The Second Time
1:13 PM
Last night, I sat contentedly by my husband at church. I noticed a visitor, who walked in and sat nearby during our service. Through the welcome time, I found out his name was Guillermo.
Preacher stood behind the pulpit and read with us the passage of scripture he would preach from that night. When Preacher bowed his head, I walked to the front of the church to sing with my trio. We were singing, "Sinner Saved by Grace." The words of our song seemed perfect for this particular Sunday. The leader of our group had done an excellent job picking it out.
You see, the people who we work with come from lives and religions where they believe you must work for your salvation. Just believing and receiving God's free gift is ALL it takes. They have come to realize this now, and it tells their story in a beautiful way.
Take a moment, and read the beautiful words of this song:
If you could see what I once was, If you could go with me,
Back to where I started from, I know you would see.
A miracle of love that took me in its' sweet embrace,
and made me what I am today, a sinner saved by grace.
Back to where I started from, I know you would see.
A miracle of love that took me in its' sweet embrace,
and made me what I am today, a sinner saved by grace.
I'm just a sinner,saved by grace.
When I stood condemned to death,
he took my place.
Now I live and breathe in freedom,
with each breath of life I take,
I'm loved and forgiven, back with the living,
When I stood condemned to death,
he took my place.
Now I live and breathe in freedom,
with each breath of life I take,
I'm loved and forgiven, back with the living,
I'm just a sinner saved by grace.
How could I boast of anything, I've ever seen or done?
How I could I dare to claim as mine the victories God has won?
Where would I be had God not brought me gently to this place?
I'm here to say, I'm nothing but a sinner saved by grace.
At the end of our service, as is our custom, Preacher asked if there was anyone who didn't know they would spend eternity in heaven. Guillermo raised his hand. A man in our church had the privilege to lead him to Christ during our invitation. Just as Guillermo was accepting Christ, Preacher asked our trio to come back and sing the song once more to close out our service. We walked up to the front and began to sing.
The second time we sang our special, Guillermo sat in the back of the room with tears flowing down his face. He had walked in a sinner, and would now leave a sinner ~saved by grace~.
The second time we sang our special, Guillermo sat in the back of the room with tears flowing down his face. He had walked in a sinner, and would now leave a sinner ~saved by grace~.
The second time he heard the song, it had a completely different meaning for his life.
The second time, he knew he was loved and forgiven by an Almighty God.
The second time, he realized he could live in *complete* freedom because now he was saved by grace.
The second time made all the difference.
The second time made all the difference.
2 comments
I love this:) I enjoyed hearing that song both times, God is so good;)
ReplyDeleteAMAZING grace!
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