”Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders? Exodus 15:11
Dear Lord Jesus, today like every day, I need the gospel—the good news about who you are and what you’ve done for us; not old advice about how to get my life together, and what I must do for you. I could no more redeem my own life than I could climb the Himalayas in flip flops, blindfolded; or surf the waves of Hawaii on a pop cycle stick; or be perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect. I need you, and you alone, for my salvation.
Among all the gods and wanna-be saviors, there is none like you—none so augustly perfect; none so quintessentially beautiful; none so immeasurably generous, kind and loving. No god, except you, ever took upon himself the burden and price of redeeming rebels, fools and idolaters, like me. You didn’t lower a ladder down from heaven, expecting me do climb up a wrung at a time. You came from the perfections of eternity into our world of brokenness to do for us, what we could never do for ourselves.
As our substitute, you lived a life of perfect obedience to God’s law—fulfilling everything demanded of us, but never delivered by us. You didn’t show us how “to do it”; you did it all for us. You didn’t set a good example for us to follow, by our grit; you earned a perfect righteousness for us to receive, by your grace.
Your death on the cross was the death we deserved—the perfect Lamb for guilty sinners; your resurrection from the dead was for the justification we now enjoy; your intercession in heaven is for the ongoing needs we constantly have; your return to the earth will be for the completion of the salvation we have freely received. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! From beginning to end, our salvation is of the Lord—of you, Lord Jesus!
Of course, we now want to worship and adore you; obey you and serve you; spend time with you and be spent for you. No longer condemned, we are no longer chained to a life of self-anything; no longer in doubt about eternity, we are no longer in doubt about what to do with the rest of our lives in this world; no longer slaves to sin and death, we are now bond-slaves of freedom and the righteousness that is by faith.
Lord Jesus, free us to forgive others, as you have forgiven us; to accept others as God has accepted us in you; to love others, as you so sacrificially, passionately and constantly love us. Hallelujah, what a Savior you are! Hallelujah, what a salvation you have freely given us. So very Amen we pray, in your holy and loving name.
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