r/Jesus

Caught Between Mary and Martha
How’s your calendar looking this week?
If you’re like most people today, chances are, your week is probably already packed. It could be with work, family, appointments, church, people to catch up with, or the many other responsibilities of modern life. Or maybe you’re someone who just loves to fill your schedule to the brim.
But have you noticed? Life doesn’t slow down on its own.
If we are not careful, our days can fill up quickly with more things to do, more things to be a part of, and even good things that can steal us away from what’s truly needful.
Here’s where the story of Mary and Martha is still so relevant to our lives today.
In Luke 10, we see Martha running around, serving, trying to get everything done. Mary, on the other hand, simply sat at Jesus’ feet. And when Martha complained, Jesus gently defended Mary, saying, “But one thing is needful” (Luke 10:42).
In hindsight, knowing how the story ends, it’s easy to feel like that’s so obvious. But isn’t this the same tension we face every single day? We’re caught between being like Mary and Martha—between sitting and serving, receiving and doing more.
It’s part of life, and we all face it. The responsibilities that come with being a parent, the demands of holding down a job, the call to serve faithfully in church, or even simply being a good friend who shows up when others need you.
And then, on the other side, there is the sweet simplicity of just sitting at the feet of our Lord Jesus.
Now, hear my heart on this. Many times, these responsibilities really are legitimate and important for us to attend to. Whether it’s serving others or being involved in church, these are wonderful things that bless people and honor the Lord.
But not every opportunity to serve is something He’s asking you to take on. When you say yes to everything, even with good intentions, you can end up running on empty. The Lord wants your serving to flow from His supply, not your own.
Paul paints a picture for us in 2 Corinthians 4. We are like earthen vessels carrying a treasure, the Lord Himself. And it’s this treasure that keeps us from crumbling under the weight of life’s pressures.
When you’re conscious of this treasure within, the demands of life don’t overwhelm you. Yes, deadlines and responsibilities may press in, but they can’t crush you.
But when you take on more than He’s leading you to, it’s easy to lose sight of Him. That’s when even good things can start to feel heavy. What once brought joy feels like an obligation, and before long, the weight of it all leaves you weary and close to burnout.
That’s why those private moments you take with the Lord, when you’re seated at His feet, are so important. And it’s not about the quantity of time, but the quality of those moments.
One fresh word from Him… one moment of revelation… can do more than you know.
Picture a balance scale. On one side is a never-ending list of to-dos—people to check on, activities to join, emails waiting for a reply. On the other side is the Lord’s supply, rest, and strength.
That moment in His presence can fill you with His provision and tip the whole scale, lifting you out of demands and into His rest.
So how do we know when to sit and when to serve?
This is what Mary discovered. When you prioritize sitting at the feet of Jesus, you receive the discernment to know when to serve. In fact, just a few chapters later, we see her again at His feet—this time really being of service to the Lord as she anoints Him for His burial.
Isn’t that beautiful? That’s how we can grow in our discernment and be led by the Lord.
So let me encourage you: don’t let the responsibilities in your public life overtake your private life with the Lord. Don’t let the busyness of serving replace your personal moments of sitting with Him.
When you choose to first sit at His feet, you’ll find yourself rested and full, unencumbered by the demands of your calendar. That’s when you truly serve out of the overflow!

1 Peter 1:15-16

The Art of Getting Ourselves Out of the Way

Have you noticed this? There’s really no life more miserable than one that is consumed with self.
Just think about King Solomon in the Book of Ecclesiastes. He had everything the world could offer—wealth, wisdom, women, wine, entertainment, even incredible works of architecture and engineering. He tried it all.
Yet, do you know what he concluded? “Therefore I hated life” (Ecc. 2:17).
Can you imagine that? The richest man in history, with every pleasure at his fingertips, saying he hated life.
If you read Ecclesiastes 2, notice how many times he says the word “I.”
“I said in my heart… I searched in my heart… I made my works great… I built myself houses… I planted myself vineyards…”
Over and over again, it was all about “I.” And to the degree he was occupied with himself, to that degree he suffered.
Isn’t that so true for us, too? We may not be building palaces or planting vineyards, but we all have our own “I’s.”
How am I doing? How do I look? Did I say the right thing? What do they think of me?
That kind of inward focus wears you out. It traps you in this cycle of comparison, performance, insecurity… and it robs you of joy.
But here’s the good news I want you to hear today: You were never meant to be the center of your own universe. Only Jesus can take that place. And when He does, life becomes full again.
That’s why John the Baptist’s words in John 3:30 are so powerful. When his disciples came to him, worried that more people were going to Jesus instead of him, John didn’t react with jealousy or insecurity. Instead, he said simply, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Wow. That’s it right there. John understood something so freeing—that feeding of the self often makes life heavier, but giving Jesus the center place will make life lighter.
That is the art of getting ourselves out of the way. It’s not about trying to suppress yourself or deny yourself. It’s about letting Jesus shine, and letting Him take His rightful place at the center.
And here’s why this matters so much. Colossians 1:17 (AMP) says, “And He Himself existed and is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
When you step aside and allow the Lord to increase, He will hold everything in your life together. He will integrate you from the inside out.
When you take yourself out of the equation, you discover a whole new measure of rest and security with the Lord.
You won’t feel the constant need to be ahead of everyone, to be liked by everyone. You will find it easier to let others around you shine. You will live life with a greater release and not be easily offended or slighted by what others do or their opinions of you.
You’re giving up a life of self-occupation and self-consciousness for a life of deep, faith-filled consciousness that your worth, identity, and person are held in the loving hands of the One who created and redeemed you.
And putting Jesus at the center doesn’t have to be difficult.
Even as you take time to seek Him before starting your day, like you’re doing right now, you’re letting Him increase. You’re saying, “I don’t just want to live my life for myself, but with You in mind, Lord.” That’s a great start!
Now, look at this beautiful part of John’s story. When John said those words, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” he wasn’t losing himself. No, he was stepping into the very thing he was created for: to point to our Lord Jesus.
And the same is true for you. The more you let Jesus increase in your life, the more you step out of that small, suffocating world of “I, me, myself,” and the more you will become who you were always meant to be.
Secure. Free. Full of His life. And a glorious testimony and pointer to Him.
That is the joy of getting ourselves out of the way.

