Daily Picture

Today someone sent me a beautiful description of the splendid giant Californian redwood trees (sequioas) which can reach majestic heights of 116m/380 ft and yet have roots of a relatively short depth of about 3.7m, 12 ft at most. How come? Because their roots intertwine and support each other horizontally. I reflect that this can be like us in that we are ultimately and individually responsible fo...

Today is an extension to Saturday's message on grace. When we declare God as our heavenly Father we become connected to His spiritual DNA. Not only does God's very essence extend undeserved goodness and kindness, He also has no sickness, no propensities to any particular addiction, no negative family history to impact us etc. How wonderful to be able to declare our inheritance in God, connected to...

Today I saw a simple cap and then a bucket hat which is a basic hat with a circle on the top, short sloping sides shaped around the head and a small flat brim around all the hat. This has caused me to reflect on Apostle Paul's directive for women to cover their heads, declaring that men have authority over women (1 Corinthians 11) and women should be silent in the churches (1 Corinthians 14)! In a...

Today I am focusing on the word Grace which, in a Christian context, means goodness and kindness to us when we haven't done anything to deserve it. God is constantly extending grace towards us whilst we might still be beating ourselves up, metaphorically, about some wrongdoing that God has already forgiven us for. He knows the full facts about us and understands us. Meanwhile, there are other peop...

This morning I paused to reflect on the expression to "Strike when the iron's hot" which means to not waste time in doing what needs to be done, that is, to not procrastinate. I currently live and work in Portugal. Whilst recently back in the UK for a month I received many blessings, many of which emanated from making an effort to travel around and see family and friends. If I hadn't seized certai...

Today I saw a small-bodied bird suddenly extend its two wings, displaying a much larger wing span than its body size. Birds' wing feathers have been intricately and wondrously created to overlap efficiently, with joint flexibility and muscle control for compact folding but also aerodynamic opening. Wings are associated in the bible with protection but also with strength and power. If you are feeli...

Last night I flew back into Lisbon with lights scattered in abundance down below. I noticed that some seemed to flicker in the distance but once the plane drew nearer they became steady. Apparently this is because when our eyes have limited vision at too long a distance for us the lights appear flickery and/or indistinct. This has caused me to reflect on our need to draw close to God in order to h...

Today I had a picture, in my mind's eye, of a big tick (a check). This has also brought to my mind the wonderfully encouraging verse of Philippians chapter 4:13: "I can do all this through Him who gives me strength". Within the context of following God's will and wisdom, in this chapter, verses 4-13, we are told that He totally equips, enables and provides for us. When we truly believe and trust i...

Today I saw a large gaping wound which clearly needed cleansing, being pulled together and stitched up. We are unlikely to be able to deal with that wound on our own. As Saturday's message reminded us, we need to help each other. Also, there are also many bible verses declaring God as healing our wounds, physical and emotional, such as: "Psalm 147:3 "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their w...

Today I saw a piece of material which had been stitched along the edge with one single thread. This was being pulled to gather the material to make pleats to form a waist band for a skirt. This is a good reminder that when the Body, that is the Family, of Christ pulls together, with God at the centre, we encourage and help each other. Yes, we all have to have our own special individual relationshi...

Today I saw a car windscreen car shade. These are very useful to protect the steering wheel of a parked car from getting too hot on a very sunny day. They are not necessary when there is no intense sun and are, of course, totally unnecessary and in fact totally dangerous when driving! So, this one object can be vital, unnecessary or dangerous. With this analogy in mind, trust God on the timing of...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw a huge tree with its branches stretching as far as my eyes could see to the left and to the right. This is reminiscent of a tree that the kingdom of King Nebuchadnezzar of ancient Babylon was likened to in the Old Testament Book of Daniel chapter 4. God warned the king in a dream, interpreted by Prophet Daniel, that if he continued to attribute his kingdom success to...

Today I saw a partially eaten bar of chocolate which evoked the feeling I have when I have eaten part, misplaced the rest, leaving the feeling of wishing I could find it in order to finish it. This feeling of wanting to finish implies a start. This begs the question as to how can we know we want to continue and finish with God unless we at least start? Give Him a chance. In the Old Testament book...

Today, as I was looking out at the new day through some vertical blinds, I reflected on the unclear picture we have of God whilst He, meanwhile, knows us intimately and loves us deeply. In 1 Corinthians 13:12 Apostle Paul declares, "For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known". We are fully k...

Today I saw a needle and thread above a tapestry. Every stitch contributes to the full picture. Sometimes a seemingly insignificant act or moment ends up being of great significance in the whole tapestry of our lives. Let's not waste any of the potentially precious moments of our life. Also, as with tapestries, mistakes can be undone. God doesn't want us to be too hard on ourselves. Guilt and sham...

Today I was reminded of transistor radios whereby one of the dials is turned to change the radio waves in order to connect to the different radio stations. Once the radio station of choice has been found the dial is not turned further. In Colossians 3:2 Apostle Paul tells us to "Set your mind on things above and not on the earth." Setting one's mind requires the same deliberate adjustment and fixe...

Today the image I saw was of some steam rising so I automatically looked for the boiling water from which it emanated. Though I couldn't see the water I knew it must have been there. We cannot see one gaseous particle of steam but with a concentration of the seemingly transparent and colourless steam particles we actually can identify the mass of it. Similarly, though we can't see God in the natur...

Today I saw a picture of small shallow porcelain saucer upon which is usually placed a teacup. In the English language the words 'cup' and 'saucer' often come together as would say, 'bucket' and 'spade: These connected words are called collocations. One definition is "the habitual juxtaposition of a particular word with another word or words with a frequency greater than chance". Despite being acc...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw a nest with orphaned baby birds resting on the ground, clearly needing their parents close by. In echoing Jesus's prayer we say, "Our Father who art in heaven". Is God our remote heavenly father? God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are as one as they are completely united. Father God came down in the form of His Son Jesus. John 1:1 tells us that in the beginning was The W...

UK charity shops are renowned for their wonderful bargains of carefully accepted preloved clothes, toys and other miscellaneous personal items that previous owners no longer want. Yesterday, in one of these shops, I saw a beautiful small Ainsley vintage collectible porcelain dish for only £1.50 and then a small well-loved purple low quality, plastic unicorn toy with matted hair which was priced at...

Today's is a message about the necessary tension in a snap hair clip to pull long hair back off one's face and/or to provide a decorative hair accessory. Similarly, we sometimes need tension to be effective. God does His awesome part but there is often a part for us to play. Sometimes we might feel tense, nervous and outside our comfort zone before we step into the action God requires of us. It is...

Today's is a split message as my car broke down on the way home yesterday evening. Part of the message is me explaining my predicament but declaring God's goodness and the second half is me explaining what happened with the roadside assistance company I use. They said they would come to me within 4 1/2 to 7 1/2 hours! God does not promise us that all will be smooth for us in life but He does promi...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw dining room chairs stacked up as in storage. It has made me think that sometimes a human tendency is to put potentially useful things aside, into storage, for our possible future use and then they are forgotten or eventually discarded. What a waste. We sometimes do that with the giftings God has for us, in the form of talents, opportunities, instructions to us to ble...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw a reminder of a preschool TV programme I used to watch in the early 1960s called Watch with Mother, which had different stories every week day. My favourite was Bill and Ben, the Flowerpot Men. They had a little friend called Weed which was a beautiful flower which in my memory was yellow and white but in fact TV was in black and white in those days! Well, now we kno...

Today continues with the bed imagery we have had for the past 2 days - first we had just the uncomfortable bed frame, indicating an inadequate, uncomfortable or even painful view of God making us feel that we had better not have Him in our life at all; then we had a comfortable cushiony mattress and warm cosy coverings imagery, whereby we recognise the loving provision and comfort of God. Today we...