More Blessed than the Mother of Jesus

While Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd shouted, "How blessed is the mother who gave birth to you and the breasts that nursed you." Jesus replied, "Rather, how blessed are those who hear and obey God's word."
- Luke 11:27-28

The Gospel of Luke tells us that Mary was the "most blessed of all women" (Luke 1:42), but Jesus' words above give us an interesting comparison. Yes, Mary was indeed blessed in her role as the mother of Jesus, but we EACH have the opportunity to be blessed if we simply hear and obey God's word. To obey, we must first hear. In order to hear, we must put ourselves in a place where we can listen.

And in hearing, praying that God opens our hearts and minds, we are transformed to be able to be able to obey. "It is God who produces in you the desires and actions that please Him." (Philippians 2:13)

So ultimately, we just need to make the time, setting our hearts to hear God, and He does the rest. Partly, this involves REPLACING activities that we know compete with God for our affections. It might not be a "bad" thing that tries to grab our attention from hearing God's voice, but we can choose the better thing and be blessed because of it.

As they were traveling along, Jesus went into a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the Lord's feet and listened to him talk. But Martha was upset about all the work she had to do. So she asked, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself? Tell her to help me.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha! You worry and fuss about a lot of things. There's only one thing you need. Mary has made the right choice, and that one thing will not be taken away from her.”
 - Luke 10:38-42

We serve the Lord best by first sitting at His feet and listening to Him.

Popular posts from this blog

The Shepherd’s Letter

Image
Published in paperback on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Shepherds-Letter-Mitchell-Malloy/dp/1973415933/ Copyright © 2007 Mitchell Malloy All rights reserved. ISBN: 9781973415930 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS All our talents come as a gift from above, and all we do is to imitate the Great Giver with gifts of our own. Soli Deo Gloria!
Read more

Is Modern Israel Biblical Israel?

Image
With the growing conflict in the Middle East, the eyes of the world have been turning toward Israel. So it was no surprise when I was asked the question: do I believe that Modern Israel is the same Israel that’s talked about in the Bible. That question is slightly complicated and one that causes some debate in Christian circles. Understanding the complexity of the question To answer this question some people may argue that we must first draw a distinction between Modern Israel and Ancient Israel. There is no doubt that Ancient Israel is all throughout Scripture, and we know historically it was destroyed as a nation. The people of that ancient nation were scattered throughout the world just as God foretold as early as Deuteronomy, one of the first books in the Bible. God warned that this would happen to Israel as consequence of their sins. Known as the diaspora, the Jewish people wandered for thousands of years without a land to call their own and yet they maintained an identity. I don’
Read more

What is a Soul? (and other related questions)

Ok, let’s be honest, who has ever heard a clear definition of a soul. It’s a mystical, ethereal thing that is somehow the same as and yet different from our spirit (Hebrews 4:12). I’ve heard it described as the mind, will and emotion, which is both true and says absolutely nothing. The best definition I’ve heard is that it’s our habit of thinking, those thoughts we think without realizing that we are thinking, and that concept finally opened doors for me to understand how the soul is indeed the mind, will and emotion all tied up together in a way that describes the essence of who we are.  And that understanding opened many more doors to see how this battleground of the soul is where Satan operates. If he can get us to think wrongly without even realizing our self-sabotage, then the battle is almost won (by him… bad for us!). He can neutralize our efforts by the self-sabotage of our habits of thought. He can create discouraging feelings when God’s Word tells us to be bold and walk
Read more