I'll Stand By You

Good Morning Friends! So excited to be sharing my first post on this blog!! I thought this was a fitting post to share with everyone. So a few weeks back we had a sermon titled "I'll Stand By You" and it was amazing which was the inspiration for this page. 

Our pastor talked about standing by our fellow Christians when they stumble instead of being harsh or judgemental. He used Nikki (Letoni) Edgar who not to long ago made an appearance on America's Got Talent. She got her start as a Christain artist at a very young age and ended up being exiled from or "kicked out" because she ended up pregnant and unwed as a teenager. She eventually found her way back to God, but she traveled a broken road. 

So in John 8:1-11 Jesus was pretty much attempting to be set up by the Pharisees when he was brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery.  The Pharisees told Jesus "In the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now, what do you say?”  They were using this as a trap to accuse Jesus. They continued to badger Him as He wrote in the sand until finally, he told them “Let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." As he went back to writing in the sand they started to leave until only Jesus was left standing with the woman. He asked her where her accusers were, that no one is there condemn her? He then tells her "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.” 

So what can we learn from this? That is is not our job to judge them? Jesus calls us to love our neighbor. So what would happen if we just loved them anyhow instead of throwing stones? Jesus doesn't tell her the woman what she did was okay, he tells her to leave her life of sin. So what if we walked along side someone during their redemption story instead of pushing them away? We can let someone know that something is wrong or that they need to change their ways and still love them. That is how we show others the love of Christ. He calls us to be a ministry of redemption and reconciliation, not rejection. And it is hard to reconcile with someone that we have stoned. 

What we can learn from looking at Jesus in this story is that we ourselves need to be slow to judge and be slow to speak. Sometimes it is easy for those that are indulging in their own sin to be severe against the sin of others. Jesus practically turned the conviction of sin on the persecutors in this story. As the woman stood there with Jesus she was offered forgiveness and redemption. It is time for us to put down our stones and invite people in. He sends us out so that we may be the ones along the broken road leading people back to him. It is not to our place to be judgmental, we all have our sins, none of us are perfect, who am I to say my sins are any worse than someone else's in God's eyes. 

I've found that song replaying in my mind and these are some of my favorite parts, can you imagine Jesus saying this to us? Or maybe saying these things to one our friends or family?

Nothing you confess could make me love you less,

I'll stand by you,

When you're standing at the crossroads,

And don't know which path to choose,

Let me come along, 'cause even if you're wrong

I'll stand by you

And I'll never desert you

I'll stand by you

To create this page I prepped using Dina Wakely clear gesso. Traced the image I wanted and outlined it with my Illustrated Faith .65 tip pen before erasing. I then stamped my words using Sweet N Sassy Stamps Lynzee Script alphas. I painted using a Prima waterbrush and Prima Watercolors in the classics pallette. I also added some white splatters, IF Tab, some washi, and a  bow clip I made at one of our journaling groups!

Until next time friends!! 

Blessings!

♥

Maria