To stone or not to stone

*The following devotional was inspired by bestselling speaker and writer, Liz Curtis Higgs, who I had the great fortune of hearing speak this past weekend at the Northwestern Christian Writers Conference.

Reading for today: John 8:1-11

by Larry Eubanks

The law only required two or three witnesses to charge an offender. They wanted the whole town to see.

In a case like this, both the transgressing man and woman should be brought forward. They only brought the woman.

“Teacher,” the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus, “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do you say?”

If Jesus had answered, “Stone her,” then all his teachings on mercy and grace go out the door.

If Jesus had answered, “Don’t stone her,” he discredits the Law of Moses and himself.

So what does Jesus do?

As the crowd watches silently and the disgraced woman waits fearfully, Jesus stoops down to write in the dirt. What did he write?

Some people say that a judge would write down his sentence before pronouncing it. Or maybe he was simply diverting the eyes of the people, saving the humiliated woman from their condemning stares. Maybe he was giving everyone time to think. Whatever he was writing, it took awhile because those around him had to keep asking for a verdict.

Instead of a verdict, Jesus called the question. “Let him who is without sin, be the first to throw a stone.” Silence. Nothing but the sound of unused stones dropping to the ground. Then, one by one and without a word, they walked away, convicted.

The only one who was without sin, the only one who had the right to condemn the woman, Jesus stood quietly before her. And he without a stone in his hand.

Dear God, How is it that You have not condemned me? In my shame and in my disgrace, You offer me forgiveness, hope, and salvation. Give me the power to accept Your grace and to go and sin no more. Amen.

Day 2 – John 3:16-17

Day 3 – Romans 8:1-6

Day 4 – Romans 3:22-24

Day 5 – 1 John 2:15-17

 

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The truth about sin

 

Reading for today: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21

Christians have a tendency to talk about how bad sin is and how Jesus has saved us from our sin. But what is sin? And why did we need saving from it?

Fill in the blank: Sin is _______________________.

I asked my kids to define sin for me. They had a variety of answers. Sin is: “Bad stuff.” “Not loving.” “Doing something wrong.” “Something that is not right in the sight of God.” And, “Doing something God has rejected.”

Put together, their definitions could be summarized as something like this: “Sin is breaking God’s rules. And that’s bad.”

While that’s true, sin is more than simply breaking rules. There are plenty of people in this world who live very moralistic, upright lives, yet are stilled defined as sinful and spiritually lost.

That’s because sin is more than simply doing bad things, sin is putting yourself in the place of God. It’s making yourself King, making yourself Savior, and making yourself Judge.

The bad news about this definition of sin is that no one is exempt. The good news about this definition is that likewise, none of us are exempt from God’s transforming love and His call to a new life.

Dear God, I have no idea how to be perfect, how to stop sinning, or how to save myself. But I do know that I need you. Forgive me, renew me, and lead me. Amen.

Sin is a complicated subject. Let’s dig in a little deeper this week.

Day 2 – Genesis 3 (How sin entered the world)

Day 3 – Isaiah 14:12-15 (The truth about sin)

Day 4 – Romans 5:12-17, 6:23 (God’s solution to sin)

Day 5 – I John 1:9, 2:2; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 1:7-10 (How does God help us with sin now?)

*Recommended reading – The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

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a heart after You: week 5 (final week)

Reading for today: Psalm 139

David was a man after God’s own heart. For the last few weeks, we have been looking at the stories of David to figure out what it means to have a heart after God.

It doesn’t mean that we are better than the average guy. It doesn’t mean that we have it all figured out. It doesn’t mean that we’ll always do the right thing. And if we screw up, it definitely doesn’t mean that we’ve lost our chance.

You see, having a heart after God’s own heart is simply seeking Him above all else. And when you seek God, He will be found and He will change your heart.

So that when you are facing giants, you hold onto Him. When you are in the middle of an I-don’t-know-what-to-do situation, you beg Him for guidance. When you are in the wrong, you listen to Him and you adjust back to His will. When you recognize His blessings, you dance for joy.

And if you break His heart by turning completely away from His will, His Spirit will allow your heart to break as well. He will humble you, and you will ask for forgiveness, which He will graciously give. And then you will understand what is at the heart of God – His mercy, His forgiveness, and His unbelievable love.

Dear God, Please give me a heart like yours. Teach me Your mercy, Your forgiveness and Your amazing love. Amen.

This week begins the season of Lent, what better way to learn of God’s heart than to study and meditate on the mercy, forgiveness, and love that God showed through His Son, Jesus.

This week, as we prepare, we will read through some of the Psalms of David.

Day 2 – Psalm 25:4-10

Day 3 – Psalm 37:3-6; 23-24

Day 4 – Psalm 86:1-12

Day 5 – Psalm 103:1-13

 

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a heart after You: week 4

Reading for this week: Psalm 32

But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord. ~ 2 Samuel 12:27

This week you will read about the lowest point in David’s life. As you read this story, though, you won’t feel sympathy toward him. Instead, your heart will probably go out to the man he murdered and to the child who died as a consequence. Then, you will start to question whether or not God had it right when he called David, “a man after my own heart”.

In the shadow of David’s shame, in the horror of what he had done, David even has the audacity to turn to God and ask for mercy.

