FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11
“She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus,
for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 (ESV)
LONG JOURNEY: JESUS CAME TO SAVE ME
The sensational film The Blind Side chronicles a Christian family who took in a homeless young man and gave him the chance to reach his God-given potential. Michael Oher not only dodged the hopelessness of his dysfunctional inner-city upbringing but became the first-round NFL draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens in 2009. At a fund-raiser, Sean Tuohy, the father who took Oher in, noted that the transformation of his family and Michael all started with two words. When they spotted Michael walking along the road on a cold November morning (the movie depicts it as nighttime) in shorts and a T-shirt, Leigh Ann Tuohy uttered two words that changed their world. She told Sean, “Turn around.” They turned the car around, put Michael in their warm vehicle, and ultimately adopted him into their family. Those same two words can change anyone’s life.
In Matthew 1 we learn that Jesus journeyed all the way from Heaven to come and turn our lives around. Mike reminded us that Jesus didn’t come all this way to just inspire us. Jesus came to save us. The name “Jesus” is transliteration of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew name Yeshua which means “Jehovah saves.”
Charles Sell wrote in Unfinished Business:
If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.
Have you accepted Jesus as your personal Savior? You can do this by praying and confessing that you are a sinner. Confess your faith in Jesus as God’s Son who came and died on the cross for your sins and rose from the dead. Confess your desire to follow Jesus. If you did this today let us know. Text “NSCFOLLOW” to 555-888 and someone from our team will text you back and help you take the next step in following Jesus.
