Marsha

The GT Weekend! ~ Sketched VI Week 3

Leave a Comment

The GT Weekend!

At Gracefully Truthful, weekends aren’t for “checking out”.
Use this time to invite the Almighty’s fullness into you life in a deeper way!
Saturdays and Sundays are a chance to
reflect, rest, and re-center our lives onto Christ.
Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with other women in prayer,
rest your soul in reflective journaling,
and spend time worshiping the Creator who
longs for intimacy with each of us!

Worship Through Journaling

Worship Through Journaling

1) Marsha had been following Jesus, committed to living for Him, but struggled with voices of shame and guilt. She found herself quick to condemn herself, even though she worked hard to love others and give them grace, despite their own past mistakes. Sometimes, accepting the on-going, unconditional, perfectly complete, gracious forgiveness of Jesus on our behalf is much harder than that choosing to forgive others of their sin. Pause to take note of where you are much harder on yourself than you are on others. Where are you pushing too hard and not allowing margin in your life for your own self-care, for rest, and for dedicated time spent with the Lord? Unless we are accepting Christ’s lavish love for ourselves, it will be difficult to love others!

2)  Laura’s life was made new because of the dramatic, insistent, presence of love. Love from neighbors. Love from adopted parents. Love from a sister. All of these examples of unconditional love pointed her closer and closer to the unending love of a Father God. When she finally experienced Jesus’ love for herself, she realized how deeply she had already been loved by Him through the people around her. Who has invested deeply into your life by showing you Jesus’ love? Who have you done this for and how have you seen it impact them? Take time this weekend to write a note to someone who has embodied Jesus’ love for you, and encourage them by letting them know they made a difference. How we love one another helps others see Jesus more clearly!

3)  Shannon made many attempts to fix herself, sure that if she found and followed the right formula, she would find freedom and wholeness. Everything she tried not only failed her, but left her feeling more broken than before. The cycles of working at religion were so empty. Everything changed for her with a gracious invitation to participate in biblical community. As people around her shared vulnerably of their own transformation and lived out in regular everyday life what it means to be loved by the Savior, Shannon couldn’t get enough of this sweet truth! Believers who loved Jesus more than their own comfort zones were pivotal players in Shannon’s dramatic life change. Are you investing with everything you have for the lives of those around you? Who have you written off as being “too far away” or “unlikely Christian”? Pray consistently about who the Lord is placing in your life for you to live like Jesus alongside.

Praying Scripture back to the One who wrote it in the first place is a great way to jump start our prayer-life! Pray this passage from Ephesians 4:31-32 back to the Lord and
let His Spirit speak to you through it!

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor
and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Prayer Journal
Like everything else, we humans try to work hard, fix it ourselves, rescue ourselves, and ignore the unmerited grace You offer through Your son, Jesus. Lord, I know I do this, even though I’ve been following You and studying Your Word for years. I still try to do the work You’ve given to me or love the people You’ve put in my life on my own power. It’s never effective without You, Jesus. Press this truth before me, Lord. Let me be reminded of my need to be totally dependent on You, Your Power, and Your forgiving, gracious love no matter what I do today!

Worship Through Community

Can we pray for you? Reach Out! We’d love to pray for and with you!
Send us an email at prayer@gracefullytruthful.com

Build community, be transparent, and encourage others:
Share how God spoke to you today!
Comment Here or in our Facebook Community Group!

Worship Through Prayer

Worship Through Music

Sketched VI Day 12 Marsha: Digging Deeper

Leave a Comment

Digging Deeper Days

Finding the original intent of Scripture and making good application to our everyday lives as we become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Yesterday’s Journey Study connects with today’s!
Check out Marsha!

The Questions

1) Why did the Law of Moses command the stoning of an adulterer?

2) Why didn’t Jesus condemn the adulterous woman?

3) How is it possible to “go and sin no more?”

John 7:53-8:11

53 Then each one went to his house. But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

2 At dawn he went to the temple again, and all the people were coming to him. He sat down and began to teach them.

3 Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, making her stand in the center. 4 “Teacher,” they said to him, “this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” 6 They asked this to trap him, in order that they might have evidence to accuse him.

Jesus stooped down and started writing on the ground with his finger. 7 When they persisted in questioning him, he stood up and said to them, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then he stooped down again and continued writing on the ground. 9 When they heard this, they left one by one, starting with the older men. Only he was left, with the woman in the center. 10 When Jesus stood up, he said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, Lord,” she answered.

“Neither do I condemn you,” said Jesus. “Go, and from now on do not sin anymore.”

