← In Totality with Megan Ashley
Loading summary
Transcript3 lines
- [00:03]
Amazon Advertiser
This Back to School season Spend less on your kids with Amazon I remember when my niece's mindfulness journal cost more than my own therapy session on Amazon. The same journal and the markers to color in it are a fraction of the price. Spend less. Breathe easier. So remember, with Amazon's low back to school prices, just spend less on your kids because every dollar you don't spend on them is a dollar you haven't spent on them.
- [00:30]
Audible Advertiser
Audible ignites your next action packed adventure with thrills of every kind. On your command, dive into the Silent Patient by Alex Michalides, A psychological thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end. Masterfully narrated by Jack Hawkins and Louise Freely. From electrifying suspense and daring quests to spine tingling horror and romance and far off realms, unleash your adventurous side with gripping titles. Discover exclusive Audible originals, hotly anticipated new releases and must Listen and bestsellers that hook you from the first minute. Because Audible knows there's no greater thrill than the one that speaks to you. Discover what lies beyond the edge of your seat. Start your free 30 day trial at audible.com wondery pod that's audible.com wondery pod what's up fam?
- [01:17]
Megan Ashley
Listen, if you've been blessed by In Totality the podcast, then I want to personally invite you to go deeper by joining our Patreon community called the Village. Every Tuesday morning, the Village members get early access to the full episod the podcast two days before it drops publicly on YouTube. So while everyone else is waiting, you're already soaking it in. But that's just the beginning. As a Village member, you get exclusive access to the In Totality Docu series. It's a behind the scenes look at how I walk on my faith in real life. No filters, no fluff, just real moments of me trusting the Lord, processing life and growing in truth. We also do live book club club zoom calls where we read and grow together in the Word. I'm not just talking at you worth walking through it together, asking questions, wrestling through scriptures, learning to follow Christ more fully. You know, like that Romans 12. You'll also get bonus content, extra conversations with podcast guests that go even deeper, plus moments that didn't make it to the episode but were just too good not to share. And one more thing, when you join the Village, you get first access to merch before it drops public. So if you love the message and you want to rep the movement, you'll get first dibs every time. But more than the content, the Village is about community. It's a safe place for believers to connect and grow and be reminded that you're not doing this walk alone. You're a part of something real. We're building something special and we would love for you to to be a part. So hit pause. Go to www.patreon.com meganashley and join today and I'll meet you there. What's up you guys? Welcome back to another episode of In Totality. I am your host, Megan Ashley. I'm so excited that you are joining me for another episode. This episode is basically just me. I wanted to just share my heart and just kind of be vulnerable and open up about just something that I've personally been navigating through and processing. If you guys have been watching for any amount of time, I think I have been pretty transparent about some of the areas where I know the Lord is still refining me and developing me. And I feel like intimacy is something that I know that I've struggled with and it's also something that I'm hearing that other people are struggling with. It's just intimacy, committing to intimacy. And so yeah, I kind of just wanted to like, just talk about that a little bit. This has been an interesting season for me and usually, well, I don't want to say usually because I'm still kind of getting used to, you know, my whole my new life and all the things. But this time last year, Acts 2:42 was right around the corner as far as announcement or we had just announced and like coming out of summer going into fall was just extremely busy season. I feel like I was gone almost every weekend I had something going on and this year is starting to feel the same and I don't know if it's just cuz fall is just a busy time ministry wise in general. People are usually busy that are in ministry during the fall and so yeah it just for the last couple of months things just feel really, really busy. And and the irony of all of it is, is that when I was on my sabbatical at the end of last year, going into the beginning of this year, it felt like I had nothing. I was just chilling and I remember sensing from the Lord like okay, like you, you better enjoy it now because it won't always be like this. And so now I'm kind of in the thick of it won't always be like this. Like now it's busy again and the Lord has really been challenging me when it comes to intimacy and the lord brought Luke 10 to my heart and so I kind of just want to read this And. And. And, like, kind of walk through it. And I pray that this episode, like, really encourages you as the Lord encouraged me. As I was navigating through this, through this text, studying these few verses, I've been meditating on this pretty heavy. And so I just wanted to kind of share what. What my heart was