This week as you read the story of David and Bathsheba and Psalm 51, pay attention, not to the grievous sins of a king, but to his process of restoration. As you read, look for these three responses: confession, prayer, and worship. Then answer the question: How is David’s heart like God’s, even through this tragedy?

*Hint: After this week, there should be no doubt in your mind that you too can have a heart like God’s own heart.

Dear God, My sin is always before me. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Amen.

This week let’s read about the whole story of David and Bathsheba.

Day 2 – 2 Samuel 11

Day 3 – 2 Samuel 12:1-14

Day 4 – 2 Samuel 12:15-24

Day 5 – Psalm 51

 

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Temptation and Our Coat of Many Colors

Reading for today: Genesis 39:1-23

Painting by Richard McBee

Joseph had lost another coat. His first coat, an expensive coat of many colors, was destroyed when his brothers betrayed him. That coat had symbolized favor and wealth. Yet, in an instant, he went from the privileged son of a great nomadic leader, to a stripped Ishmaelite slave.

But Joseph found favor again. His new Egyptian master, Potiphar, recognized Joseph’s talent and made him second in command. He was clothed as a high servant, no longer a meager slave.

Painting by Richard McBee

Potiphar’s wife, however, also noticed Joseph and tried to seduce him. Joseph resisted the temptation but lost another coat as he ran from her. That coat had also symbolized favor and wealth. And when he lost it, he found himself in prison.

Resisting temptation is not simply a matter of choosing what’s right over what’s wrong. If that were the case, resistance would be easy. Resisting temptation, however, usually involves a sacrifice.

In the case of Joseph, he knew what favor and wealth felt like. And when he had it again in Potiphar’s house, it fit like a glove. He was successful and well loved. Resisting Potiphar’s wife came at great sacrifice. It cost him the favor and wealth he had finally regained.

That’s what makes temptation so hard. We see immediate benefits lying on the other side of temptation. Benefits we feel we deserve. Coveting those benefits drives us to excuse our actions, convincing ourselves that the ends will justify the means. On the other hand, choosing to say no to a temptation involves a sacrifice that seems unfair and difficult. In extreme cases, like Joseph’s, that sacrifice may cost us everything we’ve worked so hard to achieve.

But Joseph’s story does not end there. While his decision to resist Potiphar’s wife cost him his position and years in prison, God clothed him again in a royal coat, as Pharaoh’s second-in-command (Genesis 41: 42).

When you are faced with temptation, the temptation to leave your wife or love someone other than your husband, or take the answer key for a test or cover up fraud or break a promise, remember two things. One, temptation is never just about you. Your decisions affect your relationship with others and with God. Two, there is always a way out. That way may seem unfair or difficult, but it never goes unnoticed by God. He promises to both help you and bless you.

While we may never wear the coat of royalty as Joseph did, we are promised royal clothing. Isaiah 61:10 rejoices in God’s promise to the faithful, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.”

Painting by Deborah Waldron Fry

Dear God, I am feeling pressure about ______________________. You know what’s right for me to do. Teach me Your ways and help me walk in them. No matter the consequences, I will trust in You. Amen.

Be encouraged this week by what these Biblical authors have to say about temptation and God’s help for us. Psalm 51 is especially important to read because there are many times where we fail and need God’s forgiveness and his help to get back on track.

Day 2 – Hebrews 13:4-6

Day 3 – Hebrews 2:14-18

Day 4 – I Corinthians 10:12-14

Day 5 – Psalm 51

*Thanks to Pastor Steve, his Bible study was the springboard for this devotional

 

 

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The Power to Save: A six-week study on the powers of Jesus: Week 4

The Paralytic (artist unknown)

Reading for today: Mark 2:1-17

“Sin is not just breaking the rules, it is putting yourself in the place of God as Savior, Lord, and Judge” (Timothy Keller from The Prodigal God, 2008, p. 50).

Sin is our debt towards God. And just like any case of a debt and a debtor, the only one who can forgive the debt is the one to which everything is owed. In the case of humanity’s great debt, the only one who can forgive our sins is God – the very one we are indebted to.

That’s why the religious leaders found Jesus so offensive. By saying to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven,” Jesus was making a bold statement, which was: I am God. I have the power to forgive your sins. And either Jesus is correct, and he is God. Or he is a con artist and a liar.

“Who does he think he is? The religious leaders asked angrily. “Is he in the place of God, that he can forgive?” The paralytic and his friends certainly thought so. That’s why they made every effort, in faith, to come to Jesus. And in faith they received not only healing, but also the forgiveness of sins.

Sin separates us from God but forgiveness brings us back to him. And that forgiveness comes from Jesus. God the Father gave Jesus the power to forgive our sins and bring us back into relationship with God. Jesus paid our debt for us. He erased it. That’s what the Easter story is all about.

As we prepare to understand the power of the Easter story, we need to see the damning power of our sin. But be confident in this, Jesus’ power is greater. In the midst of our darkness, Jesus calls us out and into his marvelous light.

Dear God, We know that something is wrong in our world and in our hearts. That “wrongness” is sin. Please forgive our sins and give us your saving faith. Amen.

Jesus’ mission on earth was to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). This week, read more about Jesus power over sin and his gift of forgiveness.

 

Day 2: Luke 7:36-50

Day 3: Matthew 18:21-35

Day 4: Luke 15:1-32

Day 5: Colossians 1:13-14; Psalm 32:1-5; Psalm 103:10-13

 

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