what's applicable

What is it we need to learn from this encounter that we should apply in our lives today?

John 8

 1 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, 2 but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. 3 As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

4 “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

6 They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. 7 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” 8 Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. 10 Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

11 “No, Lord,” she said.

And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”

word

This may be a word for someone today...

or it may be a word for all of us during this pandemic.


Don't be afraid or discourages,

for the Lord is the One Who goes before you.

He will be with you.

He will neither fail you

or forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:8 (NLT, 1st ed.)

This is Moses talking to the children of Israel right before they crossed into the Promised Land for the first time.

5 & 11

These verses just kinda laid their this morning as a quiet reality that I can believe in or not.

Maybe these also are a word for one of you who read this?



Psalm 30 (NLT, 1st ed.)


vs 5 (The Lord's) anger lasts for a moment,

but His favor lasts a lifetime.

Weeping may go on all night,

but joy comes in the morning.


vs 11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing.

You have taken away my clothes of mourning

& clothed me with joy.

word

Read this all the way through.

The underlined sentence at the end is a word for someone today.

2 Corinthians 12 

1 I will reluctantly tell about visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. 3 Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know 4 that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.

5 That experience is worth boasting about, but I’m not going to do it. I will boast only about my weaknesses. 6 If I wanted to boast, I would be no fool in doing so, because I would be telling the truth. But I won’t do it, because I don’t want anyone to give me credit beyond what they can see in my life or hear in my message, 7 even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

8 Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

while on his way

John 4

43 At the end of the two days, Jesus went on to Galilee. 44 He himself had said that a prophet is not honored in his own hometown. 45 Yet the Galileans welcomed him, for they had been in Jerusalem at the Passover celebration and had seen everything he did there.

46 As he traveled through Galilee, he came to Cana, where he had turned the water into wine. There was a government official in nearby Capernaum whose son was very sick. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged Jesus to come to Capernaum to heal his son, who was about to die.

48 Jesus asked, “Will you never believe in me unless you see miraculous signs and wonders?”

49 The official pleaded, “Lord, please come now before my little boy dies.”

50 Then Jesus told him, “Go back home. Your son will live!” And the man believed what Jesus said and started home.

51 While the man was on his way, some of his servants met him with the news that his son was alive and well. 52 He asked them when the boy had begun to get better, and they replied, “Yesterday afternoon at one o’clock his fever suddenly disappeared!” 53 Then the father realized that that was the very time Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and his entire household believed in Jesus. 54 This was the second miraculous sign Jesus did in Galilee after coming from Judea.

Many times the miracles we seek don't happen in the moment we ask for them, but occur as we move forward in faith, believing.

2seven

Psalm 27

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
    so why should I tremble?
2 When evil people come to devour me,
    when my enemies and foes attack me,
    they will stumble and fall.
3 Though a mighty army surrounds me,
    my heart will not be afraid.
Even if I am attacked,
    I will remain confident.

4 The one thing I ask of the Lord—
    the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
    delighting in the Lord’s perfections
    and meditating in his Temple.
5 For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
    he will hide me in his sanctuary.
    He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
6 Then I will hold my head high
    above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
    singing and praising the Lord with music.

7 Hear me as I pray, O Lord.
    Be merciful and answer me!
8 My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.”
    And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”
9 Do not turn your back on me.
    Do not reject your servant in anger.
    You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
    O God of my salvation!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
    the Lord will hold me close.

11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.
    Lead me along the right path,
    for my enemies are waiting for me.
12 Do not let me fall into their hands.
    For they accuse me of things I’ve never done;
    with every breath they threaten me with violence.
13 Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness
    while I am here in the land of the living.

14 Wait patiently for the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous.
    Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

keep on

Psalm 73:24-26

24 You will keep on guiding me with your counsel,

    leading me to a glorious destiny.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

    I desire you more than anything on earth.

26 My health may fail, 

and my spirit may grow weak,

    but God remains the strength of my heart;

    he is mine forever.

lay it out, John

John lays it all out in the first chapter of his gospel...



In the beginning the Word already existed.


    The Word was with God,


    and the Word was God.

2 He existed in the beginning with God.

3 God created everything through him,

    and nothing was created except through him.

4 The Word gave life to everything that was created,

    and his life brought light to everyone.
5 

The light shines in the darkness,


    and the darkness can never extinguish it.

John 1:1-5 (NLT)

The Word became human flesh

& lived here on earth among us.

He was full of unfailing love

& faithfulness

& truth.

And we have seen His glory,

the glory of the only Son of the Father.

John 1:14 (NLT, 1st ed.)

twofour

Psalm 24

1 The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
    The world and all its people belong to him.
2 For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas
    and built it on the ocean depths.

3 Who may climb the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in his holy place?
4 Only those whose hands and hearts are pure,
    who do not worship idols
    and never tell lies.
5 They will receive the Lord’s blessing
    and have a right relationship with God their savior.
6 Such people may seek you
    and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.

7 Open up, ancient gates!
    Open up, ancient doors,
    and let the King of glory enter.
8 Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord, strong and mighty;
    the Lord, invincible in battle.
9 Open up, ancient gates!
    Open up, ancient doors,
    and let the King of glory enter.
10 Who is the King of glory?
    The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
    he is the King of glory.

fresh

We usually hear this psalm intoned in a deep, dirge-like voice.

Here is what may be a fresh paraphrase of it from the folks at The Message...


Psalm 23

1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.

strong word

Paul knocks it out of the park in this passage...

2 Corinthians 5

14 Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

16 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

18 And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

appropriate

This popped up in my regular reading this morning - one of the passages I feel God gave me to hold on to for 2020.



We are pressed on every side by troubles,

but we are not crushed or broken.

We are perplexed

but we don't give up & quit.

We are hunted down,

but God never abandons us.

We get knocked down

but we get up again & keep going.

Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus,

so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NLT, 1st ed.)



How appropriate in the middle of a pandemic....

3 verses

These 3 verses spoke to me this morning.

I hope the Lord uses them to speak to you, too...



"To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who are unfaithful, even what little they have will be taken away." Jesus speaking in parable in Luke 19:26


"Now, the Lord is a Spirit,
& wherever the Spirit of the Lord is,
He gives freedom."
Paul writing to the followers of Jesus in Corinth in 2 Corinthians 3:17


"As the Lord works within us,
we become ore & more like Him
& reflect His glory even more."
Paul writing to the followers of Jesus in Corinth in 2 Corinthians 3:18

a knot

Everyone who has given up house
or wife
or brother
or parents
or children
for the sake of the Kingdom of God
will be repaid many times over
in this life,
as well as receiving eternal life
in the world to come.
Luke 19:29-30 (NLT, 1st ed.) 


Sometimes, 
when you're at the end of your rope, 
you use words of Jesus as a knot at the end, 
& hold on, 
even though it doesn't look good.

comfort

In these perilous times, maybe we need to remember these 2 verses written by Paul in his 2nd letter to the followers of Jesus in Corinth.



2 Corinthians 1

4 He comforts us in all our troubles 

so that we can comfort others. 

When they are troubled, 

we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 

5 For the more we suffer for Christ, 

the more God will shower us with his comfort through Christ.