A Clean House

Today we will be looking at Luke 11:24-26.  Here Jesus teaches on evil spirits or demons.  It is impossible to know how many evil spirits are operating throughout the world and in our society.  The Bible is silent on this aspect and so, Christians should approach this issue with balance.  On one hand we should not think that everyone is full of spirits and everything they do influenced directly by them.  Yet, on the other hand, we should not pretend that we know better than Jesus himself and that they do not exist.

The experience throughout history is that if an evil spirit is involved they will make it clear in one way or another.  Jesus was so successful in casting out evil spirits that his opponents accused him of being in league with the Prince of Demons.  It was in such a case that Jesus began to explain what is really going on when an evil spirit is cast out of a person.

Now, it is helpful to have this information regarding evil spirits because it will be a protection for ourselves and an aid against those spirits if we encounter them.  Yet, we must not let ourselves be made fearful in these things.  Evil spirits are real.  But, greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.  Jesus proved his power over evil spirits and if the Spirit of Christ is in you and the knowledge of Christ is too, then you can stand without fear.

Demons Can Be Made To Leave

The spirit that Jesus had just cast out had made the person it possessed unable to speak.  It is one thing to see a person go from acting crazy to being in their right mind.  However, it is quite another to see a person who has been unable to speak suddenly able and doing so.  As the crowds marveled over the power of Christ and others cynically accused him of working with Satan, we must not lose sight that people who are demon possessed can be set free.

So how did they become demon possessed to begin with?  Initially there needs to be some form of permission.  This can be in the form of curiosity with spirits, or seeking power through them, divination, fortune telling, occult arts, or even “white” and “black” magic.  Pursuing these things is essentially opening the door to the spirits that have promoted these things.  Although the Bible does not explain the detail of how all this works, it is clear that evil spirits can attach themselves to individuals in varying degrees of control.  The good news is that Jesus demonstrated that spirits can be made to leave and not just in rare cases such as the Jewish exorcists did.  Ultimately when one who is stronger spiritually confronts it, the spirit can be made to leave.  Jesus is that one who is not just spiritually stronger, but is the King of all kings and Lord of all lords (materially or spiritually).  He is the one that we lean upon.  Yet, Jesus gives us more information than that here.

They Are Restless When Cast Out

Two pictures are given of what it is like when an unclean spirit is cast out of someone:  dry places, and lack of rest.  For an evil spirit to be kicked out of possessing someone is like you and I finding ourselves in a desert.  The dry place has no fruit or shade or promise of such.  It is a barren place that will not grow what we would like to grow.  Of course spirits aren’t looking for “food.”  They are looking for a promising person that they can plant themselves in and do the evil works that they want to do.  Thus they are restless or without a place (person) in which to dwell.  Perhaps they desire possession because that is the only way they can impact the material world for evil.  Satan’s desire is to destroy the works of God and so through possession spirits are able to fight against and destroy parts of God’s work in mankind and this world.  Without this connection they are like a man who is stuck in the desert.

This raises a question.  Why were there so many cases of demonic possession in those days?  And, are there any less today?  Though Israel had the truth of God, they generally did not follow the ways of God because of unbelief.  Thus they were often mixing God’s commands with occult religion.  The accepting of the religious practices of the nations around them led them into the trap of these spirits.  If you look at America today we have a similar problem.  We started out with the Truth of Christ as a nation.  However, over the years our unbelief has caused us to seek out religious “truth” elsewhere.  This has opened the door for greater prevalence of demonic activity and possession.  You can scoff this teaching off today.  However, these issues will become more and more prevalent in our society.

They Will Seek To Repossess

Evil spirits are not content with “dry places” and “restlessness.”  They are looking for other easy targets.  Are we quickly becoming a “target rich” environment?  They last place you want to be, if you are messing with the occult or false religions, is at an exorcism.  That would be playing with fire. 

If the spirit does not find another easy target it will eventually return to the last place it had success.  Jesus says that the spirit finds the person to be “swept and in order.”  This by contrast helps us see what these evil spirits do inside of a person.  They clutter the internal mind and soul of a person with spiritual dirt and garbage and cause chaos.  We see this with the Gadarene demoniac.  He went from running around naked and acting crazy to being clothed and in his right mind.  Those who suffered sickness and disease in their bodies from evil spirits were healed when the spirit was made to leave.  Those who were dysfunctional and mentally broken became functional and in control of their own mind and actions.  Spirits use chaos and acts of sin and evil to breakdown the internal order and cease control.

