Psalm 125:1 A song of ascents. Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore. 3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, for then the righteous might use their hands to do evil. 4 Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. 5 But those who turn to crooked ways the LORD will banish with the evildoers. Peace be upon Israel.

The journey “Up to Jerusalem” has been a long and winding road of discipleship, with many lessons along the way.  The climb has been steep and the lessons have been necessary and sometimes difficult to accept.  Expect Opposition.  Gaze Beyond the Hills.  Seek God’s Presence and Know His Peace.  Cry out, ‘Have Mercy!’  God’s Way of Escape is a narrow costly one.

If we focus only on the opposition, narrowness, and difficulty, we will miss the beauty of Psalm 125 and Discipleship Lesson #6: Blessings of Security.

In this sixth Song of Ascents, the psalmist speaks of vindication and eternal security that revives the hearts and souls of weary travelers because this hope is as reliable as God Himself.   Looking forward to the temple and the presence of God among His people, the pilgrims enjoy the security of the favor of God upon His people—a security that lasts forever!  It cannot be shaken!  A Mount Zion kind of trust that is rock solid because God is our Rock!

As God’s people, we are secure.  We are protected.  Our journey pauses at a rest area—a place to experience the reviving of our souls, the refreshing of our spirits as Christ’s living water showers us with the love and grace and goodness of God.

Do you need the refreshing presence of God today? 

• Bask in the warmth of His love.
• Feel the Holy Spirit rain down upon you.
• Know the promise of His grace, the unmerited favor of God.
• His love is forever.
• His protection is secure.
• His people are vindicated and cannot be shaken.
• God is eternally unchanging and forever faithful!

These are the Blessings of Security paid for by God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.

 He has become a high priest forever,  in the order of Melchizedek.   (Hebrews 6:19-20)

Today is a perfect day to enjoy the rest area and praise Him,  enjoy Him,  and cherish His being Emmanuel,  God with us…

Do you get the feeling that the farther “Up to Jerusalem” we’re climbing, the harder the lessons get?  God’s Way of Escape has been our hardest lesson to date. And the hits just keep on coming.

Luke 13:31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day– for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'” (NIV)

We’re hearing the Songs of Ascent as the background musical score: Expect Opposition; Gaze Beyond the Hills; Seek God’s Presence and Know His Peace; and Cry Out ‘Have Mercy.’  God’s Way of Escape begins with the dark notes of a world of sin from which we need to be delivered.  Look at all the problems of this world: spiritual darkness, physical problems, rejection, death, persecution, desolation.

But God is concerned with redemption!

In today’s passage, Jesus looks beyond the darkness and opposition of Herod and others who don’t accept God’s Way of Escape.

He presses onward with His calling. 

He presses on toward the goal! 

He presses into the hard way to the Cross, to His death, and to God’s Way of Escape.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going—but this is far more than that!  It is acknowledging that God’s Way of Escape is rarely the painless or easy route. 

Just like our discipleship journey is a long and winding road, Jesus’ journey to the Cross had been paved since before the creation of man.  Now He was showing us the fullest extent of His love:  Christ Our Redeemer.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,  but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.  He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake (NIV) 1 Peter 1:18-20

For further thought:

1. Are there aspects of your life that God wants to redeem?
2. What opposition has taken its stand against God’s Way of Escape for you?
3. In what ways has the easy route seemed better to you?

Luke 13:22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’ “But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’

The Songs of Ascents are carried on the wind to the towns and villages through which pilgrims traveled on their way to the Temple in Jerusalem.  Expect Opposition.  Gaze Beyond the Hills.  Seek God’s Presence and Know His Peace.  Cry Out ‘Have Mercy!’ Remember God’s Way of Escape.  These are the discipleship lessons of our journey.

Some discipleship lessons are hard to accept.  God’s Way of Escape is one of them. 

