Jesus Came for the Sinners
Greetings in the Lord!
Today's prophetic word comes from Luke 7, the story about the sinful woman anointing Jesus' feet.
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."
Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little, loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven." The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sin?"
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Wow--I love that story, and relate to it well. Jesus has saved me many times in my life, but it was on the first time that I made this vow: "I give you my life, save me!" It was a vow I meant and have kept ever since. If Jesus would save my life from most certain death at that time, I would serve him forever. Period. It was after he saved me that Jesus began to show me the depth and seriousness of my sins that had put me in such dire straits to begin with. Honestly, I made and kept my vow just because I was so happy to be alive and free again. Only recently have I come to understand the depth of what Jesus had saved me from--hell and its demons. While we do get glimpses on earth of its hideousness, it is hard to comprehend both heaven and hell--its just not the realm we live in. It may be even harder to discern that our life's choices do have eternal significance. Almost daily I meet people who are willingly choosing to practice witchcraft or secularism, others indulge in adultery or sexual sin, and still more commit their hearts to hate and violence in some form or another, but few perceive the evil spirits that are around them that they are in agreement with. These people are oppressed in many ways, yet because they've not experienced the love and freedom that is found in Jesus, they continue in their own ways and suffer more and more. But as this story shows, Jesus loves to forgive the truly repentant! Our tears anoint his feet; his compassion is stoked by a broken and contrite heart. And His blood that cleanses us from sin is much more valuable when brokenness from sin abounds. That leads me to today's encouraging prophetic word.
I discern we are entering a time when some of those captives to sin, even those who have sold their souls to the devil for fame, money, and power, will be like the woman in this story. Realizing their brokenness and error from their sinful choices--even finding themselves face to face with death, some will run to Jesus begging for mercy and He will be glad to receive them! The Lord's arm is not too short to pull them from the mire they find themselves in--and don't be surprised if this happens in the most unlikeliest of places: Hollywood, Bollywood, political leaders in Europe and Russia, even the Philippines. I discern there will be public testimonies in these places (and others, I'm sure) from well-known people of them "getting right with God." While we may never know the fullness of the angst that brought them to their knees, we can praise God for the season of setting these captives free. True repentance is the key that unlocks the chains and draws the heart of Jesus close.
In another place Jesus asks the crowd, "What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" Yet our natural world is full of the temptation to do just that; we glamorize and idolize everything in this world but do not choose or exalt the One who gives eternal life. We put our trust, hope and energy in temporal, lifeless things--like a chasing after the wind. Even what we eat or abstain, wash or not, or any other man-made ritual or self-righteous act does not have the power to save--those are empty works of the flesh. Jesus simply says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life." Salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ; so call on the One who delights to save.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
Today's prophetic word comes from Luke 7, the story about the sinful woman anointing Jesus' feet.
When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner."
Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said.
"Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little, loves little."
Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins have been forgiven." The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sin?"
Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
Wow--I love that story, and relate to it well. Jesus has saved me many times in my life, but it was on the first time that I made this vow: "I give you my life, save me!" It was a vow I meant and have kept ever since. If Jesus would save my life from most certain death at that time, I would serve him forever. Period. It was after he saved me that Jesus began to show me the depth and seriousness of my sins that had put me in such dire straits to begin with. Honestly, I made and kept my vow just because I was so happy to be alive and free again. Only recently have I come to understand the depth of what Jesus had saved me from--hell and its demons. While we do get glimpses on earth of its hideousness, it is hard to comprehend both heaven and hell--its just not the realm we live in. It may be even harder to discern that our life's choices do have eternal significance. Almost daily I meet people who are willingly choosing to practice witchcraft or secularism, others indulge in adultery or sexual sin, and still more commit their hearts to hate and violence in some form or another, but few perceive the evil spirits that are around them that they are in agreement with. These people are oppressed in many ways, yet because they've not experienced the love and freedom that is found in Jesus, they continue in their own ways and suffer more and more. But as this story shows, Jesus loves to forgive the truly repentant! Our tears anoint his feet; his compassion is stoked by a broken and contrite heart. And His blood that cleanses us from sin is much more valuable when brokenness from sin abounds. That leads me to today's encouraging prophetic word.
I discern we are entering a time when some of those captives to sin, even those who have sold their souls to the devil for fame, money, and power, will be like the woman in this story. Realizing their brokenness and error from their sinful choices--even finding themselves face to face with death, some will run to Jesus begging for mercy and He will be glad to receive them! The Lord's arm is not too short to pull them from the mire they find themselves in--and don't be surprised if this happens in the most unlikeliest of places: Hollywood, Bollywood, political leaders in Europe and Russia, even the Philippines. I discern there will be public testimonies in these places (and others, I'm sure) from well-known people of them "getting right with God." While we may never know the fullness of the angst that brought them to their knees, we can praise God for the season of setting these captives free. True repentance is the key that unlocks the chains and draws the heart of Jesus close.
In another place Jesus asks the crowd, "What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?" Yet our natural world is full of the temptation to do just that; we glamorize and idolize everything in this world but do not choose or exalt the One who gives eternal life. We put our trust, hope and energy in temporal, lifeless things--like a chasing after the wind. Even what we eat or abstain, wash or not, or any other man-made ritual or self-righteous act does not have the power to save--those are empty works of the flesh. Jesus simply says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life." Salvation comes only through belief in Jesus Christ; so call on the One who delights to save.
~Be blessed and be a blessing.
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