9-29-2014

Good Morning All,

         Ephesians 2: 8-9; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

      In a small cemetery in Olney, England, there is a granite marker for a grave that states; “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and Libertine, a servant of slavers, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy.”  This is quite a story of a life. 

     John Newton spent much of his early life living in a fashion that was to prove that he was in need of no God and that there was no God that would ever be in his life.  He ended up captaining a slave ship.  It was during a return trip to England from Africa that his life began to change.

    While on this trip, a particularly stormy trip in which he expected the ship to sink, he began to read the book “Imitation of Christ’ by Thomas a Kempis.  The reading of this book, combined with the fierce storm, began to change young mister Newton.  For a while, he tried to calm his conscience by having worship services on his slave ship but he soon realized that those two identities, slave trader and Christian, could not exist side by side.  He returned to England, married his childhood sweetheart and worked as a clerk in the Port of Liverpool.

   Yet God’s call continued until he became a preacher.  He drew great crowds because of his own personal story “Old Converted Sea Captain.”  It was out of the story of his life that he penned one of the most famous hymns ever written: “Amazing Grace”

   His life was an example of God’s amazing grace; a man who ran from God, fought God, denied God and, ultimately, restored by God.  You may not have this dramatic of a story but you do have a story and more, importantly, God has an answer for you.  Your story may be more of benign neglect, or of ignoring God but God kept telling you his story.  You may have not wanted to hear the story but you needed to hear it.  It may have played on your mind and in your head as you mulled it over, not sure of what it meant or how it worked.

   What you probably don’t realize is that as you “mulled it over” the Holy Spirit was working on your heart.  He kept telling you the story of God’s love for you and how Jesus died for you so that you would have life and salvation.  It is truly the most amazing story you will ever hear.  It is the one story that will completely change your life.  It takes some of us minutes to grasp it; it takes some of us years but God keeps talking to us with amazing patience and amazing love.  God’s amazing grace is being spoken to you from the first the moment you hear the story of Jesus told to you.  God’s amazing grace never gives up.

Gracious Father, your grace is truly amazing.  I never deserve or earn it yet it is always there for me.  When I need it the most, your grace pours upon me.  Your mercy restores me, your grace supplies me.  Be with those who are still struggling with your story of love and how it works for them.  Pour your amazing grace upon their heart so they may know your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret