Devotion #43

Hi, Everyone.
I apologize for posting late today. I just couldn't miss watching "Wednesdays With Beth [Moore]" on Life Today [with James and Betty Robison]. Beth reduces me to tears, every time. What a teacher is she!
I guess this is the day for apologies, because I must apologize for the length of this devotion. Hopefully, you'll feel it was worth the time. Keep in mind that I was writing in my journal, for an audience of one [me], so length was not an issue. Feel free to read it at several sittings or copy and paste it to a document, to print out and read later.
Today's devotion is from my personal journal dated May 21, 2007. Let me know how God speaks to you today.

     This morning I learned that my friend, Ralph Miller, passed away at 8:05 p.m. last night. I had the honor of spending the hours of 3:30-6:00 p.m. with him. Even though he couldn't speak, I felt he knew I was there and could hear me. I anointed him with oil, prayed for him, sang hymns to him, read from Rebecca Springer's book (1898) about her dream of Heaven, and told him it was okay for him to go, that his family would be all right, and that whatever was important to him would continue to be important to them. I wasn't sure why I said that last part, but it was prompted by the Holy Spirit, and the knowledge of what I'd said was of great comfort to the family, later on.
     After I got off the phone this morning, my first thought was, "Oh, my Jesus, Ralph's sitting at Your feet right now, isn't he, for he knew and loved You." The moment I said that, I knew that "sitting at Jesus' feet" was the topic for "class" today.
     I was reminded of one of the hymns I sang to Ralph, called Sitting at the Feet of Jesus.

          Sitting at the feet of Jesus, Oh, what words I hear Him say!
          Happy place! So near, so precious! May it find me there each day.
          Sitting at the feet of Jesus, I would look upon the past;
          For His love has been so gracious, It has won my heart at last.

          Sitting at the feet of Jesus, Where can mortal be more blest?
          There I lay my sins and sorrows And, when weary, find sweet rest.
          Sitting at the feet of Jesus, There I love to weep and pray,
          While I from His fullness gather Grace and comfort ev'ry day.

          Bless me, O my Saviour, bless me, As I sit low at Thy feet.
          Oh, look down in love upon me; Let me see Thy face so sweet.
          Give me, Lord, the mind of Jesus; Make me holy as He is.
          May I prove I've been with Jesus, Who is all my righteousness.

     I asked the Lord to give me scripture about sitting at the feet of Jesus, and He brought to my remembrance one of my favorite stories in the Bible, about Mary and Martha. I found it in Luke 10:38-42.
     "Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord's feet, listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, 'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.' But the Lord answered and said to her, 'Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.'"
     I've decided THAT really should be our first priority, once we are saved, to sit at Jesus' feet. It's abiding. It's being intimate with Him. It's communing with Him. It's learning from Him.
     I asked the Lord to help me see what happens when one sits at the feet of Jesus and how it will help me in this journey to losing weight.
     1) Sitting at Jesus' feet indicates humility. Mary took the humble, lowly position. If one is in bondage to overeating, that is sin, and all sin has pride at its root. Humility is needed, and when it's present, honor and blessing will follow. James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."
     2) Sitting at Jesus' feet indicates submission. I'm sure Jesus was teaching, and Mary submitted to Him. When I indulge my flesh, that is rebellion. Submission is so greatly needed, for me to be victorious in the struggle with overeating. It is the way to be free. Job 22:21-22 says, "Yield now and be at peace with Him; thereby good will come to you... Receive instruction from His mouth and establish His words in your heart." The Lord is teaching me, everyday. I must receive it. The "good" for me will be the benefits from correct eating habits. The result of submission is peace.
     3) Sitting at Jesus' feet indicates learning. If Mary was humble and submissive, she would definitely have been learning from Jesus, hearing what He was saying. Learning is essential for victory. Matthew 11:28-30 says, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Mary learned from Jesus and found rest. I am learning from Jesus, too, and I'm finding rest that comes from allowing Him to do His work in me.
     4) Sitting at Jesus' feet indicates faith. Mary surely believed what Jesus was saying. Romans 10:17 says, "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God." The Lord is teaching me daily, through His Word, but it won't do me any good if I don't believe it. According to I John 5:4, "the victory that overcomes the world [is] our faith."
     5) Sitting at Jesus' feet indicates obedience. Mary was intent on hearing, believing, and obeying Jesus' teaching. That's what I must do. It is truth, and it will make me free (John 8:32).
     6) Sitting at Jesus' feet indicates love. Mary must have loved Jesus, or she wouldn't have spent her time sitting at His feet, to the annoyance of her sister who needed her help. If my heart is full of love for Jesus, there will be no room for sin, even overeating. My heart must be passionately in love with Jesus, with no love of the world or the flesh. Habitual sin comes from falling away from one's first love, just like the church spoken of in Revelation 2:4-5, "I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first..." That last line is the best advice, for what to do when one has given in to the temptation to overeat. 
     May I run to sit at Jesus' feet every morning, with an open, willing heart, learning with all humility, and living in obedience. May my life and my body prove that I have been with Jesus.

Today, spend some time sitting at Jesus' feet. Determine to do that daily, for it will be time well spent, and if you find yourself overeating, just "repent and do the deeds you did at first."  Listen to a group of Gaither men singing, in beautiful harmony, the hymn "Sitting at the Feet of Jesus." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EazRNX_Na7o  Better yet, sing along with them, in His presence.

Blessings,
Mary