• Thu. Dec 12th, 2024
Photo courtesy of johnnewton.org
Photo courtesy of johnnewton.org

Here’s a little insight to what I like to read, listen and see.

 

I have been brought up in church all my life, and music is in my blood. So I like to read stories behind the songs we sing.

 

I had read a biography before about John Newton and the songs he wrote, especially one that is a favorite. But listening to a preacher the other day, I hadn’t read or heard this story before and it blessed me.

 

In a picture frame on a wall, above a desk and chair, in a parlor room, in a small house in England is this verse: “And thou shalt remember that thou was a bondman in the land of Egypt, and I, the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore, I command thee this thing  today.” Deut. 15:15 KJV

 

Can you see John Newton, sitting there look up at the verse on the wall, thinking back to when he was lost, a slave trader in Africa and losing his mind and soul? Then, at some point, he starts thinking about when the Lord saved him.

 

Newton then began to write the words: “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost but now, am found. T’was blind, but now I see…”1

 

What a wonderful Savior we serve.

 

God bless.

In Christ,

Stephen

 

Stephen Widener

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. “Amazing Grace”, by John Newton, 1779.

By Stephen Widener

Stephen Widener is an ordained Pastor, Southern Gospel Singer, Musician, and Youth basketball Coach from North Carolina. A fan of Southern Gospel, he has been in and around the industry for several years, as well as having relatives within the industry. Stephen can be found in many places on the web including Facebook and Twitter, but you can reach him personally at snwidener2000@yahoo.com.