Hey everybody:
If this seems depressing, forgive me. When the Lord convicts
you, it should serve as a wake-up call. Throughout this E-mail, I will point
out some people for a reason. On that note, let me begin.
John 8:1-11 says this (But Jesus walked out to the Mount of Olives.
Then early the next morning he went to the temple. The people came to
him, and he sat down and started teaching them. The Pharisees and the teachers
of the Law of Moses brought in a woman who had been caught in bed with a man
who wasn't her husband. They made her stand in the middle of the crowd. Then they said, "Teacher, this woman was
caught sleeping with a man who isn't her husband. The Law of Moses teaches that
a woman like this should be stoned to death! What do you say?" They asked
Jesus this question, because they wanted to test him and bring some charge
against him. But Jesus simply bent over and started writing on the ground with
his finger. They kept on asking Jesus about the woman. Finally, he stood up and
said, "If any of you have never sinned, then go ahead and throw the first
stone at her!" Once again he bent
over and began writing on the ground.
The people left one by one, beginning with the oldest. Finally, Jesus
and the woman were there alone. Jesus stood up and asked her, "Where is
everyone? Isn't there anyone left to accuse you?" "No sir," the
woman answered. Then Jesus told her, "I am not going to accuse you either.
You may go now, but don't sin anymore.")
I like this particular version of this. It's interesting to
see (and I can speak on this, because I fall guilty on this myself) that Christ
can forgive us, but we can hold people's past against them. Now, let's look
into this for a moment. Many people in the world and in the church like to
quote he who is without sin cast the first stone. Granted, we are all sinners,
but we do have a mission: to please Christ and to shun evil at all costs, BUT
REMEMBER IT GIVES YOU NO EXCUSE TO SIN, and some people use it to justify their
sin which is wrong. But if a person is weak, we should help them; however, we
are to let a person know that their sin is wrong and we should see that a
person repent, never to return to that state again. Off tangent for a moment:
(Remember that our salvation demands responsibility. A problem develops however
when people start to think that they don't need to show any responsibilities
towards God's gift of salvation). Even though Jesus didn't really deal with her
sin, it's easy to imagine how this woman felt in the presence of Jesus. We can
easily assume she felt condemned and we should too when we come into His
presence and we've done wrong. If not, we (including myself) might want to
check to see if we're really regenerate. And sometimes, we may have to come to
that point to where we just break down and say, "Lord, forgive me, I've
wronged you." Much like David in Psalm 51 and if we've wronged the Lord,
this should basically be the prayer using verses 1-14: (You are kind, God!
Please have pity on me. You are always merciful! Please wipe away my sins. Wash
me clean from all of my sin and guilt. I know about my sins, and I cannot
forget my terrible guilt. You are really
the one I have sinned against; I have disobeyed you and have done wrong. So it
is right and fair for you to correct and punish me. I have sinned and done
wrong since the day I was born. But you want complete honesty, so teach me true
wisdom. Wash me with hyssop until I am clean and whiter than snow. Let me be
happy and joyful! You crushed my bones, now let them celebrate. Turn your eyes
from my sin and cover my guilt. Create pure thoughts in me and make me faithful
again. Don't chase me away from you or take your Holy Spirit away from me. Make
me as happy as you did when you saved me; make me want to obey! I will teach
sinners your Law, and they will return to you. Keep me from any deadly sin.
Only you can save me! Then I will shout and sing about your power to save.)
I like the latter part, and that's what I believe we should
do. But remember, if we pray something like this; know that anyone who keeps on
sinning belongs to the devil. He has sinned from the beginning, but the Son of
God came to destroy all that he has done.
God's children cannot keep on being sinful. His life-giving
power lives in them and makes them his children, so that they cannot keep on
sinning - according to 1 John 3:8-9. For
me personally, this lesson is a bitter pill that I have to swallow. Sometimes
it comes down to this.
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