I Have Had Sex, and Jesus Still Loves Me!

"I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me!"

This is a line shouted by Hannah Brown, the current star of the Bachelorette, in a promo for the show. 

I don't know much about Hannah but I can tell you that her statement is true.  An act of premarital sex cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39).  I don't know the context yet of this statement and I'm unlikely to watch to find out, but if Hannah shouted this at some judgmental guy who was claiming that Hannah's past had caused her to fall out of the reach of God's long, loving arm, then Amen, sister! 

I hope Hannah is speaking truth in this on national television.  I can't offer much more on Hannah herself, because I have no idea.  However, I have heard lines like these: "I have _______ and Jesus still loves me!" and what they really are saying is "I have ________ and I still _________ and I love __________, and Jesus still loves me and doesn't care!  Get out of my business!"

Jesus' blood covers all our sin.  As the song says, "our sins they are many, His mercy is more."  Sex or abuse or coveting or gossip or murder cannot disqualify us from God's love if Jesus' blood has washed us clean.  But God's amazing grace is not simply about forgiving sin.

"What shall we say, then?  Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means!  We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" Romans 6:1-2

"Jesus straightened up and asked her, 'Woman, where are they?  Has no one condemned you?
'No one, sir,' she said.
'Then neither do I condemn you.' Jesus declared.  'Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8:10-11

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." Ezekiel 36:26-27

"I have had sex, and Jesus still loves me!"

Absolutely!  Jesus loves us no matter what our past.  Jesus loves us even though we sin in the present.  Jesus loves us even though we will sin in the future.  But Jesus died to free us not just from the penalty of sin but also from the power of sin.  Using the doctrine of God's mercy and grace as a license for sin is at best wrong and at worst fatal.  If to you God's grace is a license to live an unchanged life then I will ask you if you have actually met the Lord Jesus. 

All of us have messy, sin-filled pasts.  All of us continue to have messy, sin-filled lives.  But do we treasure our Savior and His ways or do we simply use His blood to feel better while living for the same old pursuits?  Our Lord demands to be followed, not used.

Accept His grace.  Remind others of His grace.  But by all means, be changed by His grace today.

Mothers of Moses

"Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: 'Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile, but let every girl live."

"Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son.  When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months.  But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch.  Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile.  His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him." Exodus 1:22 & 2:1-4

When this woman saw that the child she birthed was a boy, what terror must have filled her.  As she was heard the words, "It's a boy" I wonder how big her tears were.  As she placed him in the basket I wonder what she prayed.  As the basket floated in the reeds of the river she likely wondered what might become of her son. 

"Then Pharaoh's daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the river bank.  She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her slave girl to get it.  She opened it and saw the baby.  He was crying, and she felt sorry for him.  'This is one of the Hebrew babies,' she said.

Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, 'Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?'

'Yes, go,' she answered.  And the girl went and got the baby's mother.  Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.'  So the woman took the baby and nursed him.  When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh's daughter and he became her son.  She named him Moses, saying, 'I drew him out of the water." Exodus 2:5-10

How much love Moses' mother must have had for him.  She courageously hid her baby.  She, without any mention of help or the mere presence of her husband, came up with a bold plan to save her son.  Rather than selfishly thinking if she couldn't have him then no one would, she gave up her son to another mother, knowing that this was his salvation.

On Mothers' Day we recognize all kinds of mothers, but let's not forget the brave mothers who have sacrificed so much for their children.  These women that out of pure love for their children give them up.  We think of the mothers that willingly sign their rights to their child over to another family that is able to take care of them. 

On Mothers' Day I think of the courageous women that have given their children up for adoption rather than see them die.  These women that sent children packing from Nazi Germany.  The women in China that snuck their little girls out of their home.  The women that endure the pains of childbirth to give their baby to another rather than to an abortionists tools.  Many times we forget the selfless love and bravery that is evident in this, but Moses' mom won't let us forget it.  Too often the pro-abortion crowd claims the anti-abortion folks don't recognize how difficult decisions like this can be.  We must not dismiss the painful sacrifice of these women; we must celebrate them.

If you are a Mother of Moses then I pray God blesses you.  If you are a Mother of Moses I want you to know how impressed we are with your sacrificial love.  

On Mothers' Day let's not forget to celebrate the Mothers of Moses in our world because there are many of their children blessing our world today.

The Immense Importance of Mothers

"Honey, you did!"  I exclaimed.  The two of us locking eyes on our first born son.  My wife had just spent 17.5 hours working to get that little boy out and now he was here.

"Honey, we did it."  I said.  The two of us locking eyes on the phone.  My wife and I had spent months preparing to be foster parents and with one phone call we had a little girl in our home.

These are two of the ways that my beautiful wife became a mother minus the birth of sweet Anna earlier this year.  No matter how you became a mother I want you to know that you stepped into a beautiful and blessed role.

Motherhood is an exceptionally challenging, important and rewarding role.  Is is challenging every day?  Yes.  Is it important every day?  Most definitely.  Is it rewarding every day?  Certainly not.  Mothers put in so much effort into such an important role for little earthly reward most days.

As Mothers' Day approaches I want to say thank you to my wife and my mother, two of the best mothers I know.  I also want to encourage all the moms out there.  What you do matters so much.  No matter how you became a mother: birth, marriage, foster care system, etc; you are in a sacred occupation.

"Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Mothers, the impact you have on your child in their formative years is humongous and long lasting.  The training and discipline you give them when they are under your roof sets their path for the rest of their lives.  Now, there are exceptions and there are times when the path looks crooked, but as a general rule the morality and rules of conduct and behavior instilled in us from our parents is what we keep for our entire lives and what we teach to the next generation.  What you do has an impact that can last generations.

Moms, what you do is challenging and important.  Most days this holy job is overlooked and under appreciated, but today please know your worth.  Your mothering does not need to get likes on social media, it does not need to be featuring in Parenting magazine to be worthy of honor.  As Paul David Tripp said in his book Parenting, "He doesn't ask you to be able; He asks you to be willing."

"Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
'Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.'" Proverbs 31:28-29

May the mothers reading this feel appreciated for all they do and may the children and husbands reading this arise and call the mother of their household blessed today.

"L" Went Home

"L" went home today.

On November 6, 2018 "L" came to live in our house.  "L" is not our biological child but she became our first girl.  We've grown so attached to this sweet, little girl that joined our family.  She'll always be my first daughter and my son's first sibling, but as of today she no longer lives with us.

Going into doing foster care we knew a couple of things.  First, we knew we were signing up to get our hearts broken.  Second, we knew the goal of foster care is to reunify families.  If we were going to do foster care well we had to be okay with the first while aiming for the second.

Today "L" is at home with her mom and we are thrilled... and a bit sad.  Honestly, I don't think we'll feel the sadness fully for a while.  "L" has been having longer overnight visits with her mom for a while now so we're used to not having her every day.  But I think when Joshua continues to point out her chair, her room, her bed, her cup, her carseat... this is when it will hit our family hardest.  But as I said, we are also thrilled.  We are so happy for her mom, who has worked so hard and done so much to make today happen.

Now when she is with mom she'll be home and when we see her we will be the ones visiting.

One of the hardest things about this for me isn't losing the ability to see her every day.  We plan to keep in touch with her mom and spend time together.  One of the hardest things is losing influence over "L". 

When I'm honest I'll tell you that I am prideful.  I'll tell you that I worry about "L" losing our spiritual influence in her life.  We tried our best to raise her in the faith.  I sang "I Love You, Lord" to her nightly as a lullaby, we read her Bible stories and prayed with her, we raised her as our own child so she was raised in a home in which we try to honor God.  In my prideful moments I wonder what her spiritual fate will be.

Then God reminds me that His arms are longer than mine.  Then God reminds me that my influence has a limit, but He is sovereign over every atom.  Then God reminds me that my authority in her life is over, but His authority is supreme.  Then God reminds me that I'm not a savior, but He is.

I am not "L's" father anymore, but my Father isn't done with her.  

So, join me in celebrating a family being reunified.  Pray that "L's" mom continues to stay on the path that she is on now.  And please pray the prayer I've prayed every day since November 6, 2018: "God, save my little girl."

God, thank you for an empty crib today.