atlyouth|blog // Corey GibsonIn order to Transparent to the Lost… We must Live in Abandonment for Christ

At the Feet: ONE THING is needed

The greatest account in the Bible concerning leadership, our time with God and wholeheartedly surrendering is found in Luke 10…

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)

Martha was so concerned with the busyness of life and making preparations for Jesus that she didn’t even think twice about the Messiah being in her house. She begged Jesus to command Mary to help her, but Jesus gave Martha a simple answer and rebuke… “One thing is needed, and Mary has chosen what was better – it will never be taken away from her”

That “one thing” can be found in verse 39 (“Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.”) She simply SAT at JESUS’ FEET and LISTEN. What humility and brokenness to sit at the feet of Jesus… to surrender all that she had planned, all that was worrying her, and all of life’s busyness – and place it at his feet, merely to just listen. The Bible doesn’t records if she spoke and or ask questions, but it does tell us that she was there listening. And that my friends, will NEVER be taken away from her.

This reminds me of something that Jesus says in Matthew

Sermon on the Mount: Beatitudes – Matthew 5:3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”

Poor in spirit: are humble and meek. When you are poor in spirit you understand that your need for Christ outweighs your natural needs. That through being poor, humility has filled your life so much that you began to realize that you are weak and worthless and in desperate need of nourishment from the only one who can sustain you forever. They are humble and lowly in their own eyes. There is no resource on earth that can solve their problem. The problem – they love darkness, sin, and wickedness. The only option is that they must submit and surrender… simply kneeling at the feet of Jesus listening. This is a process and it will last forever until time of the Bridegroom’s return.

Mary is mentioned 3 times in the Gospel account. Every time Mary is mentioned, she is always found at the feet of Jesus. Her experiences there can teach us all some valuable lessons about our own walk with the Lord.

We must cultivate and nourish a lifestyle of prayer/fasting, worship, studying our bibles… it must be the main priority of our day. I urge you to wholeheartedly carve out time in your schedule where you are seeking God, and spending quality time with Him… growing your spirit. It will never be taken away from you – for you have done the one thing that is needed.

Here are something that has been happening to me lately…time for a mind dump!

1. Just finished my Morning Prayer/worship time… and man was it refreshing. I am excited about what God has for me and the youth ministry. I covered the youth ministry in much prayer and prayed over specific students. Also prayed for partnering youth ministries and some other key decisions that need to be made concerning myself and the family. Prayer & worship is one the most important things we MUST cultivate and subscribe to. This is what will ultimately initiate change in this generation
2. For about 5 months now, the biggest thing that has been running in my mind are the words GREATER THINGS. This two worded phrase has been such an impact in the back of my mind.. What are the greater things? And why do God want to reveal them? All I know is that God has something BIG up his sleeves. As we marked our 3rd year anniversary as a youth ministry, God impressed upon me to make this our theme and focus for the next year.
3. I am so stoked, that words can’t even begin to express how I feel. Recently I have been just spending some time in the Prayer Room @ IHOP- Atlanta. It’s a place where I can go and rest in God. A place where my quiet time with God is so thought provoking and I am learning… will definitely spend more time there.
4. I’m planning to attend about 3 leadership conferences next year… Haven’t made my mind up concerning which ones except for Catalyst ’09. As a youth ministry, we go to 1 main youth conference (Ignite) a year and then ours (Transparent). Next year, I am planning on taking the students to 3 (Ignite ‘09, Forward ‘09, undecided on 3rd)
5. Currently, I am just soaking in all the wisdom and knowledge I can from some of the great minds of youth/young adults pastors of this generation.. with this, I will begin to expand and grow my spirit. Often times, we only glean from our own Senior Pastors, that we miss out on what the rest of the world is saying. I want to always be saturated by others outside my church or circle of influence.  Here are some youth/young adult pastors/speakers who inspire me or who I gain wisdom from outside my circle of influence:
   • Judah Smith
   • Rich Wilkerson, Jr.
   • Louie Giglio
   • Chris Hill
   • Brad Cooper
   • Matt Allman
   • + many others

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