"Saved"

I came into this country,

A ridin’ what I own,

And carried in my saddle bags,

Had left my hearth and home.

Back there I had no future,

‘Cept runnin’ them old hounds,

Thought I was plumb tired of it,

The west, it had no bounds.

They asked if I could cowboy,

I said I’d try to learn,

They offered thirty dollars,

A month that I could earn.

And so at last a cowboy,

I found my callin’ sure,

And bein’ young and bulletproof,

I showed ‘em I’d endure.

All the wind and weather,

And ornery cows and thieves,

And sometimes snorty horses,

And very few reprieves.

I drifted and I wandered,

And worked from ranch to ranch,

Learned a lot in every place,

That they gave me a chance.

And finally I landed,

In a place where I could tell,

The people there were different,

And it was there I fell,

From an outlaw gelding,

And broke in half my hip,

And laid up in the bunkhouse,

For a long recovery trip.

The rancher had a daughter,

And she was kind to me,

Bringing me some comfort,

And I began to see,

That the reason they were different,

Is ‘cause they knew the Lord,

And she gave me her witness,

And, brother, was I floored.

And then one day it happened,

I prayed and so got saved,

And life for me was different,

No longer sin enslaved.

We later got married,

And raised our family there,

And now I am an old man,

With a story still to share.

I was a wandering cowboy,

Who God helped find the way,

He knew what I needed,

And had the final say.

I came into this country,

A ridin’ what I own,

And I will leave this country,

When Jesus calls me home.

“God saved you by His grace when you believed…” (Eph. 2:8, NLT).

Receiving God’s salvation is still the greatest miracle anyone can experience. It is the transaction in which God’s grace is freely given and received by faith. It is faith that enables us to receive from God what we could never earn. We could never do enough to deserve it, nor must we work to keep it. It is given, from start to finish. And it is received, from start to finish, by faith. But what is faith? Faith is a combination of belief, trust, and surrender. It is transferring our dependence from ourselves to God alone to save us. And this is done through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He is the object of our faith, and the Good News shared in His name is an extravagant and generous offer indeed. Believe in Me. Put your trust in Me. Surrender control to Me. And the moment you do, I will shower you with the gift of eternal and abundant life. All sins are forgiven and remembered no more. And His presence gives assurance that we are part of God’s forever family. Praise God!

Lord, save us today, and if we are saved, make us certain of it, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Tim Cox, timcox.com. Used by permission. Thanks, Tim, and God bless you.