ISAIAH 26:4

The Scarlet Thread of Redemption Through the Ages
The Bible is a very special book.
The more you read it, the more you’ll see it’s not just a book of stories or lessons. From cover to cover, it’s all about our Lord Jesus. And it reveals the Father’s divine plan to redeem you and me and draw us into relationship with Him.
Today, I want to try something a little different. I want to help you see the overarching narrative of the Bible and the wisdom of God shining through the ages, beginning with the very first prophecy in Scripture.
Right at the start, everything was perfect in the garden of Eden. Man walked with God in unbroken fellowship. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, everything changed. Sin entered. And with sin came shame, fear, sickness, sorrow, and finally death.
The Bible says, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:20). That was the reality. Because of Adam, death became the destiny of all mankind.
But here’s the good news: God, in His mercy, immediately began His plan to redeem us. Right there in the garden, just after Adam and Eve had eaten of the forbidden fruit, He declared the very first prophecy.
He said to the serpent:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”
—Genesis 3:15
Now think about this. A woman doesn’t have seed. This was God Himself announcing that the Messiah would come—born not of man’s seed but of a woman, a virgin. And He would be the One to crush the serpent’s head.
From that moment on, the struggle between good and evil began to unfold.
The serpent, knowing the prophecy, began scheming and plotting how he might snuff out the promised Seed.
When he saw how God honored Abel’s offering, he thought, “Maybe this is the one.”So he stirred Cain to murder his brother. But God raised up Seth, and the chosen line continued.
So the enemy escalated his attack. He sought to corrupt all of humanity. Fallen angels took women and produced giants—violent abominations that filled the earth. The devil’s plan was simple: to corrupt mankind so that no pure seed could ever come forth.
But God had Noah, who was “perfect in his generations” and untainted by this corruption (Gen. 6:9). Through Noah and his family, who were preserved in the ark, the seed survived, and the Lord wiped the earth clean with the flood.
Still, Satan did not give up. He raised up more giants to occupy the very land God had promised His people. God’s response? He called Abraham, from whom came the nation of Israel, and this people would in time, possess the land and wipe out the giants.
The devil must have thought, “The Seed must be one of them!” So he enslaved the Israelites under Pharaoh’s harsh rule in Egypt. And when he sensed God raising up a deliverer, he stirred Pharaoh to slaughter all the Hebrew babies two years old and under.
But God preserved Moses. This little baby, hidden in a basket and drawn out of the waters, was destined to lead His people out of the bondage of Egypt. Yet Moses was not the Seed, and the devil’s search continued.
Centuries passed, yet the prophecy remained unfulfilled. Until the fullness of time came, and our Lord Jesus was born of a virgin, not in a palace but in a lowly manger.
The devil must have panicked when he saw the angelic activity around Bethlehem, and when wise men from the East arrived bearing gifts for a King. Immediately, he stirred up Herod, paranoid and cruel, to massacre the infants of Bethlehem. But once more, God outmaneuvered him, sending Joseph and Mary to Egypt with their precious child.
Do you see it? The battle through the ages?
Again and again, the enemy schemed and plotted, only to be outmaneuvered by the wisdom of God. Through every generation, God preserved the scarlet thread of redemption, weaving it through Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and finally to the Babe in that manger in Bethlehem.
When Jesus came up from the waters of the Jordan River, the heavens opened, and the Father Himself declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).
Finally, the devil had his mark, and he set in motion his schemes to kill our Lord Jesus. He stirred the religious hearts of the Pharisees. He incited the mobs. And when Pilate signed the death sentence, the devil must have thought, “Finally, I’ve won.”
But he couldn’t have been more wrong. There on that hill called Calvary, our Lord Jesus—the promised Seed Himself—was lifted up. And do you know what that hill was called in Aramaic? Golgotha, which means “the place of the skull.” Many believe it was the very spot where David buried the severed head of Goliath.
Can you picture it?
The cross of Jesus, planted squarely in the skull of a greater Goliath. The promised Seed of the woman, crushing the serpent’s head once and for all.
The devil thought he had won. He thought the cross was his greatest triumph. But it became his ultimate defeat. First Corinthians 2:8 tells us, “None of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
At Calvary, the wisdom of God outmaneuvered the enemy in a way no one, not even the devil, could have imagined. On that rugged tree, the Son of God bore our sin, took our curse, and stripped the devil of his power (Heb. 2:14).
And on the third day, when Jesus rose from the grave, heaven declared the prophecy spoken at the dawn of time gloriously fulfilled. Our Lord Jesus crushed the serpent’s head and finished the work of redemption once and for all. In Him, we’ve been raised to a place even higher than what Adam lost (Eph. 2:6).
This is the wisdom of God. This is the love story woven through the ages. And it all points to one glorious truth: our Lord Jesus has won the victory for you!

