Bible
Study Post
A Heart
Devoted to God
Just
this past Friday night, I started a monthly Ladies Bible Study here in Katherine.
I’ve decided to post the lessons I teach on the blog in hopes that it may
encourage others.
The
aim of the Bible Study is to help us as women to develop a closer relationship
with the Lord and to get serious about God and growing spiritually. I want to
be able to share the lessons God has taught me and encourage other women to
share God’s blessings with those around them.
The
lesson posts are not written in my usual style and a lot is added in the course
of teaching, but thankfully, you’re getting the shortened version!
The
Lord has brought me through some pretty hard trials and taught me many lessons
along the way. These lessons, though hard at the time, have helped me to grow
and draw closer to the Lord than ever before. God never said life would be easy,
but he did say that he would never forsake us. What a comfort that is to my soul.
So, I
pray that you will gain something from my Bible Study Lesson posts and that you
will share what God teaches you with others. You never know when something God
has brought you through will be what someone else is facing and you may have
just the verses and words of encouragement they need.
Lesson
#1
A
Heart Devoted to God
I
thought that a good place to start is with the story of Mary and Martha in the
Bible. These ladies are relatable. I
think that we can easily relate to Martha’s busyness. Her hospitality. And we
can also relate to Mary’s desire for fellowship with Christ. But it’s easy to
get our priorities out of whack and put one in front of the other.
How do
we develop a heart that is devoted to God? How do we become women who sit at
Jesus’ feet and receive his praise as Mary did?
Let’s
read the passage in the Bible and see what we can learn together
Luke
10:38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he
entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him
into her house.
Luke
10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also
sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
Luke
10:40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and
came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to
serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
Luke
10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha,
Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
Luke
10:42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen
that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
DESIRE
The
first thing we need to do in becoming a woman devoted to God, is to have a
desire. We need to desire to become Godly women. We have to make a choice to learn
more about God and learn more about His Word. So, we have to have a desire.
It’s no good trying to do something when you have no desire to do it. Like
dieting, if you have no desire, you’re going to fail. You need to want to do
it. You need a desire.
When
we look at Mary, we see her desire to be near Jesus. She wanted to sit at his
feet.
If we
don’t have a desire, it all stops right there. It’s a matter of our priorities.
And the definition of priority is ‘a preference based on urgency or importance’.
You order your priorities in order of importance to you.
But
besides having a desire, we need to have a teachable heart. We need to be
willing to be taught and willing to learn from God and from others.
Psalm
42:1-2 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so
panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living
God: when shall I come and appear before God?
Psalm
25:4-5 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on
thee do I wait all the day.
Psalm
27:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a
plain path, because of mine enemies.
Psalm
86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy
truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.
Psalm
119:12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy
statutes.
Psalm
119:26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me:
teach me thy statutes.
We
read over and over in the Psalms of David’s desire to be taught. He continually
asks the Lord to teach him. He had a teachable heart and wanted to learn. I
don’t have to explain what that means to you. If you homeschool, you know all
about teachable hearts and how difficult it is to teach a child something that
they don’t want to learn.
But as
women wanting to grow in our spiritual walk, we have to be teachable.
DISCERN
The
second thing we need in order to become women devoted to God, is discernment. We
need to discern what is needed. In the passage in Luke, in verse 42, we see
mentioned the ‘one thing’ that is needful. We need to discern what is
important. What is the one thing that’s needed? We see Jesus rebuking Martha
for not doing the one thing. The most important thing. The needed thing.
The
one thing that was needed was to sit at Jesus feet. To listen. To worship. To
draw close to the Lord. To spend time with the Lord.
Martha
had chosen the many things. She was troubled and busy doing the many things
when Jesus wanted her to do the one thing.
This
word ‘many’ in the Bible has a few definitions, but one of the definitions, is
‘common’. As in the common things. Not as important. But the word “one” means
the only one. The primary one. The first. So, although the many things we do
may not be wrong, they become a problem when we put them before the one thing
that’s needed.
Unfortunately,
Martha crossed the line between being a gracious hostess to being an
overwhelmed, overworked, unthankful servant. She neglected to distinguish
between the urgent and the important.
So
often in life, we choose the urgent over the important. Something urgent is
something that calls for immediate attention. It’s screams out loudly. But
something important, is something significant. Something weighty.
The
serving that Martha did called for attention. It was urgent. Visitors. Food.
Preparations. But the sitting was significant and held a deeper importance. There
would be time for serving later, but right then, at that time, it was time for
sitting. Sitting at Jesus feet.
