Tue 3.2 – Scripture Heart and Mind

Today’s Reading: Col 3.1-4; Luke 10.38-42; 15.11-32; Ps 119.17-24, 89-96

Many of you are probably not doing Monday’s devotion until Tuesday because of the glitch in my internet over the weekend. Today, we are going to look a little more at the story yesterday in Luke 10. There are some more verses for thought above, and we will mention them at the end of the devotion for further study.

Remember, over the last week or so, we are talking about SEEKING THE THINGS ABOVE and SETTING OUR AFFECTION on them from Col 3.1-2. We have discussed the 4 things God says in His Word that we are to be SEEKING and SETTING OUR AFFECTION on (the Person, Word, Throne, and Family of God – see yesterday’s study for references). We talked about how SEEKING something is to PURSUE it with everything we have. We looked at the words God chose specifically when He said we are to SET our AFFECTION on things above, meaning that we are to CHOOSE with our MIND what we are going to SEEK with our lives and thus make that the AFFECTION of our hearts. Then we began to look at some illustration of that.

Let’s take a minute and settle down into our illustration from yesterday. In Luke 10.38-42 we see the familiar story of Jesus at the house of Mary and Martha. Martha, of course, was busy rushing around the house to make sure it was clean and tidy for Jesus while serving Him and His companions. Mary, on the other hand, is sitting still at the feet of Christ listening to His every word. We have one illustration of WORK in Martha and one of WORSHIP in Mary. The WORKER is troubled that the WORSHIPPER is leaving her to do all the WORK, so she approaches Jesus and complains. His response is awesome, and something we all needed to hear yesterday. Let’s take just a minute and look deeper into the situation, maybe in a new light. . . .

Notice Martha’s complaint in verse 40. Who does she rebuke? It’s not Mary. Wouldn’t you think it would be Mary? No, she rebukes Jesus. That brings a whole new light to this story. Martha didn’t blame Mary for what she was doing. How could she. She had heard Jesus teach before. She knew His WORDS were mesmerizing. She knew anyone who would listen couldn’t help but be consumed by what He had to say. It was His WORD that was so enticing, not Mary that was so lazy. Sure, Mary loved Jesus. But so did Martha. That’s why she was so busy, working so hard, bustling about so frantically. She loved Jesus and wanted to serve Him perfectly. They both had great love for Jesus. So what was it that separated the two? If they both loved Jesus, why did Jesus say that Mary had chosen that “good part” that was “needful”? It’s because MARY was SEEKING the WORD of GOD, and SETTING HER AFFECTION on the WORD of GOD. They both were SEEKING and SETTING THEIR AFFECTION on the Person of God…Jesus Christ… there in real time. But only Mary was passionate after the WORD OF GOD, and that passion for the WORD is where she was able to bridge the gap between worker and worshipper.

Above, you will see some passages of scripture to reflect upon. Luke 15 is a great story of the REMEDY to a lost first love we looked at last week. As you read this passage, allow the spirit of God to speak to your heart about the beauty of His great love for us.

As you close your time with God today, think about MARY and MARTHA. Think about the difference between them and Mary’s passion for the WORD OF GOD (the second thing above we are to be seeking) and evaluate your own passion for it. Are you seeking it? Are you setting your affection on it? Is it so mesmerizing to you that you can’t help but stop what you are doing and listen? Look at those verses above from Ps 119. God said that King David was the MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART. Notice the love this guy had for the WORD OF GOD as you read his words in Ps 119. Wow. May God help us to seek and set our affection on the things above, and today on the WORD OF GOD.

Tue 2.2 – If…Then…

Today’s Reading: Colossians 3.1-4, Ephesians 4.1-16

Do you remember learning the IF/THEN clause a few years ago in English class? It’s the one where a statement is depending on a condition. IF this is true, THEN this is true also. An example would be something like, “IF it is cold outside, THEN you need to wear your coat.” Pretty simple. Nothing too complicated is it?

Well, we actually see Paul using this kind of language in Colossians 3. Take just a minute and re-read those first 4 verses of that chapter. Do you see how he starts all of that off with the qualifier, “IF”? IF YOU ARE RISEN WITH CHRIST, then there are some things that should be true of your life. Again, pretty simple.

Honestly, I think that this idea of a CHANGE taking place in our lives is one we all understand, and one that we all agree with. However, what we seem to struggle with is making that to be true for us. We may KNOW that something is right, or true, but we DO NOTHING about it. Do you remember when we talked about the difference in KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM a couple days ago? You can know something, but until you act upon it, whatever you know really doesn’t matter. If you know the stove is very hot, but you still touch it, does your knowledge of the stove being hot really matter? Exactly.

There are many things that we could talk about under this heading. IF we are children of God, THEN things are supposed to be different. For today, let’s just look at what is said here in Colossians and compare that to some other scripture in Ephesians 4. Here in Colossians 3.1-2, we see a basic guide for living life as someone “risen with Christ”. What are we to do?

#1 – SEEK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE. Well, that sounds good but how do I do that? Do you remember that famous sermon on the mount that Jesus delivered in Matthew? Well, towards the end of Matthew 6, He mentions how pointless the pursuit of earthly things is. Moths eat stuff. Rust corrupts stuff. Thieves steal stuff. So, no STUFF is worth our efforts. What is worth our efforts are the TREASURES IN HEAVEN that He talks about, and what Paul says here when he speaks of those THINGS ABOVE. We will spend some time at the Fridge taking a look at some of those things we are to be pursuing, those things above. Right now, you could spend some time doing that yourself. Look at the life God describes that is different in that IF/THEN clause today. Are those the kind of things that are seen in your life? Would your closest friends say those things are part of who you are? I hope so. But if not, the hope in Jesus is that they can be! That’s where #2 comes in.

#2 – SET YOUR AFFECTION ON THINGS ABOVE. Let me use this illustration (and I know it’s a little off, but work with me.) If you and I were watching TV together, and I said, “Hey man, it’s 9.00 and American Gladiators is coming on, SET IT TO CHANNEL 6.” You would know what I meant wouldn’t you? I mean for you to take the remote control and MOVE THE TV STATION to show American Gladiators. You would push some buttons that control what comes out of the TV and cause it to show something different. Another example would be if I asked you to SET THE THERMOSTAT to a different temperature because I was cold. You would adjust it so that the environment in the house would change. In the same way, we are to SET THE AFFECTION OF OUR HEARTS on the things of God. How do we do that? Simply through the Worship of God and the Word of God. As we Worship through our prayers, ministry, etc…we are adjusting our lives to fit His desires (THINGS ABOVE) and we are getting into the Word daily to find out just what those THINGS ABOVE ARE! We cannot know the things above until we see what God says those things are, and we do that in the Word of God.

Let’s close out our time together today with a quick note for you. I have added a page at the top there where you can click on  “BIBLE TOOLS” and it will show you some links to websites that provide Bible study tools to help you as you study the Word of God. Of course, this should NEVER replace you holding a copy of the Bible in your hands, but it can be a good help to you as you study!

May God speak to our hearts today and tomorrow as we prepare for the service on Wednesday night. May our hearts be opened to God’s giving us direction for our lives from His word at the Fridge this week, and may we be ready to do whatever He leads us to that will help us to SET OUR AFFECTION on things above and CHANGE OUR PURSUITS to those things above.