100 Days of Right Believing: Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing (17 page)

M
y friend, here’s some more
good news
: every time you fail, there is fresh grace from Jesus to rescue you. Every time you fall short, confess your righteousness in Jesus by faith. I know you probably won’t
feel
particularly righteous, and that is why you need to say it by faith.

I have received so many testimonies of breakthroughs from people around the world who, even as they succumb to their addictions, would confess, “Even right now, I am the righteousness of God in Christ” and eventually found freedom from their bondages. It could be a smoking addiction or an alcohol or pornography addiction. Michael, a brother in Australia, happily shared, “I have just given up smoking by following what you’ve taught in your books and DVDs (about being conscious of and confessing my righteousness in Christ) whenever I was tempted to smoke. I have also been set free from twenty years of drug and alcohol abuse and am free of paranoid thoughts. I couldn’t give them up through my own efforts, but through Christ I have.”

The more these people confessed and saw themselves as righteous in Jesus, even in the midst of their failings, the more they came to see their true identity in Christ. The dead leaves began to fall, and they came to the place where they didn’t have any desire to ever smoke another cigarette, drink another drop of alcohol, or visit another pornographic website. New leaves, new flowers, and new fruits unconsciously and effortlessly sprang up in their lives. Grace put an end to the barrenness and torment of winter and ushered in perpetual spring for them.

Beloved, if you are grappling with something right now, stop struggling and start receiving. Start receiving the abundance of the Lord’s unmerited
favor. Start receiving the free gift of His righteousness. Start receiving the cleansing power of His forgiveness. There is nothing for you to do but to soak it all up and to allow His resurrection power to drive out every symptom of death and decay in your circumstances and in your life.

Can I give you an assignment today? Every time you fail, come into God’s presence and pray today’s prayer. His grace will lift you up!

D
ragged into the temple precinct like a rag doll, the woman caught in adultery (see John 8) knew there was no escape. Gloating silently, the mob of religious Pharisees threw her before the feet of a man they called Teacher. Surely, she thought, this man was the religious judge who would officially sentence her to death.

Her merciless accusers fired the first salvo: “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” (John 8:4–5). Anticipating further humiliation, she waited, but heard nothing except a deafening silence. Then, from the corner of her eye, she saw that the teacher had stooped down and was writing with His finger on the ground, with the Pharisees poised around her with rocks in their hands.

Then the teacher stood up before them, and she heard a voice so resounding with majesty that her breath caught in her throat. Articulating each word with a perfect blend of authority and compassion, He declared, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first” (John 8:7). And then He stooped to the ground once more and resumed writing as though the leaders of the synagogue were not even there.

His words bewildered her. Who
was
this teacher? Why was He defending her, a sinful woman and an adulteress? Was
this
the man from the small village of Nazareth who heals the blind and makes the lame walk again? The man whom they say hates legalism and loves sinners? As these questions whirled around in her frightened mind, she heard the sound of her salvation as the rocks that would have battered her to death fell impotent to the ground. One by one, her accusers turned and moved away.

After some time, all she could see were the teacher’s sandals. He lifted her head, and she saw His face for the first time. It was a face of compassion and love. A face that glowed with acceptance and assurance. She let her pent-up tears flow as He asked her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” (John 8:10). Throughout her ordeal, no one had spoken to her.
She
had not mattered to her accusers. But now the man who had rescued her was speaking to her and looking at her as if she
mattered
.

Gratefully, she breathed, “No one, Lord!” She knew beyond a doubt that this teacher was no ordinary teacher. That is why she addressed Him as “Lord” and not “teacher” as the Pharisees did. He
was
the Jesus everyone was talking about. Then she heard the words that she would never forget for the rest of her life: “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11).

This Jesus, who saved her life from condemnation and death, is your Savior today. Let the words He said to the woman—“Neither do I condemn you”—ring in your heart today and give you the power to overcome every sin and struggle in your life.