EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/31/2026
7:29 PM
My
Worship Time Focus:
PT-1 “Intro
to The Transformed Sinner”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke
7:36-50
Message of the verses: “36 Now one of the Pharisees was
requesting Him to eat with him, and He entered the Pharisee’s house and
reclined at the table. 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, 38 and standing behind Him at
His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears, and she wiped them
with the hair of her head, and began kissing His feet and anointing them with
the perfume. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to
himself, “If this Man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person
this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner!” 40 And Jesus
responded and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he
replied, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A moneylender had two debtors: the one owed
five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they were unable to repay,
he canceled the debts of both. So which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon
answered and said, “I assume the one for whom he canceled the greater debt.”
And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 And turning toward the
woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave
Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them
with her hair. 45 You gave Me no kiss; but she has not stopped kissing My feet
since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but she
anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which
are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but the one who is forgiven
little, loves little.” 48 And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
49 And then those who were reclining at the table with Him began saying to
themselves, “Who is this Man who even forgives sins?” 50 And He said to the
woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
“This passage emphasizes several key
themes: forgiveness, humility, and love. The woman’s actions demonstrate
deep repentance and devotion, contrasting with Simon the Pharisee’s lack of
hospitality and understanding. Jesus uses the parable of the two debtors to
teach that those who recognize the magnitude of their forgiveness respond
with greater love. Ultimately, Jesus affirms that faith and love are
intertwined with forgiveness, and He pronounces peace upon the woman,
highlighting the transformative power of grace and faith in Him.” (Gateway
Bible)
In this evening’s SD I want to quote
the introduction to these verses from John MacArthur’s commentary, and it will
probably take at least two SD’s in order to finish his introduction.
“Much evidence for the truthfulness
of the Christian faith can be amassed from such fields as science, history,
philosophy; and fulfilled prophecy. Yet
the truth of the gospel is also evidenced by the testimony of the transformed
lives of the redeemed.
“The profound account of the
transformation of Saul—zealous, Christian-persecuting Pharisee—to Paul—apostolic
missionary—has led, directly or indirectly, to the conversion of millions of
people through the centuries. The
transformed lives of the believers (1 Cor 6:9-11) provided a powerful witness
in that debauched city. In 1 Peter 4:3-4
Peter described the impact of believers’ lives on unbelievers.” Now first I am going to quote (1 Cor 6:9-11),
and then the verses from first Peter.
(1 Cor 6:9-11)
“9 ¶ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually
immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards,
nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
(1 Peter 4:3-4)
“For the
time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the
Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing,
drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the
same excess of dissipation, and they malign you.”
“The dramatic change in the life of
the hated tax collector Levi (Matthew) was immediately evident to those who
attended the reception he gave in Jesus’ honor (Luke 5:27-29).”
(Luke 5:27-29)
“27 ¶ After this he went out and saw a tax
collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow
me.” 28 And leaving everything, he rose
and followed him. 29 And Levi made him a
great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and
others reclining at table with them.”
“Even more
astonishing was the turnaround in Zaccheus’s life. As a chief tax collector (Luke 19:2), he
oversaw several tax collectors like Matthew, and was thus even more despised.”
(Luke 19:2)
“2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus.
He was a chief tax collector and was rich.”
“Yet his
life was forever changed the day Jesus passed through Jericho (v. 1) and
brought salvation to him (v. 9)—a change noted by the others present (v.7).” I
am just going to quote Luke 19:1-10 as that should take care of all those
verses mention above.
(Luke 19:1-10)
“1 ¶ He entered Jericho and was passing through.
2 And behold, there was a man named
Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but
on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a
sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked
up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your
house today.” 6 So he hurried and came
down and received him joyfully. 7 And
when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man
who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood
and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.
And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation
has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save
the lost.’”
“The
marked change in the life of the Samaritan woman of Sychar led many more people
from her village to believe in Jesus (John 4:39-42).”
(John 4:39-42)
“39 Many Samaritans from that town believed in
him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” 40 So when the Samaritans came to him, they
asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. 41 And many more believed because of his word.
42 They said to the woman, “It is no
longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.’”
“An
equally miraculous and uniquely stunning transformation was wrought in the
demon-possessed Gerasene man, who went from being a deadly, naked maniac to a
sane missionary (Luke 8:26-39).” And with
that quotation I will end this SD this evening.
(Luke 8:26-39)
“26 Then they sailed to the country of the
Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27
When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city
who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in
a house but among the tombs. 28 When he
saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice,
“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do
not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded
the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him.
He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break
the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?”
And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to
depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large
herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them
enter these. So he gave them permission. 33
Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd
rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. 34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they
fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had
happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had
gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they
were afraid. 36 And those who had seen
it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding
country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized
with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged
that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much
God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city
how much Jesus had done for him.”
8/31/2026
8:11 PM
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