In the beginning there was a garden, and the man and the woman lived there, and there I met with them. You are familiar with the story and know that their behavior caused them to be expelled from the garden. Yet even then I declared a plan for redemption, and you have seen this plan unfold throughout history. With your salvation secured is it possible to return to the garden? You will be disappointed if you try to search for it in a particular geographic location, but if you are receptive to the idea you can find a spiritual place of refuge and sanctuary where you can walk with me in my presence and hear my voice and know that I hear yours. 

Do you pray? Do you believe that I hear your prayers? You normally talk to other people rather than talking to yourself. Yet you  can be talking to someone and realize that you are talking to yourself when you realize that they aren’t paying attention to you. Have you ever felt this way in prayer? I am with you always, but your awareness of this is subject to change. Do your prayers consist of a list of requests? Consider starting your prayer with the intent to cultivate your own awareness of my presence with you. This may cause you to change your list of requests, but when you are finished you will know that I have heard your prayer. 

Have you heard powerful and dynamic speakers and engaged with the emotional enthusiasm of their message, but realized later that there was more entertainment than substance in what they said? Has this ever happened to you in church or conference? It isn’t wrong to be excited, but excitement alone will only carry you so far. Those who shouted ‘Hosanna’ on my entry into Jerusalem didn’t see my visit through to the end. In some churches people exclaim ‘amen’ to affirm things they already understand. They are silent when they are being challenged and stretched, but this is where transformational growth takes place. 

Do you know that there are various types of questions? They can be innocent and honest, and lead to a search for answers, or at least greater understanding. Questions can also be implied arguments or attacks, used to call into question an opponent’s premises. In this case the question is used to close down the search for answers and meaning. Note that the question may be identical in both cases. The difference is in the intent. I posed some questions myself, for the purpose of expounding truth and leading people to God. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?