Summer 2011 Bible Study: Week 2 Day 6

Well, I can testify to the emotions of a pregnant lady. I am an emotional wreck. I was emotional all day yesterday, I just couldn’t stop crying. There wasn’t just one thing that was wrong, everything was wrong. I know the Lord gave us, women our emotions, but honestly, I am not the biggest fan of them at times. I don’t like to cry, I don’t like it when my emotions are all over the place and silly things bother me. I just feel like I don’t have control over them at times and that is the exact moment the enemy steps in and attacks my thoughts and before I know it, my entire life is going up in smoke.

I have enjoyed our time together over the past 2 weeks and I have loved praying over those of you as you leave comments and for those of you who are just reading and studying right long with me and not leaving comments, know that I am praying over you as well. As I sit at my make shift desk in my loft and listen the quiet house, I cannot help but feel calm, and considering how emotional I have been lately, calm is a very good thing.

Lord, the giver of peace, the Father of the Prince of Peace, bring peace. Bring comfort. Befriend me. Love me. Forgive me. Amen

Turn with me to John 8:1-11 and take a minute to read over these words.

For some reason, this story brings me comfort. This story assures me of the love my Sweet Jesus has for me, regardless of what issues I might be in the midst of. I love that in this story, one of the things we learn about who Jesus really is, is that He loved women. He valued women. He respected women. He stood up for women.

We quickly learn that this woman got caught. I could only imagine the setting of the sense, I wonder if she got caught in the act of adultery, if she was cornered after being the talk of the town or if her lover possibly ratted her out. Who knows, I am sure it is not important, but my mind often wonders.

So, we learn that she has been caught and then she is made to stand before a group, which includes Jesus. But, one of the main characters in this story is missing. The Jewish leaders who caught this woman failed do also arrest the man. Now, the law at the time required the man to also be arrested, and the law, according to Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22 also required BOTH individuals to be stoned.

I could only image the nerves this woman’s stomach must have been filled with. I can almost see her shaking as she stands before this group which includes Jesus, her shame making her face hot, her embarrassment causing her eyes to well up with tears, the overwhelming feeling of being alone consuming her heart.

And yet, while these men are making their case to Jesus, He kneels down and writes in the sand with his finger. Now, honestly, my mind is racing with thoughts of what He would have written. Did He simple write words such as; grace, forgiven, loved or MINE? I wondered if His sand writings ministered to her heart at all. I can only day dream that in this moment, this woman’s savior expressed His love for her. One thing we do know, because we know the character of our Sweet Jesus is that He did not in any way add to the feelings this woman already had or make her feel worse.

Look at verse 7 carefully; I don’t want to miss His response. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

He must have been writing in the sand for a while, because the Word says that these men continued to question Him. Then, He simply stood up, spoke, and went back to writing in the sand.

One by one, the people left. The woman’s embarrassment left, one by one.

And then her Sweet Jesus spoke to her again, saying that He wouldn’t condemn her, but to go and leave her life of sin. This woman’s life was literally saved by Jesus, in the flesh before He hung on the cross. Oh, if that woman had been me, it would have taken everything I had not to wipe the tears from my face and hug Him tightly around the neck.

You see, this story, is personal to me. I can list of a list of sins I have willing entered into on a daily basis, and I am sure it would be a mile long. Sometimes, they all hit me at once and I am left as an emotional wreck, and if I was truthfully honest, that is what happened yesterday. My sin, my insecurities, my fears and my failures all caught up to me in one brief moment and I was overcome with emotion I could hardly see straight. I could wrap my head around why my husband is still around after all the random emotional verbal processing I have done, let alone how the very Savior of the World could still save my life in the midst of an accusing crowd.

My insecurities always show up when I feel like people are attacking me and it is then that I feel alone and unlovable. It is then, it is on days like yesterday, when I could literally do nothing right and people reminded me of my mistakes, past and present, that I felt alone and ashamed. As if I were standing before a crowd, completely exposed and embarrassed. And yet, again today, my Sweet Jesus opened His Word and spoke those words of grace, mercy, forgiveness, love and He identified me, once again as HIS.

My prayer, is that He does the same thing for you!

I adore you, Summer Bible Study Friends! I really adore you!

Feel free to comment: How is has your Sweet Jesus shown His love, grace, mercy, forgiveness to you lately? How has He claimed YOU as HIS?

Sweet Jesus, thank You isn’t enough. But I love you deeply. My heart is healed by Your word. Thank You. Amen