Original Intent

1) Why did the Law of Moses command the stoning of an adulterer?
In Leviticus 20:10, we read the penalty for adultery in Jewish law: “If a man commits adultery with a married woman—if he commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”  Modern readers might wonder why the penalty for adultery was so severe.  David Guzik suggests “this was because of the exceedingly great social consequences of this sin. God commanded the ultimate penalty to discourage it.”  In John 8:4-5, when Jewish leaders drag an adulterous woman in front of Jesus to be condemned for her sins, they are actually more interested in trapping Jesus than seeking justice. The Law is their proverbial playground because they know it backwards and forwards and every nuance in between. In prideful arrogance, they wanted to trap Jesus so they could prove He was not who He claimed to be. They wanted to either make Jesus call for her stoning and contradict His teachings about love and mercy, or call for her to be set free and contradict the law. They cared nothing for the woman or her scenario; they simply were using her for their own benefit. Author David Guzik notes, the “rules for evidence in capital cases were extremely strict. The actual act had to be observed by multiple witnesses who agreed exactly in their testimony. As a practical matter, virtually no one was executed for adultery, since this was a relatively private sin.”  Jesus knew their intentions and used their tactics against them.  According to author James Montgomery Boice, proving adultery “would be almost impossible were the situation not a setup.” So most likely the leaders did not have the appropriate evidence or had arranged a setup to entrap the woman in order to state, “This woman was caught in the act of adultery.” (verse 4) Jesus told the leaders, “The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her”. (John 8:7)  Jesus knew none of them would remain to condemn her.

2) Why didn’t Jesus condemn the adulterous woman?
Under Jewish laws (Leviticus 20) most sexual sins were punishable by death.  Since the law is clear, the accusers of the adulterous woman in John 8:1-11 expected Jesus to condemn her before everyone.  But He didn’t.  According to author James Merritt, “The reason Jesus did not condemn the woman in this story is because he was about to go to the cross and be condemned Himself for this woman.” As author Jon Bloom explains, “Jesus was the only one in the crowd that day who could, in perfect righteousness, require the woman’s death. And he was the only one who could, in perfect righteousness, pardon her. Mercy triumphed over judgment for her at great cost to Jesus.”  Jesus did not come to condemn us, but to rescue us.  John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” We have this amazing gift that, even though we stand before Jesus guilty of sin, He does not condemn us.  Instead, He takes our blame on Himself.  Jon Bloom suggests that “Every one of us, in a sense, is that woman. Our horrible sins — our shameful lusts, destructive tongues, murderous hatred, corrupting greed, covetous pride — stand exposed before God as starkly as in that temple courtyard. Our condemnation is deserved.  And yet, Christian, Jesus speaks these stunning words to you: Neither do I condemn you.  Why? Because he has been condemned in your place. ALL your guilt has been removed. No stone of God’s righteous wrath will crush you because Jesus was crushed for your iniquities.”  It is our joy to accept this gift and share it with everyone we encounter!

3) How is it possible to “go and sin no more?”
When those accusing the adulterous woman were confronted with their own sin, they dropped their stones and left her at the feet of Jesus. (John 8:9)  Jesus did not condemn her either, but told her to “go and sin no more”. (John 8:10)  Author Michelle Van Loon points out, “His stunning grace changed everything and gave her just what she needed in order to walk in His ways. Jesus was asking her to do more than avoid sinning. He was asking her to live out the mercy she’d received. He was asking her to forgive—and keep on forgiving—as she’d been forgiven. The only way she could leave her life of sin was by pardoning the man with whom she’d been accused of having the affair, her accusers, and herself.”  Author William Barclay concurs: “Here was no easy forgiveness; here was a challenge which pointed a sinner to heights of goodness of which she had never dreamed. Jesus confronts the bad life with the challenge of the good.”  In this passage Jesus releases the woman to move forward in freedom with the ability to choose a different kind of life from the one she had been living.

Everyday Application

1) Why did the Law of Moses command the stoning of an adulterer?
I probably should have been a doctor if my illegible handwriting is any indication.  My third grade teacher even told my parents I would probably never have good handwriting.  When my aunt heard that, she worked with me on my handwriting homework, and my teacher was duly impressed with my improvement. Alas, I did not ultimately develop good penmanship. I had no interest in putting in the amount of work required.  One perfect worksheet took me hours to complete. Doing that on a daily basis would be unsustainable.  I think I would have the same exasperated attitude toward obeying all the rules in the Bible if I had to do it without the grace of God.  The Israelites certainly would have agreed with me.  There are 613 commandments in the first five books of the Old Testament, and the Israelites had a difficult time keeping them.  The penalties for disobedience could be severe, like death in the case of sexual immorality. (Leviticus 20)  Even so, the Israelites rebelled, and they suffered for their refusal to obey God. (Amos 3:2)  God knew we needed a Savior, so He sent Jesus to fulfill the law for us (Matthew 5:17) and save us from our sins, a job we could never do on our own.  I am overjoyed that I don’t have to try so hard to do the impossible.  Jesus took my punishment so I can stand blameless before God.  His love, and the power of the Holy Spirit in my life, help me obey His commandments and give me grace when I fail.  I don’t have to be perfect because I am washed by the blood of the Lamb! (1 Peter 1:18-19)

