Up

A Case for Adultery...and Forgiveness (John 8:3-11)

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, 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.”


Yeshua had come down from the Mt. of Olives and came to the Temple for teaching purposes. The Temple courts were popular for rabbis to take their students to teach them Torah. Yeshua was no different, and during his teaching, the Pharisees came and brought this woman who was caught in the act of adultery.

Yes, the Torah commandments were very specific, in that if a married woman (and the lover) were caught in the act of adultery, they were to be stoned. The problem is, where was the lover? Only the woman was brought before the Messiah. The witnesses were there, yet only the woman was brought as evidence. Again, where was the man involved?

Yeshua did something very interesting: he bent down and started writing in the dust of the ground. Many might ask, "What was he writing?" The question might be answered in Jeremiah 17:13.

Hope of Isra’el, Adonai! All who abandon you will be ashamed; those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust,
because they have abandoned Adonai, the source of living water.

Could it be that he was writing the names of the woman's accusers in the dust of the Earth? Very possible. Can we be 100% sure? No, I wasn't there looking over the Messiah's shoulders. But it is possible that Yeshua was indeed illustrating Jeremiah 17:13. Here in the Temple courtyard, he points out that ALL were guilty of sin. (For all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God). Yes, the only one there who had the right to judge and condemn the woman and stone her decided to grant her mercy.

The woman realizes that those Pharisees who were standing against her all left. The accusers are gone. She is left with God and with God alone.

"I do not condemn you, go and sin no more" were the words of a righteous and holy God. The God who had the right to condemn decided to extend mercy, yet he told her, "Go and sin no more." There was forgiveness, but it also required repentance (Teshuvah), which means, "turn around with a change of mind and heart."

Today in this busy world of commerce, sports, activity, making money, this and that, we tend to forget about God and come to worship and study His Word. Would this be a form of adultery or idolatry? If you think about it, we exchange the worship of a righteous and Holy God for worship of things, pleasure, money, etc. Yet, our Holy and righteous God extends his mercy and beckons us to come back to him, and to give him his rightful place in our lives.

Everything we have in our lives belongs to Him; all possessions are HIS, and we have them only for a short time. Just as He has given us THINGS, He can also take them away. A woman who cheated on her husband could end up losing him through the act of divorce. The man who cheats on his wife could also lose that "love of his life" the same way. Israel had abandoned their only true God and went after idols for many years; the Prophets were sent to warn God's people, but to no avail. Jerusalem ended up in Babylon for 70 years, and the city burned. Yet YHVH never stopped loving his people; he had to discipline them, as a loving father does, and as a husband practices "tough love".

We are the bride of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus. Let us be faithful to the bridegroom, giving the bridegroom the first place in our lives, in worship, coming together on the days of worship, studying His Word, and using our spiritual gifts for the Kingdom. We want our names to be inscribed in the Book of Life, not in the dust of the Earth

sylviasophie said:

guess i am just looking for a little guidance! I would like some suggestions of places to start exploring my faith, or testimonies from people as to why they started believing. It can be a little hard for me since I didn’t grow up religious.

Click to expand...

God bless and welcome.

Applying my conscience to the Lord’s commandments has helped me to understand living daily life by faith. What I mean is that the Lord tells us to love God & neighbor using our faculties ( Matthew 22:36-40) & treating others as we would want to be treated ( Matthew 7:12 “the golden rule” but also read Matthew 7:1-12 for the full picture).

Jesus told a rich young man basic commandments for right living in Matthew 19:16-19 but the young man seemed confused ( see Matthew 19:16-31 for the whole picture). The Lord was basically telling him to stick to the program. Paul spells much of this out in Romans 13:1-14 in the practice of good citizenship ( & compare verses 8-10 to what the Lord told the young man).


