Jesus was at the Mt. of Olives, teaching people at the temple courts. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought a woman accused of adultery to Jesus. "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" The response of Jesus to this self-righteous group made them turn on their heels. "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Upon hearing this and with no way to respond, the teachers and Pharisees began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." (John 8:1-11)
Yes, this woman had sinned, but all her accusers wanted to do was punish her; they offered no forgiveness. But Jesus had a different agenda, one that the Pharisees were not ready to believe. Who was this man? A Prophet? The Messiah (as He claimed)? How could a Messiah come from Galilee they wondered? Wasn’t Galilee inhabited by Gentiles? Scripture foretold the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, not Galilee. If the Jews had taken any time to check out this self-professed Messiah, they would have learned he was born in Bethlehem and was from the lineage of David. When Nicodemus tried to intervene on behalf of Jesus, he asked them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” John 7:50-52. Sometimes people are just stubborn; too stubborn to see the truth.
Jesus came to seek and to save those who are lost. His love is redemptive, not accusatory. He came to make us whole, not tear us apart. Jesus is life, not death. He promises abundant life to all who believe in Him. The woman who had faced a certain and painful death by stoning had been set free. She was not only set free from her accusers, she was set free from the bondage of sin in her life. Do you see how each of our lives is like the life of this woman? Every one of us has sin in our lives. Scripture tells us in Romans 10:9 that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We can’t help sinning; we were born with a sin nature. You do not have to teach a young child to disobey, it comes automatically to him. My little granddaughter Gwendolyn has been taught correct behavior, yet there are times that she balks and responds with a defiant, “No!” when asked to do something she doesn’t want to do. Her little face scrunches into a frown and she looks angry. Jon and Melissa did not teach her to say “no” or to be mad or to pout, but she does it anyway. Original sin began with Eve and Adam in the Garden of Eden and is part of all of our lives. God provided a way for our sins to be covered by sending a perfect sacrifice to earth. He sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for you. Even if you were the only person in need of a Savior, God loves you so much He still would have given Jesus, just for you. When Gwendolyn reaches the age of understanding, she will be offered the same gift Jesus offered the woman caught in adultery. This gift is the gift of salvation and eternal life through Him.
A gift is just that – a gift. It has to be received before it is a gift. If you refuse the gift, it will never belong to you. Becoming a Christian requires no good works on your behalf. Jesus wants you just as you are. You don’t have to quit any bad habits or change any behaviors to come to Christ. All you have to do is believe He is the Son of God and that He lived on this earth, was beaten and crucified on a cross, and that 3 days later he arose from the dead. When you pray, asking Jesus to forgive your sins (past, present and future) and to become Lord of your life, you are adopted into His family and become one of God’s children. We are all God’s creation, but none of us is a child of God until we are adopted. It’s really very easy, but sometimes we make the easiest of things difficult because we over-analyze. You have to come by faith in order to receive the gift Jesus has for you.
As Easter Season quickly approaches, I hope you will reflect on what Jesus did for you. If you have never accepted His free gift you can do that right now. He’s right where you are and He is waiting for you. He holds the gift in His hand. Won’t you accept it today?
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Best Bargain of Your Life
I was shopping at Burke’s Outlet last week and couldn’t resist getting Paisley a yellow and white sundress with ducks appliquéd on the bottom. It is getting close to Easter and the weather is warmer. I could picture her dark hair and eyes and her olive complexion against the crisp yellow and white dress and I knew she had to have it. We women are great shoppers. We always justify our purchases and this one was justified because she needed an Easter dress and Burke’s is an outlet store so the price was great. I love to find bargains. Probably the best bargain is something for free; don’t you agree? I do love those buy one, get one (BOGO) sales.
But the best deal I ever got never cost me a bit of money. I was 9 years old in the summer of 1959. I was attending GA (Girls Auxiliary) camp at a Baptist Encampment called Peach Creek, in New Waverly, Texas. I had a great week at camp. We hiked, swam, played games, had chapel services and got to shop for goodies at the camp store. All in all I would have the say the week was grand. On Thursday evening, at the final chapel service of the day, my heart was touched by the missionary who was speaking. I wish I could remember his name. He was a foreign missionary to Africa who was home on furlough. I believe his wife was a nurse. I knew for the first time in my life that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. When the invitation song started, I was one of the first to walk toward the preacher and tell him that I wanted to accept Christ as my Savior. I remember him sitting with me on the front row and explaining to me the plan of salvation. He went through Scriptures found in the book of Romans. Baptists commonly refer to these as the “Romans Road.” I’ve written them here for you.
We must realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness.
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.”
God gave us the way to be forgiven of our sins.
Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
If we remain sinners, we will die. However, if we repent of our sins, and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will have eternal life.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you are saved.
