Yes I Know

 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.

Come, ye sinners, lost and hopeless,
Jesus’ blood can make you free;
For He saved the worst among you,
When He saved a wretch like me.

Come ye sinners, lost and hopeless, That’s every single one of us. We are all sinners by nature and by choice. For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no not one.
We were not created that way, in the beginning, we were created sinless and in the image of God. However, Adam and Eve chose to violate the one and only restriction God had place on them and rebel. Because of this By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Jesus’ blood can make you free. What, exactly, are we captive to? Prior to our salvation through Jesus Christ, we are captive to both the penalty of sin and the power of sin. Paul tells us of the penalty of sin to which we are all captive when he says For the wages of sin is death. Death, physical and spiritual. Physical because by one man sin entered the world, and death. Spiritual death, or eternal separation from God,

But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

We are not, however, captive forever to the penalty and power of sin. The atoning work of Jesus Christ can, and will, set us free.

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

For He saved the worst among you,When He saved a wretch like me. Although all have sinned, and although the wages of that sin is death, it is not all bad news. God made a solution for us with the atoning work of Jesus Christ. To quote an often said cliched, “Nobody is good enough that they do not need a savior, and nobody is so bad that they cannot be saved.”

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life

Whosoever is a pretty inclusive category of people; in fact it includes all people, for again, Whosoever shall upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Nobody is exempt, and none is too far gone. Remember the thief on the cross next to Jesus? He was there for a reason, he deserved punishment for the crimes he had committed. He had been right in the middle of mocking and deriding our Lord with his companion on the third cross. As he hung there he repented of his sins and crimes and came to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. As a result, he was told the following by Jesus, And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Nobody is too bad to be saved, and it is not too late until a person’s final breath is drawn.

To the faint He giveth power,
Through the mountains makes a way;
Findeth water in the desert,
Turns the night to golden day.

To the faint He giveth power,Through the mountains makes a way;

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:

He is strong when we are weak, and if we rely on Him, we will always prevail. Here God was giving encouragement to the Israelites during the oppression they were suffering at the hands of various conquerors. What is the key? Waiting upon The Lord. We can’t do what He wants us to do under our own power, we have to rely on His power to accomplish His works.

Findeth water in the desert,Turns the night to golden day. Imagine all those people wandering in the desert after being delivered from Egyptian captivity. Imagine them, perhaps several million, wandering in the desert for 40 long years. How would they eat? How would they drink? God can handle it. For those 40 long years, God provided them all they needed to survive. He has kept on doing that, during all the time of trial His people have faced.

I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.

Today he offers us water, living water, in the desert of our lost condition.  If we drink of his living water, we will never thirst again.

But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Not only is Jesus our living water, but He is our light during dark times.  He told this to the Pharisees after telling the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more. He offered her forgiveness, and He offers it to us as well.

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

In temptation He is near thee,
Holds the pow’rs of hell at bay;
Guides you to the path of safety,
Gives you grace for every day.

 In temptation He is near thee,Holds the pow’rs of hell at bay.  Our foe the Devil, is quite real. Peter told us he is a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour. How is He near us? Today, He is just as near as His Word. Remember Jesus in the desert being tempted? What kept Him safe and what did He rely on? He kept His Father’s Word near him. His response three times to the temptations of Satan:

It is Written!

It is Written!

It is Written!

Guides you to the path of safety, God has promised this to us, that He will guide us through the trials and tribulations of this life.

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.

Gives you grace for every day. God does give us grace for everyday. Not only that, but it is through his grace that we can face eternity, knowing we will be with Him always. Remember Paul as he face the thorn in his side which God had opted not to remove? Of course, Paul really wanted that thorn gone, but rather than do that, God left it but provided what Paul needed to endure. My grace is sufficient for thee, is what God told Paul. And His grace for daily living is sufficient for any of us to endure whatever trial we may face.

And I know, yes, I know
Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean,
And I know, yes, I know
Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean.

No one is so good that they do not need salvation. More importantly, no person is so far gone that he or she cannot be saved. For, we are all lost, as All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. But yet, God loved us despite our condition and has made a way for each of us to be restored to Him; none is denied the opportunity, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

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Come, ye sinners, lost and hopeless,
Jesus’ blood can make you free;
For He saved the worst among you,
When He saved a wretch like me.

To the faint He giveth power,
Through the mountains makes a way;
Findeth water in the desert,
Turns the night to golden day.

In temptation He is near thee,
Holds the pow’rs of hell at bay;
Guides you to the path of safety,
Gives you grace for every day.

And I know, yes, I know
Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean,
And I know, yes, I know
Jesus’ blood can make the vilest sinner clean.

Anna W. Waterman