Prayer

I learned that in ancient cultures, repeating a person’s name was a term of endearment. God showed his affection and love towards Moses by repeating his name. And Moses would have understood he was being addressed by someone who loved him. We mustn’t forget that God speaks to us in the same way. When he calls us by name, it is because of his great love for us.

If we are ever in any doubt of our relationship with God, any concern over whether he accepts us, thinks well of us, or fully embraces us, then we can be confident that because of his Son, he never forsakes us.

God’s forgiveness is not like our efforts to forgive. There is an important difference. God’s forgiveness is always on offer to you and me.

Sometimes God’s plans for us can seem confusing. They are not what we expect. We can question whether they are right. They can seem frightening. We can have a variety of reactions to what God wants or is telling us to do.

We can use worship as an opportunity to come to God and ask him to refresh us, to start afresh, to ask for forgiveness, to be refilled with God’s Spirit, to prepare ourselves for what is ahead.
God desires our worship. God deserves our worship. God delights in our worship.

As we battle through our fears of worst-case scenarios that look to be true and what God and his Word tell us to be true, we will come out stronger in our relationship with God and in our outlook on life and our situations.

When people share stories from their lives, we remember them. When we see ourselves in those stories, we relate to what is being shared; the stories take on greater meaning. The story of Jacob’s life in Genesis is memorable! And it has meaning for us, too.

What will you recall about God’s goodness on the next step of your journey? You have wonderful promises of God that you can hold onto as you walk through life. What landmarks in your life reassure you that God is with you?

When God speaks to us, we too can be amazed or astonished. Perhaps, though, we should not be surprised that God does speak to us, but expect God to speak to us. We should know that God is “in this place,” wherever that might be. Let’s be expectant of hearing God as we read the Bible, as we listen to a sermon, and even in the ordinary things we do each day, perhaps even hearing God in a dream.

When we want answers from God, and we don’t get an answer, or the answer we like, then we can also go down a path of our own doing. We can also get stuck into doubting God’s goodness, that he cares for us. We may think he’s forgotten us, or doesn’t love us. We can then live feeling disappointed, hurt, or even angry. But if we seek to know God first, everything else falls into place.

When we can’t see God’s provision, or feel his presence in that moment, and although our faith might be shaken, tell God that you are still believing in him, holding onto him, and placing your confidence in his promises.

What better way to start each day with one of readiness to listen when God calls your name, to follow God’s instruction, to believe in his promises, and to trust him fully with what is ahead?

But, what I think is surprising, is that God responds to our thoughts. We don’t expect that. We expect and want God to listen and respond to our silent prayers, which we make in our minds. But we don’t expect that he is listening or responds to our thoughts when they are not directed specifically to him. 

Maybe your life and the future seem bleak at the moment, like a desert. Perhaps you wonder if God even cares what you’re going through. Maybe you are holding onto anything that you hope will see you through. God is reaching out for you too, with a message that he hears your cries and has a future for you.

Like Abram, you can say to God, “you have given me no ______________” Fill in the blank with the one thing that seems impossible in your life, where you are waiting for God to show up. 

Moving to another country is not easy. I can attest to that. Even when God says “go” it’s not always easy. With an airport cart piled high with suitcases and boxes and a six-week old baby, my husband and I boarded a plane from Heathrow airport with one-way tickets to Boston, Massachusetts. We left behind everyone Read more…

The covenant also shows us God is gracious, and the rainbow is a sign of his graciousness. Every time we see a rainbow we are witnesses to God’s kindness, mercy, and grace. We are witnesses to God’s love touching earth.

One of the best ways to deal with our anger is to bring it to God. He knows exactly what we’re thinking and feeling, so why not be honest with him about the person who’s making your blood boil, who you feel like “murdering,” or at least walking out on or giving a piece of your mind.

When you sense God asking you the question “What is this you have done?” Remember that you do not have to hide, you can come clean because your heavenly Father will forgive and forget.

But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).
Even though this is a hard question, you and I have the chance to understand it in hindsight, and discover a wonderful opportunity for us, if God were to ask us the same question.

That command “you are free…” gives us the freedom to worship God freely through respecting his boundaries. 

Let’s worship God and be devoted to him. Let’s trust that we are exactly where we should be with the freedoms we have, and the restrictions we have. Let’s trust that what we have is perfectly enough.

God who creates the beauty of a rainbow that makes us gasp in awe, the complexity of the universe that scientists are still trying to fathom, who owns and commands and rules over everything we know, says “I give you…”

Where can you follow God’s words today when he says to you “be fruitful…”? How will you react to his instruction while keeping in mind that he has blessed you and wants to continue blessing you. How will you celebrate?

As God’s children, we come in different shapes, sizes and varieties. Yet, when we stay close to God and grow more like Jesus, we bear his fruit. That fruit in our lives reflects his Spirit.

Life can often feel like we are climbing a mountain. It can be exhausting and hard work. The Bible encourages us to take frequent stops and to “wait”—to trust in God’s strength.

Imagination shouldn’t be restrained to a six or seven-year-old. God invites us, his children, to release our minds and hearts and imagine, to ask, to dream big.

