Lavish Grace
Scripture
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.
Ephesians 1:7-8, NIV
Quote
My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things, I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.
~John Newton
My Thoughts
Everyone knows that John Newton was involved in slave trade in the early part of his life but what I did not know until I read it a few days ago: John Newton was not a flash in the pan. He did not become a pastor for many years. He was converted at age 23 but his spiritual growth was slow. Matter of fact, after his conversion, he worked on the docks of Liverpool. After years on the docks, he met George Whitefield. Whitefield’s influence got John thinking about the ministry. He began studying Greek and Hebrew and at the age of 39, he was appointed pastor of an Anglican church in Olney, England. Newton labored in Olney for fifteen years and became friends with one of England’s favorite poets William Cowper. Newton and Cowper talked almost every day. When Newton moved to London in 1779, Cowper became depressed. Newton served as rector of St. Mary’s Woolnoth, a quaint church in the heart of London’s financial district. Newton was pastor there for 28 and from there he was promoted at the age of eighty-two.
When you hear the name John Newton, you think AMAZING GRACE. The popularity of this great hymn has obscured all the other hymns that Newton wrote. Amazing Grace was not the original title; it was FAITH’S REVIEW AND EXPECTATION. I’m glad they changed it to Amazing Grace.
I have observed over the years that the dramatic conversions, the flash in the pan does not last. For some reason, slow spiritual growth seems to be more common and productive. I have seen folks get so fired up that they wanted to fire me up but invaribly they fizzled out. I have seen them drop completely out of church and even become bitter. Remember the old fable about the Hare and the Turtle. The main thing is to not get distracted and keep on keeping on. The Christian life is not a sprint, it is a marathon.
Extra
Another Monday of missing the Pastor’s conference to work on the apartment. I am hoping one more Monday will get the job done. We still don’t have hot water but we have friends that are helping us with that this week.
Really looking forward to 49er fellowship Friday. You can’t imagine how excited I am about our get-to-gether.
Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.
Extra/Extra
What is a Rector in the Anglican Church? A Rector (Anglican) would be the same as a Senior Pastor in a Baptist Church. In some churches they are called Bishops. It is your lead pastor. A rector and vicar are close to the same thing; a Curate is an associate pastor.