Monday, November 10, 2008

SAVED

Acts 2:21—And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:9,10—That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Pardoned
Tuesday nights at half past eight he walks her to the door.
A kiss upon his forehead with a note she wrote at four.
He watches as she walks away her shadow on the yard
She turns around and waves and then she’s gone.

They lock the key behind him as he settles in his chair
He pulls the ancient book out and reads the mystery there.
And while he ponders heavily she waits to catch the train
Folds her hands and prays he’ll understand.

Eighteen years she raised him as best a mother could.
But eighteen years he added of raising hell instead.
Until one day too drunk to drive he struck and killed a boy
And now he only wishes he could die.

Like lightning striking metal with fire-licking flames.
He hears the demons calling thundering his name.
He rolls his eyes in terror the nightmare never ends.
Guilt is like a cut that cannot mend.

If you ever travel on the train to Gothenburg
You may have seen her sitting in the third car all alone.
She’s reading from her Bible and talking to the Lord
She knows that He’s the only hope he has.

Then one day he reads in John that God so loved the world
He sent His Son to save it--that none should go to hell.
And while he ponders heavily she weeps in battle tears
Praying on the train to Gothenburg.

She walks into the waiting room and looks into his eyes.
The twinkle in the blueness causes her to cry.
He holds her in his arms and says Mama I believe.
Jesus is the One Who set me free!

Like water falls in splendor washing through his pain
He feels the peace of heaven coursing through his veins.
He gives his sins to Jesus and puts his faith in Him
Grace has sealed the cut that wouldn’t mend.

Inspiration
While we must always remember that it is our responsibility to proclaim salvation, we must never forget that it is God who saves. It is God who brings men and women under the sound of the gospel, and it is God who brings them to faith in Christ. Our evangelistic work is the instrument that He uses for this purpose, but the power that saves is not in the instrument: it is in the hand of the One who uses the instrument. We must not at any stage forget that. For if we forget that it is God's prerogative to give results when the gospel is preached, we shall start to think that it is our responsibility to secure them.—J.I. Packer in Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God