Daily Picture

In the last 24 hours I "happened" to have heard the Gospel (that is, good news) a couple of times, reminding me as to how amazingly wonderful the news is. Contrary to other religious beliefs in which we aspire to get to God by improving ourselves, Christians rejoice in God coming down to all humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the w...

Yesterday and today I have been meditating on the words describing God in Acts 17:27b-28a "He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being ...". God is near us in the beautiful nature around us and in those times of love we experience because God is love, as disciple John reminds us in his gospel chapter 4 verse 8 and in his letter chapter 4 verse 16. John was able...

Today I saw 4 upright table legs but no table top. This has caused me to reflect on us feeling prepared for a purpose but not feeling fulfilled. If we know God, we can ask Him what He has yet for us to do. However, if we do not know God, then we are at a loss as to how to fill that empty space and yearning in our heart. If only we could all realise that being prepared for a purpose, such as with 4...

Today's is an extension to yesterday's message whereby we know that spending time with God who is Love, translates into us becoming increasingly loving (1 John 4:8). 1 John 4 continues in verse 9 to say, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him". This reminds us that Jesus in perfect unity with God gave us the perfect exa...

I have been reminded today that it is sometimes easier and seems justifiable to lovingly put other people first, before spending time with God. Concisely put, I could say we are doing for God before being with Him. However, actually, Jesus is recounted as telling His disciples that our first commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. The second commandment is to love our neighbo...

God does not give up on His abundant giving. If we experience His free giving to us, do we represent God in our giving? "..Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 19:8b). Giving can take many forms - small or large; regular or a one off; of time, possessions or finances etc. but it is for the benefit of the receiver and not, conversely, for the giver to feel good. Each time we receive from...

Today I could see a still vast ocean with the straight line of the horizon in the background. Consider that even if we can't see the horizon, it remains in existence. Also, as we are fully aware, the ocean is not always calm and is certainly never so in its entirety. This is a good analogy - with the horizon representing God's promises, His Word, which He never retracts. In the context of the whol...

Today I am thinking on the power of prayer. Yesterday I told a friend who is battling against some tough bureacracy in her life, that I am praying for her. She declared that she needed far more help than prayer and that she needs a miracle. Not much later she heard that her case has been taken up to a higher level for sorting out. Was that the power of prayer or simply good fortune? You can so see...

Today I saw rock strata which, when studied, give an indication of the history of the land, events that have occurred which have caused the varied rock formations. Also, through our human experiences, we build up metaphorically rocky layers which serve as defence mechanisms etc. When we receive Jesus, and His Holy Spirit comes to reside in us at our invitation, He breaks down our barriers to our i...

Today I saw a magic wand in my mind's eye. In fairy tales, whoever wields a wand has power over another to bestow good or bad gifts. God is not like that. He is giving us the choice to come to Him, to be with Him, for Him to bestow the good gifts that He has for us. Jesus told His disciple Philip, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), having previously said that He had come to...

Today I saw hexagons forming a tessellation, a repeated unbroken pattern, which reminded me of people I have met in my life who never expect their lives to diverge from routine boredom, negative expectations etc. As such, they do nothing to break their expections. However, God actually has unique plans which are perfectly suited for each and every one of us. He equips us and enables us to manage w...

Today I am reflecting on actual hinges and brackets which have been supplied with a shelving unit I have assembled, in order to secure it to a wall, in case someone climbs the unit or, I guess, there is an earthquake to knock it down. It is already well weighted down by books and really it does not need to be mounted on the wall. As a result, it will be much easier to move in the future if necessa...

Today I continue to think of the message that seems to have been ringing in my mind recently of not just expecting to see God in the spectacular etc. Expect God in the ordinary, maybe even in the boring. Humble yourself to expect Him at any time and in fact at all times. Be waiting for Him with excited anticipation. Naaman, Commander of the army of the king of Aram, a land which now takes up most...

This morning I saw a beautiful BBC picture of the arid Atacama desert, Chile in bloom, produced by rare rain watering hidden seeds of wildfowers. To whom or what do we attribute this phenomenon? About 600 years before Christ was born, Prophet Jeremiah warned the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their idolatry and complete disregard of God. "They do not say to themselves, 'Let us fear the...

Today I am reminded that God wants us to be simple in our trust of Him and in our following of Him. "Simple" here is more along the lines of being single-minded, based on its original meaning from the Latin: simplus, referring to a medicine derived from one constituent (usually a plant) as opposed to a compound derived of more than one constituent. Remember, Jesus said that He is The Way, The Trut...

I saw a picture today of one door leading into a neverending series of doors. Jesus is The Way, The Truth and The Life. Meanwhile, all these confusing doors are not given to us by Jesus. Confusion is never from Jesus. Stick to Jesus and He will give you clarity in decision making, however difficult the uncertainty and perplexity. Be willing to wait for His perfectly timed guidance which will posit...

Today I sense I should refer to the stirring of the pool at Bethesda in Jerusalem (John 5:1ff). It was said that an angel stirred it ever so often and whoever got in to the pool first got healed. Jesus saw a man lying by the side who had been waiting for 38 years with his infirmity, in the midst of a throng of other sick people. He told Jesus that he was never able to get to the pool first and had...

Today I was reminded of the importance of 3 in the sense of God, us (representing one) and others (also representing one). Last Friday's Daily Picture devotional mentioned the threefold cord which cannot be "quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12) and I had a wonderful incident yesterday which reminded me of this truth. I am a Montessori teacher (and English as an Additional Language teacher). I very...

Today I saw a picture of the air vent on an aeroplane wing. The air vents are vital for many aspects of the workings of the body and engine of the plane. I have just read a very detailed and complicated explanation as to the air vents' uses. You may have never even considered them and/or their absolute necessity. They help the aircraft adapt to the varying air pressures and changing temperatures....

A rider on a bicycle

Today I had a picture of a basket such as might be used by a snake charmer which has led me on to thinking of the magicians in the court of the Egyptian Pharaoh when God's people were his slaves. Moses is sent by God to have his people released but the Pharaoh stubbornly refuses so God sends a series of increasingly devastating plagues upon Egypt. The court magicians were able to emulate Moses wit...

Today I saw a picture of a crossroads, an intersection with 4 choices. Jesus came to tell us to choose the way to God. God spoke through prophet Jeremiah (6:16) to say, "Stop at the crosswords and look around you. Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. You will find rest for your souls". That translated word "ancient" in this verse is from the original text meaning etern...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw a snowman which then caused me to reflect on what a non serious, young, frivolous and fun activity it is to build a snowman. Amongst the wealth of inspirational messages of 19th century Ralph Waldo Emerson, are what I thought were surprising but actually, on reflection, wise words, "Be silly, Be honest and Be kind". I have put this advice up in my home to remind me t...

Today I saw an abundance of grass and we know that in the right conditions grass keeps growing however often it is cut back. It has persistent roots and yet in the Bible we are reminded that grass eventually withers and dies, in contrast with God's Word. God's Words, His promises last forever. Isaiah 40:8 tells us "The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever". This...

Today I saw a rose bush in a snowy landscape, reminding me of the scene in the fairy tale story of Beauty and the Beast in which a man tries to pick a red rose from a property not of his own, to give to his daughter, Beauty. A Beast confronts him for stealing from him. Without going into detail, Beauty's love for the Beast reverts the Beast back to the handsome prince he had been hideously transfo...