The church's van was frozen in place in our parking lot, clumps of ice created by the snow plow earlier in the week surrounding it. The Girl's Ministry wanted to use it, so in my usual 'make it happen' fashion, I determined to free it from its ice prison. Even after they said they no longer needed it, I decided to drive it out of that spot before the additional ice and snow of the storm promised the next day made it impossible to move. As I gunned the van in reverse, the tires caught traction on the salted runways I had created. Bang! Crunch! The sound of bending metal filled me with instant regret as I saw the driver's side door, which I had left open so I could see if the wheels were spinning, catch a piece of ice and fold back into the front fender. A split second decision caused a few hundred dollars in damages and a ton of second-guessing! That moment on Saturday was not the first time in my 52 years that I have wished for an instant replay! Bent doors are repairable.
Some of my mistakes and sins have been much more serious and costly than that Saturday morning's folly. More than once I have wanted to reach out and retrieve angry words within seconds of having them leave my lips. I have stared into the darkness of the early morning hours asking myself, "Why did you do that?" as my guilty conscience ached with pain exceeding that of anything my body has ever known. Unlike a vehicle damaged by thoughtless actions, the wreckage produced by sinful behavior cannot be repaired by a local technician. That is why I need a Savior!
In Matthew, we are told that the angel of the Lord visited Joseph in a dream and told him to take Mary as his wife despite her pregnancy "...because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:20-21, NIV) I love that last phrase - "He will save His people from their sins!"
The name, Jesus, is a transliteration of the Hebrew name, Joshua, which literally means, "God saves!" The word "save," in the original language of the New Testament (Greek- sozo), is rich with meaning, carrying the implication of rescuing a person in immediate danger and/or restoring a person at risk from sickness to wholeness and health!
God saw me careering towards destruction, sickened unto death by the depravity of the sinful nature, and sent Jesus with an offer of salvation! He reached into my life, called me to Himself, and when I responded in faith, the Holy Spirit took up residence in me making a whole life; indeed, an eternal life; mine! I am forgiven, a new creation by the grace of God. When I sin (and I do!) I have a Savior who is my Advocate before the Righteous God of Heaven. Jesus Christ offers Himself to satisfy the justice of God so that I can live and not die. I want to shout, "Hallelujah, what a Savior!"
I love the story of a Baby born and laid in manger. I love the tenderness of Mary, the gentleness of Joseph, the glory of angel announcements made from the night sky to shepherds tending their sheep. But most of all, I love the declaration that He would 'save His people from their sins!' There is nothing in me that demands such a intervention in history. Only the amazing love of God would bring this kind of Gift to us.
Are you crushed by guilt, friend?
Does some choice made in secret make you dread meeting a holy God?
Is your life marred by failure, too great to fix by any effort or expenditure on your part?
There is a Savior! Receive the gift He offers to you today. Perhaps you once did, but you have forgotten the place where He found you and drifted from a place near His heart. Go to Him. He will not push you away. He is full of mercy. Ponder the promise of the Word.
"God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. ...
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." (Ephesians 2:4-10, NLT)
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Come, Thou fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace.
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.
Here I raise my Ebenezer; (a monument of remembrance!)
Hither by Thy help I come.
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wand'ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.
Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wand'ring heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love.
Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
Hither to Thy love has blest me;
Thou hast bro't me to this place;
And I know Thy hand will bring me
Safely home by Thy good grace.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Bought me with His precious blood.
Come Thou Fount© Public Domain, CCLI License No. 810055
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