Have you met Jesus? Do you know what it is like to be experiencing grace? Last week I promised that I will be blogging through Mary DeMuth‘s and Frank Viola‘s brand new book The Day I Met Jesus: The reavealing diaries of five women in the gospels.The first diary is of the woman who caught in adultery.

Then they all went home, 8 ¹ but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” ¹¹ “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 7: 53-8:11, NIV)

Let me just say that after reading the diary of this woman written by Mary DeMuth you will never think of this text or the woman in the text the same way. And maybe you will see the love in Jesus’ eyes more clearly.

I’ve been singing praises to Mary DeMuth’s writing so far. But today I will focus on what Frank Viola wrote and that does get us deeper into the text. Frank talks about how cleverly Jesus was able to answer the pharisees and indeed he did. He talks how self-righteousness does not save us. He points out that in this text Jesus reestablished righteousness on the basis of grace.

The quote I love most is here: “Grace ushers in forgiveness, but it also empowers us to walk in a new way. Holiness, then, is built on the experience of grace, not on the fear of Law. Christ came not to judge the world , but to save it (John 12:47). He’s in the business of rescuing and releasing us, while at the same time calling our sin for what it is: self-centeredness.”

YES! Grace is not just pardon but also power to walk in a new way. Holiness happens by grace not by law. And God sees us as we are and still loves us. But he loves us so much that he does not leave us there but makes us whole again.

God’s love is not superficial but real and life-changing. When we meet Jesus personally, we are changed. We are seen as we are and loved beyond measure. Loved so truly that we melt in his hands. We are redeemed and restored and released to live fully in Him.

Nothing better than God’s redeeming and rescuing and restoring love. Only then we are able to say goodbye to our self-centeredness. Only then we are slowly becoming Christ-centered. But like said: nothing better. Nothing more amazing; nothing more liberating. This is what experiencing grace means.

 

Gracious God,
We praise you, we love you, we adore you.
Thank you for sending Jesus to
redeem, rescue, restore us.
Empower us to walk in a new way
all of our days.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Q4U: Do you know what experiencing grace means?

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you over and over again learn what experiencing grace means!

A Special Offer

Buy The Day I Met Jesus from Parable.com between March 3 and March 17 and get these exclusive bonuses as our gift to you:

1. An exclusive audio interview where Mary and Frank give a behind-the-scenes look at all the facets of the book. The interview covers where the idea of the book came from, why the authors wrote the book, what it was like collaborating, the hardest part about writing it, and much more.

2. Mary’s Book Beautiful Battle in Kindle & Nook.

3. Frank’s Book, Rethinking Spiritual Growth in PDF, Kindle, and Nook.

4. A never-before-released audio conference message entitled “A Woman Inside of a Man” by Frank.

5. Mary’s Book What To Do After People Poop on You in PDF.

6. A never-before-released audio conference message entitled “He’s Not Ashamed to Call Them Brothers and Sisters” by Frank.

7. A 15% discount off The Day I Met Jesus Master Course.

NOTE: Your bonuses will be sent from Alicia or Tiffany at parable.com via email 24-48 hours after you make your purchase. Keep an eye on your spam/junk folder or “Promotions” tab (if you use Gmail) if you don’t see it within 48 hours.

Image courtesy of Mary DeMuth/Frank Viola, design Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty, Unforced Rhythms, Playdates with God.