The Lord's Table~Day 43 to 48

Day 43~One Thing Necessary

Studying the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) the following point was made...

The first priority necessary in the Christian life is sitting at the feet of Jesus! TLT workbook pg 137

Here are the six teachings drawn out from that image of Mary sitting at Jesus' feet. Sitting at Jesus' feet indicates:

1. humility.
2. submission.
3. learning.
4. faith.
5. holding to His teaching.
6. that she (Mary) loved Jesus.

If I'm humble, I'll be repentant, broken, contrite and willing. If I'm submissive I'll surrender. If I'm learning, I'll soak up His word. If I'm holding to the faith, I'll trust and hold onto the promises of His Word. If I'm holding to His teaching, I'll be a doer and do His will. If I love Jesus, He will be my #1 priority.

When I think of sitting at Jesus' feet I have the image of prayer~quietly meditating on His words, worshipping Him, expressing gratitude to Him, listening to what He speaks to my heart, and humbly presenting my requests/concerns to Him. This is a lesson I need to apply. I know I need to sit at His feet in prayer more often.


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Day 44~Ministry Mindset

As God has worked in my heart and life and released me from the chains of sin He
has turned my focus upward and outward. TLT workbook pg 140

So, to summarize today's teaching, there is an importance in the Christian life to begin shifting away from self-centeredness and inward focus, to ministering to others. We need to cultivate a ministry mindset. Jesus told us that unless we follow Him to the place of death to self we will "remain alone" and be fruitless (John 12:23-25). TLT workbook pg 142

God has deeply, specifically and clearly impressed on my heart the various ways He desires me to be looking upward and outward. I always find that very exciting:-)

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Day 45~Freedom brings Spiritual Health

The one who turns from God to pursue satisfaction in something/someone else
goes into a spiritual famine. The soul becomes parched, malnourished, dehydrated and to use a medical term, it "fails to thrive." TLT workbook pg 143

I know I've never been so aware of the practicality of needing to fill up on God's Word as I am now. It was an aim of mine before, but not a priority. I now can sense a HUGE difference in myself when I'm feeding on His word and when I'm not.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD and in his law he meditates day and night. Ps. 1:2

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does he prospers. Ps. 1:3

When I overeat I feel ashamed, angry at myself, overwhelmed, feel like giving up and giving in.

As I feed on God's word and am in relationship wtih Him moment by moment I begin to experience victory, a renewing of the mind and these feelings dissapear and are replaced with joy, contentment, peace, excitement, anticipation, praise, gratitude and a deeper more intimate relationship with the Lord.

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Day 46~Key to Victory-Ongoing Humility

Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10

When I fix my eyes on Him and His greatness I am humbled by the reality of His greatness and of my complete need for Him and dependance on Him for existence.

I desire to pray the following prayer (or something like it) prior to eating...

Dear Lord, thank you for this food. You are truly a giver of good gifts. I pray that you would make me content with my portion. I pray your Holy Spirit would remind me and prompt me when to stop. Please make my spirit and flesh willing. Thank you Lord. Amen.

I also desire to constantly offer thanks while enjoying the blessing of the food He has provided.

He truly is a great God! I AM COMPLETELY DEPENDANT ON HIM FOR EVERYTHING, even when I think I've got things under control! Gratitude to the Lord is key to true humility.

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Day 47~Running to Win

The main gist of this lesson was that you can't run as fast or as far with extra weight. It will tire you out. Hebrews 12:1-4 and 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 were unpacked.

My main thoughts are that I need to be intentional and alert. I need to get rid of distractions. Keep my focus on Jesus. Seek Him. Tell my body what to do by setting goals and be intentional about my eating and exercise so I'm not being waved back and forth by my feelings of laziness/lack of self control and emotions. Ex. "It's time to go and jump rope, go for a walk etc." "No more sweets. I've had enough." Take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ, lining the walls of my mind with truths from God's word.

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Day 48~Shadows and Reality

I thought this lesson was so thought-provoking and interesting. The scripture that this lesson drew from was:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Colossians 2:13-17

The author presented a few different OT and NT images/stories to reflect on shadows and reality parallels: Moses hitting the rock and water gushing out paralleled with Jesus being our spiritual rock (Exodus 17:6 and 1 Cor. 10:1-4), the provision of manna to the Israelites in the desert parallels Jesus being the living bread out of heaven (Exodus 16:4 and John 6:47-51), Noah's ark being their safety in the midst of the flood paralleled with Jesus being our savior in the flood of sin (Gen. 6:17-18 and 1 Peter 3:18-21).

I know there are many many other shadows and realities in scripture that could be dug into! I think this would make a fantastic sermon series:-) I may just present this idea to my pastor:-)

Now when I eat I let the food point me to Jesus. As I savor a bite of food I think of how we are to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Ps. 34:8) When I am nourished by a delightful meal I recall taht we are to truly feast on the forgiveness Jesus gave us at the cross (Hebrews 13:10). When I'm hot and take a drink of cool water I'm reminded that if I drink of Jesus as the Living Water I will never thirst for sinful things again. Food and drink are "shadows" that point us to the reality which is Christ. TLT workbook pg 134

I find this point very interesting. I definitely need to change my perspective of food. Everytime my tastebuds explode with enjoyment as something tastes amazing I need to remember this is a shadow of Christ, that HE tastes ever so much better! Everytime my belly is satisfied I need to remember this is a shadow of the satisfaction that God brings. Everytime I gain energy and strength from the food I need to remember that God provides much more!