November 13, 2025 • 23 mins
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Audrey (00:00):
Hello friends.
Welcome back to Grace for MyHome.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I amso blessed to be back with you
again this week.
I hope that you're doing well.
We are doing great.
It has turned cold here incoastal South Carolina.
This week the temperaturedropped 25 degrees from one day
(00:21):
to the next, and it just it wasa shock to the system.
There was even reports of snowflurries not too far from our
house.
I didn't see I didn't see anypersonally.
My kids told me that they sawsome, but I was in bed by the
time that happened.
But that's just unheard of hereto have snow in November.
So it's it's forced me to gointo my closet and dig out warm
(00:45):
things to wear.
So um so that's beeninteresting.
Um at the coffee shop on thatday that it turned so cold, we
were extremely busy.
I guess people were looking forsomething to um to warm them
up.
So we had a busy day that day,which was fun.
We got to see people we had, wegot to meet new people and see
people we hadn't seen in a longtime.
(01:05):
This week I want to share withyou on the topic of religion
versus relationship and whatthat means to me, and hopefully
give you some things to thinkabout this week.
I've often heard religiondefined as man's way of getting
towards God or man's way ofreaching God, and I think that's
(01:26):
a good way to define religion.
But Jesus was God's way ofgetting to man.
You know, religion, there'smany different religions,
there's many different ways thatmankind tries to reach God and
to get close to him.
But God actually made a way forus to get close to him.
(01:50):
But God made a way for us toget to close to him, and that
way is through the cross, it'sthrough Jesus.
The safe thing about religionis religion answers all the
questions.
You know, every religion, everydenomination has its own
theology.
(02:10):
It has its way of seeing theworld and its way of seeing God
and explaining how man gets toGod.
And they it's always tied upwith a nice bow on top.
You know, this is what wethink, this is how we believe,
and of course, everyone thinkstheirs is the right way and the
correct way, but really it hasall of the answers, all of the
(02:33):
questions answered, and thatfeels comfortable, you know,
that feels safe.
And there are a lot of answers.
We have a lot of answers.
God has given us a lot ofanswers, but there are always
going to be questions, looseends, that we as humans that we
may never know, that God is notobligated to tell us, that we
(02:55):
can't figure out because we areearthly, we are we are in these
human bodies, and God is divine,he is spiritual.
And we don't have to know allof the answers to have a
relationship with God.
And I believe that that's hisdesire for us, and I think
that's when that's where we aspeople are truly satisfied when
(03:20):
we are in relationship withJesus and with God through
Jesus.
That is what satisfies thehunger in our in our souls.
That is what we were createdfor, is to be children of God,
and God made a way throughJesus.
John 3.16 is the simple gospel.
For God so loved the world thathe gave his only begotten son
(03:45):
that whosoever believes in himwill not perish, but have
everlasting life.
So God's desire is for us tocome to him through Jesus, and
not just to come to him onetime, but to be born again into
the kingdom of God as a child ofGod to draw near to him.
There is a mentality in a lotof denominations that when we
(04:09):
get saved, that's it.
You know, that's that's thepinnacle of our religious
experience.
But guys, that's just thebeginning.
You know, when you are bornagain, you're born into a new
kingdom.
You're born and have now becomethe person that God created you
to be.
You're this is what you wereborn for.
And so that's just thebeginning of life.
(04:31):
When you were born again, youare a new creature in Christ,
and your life is just starting.
And that doesn't matter, itdoesn't make any difference if
you're five years old or ifyou're 85 years old.
When you're born again, youjust started living.
And God desires a relationshipwith you, and a relationship is
personal.
A relationship is based onknowing each other, getting to
(04:56):
know each other.
It's there's personalitiesinvolved.
You know, we have a personalityand we come to God, and he is a
person.
We can know him, which ismind-blowing, right?
He's not a person as in he hasa he has flesh and blood like we
do, but he is God in threepersons: the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
(05:17):
And he's knowable.
We can know him.
We can't know everything abouthim because, like I said before,
we don't have the capacity.
But he sent Jesus to come downon our level that we could know
things about him.
Jesus said, if you've seen me,you've seen the Father.
And so Jesus reveals the natureof the Father, he shows us what
(05:40):
God is like, and he draws nearto us, he invites us to have a
relationship with him.
And that's what trueChristianity is all about.
It's not about a list of do'sand don'ts.
It's not about doing all theright things so that we can
climb the ladder and finallyreach heaven.
