THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 17

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Day 17:  The Woman Caught in Adultery (John 8: 1-11)

Early one morning Jesus was walking by the temple and entered.  He sat down and began to teach those who had already gathered there for the morning teaching.  Commotion filled the air outside, and the sounds of a struggle could clearly be heard.  The voice of a woman crying caught Jesus’ attention over the angry, loud words of the men with her.

“Rabbi, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the VERY act!” the Jewish leaders cried.  Filthy, humiliated, and ashamed, the woman stood in the center of the entire gathering.  The eyes of the crowd burned holes in her heart.  Anger welled up inside of her as she considered the injustice of this law.  “Where is the man who was with me?” her thoughts screamed out. “Isn’t he just as sinful as I am?  Have I been set up?  How did the religious leaders know?  They didn’t just “happen” by that early in the morning, did they?”

Her thoughts were interrupted by, “Our law says such a woman must be stoned!”  It was then that all attention turned toward the Teacher.  It was the first time the woman had taken notice of Him.  It seemed like hours passed while He wrote in the dirt.  She wondered if He would condemn her.  Her eyes dropped to the ground as she realized she had no hope of forgiveness. 

Jesus answered the Pharisees who had brought the accusation against the woman.  “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Her eyes still cast downward, she heard the murmurs, then the shuffling of feet, and when she dared to look up, she met the eyes of her Savior.  Turning to where her accusers stood she discovered that not one of them remained in the street.

Do you run in to be the first to accuse, judge, and condemn when someone has been caught in a sin?  Or maybe you are the “adulteress”—caught and in need of repentance.  Either way, we must know who we are……SINNERS, all of us!  Jesus told the woman, “From now on, sin no more.”   It applied to both the woman and the Pharisees in this story.  It applies to us as well.  Which sin do you relate to?  Stop sinning now, if you are.   Or begin now to be the first to love and restore the sinner.

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 14

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Day 14:  The Remarkable Faith of a Centurion (Luke 7: 1-10)

The heart of the centurion was breaking.  How faithfully his slave had served him.  Never once had his servant disrespected him.  If the truth were known, the centurion loved him like a son.  Truly, he would never again have a servant as lovingly obedient as this one, and now his life was in grave danger.  His body lay motionless, and he was tormented by his paralysis.  “Oh, please spare him,” the centurion cried out as his tears fell silently to the floor.

Not many days later, the centurion, a Roman military man, heard about Jesus.  No one seemed to know how He healed people, only that He had some supernatural authority over diseases and even death.  So he sent some Jewish elders to find this Jesus, the ones he had befriended when he built them a synagogue.  He stayed behind to care for his servant.  Besides, he couldn’t bring ­­this Jewish man to Jesus because he was a Gentile.  He felt completely unworthy to come to Him.

The Jewish elders who had great respect for the centurion sought to find Jesus.  When they found Him, they pleaded with Him earnestly to come with them to heal their friend’s slave.

Jesus obliged and started out with them, but when they were very close to his house, they were stopped by some other friends of the centurion.

Jesus was surprised, and He marveled at the message sent by the centurion.   This man was completely humbled in his words, even though he was a man with great authority.  This kind of humility was refreshing to Jesus!  This Gentile centurion seemed to know that only a word spoken by Jesus would have the same authority to heal his servant as Jesus coming in person.  Amazing!  These comments revealed not only his great wisdom, but his great faith as well.  As a result of such faith, the centurion’s servant was completely healed in that very moment.

Do you believe that Jesus has been given all authority over heaven and earth?  If you do, does He have all authority over you?  Can you call Him your LORD if He doesn’t?  Does His Word have power over you and your life?  Do you obey His commands found in the Word?

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 13

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Day 13:  The Paralytic and His Determined Friends  (Luke 5: 17-26)

Three of the four Gospels record the story of the faith of a paralyzed man and his friends who were quite determined to see their crippled friend healed of his paralysis.  The measures they went to were extreme, and the result of their faith brought blessings untold.  Their faith was a witness as well to those who were content to live by the Law of Moses.

“What a blessed day this will be,” the Lord mused to Himself, for he knew power would be going forth from Him today for healing.  “The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees will also be present to witness the Father working through Me.”  Quietly He began to teach.  When He noticed some men making a desperate attempt to enter the room, He continued with His lesson, keeping His eye on the situation. 

The room was just too crowded.  No one budged.  Since they could not gain entrance, the men slipped back out the front door.  Moments later there was a commotion over the place where Jesus stood.  Looking up, Jesus drew everyone’s attention to the ceiling above Him.  A hush fell over the room as one tile after another was removed.  Amazement filled their eyes when they saw a man on a stretcher coming through the hole!  With great strength, the four men lowered their friend carefully into the presence of the Lord.  A collective sigh of relief escaped from the onlookers as the stretcher came to rest in the center of the room, right in front of Jesus.

Jesus knew the faith it had taken for these five men to come before Him, and the great compassion displayed toward their friend also revealed their love.  That faith and love resulted in the paralytic’s spiritual healing as well as his physical healing.  Because they acted on their faith, Jesus was able to clearly establish His authority over forgiveness and healing.

How determined are we to come into the presence of the Lord?  How determined are we to see our lost friends spiritually healed by salvation?  To what lengths do we go to be able to grow our relationship with God?  Are we willing to go outside of the norm in order to show our faith to God and others?  Or do we live in our comfort zones that keep us from intimacy and from receiving all that we need to live victoriously?