They Enlist Worse Spirits To Help

This aspect is critical in understanding why Jesus is telling us this information.  He had been accused of working with the Prince of Demons to cast out these evil spirits.  Yet, Jesus reveals that the way it really works is that lesser spirits will use their foothold in a person to bring in worse spirits.  The worse spirits are not kicking out lesser spirits.  Yes, the evil spirit could try to take over the person again.  However, it could end up getting kicked out again.  Thus it gets 7 other spirits more evil than it.  Look at it this way, people are more easily seduced by that which flirts on the edge rather than the outrageous in your face attack.  An evil spirit that operates through mere anger and bitterness is easier to embrace than one that operates through murder.  Yet, they are both evil and the embracing of one can lead to the other over time.  Thus Jesus warns that the person can end up in a worse state than previously.  Compare the Gadarene demoniac to the Slave girl in Philippi.  One could not function at all and was complete chaos.  The other operated in a way in which her masters could make money off of her and she didn’t need to be restrained.  These spirits have modes of operating that can be more or less evil and yet all are dangerous.

Don’t Leave The House Empty

Although Jesus leaves it at that, this information begs a solution.  How can a person keep from being repossessed and end up in a worse state?  Well it does start with the phrase swept and in order.  Though the evil spirit may be gone, we can still have a lot of paraphernalia in our lives that led to possession in the first place (occult books, pictures, symbols, books of magic, etc…).  We can also have a lot of habits and activities that the spirit used to keep us in slavery.  A person who is serious in being free needs to go through their house and life and do some heavy cleaning and “pruning.”  Certain places will cease to be our hangouts.  Certain people will cease to be our friends. 

Yet, more than cleaning needs to be done.  We need to invite the clean and pure Holy Spirit of God to take up residence in our soul.  Thus the people that Jesus interacted with received a lot of material benefit from Jesus.  But all of that would be little if they didn’t spiritually benefit.  Casting a spirit out is one thing.  But asking the Holy Spirit to fill us and live within us is a far greater thing.  Don’t leave the house empty.  Accept the invitation that Jesus has extended to you today.

Let me close this by laying it out in order.  When you are dealing with evil spirits the first thing that is needed is a strong believer in Jesus who will pray for the freedom of the person possessed.  Next they need to sweep their life clean of all the spiritual junk connected to those spirits.  Lastly, the person needs to put their faith in Jesus and ask for the Holy Spirit to fill them.  This is the path to freedom for those who have found themselves in bondage to evil entities.  May the peace and freedom of Christ reign in our hearts and minds.

Clean House Audio

Jesus Teaches How To Pray

Sermon synopsis to follow.

Jesus teaches Prayer

The Lord's Prayer

Today we will be looking at Luke 11:1-4.  Here we have an account of the disciples asking Jesus to teach them how to pray.  Two things are leading them to ask this.  First, they make mention that John had taught his disciples how to pray.  Second, it mentions that Jesus had just finished praying.  There must have been something about the way he prayed that caught their attention.  These disciples had heard plenty prayers through their life.  They are not asking to be taught because they have no learning, but because they can see that the prayers of John’s disciples, and especially Jesus, are very different from what they are used to seeing.

I pray that as we go through this you will be hungry to be able to pray as we see Jesus praying in these verses.  If prayer seems like a chore that you never seem to get around to then please take time to either read or listen to this sermon and ask God to help you embrace Him through prayer.  God clearly intends prayer to be something far more intimate than most of us are used to experiencing.

We Need To Be Taught To Pray

In some ways prayer is like the response of a baby to their need, “Waaah!”  It is an almost unconscious cry regarding our sin and the sin around us.  The Bible speaks of a cry that comes up to God from men and women on the earth.  It is clear in some of those contexts that the people are not actually praying to the Creator.  Often they are worshipping false gods.  Yet, God hears the cry of their hearts.  However, at some point prayer must become a more intimate exchange in which we approach God, not as a child, but as an adult child who knows his father.  Simply put, we need to grow in prayer.  We see the disciples recognizing that need in their selves.  Do you see the need in your own life? 

