Tag: Know These Truths

Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, She, Volume 1

The Woman In the City

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Adapted from, She, Volume 1/p71-72

Read: Luke 7:36-50

We do not know with certainty who the woman of the city was or why she was referred to as “a sinner.” However, we do know that she was aware she was a sinner in need of a Savior, and she understood that Jesus, the guest of Simon the Pharisee, was the only one who could save her. Because of this knowledge, she risked much, if not everything, to reach Him – and then she humbled herself in a posture and action of worship.

We also know, as our study guide points out that:

  • She did not come to Him empty-handed
    • She brought with her an alabaster jar of perfumed oil. (Luke 7:37)

Those who understand the forgiveness of Jesus react in humility and love, not hedonism1 or arrogance.

Bibleref.com
  • She had faith in who Jesus was and what He could do for her.
    • As she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with the perfumed oil. (Luke 7:38)
      • She wasn’t just enamored with who Jesus was, but “She wept over her sin at the feet of Jesus.” (quote from: She, Volume 1/p71)
  • She knew she was a sinner in need of a Savior.
    • We know this because of what Jesus says to her: “Then Jesus said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.'”… 50 He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48 & 50)
      • We do not need to know what her sins were, but we must not miss that
        • “Jesus saw her faith and forgave her of all that she had done.”2
      • And then He spoke to her the best message she would ever hear, a message that would forever change her from the inside out and free her to go in peace, no longer tortured by her sin, and no longer controlled by the judgment or acceptance of ‘man’.
        • “Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:48)
        • “ Your faith has saved you, go in peace.” (Luke 7:50)

Friends, I know from experience that when we truly understand the depths of our sin and lay them at the feet of Jesus, we receive the forgiveness of God. We hear Him say, “Your sins are forgiven, go in peace,“ and we are forever changed from the inside out. Paul declares that we are “New creations!” He says, “The old is gone, the new has come.”3 Like the woman in the city, we can go in peace – no longer called “sinner”… and as Matthew West sings so beautifully, we are no longer known as “too far gone” but saved by grace and called by a new name: Chosen child of God! I don’t know about you, but I’m shouting a big Hallelujah and thank You, Jesus! How about you?

If you have not placed your faith in Jesus and would like to know the way to this life-changing peace, please message me and let me tell you about my Jesus. You can also check out “Know These Truths” about the way to Jesus. We’re not guaranteed tomorrow, so let today be the day. If it is, let me know – I have a free gift I would like to send to you help you get started in your walk of faith.

The More We Know

What does Luke 7:48 mean?

Posted in Abide, Abiding in jesus, Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, Know These Truths, LGG Study, Prayer Starters, Quiet Time

The Proof is in the Living

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based on the LGG Study, Abiding in Jesus, w4d2

Read James 1:22-25 and SOAP: James 1:22

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

James 1:22-25

Our works do not save us, but they do bear witness to our salvation through Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

If you know me or have followed my posts, you most likely know that 2 Corinthians 5:17 is one of my key life verses.

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

The truth of Paul’s words rocked my world many years ago and continues to push me to live as a new creation and not the old. For, as Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus, we have been created in God’s image–in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. What a beautiful reminder of the need and reason for believers to abide in Jesus (the Way, Truth, and Life) – for how can we be like one we do not know or spend time with?

Today’s journal entry in Abiding in Jesus, by Love God Greatly, explains it like this: “When we become Christians, we are given a new nature, a new birth. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He is the sap flowing from the vine into the branches, producing a godly character. That is why when we abide in Christ, we will bear fruit.”

James reminds us that becoming a Christian is only the beginning. The real proof of a person having been born again is that he or she will now ‘live out the message.'”

Living for Jesus a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.

O Jesus, Lord and Savior,
I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy redemption,
Didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master,
My heart shall be Thy throne,
My life I give, henceforth to live,
O Christ, for Thee alone.

Living for Jesus who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.

Living for Jesus, Author: Thomas O. Chisholm (1917)

Of course, “Living for Jesus” comes with challenges that we all struggle with. As the Love God Greatly entry points out, “The walk of a Christian is not an uninterrupted series of victories over sin. We often stumble and fail. Sometimes it looks like we are going two steps forward and three steps backward. But if we belong to Jesus, we will have victories over sin again and again. We will be different from the way we used to be. We will steadily grow in holiness and godly character. We have a living faith, not a dead, fake one. We are a living branch, abiding in the Vine and producing good fruit. The Father will make sure His children walk in His ways, to prove that we really belong to Him. We know these works do not justify us, but they are the proof of our having been made new in Jesus.”

