spiritualsnippets.com

Seeing life's events in the light of God's Word.

Aug 27

Popular Choices

by Brenda Poulos

Two songs, Amazing Grace and I’ll Fly Away are said to be the most chosen music for memorial services (and many other public events) for decades.

Besides the wonderful music, what is it about these two songs that make them so popular among Christians and non-christians, alike?

I believe both songs show the composers’ great faith in God and their belief in heaven as the final abode for believers. In fact, 80-90% of their lyrics speak directly to that point. 

It may be the remaining percentage, 10-20%, coupled with the uplifting music, that makes them popular to thousands.

Consider this portion of the lyrics from Amazing Grace, written by Englishman, John Newton:

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

And this, from I’ll Fly Away by Hezekiah Walker:

One glad morning
When this life is over
I’ll fly away

I surmise from these, that the heart yearns for peace and joy at life’s end—the hearts of all human beings, even those who have not professed faith in Jesus Christ.

Today, let our prayer be for salvation for everyone who will believe. May they indeed experience an eternal life of joy and peace.

Biblical lessons Encouraging words

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Jul 13

Grace vs. Works

by Brenda Poulos

Romans 11:6– And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

One of the most popular songs of all time is Amazing Grace.

We say Grace before our meals.

Grace is a very popular girl’s name.

Philip Yancy wrote a book called, What’s So Amazing About Grace?

 I am a member of Grace Church.

Grace. What does that word mean?

Simple. It is undeserved merit.

It would be like me winning The Pulitzer Prize.

When we accept Jesus as our savior, God showers grace upon us. That is, he confers on us undeserved merit, or forgiveness of our sins.

We don’t deserve this merit, this forgiveness. We cannot work for it. It cannot be earned. That is why it is called grace.

Some people believe that by doing good works, they can earn a right standing with God. But, when you read Romans 11:6, we see that God is telling us that works is the opposite of grace.

God did not have working your own way to heaven as a part of his plan. No, he planned to give us a free gift of eternal life through his son, Jesus.

Why would he have sent Jesus to the cross to die if he planned to have you work for your salvation? What kind of loving father would have done that? That would mean that Jesus suffered and died for nothing!

But, that’s not how it happened. Knowing we could never earn our place in Heaven, he saved us by HIS GRACE through faith in Jesus Christ.

The next time we sing Amazing Grace, may we do so with a thankful heart—one that truly understands that this undeserved merit was not made possible by good works that we may have done, but by the greatest act of unconditional love that this world has ever witnessed.

Brenda

Biblical lessons

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