It's not about that at all.
(06:01):
It's about becoming a newcreature in Christ.
It's about believing the workthat God's already done and
receiving the gift of salvationthat he gives those who believe.
And that's the beginning of ourwalk with him, of our
relationship with him.
And we can get to know him.
There's an old hymn that saysit gets sweeter and sweeter as
(06:25):
the day goes by.
And that's because we get toknow him more and more, and we
get to find out that the richesin Christ are they're not
they're inexhaustible.
And to know him is to love him.
So we were created not forreligion, but for relationship.
(06:46):
God greatly desires us to knowhim and to be in an intimate
relationship with him.
Now, I'm not against religion,I'm not against organized
religion or denominations.
I think that human nature needssome kind of a structure to put
our belief in action.
(07:06):
You know, I think that we needcommunity and we need teaching
and we need to learn and drawfrom each other.
And I think that you know Jesusestablished the church himself.
So I'm not definitely notagainst religion or
denominations.
But I do think, and this is myopinion, I do think that things
(07:27):
tend to go south when we put ourreligion above our relationship
with Christ.
I think we all have to fightthat battle and stay alert so
that we stay in relationshipwith Jesus and we're not serving
him through rules orregulations or through a
religion that is dead.
See, when we stop seeking him,when we start and just start
(07:53):
practicing the traditions thathave been handed down that are
good traditions, then we cansubstitute the real presence of
God in our lives for religion.
Religion, it cannot satisfy us.
We were made to know God, wewere made to enjoy God and to
(08:14):
serve Him and to hear His voiceand to be in communication with
Him.
You know, Jesus said, I am thevine and you are the branches.
Abide in me and let my wordsabide in you, and you will
produce much fruit.
God's presence will be obvious.
You know, fruit is obvious.
(08:35):
It's you can't hide fruit, youknow, and and God's presence in
our lives, flowing through ourlives, automatically produces
fruit.
His life in us is evident to usand to other people.
And it's his will for us toproduce much fruit.
(08:56):
And he even said, and he alsosaid in that same passage, apart
from me, you can do nothing.
We can't produce godly fruitwithout God.
If unless he is living in us,unless he is moving in us,
unless his spirit is dwellinginside of us, then we cannot do
the things that please God.
(09:16):
Religion without relationship,it's it's dead.
It leads to a lot of thingsthat are not God's plan for us.
One thing it can lead to, youknow, if we're walking in
religion instead of relationshipand we're depending on our own
ability to serve God and not hisgrace, then we have a tendency
(09:37):
to become self-righteous duringthe seasons when we feel like
we're getting it right.
You know, if we're getting itright and we feel like we're
knocking it out the park, thenthere's a part of us, our human
nature, that is puffed up andfeels like, look at me.
And that is self-righteousness,and religion produces that.
And then there are other timeswhen we feel like we just can't
(10:00):
get it right.
You know, no matter how hard Itry, I just can't get this
right.
I can't keep the rules, I can'tdo the things the right way, I
keep I keep messing up, and thatleads to condemnation.
And the Bible says that there'stherefore no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesuswho walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit.
See, we can't take credit forthe good things that we that we
(10:23):
do, for the times when we get itright.
And God, He covers us for thetimes when we get it wrong,
because it's not about us andhow good we are and how great we
are, or even about how bad weare.
It's about what Jesus did onthe cross.
That is the gospel.
The good news is God did whatwe couldn't do because He
(10:44):
desired relationship with us.
So he made a way where therewas no way.
That is the good news, and itis good news because I couldn't
do it, you couldn't do it, andhe said, I will do it myself.
I will send my own son, I willextend my own hand to save those
who are lost.
And God promises that if wewill seek him, we will find him.
(11:07):
If we will seek him with all ofour heart.
Am I going to seek Jesus?
(12:08):
Am I going to seek him?
Or am I going to rest on thetraditions that may be trying to
replace, that I may be leaningon, that are replacing my
relationship with Jesus.
Now, for some of you, that maysound scary that I would even
say that, you know, that I wouldeven go there and say such
(12:30):
things.
It may feel like I'm justsaying, throw caution to the
wind, you know, do what feelsright.
I'm not saying that at all.
He's given us guardrails.
You know, God has given usguardrails for safety because he
cares about us.
He doesn't want us to fall in apit.
He doesn't want us to go off ona tangent.
