Grains of Sand

Pixabay “ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid .” (John 14:27) What kind of peace does the world give? Temporary. Treaties are made. Treaties are broken. Ceasefires cease sooner or later. Someone looks and lusts; conflict breaks out in the push and pull of political intrigue. Relationships sail along comfortably until the next storm. That’s not God’s peace. That’s not what Jesus promised as He approaches the epicentre of conflict—His world’s  need to be rid of Him. The political and religious leaders clamour for His death. He knows this. He knows what is coming—the maelstrom in the making. And He speaks of peace that nothing can disturb and tells His disciples not to be troubled and not to be afraid. It is not a peace conjured up by force of character. Jesus says He is leaving HIS peace with them—the inheritance of those filled with His Spirit. It’s permanent. It’s living, b...

Google Images Joseph arrived in Egypt as a slave when he was seventeen. At the age of thirty he became Pharaoh’s right-hand man (Genesis 41:46). Thirteen years of slavery and imprisonment. We hear nothing about Joseph’s feelings about all that he went through—except perhaps for a brief hint when, as Pharaoh’s Prime Minister, he names his sons. The firstborn was named Manasseh, which bears a connection to the Hebrew meaning “forget.” Joseph remarked: “I t is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household ” (41:51). Was this a point of no return, the moment when Joseph put behind him any thought of returning to Canaan, or being rescued or released? With a wife and a family, his roots were now firmly planted in Egypt. The reference to “trouble” suggests that Joseph had just glided through all this with some kind of other-worldly detachment. He knew trouble. He’d lived trouble. He’d survived trouble. The birth of the second son tells us a little more. T...