The foundational part of prayer is the recognition that we need help from God.  As much as the modern age has felt that it can meet all needs, humans are still needy people.  In fact, many of the claims of the past have proven to be more difficult than first believed whether we are talking about viruses or social dynamics.  No matter how great our technology we will never be able to “fix” our spiritual problems or satisfy our spiritual needs without God.  Prayer is the humility to toss arrogance and pride aside, and ask God for help.

Notice that the prayer Jesus gives is not complex.  This prayer is simple enough that a child could pray it and yet great enough that no one can be said to have mastered it.  God is not interested in complex and long oratories from us.  He wants a simple, heart-felt prayer that comes from the heart.  In fact, it could be said that God listens to what our heart is saying more then what our lips are saying.  Isaiah 29:13 “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,” (ESV).

It is good to memorize this prayer and pray it even today.  It is a timeless prayer.  Yet, it is clear from the differences between this version in Luke and the one in Matthew 6 that Jesus does not intend this prayer to be something to memorize only.  A memorized prayer can become a rote prayer.  It can be a mechanical thing that is absent any thought or feeling.  It is best to see this prayer as a firm starting place that we can use as a model to help us move forward.

A Model Prayer

The first phrase teaches us how God wants us to approach Him, as a child to a father.  This is a picture of a close and intimate relationship.  Now I know that earthly parents are not perfect and some are downright evil.  Yet, God cares for you better than any earthly parent could ever care for you.  As we become adults our hearts need to turn from our parents and towards God as our source of strength and help in the time of need.

Now Jesus is speaking to his disciples.  Although all people on earth are God’s children by right of creation, not all are his children spiritually.  In John 1:12 we are told that “as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  Thus believers in Jesus are not just physical creations of God.  But, we are also a new creation spiritually.  As his spiritual children we can approach with closeness and privilege whether we feel it or not.

Notice that in this prayer Jesus prays for God’s sake first.  He makes three requests on God’s behalf and then three requests on our behalf.  It is important that prayer not be all about us.  We need to learn to put God first.  Pray for God’s things first.  Do you remember when Jesus was talking about anxiety what he said?  He said to seek God’s kingdom first and then all these material needs will be provided.  It may not be our first inclination, but we need to be concerned with God’s things above our things.  Or better put, our things need to find their proper place within the things of God.

The first thing he prays for God is that his name be made holy (hallowed).  One’s name is their reputation and character.  We need to be concerned with God’s reputation and character.  He is good, gracious and just.  Yet, many refuse to see that.  They are convinced that the God of the Bible is not worthy of praise.  We need to pray that God’s reputation and character are viewed and treated as singularly different from all others.  His character should be seen as the highest and best that we seek to attain.  When we are praying for God’s reputation it will make us aware of how our own life helps or hurts God’s reputation. 

The next thing he prays for is for God’s rule; specifically the rule of God’s Savior.  Right now Jesus rules in the lives of believers from heaven.  Thus we can pray for an increase of that rule to other hearts.  However, the Bible promises a time when Christ will return and administer a righteous kingdom from earth.  Thus we are also looking forward to and praying for this coming of Christ.

The third thing is to pray for God’s will.  Do I desire God’s will to be done in my life?  In a sinful world it is easy to desire others to obey the will of God.  However, my heart must be changed as well.  Prayer and reading of the Scriptures is where we cut our teeth on understanding just how good God is and just how important it is to listen to his direction in our lives.

So Jesus prays for the Reputation, the Rule, and the Will of God first.  Then he turns to pray about our needs.  In some ways we all need God’s reputation, rule and will in our lives.  However, God also wants to hear our desires that we have for our self.  Clearly he invites and expects us to share those desires with him.  Part of growing in prayer is learning when a prayer is improperly motivated by our flesh and when it has a proper motivation.

The first need is our daily bread.  This physical need will be with us every day and will not go away.  But we see it prayed for with some restraint.  It is not “Lord, give me enough bread to last forever.”  It is only asking for the bread I will need to day.  There is a foundation of trust here.  Our physical needs have a way of making us go overboard.  But we can approach our heavenly father with the trust that he knows our frame and will provide for us.  Be careful of rejecting prayer and attempting to insulate yourself from any need.  There is a place at which wise preparation goes out of bounds and becomes a neurotic desire to have no needs.  If we follow that path fear and worry will become our masters in the end.  Of course physical food is a reminder of our need for spiritual sustenance, but we shouldn’t be too quick to spiritualize this point.  God cares for our physical needs as much as he does our spiritual.  But he will always prioritize the spiritual over the physical.

