Throwing Stones

If you were asked if you have ever sinned before, you would probably nod your head or reply with a hesitant "yes." You might even boldly go into exhorbitant detail, making others provide you a quizzical look. Well, if you lived in the Old Testament, you would not be as prepared to nod your head.
If you broke Sabbath and did not keep it holy, you were put to death (Exodus 31:14); if you curse your father or mother, you were put to death (Exodus 21:17). In John 8:2-11, the Pharisees brought forth a woman caught in the act of committing adultery. Armed with stones and eager to punish the woman, the Pharisees asked Jesus what should be done to the woman (the intention was to trap Jesus). The Pharisees added that the Law of Moses commanded such women to be stoned.
So, what do all of the accounts have in common? If you sin, you die. Under the Law of Moses and the Old Covanent laws found in the book of Exodus, it was made clear that there were major punishments for committing various sins, and the major punishment was death (Exodus 20-23). There was no hope if you were caught in sin because that is what the Old Covenant was about.

Now, if we go back to the story of the adulterous woman, we notice that Jesus' response connects to what the New Covenant does in contrast to the Old Covenant:

"Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her. (John 8:7)"

We are all seen as sinners, including the Pharisees, yet the difference between the Old and New Covenant is not the sinning, but the saving. Consider what made the New Covenant a necessary change to the laws:

 First:

Hebrews 8:6 makes it clear: "But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood (Old Covenant), for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises (NLT)" In other words, God has brought about a better covenant through Jesus Christ. 

Second:

Hebrews 8:7 gives us the reason a new agreement was formed: "If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. But when God found fault with the people, he said: 'The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.'" Keep in mind as to why God formed a new covanent through Jesus. Clearly, God found fault with the people. We could not live up to the temptations (consider Cain in Genesis 4), the evil, and the ability to remain faithful. To put it plainly, we could not uphold the old covenant because we were dirty sinners. We needed hope, and the New Covenant was that hope.

Third:

Hebrews 8:12 is the redemption scene: "And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins." It is through this statement that grace has been magnified through the remodeling of the Old Covenant. God, seeing that we messed up the Old Covenant, wanted to express his love and grace towards us by creating a new agreement that we could withstand.

Exit death and punishment.

Enter grace and love.

Before we throw the Old Covenant out because it is considered "obsolete" (Hebrews 13:8), we have to realize the intentions of Jesus. While Jesus did come to introduce a new Covenant, it does not mean we should erase the Old Covenant that was around for so long. Jesus came to fulfill the law, not abolish it (read Matthew 5:17) - as a puzzle piece finishes a puzzle. The law, incomplete through the disobedience of the people, is now made complete through Jesus.

Most importantly, the Old Covanent required that animal sacrifices were made every year to atone for one's sins. The beauty of the New Covanent is that Jesus is that sacrifice. Blood sacrifices are no longer necessary and all stones can permanently be put away because Jesus is considered the permanent savior of sins. Not only is He the symbol of saving grace, but He is also the introduction of a new promise of life through the grace of God.

Although it is the transgressions of the people that caused the New Covenant to surface, we can take joy in what this New Covenant is all about: Love and Grace. "You are put to death," was the phrase that came with the laws of the Old Covanent. "You are redeemed, forgiven, and covered by the blood of Jesus" is the phrase that comes with the New Covenant. The Law of Love and Grace is now the engine that runs the vehicle.

So, dear friends, let us live in this glorious era and realize the New Covenant is symbolic of the love and grace God bestows upon us everyday. We are no longer the image of sin, but the representation of forgiveness, love, and unfathomable grace.

The Love Connection

One day, long ago, God decided to create something around him. Not only were the birds of the fields, the water, the trees, and everything that has breath created, but God did something that connected us to him. Hebrews 2:7 says, "Yet you made them (us) only a little lower than the angels." God's connection with human flesh did not stop there. While we were made a little lower than angels, the connection had to be deeper. Enter Jesus, who did not just die a horrible, bloody death so we may live, but also so that we may have a connection with purpose, passion, and ultimately, the Father who governs over all creation. Hebrews 2:14 even clarifies that Jesus became flesh "because God's children are human beings - the Son also became flesh and blood."
Again in Hebrews 2 (verse 11), God sent his son so that "...Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same father." In other words, Jesus was "given a position 'a little lower than the angels'" like us so that Jesus could connect us to God. Furthermore, since "the Son did not come to help angels [but] he came to help the descendants of Abraham" (Hebrews 2:16), "therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us" (verse 17). Jesus came to help the humans of the world, and did so in human form so we may relate and connect to a much bigger purpose - that being God and his plan for every individual.
What is most shocking is how Hebrews 2 concludes. "Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested" (verse 18). Here, it shows that Jesus has gone through the biggest test, bigger than any test we can go through. Therefore, we can humbly go before God knowing that his Son was put through much worse. Now, because of Jesus and God's decision to place him "a little lower than the angels," a perfect leader for the sinners of the world, we can walk across the bridge and into the arms of the Father above. This beloved connection shows that God did not just want a world to stare at and watch closely, but he wanted a world He could give love to and receive love from. He desired to have a world that he could interact with, stay connected to, and extend unfathomable grace, mercy, and hope to. He so strongly desired a connection because he knew that was what we needed. We needed a bridge. We needed hope. So, Jesus came in human form (someone we can talk to and relate to) and went through human pain and suffering so that the connection could be made new again.
God, who is higher than the lowly sinners of the world, has found a bridge to us; that bridge is Jesus Christ, and he was sent as one of us in perfect form, yet died as if a sinner. Now, it is because of Jesus and his human form that "Jesus is not ashamed to call [us] his brothers and sisters." We, as disgusting sinners, can be connected to God because we are called brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, who is God's Son.
Do not forget that Jesus did not just come so we may live (as incredible as that is), but He came so that we may know God, and so that God can call us His own - "to bring many children into glory."