regarding this and kind of navigate through this, through this text and encourage you in the way that the Lord encouraged me. So, yeah, I kind of. I just want to start with reading it first, and then I'll just invite you guys into kind of where and why this landed so hard on me. So this is Luke 10, starting at 38. While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. And she had a sister named Mary who also sat at the Lord's feet and was listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks and came up and asked, lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand. The Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice and. And will not. And it will not be taken from her. The Lord brought Mary and Martha up to my heart because one thing that I've. I've always been kind of transparent about is that I'm really, really good at serving. Like, I feel like the Lord has. And I'm not boasting about myself. I just think that the Lord has graced me in a particular way to serve. If you've ever been over in my house, the people that have been over my house, they will tell you, I typically, like, if there are people around or, you know, it's Christmas or even just, you know, hanging out, whatever, I typically don't sit down. I'm usually the one busying and doing all the things right. I'm in the kitchen, or I'm like, hey, let me get you a water. So when I. When I read this, when I read chapter 10, I so immediately identify with Martha, because I'm the one that would have been like, excuse me, excuse me. You guys need water? You need, like. I'd have been like, geez, you need, like, you need. You need some juice. You need some. You know, I need some olives, crushed or something. Like, what? You need some lentil? It was like, what do y' all need? I'm that person. I'm over here getting the pita bread ready. You know what I'm saying? I'm. I'm Getting the hummus together. I'm making it look nice. It's her chewery board. Like, that's me. Okay? I am a busy, busy bee. And so it naturally, when I read this, when I read chapter 10, I naturally identify with Martha, you know, and. And maybe that's just, you know, I can't even blame it on being a mom, honestly, because it's like I just have always been this way. And maybe because I was raised with. With my mother, who was always on the go. You know what I'm saying? My mother was always on the go. She went from here to here. You know, she. She got up in the morning and then she went to work. And from work then to a Bible study or Bible study to this or, you know, Saturdays we were doing stuff at the church, and then Sundays we were at church, and then, you know, she was just always doing stuff, helping people out. So that's just kind of my context of how I was raised. And so I think that I've naturally adopted a lot of those. Those same habits. And recently, just. Even in my intimacy in my. In my. With the Lord or lack of intimacy with the Lord, even in my prayer time, a lot of my prayers have been like, I feel like I'm doing all the things, but I'm just not getting the answers that I want. I'm not getting the clarity that I want, that I feel like I need. You know, I'm filling up my time doing the. The work of the Lord, doing ministry stuff, but I'm still finding myself frustrated. Like, even. Even I can even hear myself when I pray. I can even hear the frustration in my voice. Like, I can hear it. I can hear that I'm frustrated. I. I talked about this not too long ago, but there was. There were some things that I was really asking the Lord for from the end of last year all the way up until recently. And, you know, I'm fasting, I'm praying, I'm doing all the things, and I'm not getting the answers from him. I'm just not. And it feels like just one closed door after another closed door. Then it was like a door open a little bit, and then another door, like, then the door behind that closed. It was just stuff like that. And yeah, so, like, as I'm praying, I could just hear myself being frustrated. And. And like I said, the lord brought Luke 10 to my heart. And so I'm reading this and I'm just like, man, like, I can so identify with. With Martha in the busyness, just getting stuff done. You know what I'm saying? Like, moving around, making sure everything is good. And then. And then you see Mary, who's doing the exact opposite. Because I feel like there are so many of us that are like Martha, and I'm sure there are a ton of people like Mary. And God bless you. I'm getting there. I pray that after this episode, you and I both will have more hearts to respond like Mary first. But as I'm reading through Luke 10, I see that, you know, it's very clear. Mary's at the feet of Jesus. Martha's busy. Martha's frustrated. The Lord answers her and he identifies her anxiousness. He identifies that she's distracted. There are so many different versions that would say you're distracted by many things, or you're worried about many things, or you're anxious for many things. And then he says, mary has made the right choice. There are other versions in translations that says that she makes the better choice or she has chosen the better thing. Which is the version that I like better, is that she's chosen the better thing. I'm gonna read it in a few different versions. So the amplified version says, martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about many things, but only one thing is necessary. For Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her. But then if you go to ESV version, it says, martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen the good portion which will not be taken away from her. And then the last version I want to give is. Is the NLT where it says, martha, Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details. There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her. So I like. I like the versions that say, martha, Marth, a. You. You're anxious about many things, or you're. You're busy about. You know, you're. You're. You're worried about many things. I like those versions because I. I believe it identifies, at least for me. It identified and spoke language to. Specifically to where I feel like I am. Like I felt like I had been going to the Lord with a lot of anxiousness and even. And even leaving the Lord's presence with a lot of anxiousness and about so many things. Where, you know, where do. Where do you want my kids to go to school? Where should we live? Where should we. What should I do with. In totality? Do you want this? Do you want that? You know, just so many Things. Where. Where do you want me to serve? Where do you want me to give? Where do you want me to do this? Where do you just. So many things that I have been worried and distracted and anxious about, specifically about the things that, that I was asking the Lord for. From the end of last year up until this year, I had specifically been asking the Lord about a lot of. I don't want to say a lot of things, but a lot of things regarding me and my kids. And so much so that it was like the only thing I thought about all the time. It was like the only thing I could think about to the point that it was producing more anxiousness. Like, the more I wasn't hearing from the Lord specifically about those things, the more anxious I was getting. And so going back to the text, this is how the Lord kind of broke this down for me, right? And so we're just going to walk through it. Martha is busy. But then you see Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. Now this is, this is extremely interesting because sitting at the feet of someone in that time and in, in the Jewish culture, right, sitting at the feet of someone was basically saying that you are their disciples. That is what it meant when you were a student of a rabbi, right? You sat at the feet. When you were a disciple of a teacher, you sat at their feet, right? So Mary is herself as a disciple. Now, back in that time, Martha would have been the one that was fulfilling more of the, the, the, the womanly role, right? Serving, taking care of the men as all the men sat around at the feet of their rabbi, right? The, the women would be, you know, getting the lentils and the pita bread in the, in the olive oil and crushing up stuff. You know what I'm saying? Like, they would be in the kitchen serving, right? But Mary is at the feet of Jesus and she's not being rebuked for it. She's positioning herself as a disciple. She's posturing herself as a disciple. This was rare. This was a rare yet bold action of Mary. People will read this, this, this text and try to pin Martha against Mary, right? Like, Martha's out of order and Mary's doing the right thing. But you have to think, like, bring things into context. Think about the context of the time, right? That was not typical for women to sit at the feet. So, so Mary wasn't. Or Martha wasn't necessarily wrong for looking at Mary like, hey, man, I'm over here crushing the olives. You could at least be getting the lentils. You could at least Be doing something to help me, right? Martha isn't wrong for thinking that way. Martha isn't, you know, I don't say she's wrong, but that's not uncommon, right? For her to be like, why are you not helping me? This is our role. This is what we're supposed to do, right? Martha is displaying a traditional role, right? She's serving. That's what women did. Mary is the one that's displaying a rare and bold role because she's sitting at the feet of Jesus, right? Charles Spurgeon says it's not wrong to serve, but it is wrong to serve with a murmuring spirit. So this is where I see Martha. Wrong is where she comes to Jesus and she's like, she's complaining. Why, why are you letting her sit here at your feet when, when she should be helping me? Don't you see I'm serving? Don't you see I'm working? Why isn't Mary. Why? Why don't tell her to help me. Tell her, Tell her to get up. Help me. My hands are full and these men are hungry. Help me, right? And I get it, I get it. One thing, that, one thing, one thing that I've learned, and I learned this a lot at the, at my old church growing up was like. And they were so big on serving, and there's nothing wrong like, like Charles Spurgeon said, there's nothing wrong with serving. But once, once you serve with a murmuring spirit that then your heart posture is off, right? Then you start to serve and you're bitter, you're resentful. So now I'm looking at other people that aren't doing what I think that they should be doing. So now, now, now I'm offended by them. I'm resentful. That's what's happening with Martha. But one thing, one thing that I also notice is that not only is she serving with a murmuring spirit, so she's complaining as she's serving, but, but there's an anxiousness about it. She's not even serving with peace. She's anxiously