(12:50):
He doesn't want us to be indeception.
He's given his word.
He's given us his word, and hisword is truth.
And we, that's why we need toknow the word so that we can
know if something is true ornot.
So we can know if we are beingdeceived, when we know the word,
when the truth is in us, itwill guide us and it will lead
(13:12):
us.
The Bible also says that thereis safety in a multitude of
counselors.
That's why it's so importantthat we not separate ourselves
from the body.
You know, it it says when yousee that day approaching, gather
yourselves together all themore.
Don't separate yourself fromthe body of Christ, from the
church.
There's wisdom in the church.
(13:32):
There are people there who willpray for you and care for you
and show you the way.
And just that sometimes wedon't have the answers.
They're just staying with youwhen you're going through hard
times and we we need each other.
God placed us in a family, in abody of believers called the
church.
And he gives us each other.
So I'm all for the church.
(13:53):
My husband and I pastored achurch for 16 years, and we
still attend that church, andthat's our family.
So I'm all for church.
But the church can't replaceJesus.
The church can't fill that spotthat he reserves only for
himself.
We must seek him.
We must make him number one.
(14:13):
There's a story that Luke tellsus in chapter 10 of his gospel
that most of you listeningprobably know.
And it's the story of when hevisited two sisters and a
brother, Mary, Martha, andLazarus.
And it there's so much in thisstory, and there's so many
(14:35):
lessons we can draw from thisstory.
But today I want to just sharewith you some of my thoughts on
Mary and Martha.
And as you know, Martha was nothappy with Mary because Jesus
was visiting.
I'm sure there were many peoplethere, lots of work to do, and
Martha was preparing a meal forall these people.
(14:57):
But Mary plotted herself downat the feet of Jesus to hear
Jesus teach.
And Martha didn't like this atall.
And she was offended.
And she told Jesus, she didn'thold back, she didn't, she
didn't bite her tongue.
She said, Tell her to get upand help me, Jesus.
(15:18):
And Jesus said, Martha, Martha,you are troubled about many
things, but Mary has chosen thebest part, and it will not be
taken from her.
But I want to remind you thatthis not only was it uncommon,
(15:39):
it was unheard of.
In Mary's day, women did notlearn from rabbis.
Women could not learn.
They only had a a very limitededucation.
And when a rabbi came, the menwould sit at Jesus' feet and the
(16:00):
men would learn, while thewomen prepared the meal.
So what Mary was doing was justunheard of.
As far as the religion of theday went, Martha was right.
She was telling Jesus, tellMary her place, remind Mary of
her place.
(16:20):
But Jesus was giving Mary a newplace.
Jesus was calling Mary to be adisciple, more than just a
worker, a disciple.
Now there's a time to work,there's a time to serve, but
there's also a time to sit atthe Lord's feet, especially when
He's given you permission.
(16:42):
And He gave her permission.
And so this story takes on awhole new meaning when we
remember that Mary was, she wasradical.
She was doing something thatwas against the religion of her
day because there was a higherauthority, because there was a
higher calling, and that callingwas Jesus.
(17:04):
She was seeking the Lord.
She wanted to hear from him.
I believe she knew in her hearthe is not going to be with me
for with us forever.
You know, he had a limited timeon earth.
And while he was on earth, shepushed away everything else, all
the distractions, and she satat his feet to learn from him
(17:25):
because one day he was not goingto be available.
And while he was here, she wasgoing to learn from him.
And she did not listen to thenaysayers or the ones who were
trying to tell her to get backin her place, or those who were
just offended that she wouldthink that she could sit at the
feet of a rabbi and learn as awoman.
(17:47):
And he did not rebuke her.
He did not tell her, Mary, youknow better.
Get back in the kitchen, go dowhat you're supposed to be
doing.
He said she has chosen the bestpart.
It will not be taken from her.
And I'm sure Martha was not theonly one in the room that was
(18:08):
shocked to hear this coming fromthe rabbi's mouth.
Sometimes Jesus will do things,say things that we just never
expected because it doesn't fitin with the flavor of religion
that we follow.
It doesn't mean that yourreligion is bad.
Doesn't mean that that's notwhere God's placed you.
(18:30):
I'm saying follow Jesus.
Choose Jesus.
When you hear him calling,choose him.
And he will work out thedetails.
He will defend you.
Maybe not at that moment.
Maybe at that moment you feellike I've made everybody mad and
(18:50):
nobody understands that myheart is to hear the Lord.
That's my heart is to obey him,to hear his voice.
But he's calling us.
He's calling us back.
He's calling us to his feet.
He's got things he wants totell us.
And if we're so busy pleasingeverybody else by doing the
things that they think we shouldbe doing, and maybe we even we
(19:12):
think we should be doing.
If we're so busy doing thosethings that we don't actually
hear what he's saying, if wedon't get to his feet and hear
his voice, then we'll miss ouropportunity.
And God's He has good things.
He has good things.
And he says, Seek me and youwill find me.
Sit at his feet and you willhear his voice.
Press through the awkwardness,press through the opinions of
(19:34):
others, press through thethings, even in your own mind
that says, Who am I?
Who am I?
to hear from Jesus.
He has the good things in storefor you.
He wants to speak to you, hewants to give you clarity in
some issues.
But he needs your attention.
So this week, I encourage you,give him your attention.
(19:55):
Put some things aside.
Even if it doesn't feel right,say, no, I'm carving out this
little bit of time to hear theLord's voice, to sit at his
feet, and to give himopportunity to speak to me and
to believe that he wants tospeak to me.
I hope somewhere in there Godspoke and it hit the place it
(20:17):
was supposed to hit.
But before you go, I want topray for you and let you know
that I love you, that I pray foryou guys, that I appreciate you
coming each week and listening.
And um, reach out to me if youhave been blessed by the
podcast.
Reach out and say, hey, Audrey,I'm out here listening and just
(20:38):
let me know your name and andyour situation and where you're
from.
I I love getting messages frommy listeners.
I love it.
So let me pray for you beforewe go.
Father, I thank you for theseprecious ones that you have
allowed me to encourage thisweek and to speak into their
lives.
And I pray, Lord, that youwould teach us how to seek you,
(20:59):
how to find you.
Lord, I pray, God, that youwould show us how to get to the
place, Lord, with the voicesthat are just screaming at us
from this world and telling uswho we are and what we should do
or what we shouldn't do.
That God, you would help us getalong with you and push those
voices out of our minds and justconcentrate on you.
If only for just a few minutes,Lord.
(21:20):
Give us clarity, I pray.
God, we honor you in Jesus'name.
Amen.
Hello friends.
Welcome back to Grace for MyHome.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I amso blessed to be back with you
again this week.
I hope that you're doing well.
We are doing great.
It has turned cold here incoastal South Carolina.
This week the temperaturedropped 25 degrees from one day
(00:21):
to the next, and it just it wasa shock to the system.
There was even reports of snowflurries not too far from our
house.
I didn't see I didn't see anypersonally.
My kids told me that they sawsome, but I was in bed by the
time that happened.
But that's just unheard of hereto have snow in November.
So it's it's forced me to gointo my closet and dig out warm
(00:45):
things to wear.
So um so that's beeninteresting.
Um at the coffee shop on thatday that it turned so cold, we
were extremely busy.
I guess people were looking forsomething to um to warm them
up.
So we had a busy day that day,which was fun.
We got to see people we had, wegot to meet new people and see
people we hadn't seen in a longtime.
(01:05):
This week I want to share withyou on the topic of religion
versus relationship and whatthat means to me, and hopefully
give you some things to thinkabout this week.
I've often heard religiondefined as man's way of getting
towards God or man's way ofreaching God, and I think that's
(01:26):
a good way to define religion.
But Jesus was God's way ofgetting to man.
You know, religion, there'smany different religions,
there's many different ways thatmankind tries to reach God and
to get close to him.
But God actually made a way forus to get close to him.
(01:50):
But God made a way for us toget to close to him, and that
way is through the cross, it'sthrough Jesus.
The safe thing about religionis religion answers all the
questions.
You know, every religion, everydenomination has its own
theology.
(02:10):
It has its way of seeing theworld and its way of seeing God
and explaining how man gets toGod.
And they it's always tied upwith a nice bow on top.
You know, this is what wethink, this is how we believe,
and of course, everyone thinkstheirs is the right way and the
correct way, but really it hasall of the answers, all of the
(02:33):
questions answered, and thatfeels comfortable, you know,
that feels safe.
And there are a lot of answers.
We have a lot of answers.
God has given us a lot ofanswers, but there are always
going to be questions, looseends, that we as humans that we
may never know, that God is notobligated to tell us, that we
(02:55):
can't figure out because we areearthly, we are we are in these
human bodies, and God is divine,he is spiritual.
