Foster Care.

For numerous reasons, I have grown up afraid of it, afraid of them. They were in it. 

They were kids at school, siblings in church, and the people who lived down the street from my best friend in elementary. They were always around, but sadly, I never found myself entering their world. It was unknown. And unknown is scary. Since I am one to cry when fish or turtles die, I am NOT one for unexpected goodbyes. They could just leave; they could disappear with absolutely no explanation.

There has been a day or two during work when I can hear my dad’s voice repeating what he said to me when I told him and mom I planned to major in early childhood education...

“Madison, you can’t take them all home with you.” 

A small part of my heart said, “Why not?” 

The other part of my heart said, “Dad, do not worry. I’m too scared to enter into THAT world. I always have been.”

Nearly two years in the classroom, I can say I have only experienced one moment where my heart broke into a million pieces over one of them. The fear of the unknown and the goodbye kept me from investing in, caring for, and loving on them before. Until an unexpected goodbye happened…a goodbye I did not even know about until it had already taken place. I had told them I would see them tomorrow, but I would not. I did not know my goodbye would be forever. Tears flowed for weeks on end. I cried for months at the mention of their name. I cried myself to sleep for a week straight because I could not figure out what I could do for them. Then, the Lord told me to be still. I finally made myself still and He gently whispered, “You introduced My kind of love. You did your part. Continue on.” What I feared the most was over. Though it deeply hurt, it was the first time I allowed myself to not ignore their situation as a whole, but enter right into their mess and distress.

“We can’t let the fear of loving a child that might leave us deter us; we must let the fear of a child never knowing our love drive us.” ~Jason Johnson

Adoption is not always the answer for them. No, it is usually always more difficult of a process than that. If it was a simple process, I can assure you my husband and I would already have a house full. Unfortunately, foster care is much more complicated. After several months or years, sometimes one party says reunify; another says terminate rights. What the system sees as a success can quickly become a failure that begins the entire process all over. These poor children are stuck in a limbo for a large portion of their lives. They move from home to home. They did not ask for it. They find themselves in the system because of others' poor choices. Situations are nasty. Stories are heartbreaking.

Children in the system, though, should not be what I had made them out to be. A little girl who calls me “My Nadi” is opening my eyes to all things foster care and has been for roughly four months now (I am by no means close to an expert). Ryan and I are not her foster parents. We are just two people that bounce in and out of her foster parents’ home because they happen to be my sweet family that live 8.2 miles up the road. If there is one thing I have learned by knowing this precious princess and her brother, it is that a person does not have to become a foster parent to be involved in foster care. You just have to care; you wholeheartedly care for the children in the system. (If you feel at all interested or led to foster care, though, please check into Oklahoma Fosters or the child protective services in your state).

Why enter into their mess and distress? Why not run for the hills out of fear? Why not remain indifferent? The main reason—Someone entered directly into our distress 2,000 years ago to offer hope. Except our messy situation was our own fault. We had been living in an open rebellion against God for thousands of years. Jesus came as the Redeemer. Jesus rescued us. The cost? Giving up His life on the cross as the ultimate sacrifice for all of humanity’s sin. Jesus came to heal what was broken—the relationship between man and Almighty God. He invests in, cares for, loves on, and enters into the world of all those who repent.

Foster care brings hope.

Foster care exists to mend relationships. 

Foster care helps rescue children from danger. 

Foster care begins the healing of what is broken. 

Foster care reflects Christ's love.
Foster care is a sacrifice. 

The sacrifice can be great or small.

The sacrifice can be giving up your comfortable life to foster.
The sacrifice can be saying goodbye unexpectedly.

The sacrifice can be offering babysitting or grocery shopping to foster parents. 

The sacrifice can be granting extra patience to the foster child in your classroom.

The sacrifice can be laying down all pride to ride a motorized cow around the entire mall with a 3 year old. 

Whatever the sacrifice, it is indeed worth it. Jesus thought we were worth entering into the world for. I know He thinks foster children are worth entering into their world, also. 

He showed me by introducing a princess named “Z.”

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27. (emphasis added)

Relentless Pursuit.

Knock, knock, knock.

I looked around the room at all of the invited guests in my apartment playing a board game that evening.

“Who could that possibly be? It must be a neighbor,” I said as I got up to answer my door.

Opened door.

Shock. Anger. Frustration. Confusion.

Why does he keep doing this? Doesn’t he get it?

“What part of GET out and STAY out of my life do you not understand?” I yelled quite forcefully and slammed the door shut. I fought back hot tears and sat back down in the floor. All eyes were set on me.

“WHOSE TURN IS IT?!”

Two weeks later I was on his porch, holding an unwanted Christmas present to return. It was unwanted because of the sender. I wanted to keep my absolutely adorable houndstooth pair of rain boots. But I could not. He HAD to learn. Surely he would become tired of my persistent rejections.

Door opened. No words. Just shoved rain boots in his arms and left.

Letters, donuts, Sonic, and flowers that greeted me at the door for weeks on end would be tossed immediately in the trash can. (Except the donuts and Sonic. This college girl had to eat).

My dad called and asked, “Why are you being so hard on him, Madison?”

I thought for several minutes: Why am I doing this to him? His pursuit is unlike anything I had ever seen. 

“Dad, he’s ruining my plans, my future, my life as I know and love it.”

“I like him. He brings you donuts. You need to eat a little more. You’re looking rough.” 
(Gee, thanks, Dad!)

“If I say yes to something just one time, Dad, I’ll never be able to tell him no again.”

Roughly ten months after that conversation, I found myself staring at the most beautiful ring from the most amazing guy, who was wrapping up the relentless pursuit by asking me to change all my plans, my future, and my life for him. Instead of saying no for the 5,743^rd time, I smiled with tears running down my face and screamed, “YES!”

Now that you know that happened you might think a lot less of me. And you should think a whole lot more of Ryan. We have been married for nearly 3 years now and I still apologize at least once a week for my cruelty towards him during that time all because I was not yielding to the pursuit. Ryan could have given up and stopped at any point, but he chose not to.

Ryan's pursuit of me then (and now) reflects the Lord's pursuit of my heart and soul for my whole life. The Lord graciously, faithfully, and lovingly pursues me day in and day out, regardless of me.

I grew up in church with godly parents at home teaching me about Jesus. I remember exactly where I was when I realized I was a sinner, repented, and trusted in Christ for my salvation. God’s pursuit up to that point was glorious. All the blessings He gave me through my family, Sunday school teachers, and the drama he used on a specific Sunday evening to put it all together shows His sovereignty. God’s first pursuit stirred my heart to see the need of a Savior. 

But the gospel did not stop there in my life. It does not just stop at the time of repentance. The Holy Spirit came in that moment to dwell in a 6 year old’s soul for the rest of eternity. And the journey began.

Elementary. Junior high. High School. College. Work. Friends. Family. Change. Growth. Life. It happens. Life happens.

Ugly. Dark. Worldly. Temptations. Rebellion. Hypocrisy. Pride. Sin. It creeps in. 

But God.

Just like He orchestrated the moments perfectly for me to become apart of the Redeemed, He continues throughout the journey. He watches. He listens. He sees. He knows. He reaches in. He woos. He pursues. He loves. He does not stop. He does not give up. He never lets go. He never tires.

So often I get in the way. Just like I did with Ryan. 

No, no. That is not my plan. That is not what I had pictured. That is not what I had in mind. That is not the way it should go. 

Yet, God continues to pursue my heart. Sometimes He whispers. Sometimes He shouts. Sometimes He uses His Word. Sometimes He uses my shortcomings. Sometimes He uses children's books. Sometimes He uses sunrises. Sometimes He uses flowers. Sometimes He uses experiences. Sometimes He uses memories. Sometimes He uses people. He always uses something to captivate my attention with Himself.

God is relentless in His pursuit of my soul. He is relentless in showing His glory. He is relentless in reminding me who I am in Him, where I should be, and what I am to do. Even when I say no again and again, when I do not understand, when I do not want to listen, when I run in the opposite direction, when I am afraid to say yes, He does not leave me there. In spite of myself, He continues. Praise the Lord!

His graciousness is exceeding. His love is unconditional. His faithfulness is unfathomable. His pursuit is relentlessly beautiful. 

"There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name. For you are great and do wondrous things; you alone are God. Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name. I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. 

You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness."

(Psalm 86:8-13,15)

Outside Lane.

With the lifestyle I have had since meeting Ryan, it is hard for him to believe I really was (kind of) an athlete in high school. Being back home, a few people have mentioned moments from my (not-so) glory days and he just stares at me in complete disbelief. The same cliché comment rolls off his tongue in such a sweet tone: “Madison used to run? I haven’t even seen her run to the fridge!” 

Either way, one day I will be running my child around a track like my dad did with me, and I will be telling them all about how their mom was a (self-proclaimed) track star. (People always get more confident the further in the past it becomes, right?)

My race was the 200 meter dash, the “candy cane”, “half a lap”, whatever you want to call it. I did not have the legs to run the 400 or the 800, even though many coaches thought they could turn me into a middle distance runner. I was not a decent sprinter either. I would get completely throttled in the 100. I could run the 200, and that is how it became my race.

In long distance races, most athletes want in the very inside lane to cut down on the distance they will have to run. In sprints, athletes tend to want to race in the middle lanes to be able to see their competitors in their peripheral view. I never was much for the normal way of doing things. 

Sitting back on the heating benches before my race, I would hope and pray for the most outside lane. If I got lane 1, I would secretly wish to pull something coming out of the starting blocks because I knew I could not win. I would become distracted with my competitors, the crowd, or the field events inside the track. The closer I got to the last lane, the happier and more confident I became. If my dream did come true and I was placed in the last lane, I am sure I walked with my nose in the air, knowing I had won my heat already. Why? It was all about the focus.

The way I looked at it, the further out I was, the easier I could see the finish line. If I was in my beloved last lane, once the gun went off, there was nothing (and would not be on great days) anything in my peripheral view. My focus was set on the finish line. I would run without any distractions toward my goal.

While studying Matthew 14 this last weekend, I was graciously reminded to not shake my prideful head at Peter in the story in verses 22 through 33.

Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.” (Matthew 14:22-33)


Ol’ Peter. His impulsiveness was his weakness and also his strength. Peter sees Jesus. He gets out of the boat. His focus is Jesus. He is walking on the water towards Jesus. Suddenly, Scripture says Peter saw the wind. Wait a minute! Only a few verses before it says that the boat was beaten by the waves because of the wind. Had Peter forgetten about the wind? No, of course not. His focus had changed. He became afraid and began to sink.

I am similar to Peter, especially here in this story. So often I do the exact thing. I see Jesus at work in a place. He stirs a passion in my heart. He calls me out of the boat to join Him. I jump out. I start running toward the finish line, towards Him. My focus is set on Jesus. All is well. Until, just as when I found myself racing in an inside lane of the track, I take my eyes off my focus point. I start to see things in my peripheral view. I take my eyes off of Jesus and look around at all the circumstances, dwell on the what-ifs, or entertain the thought that I could do better on my own. I quickly begin to sink. I become afraid.

Peter cries out, “Lord, save me!” And Jesus immediately catches him. Grace. Jesus asks Peter why he doubted. For Peter had a front row seat witnessing the power and authority Jesus holds. Moments later, they would get back in the boat together and the winds would cease. The disciples would worship and praise Jesus as the Son of God.

Why do I doubt? I have seen Jesus’s work in my life and others’ lives around me. He has used me in ways I never imagined and could never have dreamed on my own. Oh, me of little faith! However, when I cry out, Jesus reaches out His hand; He takes a hold of mine. He shows me His amazing grace. He reminds me what He has accomplished, what He is doing, and what He is going to do.

No matter what lane I find myself in, no matter the waves around me, my prayer is that the next time Jesus says, “Come,” when He calls me to a certain place, a certain person, or a certain project, I will jump out of the boat and place my sole focus and eyes upon Him. I will trust in who He is, remember what He has done, and look forward to what He will do. Knowing, no matter what, His grace is within my reach. I pray to run wholeheartedly towards Him, never giving the distractions a glance. After all, trusting in Jesus is infinitely better than the outside lane.

Trinity.

Dearest Trinity,

I walked into the doors of your gathering place for the first time nearly five years ago on August 8, 2010. I came to you as a little, typical church girl, only missing church a handful of times throughout my life. With that type of background comes a certain number of usual experiences. I had seen the worst kinds of hurt within the walls of a church building affect those near and dear to my heart, and I had lived the lifestyle that comes with a ritualistic routine of attending church every Wednesday and twice on Sundays, being whoever I wanted to be the rest of the time. 

Before jumping to any sort of conclusions, I was still a “good kid.” Looking back, I know there is so much more to the daily walk of a Christian than how I lived from age 6 to 17.  At age 17, God shook my idea of church and a Christian life up by moving us to another church about 20 miles away from home. Bless my parents’ hearts; I fought them to a nasty end. I realize now that I was only fighting the discomfort of the needed growth that I knew should take place. Really, God was using that country church to prepare me for my five years with you. He shook up my life, just a little bit, to break me out of the same ol’, same ol’ and desire more.

Then, I met y’all. Instantly, Trinity became the place I would call home for the rest of my adult life. You became my family. The church was real, open, loving, and most of all, gospel-centered. You created an environment that this little church girl was unfamiliar with—whether that was at the worship gathering, prayer meeting, Sunday lunch, Christmas parties, or in the middle of Downtown Diner. For the first time, I was truly experiencing the church being the people, not the building where they meet.

Words are not adequate in explaining how God has used you to shape me into who I am today and who I will be until He calls me home. Trinity has definitely had an eternal impact on my soul. You have shown me the lasting importance of the gospel and preaching it to myself each and every minute of each and every day. You have cultivated a love for the Word that I had not enjoyed before. You created a place for me to use my gifts by teaching Sunday School for three and a half years. You fueled my passions of caring for the orphans around the world. You walked with me through the worst and best times of life, maybe not even knowing. Your love and grace allowed me to be open and honest. You always pointed me to Jesus.

Having had the amazing opportunity of worshipping, living in community, and being apart of the faith family for the last five years, I know Trinity is familiar with transitions. People come, and people go. As Ryan and I prepare to go in a couple of weeks, I felt led to try to put into words my abundant thanks for all you have been to me. God has used Trinity in mighty, glorious ways, and He will continue doing so, even with little church girls, like me.

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6.

Love always,

Madison Russ

Unstained.

Let’s just cut to the chase. This world is full of pollution. Wait, wait, wait. My post today will not be about the damaging effects of smog, litter, or hairspray (I do think God has called us to take care of the world we live in, but it is not the most important issue). No, this post is about an even worse type of pollution that fills the world and has since Genesis 3: sin.

Every day I am reminded of the disgustingness of sin. I cannot open social media, drive down the road, watch television, or step off my front porch without seeing open rebellion against God. It is disheartening and discouraging to my soul, whose citizenship is elsewhere (Philippians 3:20).

Where does the Christian fit into this world? If we speak out against this pollution, we are labeled as close-minded, bigoted, and irrelevant. If we agree, we are literally at odds with our own souls, the Bible, and God, who is our ultimate authority. If we stand silent, we are doing a disservice to the lost.

James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” I have written a post over the first half of this verse, but today I would like to focus on the last half. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this…to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Unstained. Whoa. Another version says, “to keep oneself from being polluted from the world.” This pollution seems so prevalent, though, especially with the immediate access we hold to the entire world that is usually within an arm’s length. It seems as if there is no point to abstain from what the world says we should accept, what the world says is okay, what the world says is accepted by our God.

My least favorite introduction to people’s posts on social media about “controversial” issues always begins with something like, “I am a Christian, but…(insert something blatantly against God's word).” No, NO, NOOO! I can just picture that person wearing a brand new white shirt while beginning that statement. The written junk that follows the word “but” is always mind-boggling to me. By the end of the thought, I can imagine the shirt no longer being white as snow, but full of the worst kinds of stains. They have allowed the world to contradict the Word that should hold supreme control on our opinions and responses to the pollution. We are not the authorities. We cannot make up the rules as we would wish. (Otherwise, I would ignore the sin of withholding forgiveness as discussed here).

Followers of Christ hold the cure to the pollution, to sin, to eternal separation from God. We should hold it out, instead of lowering God’s standards to please the polluters only for a short while.

Sin is hated by God, all sin—everything from a lie to murder. (Psalm 5:4-6)

Sin separates us from the Holy God for all of eternity. (Revelation 21:8)

We are all sinners. If we break one law, we are guilty of breaking it all. (Romans 3:23, James 2:10)

In our own strength, we have no chance of recovery. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

(And this is where I really like the word “but”).

But God sent His own Son to redeem.  (1 Corinthians 6:11)

To redeem means to buy with a price. (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 6:20)

Jesus did that by dying on the cross and taking on the sins of the world. (Matthew 27:50-55)

That’s not the end of the story, though…

He died, was buried, and rose again—conquering death for all of eternity. (Luke 24:1-8)

Those who put their trust in Him are reconciled to God, marked with the Holy Spirit. (Romans 5:11, Titus 3:3-7)

The sons and daughters then carry that message of reconciliation to the world. (2 Corinthians 5:14-20)

I would highly recommend looking at those scriptures. That, my friends, is the gospel. The gospel is what each of us must hold fast to in our own lives, proclaim wholeheartedly to our neighbors, and use to remain unstained from the world. When we do not speak out against homosexuality, gossiping, bitterness, racism, murder, etc., we are withholding truth that leads to the eternal remedy to sin. We are lying to the lost, allowing them to believe they are okay. We are withholding Love--the ultimate Love that will win. His name is Jesus.

1. "Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
2. Striving to please Him in all that I do;
3. Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
4. This is the pathway of blessing for me.
5. 
   
6. Living for Jesus, who died in my place,
7. Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace;
8. Such love constrains me to answer His call,
9. Follow His leading and give Him my all.

Living for Jesus, wherever I am,

Doing each duty in His holy Name;

Willing to suffer affliction and loss,

Deeming each trial a part of my cross.

Living for Jesus through earth's little while,

My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;

Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,

Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,

For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;

I own no other master, my heart shall be Thy throne;

My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ for Thee alone."

Amazing Grace.

Over the last few years, I have learned that transparency in the life of a Christian is imperative for actual growth and community. With that being said, I am going to be transparent with those of you reading this for a moment: I struggle with forgiveness. This affects my life in two major, ugly ways. First, I have a hard time forgiving people who have wronged me, and consequently, it is difficult for me to understand the magnitude of God’s forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice. During certain times of my life, I find myself doubting if God could REALLY forgive a sinner like me. Quite frankly, I have to consciously fight to not hold grudges against a person after just one wrong offense towards me or a loved one. I know I have and endless amount of offenses against God. Thankfully, when I experience times like these and need to take nothing but truth in, God faithfully leads my heart to remember the Gospel.

Have you ever experienced those sweet moments where Scripture comes to life and manifests deep down in your soul? Of course, we have the Holy Spirit to reveal the Word to us every time we dig into it, but somehow truths from stories you may have read 500 times and think you fully understand, jump off the page, take residence in your heart, and begin to saturate your life upon reading them for the 501^st time. I have written about one of those dear moments before, and I experienced that again a couple of weeks ago when I reread a passage of the Bible that was mentioned in Mingling of Souls (Side note: I totally encourage you to read that book!) 

The Book of John, chapter 8, verses 2-6a say:

Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him that they might have some charge to bring against him.

Imagine with me, for a moment, that you are that woman. You are the one being dragged to the temple and put down in front of a crowd of "righteous" accusers, in front of the holy and truly righteous Lord. But you do not recognize that is who He is…yet.

They shout to this man you have heard about, the one who has done no wrong. He is the one who is healing the lame, giving sight to the blind, freeing people from demons, feeding five thousand, calling out the sins of the self-righteous, and the one that people are whispering about potentially being the Son of God, the Messiah. People follow this man across the countryside to hear Him speak.

Now, you find yourself in the temple amidst the experts of the Law. These people are telling Him of your sin, your disgrace. They are reminding Him of what the law says you deserve: death. You deserve death by being stoned for your sin. 

Scripture goes on to say in verses 6b-8:

Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.

You are all alone in the middle of this crowd. You are afraid, vulnerable, ashamed, but worst of all, you are guilty. You are guilty of what these people have accused you of. And that is just the one sin they caught you in and know about. You are hoping they do not know anymore. 

Scripture does not go into detail on what the woman did in the next few moments. However, I know if I were this woman, I would ball up on the ground and brace myself for the stones that were to come. I am guilty, and I know there is no way out. On top of that, most of the gathered people act as if they are sinless, and the woman had to be almost certain that Jesus was. She had no chance of escape. 

But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman before him. (verse 9)

I am sure she heard the large rocks drop to the ground through her cries as each person started to walk away, and I cannot help but wonder if she thought they just had terrible aim. She knew death is what she deserved. 

Nobody knows how long she was there. Jesus had been scribbling in the dirt and I, for one, would love to know what He was scribbling. Was He channeling his inner early childhood educator and taking a break to play? (Highly doubt that one, but doing what I do, I did think about it). Was He documenting all of her transgressions? Was He jotting out what He was soon to do for her and all the rest of humanity's sin? Was He writing her new names in Him once he overcomes death? Redeemed. Forgiven. Adopted. Beloved. Beautiful.

Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (verses 10-11)

After all the accusers had disappeared, Jesus walks over to the woman and asks if any have accused her. I would guess her eyes were still full of tears and she was a little disoriented. Minutes before, she was planning to experience her own death. I bet her head spun around, and she jumped up in disbelief to find He was the only one left. Then, she responds and addresses him as “Lord.” Her eyes were opened and she saw who He was. The ONLY person who could rightfully accuse and judge her says He will not condemn her. The ONLY person who could offer real grace and forgiveness shares it with her.

Can you imagine her walk home?

Everybody in town probably felt as if they were seeing a dead person walking. According to the law, this woman should have been killed.

Can you imagine the change in her heart and life over the following days? She had experienced grace beyond belief.

Can you imagine hearing her talk of this man named Jesus--the one who showed such mercy, grace, forgiveness, love, gentleness, and compassion?  

She was completely undeserving of His response. It had to be impossible for her to not share with everyone.

Can you see her following after Jesus to the ends of the earth, wherever He was leading? 

Jesus had become her Lord.

Scripture does not reveal how this woman responded or what became of her after this encounter with Jesus. I do know she had been changed forever because of Him. How do I know that? Because when I saw my own sin, shame, and disgrace and recognized my desperate need of salvation, Jesus was standing there, offering forgiveness and amazing grace to save me. I am the wretch the song speaks of.

Since I often become one of the self-righteous accusers with a rock in my hand (and more times than not, the last one to walk away), I find myself wallowing in my own shame, listening to the lies of the Deceiver who is saying there is no way Jesus could forgive someone like me. This is the reason why this passage has made such an impression on my soul the last couple of weeks. I literally have thought about it nonstop. What amazing grace!!! In the words of Paul Tripp, "There is no life so deeply and tragically sinful that it's beyond the reach of God's amazing, rescuing grace."

The woman in John 8 is me. Whether you know it or not, that woman is you, also. The most important questions now are: do we trust the Righteous Lord fully for our salvation and forgiveness or do we think we can clean ourselves up? Do we believe Jesus is who He says He is and that He desires to give His amazing grace or do we believe there is no possible way He could forgive us for that sin?

I believe Jesus! I am taking His helping, gentle, healing hand, getting up, chasing wholeheartedly after Him, and forever singing of, speaking of, and striving to share His amazing grace! 

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. 
I once was lost but now am found, was blind, but now I see.

'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear, and Grace my fears relieved; 
How precious did that Grace appear the hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come. 
'Tis Grace hath brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me. His word my hope secures; 
He will my shield and portion be, as long as life endures.

When we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun. 
We've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we first begun."