serving, almost as if she's like, she's finding things to do. And I, and I, when I say I can so identify with that, I, I, I have been in so many situations where I have been serving and looking for more ways to serve, thinking that, like, I'll be recognized for how hard I work or I'll be, I'll, I'll gain extra points for, for going the extra mile, finding things to do, adding extra burdens on myself. Martha added unnecessary burdens on herself that wasn't given to her. Per the text, Jesus never walks in and places any burdens on Martha, right? It says while they were traveling, he entered a village. A woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She and her sister named Mary, who was also at the feet, was listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by many tasks, many tasks that no one gave her. I don't think she's wrong for serving, but we also have to, like, no, Jesus didn't tell her to do anything. So she's putting on a burden on herself that, that wasn't, that wasn't given to her by, by the Lord. When, when, when Martha complains to Jesus and says, why won't you tell her to get up and help me? Jesus doesn't condemn her. He says, martha. Martha. And now in that time, repeating something was like, I, I like. There's a, there's an emotional emphasis on that when you repeat something twice, right? You see when Jesus says Jerusalem. Jerusalem, right? You see in, in the Book of Acts, where, where, where, where the Lord says Saul. Saul. Right? There's like these double. Repeating the thing twice is putting an emphasis, an emotional emphasis on something. Jesus is not condemning Martha. And this is what I love about this, because I, I love that he didn't come down hard on Martha, which is telling us that Martha didn't do anything wrong, but the Lord is showing her a better way. Serving isn't wrong, but there, but there is a better way to serve. There is. There is a better, A better priority. So he doesn't condemn her. He gently corrects her. And this hit me so hard. I feel like the Lord was like. She was so focused, Megan. And so are you are so focused on serving me that you forgot to sit with me. How many of us can say that? That has been our story, where we have gotten so in the habit and so zealous in a way to just serve the Lord, which is nothing wrong with serving the Lord, but there is something wrong. You serve him so much that you forget to sit with him. And I, and I feel like especially. And I, And I've talked about this too, being in this space. I told you that I got convicted when I needed to take a sabatical because the Lord was like, yeah, you're. You're no longer coming to me for intimacy, but you're coming to me for content. You're. You're coming to me so that I can give you something to say. And then there, there also comes a point where you get so busy serving and doing all the things that you, that you don't prioritize sitting. You see what, what Mary does is Mary prioritizes proximity. Where Martha prioritized serving and Jesus is saying, I'm going to, I'm going to show you that both of you are doing good things, but there is a better thing to do. There is a better priority. And the priority is the proximity. Mary makes a, the proximity to the Lord a priority. And I'm going to show you in just a minute that Mary doesn't just, we don't just see this once in, in the New Testament, but we see this two other times, a total of three times where Mary prioritizes being at the feet of Jesus. So, so again, Jesus is not condemning Martha just like Jesus isn't condemning you. If you feel like I, that you identify with, with the busyness like Martha, the busyness of Martha doing and serving and going and, and all the things. Jesus isn't even condemning you even in this moment. This is his gentle correction and, and redirection to say, hey, hey, hey, there's a more important thing to do and that's to be at the feet of Jesus, to abide, to listen. I love that because it wasn't typical for, for, for women like Mary to sit at the feet of Jesus and be imposture herself as a disciple. I love that, that Jesus just dignifies her in that moment. And it says, this won't be taken away from her. Like, he doesn't say, yeah, you're right. You know what, Mary? You actually ain't even supposed to be here. You remember, you remember how you had a sibling? I didn't have siblings, but I had like cousins. And it's like you were doing something that you probably like, shouldn't, not shouldn't do, but like, it wasn't, it's like, yeah, you probably shouldn't be here. And then here go the other cousin that's jealous and was like, well, why did they get to be here? And then the parent is like, you know what? I even realize you were sitting here going to get up. It's like, man, I was minding my business here. You came being jealous, right? It's kind of like, I love that Jesus didn't say, yeah, like, get up, Mary. You can't really be here. No, he said, she's, she's doing what she's supposed to do. She's exactly where she's supposed to be. Which is at my feet dignifying the fact that for women in that time that, like, yeah, they can be at the feet of Jesus too, and they can learn from him too. They can gain wisdom and knowledge from him too. So I just love that. Just as a. Just as a side note, but I. But I wanna. I wanna just zone in on Mary for a second because again, we see two more times where g. Where. Where Mary is