Gems

 Today I thought I'd share three statements from Henry Blackaby that I've written down in my prayer journal. They're from three separate instances of Jesus ministry, and all of them are found in the Gospel of Luke. In no particular order they are.....

"Martha loved the Lord dearly. Her struggle came in being still." How like her we can be. We strive to serve Him, please Him, produce for Him. How little we seem to really enjoy Him. This was certainly the case with Martha.

In Luke 10, Jesus is visiting the home of his friends, the sisters Martha and Mary, and their brother Lazarus. Martha was a beehive of energy, making sure everything was as it should be. So focused were her preparations that she was frustrated, even angry, that her sister Mary was not helping her but "sitting at His feet." Unspoken is that she likely saw this as a waste of time. She urged Jesus to rebuke her sister and make her help her. Jesus declined, telling Martha that she was upset over so much, yet was missing the best part....Himself. How often in just this past week have we done the same. We focus our energies into ministry, service, but we rarely connect with the One we serve, and even less do we realize Him as our source of power. Frustration and anger will always be the result. Where are we experiencing that right now? Where do we, like Martha, undeniably love Him, but struggle to be still before and in Him? Where might we be seeing that as less important to us than our activity for Him? Where do we need a spiritual adjustment?

"Do we glory in our blessings without stopping to thank our Redeemer?" This question from Blackaby refers to Christ's healing of the 10 lepers in Luke 17. They had all come to Him for cleansing of the awful disease which made them total outcasts from their culture. They wanted to be healed, and Jesus granted their request, telling them to go and show themselves to the priests. As they did so, they were healed. Nine of them went on, but one turned back and shouted, "Praise God, I'm healed!" Jesus asked that hadn't He healed 10? Where were the other 9? More, this one was a Samaritan, a people who despised the Jews, and were despised in return. How like the nine are we? How many of His blessings do we take for granted or see as our due? How entitled do we feel in our relationship with Him in that we too, glory in our blessings, but have no real sense of gratitude for them? The nine were Jews. They were the ones to be expected to thank and give Him glory, but they could only rejoice in their good fortune, not bless the source of it. An ungrateful heart makes for a barren spirit. Where is the ingratitude in our lives. Where do we walk with the nine? How much of our life turns back to Him with thanks and the giving of glory?

"His friends had the Resurrection and the Life right in their midst, yet they were grieving." This refers to the instance of Jesus joining His two followers on the Emmaus Road shortly after the crucifixion and His resurrection. They were in sorrow as He joined them, and in their sorrow, didn't recognize Him. He walked with them, listening to their hearts and their sorrow. As they came to their home, they bid Him enter it with them. As He did, their eyes were opened, and they recognized their Lord. The Resurrection and the Life had been right there with them, but all they could see was their pain, their loss, and their hopelessness. How like them are we? How often do we lose sight of Him in the midst of our own pain and discouragement? He is there, right there, with us, but we don't recognize Him. Pain and sorrow can yield this. He had promised His followers that He would rise, but they'd forgotten that. We forget it so often ourselves. Yet when they invited Him in, sorrow turned to joy. They saw the One who had never left them. Where do we need to see Him today? What is it that blinds us to Him? Would we just simply invite Him in?

Three statements. May they speak to your heart as they so often do to mine. I see them as gems from Henry Blackaby. May they be gems to you as well.

Blessings,

Pastor O