Casting the first stone ?

[Boaz]

John 8;1-11

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Do we cast stones ? I have . What about you ?

Should we not lend from our experience and not condemn ? Did Jesus Condemn ?

Jesus Christ , temped by Satan , GOD with us showed perfect grace here on earth with this simple act of love . He tried so hard , he came in the flesh , of lowly beginnings , he taught , he suffered and he died to help us . So much love .

[Boaz]

The love of Christ can not be held in your hand . His love can not be understood , his love is indefinable . We with limited ability will not in this life will truly understand .
Search him out , he is waiting , he is near .

[GhostHawk]

I try not to, but I fail. Hopefully not as often, nor am I as quick to do so.

But I think most of us fail at this.

It is a big chunk to wrap your head around.

Learning to accept that everyone fails, everyone makes mistakes. And that it is not our place to judge or condemn. It can be rough at times. Especially if you have 40 years of bad habits to try to unlearn.

Father help me to see people as Jesus did. Help me to love first. To look deep and see the pain before I see what bothers me on the surface. Help me to remember that it is not my needs that are important but yours. Help me to remove the beam from my own eye before I even think of looking for the mote in someone else's eye.

Help me to be more like you Lord. Help me to live for others, that I might one day be able to join you.

To God be the Glory!

Amen

[Boaz]

It ain't hard when you give it to him and quit pondering , the pondering and rationalizing , rationality by failed thinking is a ...fail .

Let him lead . Just let him lead .

[Boaz]

Let go . Give it to him .

[USMC87]

Condemning others is easy, But looking at ourselves is the hard part. We fallen humans love to put blame on others and put ourselves on the throne, A life of prayer and asking God to guide our thoughts and to not think more of ourselves than we should. All we are is because of what Christ done.

[Blackwater]

The wonder in full forgiveness! What an inestimable blessing! And it's available to anyone who'll simply accept it, and be redeemed and repent. Even then, if they err again, or give in momentarily to some baser instinct, they STILL have the option to confess, and receive yet MORE forgiveness! Do we worship a wonderful God, or what?

[buckwheatpaul]

Getting down wind from yourself is a great teacher. As we age generally wisdom follows.....it is a shame that it takes so long to learn what is so simple but it is our pride that keeps us in that vulnerable position. Thanks Charlie for the lesson....Paul

[Ken in Iowa]

My pastor was here last week to talk about the message for my funeral which I hope is more than a few months away.


the theme is "where would I be without forgiveness."

[Ickisrulz]

I will make a comment that has nothing to do with the topic of this post.

John 8:1 begins with "But, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives." The "but" refers back to the last verse in Chapter 7 which reads, "Then they all went home."

Everyone went home for the night, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. This was either by himself or with his disciples. Some may read this thinking Jesus went to pray, but the Bible does not say this. The Bible tells us when Jesus went off by himself to pray. In this instance everyone went home for the night, but Jesus was not invited to anyone's home it would seem and spent the night without shelter. It has always been kind of sad to me.

[rl69]

Dadgum you Ichisrulz you keep adding to my reading tonight :)

[Boaz]

He is correct . Since Jesus prayed by himself many time it is/was assumed praying was the purpose . We like to think every detail written has divine significance . Many of the mentions of him doing or saying was just everyday routine of the custom and time ...he was a man .

I know he liked meat , meat was a luxury . He sent his disciples out to buy meat (usually while eating at someone's home), plus it would have just been a nice thing to do to show your appreciation to the host . Although it's been on my mind many times I have never researched to find out how many times he provided the main course while visiting (meat). Just a neighborly friendly thing to do .

[wv109323]

IIRC this story was not part of John's writing. It was by an unknown author and was such a powerful message it was placed in the Book of John.
Self examination with a humble spirit,puts a lot of things in their proper perspective.

[Boaz]

IIRC this story was not part of John's writing. It was by an unknown author and was such a powerful message it was placed in the Book of John.
Self examination with a humble spirit,puts a lot of things in their proper perspective.

More explanation may be necessary , could you explain ?

[Ickisrulz]

IIRC this story was not part of John's writing. It was by an unknown author and was such a powerful message it was placed in the Book of John.
Self examination with a humble spirit,puts a lot of things in their proper perspective.

This story is missing from many of the oldest Greek manuscripts leading scholars to conclude John was not the author or at least the story was not originally part of John's Gospel. Most modern translations have a footnote saying something to this effect.

The story is so in sync with the character of Jesus that translators always include it.

[Ickisrulz]

I know he liked meat , meat was a luxury .

If you are an Authorized Version (KJV) reader, "meat" means food in general not just animal flesh. It's not a luxury in this sense, it is essential.

[Blackwater]

You know Ick, that's a point I'd never heard before. Thanks! Makes much sense. It kind'a illustrates how we STILL take all that Christ gave us for granted, and walk off, and forget to take Him with us as we go. There are SO many parallels in the scriptures, and analogies, that don't reach out and grab us. Scholarly treatments like yours are very much appreciated. Wish you'd post more, but I have to assume you're very busy. But thanks for all the points you do post. I really appreciate them.