MORNING MANNA 3-4-24
AMAZING LOVE
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.”- Romans 5:8-10
Charles Wesley wrote about five thousand hymns, but the one for which he is best remembered is “And Can It Be.” Before writing this hymn, Wesley had been active in church work and Bible study, but had not personally trusted Christ for his salvation. After he returned from a mission trip, the message of salvation by grace through faith alone flooded his heart. He later wrote, “At midnight I gave myself to Christ, assured that I was safe, whether sleeping or waking. I now found myself at peace with God, and rejoiced in hope of loving Christ. I saw that by faith I stood.” Wesley recounted the joy of that moment of salvation in his great hymn:
Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
There is a temptation—after we have been saved for many years—to forget the wretched nature of our condition apart from God. Even those of us who were saved at a young age were already sinners, bound for eternity apart from God and held captive by Satan. Let us never lose the memory of the chains that once held us. If we keep that firmly in our vision, it helps us avoid the chains of sin with which the devil attempts to entrap us to keep us from serving God as we should. Never forget the chains of sin that held you before you were saved. (Copied)
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble,Tx
