Some people think accusations are based on lies, and some are… but not always. The woman caught in adultery was quite literally caught in the very act of adultery (cheating on her husband). When the Lawyers came before the Just One to bring her to trial for her ACTUAL offense, His JUDGMENT was to show her mercy, but what he said to her concerning the Lawyers shows an insight into the nature of our adversary, the devil.
When they all left the scene of her JUDGMENT the Just Judge asked her, “Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” The accusation was HER ACTUAL OFFENSE, not a made-up charge. She ACTUALLY cheated on her husband and under the penalty of the LAW she was to be condemned to die.
Satan uses the ACTUAL offenses contained in the LAW (knowledge of good and evil) to accuse you. Sometimes it is not a made-up offense it is our actual offense that he will use. Then what happens is we become alienated from God in our minds because our crimes have been elevated to a point where we think that God’s love and mercy cannot not reach… or worse we try to justify ourselves instead of submitting ourselves to the One who justifies the ungodly. <<<—This is a bad place to be<<<—
A Fool For A Client
If we’re busy trying to justify ourselves, receiving mercy is hard. There is a saying that used to be popular that states, “A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” This is so true for us when we try to be our own representation. Because if we are being honest with ourselves we know that we are guilty.
“Now we know that what things soever the law says, it says to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Romans 3:19-20
This is what Jesus did to the Pharisees when they tried to condemn the woman who was caught cheating on her husband. He used the law to shut their mouths so that they would understand that they too were guilty before God by their own laws. And every one of them dropped their stones and walked away.
In their zeal for God, they condemned a woman. But their zeal was not according to the knowledge of God. Their zeal was according to the works of the law, which is what it means when it says, they were trying to establish their own righteousness. They were trying to justify themselves instead of submitting themselves to the mercy (or righteousness) of God.
Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes.
Romans 10:1-4
Submission Is The Key
Jesus said, “Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary delivers you to the judge, and the judge delivers you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.”
Matthew 5:25
When the accuser comes in trying to accuse you don’t get caught up trying to justify yourself and fighting on his terms. If he comes in like a flood accusing you about how terrible you are turn to him and agree, “Dang, devil, you’re right. I am a sinner above everyone else. Praise God that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Let’s go see what God has to say about this…” We all know how that court case turned out in the Old Testament when the devil WAS allowed to be in the courtroom of heaven (reference Zechariah 3) now he’s not even allowed in there (reference Luke 10:18).
We Have A Better Representative: His name is Jesus!
Look, we don’t fight the devil on his terms in his court! We submit to God. We submit to the righteousness of God. He decided to come here and save sinners. He decided that all who put their trust in the righteousness of His Son Jesus shall be saved. He made those judgments.
Let’s submit ourselves to the righteous judgments of our Father and realize our salvation does not depend on us. It is completely dependent on Him. No more justifying ourselves and trying to live by our righteousness. Let’s live by HIS. We aren’t here to fight the devil on his terms. We’re here to submit to God and live by His terms. And this is the terms that we have with Him whoever calls upon the name of the LORD shall be saved!
Love you guys!
Our FATHER loves us! He is a Just Judge and He delights in showing mercy, mercy triumphs over Judgment. When we enter into judgment with our accuser we are not coming in trying to defend our righteousness (testifying in court of our own innocence). We are coming in submitting to the righteous Judgment of our Savior!
One day as I was talking to the LORD, expressing my devotion to him. I said to him, “My love and my life are yours! Consume me!”
What I meant by that is he could use me and do with me whatever he wanted. You see I have suffered and been persecuted a lot by people. And after all the hurt and pain and my soul feeling crushed, in a moment of ecstatic bliss with King Jesus I was laying my life on the altar again declaring to my King, “You can have it all. If you want me to be run down and beaten then my life is yours to do with what you want. And if you want me to pour out my love on people who will be ungrateful and despitefully use me then King Jesus it’s yours to do with whatever you want!”
Do you know what his response to me was? It wasn’t, “Oh, my wonderful servant! I love your exclamation of devotion towards me!” Nope, not at all. What he said to me was, “No! My LOVE and My LIFE are yours. Consume me!”
