I first became acquainted with Elizabeth Nejedlo aka Blue Jean Gypsy on instagram. I was initially drawn to her posts and shared love of ripped jeans.

If you’ve never read her, do yourself a favor and check out her beautiful instagram page (her photography is a work of art). You will read posts you relate to that will inspire you. The devotionals and Bible studies on her blog are excellent – can you tell I’m a fan? She is a talented writer with a huge heart for God.

I’m honored and humbled to have Blue Jean Gypsy featured here today. There are links at the bottom to help you connect as well as a link to Elizabeth’s Etsy store where you can find her gorgeous scripture cards. If you’re feeling discouraged by sin past or present, today’s post is sure to bless you.

Fallen.

I have fallen more times than I care to admit.

Fallen into a “little” sin that seemed to creep in without me realizing it.

Fallen quietly without anyone noticing but me.

But other falls?

They have been not so tiny. They have been not so private. And they have been not so quiet.

We all fall.

And whether our “fall” is quiet or deafening, whether it is gradual or rapid, whether it is private or public – the exposing of it can leave us feeling raw; vulnerable; ashamed. Sometimes even hopeless.

I can only imagine how the adulteress felt in John 8.

She was caught in her sin of adultery and brought by the teachers of the law and the Pharisees to the temple where Jesus was teaching.

She was brought to a public place.

Brought into the crowd, possibly uncovered;exposed.

Humiliated.

Shamed.

Her sin proclaimed in front of neighbors and peers. And then placed in front of, perhaps even thrown at the feet of, Jesus.

Our own sin can place us here as well.

When the mask is ripped off, when its revealed, when we no longer can run from it…we often find ourselves at the feet of Jesus.

And there in that place that the adulteress could not run or turn from, the religious leaders asked Jesus what her punishment should be.

A question we perhaps ask Him in this place too.

The Mosaic Law stated she should be stoned for her adultery. I imagine her breathing was labored as she waited with trepidation for the death sentence she anticipated. A feeling many of us can relate to as we feel our own mistakes are beyond repair.

But such punitive words did not come from Jesus.

Instead, He bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground twice and said this….

John 8:6-8 NIV
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

Not one of them was sinless.

And each one left without casting a stone.

After they had all gone, the woman, left alone with Jesus, was forgiven.

And we, when we are left alone with Jesus, whether the world has cast stones at us or not, whether we have cast them at ourselves…..we, when we are left alone with Jesus, with just our repentant, exposed hearts….are forgiven too.

I have been at the feet of Jesus. Broken. Ashamed. Exposed. Click To Tweet

I have been at the feet of Jesus waiting for an answer. And He has lifted me up off my knees with His love and redemption.

And He will do this for you too.

I don’t know what Jesus wrote on the ground. The passage does not tell us this. But I imagine it was one of the following words, words that your heart may need whispered to it today:

GRACE.

FORGIVEN.

LOVED.

REDEEMED.

Whatever it was He wrote…it was erased. Erased by Jesus himself, erased by the wind, erased by the trampling of feet or by time.

But these words? Hear them today.

These words? When He writes them on our hearts as we seek forgiveness from Him?

They are not written in dust or dirt, but with the redemptive power of the cross!

And cannot be erased.

Whatever it is you have been afraid to expose, whatever you might think is unredeemable, whatever hurts to lay bare….lay it at the feet of Jesus.

Place it at the cross.

For Jesus didn’t ask the adulteress why she did what she did. He didn’t ask what else she had done. He didn’t ask her what she could have done to prevent the sin. He simply said,

“Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11, NIV)

I hope the woman was able to leave that sin there in the very spot it was exposed. I hope she stepped out into a new life that reflected a redemptive light and a changed heart.

Why?

Because it is my hope for each of us.

A hope that we accept the beautiful, free gift that cost Jesus so much.

A hope that we accept the forgiveness that He offers, that we embrace a new heart and a new start; stepping into a life that seeks to live righteously-casting off the past to be deeply rooted in Christ.

Blessings,
Elizabeth

Hi, I am Elizabeth. I am a wife, mom of four, nurse, photographer, writer, and child of God.
I love documenting life through photography and sharing what is in my heart through words.
I can be found most days wearing ripped jeans, with a camera or journal in hand, and sipping a cup of hot chocolate in the morning.
I spent a long season not only wandering in the wilderness, but running from God. Even so, He never gave up on me – welcoming me back with open arms as I stepped out of the wilderness and into the light of his beautiful promises.

You can connect with Elizabeth in the following ways:

https://www.instagram.com/blue.jean.gypsy

https://bluejeangypsy.weebly.com/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueJeanGypsyShop (Etsy)

https://www.facebook.com/bluejeangypsybyelizabethnejedlo