Here’s Hope: “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all; All to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.” Hymn: “I Surrender All”, Words by Judson W. Van DeVenter; Music by Winfield S. Weeden
Bible Passage: Jeremiah 17:9-10 “The heart is …” Please read both verses.
Consider This: When did you first come to the realization that you are merely a sinner saved by God’s grace? I was a senior in high school and it was in the spring, very close to Easter. I was sitting near the back of the small sanctuary of Wilson’s Mills Baptist Church. The pastor, Tom Gaskins, offered an invitation to come forward if you would like to receive Christ as your Savior. All that I can remember about my words that day to the pastor was, “I need the Lord” I believe that the Holy Spirit had indeed convicted me of my sin and I needed to tell someone.
Now fast forward, today, I was listening to a sermon/talk that Ravi Zacharias gave in 2019 at a large Christian conference. Mr. Zacharias was challenging his listeners to consider how wicked we as modern people can be. He reflected about visiting Auschwitz, the death camp in Poland where up to 12,000 people per day were massacred by the German army. Inciting the Bible passage from Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Mr. Zacharias made this statement: “Take a look at your heart, on the day that you see your heart as desperate and wicked, you can become an answer instead, rather than another question.” He went on to say as he was addressing the people about absolutes, there are 4 absolutes: Evil, justice, love, and forgiveness. He then asked the question, “when in history did these 4 absolutes converge?” His answer was at the Cross of Calvary!
When we look back in history (of mankind), what do we see? We see the sins of mankind repeating themselves, “the human heart is deceitful above all things.” Mankind gives us turmoil, Jesus offers you and I grace and forgiveness. In closing, I would again quote Ravi Zacharias, “He (Jesus) gave meaning to all of the time. You see time is the canvas on which you present your portrait. Eternity is the keyhole that takes you into the gallery that gives you the whole story. You may think it’s just your story now. But history is ultimately His (Jesus) story.”
Have you included Jesus in your history? You need Him and He is willing to love and forgive you today. Please call out to Him.
Prayer: Our Lord and our God, thank you for the opportunity we have to be called the sons and daughters of God. Thank you for God-fearing men like Ravi that teach us we need to be like the Moon and reflect the Son. Thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. May we trust in Him today. Amen.