Distracted 2

In continuation from the last post titled: “Distracted” we are still in Luke 10.38-42.  Martha is “cumbered about” and Mary is worshipping.  Sounds like the 20th century story of American main-line protestant churches.  They witnessed a surge in their attendance and memberships and then a sharp decline as we entered the 21st century.  What made them so attractive?  They had a shoulders-up worship, and still do.  This was both their attractiveness and their downfall.  The worship style became a ‘repeat after me, recite this, sit still and listen, be quiet.’  Leave the “service” that you never served at and go back to your real life as quickly as you can.  You came and did your Christian thing followed immediately by going back to work being successful and making your mark in the world.  Church became a time of meeting and nothing more, a check mark on a check list of religion.  Those churches are dying or dead for the same reason that they were once attractive.  They catered to the flesh in a so-called spiritual looking way.  There was no sacrifice, commitment or dedication necessary.  No whole-hearted, whole-person, whole-life worship. 

Jesus said in John 6 that true worshippers “worship in spirit and in truth”.  Some churches have abandoned the idea of absolute truth along with the authority of the Word of God.  Others base their “worship” on truth, but where is the spirit?  Easy… the persons spirit (heart) was given away in a million little ways all week, even up to the front door of the church.  The most important thing (good portion) is left with just the leftovers from your heart.  

This is yet another reason we should take the Sabbath (7th day of the week) and keep it Holy.  It is holy, God said so, and it is to be “kept” which means guard.  This is something we should be guarding and protecting, and yet we give it away so easily for so many ridiculous reasons.  Not very holy is it?  Kind of like our “Holy” Bible or the “Holy” Spirit.  We do not set the Sabbath aside as holy anymore.  Thus, we are even more spent by the time Sunday worship comes, which is the first day of the week.  On our calendar, the Sabbath would be Saturday.  Baptists have argued this point back and forth in position and opposition to 7th Day Adventists and the like.  In doing so, we have ignored the weightiest lesson of all.  The day doesn’t matter as much as the point of this holy (separated) day.  It is special and made to be special because we separate ourselves to God for a day, in preparation for worshipping Him the next.  What?! God get’s 2 whole days?  Yes!  Crazy isn’t it?  He gave us eternal life and spilt His own blood, yet I fight to have my own week the way I want it.  Have you ever tithed?  Have you ever gave above the tithe?  If you have you have discovered the truth of Luke 6.38— “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”  God multiplies the amount you give to Him or spend for Him.  We fret over giving up our Saturday and a whole Sunday?!  Can He not make the other days more effective for you?  Can He not remove the roadblocks necessary to make it work?  

Have faith.  We are “cumbered about with many things” indeed.  Not very healthy is it?  In fact I bet you re already coming up with excuses and rebuffs just like Martha did to Christ.  Protestant theology of the last 400+ years has adjusted the scriptural references to the Sabbath and so many more things, when the scripture clearly says the 7th day is absolutely essential and should be guarded!  

Disciple…obey the scripture and watch God work.