How Beautiful Are Your Feet?

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come over you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8-9 

It is what causes that slightly haunted look in her eyes. And the restlessness in her heart - the urgency in her voice - the passion as she speaks. It is what bruises her heart by the pain she sees and the anguish she hears. It is what causes the ache she has to bring healing. It is what causes every thought she has, every decision she makes, every breath she takes to be centered on THEM. It is what makes her so willing to sacrifice her own needs and desires for people she doesn't even know.

What is IT? It is the power she receives "when the Holy Spirit comes over her". For without that power she is not capable of all it takes to truly love like He loves and serve like He is calling her to serve. On her own she is too selfish and self-centered to feel this passion and urgency and restlessness to reach out touch lost and hurting souls. On her own she is still looking up into the sky, wondering where Jesus went and when He will return. But with the power of the Holy Spirit, she is has received an unconditional Agape love capable of seeing others through His eyes and understanding them with His heart of grace and mercy.

Who is she? Oh, if you think hard enough you can picture her in your mind. We all know "her". She is someone who has taken Acts 1:8 and internalized it until it is not just a verse - not just part of a story we tell to children in Sunday School - but an entire way of life. It is not just a trip she takes every summer to fulfill an obligation, but it is the way she views the people around her. It has an effect on the relationships she has, the way she talks, what she chooses to do with her time...in other words in obeying God's command to go and share the gospel to those closest to her and radiating throughout the furthest reaches of the world, her life becomes less and less about her and more and more about reaching the lost and hurting people around her.

Perhaps this is you. Perhaps you understand all too well the pain as well as the joy associated with loving someone with this kind of love. Perhaps you've freely made the sacrifices. Perhaps you've experienced the overwhelming joy of seeing people's lives changed. THIS is the reason we were created. THIS is our purpose. No matter how hard we work to be successful or how much we accumulate in our lifetime, our fulfillment is completely centered on how totally we surrender ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit. The verse says YOU will receive. You...and me...not they...this is not someone else's responsibility. We must take ownership of our own accountability because we are all called to go and share His love and message with different people. The consequences are too devastating to even consider if we don't! He has people in our Jerusalem, our Judea, our Samaria and maybe even to the ends of the earth that He has called us to minister to. I keep asking myself the haunting question, "If I ignore the Holy Spirit, then how will they hear?" So I am asking you as well as myself: "IF I DON'T GO TELL THEM THAT JESUS LOVES THEM...THAT HE DIED ON THE CROSS FOR THEM...WHO WILL?"

Do we have a haunted look in OUR eyes? Do we have a restless heart? Is there an urgency in our voice as we talk about them? Is there anyone whom God has laid on our heart so heavily that it is bruised with the heaviness of our concern for them? Do our hands ache to bring God's love and healing to anyone? Is there anyone we are willing to sacrifice our own needs and desires for even though we may not know them - or others may not understand them? YOU are eternally important to someone right now. Do you know who that is? YOU have received the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you feel it? Don't quench it!

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” Matthew 10:14-15

She Has Loved Me Much

I can't help but wonder why she was there.  Perhaps she wondered the same thing herself.  Had she felt herself drawn to hide in the shadows in hopes of getting a glimpse of this man Jesus she kept hearing so much about?  I can imagine someone with her reputation would have a hard time believing all the things she had heard about him and would need to see them for herself.  Or had she already encountered him before and stood in wonder as he looked deep into her eyes until she realized he knew every sordid detail of her past yet forgave her just the same.  Had she sought him out, waiting for an opportunity to reciprocate that unconditional love or had she just happened to be there and acted totally on impulse?  I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that irregardless of whether her salvation experience took place some time prior to this incident or on that very night, her worship was pure, came from the depths of her soul and portrayed a genuine example we would do well to follow. . . .

Jesus lay inclined at the feast set before the guests and patiently listened to the conversation around Him. Everyone seemed more interested in impressing the crowd than in showing Him any respect, and seemed to talk at Him and not with Him. In fact, as was the custom of the day, no servant had been sent with a basin of water to wash off the day's dirt and grime from His feet.  How could they treat Jesus with so much disregard? Perhaps as she stood there contemplating the situation, straining for a glimpse of the wayward servant who was tardy in fulfilling his role, memories of her own sinful past flooded her soul, and she began to feel that of all the people present in that household, it was HER responsibility!  You can tell from her actions and demeanor that she did not consider this task a duty but a great honor and privilege as she poured out her heart to Him freely and openly.  For probably the first time in her life, she knew what it was to be loved - an agape love - unconditionally.  And her response was a single-minded yearning to return that love.  In that very instance, her priorities slipped into their proper place and Jesus became first in her life.  She did not let the fact that there were people around them who would vigorously disapprove have any affect on her focus.  She did not worry that she didn't have access to water and a towel. She willingly sacrificed her entire life's savings - her security for the future - an alabaster jar of valuable perfume that had taken her years of saving to purchase - to worship Him.  By doing so she let Him know she was putting her complete and total trust in Him. She showed her sincere repentance by rinsing them with her own tears, and she showed her complete willingness to do anything for Him by using her very own hair to wipe them clean.  She didn't hold anything back.

