Listen

It was late in the season. The Kings led the series two to one, and game four against the Lakers was today at 3:30. I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Some people said I should watch the WNBA (women's professional basketball) or the Home Shopping Network, but I had always been a tomboy. I made tree houses, not quilts. Basketball came naturally.
I was busy. I was always busy, but today my sister had invited guests over for lunch at one, so "busy" had taken on a whole new dimension.
Well, guest-singular-actually. She had invited one of her friends over. Mary had a lot of friends. Isn't it funny how your younger sister always has more playmates than you? I never minded it. Ever since I could remember, she had her friends and I had my work. I didn't care for her friends mostly-never had-but one had to make a good impression. And a good impression took a lot of work.
The salad was already done.-It was fresh from the package, and I was thankful for that. But the steaks were still frozen, the living room blared "aftermath," the potatoes were slowly cobwebbing on the counter, and someone had forgotten to do the breakfast dishes. (Don't you hate that?)
First things first. I mumbled appreciation for whoever had invented the microwave, jumped into my favorite pink apron, and scrounged through the cluttered drawers for my peeler. The sink was mysteriously clogged, the morning's scrambled eggs and marmalade were welded to my favorite china, and I couldn't find my broom. The morning had been a losing streak for me and I hoped the Kings game at 3:30 would cheer me up.
The steel wool briskly numbed my fingers as it scraped the ceramic raw, and somewhere in between the first and second shattered salad bowls, I heard Mary amble in the door and sprawl on the living room couch with her friend.
I knew I should be out there with them, socializing, sitting with them, but I was too busy. And if I knew my sister, she could do enough listening for both of us. She was a good worker-really she was. Usually, at least. But every time HE came around, she suddenly dropped everything to be with HIM.
Not me, though. I knew better than to leave the house a mess just to be with some guy, whoever it was. I knew what was important, and that was serving the guy, not sitting there giggling.
Another salad bowl down. It didn't even have the courtesy to break into big pieces. For God's sake, where was that stupid broom? Why didn't I just buy plastic bowls? Bits of amber glass scampered across the floor like spiders and crunched as I inadvertently ground them into the floor.
I bent to pick up what was left of the bowl and my finger caught on something. Blood. How could a measly scratch bleed so much? Mary's sleighbell laugh floated into the kitchen from the living room as she shared some glittering moment with her friend. I reached for a dishtowel and dabbed the cut.
The water was still running. The sink began to overflow onto the counter. The world was spinning out of control. Why me?
"Martha."
My name. Who was calling my name? I muttered please-God-not-now's under my breath.
"Martha."
What did Mary's friend want with me? I hustled into the living room.
"Master," I said, "don't You care that my sister has left me to serve You by myself?" I waved my arm at her. "Can You, like, ask her to maybe help me a little?"
"Martha, Martha," He said as He stood and touched my wrist. "I know you have tons on your mind, but the most important thing right now is not serving Me. Your sister has chosen that good part-to listen to Me. That's the most important thing. You can't expect Me to take that away from her, can you?"
I shook my head and stared at the floor. "No." I swallowed. "Guess not." The blood was gone. The cut in my skin had sealed. How did He do that?
"Sit down," He said. "Listen to My Words." He winked and grinned. "Please?"
I sat.
My brother Lazarus would be home from his treatments at St. John's Memorial Hospital any minute, and the kitchen was a wreck. But the most important thing…
I squeezed into the love seat with my sister and her friend, the Master, the Son of God, Jesus. I listened to His Words.
It didn't matter that the microwave was screaming at me to rescue the sizzling filet mignons from its belly. It didn't matter that the Kings game was on in five minutes.
I was busy.

v

Is this just an amusing story? An interesting fantasy? Could Jesus actually walk into someone's living room and impart love and enlightenment by His Words?
This did, in fact, happen long ago, when Jesus visited the home of two sisters in the town of Bethany (in what is now Israel). Here is the Biblical account:

