Barry Newton recently reported how a woman “recounted how she had been walking
along a fence line when she came upon a sheep hopelessly ensnared by barbed
wire. As she approached the pitiful creature and began assisting it, the ewe
frantically thrashed, kicked and pulled in every direction.”
“The barbed wire held fast as she worked to release the snagged sheep. Suddenly
the violent movements of the sheep knocked her to the ground as the ewe lunged
free to happily scamper off.”
“Watching that sheep joyfully run free, some thoughts entered her mind: ‘That
sheep probably thinks it freed itself from the barbed wire. In fact, it will
probably still be skittish of me in the future.’”
Then Newton commented: “As vivid as this story can be in our minds, what I found
most insightful were her next thoughts. WE can be just like that sheep! At times
we might think our strength resolved our problems in spite of God’s
graciousness. We too might scamper off ungrateful for what God has done.” *
Indeed, “we can be just like that sheep.” As Isaiah the prophet stated: “All we
like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way” (Isaiah
53:6a). That way has led us to the “barbed-wire” bondage of sin and death (John
8:34; Romans 6:23), in which we are hopelessly trapped unless someone comes to
our rescue.
But Isaiah also prophesied concerning God’s solution to our dilemma: “And the
LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6b). The “Him” is the
Suffering Servant who would be the promised Messiah: Jesus, the Son of God. This
is what Jesus would do (and did!) To free us from the bondage of sin: “Surely He
has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was
bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by
His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5).
Jesus accomplished this when He died on the cross for our sins. “He Himself bore
our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for
righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
In order to receive the benefits of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we must place
our faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from sin in repentance (Acts
17:30-31), confess Him before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized (immersed)
into Christ for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 2:38). Then, as we continue to
walk in the light of His Word, the blood of
Jesus will continue to cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:7).
Newton observed, “I suspect that the more accurately we realize the horrific
nature of all sin and the more we acknowledge our complete dependence on God to
set us free, the more likely we are to love and to be prepared to fall down
before him in worship.” We won’t “scamper off ungrateful for what God has done.”
Instead, we’ll gladly follow Jesus, ever-so-thankful for the price that He paid
to free us from sin!
Won’t YOU allow Jesus to free you from the bondage of sin by trusting and
obeying Him?
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.