I have to stop and think for a minute about my own worship experiences.  Is Jesus my first priority?  All the men at the feast had their priorities out of whack.  They were thinking more about themselves and their desires or needs than Jesus who sat across from them. May I open my eyes and see HIM - put HIM FIRST and not myself.  Do I hold anything back? Do I have an alabaster jar filled with something valuable that I could so easily place my trust in instead of Him?  My relationships?  My bank account?  My career?  My status?  My position?  How hard is it to not only give those alabaster jars to Him but to do so freely and willingly and openly?  Am I so willing to commit all that I am and all that I do for His glory that I wouldn't question wiping oil and dirt from His almighty feet? 

When we truly love Him genuinely without regard to anything else around us; when we willingly give up all our Alabaster jars for Him; when we totally commit all that we are and do for His glory; when we become "broken and poured out" at His feet just as this young woman was . . . our priorities - fall into their proper order. God's order - where He is first and everything else is in its proper place according to HIS perspective and not mine.

How sweet to hear Him say, "She has loved me much." She has loved me much...personally, I think those words of affirmation that I have pleased God are worth any Alabaster Jar I could possibly ever own. 

copy written by Robin Kelley

Living Room Intimacy

It was one of those once in a lifetime experiences where the air is so charged with excitement you can almost feel electricity coursing through your veins.  HE was HERE.  Jesus!  Jesus - the man who HEALED the sick!  Jesus - the man who turned WATER into WINE!  Jesus - the man who fed 5,000 people with 5 LOAVES and 2 FISH!  Jesus who walked on WATER!  

Jesus!  This man she had heard so much about was here at her house, sitting in her living room. And what was more, He was beckoning for her to join Him!  Oh, she had so much to do!  After all Jesus wasn't the only guest they had at their house, and she should be about taking care of making sure they were comfortable.  But He was calling to her in such a gentle and soothing voice.  He looked at her with such genuine love and compassion.  And the way He spoke!  The things He said!  She had never heard such things before!  She had never felt such joy or peace.  She never wanted to leave; she wanted to sit right there at His feet and listen to Him forever.

But then she heard that familiar voice - her sister. "Here you are!  What are you doing?  Don't you know what all we have to do?  Or do you think I should do it all while you sit in here?  Jesus tell her to quit being lazy and get up and do her chores!"

Ok, be honest, can't you relate just a little bit to both sisters?  Anyone who has ever had guests in their home can certainly feel Martha's pain.  You can almost hear the list going through her head.

"They need to be fed - not just any meal but a meal fit for Jesus!  And beds needed to be prepared for the night - and not just any bedding but bedding fit for HIM!  I want Him to know He is a special guest in my home.  I won't rest until I have proven that to Him.  His every wish must be fulfilled.  His every need must be met almost before He realizes He needs it."

I can remember being a Martha several years ago.  My parents, brothers, and their families were all coming to stay at my house for a few days.  I was so excited!  These were the most important people in my life outside of my own husband and children.  I wanted everything to be perfect.   I spent countless hours and energy before they arrived preparing everything for them.  But unfortunately, I spent more time in the kitchen cooking fabulous meals during their stay than I did visiting with these people who had come so far and meant so much to me.  What I would give to have that time back now.  You see one of my brothers passed away about 10 years ago, and I'll never again have the opportunity to sit and enjoy his company here on earth. (Though I will again in Heaven one day!)

Keep this in mind as you read Jesus' response to Martha.  He didn't rebuke her - because WHAT she was doing was not wrong.  Serving Jesus is a good thing.  She thought she was giving Him her best. But He gently told her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things.  Only one thing is important.  Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her."  (Luke 10:41-42 NCV)  Martha gave Him her works.  Mary gave Him her availability.

Many of us would do well to listen closely to His message.  Put your name here. I'll start.  "Robin, Robin, you are worried and upset about many things.  Only one thing is important."  Now it is your turn.  "(your name), (your name), you are worried and upset about many things.  Only one thing is important."

And what is that one important thing?  Sitting at Jesus' feet.  To quote Joanna Weaver in Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, "Jesus invites us to come and rest, to spend time with him in this incredible Living Room Intimacy.  Intimacy that allows us to be honest in our complaints, bold in our approach, and lavish in our love.  Intimacy that allows us to hear our Father's voice and discern our Father's will.  Intimacy that so fills us with his love and his nature that it spills out to our dry, thirsty world in Kitchen Service.  In the Living Room.  That's where it all begins.  Down at His feet."

Think about it, ladies.  We should be so excited the air around us is charged with electricity! But it isn't a once in a lifetime experience.  It is a daily, hourly, minute-by-minute opportunity we have to sit at His feet. Jesus is HERE!  HE is HERE!  Jesus!  Jesus - the man who HEALED the sick!  Jesus - the man who turned WATER into WINE!  Jesus - the man who fed 5,000 people with 5 LOAVES and 2 FISH!  Jesus who walked on WATER! Jesus who died on the cross for our sins is HERE, and His greatest desire is to spend time with YOU.  Let that sink in for a minute.  And think about all that He has for YOU at His feet.  It is at His feet that we are filled with the love we need to serve.  It is at His feet that we receive His power - the same power that raised Him from the dead and saves us from our sins.  It is at His feet that we learn God's will for our lives.  Jesus Himself has issued the challenge.  Only one thing is important.  In the busyness of life, will you choose the better thing?  

                                         He waits for you longingly every morning.

Robin Kelley

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