Daily Picture

Today I saw a picture of a greenhouse, the name the British use to refer to the glass structure used for protecting plants from the elements. Greenhouses house green plants but the glass is usually plain and is only occasionally tinted green. This has made me reflect on the fact that descriptive names do not always indicate true facts as we understand them. We are reminded in the bible that outwar...

I saw an old fashioned TV antenna as placed on a roof. Poor weather conditions could adversely affect the reception on the television to which the antenna was connected. Similarly, poor connections in our mind can prevent us from hearing from God; however He is forever trying to communicate with us. Poor connections could have a number of causes, such as disbelief, lack of interest, sinning in tha...

Today I saw a thumb. In the Old Testament times (as indicated in the books of Exodus and Leviticus) the priests' right thumb was anointed, signifying His commitment to following God's Will. Let us be reminded that God wants us to follow His Will, not so as to have us as minions serving Him, but so that we benefit because, as our creator, He knows what is best for us. One verse to highlight this, a...

Today I saw a head dress of beautiful flowers. This imagery reminds me of Isaiah's prophetic words about 800 years before Jesus was born. The words were attributed to the forthcoming Messiah who would come to save mankind. All those centuries later, after being baptised by the Holy Spirit, Jesus repeated the same words that Isaiah had prophesied would be the words of the Messiah: (The LORD has sen...

Today I saw a picture of a spaceship. We need to use our imagination to conjure up the appearance of spaceships and aliens. Similarly, there are no physical descriptions of Jesus in any of the 4 gospels so we need our imagination to picture how Jesus looked whilst on earth. However, there is the assurance in God's Word that we can get to know the Godhead of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, in reali...

Today I saw a picture of a belt. This brings to mind the first piece of spiritual armour Apostle Paul advises us to put on when he was addressing the church in Ephesus. His listeners/readers would have associated the belt with the armour of the Roman soldiers. The belt had both practical and symbolic significance. In a practical sense it supported the soldier's sword and breastplate. A dagger and...

Today I saw a picture of linked paperclips reminding me of the expression "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link". This is a good reminder to us to keep the company of others who are also strong in their faith, in their morals and their desire to follow God's ways. It is much easier for a strong person to be pulled down to a weak person's level than vice versa. We have many words of wisdom...

Today I saw a picture of crystal clear water lapping gently on some shiny pebbles. Being Good Friday, I immediately thought of the red blood and the water that was described as having come out of Jesus's side when a soldier had pierced Him after He had taken His last breath (as in John 29:34). It is a natural phenomenon that after death, due to gravity, the heavier red corpuscles can separate from...

Today I saw a picture of a scalloped shell. This is actually the spiritual symbol of the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James) Pilgrimage. It comprises a network of ways to the shrine of St James where tradition maintains his remains are buried, in northwestern Spain. James and his brother John (from whom we get the Gospel of John), fishermen on the sea of Galilee, were the first people Jesus c...

Today I saw 2 mice playing happily together with a sense of unity because they are of the same species. God also wants mankind to be in harmony. "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others" (Philippians 2: 3-4). "Live in harmony with one another. Do not be p...

Today I saw a picture of a faceless old man sitting on a bench. This is a good reminder that we should be taking care of the elderly. Do we know what they might be thinking these days - regrets of things they have done, regrets of things they haven't done, the loss of loved ones etc? Maybe they are lonely? God wants us to be gentle and patient and to show respect to the elderly. Leviticus 19:32: "...

Today I saw the historic monument of The Space Needle in Seattle. It required great vision and endeavour in order to construct it in just under one year, 1962, and has achieved historic prominence in a relatively short space of time and it gives delight to millions of people with its observation deck 160m/520 ft above ground which can be accessed by lift/elevator in 41 seconds. Extremely sadly, it...

Today I saw a gravy jug or gravy boat as it is sometimes referred to. Jugs/pitchers can be from many materials, of different sizes and for many purposes. We have all been created by God in all our diversities. This fact is often depicted in the bible with God as the potter and we as the clay. For instance, Isaiah 28:16b says: "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'You did not make me...

Today I saw the bow of a shjp in the water. Then I saw an imagery of Jack and Rose in the film "Titanic" with the iconic scene of Jack holding Rose around the waist, instructing her to trust him, to climb up on to the apex of the ship's bow with her eyes closed and her arms outstretched. When she opens her eyes her breath is taken away by the beauty of the expanse of sea ahead of her. She proclaim...

I saw a tangled forest undergrowth with briars, thorns and thistles. This is a good reminder of one the humiliations Jesus endured on the cross, of the crown of thorns the Roman soldiers pressed into his skull. For the soldiers, they were adding insult to injury as they were mocking Jesus as a ridiculous king (John 19:1-3). Every verse has significance in the bible. The soldiers weren't aware that...

The following verse has been buzzing around in my head: Psalm 119:35 "Direct me in the path of your commands for there I find delight". Does it really seem credible that we will find delight when choosing to be led by God along His path which is the one in which He is our Commander? Why not? It has to be our choice to be led by God. In doing so we are trusting that God's path of Love will delight...

Today I saw a strange picture of a tall tree at the sea's water's edge. Of course it is impossible for a tree to grow and survive on a soggy sandy foundation where the roots have nothing to anchor onto. Similarly, using the analogy of a house, Jesus told his disciples, as recounted in Matthew 7:24-27, that our lives need to be anchored in His Word and we will not be overcome by proverbial storms....

Today I saw a picture of a casual game of tennis on a tennis court. Then I saw a tennis match being seen on a large screen which ended up being turned off for whatever reason, such as no electricity. I believe that Jesus is telling us that He wants a personal interaction with us as with the players face to face on a tennis court, rather than with us having a distant knowledge of Him. Not only does...

Today I saw a magician's black hat from which he traditionally pulls out a long string of tied-together coloured silk scarves and a white rabbit etc. Magicians make use of science and sleight of hand to perform conjuring tricks. Magicians can be entertaining and clever but today's picture serves as a good reminder that we can be deceived into believing what is not real. Jesus warns us "For false m...

Today I had a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross and before He dies He asks God to forgive everyone who has put Him on the cross "as they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34). All of us who need Him to lead us into Heaven (and that is all of us!) need Him to have died on the cross on our behalf. I believe that this verse reveals an interesting truth about the word submission. Most of us are like...

Today's picture seemed like a sequel to yesterday's in that I saw a simply dressed man in a cap looking undecided as to whether he should follow Jesus or follow the masses in the opposite direction. As Cristians who know Jesus, we have a responsibility to tell people, like this indecisive man, as to what it is like to talk to Jesus and be heard by Him. We know we can openly tell Jesus our deepest...

Today I saw a picture of a throng of silent, unheard people walking to an unknown destination to the right. On the left of the picture I saw fewer people than those on the right but they were relaxed and happy, listening to Jesus and their inner thoughts were being heard by Him. God wants us to have our identity in Him and for us to have an intimacy with Him. This is exemplified by Jesus and His r...

Today I saw a fir tree on a snowy mountain and then, surprisingly to me, in the tropics. This reminds me that we can hold on to inaccurate truths and fallacies such as my assumption that fir trees are always in cold climes. Some species can indeed survive in the tropics. This a good reminder that cultures and people of influence in our lives can so easily impact our interpretation of God's Word. T...

Today I saw a picture of a burr. Burrs are little spherical seeds or dried fruit which can cling persistently to fur or fabric because of their many tiny hooks. These burrs inspired a Swiss engineer into spending about ten years in developing the very useful and strong nylon fastener, with many small hooks, called velcro, which latches on and never spontaneously falls off. Nature has so much to te...

Today I sense that God wants us to learn to be alert to having spiritual sight and having His perception of people and matters. There is a wonderful account in the Old Testament describing the prophet Elisha praying for his servant to stop fearing and to see the spiritual army defending them against a seemingly mighty physical army. "...Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and sa...