The Importance of…a SINNER!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 1 of 6: “The Importance of One!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: You…A Tax Collector…A ‘Sinner’…A Pharisee…A Teacher
It was not shaping up to be a good day for this lady.
Perhaps just the night before she was caught in the act of adultery. Our current culture minimizes this activity as almost normal (unfortunately), but in Jesus’ time this was a BIG deal.
The sixth commandment prohibited it: “You shall not commit adultery.”
Leviticus 20:10 outlined the punishment for it. ‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.’
Based on the law, the Pharisees felt the obligation to follow through…but before they did, they wanted to use this woman’s sin for their own benefit…to find a reason to accuse Jesus.
John 8:1-11 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
Which was worse? The adultery or the attempt to trap Jesus? Jesus seems to ignore their question and begins to write something on the ground. The Pharisees press him until he stands up and speaks.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.
Only the “sinner” remained. What happened to those that accused her? Silently they condemned themselves. The fact they all left indicated they were not without sin. They too were sinners and so were not about to throw the first stone.
Unfortunately, they didn’t stick around to hear what Jesus told the sinner that remained.
10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
The only one who had the right to condemn the woman caught in adultery (as he was without sin) was the one who chose not to and showed grace. He didn’t minimize the sin. He forgave it. He didn’t condone the behavior. He told her to leave it.
Jesus would have done this for each of the Pharisees to. It’s what he came to do. It’s why he hung out with sinners…to tell them they were forgiven and empower them to leave their life of sin.
It’s what he does for every sinner…just hang around him long enough to hear it!
Apply: What sin in your life do you need to hear Jesus say, “Neither do I condemn you?” Hear him say it. What sin in your life do you need Jesus’ power to over come? Hear him say, “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for your love for every sinner. Thank you for not condemning me. Strengthen me to leave my life of sin. Amen.
The Importance of …a TAX COLLECTOR
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 1 of 6: “The Importance of One!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: You…A Tax Collector…A ‘Sinner’…A Pharisee…A Teacher
People say that the only things you can count on in life is death and taxes. However, I rarely hear of someone saying, “My best friend is an IRS agent or funeral director.” While not despised, few people desire to obtain each of these professions.
In Jesus’ day the community dreaded interacting with tax collectors. They were considered traitors because they were Jews working for the Roman government. They were resented because people hated paying taxes to the foreigners who ruled over them. They were also considered cheaters and often dishonest. They weren’t paid a wage, but were expected and encouraged to collect extra money to keep some for themselves, but often collected more than a reasonable wage would demand.
No wonder some in Jesus’ day refused to hang out with them.
But Jesus was different.
He saw past the occupation of the person to show concern for the heart of the person.
Jesus knew that it didn’t matter if a Jew chose to work for the Roman government, but he did know that a heart captivated by love of money could not be filled with the love of God. So he knew his love needed to reach the heart of each tax collector tempted to succumb to greed.
So he stepped outside the social norms. Dismissed the condescending remarks of the Pharisees and did what his heart compelled him to do…search for and find the lost tax-collector.
Matthew (also known as Levi) was one of those.
Mark 2:13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them. 14 As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Like a master surgeon, Jesus went to those who were spiritually sick and applied the treatment of grace to change hearts from loving money to loving God.
The result of Jesus reaching the one…tax collector…Matthew? Matthew told his friends…Jesus changed them. Matthew was a disciple of Jesus…was a leader in the early spread of the Gospel. Matthew was inspired by the Spirit to record the life of Jesus in his Gospel…preserving Jesus’ life and ministry for us.
We too are the beneficiaries of Jesus taking time to reach the tax collector.
His concern for the tax collector simply reflects the same love he has for you too.
Apply: What blessing do you enjoy today from Jesus reaching Matthew? What blessing is God bringing to others by taking the time to reach you?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your concern for the tax-collectors. It shows your love for each soul and your concern that each heart loves you above all else. Help me to fight against love of money and love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Amen.
The Importance of One…YOU!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “Timely Teaching for Turbulent Times”
Week 1 of 6: “The Importance of One!”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: You…A Tax Collector…A ‘Sinner’…A Pharisee…A Teacher
It seems like a start to a joke…One day a tax collector, sinner, Pharisee and teacher of the law were standing around…
A strange mix of individuals, to be sure. One worked for the Romans. Another was a public offender. One prided himself as a religious elite and another respected as a religious instructor. Some thought they were better than the others. And the others knew their place in their society. But the day they all gathered around Jesus, they all had one thing in common – whether they realized it or not… they all needed Jesus.
Luke 15:1-2 Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
It shocked the tax collectors and sinners that Jesus would hang out with them. Normally they were the outcast. They were ready to listen to what Jesus had to say. However, it was the muttering crew that compelled Jesus to speak.
He wanted the whole group to understand his heart. His heart didn’t look at the tax collector and condemn him of greed. His heart didn’t look at the ‘sinner’ and condemn her of adultery (or some other public breaking of the religious law). His heart didn’t even call out the Pharisee for his pride or the teacher of the law for his arrogance (at least in this encounter!).
He told a simple story they all could get…if they had ears to listen.
