Bad News

“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!â€

This iconic song—which has been sung by Christians all around the world—has an amazing origin. John Newton, a man redeemed from a wild past, wrote this masterpiece in 1772. His life, full of twists and turns, was a testament to God’s amazing grace.

When John was very young, his mother died. Then, his stern, seafaring father took John to sea to experience the ocean, where John would spend much of his life.

He was always quite drawn to drinking, and he tended to get into a lot of trouble. Then, he was pressed into the Royal Navy. When he tried to abandon ship, he was caught, beaten, and demoted in rank. His life seemed to be at an all-time low…but what he didn’t know was that it could get worse.

He was assigned to the ship Pegasus, a slave trading ship. He didn’t like the crew. They didn’t like him much either, so they left him in West Africa. There, he was treated as a slave. But he was eventually rescued by a friend of his father’s.

On the way home, aboard the Greyhound, John and the rest of the crew ran into a colossal storm. They were on the brink of sinking, but then John prayed to the One True God, and they survived.

Later on, John wrote this now-familiar hymn for the God whose grace had surely saved him—a wretch enslaved to sin.

In the same way, Jesus rescues and saves His people today—making them “no longer slaves to sin†but instead children of the God of amazing grace (John 1:12; Romans 6:6). • Elise Finkbeiner

• Reread today’s Bible passage. Why is it so important that our salvation is by grace alone?

• How has God shown His amazing grace to you and others in your life?

• To learn more about God’s amazing grace, check out our “Know Jesus” page.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)

Read Verses:

Habakkuk 1:1-11; 3:16-19