So I was reading the story in the Bible where Jesus is teaching in the synagogue and some religious leaders bring to him a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. The men question Jesus about what should be done. They remind Jesus that the law of Moses says her punishment is stoning till death. So wanting to trap Jesus, they kept demanding Him for an answer. Finally, Jesus wrote something in the dirt and then He said to them, “to let him who is without sin throw the first stone”. Of course, all the accusers are silenced at this point and all walk away. Jesus writes something again in the dirt and then tells the woman that He does not condemn her and that she should go and sin no more. So I got to meditating on this passage a lot. I  discovered that Jesus was trying to convey a simple truth for all of us to see. A truth if we can get to the bottom of this, will transform everything for us and free us from those sins that keep us hostage. A lot of us live in cycles. We want to live Holy lives but then we end up falling into these habitual sin patterns and then we live in shame and guilt, then try harder and then fail again. I believe that the answer to truly breaking this cycle is found in this passage. Jesus was telling this adulteress woman that she was free now not just from the condemnation of sin but also from the power of sin. Jesus knew that what was holding her hostage to her sin, was that she still viewed herself as being condemned. I believe the reason Christians struggle with sin, is because there is a correlation between condemnation and sin, and how we perceive ourselves. Jesus knew this and like a good doctor, He wrote on the ground her prescription to finally break free. Although no one knows for sure, this is speculation but I think perhaps Jesus wrote in the dirt her new name. He gave her a new identity. This was her true identity now, no longer was she to Him an adulteress nor a slave or a sinner. I believe Jesus wrote on the ground who she was now in His eyes. That’s why He told her to sin no more because He knew that now that she knows her true identity, all things are possible. Could it be that the reason we struggle with sin is that we don’t really know or believe in our new identity in Christ? When we struggle with sin, most of the time we tend to live in this cycle of shame and guilt. We know we disobeyed God’s commands, so what do we do? We beat ourselves up. We allow the Enemy to accuse us, we allow others opinions to define us and we even allow our own thoughts to hold us captive. We are basically believing in a false identity and not whom Christ says we are. Jesus wrote the woman’s new identity in the dirt. Today, God has written for us our new identity in His promises found in the Bible. His word to us is that we are not under the law but under grace. The Bible says, Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. The scriptures also say, 2 Corinthians 3:17, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” and John 8:36, “He whom the Son has set free, is free indeed.”  Too many of us Christians hold the law over our heads reminding ourselves that we are a sinner and a slave to it and so we strive to do better. But when we live like this we fall under the law which is a form of captivity. Not that the law and God’s commands are bad but if we think we can live out our freedom from an identity that says we are still sinners, then we will always fall short. Then the false accusers come out and tell us what they think we are and we choose to listen and the cycle of shame and guilt continues. Jesus instead tells us that He has set us free from all of this. There will never be any condemnation ever. Just think about it for a moment. What if the woman did sin again? Chances are she did. No one I know has ever been perfect. So say she sinned again, does Jesus take back what He said to her? Does He now condemn her? No, Jesus gave her His word and His word is true and forever. She was never to face condemnation again and you and I who have placed our faith in Jesus will never be condemned either. Wow, this is liberating! When we start thinking about this truth, we should start to break this cycle of living under the control of those sins that easily entangle. Sin thrives and finds nourishment from guilt and shame. Then it continues to grow out of a  false identity. When we dwell on the promises of whom we are in Christ and just believe them as being done, then we will live in real freedom. When we start to see ourselves as being loved, and being forgiven, no matter what we do or how many times we fail, the accusers will soon be silenced and the only true voice we will listen to will be His. We may not be perfect but we can live more and more in His perfection as we continue to remember that it is only through Him we are truly free! So when the stones of your accusers start to come your way, just remind yourself of who you really are in Christ. Jesus will remove those stones one by one. Remember, He removed the one stone that held Him captive in the tomb for three days. What makes you think He can’t overcome the ones that are holding you back from living out your God given destiny? So, stop listening to the lies, stop living under the law, it’s only going to falsely accuse you and hold you down. In the midst of the dirt and messiness of our lives, isn’t it great to know that Jesus gets His finger dirty as well and writes His new identity for us on our hearts? All we have to do is take Him at His word. Receive it, Embrace it and trust the one who says you are a new creation. For scripture says, in 2 Corinthians 5:17,  “The old is gone and the new has come.” Rise up, child of God. Leave the grave clothes of your past behind you and put on the new clothes of your real identity only found in Christ. Remember, You are free! You are free indeed. How do I know this? It is written.

John 1:1

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Today, I got the awesome opportunity to have an all you can eat breakfast with my Savior and friend Jesus Christ. Yes, what an amazing experience.  Did you know Jesus likes to eat blueberry pancakes and likes his hash browns with cheese?  He also enjoys a good conversation, and has a heart for young people in their teenage years to give them help in forming them into responsible and successful adults in these crucial formative years. These are kids who don’t have the healthy two parent structure at home, teens that need an adult to believe in them. Did you know that Jesus also has a crazy sense of humor and wears an umbrella hat on hot summer days when he goes for walks? He also likes to Zumba in his neon green socks and wears bright colored gym shorts. Who knew? Yes, that’s right today I got to hang with Jesus at the breakfast buffet at the Golden Corral.  Now I know by now you’re waiting for the punch line. You’re waiting for the just kidding or you’re thinking it’s time for me to check myself into the funny farm. I get it. It does sound like I’ve been smoking a little too much of the reefer. But actually I’m not joking. I’m about as serious as I can be. You see today I got a chance to meet up with my good friend and brother in Christ. We were talking about a number of things just sharing life when the conversation got Biblical. At one point he said something so profound. He said “Tom do you know you are the Word? Do you know that to some people you will be the only Bible they are ever going to ever see?” And I got to thinking of that verse that says Jesus was called the Word and that the Word became flesh. How cool is that? Jesus was the living breathing Word of God and today if we put our faith in Christ, Jesus becomes flesh again but this time in us. So spending time with God is not just in the Bible and having a thirty minute devotional, it’s spending time also with my brothers and sisters who are the walking and talking Word in the flesh. You see when we spend time with our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are in essence spending time with Jesus. When we live to serve others did you know you are spending time with Jesus too? We are not obedient to God so that we can do good things for God. That is not why we obey and that can lead to legalism and a false religion. No, the number one reason we are obedient is because that’s where Jesus is. We obey Him to fellowship with Him. Jesus says we are His friends if we obey His commands. Close friendship with God comes when we participate with Him as we follow Him. Read 1 John it is all about how to have fellowship with Jesus and believers. When we spend time with our kids, when we go on that mission trip, when we do the dishes for our spouse, when we go to work to provide for our families, when we take the time to visit the elderly, when we do anything for someone in love you are actually spending time with Jesus. In fact there’s a scripture that actually says when we feed the hungry or give water to the thirsty, we are actually feeding and serving Jesus. So, today maybe you thought reading your Bible was the only way to be with Jesus. Maybe you forgot to have that devotional time or maybe you think that just because you spent thirty minutes with God it stops there. I’m here to tell you it doesn’t. Spending time with Jesus is more than just being in the book. Yes prayer and scripture and having that alone time is part of it but it’s also having relationships with other Christians, it’s serving the body of Christ, and it’s living on mission to love and serve those outside of the faith. So to any of my Christian readers, the next time you’re hungry and you’re looking to break some bread with Jesus and you just happen to be in my neighborhood, look me up and let’s get together. I’m very interested in learning more about my Jesus through the eyes of His people, filtered by the word of God of course. Remember, the Bible just doesn’t stay on your coffee table. If you’re following His way, it goes where you go because the living Word dwells in you. The Living and breathing Bible, Jesus Christ the Word made flesh!