Cultivate a Hot Heart

Revelation 3:15-16- “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

It’s pretty obvious, according to this scripture, which heart condition God considers the worst! And it gets even more serious as we think about these facts…

- To be coldhearted means to be unemotional, unconscious of God. Imagine being unemotional about the things of God!
- And to be lukewarm means to be indifferent. Imagine being indifferent toward God!
- We are to be hot-hearted. That means that the heat of your heart reaches a high temperature. That means boiling over! And such high heat is usually paired up with, emotion, excitement, and passion! It’s fiery!

Now, what is your heart’s desire…and your heart’s temperature toward God?

Do you need to be more faithful to set aside time each day to listen to God like Mary did to pray and read your Bible? This can and must be a first priority every day. That’s how we choose the one thing, the good part, that can never be taken away from us. As we choose to sit at the Lord’s feet regularly, we cease to act like Martha—too busy, too bossy, too distracted to listen to the Master and linger with Him and delight in Him.

Now, what will your choice be today, tomorrow, every day? I’m praying for you!

Choose God’s Ways at Every Opportunity

“In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:6)

“Our part is to stop and acknowledge God along the way. God’s part is to direct our paths and make them straight. This means that we are to consult with God regarding our every decision, word, thought, and response. This means that before we move ahead or before we react to someone of something, we need to stop and pray first, ‘God, what would you have me do—think or say—here?’ Don’t you think that this stopping and consulting God before acting (and re-acting) like Martha did would help you and me to make the good, better, and best choices in the situations we confront each day? Don’t you think this habit would look more like Mary?” Elizabeth George

Yes, But How?

Maybe you’re wondering how you can move in the direction of having a heart devoted to God like Mary did. Over the next few days we’re going to consider some different ways that we can.

Choose to spend time with God-- How can you make time in your busy day for the most exciting, most fulfilling relationship in life? For listening to God? For spending time with Him?

Would you be willing to go on a bit of a fast each day, a time fast? Would you be willing to…

…say no to some time watching TV,
…say no to some time on the telephone,
…say no to some time with friends,
…say no to some time on the computer,
…say no to some time in the mall, in order to
…say yes to some time with God?

And now the question is, would you?

What Is a Heart Devoted to God?

"Because Mary was a woman after God’s own heart, her heart was devoted to Him. She was preoccupied with one thing at all times—Him! Mary was obsessed with the Lord. Therefore Mary consistently made one choice, one decision that caused Jesus to speak of her as He did. And what was that one choice? Mary chose to spend time hearing God through His word, and worshipping God in her heart. In other words, Mary chose to spend some of her precious time with the Lord.

Time spent in this way, is the kind of time that is never wasted and can never be taken away from you either (see verse 42). Why? Because it is time spent in eternal pursuits, time that result in both daily and everlasting blessings."

What Was Wrong?

“Martha was definitely out of control. And that led to her saying things she shouldn’t have said, to blaming others for her awful condition, to bossing everyone around (even Jesus!), to comparing the amount of work she was doing with the amount of work her sister was (or wasn’t!) doing, to complaining, to emoting….Well, I’m sure you get the picture.

But, what was wrong?

Let us once again read through Luke 10:38-14…

“38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

As we learn from these two sisters, we mustn’t miss the fact that both of them loved Jesus. Both loved out Lord, and both served Him. But in this scene there was a great difference in their behaviors, which revealed something about what was going on in their hearts at the time.

You see, Mary not only loved serving the Lord, but she loved listening to Him. I mean, the split second Jesus started talking, Mary stopped! Her service came to a screeching halt, and she stopped, set her serving dishes aside, and took a seat at Jesus’ feet. Why? So she could listen to Him—not just do for Him! After all, He had ‘The words of eternal life’” (John 6:68)

So our dear Mary demonstrated a heart devoted to God by hearing His words and by worshipping Him. She was obsessed with Jesus! And here’s another point we don’t want to miss. Surely Mary did her work. But Mary made sure her choices gained her the all-important time she needed to take care of devotion and commitment to God. Yes, hers was a devoted heart to God!"

What Happened?

“What happened to put Martha over the edge? In a few words, Jesus and His disciples were coming to her house. Wow! Now that should have been the best day of Martha’s life! But Martha went into a tailspin. Why? Because Martha got too involved in the activities of her life—activities like…

serving Jesus and
working for Jesus.

And in all her serving and working, Martha failed to just…

stop and enjoy Jesus and
worship Him.

And how did Martha’s busyness and the neglect of her spiritual life show? You guessed it—she got nervous…fidgety…on edge…cranky. And then she fell apart and loss control. Not only was Martha stomping through her day but she was stomping through the kitchen, the dining room, and the family room. She even lashed out at her younger sister, Mary. And then (horror of horrors) she lashed out at Jesus!”

Does this sound anything like you? Sadly, I know I’ve had the attitude Martha had many times! Do you get too wrapped up in the busyness of life and forget to stop and take time to sit at the Lord’s feet?

Check back tomorrow for more!

A Heart Devoted to God

This week we’ll be talking about what it looks like to have a heart devoted to God. Out of her book, “A Young Woman After God Own Heart” Elizabeth George shares about the story of Martha. I pray her story encourages you! Most of what will be shared this week will be pulled from the chapter “A Heart devoted to God” out of Elizabeth George’s book “A Young Woman After God’s Own Heart.”

“Have you ever felt nervous…fidgety….on edge…..cranky? Sort of like your life was falling apart and you were losing control? And even though you knew it and didn’t want to act the way you were, you kept on stomping through your day, lashing out at anybody and everybody who crossed your path—you parents, your brother or sister, your friends? Well, my friend, you are not alone! This happened to a woman in the Bible—a woman just like you and me—who got too worked up. In fact, she was a wreck! Her name is Martha, and Martha was a friend of Jesus.”... To be continued tomorrow

Today, I would like to encourage you to open up your Bible and read Luke 10:38-42. After reading, ask yourself the questions, what did I learn from this passage? And How can I apply it to my life?