Second Jesus says to pray for forgiveness.  Sin is referred to as a debt.  When you think about it you can see that our sins against each other leave us owing confession and repentance to each other.  We also owe each other restitution.  Here we ask God to forgive us because we are forgiving those who have sinned against us.  Clearly it would pose a problem to ask for God’s forgiveness when we refuse to forgive others.  He will not forgive such brazen sin until we break our hard heart and repent.  Yet, what about the sins I have committed against others?  What obligations to others have I left outstanding?  These things can become barriers between us and God if we do not make them right with each other.  Romans 13:8 says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other.”  This does not mean we never have problems, but that we keep short accounts with each other both in material things and especially in our sins.  To the degree that we see our own sin and deal with it, we will act with greater mercy to those who sin against us.  This will release mercy from God to us.

The third thing Jesus prays for us is God’s leading.  We need God’s direction to avoid the traps and temptations of the evil one.  We are promised that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able to endure.  So the first thing we need to do is drop any excuses we have made and recognize that God wants to help us avoid it.  We must desire to be free from temptation not just externally but also internally.  Too many of us pray for God to take temptation away from us.  But the real problem is our heart’s desire for it.  Prayer is where we learn to lay down those temptations that our heart is drawn towards.  Ultimately Jesus prays that we will be delivered from the devil.  At the cross, Jesus completely neutralized the weapons of the devil.  However, we still need to learn how to walk in the victory that Jesus has secured for us.  We need God’s leading every day and in every way to avoid being manipulated by the devil. 

Don’t let the godlessness of this generation fool you into thinking you can live life without prayer.  Prayer is the fruit of true faith in God and it leads to His help and blessing in our lives.  That blessing takes on many shapes and forms.  However, every one of them will bring us through this world without becoming a casualty to our adversary.  So give yourself to prayer today in a simple yet heart-felt plea to God for the help that you need today!

The Lord's Prayer audio

One Thing Is Needed

Serving is a big theme within Christianity.  Jesus himself is the inspiration for this and is often called a “servant-leader.”  Until Jesus this would have been considered two words that do not go together.  Yet, today we see service as an obligation.  So much so that it is hard for us to conceive that we can go overboard in it.  Is it possible to serve too much?  Perhaps better said, it is possible for us to miss the most important thing in our quest to serve more. 

Serving people can take on a whole life of its own that leads to the destruction of the very soul of the server.  Of course, we all need served in one way or another.  However, some are in a far greater position to serve than others.  It is easy to lay such a guilt trip on them that we lose sight that they are a soul loved by the Father in Heaven as well.  Have you ever thought about the truth that God loves the one who is able to give and serve just as much as he loves the one who is in great need?  Have you ever thought that God would rather we served less out of love for him, rather than to serve more and lose your soul?  Is that possible?

Today’s story is about two sisters who had become disciples of Jesus and even his friends.  They are the same two sisters who have a brother named Lazarus that Jesus would later raise from the dead.  It is thought that Martha was the oldest and may have been a widower because it is called her house and they seem to be well off enough to feed and care for Jesus and his 12 disciples on numerous occasions.  Let’s look at Luke 10:38-42.

Service Can Become A Distraction

The “certain village” is Bethany, less than 2 miles east of Jerusalem.  I want us to first see how Martha get’s distracted by her “much serving.”  I am not saying that service in and of itself is a distraction.  But, that distraction is a pitfall that we need to avoid whenever we are serving others.

Martha was clearly giving hospitality to this group of men because of Jesus.  He was the Anointed One and the Lord.  So there is a certain joy that comes from participating in the ministry of one so used of God.  She is also serving in very practical ways: a place to rest, wash your feet, eat food, and have drink.  All of these things are needed in life and great ways to bless others.  However, sometimes in our service to the Lord, we can lose sight of the people we serve on his behalf. 

