A Changed Man

TITLE: A Changed Man
DATE:  September 23. 2019
TEXT:. Psalm 51:16-17 – ESV - 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;  you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;  a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
​
Danny Dashay Holmes is a 30-year-old man who, depending on your point of view, does, or doesn't have much of a future.
Let me try to explain....

You see, right now Danny is accused of robbery and murder and is living in a Tennessee prison. He had already entered a plea of “not guilty” and was prepared to use every legal maneuver to beat the charge, or at least have the penalty for the crime reduced.

Then, the first day of his trial, Danny came in and asked if he might change his plea from

”Not Guilty” to “Guilty.’

When asked about why he would do such a thing and thereby receive an automatic verdict of life in prison, Danny said that he had had a change of heart. It was a change of heart which came to Him after he had listened to the Big Daddy Weave song titled Redeemed.

Now working under the assumption you have never heard the Big Daddy Weave song entitled :”Redeemed”, here are some of those lyrics:

“All my life I have been called unworthy/
Named by the voice of my shame and regret/
But when I hear You whisper, "Child lift up your head"/
I remember oh God, You're not done with me yet/
I am redeemed, You set me free/
So I'll shake off these heavy chains/
And wipe away every stain now I'm not who I used to be/
I am redeemed”
 
Now I have to say, those lines about “I’ll shake off those heavy chains and wipe away every stain”: are pretty weak theologically. Only Jesus can shake off our chains and only Jesus can make our souls white.”

Even so, the Holy Spirit  apparently has made some changes in this man’s heart. Even as he accepted his life’s sentence, Holmes said, he “would be praying for his victims’ family and vowed to serve Jesus for the rest of his days.”

It’s a good story. Amazingly it’s the story of all of us. Sure, our sins may not be as violent or heinous, and our call from the Lord not as dramatic, but all of God’s people recognize that the Savior Who gave His life for them, has forgiven their sins and wants them to change.

When you become the Lord’s, you say goodbye to the old ways and gladly embrace your new life in Jesus. As St. Paul said: “7 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, grant me sincere repentance for when I have sinned and raise me up to serve You in all I do. This I ask in my Redeemer’s Name. Amen.

The devotion for today was inspired by various recent news articles. For further reading you may wish to go to this address: https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/will-maule/man-confesses-to-murder-after-listening-to-christian-song-redeemed.htmland the article written by Will Maule.

The music which introduces and concludes our devotions was written by Guy Baumann. He along with three of his brothers perform on the album: The Baumann Brothers which may be ordered here: http://thebaumannbrothers.com/index.html