Time to Change the Words

HAVE YOU EVER?! "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. T'was 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... we have already come. T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far... and Grace will lead us 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. When we've been here ten thousand years... bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise... then when we've first begun. "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. Have you ever really dissected these lyrics to understand their deeper meaning? Most of us sing these words while in church, or at a funeral, and sometimes even at a wedding... But have you ever really stopped and thought about what they mean.. To fully grip what these words mean and the passion in which they inspire, you have to know the story of the man who wrote them... His name was John Newton... Before John wrote these words he was a slave ship captain in the 18th century.. He saw things and did things to African's that none of us could ever imagine doing... During one of his trips back to England the ship he was commanding got caught in a horrible storm..

Filled with fear from the tossing of the waves. John cried out to God to save him... and while crying out to God john made a promise to God.. A promise that would, FOREVER, change his life... He promised God that if he was saved from this storm that he would change his life... he would quit being a slave ship captain and do something to better himself...Well, to no surprise, God saved John.. and as soon as John got home to England, he became a minister of the Lord... John's past haunted him forever.. Sleepless nights, and thought-filled days, took over John's life... In the angst of his troubles John sat down and wrote these words... Words that people all over the world sing daily... They sing these words when they are happy, sad, confused...

I never really took a deeper look at these words until recently, but when i did, something amazing happened to me, and i want to share it with you all... John Newton said something that absolutely sums up my feelings on life... He said, "I can only remember two things. One, I'm a great sinner, and two, Christ is a great Savior." This morning I have been sitting around thinking about what exactly Grace is... and the only logical thing i could come up with is this... Grace is a tangible sign of God's Love ... By tangible sign I mean this... When somebody receives God's Amazing Grace something in them changes... They become different. They start acting different...Their acting different is something tangible that we can all see... For example, later in John's life he lost his eye sight and was no longer able to see... What is ironic about this is that in his song he writes the words..."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."

At the time he wrote this John was able to see, but later lost the physical ability to see... The amazing thing is because of God's Grace he never really lost his ability to see whats in God's Heart... If anything John saw more clearly... and the people around John saw that... A close friend of John's, William Wilberforce (an abolitionist in the English Parliament) saw that, because of God's Grace in John's life, John never really lost his ability to see what's important in the heart of God.. and that later inspired William to risk his life in the fight against slavery in 18th century England...

Like i said earlier, I believe God's Grace is a tangible sign of God's Love...I I want you all to share the passion that is inside my heart for God.. I hope and pray that you feel the Love of God through every inch of your being... The song "Amazing Grace" is a reminder to us that God Loves US!!!! God is not in this far off place sitting on his throne waiting till he wants to come back to do what he said he is going to do... He is here, NOW, with you... While you read this he's knocking at the door of your heart... and he will continue to knock until you let him in... and its not this impatient knock... its a knock like that of a survivor of September 11th on the door of the firefighter who carried them out of the building two minutes before it fell down... its like the knock of a daughter on the door of her long lost father she hasn't seen in thirty years..... its like the knock of your mom on your door checking to see if you feel any better after being sick for a week... when you open the door to your heart, he's not going to say anything... just like the survivor; just like the daughter; and just like the mom; he's going to look you in the eyes...into the window of your soul........... he's going to hug you, close the door behind him, and lock it....God's Love is something we can not deny...

we need it for our very existence.. you can not fully live until you have God's Love... and by having it, i mean believing in it... that it's real... that it's never-ending.... To end, I want you to read the lyrics of Amazing Grace again but instead of the word Grace i have replaced it with the word Love... Like i said before, I believe that God's Grace is a tangible sign of God's Love for us... May this version of Amazing Grace , help you peer through the peep-hole of your heart..................... May this version of Amazing Grace help you unlock the door....... May this version of Amazing Grace help you open the door......... And Finally may this version of Amazing Grace allow you to receive the hug of Christ....

Amazing Love "Amazing Love, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see. T'was Love that taught... my heart to fear. And Love, my fears relieved. How precious did that Love appear... the hour I first believed. Through many dangers, toils and snares... we have already come. T'was Love that brought us safe thus far... and Love will lead us 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. When we've been here ten thousand years... bright shining as the sun. We've no less days to sing God's praise... then when we've first begun. "Amazing Love, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.... I once was lost but now am found, Was blind, but now, I see.

I love you all with every inch of my being, because Christ loves me... and remember......Colossians 3:12-14 12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.