Making Biscuits

I recently completed a Beth Moore Bible study, her latest, "Entrusted"1, and I thank my sisters at First Baptist Canton (the two Barbaras, Tangella, Kathy...and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone...) for their joyful dedication in bringing this study to the north Canton community.  It was a pure joy.

In the study, toward the end, Beth asked her pupils to consider their own ministries and those areas that are the most troublesome.  On Day Three of Section 3, we were examining 2 Timothy 2:15.  I ask you to read it below, as it is pertinent to our study today of Hebrews 3, the main text.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

On this topic, here is what I wrote in my workbook the day I was plowing through my Bible study "homework":  "Regardless of the biblical teaching, if we twist the Scriptures in order to remove the power, reality, applicability of them to us today, then we are profaning the Word of God and spreading error."

This is something constantly on my mind as I study and especially as I blog (and vlog).  There are many times in writing a blog post I stop and ask the Spirit if my interpretation is right.  The consequences for being wrong are just too great.

In particular, and extremely relevant to Hebrews 3, is the tendency to crash one truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ into pieces against another.  If I, and others who teach, "correctly teach the word of truth", we won't do that.

So, here is our passage from Hebrews 3 today, ESV translation.  We may spend more than one post here.  We'll see.

1Therefore, holy brothers,^a you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s^b house. 3For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.^c

7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
10Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
11As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

12Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.15As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

The theme that resonates through this chapter with me is "steadfastness".  Interestingly, when I googled "steadfastness in Christ" the first page was full of Mormon links.  I mention this to point out the potential for erroneous interpretation in this passage.  One of the reliable sources I often visit in blogging, gotquestions.org also roped 2 Timothy 2:15 into the study of this topic.  So, you see, it is a delicate one.

The image that comes to mind for me is making biscuits.  I hope to God that I am a better Christian blogger than I am a biscuit-maker!  The trick to making a light and fluffy biscuit is to not "handle" the dough overly much.  The more you handle it, knead it, stir it, the heavier and clunkier your biscuit. You end up serving something no one wants to eat, causing your Southern sisters to cluck and shake their heads!

So, this is what I want you to do.  Read Hebrews 3 here or, if you are really intrigued, in a couple of other translations, and then jot down in a couple of sentences what God seems to be saying here through the author of Hebrews.  And, next time we are together here in cyberspace, I'll try to make some good, fluffy biscuits!

Father, once again, I thank you that Your Word is divine.  We are like ants trying to comprehend a skyscraper.  Without the illumination your Holy Spirit provides, our understanding of the Bible is impossible.  Precious Lord, please protect our souls from error.  We are so prone, as were our spiritual ancestors, the members of the first century church!  If they, then how much more so we?  So, guard our hearts and at the same time illumine them!  Let Your Word be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1    Moore, B., Moore, M., & Smith, K. (2016). Entrusted: A study of 2 Timothy. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press. 

Oh Sugar! Pass the Salve!

Warning:  Painfully, blatantly transparent post ahead!

One of the truths God has pounded into my soul along the walk is this:  we Christians all have different pitfalls as well as different spiritual gifts.  I was thinking about this this morning as I threw the rest of a delicious pecan pie into the trash can.  It nearly killed me. One of my peculiarities is that I hate to waste food.  This was woven into the very fabric of my soul by my mother, who was born in the throes of the Great Depression, the daughter of a Depression Mama.  My grandmother, Ma, used to beg to take tomato sandwiches with us in a cooler when she went with our family on vacay.  Such are my roots.

This otherwise altruistic and "good" tendency runs headlong into my sugar addiction, a snare Satan uses to undermine my otherwise (thank you, Jesus!) excellent health.  To some, pecan pie (basically, sugar) is not sin. To me, it can be ... and usually becomes a trap.  Of course, the pecan pie was merely the "trap of the week"...

