MORNING MANNA 1-18-21
WHO CAN FORGIVE SIN?
Augustus Toplady’s father was a member of the British Royal Marines and died in the Caribbean while he was fighting against Spain just a year after his son was born. Toplady was converted to Christ as a teenager….. He studied for the ministry and spent many years in the pulpits of various churches. But he is best remembered today for his poetry, especially for the hymn Rock of Ages, which he wrote when he was just twenty-three years old. In these lines he highlighted his desperate need of a Savior.
Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone,
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
As believers, we are called to do good works, but we do them as a means of glorifying God—not in atonement for our sins. Nothing we can do earns us God’s favor—we receive it by grace alone. Those of us who have been saved for many years must never forget what we were and where we were headed before grace stepped in. We must not lose our joy and gratitude at our salvation, and we must never forget that only God could have provided the forgiveness we needed. We must never lose sight of the wondrous grace that placed us in the family of God. (Daily in the Word)
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
Humble, Tx.
Sent from my iPad