2) Why didn’t Jesus condemn the adulterous woman?
You can’t spend much time on social media without learning a little something about condemnation.  Rant about inconsistent sizing in women’s clothing lines and be condemned as spoiled and privileged.  Post a picture of yourself cheering on your favorite sports team and be shamed for not showing more enthusiasm for things that really matter, like animal shelters or feeding the homeless.  It has happened to all of us, and all of us have done it to others.  We read a headline, form an opinion, and pile on in the comments with our two cents.  How strange it seems to us when someone offers to take on the condemnation of another.  We are used to laying blame, not accepting blame for something we did not do.  But this is what Jesus did for us!  The Bible tells us in Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” This is because Jesus took our sins upon Himself on the cross, dying so we might live free from the weight of sin and the consequence of spiritual death. (Romans 8:3)  Jesus was perfect and sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21), so He became the propitiation for our sins.  He took our place; the condemnation we deserved He bore for us so we could be reconciled to God the Father.  He did not condemn the adulterous woman in John 8, though she was guilty and deserved her punishment, because He came to save her from that sin.  He came to save us from our sin as well, and present us blameless to His Father. (Colossians 1:22)  If you are a Christian, freshly embrace the fact that you are free in Christ!  If you have never known that freedom from condemnation, call on Jesus today and accept His gift of grace and forgiveness!

3) How is it possible to “go and sin no more?”
Jesus has redeemed me and does not condemn me, just like this woman. (Romans 8:1)  But that does not give me permission to continue sinning.  Pastor Greg Laurie notes that God wants us to “leave our lifestyle of sin. It doesn’t mean we have to be perfect, because no one is. It doesn’t mean we need to be sinless. But it should mean we will sin less.” There are many Scriptures we can use to help guide us as we listen to the Spirit inside of us teaching us how to “sin less.”  One such verse is Galatians 5:16, “I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh.”  Author David Platt suggests we can walk by the Spirit if we “listen to the Spirit’s Word, discern His will, and follow His guidance.”   Platt also asserts that “Christians must decide to walk by the Spirit continually, and at the same time the Spirit is at work to create new appetites and give new power to resist the flesh and to please God.”  Another helpful verse is Luke 9:23, “Then He said to them all, If anyone wants to follow after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Reverend Billy Graham explains how this means “to put to death their own plans and desires, and then turn their lives over to Him and do His will every day.”  It is not easy to “go and sin no more,” but it is possible with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and the leading of God as He makes us new!

What do YOU think?! Share Here!
Missing the connection to our other Journey Study?
Catch up with Marsha!

Digging Deeper is for Everyone!

1) Take this passage (or any other passage).
2) Read it, and the verses around it,
several times
3) Write down your questions
as you think of them.
4) Ask specific culture related questions and be ready to dig around for your answers. Google them, use www.studylight.org, or look them up in a study Bible and read the footnotes (click on the little letters next to a word and it will show you
other related verses!). (www.esvbible.org)
5) Check your applications with other trusted Christians that you are in community with and embrace the fullness of God
in your everyday!

Digging Deeper Community

Share What You’ve Learned!
Pray Together!
Join us in the GT Facebook Community!

Our Current Study Theme!

This is Sketched VI Week Three!
Don’t miss out on the discussion!
Sign up to receive every GT Journey Study!

Why Dig Deeper?

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Study Tools

We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources, providing the original Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament) with an English translation.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Discover “origin”, “definition” and hear the original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want more background? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Memorize It!

Download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!
Tap and hold on your mobile device to save.

Sketched VI Day 11 Marsha

4 Comments

Read His Words Before Ours!

Matthew 22:34-39
John 7:53-8:11
1 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Sketched VI, Day 11

Pastor John E. Brown read Matthew 22:34-39 to the congregation from the church stage.  A part of verse 39 reverberated in my head as the Spirit prompted my heart with His Word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Yeah, Lord. I know.
I’m supposed to love others.
I do Lord.
You know I do.
In fact, I’m the ultimate people-pleaser.
I seem to live my life for others.
I give and give.
To everyone.
It exhausts me.
Lord, I try to fulfill this verse to the best of my ability.