It's hard to find the glory in temptations, but I submit to you that glory is there.  Look at today's passage with me, Romans 12:3-8 (NET)

3For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith. 4For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function, 5so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another. 6And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

In those individual, unique traps Satan sets for us lie opportunities to glorify God by resisting temptation.  Another piece of beauty is that these temptations keep us humble.  Let me share with you my own "humble pie" this morning, a glimpse into my own warfare story.  I believe we tend to idolize people or to think more highly of them than we ought to think.  I also believe we tend to idolize ourselves, thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought.

As a child, I accepted Christ and then re-affirmed my commitment to Him as a teen.  From there, I did my best to follow Him.  However, I was proud, very, very proud.  I tended to look on others with a certain amount of disdain, as opposed to compassion.  As I tried to do everything "by the Book", this condition became worse and worse.  And, the very worst part?  I had no idea it was happening.  I was totally blind to my own sin.

The Lord used a series of devastating experiences to open my eyes to my idolatry, my self-exaltation, my pride.  This sin continues to plague me, although due to my history with Him, thankfully I am somewhat more aware of it now.  My sinful pride was and is the flip-side of my spiritual gifts.  That's the way it usually is, which is why Paul began to talk about gifts of the Spirit in the same breath as he spoke about humility.  (Sort of like my sugar addiction/saving food conundrum)

Examples:  if you have the gift of mercy, beware that you don't become an "enabler".  If you have the gift of teaching, make sure you don't neglect the exercise of that knowledge, the service which should flow from increased illumination/revelation.  You get my drift.  If we carefully look at our own "gift bag", we can probably find our corresponding weak spots.  This is what Paul means by "sober discernment".

These should produce in our lives humility, the meekness that can only come from Above. The other night, Easter Sunday, I watched again The Passion of the Christ.  In the context of how He allowed men to do what they did to Him, I marveled that He "opened not His mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).  He did respond to questions from the Sanhedrin and from Pilate, the most honest/earnest seeker of them all on that dastardly day.  But, to Herod, that pompous buffoon, He said nothing.  The King of the Universe! The Creator of all that was made!  He humbly said nothing.

I'm still learning about humility, as those closest to me know.  Humility is the soothing salve that heals the burns inflicted by the fire in my soul.  As painful, horribly painful, as the "burns" I've received over the years have been, I am so, so thankful for them!  They served to shine a laser beam on my dreadfully prideful heart.  They increased my "sober discernment" about myself and changed the way I view others.  As Paul reminds us all, "we belong to each other."

Do we really want to be more like Jesus Christ? It is a fearful thing to open our hearts a crack, to let the Holy Spirit flay your heart open and expose things He wants to root out of there...to allow God's balm of humility to seep in.  Oh, but I exhort you, Christians, to do it, even as I daily exhort myself.

As we close in prayer today, pray along with me a prayer of St. Augustine of Hippo:
"Lord Jesus, let me know myself and know you,
And desire nothing, save only you.
Let me hate myself and love you.
Let me do everything for the sake of you.
Let me humble myself and exalt you."

Amen.

Source:

http://saintaugustineacademy.com/saint-augustine-of-hippo-facts-prayers/

But, But, ... BUT....

We are at the end of the book of Galatians.  Here we find an apostle Paul who was weary - - from the disputes which the Judaizers had stirred up among the Galatians, Paul was "over it".  I imagine he felt like he had said all he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to say on the matter.

There comes a point where arguing does no good.  Frankly, I feel that way when arguing about certain Biblical teachings.  Certainly, there are major doctrines of the Christian faith which are indispensable and undeniably right, "one right answer" issues.  The Bible and Holy Spirit make these clear.  An example is the tug-of-war which was going on between the Galatian church and the Judaizers, who were teaching that in order to have a right relationship with God the Law still had to be followed to the letter, and moreover, that it was the following of Mosaic Law which brought salvation.  This was no petty dispute.  It is important to "contend for the faith" in such situations! Otherwise, people will continue to be lost, without Christ Jesus, because they have heard and believed a false gospel.