at the feet of Jesus and I. And as the Lord was showing me this thing, I just thought it was just remarkable and it was exploding in my heart and I was like, oh, okay. Like, I fe. All the answers to the questions that I was asking, he was giving me as I was meditating and studying the posture of Mary's heart. And so. So in Luke 10, we see she's listening as a disciple, right? She's prioritizing intimacy. So in Luke 10, she's prioritizing intimacy and proximity because she's at his feet. She's learning like a disciple. She's learning before doing. Now if you look at Martha, Martha's doing. She's not learning anything. She's not hearing the Lord speak about it. She's just moving around. But Mary, she's sitting at his feet and. And this hit me so hard. How many times are we doing things before learning and gaining wisdom from the Lord on what to do? This is why intimacy with the Lord and prayer, having a prayer life and. And making prayer a priority. The first thing you do when you get up in the morning is prioritizing prayer is to gain wisdom and strategy and knowledge and. And instructions on what to do for that day. Lord, you know what this day is going to look like. Give me the instructions, the wisdom, the discernment, the grace, the power, the strength, the foresight, the insight on what to do for this day. So just like Mary, she's prioritizing learning before doing, right? She's prioritizing intimacy over activity. Martha is doing all the things, and Mary's sitting at the feet. She's like, I'm going to do intimacy first before I go do activities. And a lot of times we. We do the opposite. We just go do all the things, and then if we can fit in some intimacy, then we'll fit it in. I'm guilty of that. Oh, I just. I gotta do this. And I told this person I would go do that, and. And then I am. We. I feel like even in this moment, it's hitting me like, you need to sit your butt down somewhere. Oh, my goodness. I am so. I am so like this. Like, I will. I will sit in my Bed and be like, okay, I gotta do this, I gotta do that. And then. And I am like going through all the things. By the time I go to get up to actually go pray, it's like, I got to get ready because I told this person I would go do X, Y and Z at this time, right? So like, yeah, it's like, all right, is. And again, there's nothing wrong with doing the things, but you have to prioritize what's more important. You have to prioritize the better thing to do first, which is the intimacy. So remember, intimacy over activity. Int. Or I don't want to say over activity, but yeah, intimacy before activity. So think about all the things that you have to do in the day and make sure you are prioritizing intimacy before all the activities. Okay, if you go in John 11, we see Mary again, right? We see Mary again, and this time this isn't such a joyous occasion, right? So the first time in Luke 10, we see them, you know, Jesus is just coming in town and, and Mar. Martha welcomes Jesus and the disciples in the home. And it feels like they're just, they're. They're hanging out, right? But in John 11, Lazarus has just died. Now, Lazarus is Jesus, one of his close friends, along with Mary and Martha. They share a. They have a. They have a relationship. And Lazarus dies. Now, now mind you, Mary and Martha send a letter to Jesus and, and, and, and, and in the, in the, in the message, it's the one that you love is sick, begging him to come and, and heal Lazarus, right? But Jesus waits, and we know the story. Jesus waits until after Lazarus dies in three days. And then he goes to Bethany. And, and at first, you see, in chapter 11, you see Martha comes to, to Jesus first. But there's, there's a difference between Mary and Martha. Yet again, we see a difference, right? When Martha goes, she says, lord, you know, if you were here, my brother wouldn't have died. And we, and we see their whole dialogue. And then Martha goes, and Mary's still, you know, she's still back at the house. She's still weeping and grieving. And so then Martha goes and gets Mary. And then Mary runs to Jesus and I just want to read what happens, okay? So it says, having said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, saying in private, the teacher is here and is calling for you. Something that stood out to me here is that Jesus is calling for Mary. As soon as Mary heard this, she got up quickly. So Jesus calls her, she gets up quickly and Goes to him. Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him. The Jews were with her in the house consoling her, saw that Mary got up quickly and went out. They followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to cry there. As soon as Mary. This is it. As soon as Mary came to where Jesus saw him, she fell at his feet and told him, lord, if you had been here, my brother would have died. When Jesus saw her crying and the Jews who had came with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled. Where have you put him? He said, lord, they told him, come and see. And then Jesus wept. That's the famous verse, Jesus wept. John 11:35. The key things that. That stuck out to me here, that, that I feel like the Lord was. Was highlighting to me is number one is that Jesus called for Mary and it says that she got up quickly. He calls for her, she gets up quickly, she runs to him, and the first thing that she does is that she falls at his feet. So now here Mary