Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 5,051
Luke 10:38-42 NKJV
38Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Now, this is one of those passages of Scripture which can easily be twisted to make it say what it does not intend. For this is not condoning laziness and slothfulness, nor is it condemning servanthood and working for the Lord. For if we follow Jesus and his teachings all throughout the gospels we will learn that he taught the critical nature of servanthood, of obedience to God’s commands, and of doing the work that God has called us, as his servants, to do. And we are given all kinds of instructions on what we must do, too.
So, what is the message being conveyed here? We can be so busy serving the Lord and doing the good that we ought to do, that we neglect our times spent with him in his word, sitting as his feet, listening to his counsel, his wisdom, and his direction, and in order to know his purpose that he has for our lives. We can be so busy doing good deeds, and even serving others, engaged in many different ministries, perhaps, but miss out totally on our relationship with him and what he wants to lead us to do in ministry.
Yet, it is good to do good deeds. It is a good thing to serve others. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” For we are to always be abounding in the work of the Lord. And we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. This is God’s will for us.
[John 15:1-11; Romans 2:1-11; Romans 6:1-23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Galatians 5:6,16-24; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 5:3-6; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; 2 Timothy 2:21; Titus 2:11-14; Titus 3:8; James 2:17; 1 Peter 1:17-21; 1 Peter 2:24]
So, Jesus is not against us doing works, provided they are works that are good and which are beneficial for others, and/or that they are the works God has called us to do, as his followers, and that they are not the works of the devil. But we need to be led by the Spirit. And we won’t be led by the Spirit if we are so busy doing the “good deeds” we believe we ought to do, but while we neglect our relationships with Jesus Christ and his teachings and his instructions to us in holy living and in obedience to his commands.
For we can be “good deed doers” and still be walking in the flesh. We can be people who are generous in our giving, who help the needy and who feed the poor and who do all kinds of helpful things in our communities, but still not be in genuine relationship with Christ. We can be “busy bees” doing all kinds of good things and still not know Jesus and his will and his purpose for our lives, and still not be serving him and doing what he has called us to do, as his followers. So we need to be listening to Jesus so we can be only his.
In Christ Alone
By Stuart Townend & Keith Getty
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Distracted and Ignoring Jesus?
An Original Work / May 13, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
38Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”
41And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Now, this is one of those passages of Scripture which can easily be twisted to make it say what it does not intend. For this is not condoning laziness and slothfulness, nor is it condemning servanthood and working for the Lord. For if we follow Jesus and his teachings all throughout the gospels we will learn that he taught the critical nature of servanthood, of obedience to God’s commands, and of doing the work that God has called us, as his servants, to do. And we are given all kinds of instructions on what we must do, too.
So, what is the message being conveyed here? We can be so busy serving the Lord and doing the good that we ought to do, that we neglect our times spent with him in his word, sitting as his feet, listening to his counsel, his wisdom, and his direction, and in order to know his purpose that he has for our lives. We can be so busy doing good deeds, and even serving others, engaged in many different ministries, perhaps, but miss out totally on our relationship with him and what he wants to lead us to do in ministry.
Yet, it is good to do good deeds. It is a good thing to serve others. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” For we are to always be abounding in the work of the Lord. And we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. This is God’s will for us.
[John 15:1-11; Romans 2:1-11; Romans 6:1-23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 15:58; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Galatians 5:6,16-24; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 5:3-6; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:9-14; 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12; 2 Timothy 2:21; Titus 2:11-14; Titus 3:8; James 2:17; 1 Peter 1:17-21; 1 Peter 2:24]
So, Jesus is not against us doing works, provided they are works that are good and which are beneficial for others, and/or that they are the works God has called us to do, as his followers, and that they are not the works of the devil. But we need to be led by the Spirit. And we won’t be led by the Spirit if we are so busy doing the “good deeds” we believe we ought to do, but while we neglect our relationships with Jesus Christ and his teachings and his instructions to us in holy living and in obedience to his commands.
For we can be “good deed doers” and still be walking in the flesh. We can be people who are generous in our giving, who help the needy and who feed the poor and who do all kinds of helpful things in our communities, but still not be in genuine relationship with Christ. We can be “busy bees” doing all kinds of good things and still not know Jesus and his will and his purpose for our lives, and still not be serving him and doing what he has called us to do, as his followers. So we need to be listening to Jesus so we can be only his.
In Christ Alone
By Stuart Townend & Keith Getty
In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.
In Christ alone! - who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe.
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand:
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Distracted and Ignoring Jesus?
An Original Work / May 13, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
