Strong Words It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save. —ISAIAH 63:1 The religious leaders thought they had finally trapped Jesus. Perhaps smugly, they brought out a woman who had been caught in adultery. They exposed her sin publicly, knowing their law required the death penalty for such a woman. Yet Jesus said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." At that, the leaders began to walk away, and only Jesus was left with the woman.He said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?""No one, sir," she answered."Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus said. "Go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:7-11).Jesus had every right to wield his power and boast of his perfection that day. Yet consider the kindness in his words. He helped the accusers gain a bigger perspective: Every one of us is a sinner. It is not our place to judge another person. God is the Judge. Then Jesus spoke words of kindness to the woman. He did not condone her sin, but he offered her a chance to choose a better life. Jesus's words were quietly powerful because of the love behind them.We can learn a lot from Jesus's example. If we wait until the people around us rise to a higher standard before we speak words of kindness, we may never speak. But if we take every opportunity to show the power of kind words, God can work through us to change lives.
Thought When you are tempted to think kindness shows weakness, remember that God shows his power through kind words.
Living Love by Dr. Gary Chapman
The Daily Reading Bible
The Daily Reading Bible is an all-in-one resource and a good way to get started or keep going in your daily reading of the Bible.
This 3rd volume contains 60 readings looking at Genesis 1-11, 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews 1-7 and the topic of ‘Jesus, the Coming One’. Each reading is designed to take around 15-20 minutes, and contains:
- the full text of the Bible passage for that reading
- some questions to get you thinking
- some ‘points to ponder’ and
- some ideas to get you started in prayer.
It's all in one booklet that you can take with you anywhere—on the train or bus, to uni to read in between classes, to work for your lunch break, to the park or at home.
If you would like a copy of this book talk to your bible study leader or visit Pilgrim Books (3 Church St, Bathurst). If you struggle with reading the bible or getting into a routine maybe you could ask a friend or 2 to meet up with you during the week and read the bible and go through the questions in this book over a cup of coffee. It's amazing how the bible can transform your life and how much closer to God you become when you actually read His word!
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