“GLORIOUS DAY”

One of my favorite music groups recently recorded a song that I think we all know well. In our hymnal, it’s called, “One Day!” The remake is called, “Glorious Day (Living He Loved Me).” Whether you prefer the version in our hymnal or the version sung by Casting Crowns, the chorus is still powerful:

Living, He loved me;
Dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sins far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He’s coming—
Oh glorious day,
Oh glorious day! *1

In that chorus, we have the essentials of the Gospel: Jesus’ perfect, sinless life, His substitutionary death (atonement) on the cross, His victorious resurrection, and His future, glorious return. That covers Jesus’ part of the Gospel, but we all must respond —either in faith (with repentance, embracing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior), or rejecting the Good News. Eternity hangs in the balance.

As we draw nearer to Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter, I encourage you to think about the impact the Gospel has had on your life. Throughout the month of April, consider, or meditate on, the words of this hymn/song, and I suspect that you will find a fresh gratitude for Christ’s sacrifice and your salvation. Whether it’s coincidence, or not, that this chorus formed a cross shape above, in all things, remember the cross of Christ and the wonder of salvation! And, if you haven’t yet responded in faith, “...Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2 ESV) Find forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ today, and you will find that is truly a “Glorious Day!”

In His grip,
Pastor Decker

*1 By J. Wilbur Chapman (1910); Mark Hall, Michael Bleecker © 2009 Word Music, LLC, My Refuge Music, Sony/ATV Tree Publishing