is your highest priority in life.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you make living in an intimate relationship with the Lord the priority of your life.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Discipleship – Luke 10-38-42 – Chosen What Is Better – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Chosen What Is Better

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide - 365 Days Of Guidance - Luke 10:38-42 - Chosen What Is Better - Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – 365 Days Of Guidance – Luke 10:38-42 – Chosen What Is Better – Growing As Disciples

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 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!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

Sit

Here I am Lord. I have come to listen. I have chosen to sit at your feet. I have come to a complete stop. I have left the hurry and the noise of my life behind. I have set aside my seemingly all important to do list. I have come to choose what is better. There is no place I would rather be than in your presence. There is nothing I would rather do than to listen to you. My heart and mind and life are open to you. You have my full attention. That is very good.

Why have you made this decision? What makes you certain that you have definitely chosen what is better? What gives you confidence that you are not wasting your valuable time? I am somewhat of an expert on wasting time. How so? I have bounced around from one thing to another. I have done some of this and some of that. My life has not had a sharp focus or a clear direction. Do you know why that is? Yes, I do. I’m listening. In the past, I have not chosen to come to sit at your feet. I have done what seemed good to me. I followed my own wisdom. I listened to my own guidance. I gave myself my own instructions. I did what was good and right in my own eyes.  How has that worked out for you? Not well. I have walked a crooked path from one thing to another. I have made mistakes. I have taken missteps. I have gone the wrong direction. I can’t tell you how many times I have had to retrace my steps and start over. There is no need for you to tell me. I already know.

What have you learned? I have learned that if I want to bear fruit for your kingdom and bring glory to your name I must come to sit at your feet. I have learned that if I want to know and do your will I must come to sit at your feet. I have learned that apart from you I can do nothing that will amount to anything of eternal value. Those are all valuable lessons. So, now you have chosen to come to sit at my feet. Yes Lord, I have. That is very good. You have chosen what is far better.

Lord, I’ve done a lot of running around here, there and everywhere trying to get everything on my to do list done. All this activity has pushed you way into the background of my life. No more! I am here now at your feet. Teach me. Amen

Key Question… How can doing all that you think you need to do push Christ into the background of your life?

Living It Out… Set aside a time and a place when and where you can regularly spend time with Christ to be taught and guided by Him.

Seeing It Happen… Have faith that spending time in Christ’s presence, being guided by Him, is time very well spent.

Get Ready To Share… Share with another person or your small group how Christ has guided your life as you have spent time with Him.

Prayer To Bless Others… May you choose to sit at the feet of Jesus so you can be taught by Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

365 Days Of Guidance – Luke 10-38-42 – Chosen What Is Better – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Chosen What Is Better

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The Prayer Filled Life - Day 70 - Luke 10:38-42 - Chosen What Is Better - Growing As Disciples

The Prayer Filled Life – Day 70 – Luke 10:38-42 – Chosen What Is Better – Growing As Disciples

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  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!”  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,  but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

Sit And Listen

That does not come naturally to me. What does not come naturally to you? I am not usually one to sit and listen. Why is that? I am always on the go. I am often quite busy. It is often said by some, “I have places to go, things to do and people to see.” That statement describes me. It is also true that I have a long and virtually never ending “to do” list. Will you be happy with all your accomplished “to do” lists when you reach the end of your life. Are your never ending, “to do” lists, leading you to wisely spend your life on what will have been of lasting and eternal value? Are you doing what seems urgent now at the expense of what will ultimately be much more important? Who are you in the passage that you are now considering? Are you like Martha who is frantically busy, consumed by activity, and attending to mundane details that will in the light of all eternity, amount to nothing? Or are you like Mary, who would not miss an opportunity to draw near to me. She has set aside busyness and hurry to sit and listen to me. She wants to receive my instruction. She wants to follow my guidance. She wants to live in an intimate relationship with me. She is listening attentively to me. She wants to go where I guide her. She wants to do what I ask of her. At the end of her life, she will be grateful and thankful that she walked through life with me. She will have born fruit for my kingdom and brought glory to my name because she remained in me and I in her. She will live with no regrets regarding how she has spent her life. She will have invested her life in knowing me so she can go and do my will. Hasn’t she chosen what is far better? What about you? What choice will you make? Will you also choose what is better? Will you set aside a daily time to sit and listen, to be in my presence, to meet with me in prayer? Yes Lord, that is the choice I have and will continue to make. Only you have made me able to sit and listen to you. Only you are helping me to do what has not and does not come naturally to me. I have been and will continue to meet you with daily. It will be my joy to listen attentively to you. I will meet with you in prayer. That will be very good.