God’s Simple Yet Powerful Answer to Worry and Anxiety

Have you ever stopped, only to notice you’ve been carrying an underlying feeling of anxiety or worry?
It’s like a constant low-level hum of stress… just sitting quietly in the back of your mind.
It may not be from any one big thing, but from a buildup of many small things. Things we haven’t followed up on, tasks we’ve left hanging, bills to pay, errands to run, even good things we feel we should be doing.
And yes, many of those things are legitimate. But over time, we can become weighed down by the cares of life, and even get used to living that way.
That’s not how your heavenly Father wants you to live.
Matthew 6 tells us, “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.”
Remember, you’re not like the people of the world. You have a good Father who already knows what you need and delights in taking care of you. When you lose sight of that, you end up settling, accepting stress as part and parcel of modern life.
Today, your Father wants to realign your heart and vision. He wants to show you a practical and powerful way to live free from anxiety.
Let’s take a look at Philippians 4:6.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.”
Isn’t that beautiful? God’s answer to our cares and anxiety over our daily lives… is prayer. So simple. So powerful.
Now, I know you might be thinking, “Sure, I’ve heard that before.”
But is that your first response when worry hits? Or is it more planning… more Googling… more ChatGPT… more trying to figure it all out on your own?
We all can fall into that trap. It’s so easy to default to looking to ourselves. But prayer? Prayer is where things begin to change.
Prayer isn’t a band-aid. It’s not a comforting Christian phrase. It’s not something religious we do as believers.
It’s about leaning in to the Lord who loves you. It’s about having a relationship with your Father, who knows what you need and invites you to tell Him about it anyway... so you can release that burden to Him and receive His peace.
This is exactly what it means to cast your cares upon the Lord. It says in 1 Peter 5:7, “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
You see, when you catch a fresh revelation of how deeply He cares for you, you won’t wait another minute. You’ll cast that care to Him in prayer, and leave it there.
It’s not difficult. Like a child to a father, you can tell Him everything—your needs, your fears, your frustrations.
You don’t need to have all the right words. It could even look like whispering, “I need Your wisdom, Lord!” before you enter a meeting. Or just telling the Lord in your own words what is bothering you.
When you pray, you are drawing closer to the One who loves you most, and inviting Him to release His power into your situation.
So, begin to believe that your prayers are powerful. Your prayers can change things.
Today, instead of worrying about that situation, why not pray about it? Even a simple, “Lord Jesus, I give this to You…” is enough to break the power of anxiety and fill you with His shalom-peace.

Turn Your Worrying into a Weapon
Sometimes when I teach about meditating on Scripture, someone will say to me, “Pastor Prince, I just don’t know how to meditate… I find it so difficult.”
And my response usually is, “Do you know how to worry?”
Because if you know how to worry… you already know how to meditate.
Think about what happens when you worry. You take that concern, that problem, that trouble, and you think about it constantly. You even explore different angles of it: “Wow, this looks really bad… What if it gets worse?”
And then you use your imagination to consider how it might affect your life, your future, maybe even your loved ones.
If that sounds familiar, please don’t feel condemned. I’m not here to point a finger at you—I’m here to encourage you. You’re actually just one small step away from unlocking a powerful key and weapon that can turn your situation around: biblical meditation.
You see, worry is simply meditating on fear because of the things you’re looking at. 
Biblical meditation is meditating on the promises of God found in His unshakable, living Word.
If there’s something on your mind today—an area of care or concern—here’s what I want to encourage you to do: Swap out the subject of your worrying!
Ask the Lord to show you a promise from His Word that speaks into your situation. Find that verse. Hold it close. Then do exactly what you’ve been doing with the problem—only now, do it with His promise.
Mutter it under your breath. Turn it over in your mind. Talk to the Lord about it. Ask Him to show you more.
Now, here’s the difference: The more you worry, the more hopeless and heavy you will feel. But when you meditate on His promises, you’ll often find hope, faith, and peace beginning to rise in your heart. 
So why not start today?
Turn your worrying into the wonderful, life-giving gift of meditation, and watch how the Lord begins to work in your situation.