Mary
was able to discern the importance of ceasing her busyness and stopping all
activity and putting aside some things to focus wholly on the Lord.
We
need to work out of rest. Meaning, we have to rest first, before we can work
efficiently. In our physical bodies, we know the importance of rest. If we
won’t get enough sleep, we can’t be as productive.
In the
Lord’s work, we have to take time to rest, at Jesus’ feet, spending time in his
word and talking to him in prayer. Only then can we be effective in our
ministries and our callings.
So, we
work out of rest. We sit, then serve.
The
three times we see Mary in scripture, she is at Jesus feet. Here in Luke and
again in John, at Lazarus tomb
John
11:2 (tells
us which Mary)
(It
was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with
her hair,
whose
brother Lazarus was sick.)
John
11:32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and
saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been
here, my brother had not died.
John
12:3 Then took Mary a pound of ointment of
spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with
her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
Our
dishes and washing and sweeping will always be there. But those times of quiet
will not. When we have those moments to sit and be quiet before the Lord, we
need to make the most of them. Time spent at Jesus feet is never wasted time.
Martha
was busy doing things FOR the Lord, but she failed to spend time WITH the Lord.
Too
much serving. Not enough sitting.
We
have to discern the one thing and then we have to choose to do that
one thing. How do we find that balance? Often, we feel torn between the 2.
Serving and sitting. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing to feel torn. It
shows that we understand the importance of them both. It shows that we have a
desire to serve others and also a desire to spend time with the Lord. But we
know that there has to be a balance.
Martha in the kitchen, serving with her
hands;
Occupied for Jesus, with her pots and pans.
Loving Him, yet fevered, burdened to the brim.
Careful, troubled Martha, occupied for Him.
Occupied for Jesus, with her pots and pans.
Loving Him, yet fevered, burdened to the brim.
Careful, troubled Martha, occupied for Him.
Mary on the footstool, eyes upon her
Lord;
Occupied with Jesus, drinking in His Word.
This the one thing needful, all else strangely dim:
Loving, resting Mary, occupied with Him.
Occupied with Jesus, drinking in His Word.
This the one thing needful, all else strangely dim:
Loving, resting Mary, occupied with Him.
So may we, like Mary, choose the better part:
Resting in His presence--hands and feet and heart;
Drinking in His wisdom, strengthened with His grace;
Waiting for the summons, eyes upon His face.
Resting in His presence--hands and feet and heart;
Drinking in His wisdom, strengthened with His grace;
Waiting for the summons, eyes upon His face.
When it comes, we're ready--spirit, will, and nerve;
Mary's heart to worship, Martha's hands to serve;
This the rightful order, as our lamps we trim--
Occupied with Jesus, then occupied for Him!
Mary's heart to worship, Martha's hands to serve;
This the rightful order, as our lamps we trim--
Occupied with Jesus, then occupied for Him!
--Lois Reynolds Carpenter
I have
3 things I want to share with you regarding this desire of becoming women whose
hearts are devoted to God. How do we become women who follow God’s leading and
heed his calling upon our lives?
One of
the ways is to
1. Choose
God and His ways, at every opportunity.
Proverbs
3:6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall
direct thy paths.
We
know this passage well. We can see in this verse 2 parts. Our part and God’s
part.
It is
our job to acknowledge God. To consider him. To consult with him. And then it
is his part to direct our paths. We do our part and he does his. We listen to
him and he shows us the way to go.
When
something comes up, a decision, an offense against us, STOP! And pray first.
Ask God to show you what you should do. Sit mentally in his presence. If you
have to, sit down bodily too. Pause. Listen. Acknowledge him. Obey him. Then
watch God take over. He directs our paths. When we stop and ask him for
guidance, often the very next thought we have comes from him and it is clear
what we should do and what we should say.
Isaiah
30:21 And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee,
saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and
when ye turn to the left.
I love
this verse in Isaiah. It says that I’ll hear a word behind me that tells me
what to do. THIS is the way. WALK in it. How clear is that? We acknowledge and
obey God and he directs our steps.
When
we choose God’s way, we are choosing the best way. The one thing. The good
part. The needful thing. The best thing.
It can
be as simple as choosing to listen to or watch something edifying. Something
that will help us grow spiritually. It might even be choosing NOT to listen to
something. It could be choosing to speak to someone on the street about the
Lord.
We are
to edify one another and I pray that as we meet together we will encourage each
other and build each other up and grow together and draw closer to the Lord
together.