That's not what I'm referring to this morning.  There are sincere believers who are absolutely convinced that they have every minute detail in the Bible "figured out".  Furthermore, it is often a point of pride for them, as it was for the Judaizers.  These legalists in the Galatian church viewed those who became swayed to their point of view as "conquests" or "notches on the belt" more than anything else.  Pride...such a joy-stealer, eye-blinder, ministry-killer!

Look, I don't have God's A-Z plan figured out.  Neither does anyone else, regardless of how vehemently they insist to the contrary.  It is possible for us to know enough, in order to walk by faith in the rest.

I do not have to know the exact moment that Jesus Christ is going to return.  It is enough for me to know that He will, in God the Father's own perfect timing.
I do not have to know what transpired in Jesus' life from age 12 to 30.  It is enough for me to know God's revelation of Him to me through the Old and New Testaments.  It is enough to know and accept that He lived, died, was buried, rose from the dead, and now lives again, seated at the right hand of God the Father, and that He did made perfect, complete atonement, so I could have an eternal relationship with Elohim (the triune God).  It is enough.  God gives us the knowledge and wisdom we need.

We can choose to argue endlessly with each other and/or boast about things in which we have no business claiming credit.  OR, we can choose to live faithfully, daily choosing to fulfill the callings God has given to each of us.  If we choose the former, we will diminish our effectiveness in God's kingdom, "hindering the gospel".  If we choose the latter - - letting God do His marvelous work in and through us, giving Him the glory, we have then chosen well.  Paul knew this, which is why in today's verses he gives pride the old "punch down".

14-16 For my part, I am going to boast about nothing but the Cross of our Master, Jesus Christ. Because of that Cross, I have been crucified in relation to the world, set free from the stifling atmosphere of pleasing others and fitting into the little patterns that they dictate. Can’t you see the central issue in all this? It is not what you and I do—submit to circumcision, reject circumcision. It is what God is doing, and he is creating something totally new, a free life! All who walk by this standard are the true Israel of God—his chosen people. Peace and mercy on them!

17 Quite frankly, I don’t want to be bothered anymore by these disputes. I have far more important things to do—the serious living of this faith. I bear in my body scars from my service to Jesus.

18 May what our Master Jesus Christ gives freely be deeply and personally yours, my friends. Oh, yes!

Galatians 6:14-18  (The Message)

So, let's be discerning about what we choose to "argue" about and "boast" about.  It is God, after all, who creates this totally new, free life we Believers are given to live and walk in.  That is why I so love the Latin phrase, "Soli Deo Gloria" - - glory ONLY to God!

Father, thank you so much for giving to your "true Israel" the gift of eternal life, and giving it free, deeply and personally!  May our focus be on allowing You to do in and through us this revolutionary, transformative thing of beauty, and in so doing, may all the glory, honor and praise be only Yours! In Jesus' name, amen.

Cake Frosting

Christmastime is a visual feast.  Everywhere we look, people in our country are focused on the glittery and the flashy.  Our family is excited about my niece's wedding next week. I've heard there will be a cake, and that it will be beautiful.  People expect to see an impressive cake at weddings. But, really, if the cake tastes bad, who cares how fancy the frosting is?

Some of us are hyper-focused on the visual; others are blind as a bat.  Some have excellent gifts of intuition.  Others are clueless as a goat.  I have a friend who is SO good at this - - - noticing how others are feeling, knowing exactly what to say at the right time.  It is hard not to be envious of such a great gift.

The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. 

Psalm 146:8a

But the LORD said to Samuel, "Don't judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him.

The LORD doesn't see things the way you see them. 

People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7

It gives me a little comfort, as one lacking great gifts of discernment and "noticing", that Samuel wasn't so hot at this either.  God had sent him to anoint the next king of Israel.  Like most of us, he was making judgments based on what his physical eyes saw, rather than what the Holy Spirit was whispering to his heart.  He was missing the cake, for the frosting.

God the Father wanted us to really see His Son, at His birth.  I think this is why Jesus' birth was so simple and unadorned.  Other than the angelic announcement, which a few straggling shepherds witnessed, there was nothing majestic about His birth.  He knows we are distracted by glittery things. That is why He removed those distractions, so that we could truly see.

Today was a wonderful Sunday of worship and fellowship - - - two presentations of the choir musical at church, followed by lunch with friends, followed by frenzied preparations for a Sunday School class party, and terminating in the wonderful party itself.  When I got home, though, I found myself craving "cake".  Having been too rushed this morning to sit down, meditate on the Scriptures and blog, I did not want to end the day without some healthy heart food, meditating on the Bread of Life, the true cake of Advent.  All the rest is frosting.

In 1 Samuel 16:3, God promised to show Samuel, to open his eyes, so that he could recognize the next king of Israel.  If we but take the time to seek Him, open our hearts to Him, He will open the eyes of our hearts as well, open them as only He can.

Lord God, in this Advent season we need to get past the frosting to taste the cake, get past the wrapping, to get to the Gift inside.  Don't let us miss hearts this Christmas, Lord, especially Yours.
In Jesus' name, amen.

Holiday Perseverance and Discernment

Good morning,

This is not going to be my typical post, as it has not been a typical morning.  Yesterday was like "Thanksgiving Celebration 1", with my husband's side of the family's event and then our church's Thanksgiving Feast last night.  The youth had a "lock-in" afterwards.  My part to help with the latter was to be at the church this morning in order to have breakfast set up for 70 or so kids by 6:00 a.m., and then get them all picked up by 8:15.  With that mission accomplished, I came home to greet the appliance repairman, who could not stay because the 2-person job was short one technician.  Then, it was to care for the sick turtle, feed the dog, potty the dog, etc.  Before I knew it, it was nearly 10:00. After this, it will be on to decorating the house for Christmas....if I'm not too distracted to do so.
'Tis the season.

In the midst of all this, I read 2 Corinthians 11:16-33.  In this passage Paul was telling the Corinthians about his experiences as a missionary-evangelist-church planter.  It is sobering to read of all he endured:

• 39 lashes with the whip on 5 separate occasions
• beaten with a cane ("caning") on 3 separate occasions
• stoned once
• shipwrecked three times, and one of those was drifting in the ocean for a day and night
• in danger from a number of sources most of the time
• let down in a rope basket, through a window in the city wall
• sleepless nights
• hungry and thirsty many times
• falsely accused and in prison on several occasions, for a total of 5-6 years
• always, during all the above, anxiously concerned for the young churches

When I look at this list, I realize that my minor challenges are, well....minor.  It helps me regain perspective!  The reason Paul shared all this with the Corinthians was to establish his credibility as a true apostle of Jesus Christ.  He references the false apostles who had been beguiling the Corinthians, in verses 12-15 (NET).

12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may eliminate any opportunity for those who want a chance to be regarded as our equals in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will correspond to their actions.

I'm not gifted with a great deal of discernment, when it comes to examining other people.  My husband has an abundance of that gift.  But, I'm grateful for when God does give me an extra helping.

Certainly, Satan opposed Paul, because of how he was spreading the gospel so diligently and faithfully.  While satanic opposition can be a validation of a person's ministry, the greater proof is whether or not the believer stays true to the Word of God.  It is sad to contemplate the reality that there are false prophets in the midst of The Body.  But, it is certain that there are.  Like their true master, they disguise themselves as the holiest of the holy.  While we may be deceived, God is never fooled.  He knows His own.

One thing I've noticed is that the "wolves in sheep's clothing" are often prideful.  They draw attention to their "accomplishments" as if they were responsible.  Their eyes are on themselves.  After all, again, they are following the example of their true master, the evil one, whose pride led to his eternal downfall.  True servants of the Most High God know that they are incapable (in and of themselves) of any good thing.  They recognize that it is His Spirit at work in them that accomplishes His will, and they give Him the glory for it.  They keep their eyes firmly fixed on Him.

So, here we have two valuable "litmus tests":  

• are they in-line with the Word of God as revealed in Scripture?  and 
• are they humble?

Open the eyes of our hearts, Lord!  

Dear Father, thank you for discernment and perseverance in the face of various types of trials.  No matter what my brothers and sisters are enduring today, Lord, give them your strength and your comfort.  Some of them are dealing with anxiety, loneliness, sickness, pain, fear, persecution. Whatever our challenges today, may we keep our eyes firmly fixed on You, our Savior.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Ain't Me; It HE!

Good morning,

At first reading 2 Cor. 10 seems like a strange, little chapter.  No one verse jumps out until the very end.  You get the idea that Paul is uncomfortable talking about himself, to some extent, and so talks all around the actual point until he gets to the very end.  What's going on here is that the Corinthians, as mentioned before, were at the nexus of a spiritual "power grab" from competing religious factions, of which Paul was one.  Paul was defending his authority, with meekness, but he was also pointing out that the Corinthians, by focusing on all these "better than thou" comparisons were missing the point.

I think that we tend to do that in Christian circles today.  While it's true that "spiritual fruit" is an indicator of God's blessing, we should not get "hung up" on that.  There are times of dormancy, which are not only a natural part of the growth of fruit trees, but also of ministries.  When a ministry has been through a particularly nasty attack from Satan, the results will be visible and plain.  It often takes some time to recover.  One of the biggest fallacies of comparing ministries is failing to realize that God works in His own ways and in His own time.  Some folks "stars" are "ascending" while others' are on the wane, at any given point in time.  So what?  Soli Deo Gloria!

The main thing is this:  each ministry must remain true to its calling and true to the Word of God, using powerful God-tools to smash warped philosophies and tear down barriers against that Truth (vs. 4-5).  That should be the focus.  Then, if there is any comparing, boasting, bragging or claiming of credit to be done, it should be the way Paul put it in verses 17 and 18:

17 But the one who boasts must boast in the Lord. 18 For it is not the person who commends himself who is approved, but the person the Lord commends.

NET

This is meekness: not some trumped-up sense of false humility, but rather a determined, carnality-stomping focus on what He has done, not on what we have done.  "God gives the increase", not us. (1 Cor. 3:6)  Since He is in charge of results, why all this comparing?  Paul says when we do that we demonstrate a lack of proper understanding (vs. 12).  Indeed.

A frequent, unfortunate outcome of spiritual pride is that it blinds us to what God wants to do in our ministries next.  We are so sure WE know where God is going to lead us that we miss seeing what He would like to do.  I know I've been guilty of that.  "Man judges on the outward appearance, but God judges the heart."  My recollection of 1 Samuel 16:7.  Here it is from the NET:

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. God does not view things the way men do. People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Samuel was making comparisons between the sons of Jesse, and he thought for sure that Eliab, one of the taller, handsomer sons, was the one God would choose as Israel's next king.  But, no....and the verse above is what God spoke to Samuel in response.

Basically, spiritual pride just kills spiritual discernment.  So, let's seek meekness in our walks, in our ministries ... not seeking to promote ourselves, but rather, seeking to promote our Lord and His saving gospel.  We are called to meekness and to faithfulness.  He will grow His work in and through us.  He will "give the increase"!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QqBJu55oXM 

Father, please forgive me for my self-aggrandizement, my extreme deficit of meekness.  Oh Lord! It's all about You!  Nobody else.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Got It All Figured Out

Good Evening,

This is a deviation from the usual time that I post my blog.  All day today I've been attending a political event and will also be doing the same tomorrow.  So, I've waited until tonight to have my personal devotional time.  Not the best practice, but as I'm sure is the case in your life, "some days are just like that".

The text for today is 1 Corinthians 2:14-16.   Here it is in The Message version:

14-16 The unspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can’t receive the gifts of God’s Spirit. There’s no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit—God’s Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God’s Spirit is doing, and can’t be judged by unspiritual critics. Isaiah’s question, “Is there anyone around who knows God’s Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?” has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ’s Spirit.

There are people who say they will not come to Jesus Christ until they have all their questions about Him and the Christian faith resolved.  More than likely, those people will never come to Christ.

Let me explain why I believe this.  Great amounts of factual knowledge never brought anyone to salvation through Jesus Christ.  An evangelist almost never "reasons" someone into being saved, although that is not because our faith is unreasonable.

First of all, some people are disingenuous when they say that they'll come to Christ when they get all their questions answered.  They use this as an excuse, to keep Jesus Christ "out of their hair".  At their core, they are rebellious, not wanting to submit to anyone, much less to a God.  They are their own god, and that suits them just fine.

Second, while ours is a defensible faith and a reasonable faith, a person can never get enough "facts" to enable them to avoid "the leap of faith".  God planned it that way.  The scriptures say that "without faith, it is impossible to please Him; for he who comes to God must believe that He IS and the He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).  God desires that we trust and depend on Him, not on facts we can amass.

This is why the Holy Spirit is crucial to our coming to Jesus Christ.  Unless the Holy Spirit draws a person toward Christ, we in our unregenerate state are unable to receive Him.  God has promised that the person, however, who diligently seeks Him will surely find Him.  God doesn't play "gotcha".

So, what is it that the Holy Spirit uses to draw a person to Jesus Christ?  From my observation, it is the love and grace of God, demonstrated in His forgiveness and restoration through His Son, to which we are drawn.  Factual, "empirical" evidence is insufficient.  The Law is certainly a distinct turn-off.  (No one is attracted to the "thou shalt nots"!)  The Law is useful to the extent that it shows us what sin is (Romans 3:20, 7:7); but, it does not redeem or restore.

Do you remember the extravagant woman, in Luke 7:36-50?  You remember!  The one who crashed the dinner party, poured expensive ointment on Jesus' feet, crying hysterically, kissing His feet...
Who was she?  What drew her to Jesus? Did she come to Him because she had studied the facts and had it all figured out?  Doubtful. Scripture does not identify her other than to imply that she was well-known, infamous even.  Either she was someone who was keenly aware of her desperate need for a Savior; or, she had already encountered Jesus and was expressing her boundless love and gratitude. I'll bet it was the latter.  I'll bet it was that she had been made spiritually alive, encountered God's unreasonable grace, as typified by Jesus' words to her there at the house of Simon the Pharisee:

"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."

 (vs. 50)

Not "your intellect".  Not "your proofs".  Not "your womanly charms". Not your "good works". Faith.  Boom!
Senseless, isn't it?  Silly, perhaps? Unfathomable, no?  "Unfair" - - - totally.  The woman in Luke 7, probably a prostitute (she was certainly shunned), appeared to be in no way deserving of the grace of Jesus Christ; and, she knew that right well.  She had "spiritual discernment" about her own, broken condition and about the priceless gift of grace she had been given.

Oh that we could all be like her, realizing every day our desperate need for more and more and more of Jesus!

Father, I thank you that I don't have it all figured out - - - and never will, unless You choose to reveal all to Your children when we are with you face-to-face, forever.  I imagine You will have us walking by faith for all eternity, for that is the way You have given us here.  If our faith pleases You here, how much more will that faith relationship be intensified in Heaven?  Father, teach us to every day tap into Your love and grace, not only for our own sakes, but even more importantly for Your kingdom. It is Your love that draws people to salvation (2 Corinthians 5:14).  May we show it, passionately, to this lost, dying world.  In Jesus' name, amen.