Put down that stone

We've all made mistakes and have done things that we end up regretting. It's not as important as to what specifically the mistake was (because we can't undo it), it's more about how we bounce back after we acknowledge the mistake and ask for forgiveness. Essentially, it's understanding how to apply the principle of "Lessons Learned" in order to not become a repeat offender.

True Story:
Several years ago a woman was driving in her car. Without warning her windshield exploded and something very hard hit her square in the face. The woman (I'll call her Deb), ended up undergoing facial reconstruction surgery. Deb was hit by a frozen turkey that was thrown from the rear window of a speeding car by a teenage college student out for a joyride with friends.

The teenager was indicted on a first-degree assault charge and could have faced up to 25 years in prison. And then Deb stepped in. She saw the young man for the first time coming out of the courtroom. He stopped, choking and crying as he tried to apologize to her.

For an intensely emotional few minutes, Deb embraced him tightly, stroked his face and patted his back as he sobbed uncontrollably. The young man kept saying, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," the woman he could have killed repeated, "It's OK. It's OK. I just want you to make your life the best it can be."

Then, at Deb's insistence, prosecutors agreed to a plea bargain for the young man, giving him six months in jail and five years' probation instead of 25 years in prison. One man later said that in his 30 years as a prosecutor "he had not seen such a forgiving victim."

* * *

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. ²At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" ⁶They 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. ⁷When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." ⁸Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

⁹At 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. ¹⁰Jesus 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 8:1-11

Final Thoughts:

Many times in life we instinctively pick up that stone in preparation to declare judgment on another persons actions. One thing we must remember is that God wants us to soften our hearts and provide love and encouragement to one another. We are blessed that our Lord allows us to redeem ourselves and is a God of second chances.

There is not a righteous man on earth
who does what is right and never sins.

Ecclesiastes 7:20

So the next time someone makes a mistake...instead of pointing a finger at them, offer them guidance and support out of compassion for their mistake. Because one day we all will stand before the final judge and will be held accountable for all of our actions.

God bless you. And this if for His Glory!

Out of the Blue

A young women was working her way through college as a waitress (I'll call her Sally). Sally was hard working, dependable, always on time for her shift, and would even help out with other duties such as the register and hostessing when the restaurant was short staffed. One day, at the end of her shift, she was approached by the owner of the restaurant. The owner was a very savvy businessman and had about five additional restaurant chains across the state. The owner was well aware of Sally's work ethic and that she had been using her job as a waitress to help pay her way through college. Out of the blue the owner said that he was opening up a new restaurant a few miles down the road and wanted Sally to be the General Manager.

At first Sally thought it was a bad joke. But the look in his eyes told her that he was far from joking. They talked for another ten minutes and Sally was able to get most of her questions answered. Sally was very scared...it was a big step for her. The reality was that she was a waitress and she wondered if she really even had what it takes to run a restaurant?

In the end, Sally accepted the position and went on to run a very successful establishment.

* * *

Sally's story is very similar to when God sent the Angel Gabriel to Nazareth. God had chosen Mary to carry and give birth to His only son, Jesus. He picked Mary out of all the other women in the world. When Mary heard this message she was both frightened and uncertain how to respond.

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
Luke1:28-33

Of course, we all know that Mary accepted God's chosen path for her. It would have been very normal for her to feel great joy and fear at this sudden "out of the blue" encounter with an angel.

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
Luke1:38

We can only imagine what was going through Mary's head after Gabriel told her the good news. One thing is for certain...Mary was and is favored by God. It really cannot be argued that Mary is the most important female character not only the Bible, but in the history of the world.

The importance of Mary cannot go unnoticed and to this day this is exactly why many people pray the Rosary. The purpose behind the Rosary prayer is to ask the Holy Mother to pray for us. It's always a blessing to have someone pray for us and even better if that person is Mary!

Mary has God's ear and by saying the Rosary we ask her to keep us in her prayers. My challenge is for you to say the Rosary prayer at least once this week.

Final thought:

The next time you receive some news that frightens you - remember that God has a specific plan for all of us. Stay gracious, humble, and accepting of Him and you will continue to find favor in His eyes.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Knowing how it's going to end

I see many interesting things on my drive to work. This morning I saw a van with a vanity license plate. The plate read "DTH N TAX" which is eluding to the Death and Taxes quote by Benjamin Franklin which goes...

"but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

Mr. Franklin got two-thirds of it right. The part that's missing, of course, is Jesus. There is nothing more certain in life than Jesus. He is our guide, our protector, our conscience, our inspiration, and our comfort. That much I'm certain.

When it comes to "Certainty" the entire Book of Revelation is based on certain events that will transpire before, during, and after the final coming of Christ. Since Revelation details these event for us the only unanswered question is when...

No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
-Mark 13:32-33

Continuing on with this thought let's say someone records (DVR, Tivo, etc.) a sports game from their television. Before they get to watch the game, they hear who wins. So, the final outcome is already known and whether they choose to watch the game is up to them.

We have an advantage that we know for absolute certainty that Christ will come again. Our DVR is the Bible. It's God's pre-recorded message to us. It gives us the knowledge to follow the path to righteousness. We know how the story is going to end...whether or not we continue to educate ourselves with God's word is up us. But one thing is for certain...Jesus is the only way.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
-John 14:6

This post was inspired by my best friend who always says, "Jesus is the only way."

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!