Beth Moore's "90 Day" series are my favorite devotional studies *ever.* The book lover in me appreciates the sturdy hard cover presentation and especially the thick ivory pages with the rough uneven edges. The book itself is magnificent. The disciple in me loves how Beth probes into the text. And the woman in me identifies with the relational details upon which she focuses.
Currently I'm savoring this one on Jesus. In the past I did 90 Days with John, and David is waiting on my bookshelf. Savoring. Honestly, when I'm snuggled under the warm covers in the morning, what seduces me from bed is the thought of curling up with my coffee, my Bible and Beth. No exaggeration. It's my favorite part of the day.
Currently I'm savoring this one on Jesus. In the past I did 90 Days with John, and David is waiting on my bookshelf. Savoring. Honestly, when I'm snuggled under the warm covers in the morning, what seduces me from bed is the thought of curling up with my coffee, my Bible and Beth. No exaggeration. It's my favorite part of the day.
I'm not racing through. The pages are filled with my notes. She set up the books as journals, with questions and space for answers, but I go well beyond that because her perspective draws me in. From the familiar stories she extracts details that add to the richness, add to my appreciation of Jesus' humanity and His divinity. It's a matter of falling in love.
This morning I continued to linger in Luke 10:38-42 - the story of Mary and Martha. I've never really been ashamed of being the Martha of the story, mainly because there is so much Mary in me as well. Martha makes the preparation, and she is the one who actually invites Jesus over in verse 38. We can all ooh and aah over Mary's devotion, but if Martha hadn't been practical enough to invite the guest, there would have been no feet in their house at which Mary could sit.
One thing Beth brings out is that the word "preparation" begins with "pre." Preparation is a good and necessary part of every gathering. Even my time with the Lord each morning involves preparation - likely more than necessary because I'm such a nut with my pens and books - but then when I sit down and open the Word I need to discipline myself to be in the moment and no longer gathering supplies or getting other household processes started. The prep allows the setting in which the relationship can grow, but the Martha in me needs to glue myself to the chair. Enough is enough. The time comes to enjoy the guest.
If Jesus were coming for dinner, you'd better believe I'd be a white tornado of activity all day, cleaning and preparing a warm and welcoming environment. But once He arrived, I hope I'd have the sense to sit as near as I could and just savor His presence. In a way that's what I'm doing as I sit here on this rainy Friday morning. As thoughts cross my mind I bring them to Him, we talk about them a bit, and then I return my attention to His Word.
It's a beautiful thing.
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