Devotional: Faith Circle May 2003

Has anyone else been looking for rainbows lately? I have. I know this weather is nothing like the great flood of Noah's day, but it does make me think a lot about that as we have day after day of rain.

Imagine what it must have been like to be Noah. Genesis tells us that Noah walked with God. In a time when the entire world was corrupt and evil, Noah walked with God. He heard Him when He spoke to him because he had a close relationship with God.

And, even better, he acted on what God told him to do. I don't know how many of you have ever heard Bill Cosby's take on the story of Noah, but I think it is rather enlightening. He humorously envisions Noah building this huge boat in the middle of a desert while his neighbors all think he has totally cracked up. But, Noah continued to do as he was told by God.

Then the waters came. The same floodwaters that swept away all those doubting neighbors, and everything else in creation, served to float the ark higher. The torrential downpours which destroyed others lifted Noah closer to God.

Somedays you look at the news and you have to think, surely God is going to rain down his fury on this world soon. It seems almost too much somedays. But, God isn't focused now, nor was he in Noah's time, on what was being destroyed by the evil of mankind's ways, but on what is being built. For Noah, what was being built was very obvious…a large boat. For us today, what is being built is a body of Christians who can go around the world and bring news of God's grace to all who will hear it. Yes, some of those who hear us may think we are just as delusional as Noah's neighbors must have though he was. But, if even one will hear us and believe, think how that will please God.

Heavenly Father, help us take after Noah, who walked with you, step-by-step, day-by-day. Help us find grace in your eyes by our faith. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Devotional: Faith Circle April 2003

Luke 10:38-42
Mary and Martha were among Jesus' closest friends and followers. No one loved Jesus more than these two women and Jesus loved them both.

These sisters were as different from each other as night from day. Mary was the quiet, contemplative sister. Martha was the busy, bustling and active sister. Martha was the one in the kitchen seeing to supper when Jesus came to visit. Her way of showing her love for Jesus was to cook and serve a fine meal.

Today's Marthas still serve Jesus in that way. These are the fine Christian women AND men we find at all the church functions pitching in and working their fingers to the bone. Their way of showing their love for Christ is to bake, cook, dust, sweep, polish, repair, and do anything else that needs doing.

While the Marthas of the church are bustling about, the Marys have their noses in a book of meditations, prayers or Bible study. They are prayer warriors who daily intercede for their friends, families, and church storming God's heavenly throne with their petitions. But they have that nagging fault which the Marthas find so unbearable. They tend to be sitting listening when the dishes need doing in the kitchen.

But Martha, too, had one glaring fault. She was too busy to sit down to study at the feet of Christ. There's nothing wrong with service-the Word tells us repeatedly that we are to serve one another in love. But, often, we allow our busy-ness to keep us from spending time with Him. Work for the Lord can distract from spending time with the Lord of the Work!

I think that most of us here are probably a little bit of Mary and a little bit of Martha, but maybe not. Maybe you find yourself squarely one versus the other. What we must remember is that there is a time to work, and a time to wait on the Lord. There is a time to serve, and a time to be silent before God. There is a time to prepare a meal, and a time to have our souls prepared for heaven by feasting on the bread of life. If all we do is sit at Jesus' feet, nothing will be done. If all we do is work and never sit at His feet, the things that are accomplished will not be long-lasting.

Heavenly Father, help us all remember as we go about our daily lives that, while we each have important work to do for you, we must take time to sit at your feet and have our souls rejuvenated by your love and your teaching. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.