is again, and she's at the feet of Jesus. What is this showing us? Mary in Luke 10 was at the feet of Jesus out of intimacy, just relationally, right? But then we see here in John 11 that, that Mary is at Jesus feet in grief and lament. Two different emotions, same posture. She's at his feet. She brought her pain, her questions, her grief, and she brought it straight to him. When he called for her, she ran straight to him with what she had, which was grief, which was lament, which was questions, which was worried. Whatever she was feeling, she brought it to the feet of Jesus that, you know how close you got to be to somebody to be on their feet. Now, we all know previously, even to this day, I'm not in the club. But you remember when you used to be in the club. Now I've been in like crowded areas like Disney or something like that. But you know, like back, like BC before you were saved, you would be in like the club or something, and. And people step on your foot, that means they was real close to you. It's like, man, back up. Remember when people. When somebody will walk behind you and they step on the back of your heel, that means you too close, you're up on me, and you don't need to be that close to me, right? So being up on somebody's feet means that you are close. So now we're the second instance that we see Mary being close to Jesus, that whatever she's feeling. She takes it to his feet to be close to him by falling to his feet. What does that show us? It shows that this. That she has a surrendering heart. She's carrying the grief and the loss of her brother, and she surrenders that grief and that pain to the feet of Jesus. This was encouraging and convicting me all at the same time because I. I know I'm not like that all the time, consistently. And the. In the. And what I feel like the Lord is. Was showing me in this is like, yeah, that pain, that worry, that grief, all of that. I want it. I want it. Bring it to me. Lay it at my feet. Trust me with it. Whatever you're feeling, trust. Trust the Lord with that. If you're going through grief right now, trust the Lord with that. I love that. It also shows that when he sees her crying, that he shares that grief with her, that he's crying with her, that he is grieved with her. It doesn't sit there now, mind you, Jesus had all the knowledge and the power to know that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knew that. That's why he waited so that his glory would be revealed. He knew. He didn't sit there and let her cry and be like, girl, get up. What you crying for? I'm the resurrection. Get up. He didn't do that knowing exactly what he was getting ready to do. He still shared in her pain and in her grief. There. There were. There were a lot of commentators that said that. That the posture of her being at his feet displayed a safety that she felt, that she felt safe with Jesus. She felt safe to bring her pain and her grief and her lamenting to the feet of Jesus. So what do we see that intimacy in Luke 10? We see that intimacy. We can have knowledge, wisdom, discernment strategies. We can gain all that at the feet of Jesus. In John 11, we see that we can share. We can bring our grief, our pain, our worries, our lamenting, our sorrow, our questions. And we can bring it to the feet of Jesus, a safe place. And then just the next chapter, if you go one chapter over, we see Mary again. Same woman, same heart, posture. And we see Martha again, too. And you know, Martha said, look, Lord, I heard you the first time, but I ain't gonna stop serving now. I'm gonna get these lentils out to the people. So we see in chapter 12, in verse John, chapter 12, verse 1, we see a couple days before Passover, Jesus comes to Bethany and. And they're having dinner. And you Know, Lazarus is there because he didn't got raised from the dead. So he's. He's in a great mood, you know what I'm saying? I would be in a great mood too. He's in a great mood. He's relaxing, reclining at the table with Jesus. And, and. And Martha is serving. And then Mary does something that really ticks Judas off, is that she takes this expensive perfume. So expensive, it's like a year's worth of wages, they say. And she pours this out on his feet. It says, then Mary took a pound of perfume, an expensive nard. Anointed feet, Jesus feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with fragrance and perfume. So now we see Mary again at the feet of Jesus, but this time. This time we see that she is at his feet. And sacrificial worship, she took something, a year's worth of wages. That was a big deal in that time. That's a huge. This ain't just something light. This is. This is an expensive bottle of perfume that cost a lot. And she takes it and she anoints his feet, right? And it says. It says one of the disciples, Judas, who was about to betray him. And you know, John ain't gonna let nothing go. John is always going to point out that Judas was the one, okay? John is petty. He's always going to make sure that y' all know I'm the one, that I'm the one that he loved. And all the rest of them, this is what they did. Judas was a betrayer, okay? And. And Judas says, why. Why wasn't this perfume sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? Why did. And he said that. I love that John put this in here. John's like. And he said that not because he cared about the poor, because he was the thief and he was