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b'\\u201cAmazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see!\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d\\nThis iconic song\\u2014which has been sung by Christians all around the world\\u2014has an amazing origin. John Newton, a man redeemed from a wild past, wrote this masterpiece in 1772. His life, full of twists and turns, was a testament to God\\u2019s amazing grace.\\nWhen John was very young, his mother died. Then, his stern, seafaring father took John to sea to experience the ocean, where John would spend much of his life.\\nHe was always quite drawn to drinking, and he tended to get into a lot of trouble. Then, he was pressed into the Royal Navy. When he tried to abandon ship, he was caught, beaten, and demoted in rank. His life seemed to be at an all-time low\\u2026but what he didn\\u2019t know was that it could get worse.\\nHe was assigned to the ship Pegasus, a slave trading ship. He didn\\u2019t like the crew. They didn\\u2019t like him much either, so they left him in West Africa. There, he was treated as a slave. But he was eventually rescued by a friend of his father\\u2019s.\\nOn the way home, aboard the Greyhound, John and the rest of the crew ran into a colossal storm. They were on the brink of sinking, but then John prayed to the One True God, and they survived.\\nLater on, John wrote this now-familiar hymn for the God whose grace had surely saved him\\u2014a wretch enslaved to sin.\\nIn the same way, Jesus rescues and saves His people today\\u2014making them \\xe2\\u20ac\\u0153no longer slaves to sin\\xe2\\u20ac\\x9d but instead children of the God of amazing grace (John 1:12; Romans 6:6). \\u2022 Elise Finkbeiner\\n\\u2022 Reread today\\u2019s Bible passage. Why is it so important that our salvation is by grace alone? \\n\\u2022 How has God shown His amazing grace to you and others in your life? \\n\\u2022 To learn more about God\\u2019s amazing grace, check out our \\u201cKnow Jesus\\u201d page.\\nGod saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can\\u2019t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)\\n\\xa0\\nRead Verses:\\nHabakkuk 1:1-11; 3:16-19'