Month: October 2008

I’m going to tell you something about me that is quirky. I really, really like the number 3. I have a friend who buys 2 of everything…because she loves 2. Well, I don’t go that far…but I I really like the number 3. Weird huh?…Oh well. You learned something. I’m not sure why. Maybe I associate the number 3 with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. For whatever reason…I love three. And look here—today is Day THIRTY-THREE!

Okay. Now to the lesson. Today’s Scripture reference is found in Luke 7:49-50. When I first saw that it only encompassed two verses I thought—-wow. Must be a power packed two verses! And I was not wrong. Beth highlights the end of verse 50. “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” Hang on…I’m going to type it from the Amplified Bible….you’re really going to enjoy this

“Then those who were at the table with Him began to say among themselves, Who is this Who even forgives sins? But Jesus said to the woman, Your faith has saved you; go (enter) into peace [in freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as the result of sin].”

When I read this study today, the sins of my life flashed before me. As if the enemy was reminding me of what my past entailed. As if I needed reminding. I didn’t. I know full well what my past days consist of. But the Lord doesn’t. He has cast it far from Him. Never to be remembered again. Once you confess your sin to Christ, He forgives you of that sin, and expects you to not return to that sin. His blood that He freely gave, was the payment—the price of the freedom from sin— that we are so blessed to have today! I am one thankful girl.

Let me show you a picture of what happens in my house on Saturdays—most of them anyway. We entertain at least one little boy. A grandson. And they LOVE to play outside. In playing outside they get mighty dirty. When they come in for a meal, they know they must be washed. Cleaned. Hands, face and arms. So we trek to the bathroom. I run water in the sink and get a fresh bath cloth. (Yes, Aimee corrected me once, in these parts—it is referred to as a “wash rag”.) Anyway, I add baby soap and squeeze the cloth to release excess water. I start with the face and move on from there. The bubbles are soft and the soap makes quick work of cleaning a cute, albeit dirty face. After his hands and arms are clean —he is free to go to the table and enjoy what I’ve prepared. And it feels good to be clean.

Can you relate? I can both spiritually and physically. When I’ve worked outside and gotten hot and sweaty—and the dirt from being on my knees in the flowerbed clings to me—really telling what I’ve been doing—when I go inside, I take a long shower. Removing all the grime of the day. And when I come out and put of fresh clean smelling, comfy clothes (my favorite is loosie-goosie p.j.’s), my whole being is relaxed. No matter how tired I am. Spiritually the same is true.

When I came to my senses and realized where my life was headed all those years ago, I prayed that prayer, I had that faith that Jesus spoke of to the sinful woman. The woman who was so brave, but knew that Jesus had the answer to her life’s issues. He had the soap that was needed to clean her completely. When He looked into her face, He saw repentance there. He saw faith there. Possibly faith that He’d not seen in days. And her act of faith, became her covering of peace.

Let me share a favorite passage as I close and this will be our prayer, from the Amplified Bible found in Ephesians 3:14-21

14) For this reason [seeing the greatness of this plan by which you are built together in Christ], I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15) For Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named [that Father from Whom all fatherhood takes its title and derives its name].
16) May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].
17) May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,
18) That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];
19) [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!
20) Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]–
21) To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen (so be it). (emphasis mine)

Keeping the faith,

Angie

Ya’ll have a blessed weekend! Be sure and pray for one another! And remember Denise’s (Samaritan Women) niece, Sandy and her family, Denise (Shorty Bears Place) for continued improvement in her health, and a special need of Judy, a friend from Ohio who was just diagnosed this week with ovarian cancer. They started aggressively treating her with chemo today. After 3 rounds of chemo, she will undergo surgery after Christmas. I am believing God for a miracle!

