Do Not Discount the "MARTHA'S"

Oh, what is in a name?
Martha...means..in the.transliteration...Mar...."Lord"

Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."   NKJV

Martha: the manager, the lead, the mayor, CEO, a House Representative, a doctor, a lawyer, a research analyst, a archaeologist.........busy about much. Seizing the TEACHER in the House should have been the priority! 

Today, an example does not stand as bold for the "stay at home Mom" as it did back in the mid-twentieth century. In those modern shows at the time , the three main stations of T.V. portrayed them, the woman of the house as dressed to "party" with heels and jewels draping the dish pan hands. Yet, dressed in a shirt-waist dress,she fried up chicken in a pan. With every hair on her lovely head still in place and "no sweat" on the brow, she shined throughout the 30 minute program!. Oh, and please  excuse me about the "sweat thing", as no moisture would be found on the brow of the woman from some person's imagination of "the stay at home Mom".

Today women are in trades of all kinds. What were mostly male trades like welding, plumbing and the such 4 or 5 decades ago, many women do them more often and do it better than some males I hear. But the proof is in the product!

In the case of two women, we see sisters who have much in common due to parentage, yet the two can be so different. In the case of my sibling: Sis, was all athletic, as a youth loved baseball, and did well riding her bike without gears. In other words, our bikes had one gear: us! Going up a grade of a hill in your own gear certainly proved to me that my sister was strong and performed well on that bike. Her being my younger, I was more comfortable riding around the block going downhill and commending her on her great skill. Oh, yes, I loved exercise too, but my bike had no gears either than you pedal yourself around....hill or flat under your steam with no help.

It was Mom who kept us in "check". As we saw with Jesus, Kept the team in "check". He was always speaking of "kingdom" things and healing was evident in those who came to see Him. and in the coming, if they heard, for some that is, well, they left whole and healed.

John 11:17-45

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. 19 And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. 21 Then Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world." 

28 And when she had said these things, she went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, "The Teacher has come and is calling for you." 29 As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." 32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." 33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34 And He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see." 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!" 37 And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" 

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" 41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me." 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" 44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."   NKJV

Busy in life, busy with family, the workplace, ministry possibly, and troubled with current events will take any family, man , woman or child to the point of..."breaking".
Relying on family members, and expecting them to be there always is not a good approach to living life that is good in God and His promises. 

In seeing these two women come to Him as the wailers they wailed loudly, Jesus found a blame game. "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."
Yet when Martha spoke, she finished with verse 22.......John 11:  22 But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You." 23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She said to Him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world."


She did not have the relationship she needed but still relied on Jesus for help....yet she called in verse 24...resurrection. And she spoke that she believed that Jesus was, is and will always be the Christ, the Son of God who is come into the world.
He had someone to agree on earth, in earth if you will, and move unbelief out of the way to maintain a flow of God's love to others in the tombs.
Faith was operating in that she knew Jesus to be the Son of God.
She was calling on His "divinity". She knew Who He was and what would and could be seen by speaking with Him.

Where might we be distracted that we should engage some discipline in our actions to stay up with God. Jesus was at their house regularly and sounds like they were close friends. If we are truly in Jesus, and reside in heavenly places, we should speak as God speaks. In Him there is a freedom that is about love and faith in God, Who is more than enough for any situation. And being trained as Jesus was in God, reveals to us a conduct that is righteous, is speaking as God speaks, and one who remained in holiness.
In those situations of trial Jesus kept His peace. His freedom language was what He heard the Father speak. In offering ourselves to God, we have one Master, Jesus Christ. In Him, we are the caring, abiding in righteousness that is truth infused into our lives by the Holy Spirit.
Keep in touch with the Lord.


The crowd was certainly loud around the tomb of Lazarus. There was probably panic on the part of those who cried in despair seeing that Lazarus is gone and he still had two sisters in the house to see after. Terror might have gripped some within the closed ranks of the family, yet, God was on the scene. Yes, heavy hearts were there, and peace far from them that day. But Jesus!
When the Prince of Peace came on the scene, it had to change.

What is interrupting our routine? Is the devil stirring up that which is beneath, say around our feet to agitate to make us move in making destructive decisions or is God wanting us to advance to another place? 

Death is one without hope. But Martha held on. Although she did not know the extent of what would occur that day, her faith filled Jesus. Is it possible that when "Martha" spoke what she did, that He had some who agreed with Him in His divinity? I think so. I believe He sees in "the spirit" Lazarus walking out of the tomb.

Jesus just had to speak "Faith" and see His friend return to a rich life in the Lord. For whatever word they heard from Jesus, regeneration had started.

Things changed that day for many. And the others, well they never recognized real life.

In the wind of activity, Jesus sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) Martha was right with the Lord. Many faces of love was revealed in this event. 

Do not discount the "MARTHA'S", they are the doers. Never get bogged down in stuff or be too busy to see the beauty of Jesus, the power of His blood and the greatness of His peace, for the wind and waves still KNOW HIS NAME.

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Who is PLOTTING TO KILL JESUS? or I WAS AFRAID!

Who is plotting to kill Jesus?
Anyone who wants their own way, who wants to live as much in sin as they can today, and who will not receive that He is the Son of God.....the sent One!

Luke 22:66-71
66 As soon as it was day, the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, came together and led Him into their council, saying, 67 "If You are the Christ, tell us." But He said to them, "If I tell you, you will by no means believe. 68 And if I also ask you, you will by no means answer Me or let Me go. 69 Hereafter the Son of Man will sit on the right hand of the power of God." 70 Then they all said, "Are You then the Son of God?" So He said to them, "You rightly say that I am." 71 And they said, "What further testimony do we need? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth."
NKJV

Recognizing truth should be simple. But today we see many wanting to compromise their faith. I like what I heard yesterday of a pastor down in San Diego, California. He said too many believer's are stepping aside in those things which contradict God's Word. Too many, are not speaking out when they should be saying something against that which contradicts.
I never read of Jesus stepping aside.......when anyone was contradicting..........!
Truth was before the chief priests and scribes as they held "their council" and yet none believed. But the scripture would be fulfilled..........

Luke 9:20-22
20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"

Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."               NIV

Matthew 12:9-21

9 Now when He had departed from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--that they might accuse Him. 11 Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? 12 Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." 13 Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. 

15 But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: 

18 "Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen,

My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

I will put My Spirit upon Him,

And He will declare justice to the Gentiles. 

19 He will not quarrel nor cry out,

Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 

20 A bruised reed He will not break,

And smoking flax He will not quench,

Till He sends forth justice to victory; 

21 And in His name Gentiles will trust."          NKJV

Even the prophet Isaiah spoke that Jesus would declare justice to the Gentiles and they would put their trust in Him. Yet, Israel would not relent. They did not want the carpenter's son.  They were plotting to kill Him......or destroy Him.......verse 14!

John 11:45-57

45 Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him. 46 But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. 48 If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." 49 And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, 50 nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish." 51 Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad. 53 Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death. 54 Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples. 55 And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56 Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think--that He will not come to the feast?" 57 Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.   NKJV

Yes, even in Jesus' time we see those of the "me" society. They wanted to keep their preeminence with their long robes, and their loud open prayers in public for all to see, so that they might remain somewhat "important" to their thinking. But God sent His Son to bring love to a dying nation. And they would not receive it.  Even those as the crowd who saw many wonderful signs and wonders had remarks as the one below.

Luke 19:1-10

19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 

5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 

7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'" 

8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." 

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."   NIV

Yikes! These who saw gave up to mutter things about Zacchaeus.........the sinner and how Jesus was going to the house of the "sinner".

Now we can see from the Gospels of those plotting against Jesus, but I would like you to walk back into Genesis with me and read what Adam told God.


Genesis 3:6-10
 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" 10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."   NKJV

Now what did Adam say after he and his wife Eve ate the apple?

Let's see: their eyes were opened. They now knew "sin". They were trying to cover themselves so as not to be seen as those who did something wrong. Then...........they heard the sound of the LORD........God walking in the garden. Adam and Eve hid in their sin. They were no longer considering themselves among God's family.

Then God asks: "Where are you?" And Adam responds" I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."  Adam does not mention Eve at all in this, as he is so consumed with the sinning against God. And he was afraid when he heard God's voice in the garden.

Can you imagine that these were probably the saddest words that God would hear? That Adam spoke of being afraid when he heard God's voice in the garden. 

Adam had heard His voice............knew God spoke always in truth..........and now was experiencing what sin meant to someone who had lived in the presence of God! He felt separated, apart from God and left in knowing its affect on him.

How many times have we gone into a service and did not like what the pastor or another was speaking from either the pulpit or just in front of a group of people? How many know that when we are afraid and blame the person who spoke God's Word is not the bad guy, and is not the bad "messenger" who is sent by God. The person who is playing the blame game is the one who is afraid of the Word of God being spoken to them. They try to put up that "wall" that facade (fe' sad) that is just a covering, a mask, an act to cover what is really going on in their life.

These scribes and pharisees sought out Jesus. They plot to do away with Him. They were afraid of truth! Yet, God used all this to fulfill those prophecies of Jesus. He came and they did not see Him, did not receive Him and therefore sought to do away with the Prince of peace.

Luke 20:17-19
17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

"'The stone the builders rejected 
has become the capstone'? 

18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.  NIV

In closing: consider this, that Peter and John too faced the same things that Jesus faced when He walked in Jerusalem............

Acts 4:1-21
4:1 Now as they spoke to the people, the priests, the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, 2 being greatly disturbed that they taught the people and preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 However, many of those who heard the word believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.

5 And it came to pass, on the next day, that their rulers, elders, and scribes, 6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, "By what power or by what name have you done this?" 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: 9 If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, 10 let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. 11 This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'  12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. 14 And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it. 15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves, 16 saying, "What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17 But so that it spreads no further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they speak to no man in this name." 18 And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." 21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way of punishing them, because of the people, since they all glorified God for what had been done.  NKJV

Now is not the time to step aside, and let those who think they are right because they believe a "lie". Eyes certainly need to be opened to truth. That truth is found in the Bible. Paul had warned of a time......and that the "time will come when [believers] will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables." ( 2 Timothy 4:3-4)  As the body of believer's we must keep close intimacy with the Lord, and keep that Word before our eyes that keeps us on that straight and narrow path of life.

I like what Steve Hill, Evangelist wrote in " The 7 Great Lies in the Church Today"........"Don't just go through the Word: let the Word go through you. Why are we so afraid in the godless generation to confront fallacies?"

Jesus stood for truth. He was sent to bring restoration to the fallen man. He came to set captives free and to see that the Father desired His family: the sons of God! We come to that place when we believe. Being renewed in our hearts and mind to truth. We are not to live like in our past.........."in the good 'ole days" but by putting on the new man, created in His likeness that is true righteousness and holiness. Live in Christ's love. Our lives should certainly be the fragrant aroma of worship to the Lord and not to ourselves or the "me" society.
I like what my pastor said the other day..........and it is so true. " A cursed tree cannot produce anything but death." 
God's way will always produce in us that of life and holiness.......that speaks wisdom and declares glory to God! Amen.



You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV