amazing Grace…

Jesus said “arise and shine…”

Key Scripture: 1 Corithians 15:8-10: the Glory of Zion dO you know power of the Amazing Grace of God?

A paraphrase from St. Paul in the Bible, which states, "Last of all, as to one born abnormally, he appeared to me. For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because i persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God i am what i am…”.

As Word of teaches us, you shall know the truth and truth shall set you free.

It is the relationship that you build with the Truth has the power and capacity to set us free from sin and eternal death.

To understand the truth, we must understand Grace of God.

Grace as defined in Christian theology, is the spontaneous, unmerited gift of the divine favour in the salvation of sinners; and the divine influence operating in individuals for their regeneration (of spirit) and sanctification (of life).

This is the true story of John Newtown. In 1748, this English slave trader, during his return voyage to England aboard the ship Greyhound; John Newton had a powerful spiritual encounter with Jesus Christ.

He awoke to find the ship caught in a severe storm off the coast of Donegal, Ireland and about to sink. In his desperation, Newton began praying for God's mercy, after which the storm began to die down. After a month in the sea, his ship safely reached Ireland. This experience marked the beginning of his born again experience to Christianity.

He began to read the Holy Bible and other Christian these voiceless people a voice - a sense of place, a sense of purpose. People will remember this aspect by history. I do not celebrate struggles and sacrifices and sufferings of our people. What I marvel at is: HOW ORDINARY PEOPLE DID EXTRAORDINARY THINGS IN EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES.

We, their descendants, have inherited those traits and legacy of our forebears. And that is that even in difficult circumstances, we never give up and we never compromise. There is a kind of dignity within us, where did it come from? It comes from people who travelled thousands of miles in difficult circumstances, but never gave up. This is the legacy of Girmit that I think we are celebrating, not those horrible things we read in books many years ago. We reminiscence and have nostalgic memories of those profound lessons imparted to us by the greatest Girmit Historian who left an everlasting legacy for the coming generations.

Perhaps after Mahatma Gandhi, a feeble person who literature. By the time he reached Britain, he had accepted the Jesus as His Lord and Saviour. The date was 10 March 1748, an anniversary he marked for the rest of his life.

From that point on, he avoided profanity, gambling and drinking. Although he continued to work in the slave trade for some time. But later John Newton influenced William Wilberforce to abolish slave trading.

John Newtown deep convictions were beautifully written out in His Hymn song of praise to Jesus. This song has comforted, strengthened and healed many broken hearts. More than two centuries later, this song can strike deep chords into listeners heart. Listen to the following lyrics of former slave trader who encountered Jesus as his Amazing Grace.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound That saved a wretch evoked great fear among the might of British Empire, Professor Brij Lal was such a comparison in Fiji.

A person, barely 5 feet and 60kg, with failing eyesight and greying hair, armed merely with a pen and a brilliant mind, evoked fear among the leadership in Fiji, with thousands in its Military with deadly weapons. The fear for the Fiji First government was so great that he, together with his wife, were banned from Fiji.

The fear was so immense, that even, as per his last wishes, his ashes were denied entry to Fiji. For a small person whose ashes aroused such fears in the Fiji regime, itself speaks volumes for his huge stature.

Thankfully, as we prayed, like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found Was blind, but now I see 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear And grace my fears relieved How precious did that grace appear The hour

I first believed

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 there ten thousand years Bright shining as the sun

We’ve no less days to sing God’s praiseThan when we first begun

Here is what we want our readers take into heart. We all have sinned like John Newton. We all were blind and hopeless wretch. But when we open our hearts to the amazing grace of God, we too can experience Christ’s forgiveness and reconciliation. We can experience a true and meaningful relationship with

Fiji is now blessed with new visionary leaders after the general elections, who allowed his last wishes for his ashes to be brought to his beloved Tabia.

So long Professor. We, hope God does not stop incarnating future proud sons like you.

[about the author: thakur ranjit singh is a founding trustee of Fiji Girmit Foundation nZ which had hosted Professor Lal in auckland in 2014 Girmit day. thakur is a media commentator, a journalist and publisher of blog FiJi Pundit, based in auckland. e-mail: thakurjifj@gmail.com]

[Because of his ashes coming home, parts of May, 2022 article has been republished] our Creator and King.

Therefore, we invite you to enter into a life giving relationship with Amazing Grace Giver Jesus.

We invite you to pray this simple prayer with a sincere heart.

Dear Father God, Today, I thank you for your word that has touched my heart. Thank you for your amazing grace. I sincerely repent of my wrongs and I confess with my mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’. And I believe in my heart that Jesus died for my sins, God raised Jesus from the dead for my Mukti (Salvation). Help me to know Jesus more and more so that I can grow in the knowledge of your grace and mercy. Teach me your ways so that I can be person who will learn to honour you and learn to love each other.

Amen.

Our email: navig8grace@ gmail.com