A Martha Heart at Thanksgiving

There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. John 12:2

With a big dinner in the works for many tomorrow I thought to re-post this article on Martha. Though we often admire Mary’s example we must not forget that Jesus also loved Martha. Martha was the bold one who publicly invited Jesus and all 12 of His disciples to her house for dinner! Just as Mary listened and learned from Jesus, Martha also learned in her own way.

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So if you find yourself up to your elbows in turkey on Thursday morning feeling a bit less than thankful ask God to give you a Martha heart.  Though she had begun her relationship with Jesus by complaining about her sister, she had also accepted correction opening the door for inner change. And a year later, when Jesus failed to come and heal her brother a Martha who was growing in her faith was waiting at the edge of town. This Martha who asked Him why He had allowed Lazarus to die, was also equally quick to believe when Jesus told her that He was the resurrection and the life.

After Jesus raised Lararus from the dead she did what she did best, She helped cook a gigantic thanksgiving feast! At that dinner Jesus came and sat by Lazarus and Mary came and washed His feet but instead of complaining this new Martha simply gratefully cooked the food and washed the plates. While her sister Mary lavished her love on Jesus with perfumed ointment, Martha lavished her love on the Master by putting food on His plate. In the same way that the air was filled with the fragrance of the perfume, it was also filled with the aroma of Martha’s cooking!

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Oh yes we know the story of Mary will be told forever, but we must never forget that Jesus also loved Martha. Martha also gave the best she had. So while you are serving a Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow remember your sister Martha.  Don’t let disappointment or discouragement keep you from just giving your best and keeping your eyes on Jesus no matter where you sit at His table!

Thankfulness Challenge 2

We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly[a] mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ  1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

“What exactly do you love about me?” my wife sometimes asks me. She doesn’t just want an akimg0754bstract lovey -dovey comment, she wants all the little nitty gritty details! Think of thankfulness as a thousand piece puzzle. It takes more than knowing what the big picture looks like to get that thing together. Finishing the puzzle means fitting each and every tiny part exactly into the position for which it was designed! Paul got very detailed about the thanks he was giving for his friends at the Thessalonian church. In fact Paul went into extra innings in his prayer time to remind God with a specific list of their work, their faith and their labor of love.

We might tell our pastor, “Hey great sermon today!” but can we take the time to say, “That part about unshakable confidence being like the mountains really made me think.” If we are to start building a design of thankfulness, let’s make it our goal this week to just fit in at least one tiny puzzle piece. If kimg0749we were blessed by the worship, we could say something like, “When you got to that part about God breaking chains, my heart just felt a breakthrough tonight!”

Saying thank you, may feel awkward and maybe a little strange but God himself can be very specific when he expresses His love for us. He counts our every hair, he bottles every tear and hears every cry. He touched a leper and put clothing on a naked demon possessed man. Jesus had compassion on the hungry, then took the time to count every one in the crowd before he multiplied their bread. He has left us a perfect example that is not only our duty but it is our joy to follow. When we give thanks for what someone has done for us we never know what it will do. Giving thanks is a bit like washing dirty tired feet. Thankfulness means taking the position of servant before our brothers and sisters, so we can walk together into everything that God has designed for us!