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
ESV, John 6:53
That was the response he gave to me. An emphatic NO. Then he began to show me where true Love and Life is found. It is found in his sacrifice. How he gave his body to be run down and beaten. How he poured out his love on people who were ungrateful and despitefully used him.
Not long after he told me that I went out and bought the elements of communion (the bread and wine). And began to take communion with my family more often. I would say, “Lord you told me, “My LOVE and My LIFE are yours. Consume me!” So that’s what I am doing eating your flesh and drinking your blood. Please teach me what you mean when you said to eat your flesh and drink your blood.”
Lessons Learned
I am still learning this lesson. I ask him what he meant by that often and I believe he has given me some answers, but I am still unpacking this. Some of what I have received I will give to you.
First, He was telling us to remember his sacrifice.
And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me
Luke 22:19
Second, he was talking about the New Covenant.
Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you
Luke 22:20
He wants us to remember his sacrifice. What he did to have us back to himself again, and how sure and steadfast that is. How he gave up his body to be broken for our healing, and how he poured out his blood for our redemption.
The next thing he was conveying to me was, that it’s not about my devotion to him. It’s about his devotion to me. Now, full disclaimer, I am not saying that we should not be faithful to Jesus. What I am saying is that we are unable to be faithful to him through our own strength and we need to rely fully on his promise to make us and keep us faithful to him. I will tell you this is a hard lesson to learn at times and I will explain in more detail below what I mean by this.
Our Devotion Or His?
If Jesus was looking at our devotion to him he would have respected Peter’s exclamation towards him before he took the cross. When Peter expressed to the Lord, “I will go with you wherever. I am willing to die for you!” (paraphrased from Luke 22:33). Little did Peter know that when he was relying on his devotion to the Lord he was trusting in his own strength to take him to the cross and not in the Lord’s devotion and strength to bring him through it.
You see that’s where a lot of us fall. We rely on our own love and devotion to take the cross and not on God’s love and devotion to see us through. But when you’ve been humbled by your own lack of strength, and you know that you can’t make it on your own. That’s when the words of Jesus ring so loud and true,
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”
Matthew 5:3
Poor In Spirit
It’s to the poor in spirit that Jesus said they were blessed and that the kingdom of heaven was their possession. But what does it mean to be poor in spirit? When we hear verses like: “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (ESV, Psalm 34:18) what exactly comes to our mind? Is it a person whose spirit cannot be broken and full of strength? I will tell you right now that is not a person who has poverty in their spirit.
When I think of the poor in spirit a glaring example that comes to mind is Naomi in the book of Ruth. She was so crushed and broken that she ended up changing her name to Mara (bitterness). Bless God for Ruth and her faithfulness! Because of Ruth’s faithfulness to Naomi God’s salvation came to her. I also think of David when he was on the run from Saul in the wilderness. When he said in his heart, “I know that one day Saul is going to kill me. It is better to go live with the heathen so that I won’t die by his hands” (paraphrased from 1 Samuel 27:1).
In both of these examples, they were both crushed in spirit and had no strength left to give. That’s when God’s grace stepped in and elevated them out “from the ash heap, To set them among princes And make them inherit the throne of glory” (NKJV, 1 Samuel 2:8). With David, not long after he said that in his heart he received the kingdom. And Naomi after she called herself empty she became the mother (through Ruth) of kings! The lineage of David and Jesus came through her!
The poor in spirit are the ones that the New Covenant belongs to. Those who have finally come to the end of their self and realized, I cannot make it without you King Jesus. Please help me! This is the whole reason why the New Covenant was formed because we could not do it by ourselves.
Drinking The Cup of Old Wine
It was because of our insufficiency that Jesus took the cross and fulfilled the Old Covenant for us. I remember when Jesus was asking the Father to allow this cup to pass from him in the garden of Gethsemane:
And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.
ESV, Matthew 26:39-42
Do you see the subtle difference in what he prayed? At first, he was asking the Father if at all possible to let the cup pass from him. Then when he saw his disciples sleeping he returned and said, If this cannot pass unless I drink it then your will be done. When he found his beloved friends asleep he realized unless I drink the cup of this Old Covenant then they will not be able to drink from the cup of the New.
