Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World

We started our new study last night, "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World." The discussion was great. I am hoping this will be the first of weekly updates on our study for those who couldn't be there and for those who may be following along with us, but not able to attend. We discussed preconceived ideas about Mary and Martha, primarily that Mary was right and Martha was wrong. Then we looked at Luke 10:38-42 to discover what scripture said. We talked about whether we could change or if "once a Martha, always a Martha" was true. We all agreed that it is possible to change, though with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We looked at the following scriptures to back this up: I Samuel 10:6, Psalm 51:10-12, Ezekiel 36:26-27, Romans 12:2, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Philippians 1:6.

Several ladies shared their experiences of being transformed. The question raised by the author is how can we tell if someone's transformation is permanent versus temporary. We read Galations 5:16-25 for some answers (walking by the spirit, getting rid of sin and putting on the fruit of the Spirit, to name a few.)

We spent a few minutes walking through the familar passage in Matthew 11:28-30 where Jesus invites all who are weary to come to Him and take His yoke.

There was a quote we looked at from page 9 on our books, "while the world applauds achievement, God desires companionship." We discussed some of the things the world applauds and even expects and also what companionship with God means.

When I first read chapter one and as I prepared to lead this session, the ladder illustration, on page 2, kept coming to my mind. We listed the various "rungs" on our spiritual ladder (devotional time, prayer, giving, serving, encouraging, teaching, etc.). We then listed reasons for not moving up the next rung (fear, distraction, discouragement, loss of focus, etc.). We returned to our ladder illustration at the end of the study. I believe the first rung is salvation, a relationship with Christ which is the start of our spiritual journey. I also believe that the various rungs are different and perhaps in a different order for each of us - that God works with us individually. We may go up a step and then go back down. I also believe that in this illustration, we have a safety belt, the Holy Spirit.

The challenge for us is to consider what that next "rung" is for ourselves and I encouraged the ladies to write it in the front of their books. As we work through this study and pursue a more intimate walk with God we'll see how he helps us move up our ladder.