Romans 10:9-10: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Just call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved!
Romans 10:13: “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Determine in your heart to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life today.
Romans 11:36: "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to who be glory forever. Amen."
After sharing these verses with me and being absolutely sure I understood them, the missionary preacher asked me to repeat a prayer after him. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was something like this:
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
With that prayer my life was changed forever. I was so interested in mission work that I decided I would be a missionary nurse in Africa. I collected information on nursing school for several years and studied life in Africa. But as I grew older and realized I have an extremely weak stomach, I did not attend nursing school. In fact, I would never in a million years want to be a nurse. But God, I His mercy, continues to give me a mission field wherever I live and work. Did I lead a perfect and sinless life after I accepted Christ? Of course not and actually, far from it. I struggled as a teen and young adult with sin, mistakes and poor judgment because I failed to attend church and spend time in prayer and Bible Study. I was like an unguided missile on a path to destruction. But God guided me back to Him and I can say that for the last 26 years I have stayed on that track and enjoyed the blessings of God on my life and the lives of my children. If after all I have done wrong in my life God can still use me to shine His light on the world, He can use anyone.
If you have never had a time in your life when you accepted the free gift of salvation, why not do it today? Jesus is just waiting on you. It is not enough to just know about Jesus in your head and to say you believe in him. Even the devil and his demons believe Jesus is real. You must repent (turn away) from your sins and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life. That part is what the devil and his little imps will never do. It’s a free gift, but the gift can only be yours if you accept it.
April 4 is Easter. Wouldn’t it be great to celebrate the real reason for Easter instead of baskets, bunnies and eggs? Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This year Easter can be a celebration of your resurrection from your dead life into eternal life in Christ. It is the best bargain you will ever find.
Much love – go with God!
Candy
But the best deal I ever got never cost me a bit of money. I was 9 years old in the summer of 1959. I was attending GA (Girls Auxiliary) camp at a Baptist Encampment called Peach Creek, in New Waverly, Texas. I had a great week at camp. We hiked, swam, played games, had chapel services and got to shop for goodies at the camp store. All in all I would have the say the week was grand. On Thursday evening, at the final chapel service of the day, my heart was touched by the missionary who was speaking. I wish I could remember his name. He was a foreign missionary to Africa who was home on furlough. I believe his wife was a nurse. I knew for the first time in my life that I was a sinner in need of a Savior. When the invitation song started, I was one of the first to walk toward the preacher and tell him that I wanted to accept Christ as my Savior. I remember him sitting with me on the front row and explaining to me the plan of salvation. He went through Scriptures found in the book of Romans. Baptists commonly refer to these as the “Romans Road.” I’ve written them here for you.
We must realize that we are sinners and that we need forgiveness.
Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.”
God gave us the way to be forgiven of our sins.
Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
If we remain sinners, we will die. However, if we repent of our sins, and accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we will have eternal life.
Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you are saved.
Romans 10:9-10: “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Just call upon the name of the Lord and you will be saved!
Romans 10:13: “For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Determine in your heart to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life today.
Romans 11:36: "For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to who be glory forever. Amen."
After sharing these verses with me and being absolutely sure I understood them, the missionary preacher asked me to repeat a prayer after him. I don’t remember the exact words, but it was something like this:
“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
With that prayer my life was changed forever. I was so interested in mission work that I decided I would be a missionary nurse in Africa. I collected information on nursing school for several years and studied life in Africa. But as I grew older and realized I have an extremely weak stomach, I did not attend nursing school. In fact, I would never in a million years want to be a nurse. But God, I His mercy, continues to give me a mission field wherever I live and work. Did I lead a perfect and sinless life after I accepted Christ? Of course not and actually, far from it. I struggled as a teen and young adult with sin, mistakes and poor judgment because I failed to attend church and spend time in prayer and Bible Study. I was like an unguided missile on a path to destruction. But God guided me back to Him and I can say that for the last 26 years I have stayed on that track and enjoyed the blessings of God on my life and the lives of my children. If after all I have done wrong in my life God can still use me to shine His light on the world, He can use anyone.
If you have never had a time in your life when you accepted the free gift of salvation, why not do it today? Jesus is just waiting on you. It is not enough to just know about Jesus in your head and to say you believe in him. Even the devil and his demons believe Jesus is real. You must repent (turn away) from your sins and ask Jesus to be Lord of your life. That part is what the devil and his little imps will never do. It’s a free gift, but the gift can only be yours if you accept it.
April 4 is Easter. Wouldn’t it be great to celebrate the real reason for Easter instead of baskets, bunnies and eggs? Easter is the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This year Easter can be a celebration of your resurrection from your dead life into eternal life in Christ. It is the best bargain you will ever find.
Much love – go with God!
Candy
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