As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, "Lord, don't You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42 NIV)

Time with Jesus can be a priceless pause in the day that puts everything back in perspective. You can spend time with Jesus through prayer, reading His Words, or meditating on His truth. It can be ten minutes or an hour, but if He is the focus-reflecting on Him, absorbing His love, taking in His Spirit, and thanking Him for all His blessings and wonders-it can be both exhilarating and renewing.
Jesus explains that we will find relief from pressure and anxiety as we leave busy-ness behind and approach Him. He said, "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28-29 NKJ).
You may think, "How will I find the time?"
The Bible says, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these [other] things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33 NIV). If you will spend time in prayer, in God's Word, and in seeking Him from your heart, things will go so much better. And that will help you to either have more time, or get better results from your efforts. There's always time for the things you put first.
So try sitting at Jesus' feet. Be like Mary and you will understand the Bible verse that says, "You will fill me with joy in Your presence" (Psalm 16:11 NIV).
-By Joe Johnston and Chloe West

God Always Needs More Pipe

By Barbara Johnson (Splashes of Joy in the Cesspools of Life)

Think of a gardener irrigating his garden. He is able to channel life-giving water to all areas except to one little dying plant way over in the corner. The gardener knows that if he had just one more piece of pipe he could run it over to that wilting plant and transform it with new life.

So it is with the Master Gardener. Because He chooses to minister through us, He needs many lengths of pipe to bless persons here, there, and all around. Perhaps in your area there is a drooping, wilting person who needs God's touch right now. Proverbs says, "Anxious hearts are very heavy, but a word of encouragement does wonders" (Proverbs 12:25 TLB).

We can be that extra piece of pipe through which He can channel His cheer, encouragement, and joy to those who need it. Christ Himself set the example of what it means to be a spirit-lifter. On the night before He died, during one of the darkest moments that He and His disciples had ever known in the three years that they had been together, He told them, "Cheer up, for I have overcome the world" (John 16:33 TLB).

Love is the greatest gift we have to give, and if we let Him, God will help us be sensitive to loneliness, grief, and pain wherever it exists-which is all around us.

* * *

A Prayer

One way to be a "pipe" of God's love is to pray for others. Your prayers can bring His love nearer and make His help more available to your loved ones. Here's a sample prayer.

Dear Jesus, I ask You to bless my friends. Each one has a different set of circumstances, joys, problems, and needs, but You can provide for each one.

Where there is pain, give Your peace and mercy.

Where there is tiredness, please give understanding of Your strength, and show these how to tap into that strength by leaning on You.

Where there are difficult decisions to make or confusion or stress, make Your way plain and give everything needed for these to follow where You lead.

Where there is loneliness, I ask You to renew the experience of Your nearness and draw these into greater intimacy with You.

Where there is insecurity or self-doubt, please grant renewed confidence in Your abilities, more faith in You inside each of these.

Where there is fear, please demonstrate Your love and give courage, as we know You can work out any situation for the best.

Where there is something blocking fellowship with You, please reveal the obstacle and take it away-whether sin, circumstances, or lack of faith.

Where there is a need for finances or other provision, please supply as You promised in Your Word, "God will supply all your need" (Philippians 4:19 KJV).

Where there is illness, send healing by Your miracle-working power and give instruction for healthful lifestyles.

Where there is a need for friendship and love, send other believers to fill up the void, as the Bible says, "If we are living in the light of God's presence, just as Christ does, then we have wonderful fellowship and joy with each other" (1 John 1:7 TLB).

Where there is a spiritual emptiness, send Your Word for inspiration, and grant sweet communion with You in prayer.

Whatever the need, please fill it, I ask in Your name, Jesus, as the Giver of all good things. Amen.

Prayer Power

“You really should stop dealing drugs now that you have become a Christian,” said prisoner Graham to one of his fellow inmates who is currently serving a life sentence. Graham, is one of many prisoners in England serving life sentences for murder who have recently been saved in jail.

