Dear Flock of the Father’s Heart,
In the early part of this month, I had been spending time preparing for a class I would be teaching in the new semester on Stephen. One day, as I was searching on Stephen in the scriptures, the Lord began speaking to me, hitting me with an angle concerning David in relationship to his intimacy with the Godhead. The Lord almost knocked me down with the impact of this way David had of relating to the Godhead so intimately. This happened to me while I was reading about the turmoil surrounding Stephen’s martyrdom. I was knee-deep in the sorrow and strife of those verses when the Spirit of God swooped in and lifted my heart to the Realm above the earth where the Godhead is. I found David there… so caught up in Them that all earth issues seemed unimportant in comparison. I began once again to consider Martha and Mary, and how Mary chose her portion above all the earth issues and turmoil as she positioned her heart with Jesus and gave her complete focus to Him.
At that time, I had shared with a few people who were struggling with the trials and turmoil of life down here about the choices that we can make. Like Martha, we can become filled up with the cares and strife of earth and issues, and then try to drag everybody else into that. Or we can be like Mary and choose to be with Jesus, setting our hearts and focus on Him instead of being taken away from Him by the chaos and confusion below. When Mary chose to be with Jesus in this way and Martha became offended with her because of it, Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).
Oh, to be with and lay hold of God in this way, where we could be hit with anything and still choose to stay with Them. To see the Lord’s face and find His heart and not listen to all the noise below. To know Them beyond religion and above our lives in this earth and be swallowed up of Them in Their place. Please pray for me, dear friends. I really mean this. I am jealous of what David had with the Godhead and I want to know that kind of intimacy with Them, and to bring Them that kind of fellowship. I know there is much going on in this world around us. I know there are issues and situations that continually pull at our hearts and minds to become our center and the focus. But there is just ONE thing that Mary chose, and that was the part that could not be taken from her and was eternal. There is just ONE thing David desired, and it was God Himself... in His beauty and Person and heart. We are faced with choices continually. May our hearts be repositioned more and more by love for God to make Them what is important and loved above all else.
Yours as we long after Him together,
Randy