Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

The Holy Spirit has given me a different twist on a familiar story, to reveal God prefers us to press into Him, rather than trying to impress Him.

Today’s scripture, Luke 10:38-42 (NLT) shares…
[38] 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. [39] Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. [40] 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.” [41] But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! [42] There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Consider…
As mentioned, today’s scripture is the familiar story of Mary and Martha interacting with Jesus on a visit to their home.

The Holy Spirit showed me that Martha was so busy trying to impress Jesus by preparing a big dinner, that she missed out on doing the most important thing we should do when Jesus is around, which is press in close to Him.

Observe how Martha trying to impress lead to complaining to Jesus…
“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.”

Whereas pressing into Jesus involved listening and learning…
Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught.

This makes me think about our prayer time with God. Sometimes we’re so busy complaining about others to God, or asking for what we want from Him, that we miss out on the most important thing, which is hear from Him. Like the saying goes, there’s a reason God gave us two ears and one mouth, so that we would listen more than we speak. I would add, it’s also why God gave us two eyes, so we can see Him more too.

Jesus emphasizes the importance of being pressed into Him in John 15:4 (NLT), where He says…Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

As I pasted Jesus’ words, the Holy Spirit explained, Martha was so busy trying to impressively feed Jesus, that she overlooked the most important thing of being fed by Him.

To reiterate His point, the Holy Spirit reminded me of Jesus’ words in John 6:35 (NLT)…Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

Notice, Jesus promises eternal satisfaction to those who come to Him.

That reminds me of the Beatitude promise in Matthew 5:6 (NIV)…Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

The Holy Spirit added to my understanding, sometimes we get so fixated on giving Jesus what we have, that we neglect delighting in Him and desiring what He has.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Psalms 37:4 (NIV)…
[4] Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

God wants to value Him most, which will align our desires with His.

That’s why Jesus said in Luke 12:31 (NLT)…Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and he will give you everything you need.

It just dawned on me, there’s no better way to seek a Kingdom than to learn what it means, and requires, from the King Himself. Thus, instead of busily trying to do for the King of Kings, we should reposition ourselves to sit, listen and learn from Him.

The Holy Spirit reiterated, stop trying so hard to make a good impression that you miss out on learning the Good Teacher’s lesson.

As I wrote that, my mind went to Luke 18:18-23 (NLT), which shares…
[18] Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” [19] “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. [20] But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’” [21] The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” [22] When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [23] But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.

Sometimes we, like this religious leader, try to flatter and impress Jesus with what we know and have done. However, we miss the most important lesson, which is making Him the priority, not ourselves.

That thought leads me to Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT), which admonishes…
[3] Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. [4] Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You see impressing is about emphasizing who we are and what we do, but humbly pressing is recognizing who others are and caring about what they do.

That reminds me of the Apostle Paul’s testimony in Galatians 1:10 (NIV)…Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Reading that verse closely, I saw a transformative admission by brother Paul. He said, “If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
“

That statement shows us that Paul’s motives changed. The Holy Spirit reminded me, they changed after he had his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road. Recall, prior to being physically blinded in order to spiritually see, Paul was focused on impressing religious leaders by persecuting the blasphemous followers of Christ. However, after the encounter with Jesus, Paul’s aim was to participate in the suffering, that he was once responsible for inflicting.

Paul testified in Colossians 1:24-25 (NLT)…
[24] I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. [25] God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you.

Paul’s testimony hit play on Bishop Noel Jones singing…

Chorus…
It’s not about us
But it’s about Jesus
It’s not about you
But it’s about Jesus
It’s not about us
But it’s about Jesus
It’s not about you
But it’s about Jesus

I present my body
A living sacrifice
Holy, acceptable
Unto You now
Everything I am
And everything I’ll be
I lay it all at Your feet

…Chorus

It’s not about money
It’s not about fame
It’s not about titles
You don’t even have
To know my name
I’m an instrument of praise
No I’m not ashamed
I’ll praise Him all my days

…Chorus

It’s not about us
It’s not about us
It’s not about us
But it’s about Jesus

To reiterate Paul’s shift from impressing people, to pressing towards Christ, the Holy Spirit reminded me that the Apostle said in Philippians 3:13-14 (NLT)…
[13] No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

The Holy Spirit then started flashing, stop focusing on impressing others and start focusing on pressing towards Christ.

The flashing admonition brought Jesus’ stated follower expectation to my mind. He said in Luke 14:26-27 (NLT)…
[26] “If you want to be my disciple, you must, by comparison, hate everyone else—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. [27] And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

The Holy Spirit showed me an important understated fact of being a disciple of Christ. The most important thing about being Jesus’ disciple is following Him. Witnessing, and benefiting from, what He does is an added benefit, but being in His continual presence is the most important thing.

Which brings us back to today’s scripture, sister Mary pressed in to be with Jesus, while sister Martha stressed out trying to impress Him.

Today, let’s stop stressing out trying to impress God, and instead press in and listen to, and learn from Him.

I believe what our Lord and Savior wants to hear us say most is, “I just want You!”

Today’s song is…
Just Want You

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)