The basic ways the Lord wants us to apply these is through charity and prayer (see Matthew 6:1-14). It’s where your heart is on this as the commandments indicate it’s not a contest or anything. The Lord says if we apply what He tells us it will flow with our conscience ( John 14:15-18). There is a lot more there but what I believe what I am saying is a necessary understanding and early step.

God so loved us & wants us to love Him back & those around us in attitude and in deeds ( see John 3:16-21). I would also read Colossians 1:1-29, verses 10-24 in particular.

Believe me I got attitude issues so I don’t want to come across as a phony saint. I know by grace we are saved & I sure need that ( Ephesians 2:8-10). But for me salvation truly involves hoping for others to be saved also via the golden rule, love of God & neighbor etc. i should at least join in prayer for evangelism, evangelists, & salvation of my neighbors’ souls ( Matthew 9:36-38).

Hope this can be helpful

Carl Emerson said:

Timothy said - "Humanity in general. We all have the same ability to do what was done to Jesus in many ways. It is in our nature. An example is the division in the US with both sides condemning each other..."

There is a truth in this also - that our sins put Jesus on the Cross. We are all complicate.

However it remains that anti Christian sentiment is very strong among Orthodox Jews who view this Christian teaching as antisemitic.

Click to expand...

Anti Christian sentiment among Orthodox Jews is strong, but there are also more Jewish believers in Yeshua as the Messiah than in the previous 1900 years since .. a lot of positive stuff is happening - internet plays a big role in that. Information from any side is available to anyone interested.

Modern anti-Christian sentiment among Jews in general has to be understood against the back-drop of antisemitism and persecution of Jews in (Christian) Europe during 2 millennia (e.g. the Spanish expulsion, the strong antisemitic remarks by Marten Luther towards the end of his life, the WW2 era holocaust, etc.).

In Israel itself nowadays these two extremes co-exist - yet the political echelon is very much aware support for Jews worldwide now mainly comes from Christians.

The holocaust provided 'understanding' by the (then) Christian West Jews worldwide needed a homeland - and promises had been made before that regarding the area known as 'Palestine' during British rule.

With the Iranian/Yemenite/Gazan/Hezbollah wars the tide is turning again - sadly enough many in Western Europe now openly state the birth of the new state of Israel as a homeland for Jews was a mistake and Jews worldwide have no historical claim to that area. Not coincidentally most of these would also deny Yeshua as the King of the Jews who will return to Earth on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

There is hope still for mission and witnessing to Jews - watch this beautiful and challenging message:

Login to view embedded media

David Lamb said:

Yet again you have used the phrase, "Th8e new bibles", as though all translations of the bible newer than the KJV remove the word "God" from Matthew 19:17. They don't. For example:

NKJV (Mat 19:17) So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

MKJV (Mat 19:17) And He said to him, Why do you call Me good? There is none good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.

WEB (Mat 19:17) He said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

YLT (Mat 19:17) And he said to him, 'Why me dost thou call good? no one is good except One—God; but if thou dost will to enter into the life, keep the commands.'

CEV (Mat 19:17) Jesus said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. If you want to have eternal life, you must obey his commandments."

It is more accurate to say, "Some new bibles remove....." rather than stating that all do. It is clear from te five examples I have given that all do not remove God.

Click to expand...

David Lamb . good lob and that is why always. use the KJV. !!
dan p

Chaplain Jim said:

I apologize for the infraction of rules at Christian Forums. If the Christian Forums Advisory Staff wants to delete anything that has violated the Christian Forums Rules, I abide by whatever they decide to do.

I posted the videos because they were about Evangelism, Preaching & Teaching that seemed to have merit. Once again, I apologize if I broke Christian Forums Rules and offended anyone in the process of my error.

Click to expand...

Just give a summary and youre fine.

Lion of the Tribe of Judah - Misty Edwards
Login to view embedded media

'During the Roman period, the dye was a commodity valued at up to three times the price of gold'​

Archaeologists recently uncovered traces of a rare purple dye associated with biblical-era luxury in an unexpected place.

