Healing Rain
Pros: It’s quite different from Michael W. Smith’s other albums with a slightly different sound
Cons: It’s not quite as ‘vertical worship’ as some of Michael W. Smith’s albums.
A Little About the Album: Healing Rain comes (more…)
The Twelve were with [Jesus], and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had come out… These women served him out of their own means. Luke 8:1-3
Last time we saw that purity of heart has to do with walking in the enabling power God gives us. God supplies whatever He requires of us. Magdalene found that to be true. When we see her washing Jesus’ feet with her tears, Jesus saw them as tears of repentance (7:47).
You see, we repent when we see things from the Father’s perspective. That’s true repentance in a nutshell. Repentance enables us to embrace the truth and that truth changes us. Anything else isn’t repentance.
The truth is, Jesus is real, sinning harms us and those around us, and God has provided us with an escape (1 Cor 10:13). Magdalene saw Jesus from the Father’s perspective. That’s all it took. She behaved in accordance with that truth. (more…)
Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8
When Jesus told the woman caught in sin in John 8, “Go and stop sinning,” it was more than a clever way to end an awkward conversation. He meant it. God always supplies what He demands, particularly in the area of temptation (1 Cor 10:13).
We see in our verse for today, that the pure in heart are the ones who “see God”. Put another way, God reveals Himself to Christians who hearts are pure… and He is in the business of making our hearts pure. That is the Gospel in a nutshell.
Magdalene was the first one that Jesus revealed Himself to after His resurrection. I think it’s right to say that she had already been made pure in heart.
But this raises a more deep-seated question: Do we really even want to see God? The Israelites at Mt Sinai didn’t. They sent Moses to do their bidding, instead. Shepherd-boy turned king, David certainly did want to see God and even wrote about seeing Him (Ps 27:4). One glimpse of Jesus certainly turned the Apostle Paul’s life around. And the Apostle John…what more can be said? (more…)
But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been. John 20:11,12
A couple of angels. Maybe they were sent to comfort her? How do you comfort grief-stricken people? You point them to Jesus.
And when she turned around, she saw Jesus standing there, and He spoke to her. “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Supposing He was the gardener, Mary pleaded with Him to tell her what had happened to her Lord. “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away.” (vv.13-15)
Once again it was loud and clear: Magdalene just wanted to be where He was.
Then it happened. Jesus spoke to her: “Mary.” (v.16) (more…)
So the disciples went away to their own homes, 11but Mary stood outside the tomb crying… Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Teacher.” Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:10-18
Sometimes the best way to understand something is to compare it to something just like it only different. Like comparing the anointing of Jesus by Magdalene to the anointing of Jesus by Mary of Bethany. Other times we can learn more from contrasting behaviors. John, Peter, and Magdalene are all at the tomb of Jesus on Sunday morning. Jesus showed Himself to Magdalene, but not John and Peter. Doesn’t that seem a little peculiar? All three were there…
To be honest, it is a mystery to me. But the more I’ve thought about this the more convinced I am that today’s verses give us a significant clue into the mystery…not only a clue to why Jesus appeared to Magdalene first, but a clue to what it was about her worship that made it “in Spirit and Truth” kind of worship— (more…)
There is NO CONDEMNATION now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me free Romans 8:1,2
But the time is coming and is already here, when BY THE POWER OF GOD’S SPIRIT people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants. God is Spirit, and only by the power of his Spirit can people worship him as he really is.” John 4:23,24
If this woman who stood accused before Jesus was truly Magdalene, as church tradition tells us, I wonder if she was delivered from 7 demons before or after being dragged into the temple to be used by the spiritual leaders in their ploy to trap Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us chronologically when the deliverance happened.
What if she’d already been delivered? How embarrassing. To be delivered, only to fall into sin again, and then face Jesus. Think about it. Wouldn’t it have served the religious leadership’s schemes all the better if they were bringing before Jesus a woman He had previously delivered? It sounds just like the accuser of our souls, doesn’t it? (more…)
Is there no one left to accuse you?” “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin any more.” John 8:10,11
Last time we were looking at the woman caught in sin who Jesus spoke our verses of today to. Tradition tells us it was Magdalene. We saw how Jesus dealt with her accusers. But what about how Jesus dealt with her?
Obviously, there was no one in the story who cared about this woman except Jesus. She didn’t care about herself or she wouldn’t have been sinning in the first place. The Pharisees didn’t care about her; she was a means to an end of putting this up-start preacher in His place. The crowd would have been more excited had Jesus said, “Let the one who is the MOST SPIRITUAL among you cast the first stone.” They were there for the show. (more…)
A few weeks ago, one of our band members, Anne Whiting, released her first devotional book on Amazon.com! Titled “3:16: Discovering God’s Love in the Chapter 3, Verse 16s of the Bible
“I’ve been interested in the 3:16s for some time,” Anne explains. “When I was in high school, I was required to create a tract as an English assignment. For some reason, I chose Revelation 3:16 – about being hot or cold, but not lukewarm. I thought it was funny that it was a 3:16, since John 3:16 is so famous. So I thought I’d go through and see if there were any other “3:16s” that were famous or interesting.” And famous and interesting they are – Anne was surprised how many were oft-quoted verses, and how many others not only were keys to our faith, but also showed God’s love.
“That’s really the focus of the book – God’s love displayed for all to see”, says Anne.
Her favorite of the verses? “Well, they’re all good – but possibly my favorite is Malachi 3:16: “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name.” [NIV] It’s such an incredible moment in the Old Covenant when God listened to a minority who’s hearts sought Him. He was about the heart even back then. If He listened and heard in the Old Covenant, when peoples’ hearts were right, how much more now, under the New Covenant?”
The book is available as a physical book
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“Is there no one left to accuse you?” Jesus asked. “No one, Lord,” she answered. “Well, then,” Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, but do not sin any more.” John 12:11
It was probably a sunny day in Jerusalem. Blue skies arched over the holy land that morning. The temple was filled with people coming to offer sacrifices. Children ran through the crowds as their parents waited in line, absorbing the process, the teaching, and the ceremony as they played.
A nice day. A beautiful day to come and listen to Jesus teaching. As usual, He had a crowd around Him. Some were curiosity seekers; others disciples. Still others came for the entertainment value. It was a delightful day and they had a large-ish crowd. The disciples must have been happy about that. Numbers were important to them.
There was a vaguely discernible clamor in the distance that somehow seemed at odds with the crisp, clear morning. As Jesus taught, the clamor got louder until suddenly it came right into the temple. The children stopped their play and turned to look. The adults waiting in line with their sacrifices turned to see what the commotion was about. (more…)