pocketing the money, okay? Jesus answers, leave her alone. She has kept it for the day of my burial. For you always have the poor with you, but not always have me. So Jesus again dignifies her posture. She's. She's at his feet, and she breaks this expensive bottle of perfume. She anoints his feet. And not only does she anoint his feet, but she takes her hair, which at that time symbolized her glory, and she. And she's wiping his feet with her hair. This is a beautiful depiction of sacrificial worship. Romans 12 says that we are to present ourselves, our bodies, as a living sacrifice. We see that the first time that worship is introduced to us is is when Abraham is sacrificing Isaac. Right? So. So worship is supposed to be sacrificial. And Mary displays this. She has this beautiful display of sacrificial worship at the feet of Jesus. She shows us that worship is costly. When's the last time that. That you. That you had a worship that cost you something? Whether it was time, relationships, finances, pleasures, conveniences. When's the last time that you. That you worshiped? And I'm not talking about sitting in. In a. In a. In a gathering on a Sunday with. With beautiful music, and we're. Yes, that is an expression of worship. But what. When's the last time that your life displayed a sacrificial worship where. Where everything stopped so that you could worship him, that you had to lay some things aside to worship him? This was beautiful. And I. And again, the Lord dignifies this. He dignifies Mary. He says, no, like, this is beautiful. Yeah, I. I think as I was just kind of processing and the Lord was kind of just revealing my own heart posture to me. I. I love that. That he showed me so much of my heart in. In the heart of Martha and then. And then gave me such beautiful correction through the example of Mary is that Mary prioritizes being at the feet of Jesus. No matter what she's doing, how she feels, what's going on, she's prioritizing being at his feet. Interesting, too, because this morning I was praying, and I feel like the Lord provoked this question on my. On my mind. I feel like the Lord provoked this question on my heart. And it was like, you know, I heard myself say in prayer, like, in my heart. I. It was like, I was saying, you know, this would be a lot easier if you were just physically here. You know, like, this would be like, if you were, like, physically here. The way they had you, like the way the disciples had you and the way that they had you in the Gospels, like, physically be like, man, I feel like it would be. It would be so much easier. And I feel like the Lord was like, what would be different? And I was like, I wasn't expecting you to answer. I was just kind of just talking out, you know, But I feel like I sensed and felt like the Lord was like, what would have been different? Like, what's the difference? And I was like, if he. Like, if. If I was physically here, what would be different? I was like, I feel like I just would never leave your side. Like, I just would want to. Yeah, I guess I would be like, Mary, I just would want to be at your feet all the time. I just want to learn from you and hear from you. And like. And the Lord. I felt like the Lord was like, so do that. Keep running back to me. Be at my feet. Prioritize being at my feet. Prioritize being in my presence. And then. And then when I tell you something to. To do, when I give you instructions, I want you to go do it. And then when you're done doing whatever the instruction is, I want you. Like, I just want you to get into this habit and rhythm of. Keep returning, keep running back to my feet. And when I send you out, I'll be with you. And when you're done with the. The. The busyness and the serving and the ministering and the this and the that, and serving your family and your children and your friends and ministry, and when you're. And as soon as you're done doing the activities, I want you to run right back to my feet. And I feel like that was the answer that I had been waiting for. Like, may. Like, I feel like maybe that was the answer that I had been waiting for. Like, when I'm asking, like, lord, what do you want me to do? What do you want me to do? What do you want me to do here? What do you want me to do there? And I feel like the Lord is like, I just want you at my feet. I feel like the Lord is like, I know the plans that I have for you. I want you at my feet. I want you to prioritize proximity. I want you to prioritize intimacy. I want you to be patient with my timing and patient with. With my instructions and the timing that I give you those instructions. I want you to just be at my feet. I want you to be at my feet with your questions, with your. With your curiosity, with your intimacy, with your worries, with your anxiety, with your joy, with your. I just. I want you at my feet with your grief, your lament, your success. I just want you at my feet. That's what I want. I want you to have a heart like Mary. And prioritizing being at my feet, no matter the circumstance, no matter the situation, no matter how you feel, no matter what's going on on the outside. I want you to prioritize being at my feet. Because that is where we can find everything that we need. The answers to every question, the peace that we're looking for, the comfort that we're looking for, the love that we're looking for, the intimacy that we're seeking