“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto Him, ‘Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?’ This they said, tempting Him, that they might have to accuse Him, But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto them, ‘He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.’ And again He stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the ledest, even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman staning in the midst. When jesus had lifted up hiself, and saw none but hte soman, He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man Lord. And Jesus said unto her, neigher do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” John 8:1-11
Today’s Christian daily devotional
“I knew we shouldn’t have taken Halsted!” John huffs as he settles back into his seat and turns up the air conditioning. The car is at a complete stop now.
“What’s going on?” Larry, an old friend from John’s high school days, opens his window and cranes his neck as far as it can go. The heat from the street overwhelms me in the backseat.
I join Larry’s and peek my head out of the window. A rainbow of color and a parade of people in whimsical costumes march slowly past us. I sit back and relax. If one has to be stuck in traffic, this is the most entertaining way to do it.
“Ugh. Those people are just garbage.” Larry rolls up his window and shields his eyes with his newspaper.
His words cut through my heart like a jagged dagger. For years, many of my neighbors and ‘friends’ talked about me as if I were garbage. After hearing this for so long, I started to believe I wasn’t worthy of anything good at all. The lower my worth plummeted, the more desperate I became to recover it. Those ‘recovery’ attempts only ended up actually making me feel worse.
I search the crowd of smiling strangers and after Larry’s crude comment I am drawn to them even more; they are my long lost brothers and sisters. No different than any other human being in their need for love. So hungry for acceptance, they actually went through the trouble to make a parade for themselves. A tear hovered on the edge of my eye as I waved back from my car.
In John 8:1-7 Jesus Himself rebuked the proud Pharisees. He shamefully reminded them that the prostitutes were not the only ones who committed sins against God—we all do.
If we are too busy judging others, we are wasting precious time. We should be investing in the one responsibility God has given us to care for; the hearts of the ones who are still lost and searching for what we as believers have found—the true unconditional love of God through Christ.
“Dear Heavenly Father,
Once again, I bow my head in shame. Who am I to think I am better than any other flawed human being?
Pride can be so deceiving, especially spiritual and self-righteous pride. I stand against this spirit, as it will not become a part of who I am.
I can see that all sin is evil in your eye. In the eyes of a righteous God, we are all sinners.
Thank you Lord for sending Jesus to die and suffer for my personal sins and the sins of every human out there.
Lord, I ask that you make me uncomfortable with anything that is making you uncomfortable. I have a lot of my own personal sins to let go of, and I am not worthy of the position of judging another. Only a righteous judge is worthy of that. It is your job.
Forgive me for my attitude. Give me a heart that is so filled with humility that people will be drawn to me, just like they were drawn to Christ. In Jesus’ precious name, to bring many people into complete acceptance through Him, Amen.”
Thank you for reading today’s Christian daily devotional on verses: John 8:1-7
Please check back and see what we have for you tomorrow!
Author: Julia Shalom Jordan