Friends, my prayer is that God will help us to be more than spectators or listeners of His Word. May we have the courage and faithful commitment to abide in Jesus, the Living Word, and to live it out every day. May we be always mindful that while our works do not save us, they glorify God in Heaven and give evidence that we have been made new through Jesus Christ. To God be all the glory, praise, and honor. Amen and Amen!

The More We Know

If you do not know Jesus, I invite you to read the truths about who He is and what He has done for you.

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Posted in Bible study, Devotion, From the Insideout, Journey Through The Word, LGG Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless Land, Quiet Time

The Potter and the Clay

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based on the LGG Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless World / w1d1

Scripture, Our Road Map for the Journey: Jeremiah 18:1-12 / SOAP verse 6

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over…

“O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” –

Jeremiaah 18:1-6. NLT

God is the potter, and we are the clay. He will mold us and make us according to His will.

Observation and Application from the Journey

I love it when God uses memories from our past to highlight the present lessons He is teaching us. When I was a little girl – still in elementary school, my best friend was Penny. Penny’s dad had a workshop in their basement where he worked on ceramics, using molds, paints, and other tools to create works of art that he would place in a kiln, which would eventually reveal their beauty. Penny and I loved going down to the basement when he was working because he would occasionally let us help him create. While I know the process of ceramics doesn’t quite compare to the beautiful picture of the potter and his clay, the memory of Mr. Tucker’s detail and attention to his creations flooded my mind as I began to journal my observations of today’s Scripture about the potter.

I also could not help but think of my life verse, the verse that gave a name to this blog site, mefromtheinsideout, from 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ Jesus the new creation has come, the old has gone the new is here. 🦋

In fact, the old version of a Christian, who they were before they were “in Christ,” is not recoverable. The old is gone, Paul writes. The new has come. All the old dreams and ideas and agendas and purposes have ceased to exist and have been replaced by Christ’s ideas and agendas and purposes in an entirely new creature called “Christian.”

– read more @Bibleref.com

Friends, this truth and challenge/question are from the LGG study journal today and are too good and necessary for the study not to share. I pray you will read them and give them thought and prayerful consideration. After all, we waste our time with these studies, or any others for that matter, if we only read them and walk away, ignoring or quickly forgetting what God has made known.

  • TRUTH:
    • “We all like to hear the positive things people say about us. We enjoy being reminded that God loves us, just as we are. But we can be less keen to hear truths such as God detesting our sin. He wants more for us, or He wants us to grow to be more like Jesus.”
  • CHALLENGE:
    • Look again at the SOAP verse (Jer. 18:6) . Read it aloud, but replace “nation of Israel/O Israel” with your name
    • How teachable are you? We are often more focused on the temporary things of this world. God wants to develop your relationship with Him and your character because He is interested in molding us into His likeness. Are you willing to be molded?
Prayer of Response from the Journey

Father, how blessed we are to know Your grace and mercy. How heart-wrenching it is to recall some of the days of my past, but oh, how sweet it is to know Your transforming power! The old has gone, and the new has come! Because of You, I am forever changed, a new creation in Christ Jesus!

As we begin this new study/journey on “Living Faithful in a Faithless Land,” please help us to be teachable, to hear Your Word, and to put it into practice. Guard us from being focused on the temporary things of this world. Help us to grow in our relationship with You, and please develop more of Your character in us. Let us be yielded to You as You mold us and make us according to Your will. – In the Name of Jesus, this is my prayer – Amen and Amen!

Responding in Worship to the Journey (borrowed/Shared from YouTube)
The More We Know

For further reading/understanding: Jeremiah 18:18; 25:1-3, 11

Dear reader, have you known/experienced the life-changing power of God’s mercy and grace? If not, I invite you to read Know These Truths and/or message me so I can share with you the way to a new life in Christ 🦋

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Connect with me on Facebook or via email. @mryelnb@aol.com (subject line: Journey through the Word