Have you been feeling like you've just done "too much?"
Like you've sinned "too much?"
Do you feel like you are too far gone?
Like there is no way that Jesus could ever love or forgive someone like you?
Trust me when I say.... I've been there and I'm here today to tell you that he has forgiven someone like you, or even worse than you, and he will forgive you.
In today's episode, I'm going to be going into a story in the Bible about the mercy, love, and grace of Jesus Christ and how he forgives. But before we get completely into this episode I did want to say a quick prayer... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray that you open up their eyes to see the truth of your words. I pray that you wrap your arms around them Lord, let them know how much you love them, and help them to see your mercy, your grace, and that you will forgive them. I love you with my whole heart Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
The story I want to go over today is about Jesus being anointed by a sinful woman:
36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner." 40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said.
41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? 43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."
48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." -Luke 7:36-50
So in this story here we see that Jesus is loving, merciful, gracious, compassionate, and he will not turn away from anyone who comes to him and shows him love. This woman was a sinner. She had done a lot of things in her lifetime and you can tell from this story here that she was ashamed and she just so desperately wanted mercy, love, and grace from Jesus. From the moment she saw him, she wept at his feet, wiped his feet with her hair, poured perfume on his feet, and just showed so much love to him and so much respect for him. The Pharisee that had invited Jesus over was judging to himself and Jesus explained the story to him about two men owing a moneylender money and the money lender canceling both of their debts. Jesus said this to show that this sinful woman that had done a lot in her lifetime loved him Jesus much, because of all the things that she's done.
I can relate to this story so much, because I have done a lot in my lifetime. I have done things that I'm not proud of, things that I've had to repent for, and really just give it all to God, ask for forgiveness, seek to follow Jesus, and do better and not be conformed by this world or worldly desires. Jesus doesn't turn away from sinners. Jesus doesn't turn away from people because they've done a lot in their lifetime. He can see our hearts. He knows everything about us. He knows all that we've done. Jesus appreciates us, as sinners, that know that we are sinners and know that we've done wrong, and that love him and come to him, ask for forgiveness, and ask for that mercy, grace, and that show him our heart. He welcomes people like that even more than people like the Pharisee Simon that judged this woman based on her being a sinner, that didn't give him water for his feet ,or kiss him, and didn't show him all the love that this woman showed him.
I know someone is listening to this and you've just done a lot of things. Trust me when I say that I've also done a lot of things in my life, but you haven't done "too much." The enemy is telling you that you've done "too much," that there's no turning back, that Jesus isn't going to love you, that he's not going to forgive you, and that there's no way he could love someone like you, but that's completely not true. I am living proof of the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ. Through all the things that I've done, through all the mistakes that I've made, all the times that I pushed the Lord away, I tried to stray away from him, and I tried to hide from him (even though there's no way we can hide from the Lord, but I just felt so ashamed and I try to hide), he was always right there, showing me so much mercy, love, grace, chasing after me, and just waiting for me to turn back to him. And each time he's forgiven me. I just had to show my love towards him, my faith in him, ask for that forgiveness, and show that I was truly sorry for the things that I've done and the mistakes that I've made.
If Jesus can forgive me, if he can forgive the sinful woman in this story, he will forgive you also. There's nothing that you can do to make him not love you and there's nothing that you can do to make him not forgive you. You just have to have faith and know that he's right here, ask for that forgiveness, seek to follow him, and have a relationship with him. Jesus will always love you, accept you, and welcome you with open arms when you come to him in love and faith. When you truly believe that Jesus is who he says he is, and that he will forgive you, he'll always accept you with open arms, and he'll always forgive you.
So I hope this episode helped you to know that you haven't done "too much," there is hope, Jesus does love you, he will always love you, and he will forgive you. You just have to come to him, show your love to him, acknowledge your guilt, and he will be right there welcoming you with open arms and showing you so much mercy, love, and grace.
Next week I'm going to go into a new series and it's going to be all about the teachings of Jesus Christ. Each week I'm going to come on here and go over a teaching of Jesus Christ. So make sure you stay tuned for that, because you're not going to want to miss it.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
p.s. If you'd rather listen to Faith-based, business, mindset, and mental health tips, then check out my podcast. There I will share my personal experiences, stories I've never told before, and bring you along with this hot mess life of mine. New episodes every week.
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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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