Acts 17

Acts 16

Acts 15

Acts 14

Acts 13

Acts 12

Acts 11

Acts 10

Acts 9

Acts 8

Acts 7

Acts 6

Acts 5

Acts 4 - Flow Spirit Flow

Peter and John were in trouble with the religious leaders of the time because of the healing of the beggar. The leaders thought when they killed Jesus that this “uprising” would stop, boy were they wrong. Now the leaders saw Peter and John as a threat and wanted to stop it, so they jailed them and put them on trial, but what the leaders failed to understand is that Peter and John were doing the will of God and God would provide and never forsake them. Here’s what happened.

⁸Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, ¹⁰then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹He is
" 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone.¹²Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Praise God! God used the Holy Spirit to give Peter the words to say to reach the people. You see, God is always with us, He has given the Holy Spirit as a living guide, comfort and strength to encourage and lead us. Stand on the side of God and you will be provided for, in all situations. So you can’t speak, you don’t have courage, you don’t feel you can do it, the Holy Spirit can through you! Just as was done through Peter, where many were saved and Peter and John were let go, all because he allowed the Spirit to move through him, instead of letting human fears and desires reign. Praise the Lord!

Acts 3 - Choose Wisely

¹One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. ²Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. ³When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. ⁴Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" ⁵So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

⁶Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." ⁷Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. ⁸He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. ⁹When all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

People were shocked at this healed beggar and even more shocked that Peter was able to heal him, but look closely. Peter did not heal the beggar, Jesus did. Peter invoked the power of Jesus to heal the beggar. Peter was a vessel for the glory of God to shine through.

We are the same. We are all children of God, given the choice to accept His Son Jesus, to choose to have the Holy Spirit move through us. There is no difference between Peter and us, for it was Jesus who healed, and Jesus is the same now as He was then. It is up to us to allow Him to move through us, or seek our own desires and ways. The choice is yours, which way do you choose?

Acts 2 - The Holy Spirit

Acts 2 discusses the day of Pentecost and the receiving of the Holy Spirit. Everyone who was present and willing to receive did so and it changed their lives dramatically to the good. These were the loyal followers of Jesus Christ and the ones who obeyed His command to wait and receive. Others were bewildered and amazed at the Holy Spirit and the power within. The verse that stood out to me was, “ ³⁸Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

The Holy Spirit is not just for those who were there that day, it is for everyone who accepts Jesus in their lives, anyone whom the Lord our God calls, you and me included. The God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the same today as they were back then and we have access to them all. Praise God, thank you Jesus, for loving us so much. If you haven’t accepted Jesus, do so now before it’s too late. Accept Him into your life and allow the Holy Spirit to change you, guide you, direct you to a life of splendor provided by the Lord our God, the One who loves you like no other. Do so today!

Acts 1 - Sometimes we wait

“ ¹In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach ²until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. ³After his suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. ⁴On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

Here Jesus is speaking with everyone for the last time before He ascends into Heaven. To all present this must have seemed somewhat of an end, maybe thinking “Jesus is returning to the Father, it was all up to us now”. One’s first inclination is to go, to leave, to return to “normal” life (work, home, etc.) OR go out into the world and spread the awesome news of Jesus Christ. Either way, one might be thinking, it’s time to go do something. But Jesus told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait. Wait for the gift from God, the Holy Spirit, which would serve as a guide, comforter, source of strength, and so much more. Human understanding called for going, but Jesus said wait, for there is something great coming that you don’t want to miss.

Many times in our lives we face the same thing. We confuse activity with productivity. We want to move forward, to do something for the glory of God, but sometimes that “something” is waiting on Him and His timing. So, instead of rushing forward for the sake of doing something, we should speak with God and determine our next move. It might be to rush forward, but it might also be to wait until He prepares us for what is to come. In all things, trust and follow the Lord, then there will be no doubt as to what should be done. Blessings.

John 21 - Shame has no hold

¹⁵When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

¹⁶Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

¹⁷ The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. ¹⁸ I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." ¹⁹Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"

Jesus asked Simon Peter three times if he loved Him, not because Jesus was trying to embarrass Peter, but because Jesus was giving him three times to proclaim his love for Him. This was to overcome the three times that Peter denied Jesus, so now Peter was able to proclaim his love for Jesus three times. Isn’t Jesus good? He knew Peter was hurt and ashamed for denying Him and He gave Peter a chance to redeem himself. What an awesome testament to the goodness of Jesus and His love for us.

Maybe you have denied Jesus too, maybe you have regret and shame then, like Peter, you have a chance to redeem yourself. Spend some time right now proclaiming your love for Jesus, as for forgiveness for your denial of Him, and He will forgive you, reinstate you, and allow you to move on for His glory, no longer to be paralyzed by shame and regret.

John 20 - Believing is Seeing

²⁴Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

²⁶A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

²⁸Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

Now we may be quick to judge Thomas for not believing, however, we do the same thing. We hear of God’s glory, receive His blessings on us every day, and unfortunately sometimes explain them off as “luck” or “good fortune”, not giving God glory for what He has done. Don’t let that continue, make sure to give God the glory for all that He is doing for you, there is no luck, there is GOD!

There will be times when you question, times when you feel so broken and beaten that you wonder if God is listening or if He cares, but don’t let it discourage you or sway you from the truth, God loves you more than anyone else ever could and He works with you daily, if you allow Him, to receive the great blessings He has planned for you, but you have to make the first step. So just because you can’t see God working in your life, doesn’t mean He’s not there.

Remember what Jesus said to Thomas: ²⁹Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

I can tell you from experience, believing is seeing, for God is good all the time and all the time God is good. I am truly blessed, not because I deserve it, but because God loves me, and He loves you the same. Spend some time with your Heavenly Father today, believe and trust in Him, forge a relationship with Him, for He wants to be a part of your life. You will be eternally glad that you did, and so will He.

John 19 - God's Will Be Done - Jesus Christ is King

God’s plan always comes to fruition. In this chapter Jesus is crucified, bleeds and dies on the cross for our sins. Thank you Jesus for dying for my sins and thank you God for raising Him from the dead, to conquer the grave. Though it seemed like a defeat to many who were there, it was an enormous victory, for it had to be done to fulfill prophecy and complete God’s plan.

There is a set of verses in this chapter that spoke to me as well. ¹⁹Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." ²²Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

This is another example, on I have read but really missed until now, of God’s will. Pilate, all through the process of Jesus’ capture and crucifixion proclaimed that he felt Jesus was innocent, yet he gave in to the crowd and crucified Jesus, to fulfill the prophecy. However, Pilot, knowingly or not, had Jesus proclaimed as King of the Jews, by placing the sign in multiple languages for all to see. When questioned, he answered “what I have written, I have written”, essentially standing up to the crowd and saying, there it is, like it or lump it, He (Jesus) is King of the Jews. I believe it was God’s way of proclaiming Jesus as King and allowing Pilate a way of professing Jesus’ innocence, but still fulfilling what had to be done.

We face similar things in our lives, we have a choice, like Pilate, to say “What I have written, I have written”, to stand up for Jesus Christ, in the face of many, and proclaim Him King. Amen?!

John 18 - Religion

“28Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover.” Though there were many powerful verses in this passage, this verse kept coming back to me. The Jews wanted Jesus dead, wanted to kill an innocent person, YET they would not enter the palace so they could avoid UNCLEANNESS?! How absurd!

They were more interested in their religious rituals than in doing the right thing by God. Its as if it didn’t matter how they behaved, as long as they kept to the religious rituals, they were clean; it’s heartbreaking. Now, one could argue that they didn’t know (or didn’t want to know is more like it) that Jesus was the Messiah, in that case, He still did nothing wrong, Pilate (who judged Jesus) even said so. It is a shame that hate, fear, envy, loathing, lust for power, etc. can corrupt one to torture and kill someone AND still think “all is well if I follow the proper religious rituals, I am still clean”. To think, “we can kill this guy and all is OK, but stay away from the palace or you are unclean”, now that’s missing the point in a BIG WAY.

BUT, before we are quick to judge, we do similar things. We can pray, read the Bible, go to church, worship, etc. all because we feel we should, because it’s the “right” thing to do, do it all without feeling a thing; essentially, doing it because we feel we “have to” not necessarily because we want to. Is this any different than what the Jews did? If we are simply “going through the motions” without letting the Word change us and the Holy Spirit control our lives through a closer relationship with Jesus, then we are simply going through “religious rituals” hoping all is well. There will be a “wake up” call, and it might be too late. If this is you, I encourage you to pray right now, give it over to God and ask Him to change you from “going through the motions” to experiencing Him in a big way.

John 17 - Prayer

“1After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

Throughout this chapter, Jesus prays for Himself, the disciples, and all believers everywhere and through that, in my opinion, He gives us an example for prayer. First, He prayed for Himself. Many times, I feel selfish praying for me, but that doesn’t come from God. I need prayers just as everyone else does, I can’t make it through the day without God, yet sometimes I have a stigma about prayer for myself. I am happy to say that that no longer applies, praise the Lord! If Jesus, the Son of God, the world’s only Perfect Person, prays to God for Himself, then I can too.

Next, lets look at that prayer. Jesus prayed that He would be glorified, not for Himself, but to further glorify the Father (1). He presented the task that He was given by God (2,3), and told God that the task was finished (4), and that He was ready to move forward to the next step in God’s plan (5). All through the Bible and these verses too, Jesus constantly displays that He is there to trust and follow God, no matter where it may lead, that His sole purpose is to glorify our Heavenly Father by completing the task given to Him. This should be our prayer and focus too.

Finally, Jesus then prays for His disciples, His “inner circle” and then for all the other believers (which I feel includes us too). It was not only the prayers (which were powerful and should be read by all), but the progression that struck a chord with me: Himself, His closest friends, the rest of the believers. This shows me how to move in my prayers. If I do not pray for myself to stay on track with God, then I’m in no position to help my friends and family; therefore, I MUST be in alignment with God’s will to bring Him glory by completing the task given to me. Then, I can be of support to my family and friends, which are empowered to support the rest of the world. Essentially, if everyone aligns themselves with God, then we are more empowered as small groups to follow Him, then as small groups we align ourselves, we are more empowered to reach the world. If we do it in any other order, we can damage the whole plan, so we must start with ourselves FIRST, core group NEXT, then to the world.

John 16 - Jesus Gives Hope

Jesus said, “33"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Jesus was speaking of the Holy Spirit in this chapter, what an awesome message! In fact, I had to stop many times during this reading to make notes on what I was to write; however, it was this last verse that kept overpowering them all, I could not get away from it.

Jesus explained what was to come to His disciples, not to worry or excite them, but to bring them peace. He knew of His coming torture and death, that He would be leaving the disciples in body, but that it had to be done so He (Jesus) could pay the price for our sins, conquer death and the grave, and overcome the world! Hallelujah! Praise God! As Jesus said, we will have trouble in this world, but thank God, this world is only temporary. Jesus has overcome the world because of His love for us, through Jesus Christ we have HOPE! We are not of this world, but are of God, we don’t remain in this world forever, but with our Heavenly Father, all made possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God. If you don’t know Jesus, accept Him now! Receive the gift of eternal life and SO MUCH MORE. If you do know Jesus, but have strayed from Him, get back with Him now. He is waiting and longing to hear from you, for He loves you like no one else could.

John 15 - Bear Good Fruit

Jesus said, “5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

There it is, in simple black and white, the reason and meaning of our lives, we are made to bear much fruit. That is, to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to make disciples of all nations, to tell the world the Truth of Jesus, and to bear fruit by saving souls. Notice that Jesus said we cannot do this without remaining in Him, without Him we are useless and can accomplish nothing, we will wither and die, fruitless and burned. However, by following Jesus, remaining in Him, we are blessed with the favor to ask in His name and God will honor! Hallelujah! We will have all we need to be fruitful, we don’t have to go it alone or be ill equipped. God will provide for us to show His glory by bearing much fruit in the world and showing ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ the Son.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your greatness and mercy, thank You for giving Your Son Jesus to us to die for our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. Thank You for blessing us, in Jesus name, with what we ask, all for Your glory. Please be with us, guide and direct us to bear good fruit for Your glory and kingdom. All praises and thanks be unto You, oh Lord. Amen.

John 14 - God is with Us

Jesus said, 15"If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

Wow, isn’t God great? What love and sacrifice Jesus has given us! As Jesus says in these verses, the rest of the world is at a loss. They can’t (or wont) accept the Holy Spirit because they don’t see or know him. They ask us for “proof”, because they cannot see, touch or know the Spirit. However, for those who DO KNOW Jesus, feel the Holy Spirit within them, talk, walk and follow the guidance of God through the Holy Spirit, there is NO DOUBT, Jesus LIVES within us. Hallelujah, praise God. We are not alone. We don’t have to face the world unprepared or unequipped. We are not left orphaned for Jesus is with us! As Pastor Rusty would say, “that’s shouting ground”! So take heart, you are not alone, I know that better than most. For the time that I have been away from my family, my church family, surrounded by non-Christian “strangers”, in an environment that is unfamiliar, yet I took heart for God is with me! I feel His presence, I hear His guidance, I feel the prayers of His people, and I stand tall and firm, complete in my faith that God has not forsaken me, quite the contrary, He is there to guide my every step, if I will just listen and obey. Amen!

John 13 - Love One Another - That Means Everyone

Jesus said, 34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

This is exactly how we can show Jesus to the world AND how others in the world can recognize us as followers of Jesus Christ, by loving one another! Jesus didn’t say, love those you like or love those who are like you, He said “Love one another. As I have loved you, so you MUST love one another.” It is not a request, not a suggestion, we MUST love one another as Jesus loves us. That means if you are harboring ill feelings toward someone, place it at Jesus’ feet and let it go, then love them. If someone does you wrong, love them. Its easy to love those we like, even the lost do that, but it is something beyond human understanding to love those with whom we have difficulty or whom we dislike greatly; however, by doing so, we glorify the Lord. For they know we can not love them by our own accord, so it must be some otherworldly presence allowing us to do so, which is us following the example of Jesus Christ and showing His love to a lost and dying world. I didn’t say it would be easy, I struggle with it greatly, BUT it will be worth it to share Jesus’ love with the world AND to follow His command, “Love one another.” Amen?

John 12 - Belief is not Enough - Action is Required!

“42Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.”

There were even believers in the leaders of the church, but they let their humanly desires outweigh their love of the Lord. Because they coveted the preferential treatment they received as leaders in the synagogue AND they were afraid of losing their status in the church (out of fear of the Pharisees), they CHOSE not to follow Jesus. Before we are too harsh in our judgment of the leaders, are we doing the same?

Why do we do the things we do for the church. Are we doing them out of service to the Lord OR are we doing them to receive praise ourselves? Yes, it is good to hear “job well done” both from the Lord and from other humans; however, if we are doing “good deeds” ONLY for the praise of others and NOT for the glory of the Lord, then we are no different than the synagogue leaders in the story above. Amen?

Also, on the flip side, if we DO NOTHING out of fear of what other church folks with think, ignoring the calling of the Holy Spirit, then we are also no different than the synagogue leaders, for they let fear of personal loss (and humiliation) keep them from doing the right thing by following Jesus. They believed, but did nothing. Lord help me not to make that same mistake. Amen?

John 11 - Trust In God

“1Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
4When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." 5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.

Man what a tough but totally God-trusting decision. Jesus loved Lazarus, so much so that later in the chapter the Bible said that Jesus wept for Lazarus. Also, Jesus knew that if He went to Lazarus immediately, He could heal him and keep Lazarus from dying. However, Jesus also knew that, if He did that, it would take away from God’s glory. You see, Jesus had already healed so many, Lazarus would just be “another number”, but raising him from the dead would be an awesome testament to the power and glory of God! Therefore, even though Jesus loved Lazarus and didn’t want him or his loved ones to suffer, Jesus had to wait two more days for Lazarus to die, so he may be raised from the dead, showing the glory of God. I’m sure it was emotionally tough, but Jesus was determined that God the Father’s will be done.

We face similar situations in our own lives, where we feel as we’re being led by the Holy Spirit to “wait” or “not help” in a situation where our human instinct is screaming at us to “go” or “get involved”. We must follow Jesus’ example and fully place our trust in God. If He is telling us to “wait” then He has better things in store for His ultimate plan. To disobey and follow our “human instinct” would be far more detrimental, so we must fight the urge, obey the Spirit, and trust in God alone; for His plan is infinitely better than what we could come up with, amen?!

John 10 - Willingly Given

Jesus said, “17The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

Praise Jesus, what an awesome gift. Jesus did not inadvertently die, He CHOSE to die for our sins, He WILLINGLY sacrificed Himself for all of us. That is worth rejoicing! He knew the pain, heartache, suffering, torture that He would endure, yet still WILLINGLY chose to die for our sins, that we may be forgiven and saved. Hallelujah! Believe and be saved today, don’t throw such a precious gift away!

John 9 - Why?

“ 1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.”

This man was blind from birth and everyone thought either he or his parents sinned to cause such an affliction, even Jesus’ disciples asked. But Jesus said “neither”, the affliction gave an opportunity for Jesus to show the glory of God. WOW.

The first part reminds me of how we can look at bad things in our life. We can question what we did to deserve it, how we could have done things differently to change the bad things, or if God is even listening at all. However, instead of focusing on the bad thing and/or its source, we should be focusing on how it can glorify God, for it may be part of His glorious plan, which is beyond our understanding. This is why we should glorify and praise God in ALL situations, not just the good times, for all things work in His plan and His understanding. Many, many times in my life things did not go as I planned and would be deemed a failure by man but, glory to God, they were EXACTLY as HE planned and they worked out even better than could be imagined. So, don’t fuss at the failures or bad things in your life, instead focus on the good that can come from it and glorify God in the process, for He will never forsake you. Amen?

John 8 - Check Yourself before You Wreck Yourself

“ 1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
11"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Wow, what a very moving story. Aren’t we all a little like the crowd, quick to judge and point out other’s faults and sins, but (conveniently) forgetful of our own sins. That is exactly what happened here. The crowd, in their eagerness to trap Jesus, brought a woman who had sinned. They were ready to put her to death by stoning her, but Jesus quickly diffused the situation, not by judging the people, but by having them judge THEMSELVES. One pointed reminder to check within before judging others and the WHOLE CROWD left.

Let this be a lesson to us all. When we are quick to judge others and “look down our noses” at their actions, we must remember that ALL HAVE SINNED, which means us too. Instead of judging harshly (as the crowd was ready to do at first), we must also remember that we are sinners too. We must do our best to help the lost repent of their ways, as Jesus did for this woman, NOT judge and persecute them for it.

Jesus, thank you for your example and help me not to be quick to judge, but be very quick in showing You to the world. Help me remember that I too am a sinner and have been pardoned by You, and help me to share that with the lost, so they may be saved, instead of judging them. Amen.