At Home in a Pharisee’s House

Scripture reference: Luke 7:36-38

I want to share a passage I read from Matthew Henry Commentary to set the stage:

One of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him, either because he thought it would be a reputation to him to have such a guest at his table or because his company would be an entertainment to him and his family and friends. It appears that this Pharisee did not believe in Christ, for he will not own him to be a prophet (v. 39), and yet our Lord Jesus accepted his invitation, went into his house, and sat down to meat, that they might see he took the same liberty with Pharisees that he did with publicans, in hopes of doing them good. ¹

Reading “between the lines” of the passage of scripture (using the verse 30 to blend what I believe, “But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves…”), I am jumping off here and saying that I think the dinner may have been a trap. Or, at least partly so. I agree with the commentary—it sure wouldn’t harm their reputation to have such a reputable guest for dinner—and they were interested in what He had to say…but something in me also believes they were looking for ways to ensnare Him with His own words.

All that aside, let’s go into the room. It’s filled with people—all men of course. Some possibly sitting, some reclining, some maybe even standing. Maidservants waiting on them, refilling their cups, replacing empty platters with overflowing ones, for surely to have such a Guest, they really wanted to “show off” a bit. Perhaps the culinary skills of their cook. Maybe the best selection of china—maybe they had even had the best decorator in town come by the house prior to the dinner to give the house a bit of sprucing up!

What they weren’t prepared for was the woman. Amid the details of life, the clatter of dishes in the kitchen and the heavy banter of conversation of the men, she comes in, drawn to the Source of life with an urgency even she can’t quite understand. Some commentaries share the possibility that she was Mary Magdalene–the one He had cast out 7 demons.

Verse 37 states that she was a sinful woman. Most likely a known harlot. Possibly every man at that very table knew her well…some may have “known” her more than others. When she learned of the special Guest in the home of Simon the Pharisee, she made hast in bringing the very best she had. Most likely all she had.

The very presence of Him in the room stirred the air with a tangible excitement. Possibly even the maidservants felt the power as they came and went from kitchen to table. As the sinful woman entered, I wonder if she felt like an intruder. I believe she had one thought, one goal and only one Person in sight. Perhaps all others blurred into the background of the room as she entered and her eyes were captured by His. He saw completely through her heart and soul. He saw the sin, the wasted years, he saw the past, present and straight into her future. And for once in her life, maybe she even believed she had one. It was her undoing. She became a bundle of quivering emotion and tears.

As she knelt at his feet, in His reclining position, He had to turn His head from the others at the table, she had captured His attention as she began to wash His feet with the tears streaming from her eyes. Down her cheeks the tears splashed, falling on His dusty feet. And as she began to dry them with tears of a truly repentant heart, the love she felt for this Man that had pierced her heart with His love and compassion, was something so powerful that it could not be ignored.

I’m going to repeat one of Beth’s questions…”Do you have difficulty picturing Christ in this scene? Fitting into a Pharisee’s home”…complete with harlot on the side? Beth’s words, “He could fit in anywhere….and nowhere.” He has no prejudices. He reached out to all mankind.

I am praying to be more like that. I have had the tendency to avoid those that get on my last nerve. I mean, for crying out loud…it’s the last one I’ve got! And YOU have to KNOW, the guys probably bugged the daylights out of Jesus—always acting like a know-it-all. Better than thou’s. But Jesus looked into the recesses of their lives and saw need. A need that is just like yours and mine.

Father in heaven, we come to You with all we have. We lay it at the very feet of Jesus. Loving You more than life itself. Help us to share that love with other….so that all may know Him. I bring you the needs of the girls in this study with us. They each one come together to meet and learn more of YOU and all long to love You more. Enter in to the daily of their existence so that it no longer feels like dailiness. So that each breath feels as a fresh breeze of the Holy Spirit. Help us to see YOU in everything around us. Walk with us and go with us. Enable us to be Your vessels. Fill us with your power! In Jesus most holy and precious name~Amen.

Keeping the Faith,

Angie

Henry, Matthew. “Commentary on Luke 7.” Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible. Blue Letter Bible. 01 Mar 1996. 30 Sep 2008.