1 Corinthians 15:10 ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.’

DAILY READING   –1 Timothy 5:1-22; Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 119:145-176

John Newton is the writer of the well beloved hymn ‘Amazing grace’. His life is a true reflection of this hymn. John’s mother died just before he turned seven years old. But in her short time with her son, she taught him God’s word and prayed that he would become a minister when he grew up. Unfortunately, after his mother’s death, John’s life took a turn for the worse,. His father, a sea captain, began to take John along on his long voyages to the sea. Being around rough sailors influenced John negatively. And he grew up living rough, seeming to have forgotten all that his mother had taught him. By his early twenties, John Newton had stopped believing in God and was known for his cursing and drinking. However one day, on March 21, 1748, a fierce storm struck and almost drowned their ship.  As John faced certain death, he began to recall Bible verses his mother had taught him, and cried out to God. When the storm ended, John realized that God had saved him from a sure death. He immediately asked Jesus to save his soul. He became a Christian and began to serve God actively. The prayer of John’s mother was answered later in his life, when he became the pastor of a church in England. He constantly told people how God saved a wretch like him. His thoughts were later captured in the hymn ‘Amazing grace’, which has become the world’s most famous hymn. Newton lived to be eighty-two years old and never ceased to be amazed by God’s grace. At a very old age, he often said, “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things: That I was a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”

Indeed God’s grace is amazing. John Newton’s hymn reminds us of God’s constant grace to us, even when we don’t deserve it. Despite how low  a man may sometimes sink in life, the grace of God is always able to reach down and pull him up.

There is no substitute for grace on our journey to greatness, because we can’t make it on our own.  There is no self-made man, we are all products of divine mercy. When a man runs alone, it is called ‘a race’, but when he runs with God it is called ‘grace’. Grace therefore is divine leverage. It is God taking over from where our human strength stops. It is the tangible and undeniable hand of God on a man’s life.  Grace is the covenant mother of greatness. Grace took Joseph from prison to palace. It took Moses from keeping sheep to leading men. It took David from being a shepherd boy to becoming a king.

Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:10 ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am…’

No one can be greater than the grace of God at work in his life. It simply means that without grace, we are grounded. Indeed without Christ we can do nothing. Apostle Paul usually ended  his messages to the churches by praying for the grace of God because he knew they could not achieve anything in the energy of the flesh.. Indeed by strength shall no man prevail. And it is not by power or might but by The Spirit of The Lord. We are all upheld by God’s grace and any day God withdraws His hand we may crash into disgrace. This is why we must continually acknowledge the hand of God in our affairs. We must always proclaim Him the doer of every good thing in our lives. This is why we give Him praise, knowing He is the glory and the lifter up of our head. Indeed if it had not been for The Lord on our side, where would we be? Despite all our frailties, faults and shortcomings, we have been kept by His mercy, we have been preserved by His love. And for this we are eternally grateful.

PRAYER: Lord, please grant me the  grace to know that without You I can do nothing. Thank You for Your continual faithfulness in my life and Please help me  to always  remain totally dependent upon Your  help in Jesus name.

Quote

Whenever God places a demand on you, He is only positioning you to receive more from Him.  WORDBITE 222.