“And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, ‘Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.’” – John 8:7

When confronted with a hard choice between enforcing the Law or ignoring it, Jesus took a third path… the way of grace. Jesus didn’t deny her sin, ignore her sin, or excuse her sin. But He recognized that killing a woman for her sin would leave no opportunity for her to repent and live a transformed life. There’s no glory in that. God takes no pleasure in the death of a sinner. He is most glorified by transformed lives and that’s what grace makes possible – transformation.

Jesus challenged everyone present to slow down their blood lust and consider the past sins for which they’d been forgiven. Were they so different from this woman? All sin rebels against God. All sin deserves death. Jesus reminded them that God had been gracious toward them. Shouldn’t they be gracious toward this woman found in sin? Why was her sin so different from theirs?

After her accusers all walked away, Jesus was very direct with the woman. She was to go and sin no more. She was to live a life changed by unexpected grace. But changed it must be! Let us be slow to pick up the rock of condemnation and quick to point sinful people like ourselves toward holy lives transformed by grace. Let us share the Gospel as we actually live the Gospel. #FollowJesus

“Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;
she will honor you if you embrace her.”
– Proverbs 4:8

Wisdom. That’s the “her” in this proverb. If you place great value in developing and living by wisdom, you’ll be blessed. Treasure wisdom and you’ll be honored and exalted. Why? Because wisdom is unimaginably rare in our world that’s overflowing with information, misinformation, and disinformation. Because even those with access to wisdom seldom live by it. Therefore, those who are truly wise stand out. Draw admiration. Surprise people. Make a difference.

But what IS wisdom??? All true wisdom flows from God and genuine wisdom isn’t about clever sayings from fortune cookies. True wisdom is knowing how to skillfully live life in a fallen world governed by an all-good, all-wise, all-powerful God. It’s a pattern of life that applies God’s truths to the everyday situations we encounter throughout life. Wisdom is rooted in God’s Word and His nature but it should be applied to everything we do.

Wisdom addresses how we talk to other people. How we work. How we relax. How we manage money. How we manage time. How we respond to misfortune and evil. How we respond to blessing and goodness. How we raise children. How we devote ourselves to spouses and family. Wisdom isn’t about accumulating more and more knowledge. It’s about applying the knowledge we’ve received, particularly from God’s Word, to every moment of every day.

Do you treasure wisdom? Do you seek to embrace it? You really should because wisdom won’t disappoint you! #FollowJesus

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” – John 4:24

Do you worship God in spirit and truth? Think carefully about your answer, both when you worship the Lord privately on your own and when you gather with other believers to worship the Living God.

Are you actively, intentionally worshiping in the power of the Holy Spirit? Are you confessing any sin beforehand and refusing to quench the Holy Spirit’s work? Are you leaning into the words of worship (spoken, sung, read) in your spirit? Are you allowing your soul to be moved? Are you permitting yourself to respond to any conviction or prompting of the Spirit during and after the worship? Is your spirit fully focused on God during worship or is it wandering around, looking critically at your fellow worshippers? That’s what it means to worship in Spirit.

Are you truly worshiping with total integrity? That’s what it means to worship in truth. Worshipping in truth means really loving and responding to God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Not napping. Not planning your afternoon. Not reviewing your shopping list. Not being entertained by the worship team. Are you singing the songs with the energy of your body and the engagement of your mind? Are you making your offering with an awareness that you are offering your gift to the Lord of the Universe? Are you praying along with the prayers with thought and intentionality? Are you engaging your mind, heart, and soul with the words of the sermon, the reading of Scripture, the testimonies of the saints? That’s what it means to worship in truth. #FollowJesus

“Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:6

Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less. It isn’t a fear of people seeing and hearing you, it’s a fear of people elevating you too high in their minds. The Apostle Paul did more, saw more, and experienced more than any of us probably ever will. But he didn’t let it go to his head. He knew not to let those things make him the center of people’s attention. He was just a man saved from his vile sins (and his past attention-seeking pride) by the extraordinary grace of Jesus Christ. Humbled by that, Paul never sought to make things about him. He worked hard to point all eyes and ears toward Jesus Christ. Despite tasting heaven itself, Paul didn’t want people looking at his awesome experiences for inspiration.

Instead, Paul taught us how to live in the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit while keeping everyone’s eyes fixed on Jesus. He did this by consistently directing people to two things – his Christlike life and his Christ-centered words. Under the transformative power of the Spirit, Paul worked hard to live a life of humble, holy imitation of Jesus. He invited people to look at and imitate his example. Not because Paul was all that, but because through Christ, he’d become a fairly good imitation of Jesus. This is something for every Christian to aspire to – the humble, holy imitation of Jesus that invites others to imitate Him.

Likewise, Paul kept people’s ears on Jesus by only speaking the words of the Gospel, the words of Christ, and words about Him. Though trained in all sorts of rhetorical skills, Paul worked hard to keep his message simple and focused on Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. He didn’t want cult-like followers of Paul. He wanted mature disciples of Jesus. That’s why Paul refused to let it be about him, denying himself the opportunity to indulge his ego. Paul didn’t like to tell good stories about himself. He like to live and speak only of Jesus. There’s a lot to learn from that! #FollowJesus

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” – John 2:11

Much is made of the sweet beauty and grace of Jesus’ first miracle, in which He turned water into wine. It’s certainly a model of discretion. A symbol of favor toward weddings. An example of kindness as He protected the dignity of a family caught in an embarrassing situation. However, this verse reveals His most important reason for transforming water, the symbol of never-ending ritual purification under the Old Covenant, into wine, the symbol of grace poured out at the cross of the New Covenant. It was to “manifest his glory” so His first few disciples would truly believe in Him.

What does that mean and why would it move them to such lasting faith? It means that Jesus revealed a tiny glimpse of His eternal power and glory as the Son of God. Jesus didn’t just turn one drinkable liquid into another. He didn’t just add flavor. He turned the simple mix of hydrogen and oxygen atoms into the complex stew of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and other elements that is wine. He added and completely rearranged atoms and molecules to make something altogether different. He used the power of Creation in a quiet, controlled, manner that only a handful of people could see.

Why? So that, unlike the ever-fickle crowds, those first few witnesses would follow Jesus everywhere. They’d seen the power of God close up and it kept them bound to Jesus. Through good times and bad. To the other side of the cross and the resurrection. To the other side of the world as they made disciples. To the other side of their own suffering for His name. It was His glory and it is enough. For them and for us. #FollowJesus