The Power of One Verse
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16
It's amazing to me how one verse from the Bible, one simple sentence, can change a life.
Lately, I have been thinking a LOT about the "spiritual" legacy that I will be leaving behind for my children and the generations of children after them. This has led me to look at my own "spiritual heritage" and I've been led into a much deeper study of God's word than ever before. A couple of weeks ago, I began asking myself, "Can you do it? Can you lead your children to a deeper, stronger relationship with God, one that will span GENERATIONS after you're gone?" I must admit, I began to get scared, thinking about this awesome responsibility and what it takes to live up to this challenge.
Then I read this (from the liner notes of Passion's CD, Hymns Ancient and Modern):
The story is told of a British missionary serving in the Ukraine in the late 1800s named Stuart K. Hine. He was visiting a home in the Carpathian mountains near the Polish border when he found a Christian by the name of Dimitri and his wife. Hine was amazed by the story he heard from Dimitri that day of how he and his wife had come to Christ:
Almost by chance, a Bible had fallen into their hands , but almost no one in the village had learned to read. The only person in the village who could read at all was Dimitri's wife, and she could not read very well. As she slowly figured out what she was reading, she slowly spelled out these wonderful words of John 3:16 to the rest of the puzzled villagers.
As the rest of the community began to understand the words she was reading, tears began to flow from their eyes and, one by one, they dropped to their knees, crying aloud to God. By the end of that day, 12 of the villagers, Dimitri and his wife included, had come to Christ.
As Dimitri concluded his story, he began to cry out in thanks to God again for what he had had done. He was that moved by the love of God at Calvary!
That night, under the inspiration of what he had heard that day, Hine sat down and wrote these words:
And When I think that God, his son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in;
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How Great Thou Art!
All it took was one verse to change the lives of those villagers, and, as a result, it led to one of the greatest hymns of all time being written, changing the lives of generations! The word of God is that powerful! If God can work through one simple verse of the Bible, surely he can work through his people, even feeble people like me.
Father God,
I ask your blessings on me as I attempt to be the spiritual leader of my family, as you want me to be. Give me the patience and wisdom that I need to lead my children in your truth. Give me a stronger faith, that I may trust completely in you.
Lord, I thank you for your word, and for people in my life who continue to remind me of what your word is all about. Father, I thank you for the responsability that you have given me in leading my family for you. I pray that they will grow into a generation that follows you completely.
Thank you for your grace and mercy, shown to us at the cross. May we never forget what you have done for us. I love you, Lord!
Thanks for Listening,
AMEN
Love,
--Eric G.
It's amazing to me how one verse from the Bible, one simple sentence, can change a life.
Lately, I have been thinking a LOT about the "spiritual" legacy that I will be leaving behind for my children and the generations of children after them. This has led me to look at my own "spiritual heritage" and I've been led into a much deeper study of God's word than ever before. A couple of weeks ago, I began asking myself, "Can you do it? Can you lead your children to a deeper, stronger relationship with God, one that will span GENERATIONS after you're gone?" I must admit, I began to get scared, thinking about this awesome responsibility and what it takes to live up to this challenge.
Then I read this (from the liner notes of Passion's CD, Hymns Ancient and Modern):
The story is told of a British missionary serving in the Ukraine in the late 1800s named Stuart K. Hine. He was visiting a home in the Carpathian mountains near the Polish border when he found a Christian by the name of Dimitri and his wife. Hine was amazed by the story he heard from Dimitri that day of how he and his wife had come to Christ:
Almost by chance, a Bible had fallen into their hands , but almost no one in the village had learned to read. The only person in the village who could read at all was Dimitri's wife, and she could not read very well. As she slowly figured out what she was reading, she slowly spelled out these wonderful words of John 3:16 to the rest of the puzzled villagers.
As the rest of the community began to understand the words she was reading, tears began to flow from their eyes and, one by one, they dropped to their knees, crying aloud to God. By the end of that day, 12 of the villagers, Dimitri and his wife included, had come to Christ.
As Dimitri concluded his story, he began to cry out in thanks to God again for what he had had done. He was that moved by the love of God at Calvary!
That night, under the inspiration of what he had heard that day, Hine sat down and wrote these words:
And When I think that God, his son not sparing,
sent him to die, I scarce can take it in;
that on the cross, my burden gladly bearing,
he bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to Thee,
How great Thou art! How Great Thou Art!
All it took was one verse to change the lives of those villagers, and, as a result, it led to one of the greatest hymns of all time being written, changing the lives of generations! The word of God is that powerful! If God can work through one simple verse of the Bible, surely he can work through his people, even feeble people like me.
Father God,
I ask your blessings on me as I attempt to be the spiritual leader of my family, as you want me to be. Give me the patience and wisdom that I need to lead my children in your truth. Give me a stronger faith, that I may trust completely in you.
Lord, I thank you for your word, and for people in my life who continue to remind me of what your word is all about. Father, I thank you for the responsability that you have given me in leading my family for you. I pray that they will grow into a generation that follows you completely.
Thank you for your grace and mercy, shown to us at the cross. May we never forget what you have done for us. I love you, Lord!
Thanks for Listening,
AMEN
Love,
--Eric G.
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