Luke 15:3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
Jesus was ready to initiate a party in heaven in the honor of anyone of them. If the tax collector repented of his greed and turned to Jesus for true treasure…Party! If the ‘sinner’ repented of his actions and turned to Jesus for forgiveness and power to leave a life of sin…Party! If the Pharisee’s pride was crushed and he turned to Jesus in humility of heart…Party! If the teacher of the law turned from arrogance to receive Jesus as the Messiah of which the law pointed…Party!
Jesus was standing in the middle of this group because each one of them was the lost sheep that was worthy of his effort to reach and save from spiritual destruction.
The same is true for you…because you are as important as any of those standing within earshot of Jesus that day. The day his grace connected with your heart is the day Jesus was more than ready to tell the angels in heaven to start a party in your honor!
Apply: How did Jesus connect his grace to you? Take time to thank the one he used to reach you. Who is someone you know disconnected from Jesus? How might Jesus use you to trigger a party in heaven for him or her?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the all out effort you engaged in to reach me with your love and grace. Give me the same heart to bring your love and forgiveness to one more. Amen.
Coming Tuesday-Friday…a tax-collector, ‘sinner’, Pharisee, and teacher of the law…Jesus engaged them all!
Add to Your Faith…LOVE!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 7 of 7: “Strangers…Is it worth it?”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: 7 Things to Add to Your Faith to Be an Effective Christian!
You can have all the best skills, the greatest knowledge, and broad range of experience and still be ineffective.
For a Christian, the last component to add to our faith is a key to all we do as a Christian. I can have faith. I can have the inner character of God. I can have experience. I can have self-control. I can keep going and not give up. I can exhibit godliness. I can show kindness to my neighbor. But if I do all this and lack one thing, I will still be ineffective as a follower of Jesus.
The Apostle Paul put it this way:
1 Corinthians 13:1-3 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Why is love such a key quality to have in “increasing measure”?
Growing in love indicates a growing appreciation for the love God has shown to me. (1 John 4:11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.)
Growing in love indicates a humility that is willing to put others before myself. (John 15:13 – Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.)
Growing in love enables me to be a reflection of God and his love to others. (1 John 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.)
Love is the aspect that binds all the other attributes together.
Galatians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
This devotion series doesn’t complete your growth, but rather outlines a growth plan. As a follower of Jesus, Peter’s encouragement is to possess these seven qualities in “increasing measure.” The result? You will be an effective and productive follower of the Lord Jesus Christ…to his glory and the salvation of souls.
2 Peter 1:5-8 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Apply: What impact have you been able to have with others when the love of Jesus is flowing into you and through you…versus times when it is not?
Prayer: Lord, continue to increase in me all these qualities, but especially love so that I might be an effective and productive impact for you and your kingdom. AMEN.
Add to your faith…GODLINESS & BROTHERLY KINDNESS!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “STRANGERS in the World”
Week 7 of 7: “Strangers…Is it worth it?”
Full Sunday message, CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: 7 Things to Add to Your Faith to Be an Effective Christian!
“I’m spiritual, but I’m not religious.”
This phrase is clear and confusing at the same time. It is clear when I understand there are things about the visible church that challenge and frustrate some so they feel it better to practice their faith on their own. It is confusing, because the practice of one’s belief (religion) is a natural manifestation of one’s faith (spirituality).
What we are adding to our faith today is godliness. This is the outward exercise of our faith. It is the making visible in our lives the goodness of God that characterizes us. Godliness is the thoughts, actions and words that reflect and align to the thoughts, actions and words of God.
Do you see where Peter is taking us in our journey of “adding to our faith”? Faith is the inner trust in Jesus as my Savior. This takes over our inner being and character (goodness). It shapes my experiences (knowledge). It challenges me to control my sinful nature (self-control) and not give up (perseverance). One might say these are the “inner transformation” of the Christian faith.
Godliness, then, is outer expression of the inner transformation God has worked.
Add to godliness, brotherly kindness.
The word translated “brotherly kindness” is “Philadelphia.” Sound familiar? The “City of Brotherly Love.” William Penn named this city in Pennsylvania to establish good faith between his colony and the Lenape tribe.
In 1681, Charles II of England bestowed a charter upon Penn as part of a debt repayment, and that charter included the land that would become the Pennsylvania Colony. However, Penn wanted to remain on good terms with the Lenape tribe that had originally settled on the land, and so he put the charter aside and purchased it directly from the Lenape people. After making a friendship treaty with a Lenape chief named Tammany, in what is now Philadelphia’s Fishtown (and was called Shackamaxon at the time), Penn named the city “Philadelphia,” which means “brotherly love” in Greek. (Quoted from https://theculturetrip.com/north-america/usa/pennsylvania/articles/philadelphia-got-name/)
William Penn was a Quaker who desired to create a city that reflected this quality of the Christian faith. If that vision was realized, is perhaps open for debate. What is not debatable is that a primary reflection of our faith is how we choose to treat one another. It’s easy to defriend someone. It is harder to do what it takes to make a “friendship treaty” with them. With God’s Spirit adding “brotherly love” to your faith…you can do it!
Apply: With whom do I need help developing a “friendship treaty”?
Prayer: Lord, show me ways to exhibit what you are doing on my inside to the people on my outside. Amen.