“Never!” answered the newly-saved prisoner. “How can I earn money here in prison otherwise?”

That day, Graham not only prayed for his fellow inmate, but just before lights out he knocked on the wall and called to his neighbor to tell him he was praying for him.

The next morning, Graham was called into the prison director's office. He saw a pile of plastic bags on the table, full of white powder. “I have nothing to do with these drugs!” he said.

“Yes, we know,” answered the guard. “The prisoner in the cell next to yours called us this morning. He told us you prayed for him last night. He could not sleep at all and saw a white figure standing at the end of his bed all night. This morning, he called us, gave us the drugs and asked to be taken to a rehabilitation center. We thought that would interest you.”
--John Campbell


“My rice harvest will be so poor! All the villagers will make fun of me!” The new Christian, an ex-Hindu, tearfully sought the help of Ravikumar Kurapati, an Indian missionary who had started a new church in his village.

“Let's see what the Word of God says about prayer,” said Kurapati.
The missionary later recounts what happened. “After we prayed together, we decided to pray for his crop. The next day, I went with him to his field, watched by almost the entire village. I took a bucket of fresh water, and prayed. I then asked him to take the water and throw it over his crop. When harvest time came, he was amazed: He collected an incredible 30 sacks of rice from his narrow strip of land. It not only provided this man with income, but it opened the other villagers' eyes to see that Jesus Christ is the true God.”
--Gospel for Asia

Say a Prayer

I was taking my usual morning walk when a garbage truck pulled up beside me. I thought the driver was going to ask for directions. Instead, he showed me a picture of a cute little five-year-old boy. “This is my grandson, Jeremiah,” he said. “He's on a life-support system at a Phoenix hospital.” Thinking he would next ask for a contribution for his hospital bills, I reached for my wallet. But he wanted something more than money. He said, “I'm asking everyone I can to say a prayer for him. Would you say one for him, please?” I did. And my problems didn't seem like much that day.
--Bob Westenberg, “Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul”


I Said a Prayer for You Today

I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard--
I felt the answer in my heart
Although He spoke no word.
I didn't ask for wealth or fame
(I knew you wouldn't mind)--
I asked Him to send treasures
Of a far more lasting kind!
I asked that He'd be near you
At the start of each new day,
To grant you health and blessings
And friends to share your way.
I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small--
But it was for His loving care
I prayed the most of all!
--Author unknown

The Eye of Faith

The Eye of Faith
By Ron Rhodes

It was a Wednesday afternoon. Shrouded in a dense fog, a large steamer edged slowly forward off the coast of Newfoundland, its foghorn crying out somber notes of warning. The captain, nearing exhaustion from lack of sleep, was startled by a gentle tap on his shoulder. He fumed and found himself face to face with an old man in his late seventies.

The old man said, “Captain, I have come to tell you that I must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.”

The captain pondered for a moment, and then snorted, “Impossible!”
“Very well,” the old man responded, “if your ship can’t take me, God will find some other means to take me. I have never broken an engagement in 57 years.”
Lifting his weary hands in a gesture of despair, the captain replied, “I would help if I could-but I am helpless.”

Undaunted, the old man suggested, “Let’s go down to the chart room and pray.” The captain raised his eyebrows in utter disbelief, looking at the old man as if he had just escaped from a lunatic asylum.
“Do you know how dense the fog is?” the captain demanded.
The old man responded, “No. My eye is not on the thickness of the fog but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.”

Against his better judgment, the captain accompanied the old man to the chart room and knelt with him in prayer. With simple words a child might use, the old man prayed, “O Lord, if it is consistent with Thy will, please remove this fog in five minutes. Thou knowest the engagement Thou didst make for me in Quebec on Saturday. I believe it is Thy will.”

