Will You Have A MARY Christmas?

WILL YOU HAVE A MARY CHRISTMAS?

“But Martha was cumbered about much serving…and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?” (Luke 10:40)

Mary and Martha had invited Jesus into their home. The problem was, by the time Jesus arrived, Martha was stressed out! There was so much work to be done:

• the house had to be cleaned
• the meal had to be cooked
• the table had to be set.

Everything had to be just right because Jesus was coming.

Sometimes we can be as bad as Martha, especially as writers. We can let the stress of writing, or the pressure of trying to complete our book by a certain deadline, to create undue stress in our lives. The problem is when we allow ourselves to be stressed out, the gift of writing (which God intended to be a blessing) soon becomes a burden.

Two Lessons The Lord Taught Me About Martha’s Stress

LESSON #1: Serving the Lord should not become stressful.

Martha was stressed out, but Mary wasn’t stressed out at all. I don’t think Mary was lazy, she just thought it was more important to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to His Word, first.

The reason many people end up stressed out isn’t because they don’t love the Lord. It is because they are trying to do the work of the ministry in the flesh without preparing their heart first. Our flesh will fail us.

It is imperative that we take time, like Mary, to sit at the feet of Jesus in order to prepare ourselves.

LESSON #2: Our WORSHIP is more important than our WORK.

I am not saying our work isn’t important; it is. I am simply saying that our work will not be all it should be if it is not done from a heart of worship. A manuscript that is written while under stress will sound much different than one written from the overflow of a heart filled with worship. The end result will be as different as a book written by Martha, versus one written by Mary.

Have A Mary Christmas!!

So, let’s spend the necessary time making sure our heart is prepared in a spirit of worship. When it is, it will transform our MARTHA Christmas into a MARY Christmas!

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