And we don't have to know allof the answers to have a
relationship with God.
And I believe that that's hisdesire for us, and I think
that's when that's where we aspeople are truly satisfied when
(03:20):
we are in relationship withJesus and with God through
Jesus.
That is what satisfies thehunger in our in our souls.
That is what we were createdfor, is to be children of God,
and God made a way throughJesus.
John 3.16 is the simple gospel.
For God so loved the world thathe gave his only begotten son
(03:45):
that whosoever believes in himwill not perish, but have
everlasting life.
So God's desire is for us tocome to him through Jesus, and
not just to come to him onetime, but to be born again into
the kingdom of God as a child ofGod to draw near to him.
There is a mentality in a lotof denominations that when we
(04:09):
get saved, that's it.
You know, that's that's thepinnacle of our religious
experience.
But guys, that's just thebeginning.
You know, when you are bornagain, you're born into a new
kingdom.
You're born and have now becomethe person that God created you
to be.
You're this is what you wereborn for.
And so that's just thebeginning of life.
(04:31):
When you were born again, youare a new creature in Christ,
and your life is just starting.
And that doesn't matter, itdoesn't make any difference if
you're five years old or ifyou're 85 years old.
When you're born again, youjust started living.
And God desires a relationshipwith you, and a relationship is
personal.
A relationship is based onknowing each other, getting to
(04:56):
know each other.
It's there's personalitiesinvolved.
You know, we have a personalityand we come to God, and he is a
person.
We can know him, which ismind-blowing, right?
He's not a person as in he hasa he has flesh and blood like we
do, but he is God in threepersons: the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
(05:17):
And he's knowable.
We can know him.
We can't know everything abouthim because, like I said before,
we don't have the capacity.
But he sent Jesus to come downon our level that we could know
things about him.
Jesus said, if you've seen me,you've seen the Father.
And so Jesus reveals the natureof the Father, he shows us what
(05:40):
God is like, and he draws nearto us, he invites us to have a
relationship with him.
And that's what trueChristianity is all about.
It's not about a list of do'sand don'ts.
It's not about doing all theright things so that we can
climb the ladder and finallyreach heaven.
It's not about that at all.
(06:01):
It's about becoming a newcreature in Christ.
It's about believing the workthat God's already done and
receiving the gift of salvationthat he gives those who believe.
And that's the beginning of ourwalk with him, of our
relationship with him.
And we can get to know him.
There's an old hymn that saysit gets sweeter and sweeter as
(06:25):
the day goes by.
And that's because we get toknow him more and more, and we
get to find out that the richesin Christ are they're not
they're inexhaustible.
And to know him is to love him.
So we were created not forreligion, but for relationship.
(06:46):
God greatly desires us to knowhim and to be in an intimate
relationship with him.
Now, I'm not against religion,I'm not against organized
religion or denominations.
I think that human nature needssome kind of a structure to put
our belief in action.
(07:06):
You know, I think that we needcommunity and we need teaching
and we need to learn and drawfrom each other.
And I think that you know Jesusestablished the church himself.
So I'm not definitely notagainst religion or
denominations.
But I do think, and this is myopinion, I do think that things
(07:27):
tend to go south when we put ourreligion above our relationship
with Christ.
I think we all have to fightthat battle and stay alert so
that we stay in relationshipwith Jesus and we're not serving
him through rules orregulations or through a
religion that is dead.
See, when we stop seeking him,when we start and just start
(07:53):
practicing the traditions thathave been handed down that are
good traditions, then we cansubstitute the real presence of
God in our lives for religion.
Religion, it cannot satisfy us.
We were made to know God, wewere made to enjoy God and to
(08:14):
serve Him and to hear His voiceand to be in communication with
Him.
You know, Jesus said, I am thevine and you are the branches.
Abide in me and let my wordsabide in you, and you will
produce much fruit.
God's presence will be obvious.
You know, fruit is obvious.
(08:35):
It's you can't hide fruit, youknow, and and God's presence in
our lives, flowing through ourlives, automatically produces
fruit.
His life in us is evident to usand to other people.
And it's his will for us toproduce much fruit.
(08:56):
And he even said, and he alsosaid in that same passage, apart
from me, you can do nothing.
We can't produce godly fruitwithout God.
If unless he is living in us,unless he is moving in us,
unless his spirit is dwellinginside of us, then we cannot do
the things that please God.
