Dear friends,
This week we are dog-sitting while Alex and family are on vacation. It is a bit of a change from our usual routine. I have discovered my ball throwing skills have deteriorated with age, while the dog’s willingness to retrieve it seems never to tire.
My devotional thought for this week comes from the realm of music. I love the old hymns and gospel songs. No matter what the subject, a song or line from a song will enter my mind. This morning it was “Victory in Jesus.”
It begins with the line, “I heard an old, old story, how a Savior came from glory, how he gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me”.
I hear people say they have found Jesus. Guess what? Jesus was never lost; we are the ones who were lost. The chorus reads, “He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood.” Jesus was seeking us to save us. His purpose in coming to earth was to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).
The song writer goes on, “I heard about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing, how He made the lame to walk again and cause the blind to see, and then I cried , “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit,” and somehow Jesus came and brought to me the victory.
Victory over what, someone might ask. Victory over sin and darkness. The Bible says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The one who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior is free from slavery to sin and has been set free from the guilt and shame brought on by his disobedience to God’s will. Our sin has separated us from God, but that relationship is restored through faith in the One who died to pay our sin debt.
The song concludes with these words, “I heard about a mansion He has built for me in glory. And I heard about the streets of gold beyond the crystal sea; About the angels singing, and the old redemption story, and some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory.”
If you have placed your faith in Jesus, you too, will join the angels in singing praise to Him. Remember, the shepherd went searching for the lost sheep. The sheep was not seeking the shepherd.
In Him,
Pastor Jerry
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