They found them at Roman infant burials sites in England.

The York graves date from the late third or early fourth century A.D. One infant was laid to rest alongside two adults in a stone coffin — while the other was buried in a lead coffin.

Continued below.

An Ohio state lawmaker who spent years as a Baptist pastor before winning election to the state legislature is pushing a bill that would require public schools to teach the positive impact of “Judeo-Christian” values on American history, naming the legislation after the late conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk.

Gary Click, a 60-year-old Republican serving his third term in the Ohio House after serving as pastor of Fremont Baptist Temple, drafted the Charlie Kirk American Heritage Act, or Ohio House Bill 486, and shepherded it through that chamber.

It is now before the state Senate.

The bill seeks to authorize teachers in public schools and instructors at state institutions of higher education to provide instruction on the positive impacts of religion on American history, without making it mandatory. It lists roughly two dozen examples of religion’s role in American civic life, from references to divine power in the Declaration of Independence and the religious affiliations of its signers to the influence of the evangelist Billy Graham.

Continued below.

Who is Jesus - Evangelist Mauricio Females
Login to view embedded media

Michie said:

The president has claimed, without evidence, that Pope Leo XIV wants the Middle Eastern country to develop nuclear armaments.

Continued below.

https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/us/trump-leo-iran-disarmament

Click to expand...

Trump is not speaking accurately. Instead President Trump should have explained that the ACTIONS of Pope Leo would be expected of a person who thinks it's just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

keras said:

The Law for us Christians today, is the Ten Commandments, which Jesus expanded upon and the Apostles reiterated.

Click to expand...

The Hebrews word "Torah" used in Psalm 119 refers to all of the Law of Moses, not to just the Ten Commandments. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said that man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God, not just the Ten Commandments.

Old Yeller

essentialsaltes said:

Trump plans to appeal order allowing all importers that paid struck-down tariffs to seek refunds​

The process could grind to a halt, however, after the Trump administration said Friday that it intended to appeal a federal judge’s order to allow all companies that paid the invalidated duties to seek refunds, not just the ones that filed lawsuits.

'We're in the wrong, but you have to sue us to get your money back.'

Click to expand...

Wow. They are admitting they were wrong, but YOU have to sue to be made whole.
Now juxtaposed that to the J6 slush fund where felons, who have the right to sue if they felt wronged, will be compensated without having to individually sue. Not even class action.

Decades before Bishop Barron’s video, Pope John Paul II famously engaged with the poet.​

Bishop Robert Barron is known for his theological wisdom and his sharp cultural commentary, but jamming folk singer?

In a rare video tribute, Bishop Barron marked his own 40th anniversary of priestly ministry by honoring the 85th birthday of Bob Dylan.

When Bishop Robert Barron was ordained to the priesthood on May 24, 1986, he wasn’t just embarking on a life of ministry; he was sharing a birthday with one of his greatest cultural heroes. The video showcases his talent not only as a guitarist, but also his ability to play harmonica and sing, even with close-up shots.

The shepherd of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, bypassed the songwriter’s obvious, standard radio hits. Instead, he opted for a deep-cut favorite from the 1975 masterpiece Blood on the Tracks called You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go — a song that juxtaposes heartbreak with references to the French symbolist poets Verlaine and Rimbaud. Leave it to Bishop Barron to turn a Dylan tribute into a mini-masterclass on 19th-century French literature.

Of course, Dylan’s relationship with faith has always been a massive talking point for believers, especially with songs like Knocking on Heaven’s Door.

Continued below.

The Archdiocese of Salzburg, Austria, will again host a training event called “Queer People in Our Parishes” with two pro-LGBT activist groups.

According to kath.net, the Archdiocese of Salzburg is once again hosting the full-day workshop in early June. An event with the same name was held last May in the archdiocese.

