Daily Lesson for January 1, 2016

Today's Daily Lesson comes from Matthew chapter 1 verses 19 through 21:

19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

"Have you been saved?"

That's the question that tormented me on the last day of Vacation Bible School when I was eight or nine. I was with a friend at his church and the little card I was asked to fill out wanted to know. We talked about it a long time. It was the difference between heaven and hell -- streets paved with gold or eternal torment. And the little card wanted to know -- wanted to make it official:
"Was I saved?"

And the card wanted to know something else. It wanted to know my home phone number.

I checked the "no" box on the salvation question. I wrote down my home phone number. I was such a good boy -- though I wasn't saved, or at least didn't feel saved.

When I got back to my friend's house I put two and two together then panicked. They asked for my home phone number.  And they had the dirt on me -- that I wasn't saved. I was soon to be busted. It would be worse than a call home from the principal's office. This would be a call from church, probably from the pastor, maybe from God.

I knew what I needed to do. "I need you to call your mom at work," I said, "and tell her I checked the wrong box today and that I really am saved.  And tell her to call the church and let them that I'm saved. And let them know my parents don't need a call from them, or from the pastor, or from the church."

Today is the Feast of the Holy Name. It's the celebration of the day when the Holy Name was given to the Holy Child. The Holy Name given was "Jesus".  "Yeshua". "God saves".

That's what I want to tell that little eight year old boy. It's what I want to to tell that church. God saves.  So relax. Hear it again: God saves.

And God does.