I don’t know about you, but there’s a part of me that is uncomfortable with the idea that some will be in the Kingdom of heaven and some will not.  Moreover, if I’m honest with you, I can tell you that some who will be in the Kingdom I would probably have liked to put outside and some who will end up outside of the Kingdom I’d wish were in.

The whole concept of election to salvation is complex, disquieting and uncomfortable.

Is it disquieting because it’s out of my control and requires my trust in the holy character of God to always do what is right?

God’s Way of Escape requires uncomfortable faith.  God doesn’t ask my opinion on what I think justice and mercy look like.

There are many people who look at passages like our Scriptures for today and believe it must be erroneous somehow.  After all, it goes against the grain of our culture to believe that Jesus would have a narrow door.  But according to Jesus, “many…will try to enter” but “not be able to” do so.  Being able to enter requires faith and the righteousness that comes by faith.  We cannot rely on our own righteousness no matter what good people we might think we have been.

In today’s Scriptures, the owner of the house (a picture of God) tells us what the narrow door involves and what the identity badge for entry looks like:

• “I don’t know you”—the narrow door requires a relationship with God and an identity badge clearly stating Child by Faith.
• “or where you come from.”—the narrow door involves one God-given way (Jesus), not a million different ways.   The identity badge says Believer in Jesus.
• “Away from me, all you evildoers!”—the narrow door is holy and the identity badge says Righteous (not evildoer).

For the Kingdom of heaven to remain true to its namesake, it must remain a holy place for children of faith, believing in Jesus Christ, who have been made righteous by His death for their sins. 

Clearly, God’s Way of Escape was not a comfortable one for Jesus, either.

For further reflection:  It’s an uncomfortable and difficult discipleship lesson to acknowledge “God’s Way of Escape.”  Take time today to pray about your reaction to Jesus’ words.

Luke 13:1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them– do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

I recently had a shopping experience where the cashier forgot to give me one bag of my items.  I discovered soon afterward that some of the most expensive items I bought (and really wanted!) were in that bag.  So I called the retailer who told me that the manager would have to look at the tape from the transaction, but that they’d call me back after they looked at it.

Over an hour went by with no return call, so I decided to give up, go to the store with my receipt, and get the items that I’d paid for.  When I arrived at customer service, I began the long wait while everyone assumed I was guilty of trying to scam the store instead of being the loyal customer who shops there every week who simply didn’t get what she paid for.  They reviewed the tape and found that the cashier had forgotten to give me the very bag of items I was missing.  It was 2 hours of time during which I was (wrongly) considered guilty until proven innocent.

I was angry.  After all, no one who is actually innocent likes to be considered guilty.

If God were to review the tape of my life, no matter how much I might protest that I’d lived a pretty good and moral life and should be considered innocent, God’s review of the tape would show my life was a mixture of sin and goodness.  He couldn’t call the guilty innocent.

Today’s passage of Scripture reveals the very same truth: you and I start off as sinners and therefore we are guilty, having no innocence of our own to stand on.  Our only way of escape is what God provided.  Jesus paid for our sins and we gain His righteousness only by repenting and believing in Him.

Jesus looked at the lives of the Galileans and those killed in the collapse of the tower of Siloam and saw they were guilty sinners.  Did they die because they were worse than anyone else?

No, they died because of sin…the number one killer of human beings since the fall of man. 

Ironically, it’s the most curable killer because its effects were overcome by Jesus’ victory over death on the Cross.

This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.

There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 3: 22-24)

For further thought and meditation:

In a world that is perishing and “Guilty until Proven Innocent,” have you repented of sin and embraced God’s Way of Escape through faith in Jesus Christ?

Psalm 124:1 A song of ascents. Of David. If the LORD had not been on our side– let Israel say– 2 if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, 3 when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; 4 the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, 5 the raging waters would have swept us away. 6 Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. 7 We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. 8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our discipleship lessons in the Songs of Ascents so far have been:

1. Expect opposition
2. Gaze Beyond the Hills
3. Seek God’s presence and Know His Peace
4. Cry out, Have Mercy on Us!

Today we come to the fifth Song of Ascents and the lesson might be called: God’s Ways of Escape.  The poetry in this song is easily apparent.  If the Lord had not been on our side, we would have been swallowed alive, swept under, torn apart, or captured.  But “Praise be to the LORD!”  We have escaped.

