Harmony of Grace

It has been a hot minute since I have posted to my personal blog. There are several reasons for this. First and foremost, my various ministry commitments in Hilton have been keeping me extremely busy. Second, my wife and I have been navigating life as a family of four since welcoming our second-born into our lives in October last year. It has almost been a year and I know that this is not a unique challenge to us, but it certainly hasn’t been insignificant trying to manage my desire to wr-0ite while still prioritising family time and ministry commitments. This isn’t to say that I have not been writing. I have been publishing regular articles and devotions for various groups such as the Jesuit Institute of South Africa, The Methodist Church of Southern Africa and the Emmaus Ministries of South Africa. But I must admit that I have neglected my personal blog and social media channels. In preparing to write this update, I have been reflecting on why this is the case. It is true that I h...

The word p e r f e c t ion  comes with a whole lot of baggage. We all know that no-one is perfect, and yet we are told that practice makes perfect. To be a perfectionist is sometimes seen as a crutch, while at other times we are encouraged to strive for perfection. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, taught about an idea called C h r i s t i a n P e r f e c t i o n and asserted that followers of Christ could experience this ideal. In Genesis, we read that God created the world and humanity and declared that it was good. Many claim that this implies that God's original Creation was perfect. D a n i e l l e S h r o y e r suggests that perhaps "a more appropriate view of creation would be not perfection but potential. God designed the world to develop and function in a certain way, while allowing for creation to live freely into its potential. Sometimes creation will live up to and into its potential, while other times it will renounce it.... Potential reminds us once agai...

This past weekend was our annual confirmation camp where the youth of our church go away for the weekend to prepare for their upcoming confirmation service. We were extra lucky this year as the farm that we were staying on does not have access to electricity (although I don't think lucky  would be the word that our youth would use when describing that fact). But it was a great opportunity to set aside all of the distractions that come with constantly being glued to our electronic devices and focus on connecting with God and each other.  Spending a few days in the wilderness, away from technology and the busyness of life, was truly refreshing for my soul. I have always enjoyed withdrawing to a still, private place for an occasional spiritual retreat, but I was reminded this weekend of the value of good community. One of the biggest things that the COVID pandemic has robbed us of is regular, deep connection with others. Yes, we can experience community virtually and some might e...

Many people tend to think of life in rigid, binary terms. For example, something is either good or bad, right or wrong, male or female, etc. In our churches, we are quick to create rules that define what is acceptable and what is not; or we create walls that allow certain people in while keeping others out. Even when it comes to theology, we try to put our beliefs about God into neat little boxes. Throughout history, humans have invented neat theological phrases to try and define God. While these are certainly helpful at times, they can sometimes get in the way of our growing understanding about God and the world. One of the ways that we define God is by referring to the Holy Trinity of Father, Spirit and Son. This is a helpful way of understanding God as an interpersonal, relational God who is present in three persons. However, one of the problems that comes with this model is that we tend to associate the Trinity with a triangular, pyramid shape. This creates a hierarchal model that ...

John 12:35-36 After predicting his death, Jesus told his disciples that they "will have the light with them just a little while longer" and that they should "believe in the light while they have access to it, so that they may become children of light." There is nothing quite as challenging as navigating through an unfamiliar place in the dark before your eyes have properly adjusted. We encounter a similar challenge as we attempt to navigate our lives in this world if we choose to walk in the dark. Jesus is the light of the world. We always have access to Jesus' light living within us today. We need Jesus' light to illuminate the dark places in the world around us. Just like our eyes adjust to the dark, if we live our lives guided by Jesus' shining light, our eyes will adjust to what we are seeing and we will be able to see the world in a new perspective - through the loving eyes of Jesus. There is a famous Christian hymn called "Turn your eyes upon ...

John 12:27-33 At various points in Jesus' ministry, he spoke about his coming death. The disciples often did not know what Jesus was talking about when Jesus predicted his literal death.  As we draw nearer to Easter, we prepare to mourn Jesus' death and begin to reflect on the implications of the cross on our lives today. I wonder what our response would have been if we were with Jesus and he predicted that he would be persecuted and killed for what he stood for? Would we too have denied Jesus' words or would we have had the courage to fall in line with Jesus and be persecuted with him for what he stood for and believed in? Would we perhaps have doubted the resurrection like Thomas; denied knowing him like Peter; or even betrayed him like Judas?  I am sure we would all claim that we would have stuck by Jesus until the end, but if we are honest with ourselves, we might not like what we discover.  As we prepare to reflect on Jesus' final days, let us consider if we are li...

John 12:23-26 The Bible is full of phrases that seem to contradict themselves. We are told that we see unseen things; we conquer by yielding; we reign by serving; we are exalted by being humble; we become wise by being fools for Christ's sake. Another stark contradiction is found in our Scripture reading for today: We live by dying . The kernel of wheat needs to die in order to produce many new seeds.  There are certain things in our lives that need to die in order for us to experience abundant life in Christ.  I could give you a list of things that could be causing you to pull away from Christ, but we all know what the things are in our lives that are preventing us from drawing near to God. It could be hatred, unforgiveness, busyness, fear, the list is endless.  We each have our own personal struggles. Until we are serious about letting these parts of our lives die, we will always struggle to experience new seeds of love, joy, peace, etc. Prayer: Lord God, I acknowledge ...

John 3:18-21 I love verse 19 in our reading for today: "Light has come into the world, but people love darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil." What a fitting description of our world today.  Many people claim that the world is a horrible place; that people are evil and there is no hope for redemption.  I have a different view. There is much good and light in the world. The problem is that much of humanity chooses to love and seek darkness instead. When the Light came into the world in the form of Jesus, we were shown how to bring light into the world by living lives of mercy, peace and justice. And yet most of humanity still chooses to love darkness by living lives of resentment, violence and selfish gain. I am sure that we would all love to see a world with more light and goodness. I believe that in order for this reality to be realised, we need to live by the truths that Jesus taught: more love, more forgiveness, more grace, more peace, more giving, and mo...

  Numbers 21:4-9 Today we are faced with a strange story. The Israelites were stuck in the wilderness and they were growing impatient. They spoke against God and encountered venomous snakes in their camp, causing many of their numbers to die. The people repented, Moses prayed to God and God provided them with a way out. He tells Moses to make a bronze snake, put it on a pole and if anyone gets bitten, they must look at the bronze snake and they will be saved. What a strange story indeed! There is a lot going on here, but the first question that pops into my head is "why are the Israelites saved by erecting a bronze snake here, but a few chapters earlier in Exodus 32, they are punished for erecting a golden calf? What is the difference between the two?" The simplest answer is that in Exodus they made the golden calf to become a replacement for God after they felt abandoned by Moses. In our story today, the bronze snake was meant to remind the people that it was God that saves ...

Exodus 20:1-17 Matthew 22:34-40 When confronted by the religious leaders and asked what is the greatest commandment in the Law, Jesus responded by saying: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments." I think that this is the difference between obeying the ten commandments as a list of strict rules and living a ten commandment life. When we make it a priority to glorify God in everything that we do, we will naturally adhere to the ten commandments without even thinking about it. When faced with a choice to steal or not, which option would glorify God? The same can be said for when we focus on loving our neighbour, we will naturally follow the 10 commandments as well. When faced with the option of murder, or committing adultery, what decision would we take if we are abl...

  Exodus 20:1-17 Many people seem to think that God gave the Israelites the ten commandments because God is a strict teacher who just wants humans to follow rules, regardless of the outcome.  If we read the ten commandments at face value today, we discover that none of them are really unfair or unrealistic to follow. Even the most devout atheists would agree that murder is wrong and you shouldn't try to steal your neighbour's wife. If we consider what we learnt yesterday, that the message of the cross sounds foolish until we put it into practice and discover its true wisdom, we find a similar reality when it comes to the ten commandments.  We can huff and puff about being legalistic and not enjoying being "rule-followers," but the truth of the matter is that this list of commandments that Moses passed on to the people of Israel many, many years ago is still extremely relevant to our lives today. The ten commandments are not a set of rules that we are meant to follow r...

1 Corinthians 1:18-25 Have you ever found yourself reading a story about Jesus and being confused or unsure about something that Jesus said? Perhaps you wonder, "why would Jesus ask someone to give away everything they own?" or "how on earth am I supposed to love my worst enemies, even the people who have hurt me the most?" or "why does Jesus not stand up and fight for himself, even when he is sentenced to death?" I think that these feelings of shock that we have when we read Jesus' story is what Paul talks about in Corinthians when he says that the message of the cross is foolishness to those who do not understand. What I have found is that once my initial shock wears off and I am willing to put into practice what Jesus has said and lived, it is then that I discover the wisdom in Jesus' words, even though I did not understand it at first.  When I begin giving away my possessions, I discover that I am blessed by helping those in need and I rely les...

Genesis 17:1-7 Abraham was 99 years old when God called him and made a covenant with him. It is true that Abraham lived for longer than the average human today, but even he thought that he was too old to be of any use as a servant of God at his age. I think that too often we let age define what we are able to do, especially when it comes to God's work in the world. We constantly hear people say, "I missed my opportunity to get involved in that ministry," or "I wish I had signed up earlier in my life so that I could have made a greater impact here." It is never too late to answer God's call on your life.  Even if you are only able to contribute to a certain calling for a few months or years, the influence that you make could have a lasting impact for many future generations.  Abraham's main contribution to the story of God's people was that he was a pioneer for generations to come. Even though he doubted his ability, he was faithful to God's call ...

Mark 9:2-9 There are certain times during our lives where we feel closer to God. Perhaps it is during certain seasons such as Christmas, Easter or even Lent. Perhaps it is at a certain time of the day, when we set time aside to pray or read our bibles. It is great to have these special moments in our lives when we feel closer to God but unfortunately, we cannot stay there forever. In our reading this morning, while on the mountain and overwhelmed by the experience of Jesus’ transfiguration, Peter wants to set up tents to prolong the experience that he was having. Peter was perhaps the first of many to try and make this sacred experience more permanent. As much as we would like to, no-one gets to stay on the mountain forever. All of us that meet with God in special moments have to eventually return to the real world. Often, the real world is not a nice place to be. There is much pain, heartbreak and evil waiting for us at the bottom of the mountain. The good news of the Gospel story is ...

