Seeking Jesus From the Edges – “What I Need”

Seeking Jesus from the Edges – Morning Devotions
Pastor Calvin Cook – May 6, 2024
“What I Need”
Scripture focus – Luke 10:38-42 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 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!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Often people will ask, “why has my life fallen apart?” To be very honest with you I ask myself this question. It seems that often we are barraged with a variety of situations, some appearing good, some not so much that lead us into a life that seems everything is falling apart. This morning, I humbly am reminded during these situations, the reason that chaos appears and happens is because I have not taken the time to sit at the feet of Jesus and be humbled by his presence and realize the importance of what is truly important. I have not chosen “the one needful thing.”

The scripture this morning is a powerful direction of two sisters in two different places. One with the idea that a great celebration had to be prepared and felt alone in the preparations. I can identify with Martha many times. Martha so upset by her sister that she appealed to Jesus. Martha received an answer she was not looking for, this is the truest expression of “thy will be done” that will ever be experienced. Mary had chosen to sit at the feet of Jesus, to hear first hand his teachings, feel his comfort and presence, and center. I can identify with Mary and the “one needful thing” that I need and that we all need.

So often in our life we lose our perspective, lose our way, head off into a world that does not have our best interest in mind. We get caught up in whatever way the waves of life take us and because of it, we separate ourselves from all things that are needful. With the main thing being, sitting at the feet of Jesus, just like Mary ignoring the conditions of everything going on around us. But yet we don’t, and this becomes the answer to the opening question of why our lives are falling apart.

In May 1734, John Wesley wrote a sermon entitled The One Thing Needful. In 1871 the great theologian, preacher Charles Spurgeon followed suit with his own writing. One common thread both Wesley and Spurgeon presented was the one needful thing was the renewal of our human nature in the image of God.
There you have it, when we are so busy focusing on everything else, distractions will come. The distractions will take you to places that the Spirit did not lead you. Please understand this is not just physical but spiritually taking you away from that which is important, and this will be when life starts to unravel.

Closing this morning with an excerpt from Charles Spurgeon’s sermon “One Needful Thing”. “It is needful, I have already said, to the sinner. Life, and health, and peace will come to him when he becomes a disciple of the Crucified. Would God that he might be made so this very morning. There is life in a look at the Crucified One. To depend entirely upon the sinner’s Saviour is the sinner’s salvation. God bring you to his feet, dear hearers.”

May God grant this to everyone of us and may we accept it !