And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, new wine is poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants new, for he says, ‘The old is better
BSB, Luke 5:37-39
Our Father has shown me that not only while Jesus was fulfilling the Law and the Prophets (drink the Old wine for us), they actually gave him old sour wine to drink right before he died. Look at how amazing God is!
“And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink”
ESV, Matthew 27:48
So prophetic! God is so awesome at showing examples of things in the spirit by performing them on this earth.
A New Covenant For A New People
The Old Covenant is all about our devotion to him. While the New Covenant is about believing in his devotion to us. If Jesus was looking for our devotion to him then the Old Covenant would have been sufficient, but because there was an insufficiency with us that’s why he made another covenant.
For if that first Covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second. But God found fault with the people and said:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the Covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a Covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the Covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
By speaking of a New Covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
That Old Covenant based on our devotion to him is obsolete and aging and will soon disappear. But this New Covenant which is based on faith in him (i.e. believing in his steadfast love and devotion toward us) is growing brighter and brighter.
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day”
NASB, Psalm 4:18
That path of the righteous is the one our savior made through his blood. Thank you, Jesus! God bless you Son of God. I no longer have to trust in my own strength to see me through to the end. I can trust in God’s love and life to see me through. I can trust in the power of His Spirit!
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
ESV, Zechariah 4:6
I am so grateful that he decided to find me and call me to himself. Thank you for increasing the power of the weak! I am so grateful to you, God, for giving strength to the powerless. Bless him forever! As I come to a close I just can’t help but exclaim how grateful I am for this new and living way Jesus has made for us!
By his death, Jesus opened a new and [living] way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.
NLT, Hebrews 10:20
I love you all and thank you for reading! I hope this is informative and helps bring understanding to what kind of Covenant we have with our God. So thankful that it’s no longer about me, but all about him! Take a deep drink of God’s faithfulness today and rest in the finished work of Jesus! He is our Sabbath!
“Who against hope believed in hope… and being not weak in faith… He did not stagger at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.”
from Romans 4:18-20
The above scripture is in reference to Abraham, the father of our faith. The Bible is very clear about the shortcomings of our forefathers. It shows where Abraham lied a couple times and where he doubted if the promise would happen. Except, in this retelling of Abraham’s story, those moments are not even mentioned. It seems that God did not even care to bring them up. Why? Because God is love, and love keeps no record of wrongdoing. Love sees the best even when the opposite is showing itself. Love perseveres.
It’s amazing the way God sees things versus the way the accuser sees them. God sees past our shortcomings and sees the finished work of His Son Jesus. The accuser, however, only focuses on our failures and tries to disqualify us based on that.
You see a moment in your life does not define who you are. It’s only a moment. Those were only moments in Abraham’s life, and his story did not end there. God continued to encourage and speak to him, and Abraham believed in the One who promised.
Don’t let satan continue to accuse you for things that have happened. People may bring up your shortcomings and failures, but those people are only looking at the flesh. God never said that flesh would inherit the kingdom.
Zaccheus, A sinner Son
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way.
And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
And [Zaccheus] hurried and came down, and received Him joyfully.
When the people saw this, they all began to complain, saying, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner!”
But Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone, I am giving back four times as much.”
And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
NASB, Luke 19:1-10
When Jesus called out to Zaccheus people in that community began to bring up all his sins and shortcomings. Do you think that the Lord didn’t know about Zaccheus’ sins before he had called him? Of course, he did. He knew exactly who Zaccheus was and what he had done; yet, this knowledge did not prevent the Lord from calling him. It may have offended everyone around Zaccheus, but God’s choice remained the same.
While the rest of the town was saying he was a child of the devil, Jesus declared his true identity over him. Jesus, contrary to public opinion, continued to affirm Zaccheus. Once Zaccheus finished speaking Jesus continued with his redemptive purpose in Zaccheus’ life. He declared plainly for all the accusers to hear, “…[Zaccheus], too, is a son of Abraham.”
God’s testimony is a more sure word than human verdicts
“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.”