The Pharisees had made such a mistake.  They had gone to great practical lengths to please God and serve Him.  They would memorize the Law and all of the traditions of interpretation throughout history.  They would tithe not just of their income, but even on the increase of any spices they acquired.  Yet, they were so fixated on serving God that they lost sight of His people.  God in and of himself has little need of our service.  He is not hungry or tired, and neither is he poor or lacking love and honor.  Jesus pointed this out when he said we serve him by how we serve those who belong to him.  The Pharisee’s understanding of service had little room for others.  In their quest to obtain great favor with God, they looked down upon and became a stumbling block to the very ones they should have been serving.  God wanted them to see the needs and serve His people.  He still wants us to be doing that today. 

It is ironic that, in focusing on Jesus so much, Martha actually lost sight of the heart of Jesus.  She wants to please the flesh of Jesus so much that she loses sight of the fact that Jesus was more concerned with spiritual matters than he was with material things.  Her desires and fallen nature were pushing her to try and please the Lord in ways that were not pleasing to him.  Like any good hostess, Martha had some vision of what she wanted to do and yet there were a lot of people.  In the midst of this drive to please Jesus, Martha becomes annoyed with her sister who is not helping her.  Now recognize that although Jesus and the disciples needed to eat and drink, Jesus is not going to be pleased by the amount or quality of the food.  He would appreciate anything that Martha could and would do.  There was no reason for her to be so pressured to do so much other than her desire to impress Jesus.  It is exactly at this point that she loses sight of Jesus and his message.  Meanwhile Martha’s sister, Mary, is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to his teaching.

Martha basically blows her lid and asks Jesus to command Mary to help her.  Thus her complaint comes from her bitterness that Mary wouldn’t help her.  We are not told if she asked Mary or not.  So we will have to put that aside.  Have you ever had something you were trying to do that you valued highly but others didn’t see it at the same level as you?  Perhaps you thought the project was so amazing that everyone should jump on board and help you.  We can become bitter at people when they do not value things at the same level that we do.  However, our complaints against them may be unwarranted.  Sure Mary could have helped her sister and that would have been good.  Yet, Mary wasn’t choosing to hurt her sister.  Rather, she was choosing to enjoy the presence and teaching of Jesus.  Why should Martha despise that?  She would only despise it because her sinful nature was pressuring her to do so.

Now there is a subtle, second complaint.  Lord, why aren’t you doing anything about this lazy sister of mine.  Martha wants the Lord to line out her sister.  We may not recognize it at first but, those who give themselves to much serving and become resentful to the Lord Himself.  God why don’t you make more people help me?  This is such a great way to serve, why aren’t you blessing it?  Such “foxes” will destroy the vines of our desire to serve.  Our energy to serve will quickly shrivel up and we will become disillusioned to God, people and even ourselves. 

Jesus simply tells Martha, “One thing is needed.”  This word “needed” has the sense of an obligation or duty.  There is only one thing that is necessary, Martha.  Why do you insist on so many unnecessary things?  What a question for our life.  Do I insist on trying to do so many unnecessary things that I have driven any joy from my life?  What a tragedy this can be.

The “One Thing” That We Need

Martha’s complaint leaves something hanging that we need to deal with.  Does Jesus really care for Martha and her service for his sake?  Or simply put, Does Jesus Care?  There is an old hymn titled, “Does Jesus Care?”  The chorus goes like this, “Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares.  His heart is touched with my grief.  When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.”  Without question Jesus cares for Martha and for us.  All we need to do is look at the cross, as he sheds his life-blood on our behalf, and we cannot but be convinced of His great love for us.  But, Jesus cares about Martha too much to let her destroy herself with unnecessary things.  Martha is troubling herself with so many concerns and desires.  She has created her own emotional, perfect storm.  She is like the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee when the storm came up suddenly and threatened their lives.  She is a woman tossed and driven by many things that the Lord himself does not care about.  But, Jesus does care about her.  Jesus didn’t care that Mary had chose to listen to him instead of help with serving.  Why?  He didn’t care about that because it wasn’t as important.  Have you ever thought that God cares about you too much to let you have your way?  Perhaps that wall you keep running into is God trying to tell you to rest and let those worries and desires go.  “Peace, be still, Martha!”  You can almost hear our Lord saying that too us at times when we have driven ourselves into a panic.

