Practicing the Way - Being With Jesus
Encounter: Find a quiet place away from distractions and begin to focus on your breathing. Notice your chest rise and fall. Feel your heartbeat and allow your focus to begin centering on God. Take notice of what your body is feeling.
Open your Bible and turn to Luke chapter 10 and slowly read verses 38 through 42. As you finish reading, what does your body feel? Who do you associate more with? Mary or Martha?
This Sunday we are exploring the first goal of being an apprentice to Jesus.
“ ‘Being with Jesus,’ is the first and most important goal of apprenticeship to Jesus: to be with him, to spend every waking moment aware of his presence and attentive to His voice. To cultivate a with-ness to Jesus as the baseline of your entire life. – John Comer “Practicing the Way”
In order for us to become a true disciple of Jesus, we must learn His ways and the best way to do that is to be with Jesus. The early training of disciples were to be with their rabbi 24 hours a day - 7 days a week. This would allow the disciple to learn what and how to navigate life’s situations.
In our reading of Luke, chapter 10, we see the contrast of two sisters. One who sits at the feet of Jesus learning all she can and the other busy preparing for a big meal. In the New Living Translation, verse 40 says; “But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing.”
How often are we distracted from recognizing the presence of Jesus in and around us all day long?
I can start with all my morning disciplines of multiple devotionals, prayers, and journaling, but as soon as the day gets started with all the needed task, I become distracted and forget to recognize Jesus’ presence.
Scripture tells us in John 14; “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you.” – John 14:16 NLT
How often do we forget that the Advocate is the Holy Spirit (Verse 17), and He reveals all things Jesus. We just need to recognize His presence and spend some time with Him in distraction free places to be able to hear and listen as Mary was listening.
You might ask why is this important?
Last sentence in verse 42 of Luke 10 states; “Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
A
s we prepare for this Sunday, sitting with the first and most important goal of apprenticeship to Jesus, sit with God and explore ways you might be able to spend more time in a distraction free zone to sit at the feet of Jesus, listening intently. When we can do this, we discover something about Jesus and ourselves and it cannot be taken away.
Reflect: There are times in our lives where all of us can associate with Mary and with Martha. Take some time and sit with God and reflect upon what is different when you can be Mary and sit at Jesus’ feet and listen. What is different about those moments in time? Is there anything you can adopt to your current rhythm of life to help you during the seasons of life when we seem to resonate with Martha.
Jesus modeled for us a rhythm of retreating to quiet places often to be with the Father; “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16 NIV
We must learn what and how we can find those quiet moments to listen intently to the Father. Let God reveal to you how, where, and when to find quiet time away from distractions to be fully attentive to Him.
Spiritual Practice: Often, we are not afforded to be able to retreat to a physical place to be distraction free and quiet. When this happens to be the case, take a couple of minutes and focus on your breathing. Take notice of your chest rising and falling. Shift your focus to your heart beating and how it impacts with your every breath. After a few breaths, focus upon God and practice a breath prayer like this example;
Inhale – say “In with the Lord!”
Exhale – say “Out with the World!”
You can substitute anything that helps you focus upon God within you. I will sometimes substitute the opening of Psalm 23; In – “You are my Shepherd!” out – “I lack nothing!”
Gather: In you small groups discuss the following questions from John Comer’s book.
When you first awake at the beginning of the day, where does your mind naturally
go?
When you lay your head on your pillow after a long, tiring day, what are your final
thoughts as you drift off to sleep?
In the little moments of space throughout your day – waiting in line for your morning
coffee, stuck in traffic, sitting down to a meal? – where does your mind fall “without
thinking” about it?
In each of these situations, what help do you need to change your habit to think about God?
What do you need to incorporate God into your daily rhythms?
How well do you manage silence and solitude? If you like it, do you have a special place that helps you consistently to be able to seek God’s presence?
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