Eyes wide open

(Refer to: Luke 10:38-41)               Many of us are familiar with this account of Martha and Mary, sisters who were dear disciples of the Lord Jesus. I’ve read this countless times before, and each time I gleaned timely reminders from the story. But today (just a few hours ago) as I reread this account, God crumbled the floor on which I was standing, and revealed to me a deeper, richer, gospel-centred meaning to this account.               The key to this deeper meaning is to realise that this account came in the New Testament, spoken by Jesus, whose every word revealed some truth about the New Covenant He was ushering in. So, perhaps this account reveals to us something about the New Covenant as well. How so? It seems like such a simple practical story with a practical meaning that has nothing below the surface. But with God’s grace we can go...

Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers , that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. Colossians 4:12-13 ESV               A Singaporean pastor spoke in my church several months ago, and he said something that really struck me. It wasn’t a shocking fact that I hadn’t known, nor was it something I had previously disagreed with. It was something I surely knew, but was far from demonstrating in my own life. He said, “ The best thing you can do for a person is to pray for him. ” Too often for me, prayer has become a formality, a stale spiritual grace, a tongue-far-from-heart affair. Although if anyone had asked me about the power of prayer, I would no doubt have answered “ PRAYER DOES GREAT THINGS! Without prayer and co...