Adventures in Faith: Coffee Chat & Beth Moore

How about a little coffee chat? I made us some home made pumpkin spice lattes....

Have you heard of Beth Moore? She is totally on my list of people that I want to meet someday. If you don't know, she is an evangelist, teacher, author, and founder of Living Proof Ministries. My cousin Leah posted a series of videos on her blog {HERE} of a message from Beth. You should go and watch these videos. The message is called "The Alabaster Box" and God keeps bringing different parts to my mind after watching the lesson, and I just need to share them with you. In the videos she is teaching on Luke 7:36-50 and the account of a sinful woman washing and anointing the feet of Jesus when he was eating dinner at the house of a Pharisee. 

If you watch the video, Beth does a great job of explaining the scene that is written in Luke 7. This sinful woman comes into the Pharisee's house with an alabaster jar of perfume and with her tears washed Jesus' feet. The Pharisee (on his high horse) is looking down on this woman and her actions (both now and previously) when Jesus utilizes a teachable moment. He tells the Pharisee (Simon) a story about 2 men, both in debt (one a little and one a lot), both unable to pay their debt, both men get their debts forgiven. Jesus asks the Simon who would love the one who forgave their debt more - the one who owed little, or the one who owed much? Simon has a "duhhh" moment and answers correctly that the one who was forgiven much would love the forgiver more, at the same time realizing how ridiculous he has behaved in the presence of the Son of God. You see, Beth points out that Pharisees were characterized by what they did NOT do out of reverence to God. They loved to be know for what the do not do. They loved to be 'better' than everyone else because they did not have many sins to be forgive - or so they thought. And a Pharisee thinks "I'm right. I can act this way because I am right and the sinful woman is wrong!"

The sinful woman was more than just that when she left - she became a forgiven woman. Someone who is forgiven is characterized by what she DOES out of her love for God. She was so thankful she got down on the floor, used her tears and hair to clean Jesus' dirty, filthy feet. (Think about that for a minute. Jesus pretty much walked everywhere. On dirt roads. In sandals. No pedicures. Yuck-o!)

This next part that Beth said has been running through my mind all day - How much different would our witness as Christians be if the thing known about us the most was what we DID DO out of love for GOD. 

So often today Christians are know for what they "don't do". No drinking. No smoking. No drugs. Don't have sex outside of marriage. Don't tell lies. No cheating. No bad language/swearing. The list goes on and on, different then the Pharisee's list, but I know I am guilty of thinking I am better than other people because I don't do these things (or at least try not to in some cases). 

Jesus challenge to the Pharisee and to us is to be like the forgiven sinful woman. We are all sinners. EVERYONE! Therefor the forgiven should be SO thankful, and showing that thankfulness though actions. Serving others. Taking care of things that others have left undone like washing dirty, stinky feet! (*Side note: I do believe in salvation through faith, not works. But I also believe that those who are forgiven of their sins are changed from the inside out and can't help but to show this new love to others through acts.) 

So, what if Christians today were know for what the DO and not what they DON'T DO? 

What do you think?