Freely Speaking Audio Devotion

Welcome to Freely Speaking, an OHSOFREE devotional ministry where we share our hearts and trust God for transformation. 

Today’s devotion was written by Kate Dreston.

“And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’” (Luke 10:41-42 NKJV).

My personality is similar to Martha’s. I easily get distracted by the details and lose sight of what is important. In her frustration, Martha asked Jesus to speak to Mary and instruct her to assist with the hosting duties for the gathering at their home. Jesus responded to Martha with gentleness, not with a harsh rebuke. He wanted to use this as a teaching moment for Martha and for us.

When teaching, gentleness can be an effective method. Many people respond better to a gentle word than a harsh one. I’m grateful when the Lord uses a gentle way to guide me on how to be more like Him.

Here are a few examples from the Bible where gentleness is taught and demonstrated:

In John 4, Jesus was kind to the Samaritan woman at the well who had a sinful past. As He spoke with her about the five husbands she’d had, He was respectful.

In Luke 7, a woman who had sinned much in her life came and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. The disciples were appalled at the woman’s actions. Jesus kindly explained why He allowed her to continue wiping His feet with her hair. He used it to teach a lesson to those in the room.

In 2 Timothy 2, the Apostle Paul taught us to be gentle and patient. He often practiced this in his interactions with people from all walks of life.

In 1 Peter 3, Peter encouraged us to always be prepared to answer with the hope we have in Christ and to do so with gentleness and respect for others.

In this day and age, many people communicate with anger and frustration. As Christians, let’s follow Christ’s example of using gentleness and love in both our responses and in our actions.

Thank you for joining us today. If you would like to learn more about OHSOFREE Ministries, please visit us at www.ohsofreeministries.com.