Heart to Heart With God

And [Gabriel] came to her and said “Greetings, O favoured one, the Lord is with you! But she was greatly troubled at the saying , and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.” (Luke

“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of my wine.” (Proverbs 9:4)   “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” (Proverbs 9:16)

Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:24) Why do Christians die? We know that death has entered the world because of sin. Everything

I went away full, and the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?” (Ruth 1:21) You can only fill something when its empty. Like when I’m putting milk in the coffee machine I have to make sure

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 5) Sequences are a feature of our Universe. It’s the way the world

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothy 4:18) What kind of safety are you after? What will it take to make you feel safe? The apostle Paul was confident that the Lord will rescue

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply…” (Genesis 1:27-28) Can you think of one reason outside of this text why there should be such a thing as

Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live. (Jonah 4:3) I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2

…that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our [yours and ours] joy may be complete. (1 John 1:3-4) Imagine

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that

If you go into your neighbour’s vineyard, you may eat your fill of grapes, as many as you wish, but you shall not put any in your bag. If you go into your neighbour’s standing grain, you may pluck the ears with your hand, but you shall not put a sickle to your neighbour’s standing

Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Luke 12:33-34) “Anima ubi est amat non ubi est animat” said the great Augustine. Was he speaking

“… and I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth…” (John 14:16-17) Do you sometimes imagine that the Christian life would be much easier if Jesus was literally, physically with you? The 12 disciples had that phenomenal privilege. However, in this

Your kingdom come, your will be done. (Matthew 6:10) If you’re a Christian, today will be the tale of two kingdoms. Your whole Christian life is the tale of two kingdoms. Which is why today you will not experience heaven because heaven is where there is only one kingdom. Wherever there is more than one

Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron. (Psalm 77:19-20) In our age of information technology we don’t like not knowing something. We feel we have a right to know everything. Isn’t

Then the Spirit of the Lord will rush upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man. When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And when all who knew him previously saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another,

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the Father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah etc. etc. (Matthew 1:1-2) Why does the New Testament start with a genealogy? What kind of ‘religious’ book begins with a

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person

Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. (Psalm 85:10) Have you ever experienced a perfect storm? As you probably know, a ‘perfect storm’ is an idiomatic expression meaning that a whole lot of things have come together at the same time – usually bad things. I once lived in a little

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:16-17) What do you give to someone who has everything? Ever wonder what you

If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. (John 15:24) Why doesn’t Jesus just appear? Surely if people saw Him they would believe? Wouldn’t that settle everything once and for

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:5-6) “There are many ways to the roof of a house. There

O LORD our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God to them, but an avenger of their wrongdoing. (Psalm 99:8) What is the difference between a paradox and a contradiction? A true contradiction is when two things can’t be reconciled. They say opposite things and cannot both be true at the same time.

My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways. For a prostitute is a deep pit; and an adulteress is a narrow well. Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent

More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? (Psalm 69:3) Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court,

Then she said, “I have found favour in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.” (Ruth 2:13) Boaz, a rich and powerful land baron has shown incredible kindness to Ruth, a poor widowed immigrant. Ruth has gone seeking leftovers

O Lord, our Lord, How majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8) Experience and experts tell us that all human emotions are necessary. Emotions perform different functions for us. Anger gives us strength. You can never slam a door as hard as you do when you’re angry. Joy gives us energy. Jealousy

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. (Luke 1:35) … my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed