Essential Grace Blog

I have to be honest, being hurt by others sucks. Everyone can attest to this surely. When someone does something that you feel is so utterly wrong, it can be the worst feeling in the world. It matters less how you actually react to the hurt, it’s the being hurt that makes the difference. Imagine being struck by a heavy sharp stone that someone felt was appropriate to fling at you. It will do some damage, break some skin and/or leave a bruise. Usually the first reaction is one of shock, a numb dumbfounded shock at the injustice of it all. But after that initial reaction wears of, one may get angry or fearful or may engage in any number of defensive measures. One thing remains a fact though, a stone was flung at you and you got hurt. Nothing can change that. Also, nothing can change the fact that the broken skin or bruise you got as a result is actually quite painful. As stoic, unrelenting people who have no desire to reveal our true emotions; we deny there ever was ...

I heard a sermon recently by Chip Ingram where he was talking about the life of Paul the Apostle. His opening line was ‘the shortest distance between point A and point B is a zigzag.’ This is seems to be a rather unique way of looking at the calculus theory, a way that makes life rather complicated for people like me who love straight and uncomplicated lines. His message was on the life of Paul, who after being given a directive from Christ himself on how he was to live his life; went on to live a very eventful and often dangerous life. Paul may have expected his life to be filled with mission trips to the Gentile lands, sermon writing, planning and carrying out evangelism drives, meeting with new believers over a fellowship picnic, and plenty of other ‘normal’ things that a missionary would expect. However, this beautiful straight line he may have envisioned turned out to resemble a scribbled line connecting to points between his salvation and his death. Many ...

         There are some passages that we come across in the Word that jump out at us and seem to be so self-explanatory. Then there are others that leaves us scratching our heads wondering just what to make of the text, and often we tend to avoid such passages in favour of the free flowing text that speaks to us.         One such passage that leaves me stumped is 1 John chapter 2 verse 12 to 14. The letters from John are a particular favourite of mine mostly because of his writing style. I find him to be straight forward and precise in his instruction. this passage says;               " I write to you, little children because your sins are forgiven                 I write to you fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning                  I write to you, young men because you have overcome the wick...

There was an article I read in a women's magazine some years ago. It was about the growing trend of glamourising stress. Apparently, people get into competition on their outrageously busy schedules, their tight deadlines, their endless to-do lists and the ever raising blood pressure. I don't quite know if this has something to do with wanting to be important, or trying to paint a picture of productive energy. The point is, stress can never be glamorous. Neither can the lack of balance and pacing in one's life. The Bible speaks about suffering in terms of it being a global experience. It is not exclusive nor can it be patented. For example, when you think of suffering in the typically African perspective, it is easy to imagine that famine, floods, wars, and corruption are localized to this sad part of the world. But this is simply not true, famine, floods, wars, and corruption are well represented all over the world. Perhaps it is much easier to project so me forms of suf...

Peace is a general concept. It can mean different things such as peace of mind or inner peace, peace from war, and peace in relational contexts, to name a few. A quick wiki search on the definition of peace brings its description as ' a deliberate state of psychological or spiritual calm despite the potential presence of stressors .' add wiki link. An article posted on Letterpile * by Dora Weithers gives a beautiful illustration of peace as being the state one chooses to be in regardless of the situation; be it times of danger or calm. As a Christian, I propose that having and maintaining a peaceful heart is a genuine challenge. I say this because peace is not an inbuilt trait in humans regardless of their faith. Rather, it is something that has to be attained and worked on constantly. It is a personal choice that everyone makes at one point or another. For some, depending on their personality, religion, background, or other such factor; living peacefully is not difficult at...

A revelation is a beautiful thing. It is when you hear the voice of God, feel His touch, or sense His hand guiding you into a particular direction. Revelations can come in many different forms and can be on a diverse range of topics. You may get a revelation on something like cutting back on the amount of sugar you take, on the way you speak to others, or it can be something major such as letting go of a relationship that is not for you. Sometimes these revelations can be re-occurring. Particularly when you have forgotten what the message was about. I received this type of message last night after turning out the light to sleep. That and first thing in the morning is usually when I get such messages. It is a topic I have written about before and it remains a mystery to me why it keeps slipping from my mind. Why is it that we so easily decide on God's behalf? Have you ever done something and thought 'mom would flip if she saw me right now,' or 'if so and so where...

What can we truly say we know, without a shadow of a doubt? Is there anything out here that is truly true? I know a lot of things that I claim are the truth, for example I know that I hate guavas, I know I cannot stand the smell of wet dog, and I know that I love dancing, I love movement in general-and I know this without a doubt. But what about those things that we say we know but cannot bet our lives on that knowledge? I know that God loves me; I know that He made me, put me together purposefully; and desires for me to be part of His family for eternity.  I know that He was here before time-through time-and will be even after time as we know it is no longer valid. I know that He watches over earth, guiding and protecting, saving and delivering.  I know that He has proved His love for us over and over again; the most through giving His own Son to die in the place of humanity. My knowing is tangible, it is real, and it is far beyond my own understanding. It ...