Lord, I know if I don’t set aside a daily time and place to meet with you in prayer, it will never happen. Life is busy. Life is distracting and deceptive. The busyness of life will never encourage me to sit and listen to you. Here I am now, speak to me, I’m listening. Amen

Key Question…  Why is setting aside time to meet with the Lord critical to developing an intimate relationship with Him?

Living It Out…  Choose what is better by setting aside a daily time and place to meet in prayer with the Lord.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that you will come to know the Lord intimately as you sit and listen to Him.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how the Lord has guided your life as you have listened to Him.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you sit and listen to the Lord so you can develop an intimate relationship with Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Devotional Study Guide click here:

The Prayer Filled Life – Day 70 – Luke 10-38-42 – Chosen What Is Better – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                                                        Copying not permitted                                                                                    www.GrowingAsDisciples.com

Mary Has Chosen What Is Better

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Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises - Day 3 - Luke 10:38-42 - Mary Has Chosen What Is Better- Growing As Disciples

Discipleship Devotional Study Guide – Promises – Day 3 – Luke 10:38-42 – Mary Has Chosen What Is Better- Growing As Disciples

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  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!”  “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (NIV)

Choices

Life is full of choices. Nothing probably could be more important than critically evaluating the choices I make. Why is that? Choosing one thing often eliminates another thing. If I make unwise choices of how to spend my time and energy and resources, someday I will no doubt live with regret. Give me an example. If I allow my life to become all about completing an urgent, but largely unimportant, “to do” list, I will most likely misspend my life on what wasn’t really important. What is really important to you? Knowing and loving and following and serving you is really important to me. In fact, nothing is more important or of higher priority to me than meeting with you in prayer. Why is that? As I meet with you in prayer I come to know. As I come to know you, I come to love you. As I know and love you, the desire to live a life following and serving you burns hotly within me. I want to do what is good and right and pleasing to you because I have come to know and love you. That is very good.

So, what choice will you make? I will make it my choice to meet with you daily in prayer.  I will set a time and a place to meet with you in prayer. You will not receive my left-over time. Is there such a thing? I doubt it. In fact, that is the danger of an unprioritized, task orientated life. How so? “To do” lists never end. If I were to say to myself, “I will meet with you sometime during my day, when my schedule opens up”, that sometime will most often never come. In that scenario, all I hope for and dream and desire in my relationship with you would never materialize. Why is that? We will have remained largely strangers. That won’t happen to me. That won’t happen to us. That is why I have and will continue to make meeting with you in prayer the priority of my life. That will be very good. Keep on coming to me. Keep on learning from me. Keep on receiving from me. Yes Lord, I will. You have chosen what is better. 

Lord, often times I have raced through life trying to accomplish a never ending “to do” list. What a waste of time and energy. My life is not the sum total of a completed “to do” list. Help me to choose what is far better by daily spending time with you in prayer. Amen

Key Question…  How are you making choosing what is better, by meeting in prayer with the Lord, the priority of your life?

Living It Out…  Choose what is better by making spending time with the Lord the priority of your life.

Seeing It Happen…  Have faith that you cannot chose anything better than spending time in prayer with the Lord.

Get Ready To Share…  Share with another person or your small group how spending time with the Lord is part of your daily life.

Prayer To Bless Others…  May you choose what is better by spending time with the Lord so you can learn from Him.

For today’s complete 4 page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide click here:

Promises – Day 3 – Luke 10-38-42 – Mary Has Chosen What Is Better – 4 Page Discipleship Devotional Study Guide

Please consider sharing these devotionals with others through the social media you use.

Individual users may save the Discipleship Devotional Study Guide to their desktop for private use. All the blanks in the study guides are fields that allow typed responses. To use the fields on the study guide you may need to open the guide with a free version of adobe reader.

By Jon Ulrich © All rights reserved                   Copying not permitted                      www.GrowingAsDisciples.com