The workshop, organized by the Rainbow Pastoral Platform in cooperation with the Homosexual Initiative (HOSI) Salzburg, will begin with “a personal approach to the topic” of LGBT-identifying individuals in Catholic parishes, followed by a joint clarification of terms, reflection on the “theological approach” and the “canonical framework,” and a discussion of “concrete options for action in pastoral practice.”

Last year, kath.net asked the Catholic archdiocese why it is holding a training event with HOSI Salzburg, even though the latter views and assesses homosexuality in a manner completely at odds with that of the Catholic Church. The archdiocese responded that pastoral care always strives to “speak WITH people and not ABOUT them [emphasis in original].”

Continue reading at LifeSite News

Speaking for myself, I always remember what I don't forget!!

This article is my response to Dr. Mary Healy’s 2024 podcast, “The Gift of Tongues Explained,” hosted by Ralph Martin’s Renewal Ministries channel. Dr. Healy’s summary represents an excellent summary of the current view promoted within the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR). Her presentation is winsome and sincere, and her view reflects the prevailing “Catholicized” Pentecostal view found among CCR adherents, which I believe is historically, theologically, and biblically unsupportable.

Please understand that I respect Dr. Healy as a person and that my personal relationship to her is collegial and amicable, despite the fact that we have agreed to disagree on this topic and each of us thinks the other dead wrong!

I believe most of our differences could be easily resolved if the CCR did two things: replaced the word “tongues” (1) with “jubilation” for their unintelligible nonlinguistic utterances, and (2) with “languages” for biblical references “tongues,” which is what the New Testament Greek always means, whether in Mark, Acts, or 1 Corinthians.

Readers are welcome to watch the Renewal Ministries video presentation if they wish. I have provided a “painfully-accurate” transcript below (in black), with my own responses (in red). Video time signatures are placed in brackets at the beginning of paragraphs.

“The Gift of Tongues Explained [Mary Healy],” Renewal Ministries (June 19, 2024) - Login to view embedded media - 31,426 views

_______________________________

RALPH MARTIN:

Continued below.

A Response to "The Gift of Tongues Explained," by Mary Healy

This article is my response to Dr. Mary Healy’s 2024 podcast, “The Gift of Tongues Explained,” hosted by Ralph Martin’s Renewal Ministries ...

pblosser.blogspot.com

Acts 20:16-24 NKJV


Be Faithful

All of us who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives are to serve the Lord Jesus with our lives in ministry, according to the giftedness of the Holy Spirit within us, and according to God’s calling (his assignment) upon our lives, which will not all be the same. Now we are all called to die to sin daily and to walk in obedience to our Lord and to serve him with our lives, but he doesn’t call all of us to the same exact areas of ministry, although we are all called to be sharing the true gospel with other people.

[Matthew 5:13-16; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:9,21; James 5:19-20; 1 John 2:6]

And we are all called of God to be faithful to those callings and to not be slack, and to not be neglectful to do what God has called us to do, both to these general callings of God to all of us who believe in him, and to our individual and specific areas of ministry to which he has called us. For we were all created by God for a specific purpose, and he has very specific areas of ministry which he has selected just for us to do. And as his followers, we are to learn what those are and to do them.

Fully Surrendered

Like when Jesus interrupted Paul’s (then Saul’s) journey to Damascus where he intended to persecute even more Christians, and in order to call him to open spiritually blinded eyes, turning them from darkness (sin) to the light (God/Jesus Christ, the gospel), and from the power of Satan to God, so that they could receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord. And Paul then surrendered to the will of God and ended up writing probably half of the New Testament (see Acts 26:18).

And Paul didn’t serve the Lord in ministry, according to his calling, because it was easy or popular or because he got a lot of “likes.” He suffered much persecution and rejection and beatings and imprisonment and false accusations and abandonment, etc. – all for the cause of Christ and for the sake of his gospel message, and in order to win people to faith in Jesus Christ, and then to nurture them and to exhort them to walk in obedience to the Lord and to no longer walk (in conduct) in sin. Praise Jesus!

