Week 8| Day 1 JESUS WITH MARY AND MARTHA Luke 10:38-42

When Jesus entered the home of Mary and Martha, two very different responses to His presence emerged. Martha busied herself with serving, eager to honor Jesus through hospitality, while Mary sat quietly at His feet, listening to His teaching. Overwhelmed and frustrated, Martha asked Jesus to intervene, only to hear His gentle but corrective words: she was anxious and distracted by many things, while Mary had chosen the one thing that truly mattered.

This brief scene reveals a timeless spiritual tension. Service is good, but intimacy is better. Activity for Jesus must never replace attentiveness to Jesus. The “good portion” Mary chose was not idleness, but devotion—placing His presence and His Word above every urgent demand. Jesus invites us to reorder our lives so that doing flows from being, and work is rooted in worship.

APPLICATION

1. Guard Your Priorities

Even good responsibilities can crowd out time with Jesus if left unchecked. Serving Jesus is never a substitute for seeking Jesus. A person’s intimacy fuels their service.
2. Watch What Anxiety Reveals

Stress often exposes misplaced focus or self-reliance rather than trust. Paul encourages us to be anxious for nothing, but in everything pray and seek the heart of God.

3. Choose Presence Over Pressure

Sitting at Jesus’ feet is not optional for disciples; it is essential. There is no higher calling and no greater honor than to bend and bow at the Savior’s feet—it’s the most high place.

4. Serve from Fullness, not Frustration

Ministry done without intimacy leads to resentment instead of joy—burn out instead of fulfillment.

5. Simplify Around “the One Thing”

A life centered on Christ is less cluttered and more peaceful while a life in pursuit of things that will ultimately pass away is most often frantic, fruitless, and unfulfilling.
 
PRAYER

Lord Jesus, You know how easily my heart becomes anxious and distracted by many things. Thank You for inviting me to choose what truly matters—Your presence and Your Word. Help me to slow down, listen, and sit at Your feet before I rush to serve. Reorder my priorities, calm my spirit, and teach me to live from intimacy with You rather than pressure. May my service flow from love and not obligation. I choose the good portion today. Amen.