Today's Soul Food — May 21
 

GOLDEN WORDS

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men... It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

(Colossians 3:23,24)



It is not what a man does that determines whether his work is sacred or secular, it is why he does it.

Daily Meditations by  Pat Nordman ©

May 21

"...A woman named Martha opened her home to him." Luke 10:38.

Martha has been much maligned. There are two sides to us all, a harmony–an equanimity–to our natures that includes the Marthaside as well as the Maryside. It takes both the oars of both faith and works to row our ship through earth's uneven waters. The Martha in us takes care of the practical in life: the everyday cleaning and toiling and taking care of our families and the necessary duties of each day; the Mary in us takes care of the spiritual in life: the everyday concern in prayer for others when we join Jesus in the Garden each morning and have Him hold us close to Him while we love and thank Him and bring before Him our loved onesand notsoloved ones who we want to love.

The Mary in us studies to do well; the Martha is us does well. We need both. Perhaps there is a lesson here that we have not before considered. Martha worked very hard to feed at least thirteen extra people that day. She was the angel for this hungry and tired group. While Mary had the privilege of sitting at the feet of Jesus and absorbing wisdom, Martha was busy preparing the meal. We are told, "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." V.40. Surely this is understandable. We all can relate to Martha as well as Mary.

Because of our genderless society, our presentday dilemma lies in the perspectives and prospectives of both these ladies. Let us remember that God is a God of the hearthkeeper as well as the heartkeeper. Let us remember it was Martha who unwittingly fulfilled the hospitality call: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." Hebrews 13:2.

When their brother Lazarus died it was Martha who went forth to meet Jesus: "...She went out to meet him, but Mary stayed home." John 11:20. Some of us are the meeters and greeters; some of us are the quiet ones who wait at home. Neither should be criticized.

Pat Nordman ©

May 21 2Kings 9:1 - 10:36 365 days of Bible Readings Linked to Bible Gaitway TM

Current Bible Question ?

Abram was brought out of what land?

Previous question and Answer: Methuselah was the longest lived man in the Bible. He lived to the age of 969. Who came in second in longevity? Jared GE 5:20 Altogether, Jared lived 962 years, and then he died.

Today's  Devotion

..and by his light I walked through darkness!    JOB 29:3 NIV

In This Place by Pat Nordman   "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it" Genesis 28:16     When we least feel His presence, that is when He is most likely to be with us.

How easy it is to forget that God is in this place, right where we are. The Almighty God can be found in the most illogical places. Why not, for He is omnipresent. When we least feel His presence, that is when He is most likely to be with us. Even Jesus thought His Father had deserted Him and cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:34, Psalm 22:1. Who has not exclaimed, "My God, My God, where are you?" in the anguish of a dark hour of loss and hopelessness? But it was at that very agonizing moment that Jesus fulfilled His mission and, in our least likely--and most hurting--moments, we may be crying out to our Father who is already there and is covering our ruptured hearts with His healing promise of wholeness once again. O! let us claim and believe in our most doubting moments His greatness and His love--and, above all, His presence. As we look back over the critical junctures of our lives, we see that it was then that our priorities were rearranged and the results, we hope, became God's will for us. But we can hardly be expected to appreciate the fire that is burning off the dross or the dent in our shoulder from struggling with our cross until we see the finished product. But, as we review our life, we realize that the heavier part of the cross was carried by Jesus and our burden was and is made lighter because of His love. Yes, the Lord is in this place of anger turned to kindness, pride turned to humility, bitterness turned to gentleness, gossip turned to intercession, doubt turned to trust, ingratitude turned to acknowledgment, and malice turned to love. May we practice the presence of our God who loves and cares, no matter where we are and no matter what the overwhelming circumstances are. They can never overwhelm our God.

Send a note to © Pat Nordman , the writer of this devotion

More Walking Through the Darkness

All the Rest May 21

Today in History May 21