Being Faithful: Selfish-less

Being faithful to a calling is never easy. Most of the time, we do not want to be governed by another schedule, plan, or set of commands. Our dream vacation consists of what we want to do, when we want to do it; and, every hour of the day is organized by you, and you alone. Even when someone confronts you with the notion that their wish for you is the best option, you don't want to believe them, even if it is the truth. An independent life with no strings attached is exactly what we want. Our culture complains when we have to pay bills, listen to a job training seminar, attend classes on the weekend, and an endless list of other things. Worse yet, we think it is OK to complain; we think we are doing ourselves and those around us some kind of favor. When we moan, we want someone to agree with us in order to ultimately make us feel better. When someone agrees with us, it makes us want to complain more. And, the cycle begins.
What selfish people we are! We gravitate towards getting our way, and when we do not, we throw the tantrums like the ones we spent most of our time teaching children not to do. Our complaining is like a virus that convinces us that our lives are far more important than anyone else's. As Christians, this selfish behavior should alarm us. We should immediately wake up from this deceitful attitude and start walking on the path we are called to engage - and do it with a positive attitude.
If the Lord has called me to follow through on a command, He most likely will not tolerate a negative attitude. However, we still gravitate towards our desires and our own goals. On the outside, we smile and nod, knowing that God will be pleased with us when we cheerfully follow his commands. On the inside, we groan, moan, whine, complain, mumble, daudle, and shake our heads. We may even cut as deep as cussing, refusing, and labelling God as a failure to bring us happiness. As a result, we crush the relationship with God we built. Like a cheating wife, we threaten God and express our desire to walk away from the marriage.
Proverbs is a beautiful book because it talks all about wisdom. Chapter 3, verse 3 says, "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." No matter what, be faithful in what you do. Being faithful means sticking to the cause, no matter what the condition. It means focusing on what you were called to do, and doing it with love and devotion to the Lord. It does not matter how we feel or what we want. In the end, we need to be faithful without expecting anything in return - with 100% of our effort. Furthermore, faithfulness means loyally committing to His Ways and doing "everything without grumbling" (Phillipians 2:14).
Moses is a good example of someone who had a difficult time accepting God's purpose for him.  "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt" (Exodus 3:11), Moses quizzically asked. Even after God reassured Moses, saying, "I will be with you", Moses still had questions of doubt. In the same way, what God has called us to, He will bring us through. God is with us and will pull us through what we are called to do. As chosen ones, God will ensure that as long as we are faithful, we will not fail.
So, since God will bring us through what He called us to, let us have an attitude that spreads the Gospel; "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth" (Psalm 57:11). Remove the grumbling, the complaining, and the selfishness, and instead replace it with praise and devotion. Most importantly, be faithful and "serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people" (Ephesians 6:7).

Making Monotonous Marvelous

Ever have those days where you wake up and realize there is nothing in front of you but free time? And, when you have that free time, the only person around to share that free day with is you? Well, sometimes those days feel so monotonous and boring. In fact, it is obvious these days exist because many are so quick to voice their opinion on how they feel about days like these.

But, who could possibly disagree when your day is filled with nothing but you and your thoughts? Life certainly does not feel exciting or adventurous when your doing the smallest tasks that seem to make no difference to the world around you. Consequently, a quiet and lonely day to yourself seems grey, dull, and lacking excitement. In some cases, we want to become busy just to remove ourselves from the routine of boredom. We want to make everyday exciting, but some days are irresistibly mundane and stale. 
So, what's the remedy? What can we do?

We can change our attitude. After all, if we even have the slightest temptation to blame our day on anything, it should be our attitude. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (NIV) When we claim we are bored, it might be so, but do you think God's intention in making us was to entertain us? Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love, Forgotten God, and co-author of Erasing Hell, points out in Crazy Love that "The point of your life is to point to him. Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified."

Whatever you are doing - no exceptions - God wants it to be for him. Imagine your life as a tribute to God's goodness. He has given you the blessing of living in what he made, so owe him back your life. Make everyday extraordinary by placing God in the center of it; it's biblical! We need to do everything for the Lord. If our boss tells us to do something, you would do it with a joyful spirit - in the same way, "be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful" (Psalm 68:3, NIV). Do everything for the Lord, and rejoice while doing it.

It is your attitude and your choice; be a steward of the minutes you are given, and no matter how monotonous the day feels, make it monotonous for the Lord. Your entire life is his, and he deserves our best. Make monotonous marvelous, and see how God works through it. 

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