Are you worried and troubled by many things?  Those are the words Jesus used of Martha.  The word “worried” here is the same used in Matthew 6:25.  “Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on it.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”  In Philippians 4:6 we are told, “Be anxious(worried) for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Wow!  Even in our service to Him, it is not God’s desire for us to be filled with worry and anxiety.  He wants us to have His peace guarding our hearts and mind from those many desires and temptations that threaten to rob us of our joy.  The word “troubled” here is the idea of disturbed or uproar.  Thus, the picture of the storm in Martha’s heart is exactly what Jesus saw.  There is no end to the things that can cause us to worry.  If you let them they will surround you like the howling winds of Galilee and destroy your very soul.

Yet, Mary had chosen “the good part.”  Jesus challenges Martha’s choices during his stay by saying that Mary had chosen something better.  Why should I take that away from her?  Now the good choice is not between learning and serving.  Martha’s problem is not that she chose to serve when she should have chosen to learn.  Rather, Martha made choices that distracted her from Jesus and what was important to Him.

In Luke 18:22 Jesus told the rich young ruler that he still lacked “one thing.”  Sell all of your riches and follow me.  Again, it is not wrong that he is rich.  However, Jesus saw that his riches were distracting him from being able to truly follow Jesus.  The rich man needed to sell all his possessions.  Martha needed cut back on all the ways she was trying to serve.  To follow Jesus is to learn how to walk the way he walked.  The way of Jesus is a way of dying to those concerns that try to drive us, and learning to simply trust the Lord.  “Pick up your cross and follow me.”  Although some of the disciples were literally put to death on crosses, the words of Jesus are intended to go beyond the material world.  We all have things we need to die to in order to make godly choices.  Mary loved the Lord and it led her to choose to sit at his feet and receive his teaching.  Could Martha have simply served the Lord and his disciples because it was a good thing, rather than trying to impress the Lord with her much serving?  We need to quit trying to impress God with the things we do for Him.  In truth we are secretly trying to deserve his love.  Why would you insist on “deserving” something that is given freely? God loves you without much serving.  This does not mean we shouldn’t serve.  Rather, it means that we can freely serve.  It means that our joy can remain regardless of how much and how great we are able to do.

Jesus is tender with Martha here, even though she was being harsh with her sister.  Jesus wants Martha to experience his peace.  Even Jesus had to deal with this temptation.  Everywhere he went people clamored for the Lord to heal them, cast out demons, teach us, and give us bread and fish.  Although Jesus gladly gave himself to these things, we also see him slipping away to pray; and slipping away to other places.  The people would wake up and become frantic when they realized Jesus was gone.  “Where did he go?  Get in the boat.  Let’s follow him!”  Instead of being driven to heal everyone in the world, Jesus focused on what really was necessary to please His Father in heaven.

Let me just leave us with some things to consider in choosing the good part in our lives.  Of course, off the top, we need to walk away from those things that are definitely sinful.  “Go and sin no more.”  These things are clearly not the good part.  Yet, in choosing good things, we can be tempted to do too many good things.  Are you a parent of a young child and working fulltime?  Then you may have little time to do anything else.  There are some good things that we need to cancel altogether simply because our life is too cluttered.  Is this okay?  God loves you and doesn’t want you to grind all joy out of your life in the pursuit of something that is already yours (i.e. his love).  Also, in those good things that we choose to keep doing we might need to lower our expectations and desires.  As a parent you should not abdicate your responsibility to raise your child.  However, in choosing to raise them, we can put unrealistic expectations upon ourselves and upon our child.  First time obedience, every time, is going to fill you full of bitterness, worry, and fear.  What does God expect from you?  Did His children demonstrate first time obedience all the time?  This is not meant to be a cop-out for responsible parenting.  It is a plea for parents to understand that God wants them to have joy as a parent, even in the midst of trips to the hospital or to the principal’s office.  Are you choosing the good part?  Lastly, the good things that we continue to do and have simplified also need to be focused correctly by the heart of Christ and in thanks for his love.  What I mean is that we have to quit trying to impress Jesus and deserve him.  Rather we need to operate from the present reality of having his love and favor.  We need to do what we do out of joy and because it is the good thing that he has given to us to do.  Whether anyone helps us or not is irrelevant.  What is relevant is that I do all that I do as unto the Lord and know that it is enough.  Do it today.  Go through the list of all that you have to do and cancel some things, do less of others, and make sure you do all that you do out of thanks to the Lord for His great love!  

One Thing Is Needed mp3