NKJV, 1 Corinthians 4:3
People may cast judgment toward you, but God’s word is the only one that matters. There may have been times when you were wrongfully accused or rightfully condemned, but God holds the final say in all things. It was the Law that condemned the woman caught in adultery, but Jesus Christ, the Son, set her free (see John 8:1-12). You see human judgments are just that, human. They do not hold the final verdict, that belongs to God alone. People may judge and cast stones without giving any grace, but remember “Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ” (from John 1:17).
God’s testimony is much more gracious towards you than you may believe. He is the savior, who came into this world to seek and save that which was lost. You may be like Zaccheus, listening to the crowd calling you a sinner unfit to have Jesus in your home, but Jesus is calling you a son. Turn off the noise of this world, and cling to the voice of your savior.
“For I know nothing by myself; yet I am not justified by this: but he that judges me is the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 4:4
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life. (NLT, Proverbs 4:23).
People may continue to speak against you. People may partner with the devil and bring up all your sins. People may condemn you and throw rocks at you, but don’t allow that to penetrate your heart. If the devil can get a person to believe from their heart the accusations spoken against them then he can try to set the course of their life.
“But be on guard against people, for they will hand you over to the courts and flog you in their synagogues”
Jesus our Divine Judge, Matthew 10:17
“…But take courage; I have overcome the world!” (Jesus, the Savior).
You may have found yourself in a position where you’ve believed the accusations from your heart. If you have found yourself beaten down by the accuser, believing the lies that he has spoken over you do not lose hope! Even there our savior’s hand is reaching out to keep you!
“For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.”
NKJV, 1 John 3:20
Stand strong before God and believe in his steadfast love and devotion toward you. God’s promises never fail. Continue to seek his face. He sees you. He’s always been faithful. He’s never failed. His mercies are new every morning!
I love you guys! When the world is against you and people have judged you harshly just remember the Holy Spirit’s testimony of your story is much different than you think. God doesn’t hold things against you. “…[Love] keeps no record of wrongs” (from 1 Corinthians 13:5) and our God is love! Keep pressing in He is for you! He loves you more than you could know!
Today I was reading from one of my memories on Facebook. The post read:
“If we only knew the great worth we are to God then we would not treat each other like refuse.”
This provoked so much thought in me…
Last night I encountered this young man who said he has experienced the love of God but didn’t accept Jesus. As I listened to him the truth started to come out. He had been misused and burned by people who said they represent Jesus, you know “Christians.” I just loved on him didn’t judge him. His walls started to come down and he shared.
I love people. They are so treasured by God, but the thing is I have encountered these people over and over again. They could be satanists, witches, atheists, etc. and when the walls start to come down they all share a similar thing with me; that people who claim to know Jesus have treated them like trash.
If we knew the incredible value God sees in others we would not treat them like garbage. People have value. People are worth it. People are worth investing in! God invested his Son in humanity! People have value. People have destiny. People are loved and cherished by God!
“But woe unto you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass over judgment and the love of God: these you ought to have done, and not to leave the other undone”
Luke 11:42
We have disqualified the broken, when God is saying mend the broken and make their path straight (easy to walk on). We have laid on them a standard of righteousness that we ourselves were not able to uphold. “Loading men with heavy burdens grievous to be born, but not lifting a finger to help them” (paraphrased from Luke 11:46).
I love you guys. We need to get a hold of God’s love and value system. Everything that we are building on this earth will be burned away, but if we invest in souls it will last forever. It was his love who gave up everything to receive us to himself again. People are worth it. Invest in eternity and pour out yourself into them and watch the miracle of God break out in the broken.
“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to deal your bread to the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? When you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rere-ward. Then shall you call, and the LORD shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke [religous burdens], the putting forth of the finger [casting judgement according to the law, accusations], and speaking vanity [speaking according to the eyes of the flesh]; And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in obscurity, and your darkness be as the noonday: And the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they that shall be of you shall build the old waste places: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in”
Isaiah 58:6-12
This promise is to me and my seed. This is something that I know my house will walk in. But this promise is also unto you and everyone who our God has called. “For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call” (Acts 2:39).
God bless you guys! I love you! Our Father loves you! Jesus loves you! Now go out and love others. Pour out your soul to the broken and hurting and see the salvation of our God break out in the midst of you. Much much LOVE!
A desire for all the nations of the earth to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. 