Sunday Devotional
From the banks of
Burcham Creek…
“For by grace you have been
saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God,
not of works,
lest anyone should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
***
John Newton…
Was a British Sailor, Slave Trader,
Anglican Clergyman, Abolitionist,
Author and Hymn Writer.
He was born on 8/4/1725 in England
and died there on 12/21/1807.
John was forced to serve as a sailor
in the Royal Navy for a time.
In 1745 he became a slave of Princess
Peye, a black princess of the
She abused and mistreated John just as
much as she did her other slaves.
He later recounted this period as the
time he was "once an infidel and
libertine, a servant of slaves in
West Africa."
Early in 1748 he was rescued by a sea
captain who had been asked by Newton's
father to search for him,
And returned to England on the merchant
ship Greyhound, which was carrying
The Greyhound had been thrashing about
in the north Atlantic storm for over a
week.
Its canvas sails were ripped, and the
wood on one side of the ship had been
torn away and splintered.
The sailors had little hope of survival,
but they manually worked the pumps,
trying to keep the vessel afloat.
On the eleventh day of the storm,
sailor John Newton was too exhausted to
pump,
So, he was tied to the helm and tried to
hold the ship to its course.
From one o’clock until midnight he was
at the helm.
With the storm raging fiercely,
Newton had time to think.
His life seemed as ruined and wrecked as
the battered ship he was trying to steer
through the storm.
Since the age of eleven, he had lived a
life at sea.
Sailors were not noted for the refinement
of their manners,
But Newton had a reputation for profanity,
coarseness, and debauchery which even
shocked many a sailor.
John Newton survived that day at the helm.
That day, March 21, 1748, was a turning
point in his life.
It was a day that he would never forget,
for he believed that “on that day the Lord
sent from on high and delivered me out of
deep waters.”
On that day he began to turn to the Christ
that he had ignored since childhood when
his mother had tried to teach him the
Scriptures.
She had wanted him to become a Minister.
He chose to become a slave-trader.
Newton went on to write the words of the
following beloved hymn …
Amazing grace!
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
’Twas grace
that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Through many
dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
The Lord has
promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
Yea, when this
flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
The earth
shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
When we’ve
been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
- John Newton
Newton lived to be eighty-two years
old.
Even then, Newton never ceased to be
amazed by God’s grace and told his
friends,
“My memory is nearly gone;
but I remember two things …
That I am a great sinner,
and that Christ is a
Great Savior.”
The Apostle Paul wrote…
“This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptance,
that Christ Jesus came into
the world to save sinners,
of whom I am chief.”
1 Timothy 1:15
No list of songs about grace is
complete without this classic.
Published in 1779
It was sung extensively during the
Second Great Awakening in the
United States and by slaves in the
American South.
We are still singing it today because
of its poignancy, truth, and strong
melody.
It was the favorite hymn of the late
Charles Coil who was President of
International Bible College when I
attended there.
Friend, maybe today is the day you
might need to consider where you
stand with Jesus?
Have you like John Newton ignored
the teaching of a mother or a
grandmother?
Have you taken advantage of
God’s Amazing Grace?
Titus 2:11-14 states …
“For the grace of God that brings
salvation has appeared to all men,
teaching us that, denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts,
we should live soberly, righteously,
and godly in the present age,
looking for the blessed hope and
glorious appearing of our great God
and Savior Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for us, that He
might redeem us from every lawless
deed and purify for Himself His
own special people,
Zealous for good works. “
***
Friend,
Are you ready to meet Jesus in
judgment?
Have you obeyed the gospel of
Jesus Christ?
God’s Plan of Salvation
1. Hearing the word of God
(Romans 10:17).
“So then faith comes by hearing,
And hearing by the word of God.”
2. Believing what is taught
(Mark 16:16).
“He who believes and is baptized
will be saved;
But he who does not believe will
be condemned.”
3. Repentance
(Acts 17:30).
“Truly, these times of ignorance
God overlooked,
But now commands all men everywhere
to repent.”
4. Confession
(Romans 10:9, 10).
“That if you confess with your mouth
the Lord Jesus And believe in your
heart that God has raised Him from
the dead,
You will be saved.
“For with the heart one believes
unto righteousness, and with the
mouth confession is made unto
salvation.”
5. Baptism
(Acts 2:38).
Then Peter said to them,
“Repent, and let everyone of you be
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins;
And you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.”
6. Faithful Christian living
(Matthew 10:22).
“And you will be hated by all for
My name’s sake.
But he who endures to the end
will be saved.”
***
Edited by H.C.
***
Amazing Grace – Ray Walker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNLWPmvIe5w
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