Mary or Martha: Heart Check.

"As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42 NLT


I love this passage of scripture! I studied it some time ago, but was lead back to it last night. I know this will bless you. Let's break it down.....


There were two sisters, Martha & Mary, who welcome Jesus into their home. Both sisters are excited and honored that the Messiah is there. Martha wants to make a great impression, so she begins to prepare a dinner feast to win favor from Jesus. But Mary, oh Mary, isn't concerned about trying to impress the Savior; she wants to be at His feet. 


Martha is caught up in the particulars and like many of us, it includes work, church, money, food, friends, family, school, etc. NONE of these things are important when you're in the presence of the King! It's not Jesus doesn't want us to work, but He tells us in Luke 12:29-30, not to be concerned about what we will eat or wear...He is LORD! He knows everything we need! When we find our hearts being consumed by what is wrong and trying to fix it, we take our eyes off Jesus. We put too much stress on ourselves, then our lives begin to fall out of order. He said he keep you in perfect peace, when your mind is stayed on Him! 


"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" - Isaiah 26:3 NLT


Mary, on the other hand, recognized Jesus' authority and majesty. She let go of trying to "seem" important and trying to impress Him with her intelligence; instead she valued His presence. She didn't let what her sister thought keep her from Him! Because her HEART was directed towards Him, the peace/joy/fullness she found in His presence would never be taken from her! 


What is getting your heart tangled? What is causing you not to value His presence...or even recognize when He's arrived? If your heart is constantly caught up in earthly desires, you can miss Jesus. Let go of anything or anyone that is keeping you from experiencing the fullness of His presence. Whatever is in your heart is what will take over your life. 


"A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." - Luke 6:45 NLT


Bring everything that is weighing you down to His feet and capture His presence!


In Him,
DJR 

Wake Up Everybody!

I had the HONOR & PRIVILEGE to be apart of an amazing project with many talented artists from here in Richmond (you will recognize many of them :)). It's time for us to wake up!!! Check out the vid & shout-out to BlackRVA (www.blackrva.com)

In Him,
DJR

Beautiful Things

"He hath made every thing beautiful in his time...." - Ecclesiastes 3:11

Sometimes I feel ugly.
Sometimes I feel unworthy.
Sometimes I feel ineffective.
Sometimes I feel unimpactful.
Some days are worse than others.

We are our biggest critics, and the minimal things in our lives become our largest obstacles. Our minds can make us second, third, & fourth guess who we are & whose we are.
Sometimes, when you're working so hard to serve others & help them recognize & grow into who God has called them to be, you forget that you need the SAME service. That is my story.

We all need that reminder that God sees us as beautiful. Our lives may not be what we want them to be or we may not be as far as we think we should be, but God sees something beautiful in us; something worth investing His only Son in for! That's amazing!

Our beauty isn't measured solely on our physical appearance, but God's love makes us worthwhile.  His Spirit that breathes through us, His compassion, and His constant reminders that He's with us. He sees your value even when you can't see.

Enjoy the song that this post was based upon, called "Beautiful Things". It is originally written & performed by Michael Gungor, but I LOVE Nicole Binion's version.

In HIM,

DJR



Power Outage

Yesterday evening, while riding with one of my friends, we discovered that there was a power outage along the road between my house and hers. We heard that someone ran into the transmitter (how embarrassing lol), but once we got closer towards her house (she had no power), we saw that the true reason for the outage was because a power line had fallen out of place. We could not believe that one little power line out of the dozens along this road could cause a blackout so many blocks away. Then she said this:

"This is a sign from the Lord; you can think you have it all together, but if you're missing one thing, it can cause all your power to go out."

That hit my spirit like a pile of bricks.

How many times have we wondered why our prayers haven't been answered? How many times have you felt that no matter how much anointing oil you use, you're still sick? We often find ourselves mad at God when we feel like we're doing everything right, yet we're still faced with problems. But what are you NOT doing? You could be reading your Word every single day, but if you are still operating from a carnal mind, you won't benefit from what the Spirit has to offer. You could be THEE prayer warrior of all prayer warriors, always praying without ceasing. But what about that unforgiveness in your heart? Did you ever think that that could be the reason you aren't seeing the fruit of your prayers?

Before you start complaining to the Lord about what you have been doing, examine what you haven't been doing; maybe that's the source of your power outage.

God will not come where He is not invited.

In Him,
DJR

PS...check out my new site! http://www.deleyserowe.com/!