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Every
Hair of My Head
In
the year 1741, an Irishman named Connell was sentenced
to death at
Northampton
. A minister by the name of Philip Doddridge sought to
help Connell because he believed that he was not
guilty of the crime of which he had been convicted.
At great trouble and expense, Dr. Doddridge
instituted a rigid scrutiny into the case, and proved,
beyond the possibility of a doubt, that Connell was a
hundred and twenty miles away when the crime was
committed. The course of judgment could not, however,
be reversed.
Connell
was asked if he had any request to make before setting
out for the gallows.
He answered that he desired the procession to pause in
front of the house of Dr. Philip Doddridge, that he
might kneel on the minister's doorstep and express his
gratitude to the man who had TRIED to save him.
"Dr.
Doddridge," he cried, when the procession halted, "every
hair of my head
thanks you; every throb of my heart thanks you; every
drop of my blood thanks you! You
did your BEST to save me.... but you could not!" *
Like
Connell, YOU and I have been sentenced to DEATH due to
our SIN
(Romans 6:23). Unlike
Connell, we ARE indeed guilty! (Romans 3:23).
Yet, Jesus,
at great trouble and expense, paid the price for our
sins with His own life: "In this the love of
God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His
only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
through Him. In
this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved
us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins" (1 John 4:9-10).
He paid the price, NOT because we are innocent,
but so that we can be forgiven and have life (Romans
6:23).
We
must ACCEPT His offer in order to receive the
blessings.
To accept His offer of salvation, we believe
in Him (Acts 16:31), turn from our sins in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31), confess
that Jesus is the Son of God (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized
(immersed) for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38;
22:16). THEN,
as
we walk in the light of His Word, the blood that He
shed on our behalf will continue
to cleanse us from our sins (1 John 1:7).
Having
accepted His offer on His terms, we will want to
express our gratitude --
in WORD and in LIFE – much like Connell did to Dr.
Doddridge.
WE say to Jesus,
"Every
hair of my head thanks you; every throb of my heart
thanks you; every drop of my blood thanks you! You
SAVED me from my sins!"
God bless you.
David
A. Sargent /
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
* Adapted from F. W.
Boreham
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