We all
know the Proverbs 31 woman. We often look at her and marvel at her
productiveness. We see that her serving is not judged. It is important too.
Proverbs
31:15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and
giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
She is
a servant and productive and busy, but the one thing I see about her that I
want to imitate, is to have her fear of the Lord. It says in verse 30
Proverbs
31:30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a
woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Ok, so
this verse doesn’t say directly that SHE feared the Lord. But in all the verses
previous to this one, we see all her works and how she excels. So, we can only
assume that she has a healthy fear of the Lord too.
This
fear spoken of in this verse, is the reverential fear. It has the meaning of ‘a
profound respect mingled with love and awe’. I like that definition. We need to stand in awe of God.
Psalm
4:4
Stand in awe, and sin not:
commune with your own heart
upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
We
need to have a healthy fear of God. Are we in awe of God and what he wants to
do in us and for us and through us? I
don’t want to miss what God has for me in this life. I don’t want to be robbed
of any of God’s blessings by not taking time to let him direct me and lead me.
I want
to choose God and his way at every opportunity.
2. Commit
yourself daily to God
The
second thing I want to bring out is that of committing yourself to God.
Psalm
37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in
him; and he shall bring it to pass.
I find
a good way to do this, is every morning, often even before I get out of bed, I
commit myself to God in prayer. I pray to the Lord and offer myself to him to
use as he pleases. If we give him our day, and our priorities, and our to do
lists, it’s amazing to see how God chooses to arrange it. Much better than we
ever could with all our great planning strategies.
If we
choose to hold onto things too tightly, it’s hurts when God has to pry our
fingers open to get what we won’t give.
It’s a whole lot simpler to hold everything he gives us lightly, with
open hands and let him take and let him give as he pleases.
I have
a little saying on my wall that I like to read each day to remind me to keep an
open hand.
All
that I am
All
that I have
All
that I do
All
that I suffer
I give
it all to God!
In the
verse in Psalms it tells us to commit our way to the Lord. Our way being a
course of life, a mode of action, a road. Many things. Our way is basically our
life. Our daily activities. Committing them to the Lord each and every day and
asking the Lord to order our days and direct our steps is the best way to walk
in his will.
3. Cultivate
a hot heart
The
third thing I want to discuss is cultivating a hot heart.
We
need to get excited about the things of the Lord. We need hot hearts. In
Revelation, the Laodicean church is accused of being lukewarm.
Revelation
3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold
nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
One of
my favourite Christian movies is War Room.
There is a scene in the movie where Miss Clara offers Elizabeth a
lukewarm cup of coffee. After asking her
what her prayer life is like, Elizabeth tells her that it’s not cold but it’s
not hot either. Somewhere in the middle. Lukewarm.
Nobody
likes luke warmness. God says he will spew it out of his mouth.
We don’t
want to be cold-hearted, we all know that that’s wrong. To be cold hearted is
to be below normal, to be unemotional, to be unaware, to be unconscious of God.
Unconcerned.
And to
be luke warm is to only be moderately warm, to be indifferent towards God and
others.
But to
be hot, is to have a high temperature. To be characterized by violent activity.
To have emotion or passion, fiery and excited. That’s not to say that we need
to run around crazily, always smiling and laughing and excited. But that our hearts
need to be that way towards God. To be on fire. Like a new Christian that has
been saved from the pits of hell and is so excited about the things of the Lord
that he can’t stop shouting about it.
If we
are hot, we are like a boiling pot. We have an intense passion for the Lord.
Just
like a boiling pot, it sputters and steams. It jiggles from side to side. It is
hot to touch. It shares its heat. You can’t ignore it.
I want
to be like that in the spiritual sense. I want to be excited about God and the
things of God. I want to boast about what God has done for me. I want to share
the heat.
Luke
1:49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great
things; and holy is his name.
Psalm
96:3 Declare his glory among the heathen, his
wonders among all people.
Don’t
be afraid to tell others of God’s blessings. And not just in testimony time at
church, but on the street, in the shop, wherever God gives you opportunity and
with whoever God brings you in contact with.
Psalm
107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he
hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
We are
redeemed. We have something to shout about. Something to be hot about.
And if
we truly want to become women with hearts devoted to God, we need to choose him
and to commit to him and to develop a hot heart.
But it
all starts with that first decision. The decision to desire what God wants. The
decision to want to grow spiritually. To not be comfortable with our
mediocracy, but to be always striving to grow and mature and learn and share.
Ecclesiastes
12:13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole
matter:
Fear
God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