Falsely Accused

And if we are following the Lord Jesus according to his callings upon our lives, we are promised that we will be hated and persecuted as Jesus was, and that we will be falsely accused of wrongdoing, rejected, forsaken, forgotten, cast aside as unwanted, harassed, ignored, mocked, and falsely arrested and imprisoned. And even some of us will be put to death for our walks of faith and for our obedience to the Lord. And some or many of our persecutors may be others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too.

But through it all we are to remain faithful to our Lord in obedience to his commands, in holy living, in dying daily to sin and to self, and in serving him in the specific areas of ministry to which he has called us, regardless of how we are treated in return, even from others who profess to know the same Lord as we do, and even from family members. For Jesus told us that if our lives are surrendered to him, to follow him in obedience, that we can expect our family members to reject and to persecute us, because they lack faith.

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:13-14; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Romans 5:3-5; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; 2 Timothy 3:12; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; James 1:2-4; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Hebrews 12:3-12; 1 John 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]

Much Perseverance

And we must keep speaking the truth of the gospel to all who will listen. And the truth is that if we are to come after Jesus, we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin (by the Spirit), and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, and in obedience to his callings on our lives, then we have the hope of eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26).

And the only way that we are going to follow through with this, and to remain faithful to the Lord and to his callings upon our lives, is if we do not account our lives of any value nor as precious to ourselves in such a manner as to prefer the approval of other humans over the approval of God, and as more valuable to us than the salvation (from sin) of other human lives. And we must be committed to finishing the course and the ministry that we received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

God’s Grace

But this grace, which is bringing us salvation, and which is gifted to us by God, is training us to renounce (say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, the works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (see Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10).

Myopic

An Original Work / August 19, 2013
Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11
Christ's Free Servant, Sue J Love

Jesus has given ev’rything
Needed for life and godliness.
His great and precious promises
Free us from our sin and distress.

Add to your faith His goodness;
Knowledge; patience; godliness;
Brotherly love and mutual affection;
Kindness and unselfishness.

If you possess these qualities,
Growing in your maturity,
They will keep you from vanity.
You will bear fruit effectually.

Nonetheless, if you lack them;
Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,
Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.
You have closed your heart to Him.

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,
Your calling and your election.
Do this by showing diligence:
Obey your Lord; be repentant.

Practice all these qualities
God provided on a tree.
He died for our sins so we’d be given
Life with Him eternally.

Login to view embedded media
That I May Finish My Race
An Original Work / May 31, 2026
Copied mostly from “Faithful to Our Callings,”
An Original Work / May 27, 2024
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

whatdoesthisversemean said:

Hi Yall!

fave verse Jn 14:6

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.


Glory to His holy name!

thks

Click to expand...

Welcome to CF!

Rediscovering Joan of Arc

As she was being led to the stake to be executed, most of the hostile crowd thought she was a witch. Yet, by the time Joan of Arc had been burned alive on May 30, 1431, many of the onlookers were weeping. Even some of the judges who had condemned her broke down in tears, and one onlooker famously said, “We are lost. It is a saint we have burned.”


St. Joan of Arc: Apostle of Hope

During her trial, Joan was asked whether she was in the state of grace. The question was an attempt to entrap her: if she responded in the negative, her claims of being assigned a mission from God could be dismissed. If in the affirmative, she could be accused of presumption. Joan’s response sidestepped the trap and reaffirmed her complete surrender to God: “If I am not, may God put me there; if I am, may He keep me there.”

There are two temptations for us when we are faced with our sinfulness: presumption and despair. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines presumption as one of two false assumptions: that we can save ourselves without grace and help from God or that God will forgive us without us having to repent and convert (CCC 2092) Despair is when we stop hoping for salvation and the forgiveness of our sins, giving up trust and hope in God’s mercy (CCC 2091).

Bangladesh
---
# 33 (persecution rank)
World Watch List
- Top 50 countries