Saved by Faith (Luke 7:50)

And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." (Luke 7:50 NASB)

 Saved by faith. What a beautiful truth! sōzō, the Greek word translated here as "saved" is so rich in meaning that it contains a lifetime of truth in this one word alone. Sometimes translated as "healed" or "restored", it conveys the idea that the person has been healed of a deadly condition, restored to a former condition, and saved from certain perishing. It is a complete, full-service salvation. 

BlueLetterBible.org defines sōzō as "to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction".  For this woman, salvation meant that she was healed of the torment her sinful life had caused, washed white as snow and restored to a right relationship with God, and rescued from the certain destruction her lifestyle would have caused. She was saved in this life, but her faith also brought eternal salvation, as well. 

Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, later wrote For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9 NASB)

There was nothing this woman had ever done that could bring her the Great Rescue from eternal damnation or the rescue she so desperately needed from herself and her sinful actions and desires. Freedom could not be manufactured by any amount of good deeds. It came by faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone, and it still does. Her freedom was born at the feet of Jesus, and it still is. 

There is no sinner so vile, no wrongdoing so heinous that our God cannot forgive, cleanse, heal, save. No one is so far from grace that sōzō is not possible. No one. 

Are you weary with your own sin? Are you exhausted of watching the mistakes of a loved one? There is only one place to go with that weariness. The feet of Jesus is the place where rest, refreshment, and restoration are always available. Don't tarry, dear ones. Go to Jesus with your burdens, and receive the sōzō you so desperately need. 

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Link for last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/06/maggie-turn-loving-and-praying.html

Faith and Fidelity (Luke 7:50)

And He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." (Luke 7:50 NASB)

The word translated as "faith" in this verse is pistis. This word is sometimes translated as faith, assurance, or fidelity. Translated as faith, it is used to indicate an absolute, unwavering certainty of something. This woman had the absolute certainty that Jesus was the Messiah and that He had the power to both forgive her sins and set her free from her bondage to sin. She staked her life to that truth. 

This word is also sometimes translated as fidelity. It expresses a sense of solidity and constancy. One who has fidelity is unwavering and solid as a rock. That is the kind of faith the woman with the alabaster vial had in Jesus. She was so certain of her faith in Christ that she was through with wavering, through with being tossed about by her sin and her sinful desires. She was a lost sheep who had been found and she was done with her wandering, finally, permanently done with going astray. 

It is the kind of faith in God we should also have. When we, too, have pistis, we will likewise be done with our straying from Christ. That is not to say we will never sin again, but our wandering and our bent toward that sinful lifestyle will be done. Our love for Christ will supersede our love for this world. 

This kind of faith is born in a desperate weariness of sin and the price it exacts. It is found in the same position this weeping penitent woman assumed. When we, like her, willingly and humbly position ourselves at the feet of Jesus, filled with sorrow for our sin and in overwhelming joy at the love and mercy of God, we, too, can have this kind of faith. 

How does our faith compare to the faith of this woman? Do we have a firm, unwavering assurance that brings freedom and life or are we still clinging to some of the vestiges of our old life?

There is freedom in pistis. Pray today that we and our loved ones would embrace this saving, life-changing faith and be done with wavering and wandering astray. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/06/the-terrorist-prayer-list.html

The Power of Position (Luke 7:38,49)

and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume.

Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man who even forgives sins?" (Luke 7:38, 49 NASB)

Real estate agents often say, "Location is everything".  In these verses, we find the importance of location before God as well. 

In the first instance, the repentant, weeping woman positioned herself behind Jesus and at His feet. It was the position of a follower (from behind) and of humility (at His feet). When she dried His feet with her hair, she was not only behind Him, she was kneeling at His feet, a position of penitence. Her physical position wordlessly demonstrated the attitude of her heart toward Christ. She was a repentant, humble disciple and, as she knelt at his feet, her sins were washed away and her eternal destiny was secured. She became a clean, new woman. 

The other guests took a very different position. They were "reclining at the table with Him".  These people chose a position of equality with Christ. They sat beside Him. There was no humility. There was no evidence of penitence or discipleship. In the end, they recognized that the woman, that weeping bundle of brokenness on the floor, had gained something they had not, and wondered about it. Her sins had been forgiven. There seems to have been no doubt about it. "Who is this man?" they wondered. They wondered, but neither their position nor their hearts changed, and their question went unanswered. 

The position, or "location" we choose to assume before God is vitally important, and has eternal consequences. Do we opt for an equal position, expecting that our opinions and desires have equal merit before our righteous and holy God? Do we assume the position of penitence, humility, and brokenness? There is a vast difference of heart accompanying those two positions, and we do well to examine our own position before God. 

Giving our own desires and opinions equal or greater weight in comparison to God's may be the way of our world, but it is not the way of forgiveness and healing. Only one person left the dinner party that night with a soul redeemed by mercy and grace, and it was not one of those sitting at the table. It was the weeping bundle of brokenness on the floor. Her position of humility before Christ may have seemed untenable to those at the table, but it yielded her an eternal reward, and it can do the same before us. 

Pray today that the position we and our loved ones assume before God will be one of humility and penitence. Pray, too, for the brokenness that leads to true discipleship and a life redeemed by mercy and grace. 

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Link to last night's post: http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/06/all-kinds-of-knowing.html

Approaching from Behind (Luke 7:37)

And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the perfume. (Luke 7:37, 38 NASB)

At this time, Jesus was "reclining at the table". This was not the table and chairs to which we are accustomed. It was a low table around which pillows were piled (rather than chairs) on which the guests sat. If you understand the position of the guests, you can better understand the woman's action. Jesus was seated, leaning to one side, with His feet behind Him. 

This woman knew Jesus was in the house and came prepared to offer a gift of love to Him. She quietly approached and, by the time she arrived just behind Jesus, tears were streaming down her face. She was overcome with her love for her Savior and her gratitude for the forgiveness of her sins, as well as conviction/grief over her sin. We might have tapped Him on the shoulder to let Him know we were there, but she just knelt behind Jesus, with tears dripping onto those precious feet.  

She had come with a lovely gift, but she did not even try to catch His eye or look Jesus in the face. She was not trying to earn points with Him, she was simply there to honor Him. 

It's one thing to do public acts of love for Jesus in a way that brings recognition to ourselves. It's another thing entirely to honor Jesus "from behind, at his feet". How often do we offer silent, loving acts of service "from behind"? How often are our actions motivated only by extravagant love and immense gratitude?

Today, pray that we and our loved ones would be filled with "behind" love that seeks no recognition but only strives to honor Him. 

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The link for last might's post is here:  

http://leannahollis.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-friendly-community.html