Interestingly, this is a pilgrim’s song looking back at the spiritual and physical journey.  The pilgrims offer praise to God for their safe arrival in Jerusalem.   

Looking ahead through the windshield, they don’t forget to check their mirrors for what they’ve journeyed through.

In some respects, we live in a very thankless culture. 

Sure, there might be a superficial “Thank You” said at the checkout in some store’s cashier lane, or stamped on the plastic bag containing our purchases.  We might hear praise from a friend or receive a “Thank You” note for a good deed done.  That’s not the kind of praise and thanksgiving I’m talking about, though.

I’m talking about giving thanks to God. “Praise be to the LORD.”

How much of our prayer life is focused on asking God for help rather than praising Him for who He is and thanking Him for the help He has already provided?   When we only look ahead through the windshield, we don’t gain the perspective of checking the mirrors. 

When we check the mirrors of our spiritual journey, we see:

1. The very constancy of God is praiseworthy instead of common, routine, or mundane.
2. God’s ways of escape are not always obvious, but they are the complex and mysterious workings of our perfect God.
3. God’s ways of escape, of help, and provision may require our suffering injustice or self-denial.  Deliverance always involves being delivered from something. His way of escape for us involved the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who suffered and died for us.

Take time today—while looking forward to Easter Sunday—to remember the rich history of your discipleship journey and be refreshed in this moment through praising and thanking Him for His help.

Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name;

make known among the nations what he has done.

Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, O descendants of Israel his servant, O sons of Jacob, his chosen ones.  He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth (1 Chronicles 16:8-14)

Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? 27 “Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. (NIV)

The Garden of Eden was a place of grace and mercy.

It yielded all kinds of wonderful fruits because God Himself was there, walking in the midst of it.

Ever since Adam and Eve traded God’s presence in His beautiful garden for sin-scorched earth and hard toil, we’ve been preoccupied with work and worry.

 Outside of Eden, we have to work by the sweat of our brow to try to obtain things that ultimately still come to us by God’s grace and mercy.

Stop and think about that last sentence for a second. 

We no longer have a garden in which we automatically experience God’s intimate relationship and appreciate His ongoing presence.  Human sin put an end to that.  Outside of Eden, we sweat and toil.  We put in long hours at the office for a mixture of wheat and weeds.  We gaze upon a mountain of work and are opposed by winds of doubt that can churn any calm sea into an ocean of worry.  Our river of peace gets polluted by a flood of tears that accompany each day.

Why?  To gain what God stands prepared to give us—if only we will abide in His presence by faith?

If Jesus’ journey “Up to Jerusalem” put an end to the big obstacle for our enjoying God’s ongoing presence; if this occurred by His death on the Cross for our sin, then Jesus’ statement in verse 31 is crystal clear:

 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”

If God already stands prepared to give grace and mercy—providing everything we truly need for living—why are we trying to gain by human effort and worry what God will simply give us if we seek Him first?  God’s presence, His grace, and His mercy are available to us in Jesus Christ.  He is all we need.  It’s why Jesus said in verse 28, “O you of little faith!”

Expect Opposition when it comes to exercising faith.  Gaze Beyond the mountain of work and worry.  Seek God’s Presence and Know His Peace.  Have Mercy on Us!  Praise God from whom all blessings flow!  Seek first the Kingdom…

John 1:16 “From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.”

For further study and meditation:

• 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
• 1 Timothy 6:6-9
• 2 Corinthians 12:6-10
• Philippians 4:11-13
  

Luke 11:29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here. (NIV)

A crowd is growing behind Him as Jesus makes His way “Up to Jerusalem.”  Show us a sign, they ask. 