Mark 9:1 Jesus often spoke about the Kingdom of God. While I still believe that this phrase is a beautiful phrase to describe God's reign on earth, it can sometimes get lost in translation. We need to remember that when Jesus termed this phrase, he was addressing a very different context to what we live in today. The people of Jesus' time were living under the rule of the mighty Roman Empire. They were very familiar with what a Kingdom looked like and what values were important to a worldly kingdom. Therefore, when Jesus spoke about this new Kingdom of love, joy, peace and hope, the people would have immediately noticed the stark differences between the Kingdom of the world and the Kingdom of God. So this got me thinking... If Jesus was born into humanity today, what phrase would he use to describe the Kingdom of God  so that today's generation would better understand what he was talking about? Maybe, because of our fascination with consumerism and always wanting more, he w...

Pink and Khalid sing a beautiful song that talks about how it hurts to be human. To struggle is to experience a core part of what it means to be human. Even before you were formed in your mother's womb, you had to struggle through countless obstacles, fending off 250 million other sperm to win the race and make it into this world.  Every day, I watch my 7-week old daughter struggle (with wailing and tears) as she tries to communicate her needs to us. In a few months, she will no doubt struggle to get acquainted with her limbs as she attempts (and fails many times) to crawl and walk. Some of life's struggles are necessary for efficient development. Some may seem pointless, or even unfair. Yet, we can take encouragement that human beings have proven to be able to endure great struggles. The bible is full of stories of great men and women who endured great struggles, both internal and external, for the cause of Christ. I think of Jesus' life and ministry on Earth. No other hum...

One of my favourite past-times has been to read a few chapters of a book in bed before I go to sleep at night.  Recently, I have struggled to keep up with this habit. I would love to use our newborn baby as an excuse, but if I am honest, it has been an issue for a few months already. I regularly find myself opening my book, reading a few paragraphs, getting distracted, re-reading the same paragraphs, giving up and then putting the book away and picking up my phone. Whilst trying to determine the problem, I realised that before reading my book, I usually watch a YouTube video or scroll through social media. I find that my brain tends to shut down during these activities where I am mindlessly absorbing information fed to me off of a screen. I need to be more intentional with the way that I use my time.  How often do we experience similar struggles when it comes to our spiritual disciplines? Many of us want to read our bibles more, pray more and worship more. We remember when we ...

A night sky full of stars is a beautiful sight to behold. These days, because of the light from cities, many people do not often get an opportunity to experience this beauty (although thanks to Eskom we might have more chances than we would like!) In order to truly experience the majesty of the night sky, you need to find the perfect spot and you need to be willing to gaze patiently for a good amount of time. You need to let your eyes adjust fully to what you are looking at. The true beauty of star-gazing comes to the forefront when you sit patiently in complete darkness, identifying the many constellations and spotting shooting stars and passing satellites.  Many Christians experience their faith in a similar way to star-gazing. They separate their spiritual and secular life. They will go to church on a Sunday, read their bibles and pray - all of which are seen as spiritual things, but then they will "readjust" their vision when they are at work, or school, or doing any o...

Image Source:  Jason Blackeye It has been five months since my last blog post. This has been the longest break that I have taken since I began  Harmony of Grace three years ago.  When our church in Bethlehem decided to close our Sunday services back in March, I committed to sending out daily audio devotions over Whatsapp and Facebook. This has taken up a lot of my time and effort so I decided to take a break from posting written blog posts during this time.  While researching and writing a new article for SUMag recently, I realised how much I missed writing. I am excited to announce that I am going to be posting regular blog posts to this page once again.  I will continue to send out daily audio devotions until our church is able to meet again. If you have not been receiving these and you would like to then please like our church's FaceBook page here:  Bethlehem Methodist Church . This past week, I sent out my hundredth audio devotion and recorded my t...

Image Source:  Zhang Kaiyv Last week, I wrote about visiting sacred spaces where we are instantly more aware of God's presence with us. You can read that post here:  Sacred Spaces It is great to withdraw to the Sacred Spaces in our lives where we best encounter God. Unfortunately, it is not possible to stay there forever. In the story of Jesus’ transfiguration ( Matthew 17:1-9 ), Peter wants to set up tents on the mountain to prolong his sacred encounter. Peter was the first of many to try and make his sacred space more permanent. When I was sitting on the mountain at the minister's retreat two weeks ago, I would have loved to have stayed in that moment for hours. However, it was starting to get dark and I had another session to get back to. As much as we would like to, no-one gets to stay on the mountain forever. All of us that meet with God in “Sacred Spaces” have to eventually return to the real world. Often, the real world is not a nice place to be. There is ...