The captain, a nominal Christian at best, thought it wise to humor the old man and recite a short prayer. But before he was able to utter a single word, he felt a tap on his shoulder. The old man requested, “Don’t pray, because you do not believe. And as I believe God has already answered, there is no need for you to pray.” The captain’s mouth dropped open.

Then the old man explained, “Captain, I have known the Lord for 57 years and there has never been a single day that I have failed to gain an audience with the King. Get up, captain, and open the door, and you will find the fog is gone.” The captain did as he was requested, and was astonished to find that the fog had indeed disappeared.

The captain later testified that this encounter with the aged George Mueller completely revolutionized his Christian life. He had seen with his own eyes that Mueller’s God was the true and living God of the Bible. He had seen incredible power flow from a frail old man-a power rooted in simple childlike faith in God.

The late Pastor Ray Stedman once delivered a sermon in which he said, “Faith has an apparent ridiculousness about it. You are not acting by faith if you are doing what everyone around you is doing. Faith always appears to defy the circumstances. It constitutes a risk and a venture.”

That is the kind of faith George Mueller demonstrated decade after decade in his long and fruitful life. During the final year of his earthly sojourn, he wrote that his faith had been increasing over the years little by little, but he emphatically insisted that there was nothing unique about him or his faith. He believed that a life of trust was open to virtually all of God’s children if only they would endure when trials came, instead of giving up.

George Mueller (1805-1895)
One of the early members of the Brethren, he founded five orphans’ homes in Bristol, England, with shelter for 2,000 children. During his lifetime he cared for almost 10,000 orphans and received $1.5 million [multi-millions of today’s dollars] by faith alone. Before his death he estimated he had received 50,000 specific answers to prayer.

Believe

(From an essay by Dick Innes, Narramore Christian Foundation, entitled "The Power of Belief")


"Down the streets of Portsmouth [England] more than a hundred years ago," said Lt. General Ira C. Eaker in a speech given some time ago, "walked a sailor with one arm, one eye, and a persistent state of nerves, unable to tread a ship's deck without being seasick. Indeed, he would probably have been in a home for incurables were his name not Admiral Lord Nelson. The man's spirit drove the flesh."

Born in 1758, Horatio Nelson, the son of a pastor, was a small, frail child who loved sailing. As a young teenager he joined the British navy and, while journeying to the East Indies, caught a fever that seriously damaged his health. But he never allowed this to hold him back. At age 18 he was appointed a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and by the year 1802 was made commander in chief of the British fleet.

Two years later, at the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets. This was the greatest naval victory in British history and left the British in control of the seas for the rest of the 1800s. Unfortunately, Nelson was mortally wounded during Trafalgar, but lived long enough to know that his fleet had won the battle. His last words were, "Thank God I have done my duty."

Nelson was a man of fearless courage and devotion. He believed in his country, in his cause, and in himself. He proved this with his words and more so with his life. He once said, "I am of the opinion that the boldest measures are the safest." Nelson was a man greatly admired by others, who said about him, "His frail body housed a great spirit."

The prominent British philosopher John Stuart Mill would have agreed. He said, "One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who only have interest."

No matter what your limitations or your handicaps are, God has a plan and purpose for your life. Believe it and you will receive it. Act on it and you will achieve it, and like the apostle Paul you, too, will be able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

* * *

Dear God, give me belief in You, strong faith and trust to withstand, carry on, and be victorious in the storms and battles of life. Help me to so believe and live that when I come to the end of life's journey, I too will be able to say, "Thank God that I have done my duty." Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.

* * *

Victory belongs to the most persevering.-Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), emperor of France who conquered much of Europe

* * *

Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.-Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), British writer and prime minister

* * *

Obstacles cannot crush [us]. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.-Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Florentine painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist

* * *

It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.-Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-born American physicist

* * *

It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.-Sir Edmund Hillary (b. 1919), New Zealand mountain climber and Antarctic explorer, one of the first two climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest