Shadrach

Ephesians 1:7, “In whom (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace”
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My friend, grace is such a truly beautiful word and a enormous Bible truth is resident in this one solitary word. In fact, it's a word and concept without which a person's salvation would be impossible. God is the sole source of Grace, which is a simple statement, but one that would take a lifetime to explain. It's a statement that brings understanding and meaning to experience, because it lifts hearts and minds and gives purpose to all who believe. Thus, for today’s devotional I want to share with you an old favorite hymn of mine written by Fanny Crosby and entitled “Saved by Grace”. This hymn was called into being through a sermon preached by Dr. Howard Crosby, who was a distant relative and very dear friend of Fanny Crosby. He said that no Christian should fear death, for if each of us was faithful to the grace given us by Christ Jesus, the same grace that teaches us how to live would also teach us how to die.

His remarks were afterward published in a newspaper and were later read to Fanny by Mr. Biglow. It wasn’t many hours after Fanny heard them she began to write the hymn “Saved by Grace”. However, these words almost didn’t see the light of day. They came to public notice by accident during a conference Fanny attended at Northfield, Massachusetts. It was during this meeting, that the great evangelist, Dwight Moody, asked her, like so many others in attendance, if she would give a personal testimony to the audience. Not wanting to draw attention to herself, she almost declined, but finally got up to speak, and said, “There is one hymn I have written which has never been published. I call it my soul’s poem. Sometimes when I’m troubled, I repeat it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart. I trust this old hymn will be a blessing to each of you this day. Enjoy my brethren!

Some day the silver cord will break,
And I no more as now shall sing;
But oh, the joy when I shall wake
Within the palace of the King!

Refrain

And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace;
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace.

Some day my earthly house will fall.
I cannot tell how soon ’twill be;
But this I know—my All in All
Has now a place in Heav’n for me.

Refrain

Some day, when fades the golden sun
Beneath the rosy tinted west,
My blessed Lord will say, “Well done!”
And I shall enter into rest.

Refrain

Some day: till then I’ll watch and wait,
My lamp all trimmed and burning bright,
That when my Savior opens the gate,
My soul to Him may take its flight.

Refrain
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Further thoughts:

Can more than half of the U. S. adult population be wrong? A survey by the Barna Research Group was taken some time ago that revealed 54 percent say that people who are generally good and do enough good things for others will earn a place in heaven. That is just one of many methods people suggest as ways to merit entrance into God’s eternal kingdom. With that freshly in our mind, let’s think about what has to happen for a person to get to heaven, and why the “good works” idea falls short. First, we must recognize that we are all born spiritually dead. In Ephesians 2:1, we are taught that we “were dead in trespasses and sins.” The spiritual aspect of our existence was dead on arrival when we were physically born into this world. However, our soul can be made alive. The Apostle Paul described it like this, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). My friend, to be made alive, a transaction must take place. Something specific has to happen to turn what was dead into something alive. It isn’t triggered by good works but happens only when, by faith, you accept God’s gift of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2; Ephesians 2:8). The question remains:

(1) Is your soul alive today?
(2) If not, make the transaction and accept God’s wonderful gift today?

God’s grace sustains the gift of life,
Its labor and reward;
What we possess is not our own,
It all comes from the Lord.
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The God of all Grace makes Saints out of the worst of sinners.