(09:16):
Religion without relationship,it's it's dead.
It leads to a lot of thingsthat are not God's plan for us.
One thing it can lead to, youknow, if we're walking in
religion instead of relationshipand we're depending on our own
ability to serve God and not hisgrace, then we have a tendency
(09:37):
to become self-righteous duringthe seasons when we feel like
we're getting it right.
You know, if we're getting itright and we feel like we're
knocking it out the park, thenthere's a part of us, our human
nature, that is puffed up andfeels like, look at me.
And that is self-righteousness,and religion produces that.
And then there are other timeswhen we feel like we just can't
(10:00):
get it right.
You know, no matter how hard Itry, I just can't get this
right.
I can't keep the rules, I can'tdo the things the right way, I
keep I keep messing up, and thatleads to condemnation.
And the Bible says that there'stherefore no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesuswho walk not after the flesh,
but after the spirit.
See, we can't take credit forthe good things that we that we
(10:23):
do, for the times when we get itright.
And God, He covers us for thetimes when we get it wrong,
because it's not about us andhow good we are and how great we
are, or even about how bad weare.
It's about what Jesus did onthe cross.
That is the gospel.
The good news is God did whatwe couldn't do because He
(10:44):
desired relationship with us.
So he made a way where therewas no way.
That is the good news, and itis good news because I couldn't
do it, you couldn't do it, andhe said, I will do it myself.
I will send my own son, I willextend my own hand to save those
who are lost.
And God promises that if wewill seek him, we will find him.
(11:07):
If we will seek him with all ofour heart.
Am I going to seek Jesus?
(12:08):
Am I going to seek him?
Or am I going to rest on thetraditions that may be trying to
replace, that I may be leaningon, that are replacing my
relationship with Jesus.
Now, for some of you, that maysound scary that I would even
say that, you know, that I wouldeven go there and say such
(12:30):
things.
It may feel like I'm justsaying, throw caution to the
wind, you know, do what feelsright.
I'm not saying that at all.
He's given us guardrails.
You know, God has given usguardrails for safety because he
cares about us.
He doesn't want us to fall in apit.
He doesn't want us to go off ona tangent.
(12:50):
He doesn't want us to be indeception.
He's given his word.
He's given us his word, and hisword is truth.
And we, that's why we need toknow the word so that we can
know if something is true ornot.
So we can know if we are beingdeceived, when we know the word,
when the truth is in us, itwill guide us and it will lead
(13:12):
us.
The Bible also says that thereis safety in a multitude of
counselors.
That's why it's so importantthat we not separate ourselves
from the body.
You know, it it says when yousee that day approaching, gather
yourselves together all themore.
Don't separate yourself fromthe body of Christ, from the
church.
There's wisdom in the church.
(13:32):
There are people there who willpray for you and care for you
and show you the way.
And just that sometimes wedon't have the answers.
They're just staying with youwhen you're going through hard
times and we we need each other.
God placed us in a family, in abody of believers called the
church.
And he gives us each other.
So I'm all for the church.
(13:53):
My husband and I pastored achurch for 16 years, and we
still attend that church, andthat's our family.
So I'm all for church.
But the church can't replaceJesus.
The church can't fill that spotthat he reserves only for
himself.
We must seek him.
We must make him number one.
(14:13):
There's a story that Luke tellsus in chapter 10 of his gospel
that most of you listeningprobably know.
And it's the story of when hevisited two sisters and a
brother, Mary, Martha, andLazarus.
And it there's so much in thisstory, and there's so many
(14:35):
lessons we can draw from thisstory.
But today I want to just sharewith you some of my thoughts on
Mary and Martha.
And as you know, Martha was nothappy with Mary because Jesus
was visiting.
I'm sure there were many peoplethere, lots of work to do, and
Martha was preparing a meal forall these people.
(14:57):
But Mary plotted herself downat the feet of Jesus to hear
Jesus teach.
And Martha didn't like this atall.
And she was offended.
And she told Jesus, she didn'thold back, she didn't, she
didn't bite her tongue.
She said, Tell her to get upand help me, Jesus.
(15:18):
And Jesus said, Martha, Martha,you are troubled about many
things, but Mary has chosen thebest part, and it will not be
taken from her.
But I want to remind you thatthis not only was it uncommon,
(15:39):
it was unheard of.
In Mary's day, women did notlearn from rabbis.
Women could not learn.
They only had a a very limitededucation.
And when a rabbi came, the menwould sit at Jesus' feet and the
(16:00):
men would learn, while thewomen prepared the meal.
So what Mary was doing was justunheard of.
As far as the religion of theday went, Martha was right.
She was telling Jesus, tellMary her place, remind Mary of
her place.
(16:20):
But Jesus was giving Mary a newplace.
Jesus was calling Mary to be adisciple, more than just a
worker, a disciple.
Now there's a time to work,there's a time to serve, but
there's also a time to sit atthe Lord's feet, especially when
He's given you permission.
(16:42):
And He gave her permission.
And so this story takes on awhole new meaning when we
remember that Mary was, she wasradical.
She was doing something thatwas against the religion of her
day because there was a higherauthority, because there was a
higher calling, and that callingwas Jesus.
(17:04):
She was seeking the Lord.
She wanted to hear from him.
I believe she knew in her hearthe is not going to be with me
for with us forever.
You know, he had a limited timeon earth.
And while he was on earth, shepushed away everything else, all
the distractions, and she satat his feet to learn from him
(17:25):
because one day he was not goingto be available.
And while he was here, she wasgoing to learn from him.
And she did not listen to thenaysayers or the ones who were
trying to tell her to get backin her place, or those who were
just offended that she wouldthink that she could sit at the
feet of a rabbi and learn as awoman.
(17:47):
And he did not rebuke her.
He did not tell her, Mary, youknow better.
Get back in the kitchen, go dowhat you're supposed to be
doing.
He said she has chosen the bestpart.
It will not be taken from her.
And I'm sure Martha was not theonly one in the room that was
(18:08):
shocked to hear this coming fromthe rabbi's mouth.
Sometimes Jesus will do things,say things that we just never
expected because it doesn't fitin with the flavor of religion
that we follow.
It doesn't mean that yourreligion is bad.
Doesn't mean that that's notwhere God's placed you.
(18:30):
I'm saying follow Jesus.
Choose Jesus.
When you hear him calling,choose him.
And he will work out thedetails.
He will defend you.
Maybe not at that moment.
Maybe at that moment you feellike I've made everybody mad and
(18:50):
nobody understands that myheart is to hear the Lord.
That's my heart is to obey him,to hear his voice.
But he's calling us.
He's calling us back.
He's calling us to his feet.
He's got things he wants totell us.
And if we're so busy pleasingeverybody else by doing the
things that they think we shouldbe doing, and maybe we even we
(19:12):
think we should be doing.
If we're so busy doing thosethings that we don't actually
hear what he's saying, if wedon't get to his feet and hear
his voice, then we'll miss ouropportunity.
And God's He has good things.
He has good things.
And he says, Seek me and youwill find me.
Sit at his feet and you willhear his voice.
Press through the awkwardness,press through the opinions of
(19:34):
others, press through thethings, even in your own mind
that says, Who am I?
Who am I?
to hear from Jesus.
He has the good things in storefor you.
He wants to speak to you, hewants to give you clarity in
some issues.
But he needs your attention.
So this week, I encourage you,give him your attention.
(19:55):
Put some things aside.
Even if it doesn't feel right,say, no, I'm carving out this
little bit of time to hear theLord's voice, to sit at his
feet, and to give himopportunity to speak to me and
to believe that he wants tospeak to me.
I hope somewhere in there Godspoke and it hit the place it
(20:17):
was supposed to hit.
But before you go, I want topray for you and let you know
that I love you, that I pray foryou guys, that I appreciate you
coming each week and listening.
And um, reach out to me if youhave been blessed by the
podcast.
Reach out and say, hey, Audrey,I'm out here listening and just
(20:38):
let me know your name and andyour situation and where you're
from.
I I love getting messages frommy listeners.
I love it.
So let me pray for you beforewe go.
Father, I thank you for theseprecious ones that you have
allowed me to encourage thisweek and to speak into their
lives.
And I pray, Lord, that youwould teach us how to seek you,
(20:59):
how to find you.
Lord, I pray, God, that youwould show us how to get to the
place, Lord, with the voicesthat are just screaming at us
from this world and telling uswho we are and what we should do
or what we shouldn't do.
That God, you would help us getalong with you and push those
voices out of our minds and justconcentrate on you.
If only for just a few minutes,Lord.
(21:20):
Give us clarity, I pray.
God, we honor you in Jesus'name.
Amen.
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