BROADCASTS.com

b'(Is.43:16-21;\\xa0\\xa0 Ps.126:1-6;\\xa0\\xa0 Phil.3:8-14;\\xa0\\xa0 Jn.8:1-11)\\xa0 \\u201cForgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal.\\u201d In times past the Lord opened \\u201ca way in the sea\\u201d for the Israelites to pass through, while Pharoah\\u2019s army He \\u201csnuffed out and quenched like a wick.\\u201d\\xa0 Afterward, He \\u201cbrought back the captives of Zion\\u201d from the lands to which they had been scattered to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.\\xa0 \\u201cGreat things\\u201d the Lord has done for His people, but through the prophet Isaiah He enjoins all to \\u201cremember not the events of the past,\\u201d to \\u201cconsider not\\u201d these mighty and wondrous deeds.\\xa0 For as marvelous as His deeds once were, now He proclaims, \\u201cSee, I am doing something new!\\u201d\\xa0 And indeed, something new is in our midst. We see perfect evidence of this surpassing work in the apostle Paul, who has \\u201caccepted the loss of all things\\u201d \\u2013 including any righteousness this former Pharisee may have had by the law \\u2013 that he may \\u201cgain Christ and be found in Him,\\u201d for he knew that all good things are to be found in Jesus the Lord.\\xa0 And now he is but \\u201cdepending on faith to know Him and the power of His resurrection.\\u201d Here is the new thing which is done: the only Son has died and been raised from the grave, never to die again.\\xa0 And so Paul seeks to share \\u201cof His sufferings,\\u201d to be \\u201cconformed to His death,\\u201d that he too \\u201cmay attain the resurrection from the dead.\\u201d\\xa0 Nothing else is worth our time or our breath in this world; only this \\u201cone thing\\u201d calls us upward to God. And see how this new thing has affected the adulterous woman, the sinner who represents us all.\\xa0 She is brought forward in all her abomination, deserving death for the act she has knowingly committed\\u2026 yet she leaves Christ\\u2019s presence an entirely free woman.\\xa0 Free not merely to go as she pleases, but free from the sin which should have spelled her condemnation. Here is the new thing as it affects every human soul: the forgiveness of our sins.\\xa0 And what joy this should bring us!\\xa0 For if Jesus who is to judge the heart of all sentient beings does not condemn us, who shall stand with stone in hand to punish our transgression?\\xa0 But heed, my brother, my sister, the Lord\\u2019s due warning, if you would truly know the grace of this new thing \\u2013 \\u201cfrom now on do not sin anymore\\u201d \\u2013 or what is new and bringing refreshment will become old and stale very soon.\\xa0 Forward we must strive all the days of our lives, leaving well behind our sins; only in heaven will we take full hold of Him who has taken possession of us by His mercy. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Cleansing" from Cleansing Human Frailty, fourth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, cleanse us of our sin and draw us into your kingdom. YHWH, great things you have done for us, and so we should announce your praise.\\xa0 For you have put behind us all our sins and call us upward now to you in your Son.\\xa0 There seemed no way through this desert, but like torrents of water in the wasteland you have poured your grace upon us; and we are set free, and we escape judgment\\u2026 and we come running now to you. Something new you indeed accomplish in our midst, something greater than the parting of the Red Sea or the drowning of Pharaoh\\u2019s army.\\xa0 For then you saved your people from certain death, yes, as well as from slavery; but they would soon die anyway, as do all who travel here.\\xa0 But now it is eternal condemnation from which we are redeemed.\\xa0 Now everlasting life we strain toward as we embrace Jesus\\u2019 holy Cross.\\xa0 O LORD, let us but know the grace come to us in your Son!\\xa0 Thank you for your forgiveness.'