Tag Archives: Savior

The Savior Who Seeks Sinners | Bible Gleanings | July 6-7, 2024

July 5, 2024 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

I searched high and low for it, but it was sleeping with the fishes. My iPhone evidently decided to try its hand at scuba diving, as it dove out of my pocket during a recent kayaking excursion. I lost it at the bank and did everything I could to retrieve it, but to no avail (what a “sinking” feeling!). I looked for it in the murky and muddy depths, and called it from my wife’s phone in hopes that its vibrations would cause bubbles to rise to the surface. I even tried submerging my head to see if I could hear it ringing, but my efforts were useless.

Although I never recovered my smartphone, I did learn a lesson: I was willing to go to great lengths (and depths) to recover something that was lost because it was valuable to me. And this is the humbling lesson which the Lord teaches us in the Bible’s great story of redemption. Just as I searched tirelessly for my lost phone, the Lord relentlessly pursues lost sinners because of His love for them. He leaves the ninety-nine sheep to find the one that is lost (Luke 15:4). Like the woman who sought her misplaced coin, the Lord diligently searches the whole world for the wayward (Luke 15:8-10).

As a matter of fact, the Lord runs after those who run away from Him, just as He pursued the first sinners in the Garden of Eden and rebellious Jonah who vainly attempted to escape His presence (Gen. 3:8; Jonah 1:3-4). And there is no greater demonstration of God’s searching and stop-at-nothing love than the cross of Calvary, where the Lord purchased the salvation of sinners with the blood of His beloved Son (1 Peter 1:18-19). Upon the gruesome hill of Golgotha, the Lord sacrificed His Son because of His love for those who hate Him and transgress His law. As Jesus famously said,

“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. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17, KJV).

This is why Christ came into the world: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Have you experienced the Savior’s steadfast love? Can you sing with the hymn writer John Newton (1725-1807), “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see”? If so, are you willing to go to the greatest lengths and depths to deliver the gospel’s soul-saving message to those who are lost? Do you long to see sinners gathered into the flock of God like Jesus does (Matt. 23:37)?

“I will sing the wondrous story

Of the Christ who died for me.

How He left His home in glory

For the cross of Calvary.

I was lost, but Jesus found me,

Found the sheep that went astray,

Threw His loving arms around me,

Drew me back into His way.”

— “I Will Sing the Wondrous Story.” Francis H. Rowley (1854-1952)

Brandon is the pastor of Bandana Baptist Church in Bandana, Kentucky, where he lives with his wife, Dakota, and their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot. Brandon and Dakota are also foster parents through Sunrise Children’s Services of Kentucky. Brandon is also a published author and a religious columnist for the Advance Yeoman newspaper in Ballard County, Kentucky. He is also a devotional contributor for Kentucky Today, a news publication of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. His columns are also featured in the Times-Argus newspaper of Central City, Kentucky, West Kentucky News of western Kentucky, and the online blog, Reforming the Heart.

Pick up a copy of Brandon’s latest book, Fundamentals for the Faithful, which explains the importance of all the basics which every believer should know:

Sermons

Sermon: The Suffering Savior Sent for Sinners (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

January 25, 2024 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie (Jack Russell), Aries (English shepherd), and Dot (beagle).

christmas, devotions

Day 22: Savior, Christ, and Lord

December 22, 2019 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” —Luke 2:11

There are many characters that we think about during Christmastime. And simply by hearing their names, we instantly think of who they are and what they do. When you hear of Santa, you think of a big-bellied, red-cheeked, jolly man who delivers gifts around the world to well-behaved children. When you hear the name Rudolph, you think of the bullied reindeer who was commissioned to guide Santa’s sleigh. Or when you hear about the Grinch on the radio, you think of a miserable and irritated man who sought to steal Christmas joy from others.

And when you hear the precious name of Jesus during this season, whether in the carols or the term Christmas itself (Christ-mas), you should be reminded of who He is and what He came to accomplish. In the announcement of Jesus’ birth, the angel told the shepherds three memorable things about Jesus and what He came to do—and they are found in the names and titles given to Jesus. He is Savior, Christ, and Lord.

Jesus is the Savior. Even His name, Jesus, conveys this truth. As the angel said to Matthew, “you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). He saves sinners from the power, penalty, and presence of sin. He delivers you from sin’s dominion (Romans 6:1-4). He eliminates sin’s penalty against you (Romans 6:23; Colossians 2:14). And He will one day remove the presence of sin from the earth as you commune eternally with Him in a new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1-22:5).

Jesus is also the Christ. He is the long-awaited Messiah, the One through whom God will accomplish His saving purposes. Christ is not Jesus’ last name—it is His messianic title. You need not turn to anyone else for deliverance from sin, for Jesus is the Christ—the chosen and anointed Savior. Like Peter, you can (and must) confess Him as, “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16).

And Jesus is Lord. He is the sovereign ruler and King of the universe. Nothing is outside of His rule and reign. As Isaiah the prophet declared many years before Christ’s birth: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders” (Isaiah 9:6a, NIV).

Remember—as great as these eternal benefits are, they can only be yours if you know Jesus as your Savior, Christ, and Lord. So, do you?

Brandon is the founder and main contributor to Brandon’s Desk, the blog with biblical resources from his ministry. He is proud to be the pastor of the family of believers at Locust Grove Baptist Church in Murray, Kentucky. He and his wife Dakota live there with their three dogs, Susie, Aries, and Dot.

christmas, devotions

Day 11: The Sweet Symbol of the Savior

December 11, 2019 Brandon G. B. Leave a comment

“Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.” —1 Peter 1:18-19

About 350 years ago, a sweet treat was created that would become a memorable Christmas symbol: the candy cane. Legend has it that a German choirmaster dispensed the sugary sticks to children during church services to help them sit quietly. Some thought the sweets were not appropriate for the sanctuary, so the man bent the candies into canes to appear as a shepherd’s staff so they would have a religious connotation. Many years later, the alternating red stripes were added which, it is believed, also have religious meaning. Supposedly, the bold red stripe represents the blood of Christ, the white stripes represent Christ’s purity, and the three fine stripes represent the Trinity.

Whether or not the candy cane was meant to be a treat with spiritual significance, it can nonetheless remind us of the Savior who came to earth at Christmas. The pure white color can remind us of the sinlessness of Jesus. Because He was conceived of a virgin, He was completely free of the guilt of sin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:34; John 1:14). He was the pure Lamb of God without blemish or spot, as Peter declared. Although He was one-hundred percent man, just like you, He was “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). And since He was not tainted or corrupted by sin, He was the perfect sacrifice to completely satisfy God’s justice and wrath.

The bold red stripe can remind us of why He came in the first place. Jesus did not come to earth to be an example—He came to earth to be a substitute. He was born on Christmas day so He could live a righteous life in your place and die a sinner’s death in your place. The precious baby laid in a manger would one day shed His precious blood to ransom you from the futility of sin (1 Peter 1:18-19).

Further, He was the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity as the three red stripes remind us. He was not just a man; He was the God-man—the One who was both God and man. God became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Jesus is Immanuel, the incarnate deity. How astonishing that God came down to man as a man to save man from sin! Candy canes are a sweet symbol of the Savior—remember that the next time you see one.