God tells us that his graciousness, kindness, and mercy is sufficient. We need nothing more. But there is more. This power of God is enough to sustain us through life, particularly when we are at our weakest—when we are frail and inadequate.

we have everything we need for whatever we face in life. We can be confident that God’s words can inform us for every step we make, everything we do, and even the direction in which we need to go.

The Bible says we are like clay pots. We may be fragile, unsophisticated, earthy, and yet God has chosen for us to hold his extraordinary and priceless truth

God loves to fill our lives with good things. God fills us to overflowing, whether it is with his Spirit, with joy, peace, thankfulness and more.

God says we have his power to destroy snakes and scorpions—all evils—that threaten to hurt us. He assures us that we can walk confidently in life, knowing we have mastery in his name. Let’s use that power well, but also to make sure we recognize the enemy.

For you and me, God’s parental love, care, and protection never ends in the world in which we live. It begins the moment we are born and lasts every single day of our lives

“Kingdom” is not a word we use much nowadays. Even for me, with British nationality and a history of kings and queens, it’s not a concept that I think about. But, having lived in the UK and USA, and having visited many different countries, I often imagine out loud “if only I could take the Read more…

God, our Daddy Father in heaven, is the most intimate, personal, accessible companion we have. Far better than any human father we could imagine or dream of And yet at the same time, he is holy. He is set apart, different from us and all he has created. His uniqueness, holiness, and perfection is to Read more…

How did you come to believe in God and Jesus, to be a child of God, knowing God as your heavenly Father? What is your story? Perhaps your story is still being worked out.  Faith in God through Jesus, means we enter into a unique relationship with God the Father.  That relationship invites us to be Read more…

When our children were quite young, we had chickens and pet bunnies. The chickens lived in a coop and the bunnies lived under the deck in a hutch. One day, as I drove down the driveway having just picked up my children from school, I noticed the door of the coop hanging off and  feathers Read more…

Who do you need to forgive today? Who immediately came to mind with that question?  Perhaps the need for our own forgiveness is key to forgiving the people who hurt and harm us. “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). It’s so easy to miss the little word Read more…

Making sourdough bread became a regular activity for my husband and children during the lockdown in the pandemic. I know we weren’t the only people who decided to make their bread. I’m not sure why bread-making became so popular. Perhaps it was because we had plenty of time to do things, or because it was Read more…

As well as coming to Jesus with what is weighing us down and trusting that he will make our burdens lighter, there is a communal aspect of making the load easier for each other. We can ask a friend to pray for us, we can confide in a pastor, we can have small group or Read more…

What is weighing you down today? Perhaps it is health issues. Maybe you have financial worries, a lost job. Maybe you’re just tired, mentally, physically and spiritually.  The Bible talks about the weight of all these things as burdens. The word can mean to carry something heavy for a long distance. Jesus used “burden” to Read more…

Discouraged and disappointed. These are the two words that could be used to describe the two men walking along the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. Circumstances had not turned out as they hoped. They had placed their faith in Jesus, but he had not provided what they needed or supposed. They had more of a Read more…

I feel sorry for Thomas, the disciple of Jesus, who is labeled “doubting Thomas.” He is known—all this years later—for his disbelief that Jesus had risen from the dead, instead of being recognized for his faith and the declaration he made about Jesus: “My lord and my God” (John 20:28) “My” announces a personal acceptance of Read more…

I have to wonder about the words—well, they are more like a prayer—of the criminal on the cross next to Jesus.  “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Remember me… And Jesus said he would, quite willingly. He offered the man so much more. But, hang on a minute. Shouldn’t the Read more…

If you had been here… This is the statement that both Martha and Mary make separately to Jesus when he eventually turned up at Lazarus’s graveside.  Their words echo the uncertainty, confusion, and lack of understanding we should express in our prayers. The word “if.” It’s such a small word but loaded with such weight—in Read more…

I read that in the USA, the total unredeemed value of gift cards purchased is estimated to be around a staggering twenty-one billion dollars. It made me think about the gift cards I have partially used or not used at all. I can think of one occasion I added to that figure of twenty-one billion Read more…

The Bible has plenty of teachings about love. We are to love God with all our heart, soul and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5). We are to love our neighbor (Mark 12:33). We are to love foreigners, those who are not like ourselves, and strangers (Deuteronomy 10:19). We are even to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44)! And Read more…

When I was a child, I looked forward to Valentine’s Day with great anticipation. I knew that once it got dark, Father Valentine would visit our house. Who on earth, you are probably wondering, is Father Valentine? As a child, I never knew who he was either. All I knew and loved, is that he Read more…

Esau and Jacob had a contentious and tumultuous relationship that could rival any antagonistic relationship that we have experienced or known. Twenty years had passed since Jacob deviously robbed his brother and Esau threatened and planned to kill Jacob.  Then the two men were to meet again. Tensions ran high. Esau approached with four hundred Read more…

Most of us are dealing with difficult people, whether it is family or friends. Perhaps you think that’s an understatement when you think about the relationships in your life!  We all have stories of relationships with family or friends that have gone wrong. A brother or sister we haven’t heard from in years. A child Read more…

Most of us don’t reveal in detail to other people the struggles going on in our families. Unless we meet someone who is going through the same thing we are experiencing. Then we are willing to open up because he or she understands the heartache, pain, problems, and frustrations. God, our heavenly Father, is also one who Read more…