There is a gentle drift that can overtake us, both in the church and in our own hearts. We can become incredibly busy with deeds, yet find ourselves less present with Him.
“Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10:42)
Martha loved Jesus. Her service was not wasted. But Jesus saw beneath the surface. He named the real danger: a heart divided, anxious, distracted. His words still echo: Only one thing is necessary. He called her back to sit by His feet, to devotion, to the Voice before the work. The Lord wanted her to join her sister Mary in prioritising devotion above hospitality and strife.
God never called us to impress Him with output. Isaiah says, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” That is not God despising good works. It is God exposing what happens when we try to offer righteousness that does not flow from repentance, dependence, and relationship. In Isaiah’s context, the people kept a religious appearance while their hearts wandered, so even their “best” looked contaminated in the light of God’s holiness.
This is the invitation for the year ahead.
Let us step into this year with faithfulness. Serve, build, give, disciple, pray for the sick, love your neighbour, and carry the burdens of others.
But do not let activity replace intimacy. Do not let deeds outrun devotion.
Choose the better portion. Sit at His feet first. Open the Word before you open your calendar. Pray until your heart is tender again. Then rise and serve from overflow, not from striving.
When devotion comes first, your deeds become a fragrance, not a performance. They bear fruit for the kingdom, not just noise for religion.
Shalom, JM
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The Law of Love
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 22:37 to 40. This passage brings us straight back to the heart of faithful living: love.
Wonderfully Made
“For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13 to 14) A plunge into the English Channel became a fresh reminder that the human body bears witness to God’s purposeful and breathtaking design.
When the Road Gets Steep
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith...” (Hebrews 12:1 to 2) When the road rises, and breath grows thin, we are not alone, for this passage calls us to endure by fixing our eyes on Christ.
Blessed Reassurance
Romans 8:38 to 39 (ESV) “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul’s words are not wishful thinking.
Turn Your Face First
“The Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the earlier ways of his father David. He did not seek the Baals, but sought the God of his father and walked in his commandments, and not according to the practices of Israel.” (2 Chronicles 17:3 to 4, ESV)
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