“No, you do not.”
I felt, rather than heard, His response.

No, I do not? What more can I do? I protested in my continued inward dialogue with the Lord. I’ve knocked myself out for people.

“The last part of the verse you’re forgetting,”

Love your neighbor as yourself.
I pulled out my Bible and reread the verse.
As yourself, I repeated.
The download came upon me with force.
It’s equal! 

Loving neighbors = Loving yourself.

My engineering background came forward. If it’s equal, then one end of the sentence is equal to the opposite end of the sentence.  It’s also equal, in reverse.

Loving yourself = Loving neighbors.

Oh my! This put a whole new slant on the verse.
I’m to love myself as much as I love others?
Give love to myself? No—that’s not me.
The Lord’s right —I’ve never before fully understood that simple verse. I thought it was only about the amount of love that should be bestowed on others.  This was a life-changing difference, especially for this people-pleaser.

I have not equated loving myself with loving my neighbor. Others were more important, isn’t that what the Bible teaches? I have spent a lot of time learning to love others, especially the ones who are really hard to love. However, I had never felt it important to learn to love myself. More often, I struggled with self-condemnation.

And this was the Lord’s purpose in speaking to me through His Word that day.
Yes, He intends us to love others with as much care and concern as we love ourselves. But we are also called to love and accept and care for ourselves just as He loves us. Jesus isn’t pointing us solely towards self-focus or others-focus, but a dual “both-and” dynamic.

I pondered this for a while and wondered at what the Bible says about self-condemnation.
Especially for those who have been forgiven by Christ,
but still fight a daily battle to actually live in that freedom of being forgiven.

For me, the voices of shame and guilt and “should have” swirl around me on a regular basis, and are quick to speak condemnation over me, even though I’ve already been forgiven.

John 7:53-8:11 is the story of the woman caught in adultery: …the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?”  

Jesus’ reply was amazing, especially for that era. In verse 8:7 He said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  Verses 9-11 tell how those who heard dispersed, the more mature first, then the less mature, until only Jesus remained with the woman.

Jesus then asked, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, ”I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on, sin no more.”

None of us are without sin, except Jesus, and Jesus did not condemn the woman. Likewise, neither are we to condemn others who sin. The beauty of the gospel is that the perfectly sin-less One took our condemnation and punishment on Himself that we might be free.

These are truths we all need, but there was one more person at the scene who hasn’t been mentioned.
The woman.
What about the woman herself?
Do you think she found it easy to drop her own condemnation? 

I’m not so sure I would have just dropped my own guilt.
I’m more likely to have beaten myself up over and over.
Can we forgive and love ourselves, as easily as we forgive and love others?
Yet, we are commanded to do just that in Matthew 22:39!

Jesus, above every other example, poured Himself out for others.
Listening. Healing. Preaching. Becoming weary for another.
And yet, He still cared for Himself, His needs, and His private relationship with God the Father.

Does God intend for me to meet my own needs for peace and downtime?
As much as I try to be uplifting to others, I am to allow refreshment for myself?
As much as I make time for others, does accepting God’s grace over me mean making space for myself?

YES!
We are called to rest, care for ourselves, and cease harsh condemnation of ourselves.
Love yourself as you love others.

With this revelation, my faith journey took a new direction.
For the first time, I understood why I shouldn’t be a people-pleaser,
neither a pleaser of myself, nor a pleaser of others.

Instead, not trying to please men, but God (1 Thessalonians 2:4),
I should be a God-pleaser.
If we obediently offer Christ’s grace to others and ourselves,
both parties will be well cared for.
What a wonderful God to love us so well!

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join our Facebook Community!

A Note About Sketched
In this series, we are stepping into the shoes of various characters throughout history. Some are biblical, some are well-known in modern day times, and some are people our writers know personally. We do our best to research the culture and times surrounding these individuals to give an accurate representation of their first-person perspectives on life and the world, but we can’t be 100% accurate. “Sketched” is our best interpretation of how these characters view(ed) God, themselves, and the world around them. Our hope is that by stepping into their everyday, we will see our own lives a little differently!
Enjoy!
And keep watching for Sketched Themes to pop up throughout the year!

Join the GT Community and share your thoughts!

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus. Tap and hold from your mobile device to download this week’s verse and make it your phone’s lockscreen!

Thanks for joining us today as we journeyed into Sketched VI Week Three! Don’t miss out on the discussion below – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

Looking for other journeys from this theme?
Here’s a link to all past studies in Sketched VI!