Get the Christ Glow

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had her sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.” And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42

Mary sat at Jesus feet and learned and he called it “that good part.” Is the good part of your day the time you spend with God? Is the good part of your life the part you spend learning about God, praising his name and loving his people? Is that the good part of your life?

I know a retired couple that starts everyday with prayer and bible study and after that they volunteer for Meals on Wheels. So 5 days a week they learn about God and then they praise His name and bring their needs to Him, and then they feed the hungry and it’s all spending time with God. Oh and by the way the other 2 days the couple still spend time in the Bible and they still pray and they bake homemade cookies or other treats for their Meals on Wheels clients and it’s always about spending time with God. I can see God in their life. They glow with God’s love; physically glow with God’s love. I wonder if they feel the same joy that Mary felt. I bet they do.
It is my goal to find that joy and that glow for myself. I want to spend everyday learning about God, praising his name and loving his people. I want the “good part” that Mary had. I can imagine the feeling of spending everyday in the Glory of God. So, are you wondering what has kept me from doing the thing that I want most? Well the excuses are as follows; I need someone to spell it out for me, I need to set different priorities, and I need courage.

I need someone to spell it out for me because when I read the Bible I get involved in the plot and I miss the message. I just have trouble finding His truth. I know it’s there, but I get so involved in the literary story the subtleties just fly by (I also don’t get jokes or irony, or satire.) I need to stop thinking that God cares if my kitchen is clean or the laundry is done. I need to stop the passive life and start actively choosing how I spend my time. I need to stop thinking about how other people see me. Will they think I’m a phony? I mean outside of family I don’t know that many people. I should be able to shake off any of their negativity and just choose to love God and his people. 1st John 4:16 encourages us to develop habits that put God first, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love and he who abides in love abides is God and in him.”

So, here is my plan such as it is. 1. I will start every day with a devotion and Bible study. Just make it a habit like taking my vitamins. My feet will hit the floor and my hand will grab a Bible. Because, Colossians 3:2 tells me, “ Set your mind in things above, not on things on the earth.” That sure sounds easy. So I am going to pray that God will help me transform. That God can structure my day so that I can successfully know Him better, trust Him with everything and get the glow of His love. I am also going to choose others that love God and I am going to listen to their words (their wise counsel) so I can learn the subtleties of the Bible, so I can learn to get the message on my own.

2. I am going to trust God to give me the organizational skills to do everything that He plans for me. I am going to trust God’s grace to get me through the day with some measure of peace and joy in my work. All of it I am going to trust that if I am faithful He will be too, and that together everything will work like gears in an engine. Galatians 6:9 promises, “Let us not grow weary doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” And Isaiah 40:31 reminds me, “Those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” I have promises to help me rest assured that if I put God first He will put everything else in the right place for me to give Him honor with all the things that are important. Lamentations 3:25-26 declares, “ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

3. I will have courage because, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” Psalm 118:8. My life shouldn’t be defined by others God should create my boundaries and my path. Psalm 18:32 tells me, “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.” So, regardless of what other people think or say, if I am walking God’s path everything else is insignificant. So, I will love God’s people, and God will show me how to do it, John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” And 1st Peter 1:22, “love one another fervently with a pure heart.”

So as I begin as Christ renews me, I challenge you to give God your time and show love to someone today. Get the Christ glow. I am going to do that right now.
With God’s peace,
Billie