for. We can find all of that at his feet. And. And maybe some of you that are listening to this are like, me. That's like, you know, I have so many things that I am anxious about. What do I do here? What do I do there? And maybe this is the Lord telling you, I just want. I want you to prioritize being at my feet. And just like he told Martha when she says, hey, tell her to get up and help. And he says, no, she's chosen. She's chosen the better thing, and it won't be taken away from her. And so the Lord is telling us today that. That choosing to be at his feet is always the better thing, and it will never be taken away from us. You can never go wrong being at his feet. It's never the wrong choice to prioritize being at his feet. It's never the wrong thing to prioritize getting answers from him first, to making him the first priority of the day, to seeking wisdom from him first. How many. How many times are we going and seeking wisdom from the Lord before we go and seek wisdom from someone else? I'm guilty of it. I'll call my mom. I'll. I'll text Pastor Phil. I'll text Dr. Mason. I'll text. I'll ask all these. These very knowledgeable w people. I've done that before, before, just prioritizing going to the Lord first again, intimacy before activity. And so I. This. This has encouraged me so much. Mary, the. The. The three examples of Mary being at the feet of Jesus encourage me so much, and I pray that it encourages you, too. I pray that you know that that is a choice that will never be taken away from you. That is a choice that is always pleasing to the Lord. We see it three times. Luke 10, John 11, John 12, where Jesus is pleased by Mary's posture. He's pleased by it. He's pleased with her proximity to him, that closeness. This is a. This is a quote from John Piper, and I love it. And it says, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him. In order to be satisfied in him, we have to prioritize intimacy when we are satisfied with him, when we are. When we are just delighting in Him. When we prioritize our time with him and we are prioritizing being at his feet, he gets more glory out of our lives. His life is glorified even more in our lives. When we are most satisfied, most secure, and we most pro. When we prioritize him most in our lives, then he's glorified more in Our lives. And so this week, I want to challenge you and, and take inventory. You know, where is my heart? Do I have more of a heart like Martha or do I have a heart more like Mary? Where am I? Do I identify more with Martha and. Or do I identify with Mary? And let me tell you, if you identify with Martha, God is not condemning you. Just like Jesus didn't condemn Martha, but he says to you, just like as he said to Martha, Martha, Martha. Just like he said to me, Megan, Megan, Gentle, loving correction. Hey, I just want you at my feet. That's something that won't be taken away from you. So if you are Martha's, if you're a Martha out there, know that the Lord loves you. And he's not condemning your service, he's not condemning your heart to serve, but he's. He's aligning the priorities correctly. And he's saying, hey, I love that you serve. I want you to prioritize me. I love that you serve. I don't want to take that away from you either. But, but I want you to prioritize intimacy with me. And if you are Mary, if you're Mary's out there, this should encourage you even more to continue to prioritize your intimacy with the Lord. Continue to prioritize proximity. The Lord wants us near. There is so much going on right now in the world that is causing us to be anxious about many things. Distracted. Even that word, distraction. I feel like we are so distracted for, I mean, about so many things. And it's easy to be. I'm guilty of it. You pick up this phone immediately. Distracted. Immediately. You walk outside of your, your, your, your home and you're distracted. You turn on your tv, distracted. And maybe for some of us, maybe we got to take a break from some of that. Maybe we got to put some stuff down. But one thing I do know is that the Lord is saying, don't be distracted. Prioritize me. I want, I want to give you peace. There's so much to be anxious about. I want to give you peace. I want to give you rest. I want to give you clarity. I want to give you fullness of joy. I want, I want to do that. The Lord, like the Lord is saying, I want to, I want to give you that. Prioritize proximity, prioritize intimacy, and allow him to give you instructions, strategy, wisdom, discernment on all the activities that he's calling you to do. But first things come first, and the first thing is intimacy. And so this week, just take inventory of where you are in your heart. Read through Luke 10. Read through Luke 11. Read through Luke 12. Identify the posture of Mary's heart and then ask the Lord to help you. Ask the Lord to give you a heart like Mary. All right. I hope this was good for you. I hope it encourages you and I love you guys and I'll see you next week. What's up you guys? I hope you enjoyed this episode. Thank you so much for listening and I hope you felt encouraged in some way. Be sure to like and follow Into Tality Podcast everywhere you listen to your favorite shows. Follow into Tality on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and be sure to turn on your post notifications so that you can be the first to listen whenever there's a new episode.