• Let’s see you do some tricks with your powers!
• Dazzle us with your miracles!
• Impress us with who you are!

Jesus is no carnival sideshow act with disciples as gospel barkers.  He doesn’t need to perform in order to prove to anyone that He’s the Messiah.  He knows who He is. 

He is the sign of Jonah to this wicked generation.

Many people seek to be popular, to gain a following, to be well respected, admired, and sought after.  Plenty of folks want to have well-established blue-chip résumés, showing many exemplary accomplishments in a short period of time.

Jesus wants none of that for the purpose of impressing people.  He is the Son of God.  He is the Son of Man.  He is the one and only Messiah.  The miracles He’s done in His 3 year ministry already affirm that He is who He says He is.  He doesn’t need to perform for people like He’s a circus dog—on demand, for their viewing pleasure.

The Songs of Ascents echo in the background…listen to Jesus:
• Expect Opposition from a wicked generation
• Gaze Beyond the Hills of earthly reputations and human approval
• Seek God’s Presence and Know His Peace–peace that is possible only for repentant sinners
• Cry out to God, “Have Mercy on Us!”  That’s what the Ninevites did.

One greater than Jonah is here among you!  I’m here, Jesus says.  If the Ninevites listened to a one line sermon from a reluctant prophet named Jonah and yet they repented, how much more should you all repent?  One greater than King Solomon is among you!  Rather than asking for a sign, seek Him and His wisdom:

Gaze beyond the miracles to the God who does them.
Seek His presence and experience peace with God.
Cry out, not for a sign, but for mercy.
Repent, the Kingdom of heaven is near!

For further meditation and study: 

Read  Jonah 3:1-10 .  How did the Ninevites respond to Jonah’s preaching?

A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to you, to you whose throne is in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.  Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy on us, for we have endured much contempt.  We have endured much ridicule from the proud, much contempt from the arrogant (Psalm 123:1-4)

The discipleship lessons of the Songs of Ascents have been building, even as we have witnessed them in Jesus’ journey “Up to Jerusalem.”

1. Expect Opposition.
2. Gaze Beyond the Hills.
3. Seek God’s Presence and Know Peace.

Today’s lesson takes another step up on our spiritual journey to the presence of God.  Discipleship Lesson #4 might be entitled: Have Mercy!

In the Songs of Ascents, we’re moving beyond the gates of the city of Jerusalem and physically approaching the Temple, but spiritually, we’re looking beyond the Temple itself.  The psalmist lifts his eyes to the one whose throne is in heaven.   He looks upward, dependent upon God for mercy and grace because the journey itself has crossed the landscape of a world that shows no mercy.

Pilgrims on a spiritual journey are ridiculed, belittled, reviled, and humiliated.  They are made to feel alone and friendless.  They are isolated and considered fringe elements.  Having been moved out of the center of a world in which we live, Christians can feel out of place.  Doubt creeps in.

Have you ever felt judged, been ostracized for your faith, or been treated like an unwelcome outsider?

The song of Psalm 123 rises, beginning with one voice singing I and swelling into our we chorus of us.  Have mercy on us, we cry!  We can even hear the echoes of this chorus in the New Testament:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are– yet was without sin.  Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Unlike the pilgrims of Jesus’ day who couldn’t think of approaching God at all (let alone with confidence!), we can approach the throne of grace…because Jesus is there…pleading our case.  He knows our weaknesses, took our punishment, overcame our death sentence, and stands as a testimony to the mercy of God upon repentant sinners.

Have mercy on us, Lord Jesus!

Luke 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come’…9 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. …13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

I think Jesus was a really interesting guy.  He didn’t do the expected.

His disciples have just watched and possibly even listened to Him pray.  Yet, when He was done, they asked Him to teach them to pray just as John [the Baptist] taught his disciples.  It wasn’t, “Lord, teach us how to pray like we just saw you do.”  Why “just as John [the Baptist]”?  Were the disciples trying to keep up with the Joneses or the Baptists?  Was their desire for earthly hills, methods of prayer, or even a liturgical prayer that was “The Jesus Brand” since John’s followers had “The Baptist Brand”?  They were in the presence of Jesus–Emmanuel, God with us!  Why were they looking at earthly hills instead of gazing beyond them to the presence of God Himself?

Jesus didn’t take the bait.

He took the whole rod of comparison–hook, line, and sinker–and then the entire earthly tackle box of prayer.  In its place, He gave them (and us) the most heavenly perspective on seeking the presence of our holy and powerful God. 

He genuinely taught them how to pray.

Just like Martha learned in yesterday’s lesson:  Seek God’s presence; listen to Jesus; and whatever you truly need to serve Him will be given to you.   Daily bread—given!  Forgiveness and mercy—given!  The ability to forgive others—given!  Protection from opposition—given!

Jesus gives a few practical examples reinforcing the priority of seeking God’s presence and then He drops the most amazing statement on them in verse 13:

“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

The Holy Spirit’s previous activity in Luke’s gospel involved preparing the way and pointing to Jesus as the Son of God, Savior, and Messiah.  The Holy Spirit was now being offered to disciples of Jesus who ask God, in prayer, for God’s ongoing presence with them…even as Jesus heads “Up to Jerusalem” to His death.   Just amazing!

Jesus says, many good gifts come to people who don’t deserve them—it’s how God shows grace toward our physical needs.  But the heavenly perspective is that God knows what we need most is His presence, not things.  Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

To those who were already on a journey “Up to Jerusalem” with Jesus Christ, praying like Jesus involves a priority act of worship: coming into the very presence of God, inviting His Kingdom to come, and boldly asking that He will meet our deepest needs through His ongoing presence and through this, satisfying our lesser needs—both by His grace.

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).

Have you ever discovered that distractions come when you’re trying to pray? Or maybe when you want to do some Bible study, suddenly the phone rings, the baby cries, your teenager decides to become an inner two-year-old, or a worry hits you square between the eyes?    Perhaps you’ve been trying to serve God in some way and suddenly it’s like Pandora ’s Box pops open and a whole bunch of awful things pounce on you and render you motionless?

Listening to Jesus is what Martha knew to do.  But serving Jesus is what Martha wanted to do.  Scripture tells us that Martha was the hostess, having opened her home to Jesus and His disciples.  What she didn’t realize is that she was about to learn three discipleship lessons from the Songs of Ascents all at once.

Distractions divided her attention.  Worries crowded her mind.  Things upset her because she wanted to do nice things for Jesus.  But Jesus tells her that only one thing was needed: Listen to Jesus.  Listen to Him and everything else that is needed will be given to you. 

Being a Type A, task-oriented kind of gal, I can relate to Martha.         I must admit that the number of people who turn this passage of Scripture into an unbiblical sitting-around-doing-nothing-approach for women kind of frosts me.   They act as if Jesus is scolding Martha:

“Why can’t you be like your sister?     She’s good and you’re bad!”  

This is so far from the truth!  Nowhere are we admonished in Scripture to sit around happily doing nothing, without a thought in our heads of how to demonstrate our love for Jesus by serving Him.

            There is a time and place for serving God!         (It comes after listening to Him.)

Rather than upbraiding her, Jesus was teaching Martha in a way she could appreciate.  He gave her the entire dump truck of discipleship lessons we’ve encountered in the Songs of Ascents in one major drop.  Listen to Me, Jesus says.  Expect Distractions.  Gaze Beyond Them.  Peace comes in My Presence.

The better part that Mary chose-for that moment-was the presence of Jesus because that is how He changes us for the purpose of serving Him.  Martha had been seeing the earthly hills of distractions and the mountain of work.  She needed to set her gaze beyond them to God’s presence since that is where we experience His peace.

The joy, wholeness, and sense of shalom (peace) required for Martha to serve Jesus properly was right in front of her eyes, there in her home, in the peaceful presence of God the Son, Jesus.