Daily Picture

Today I started off with a perplexing imagery of pieces of wood on a shore, ready to form a fire, but the wind twists them to the left and then picks them up, leaving a swirling patch of empty sand. This seemed to represent despair but then I was reminded of the fishermen disciples of Jesus who, after Jesus's crucifixion, went out fishing one night with what we can perceive as with sadness and des...

Today I saw a picture of a pearl, casting me back to Thursday's message of not casting pearls to swine, as represented by the spillage and wastage when pouring from the handle side of a jug. On Saturday, we were drawn to the importance of connection through love, with physical connections being vital in human interactions even in the form of eye contact, but also the ultimate connection of God's l...

Today I saw a picture of an ellipsis ... those 3 dots! I was not aware of them appearing in the bible but apparently they are littered in the bible, predominantly in the psalms, Apostle Paul's letters and in some of Jesus's discourses. An example given is in John 12:7 " 'Leave her alone', Jesus replied. 'It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial ...' ". I don't kno...

Today I have been drawn to Matthew 6 which is full of advice on how we can productively, humbly, peacefully and confidently lead our lives, but I am specifically drawn to Matthew 6: 22 - 23. These verses compare healthy eyes, which are clear and let in the light of spiritual truths revealing God, as compared to unhealthy eyes which are blind of spiritual matters. Jesus said He is the light of the...

Today I received a reminder of a Portuguese doll with multiple petticoats and a beautiful outer red dress, which had been given to me when I was 6 years old by an old Portuguese great aunt. Unfortunately it disintegrated in the 20 years I had packed it away when I was in Asia. I loved it because it was connected to my mother and connected to Portugal. "Connection" is the key word here. I still thi...

Today I saw a picture of a safety pin which has made me think on the Portuguese word "cuidar" to take care of, to look after. Its Latin root is 'cogitare' to think, to ponder, to consider but has now evolved into becoming linked to our physical being. Over centuries there have been those who recognise the two distinct parts of firstly, our spiritual mind with its thinking, reasoning and will, and...

Today I saw a simple water jug being poured out of on the handle side rather than by using the spout, resulting in spillage and wastage. This has made me think on Jesus's advice, as recounted in Matthew 7:6, to not throw our pearls to pigs/swine. Pearls take years to form from what started off as an irritant, an intruder in the shell, which the mollusc gradually encases in what develops into a bea...

Today I saw the two finger victory sign, with the obvious link to the victory we have in God, echoing yesterday's message citing reasons for not believing for God's miracles, for example no God, no miraculous God, not feeling deserving of God or not witnessing the example of others around you believing in the miracle you so desire. If the Holy Spirit has put the faith in you to believe for a parti...

Today I saw a small piece of canvass with the outline of a simple stitch in a light creamy colour around the periphery, creating a rectangular shaped boundary. However, there was no embroidery within, just empty canvass. I believe that this is along the lines of last Friday's message whereby we read thatJesus could not perform the miracles He wanted to perform in his hometown of Nazareth, because...

Today I saw an image of a whirlpool which has brought to mind the recent account in newspapers around the world of an heroic 4 hour swim in the choppy ocean by a young 13 year old Australian boy in order to get help for his stranded mother and two younger siblings. In an interview he plainly attributes his strength and success to God. Sadly no mention of God is made in the secular papers. The worl...

For the last couple of days I have been reflecting on, Mark 6:5 "And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them". This verse is in the context of Jesus visiting His small obscure home village of Nazareth. Everyone there knew him as a carpenter, rumoured illigitimate son of Mary, and were offended and unreceptive to His divine miracles. This vers...

Today I saw the top of a head with a sense of wavy short hair. It has made me think that there really are such different types of hair such as straight, curly, wavy, frizzy, coarse, fine etc and so often we are not satisfied with how we look. A snapshot look of ourselves is not at all revealing of us and if we think of what deeply attracts us to another person, it is not going to be based on one q...

In my imagination, I saw a lit cigarette standing on its end. We could perceive this as wasteful in letting it just fizzle out to the end, with no one actually smoking it. It makes me think that I am sure we all make decisions to not be wasteful or not appear wasteful, amongst many other decisions we make, which are actually detrimental to us and not even necessarily following God's will. Our deci...

Today I saw an adhesive dressing for minor cuts and grazes (plaster/Band-Aid). They can be a source of comfort to an upset little one and a genuine protection against germs and worsening conditions, whilst the body is going through the wondrous process of healing itself. This is a good analogy of the small help we can provide to another, which actually can be of significance in providing comfort a...

Today I felt drawn to the Portuguese word "largato" which means lizard but actually, also used to refer to the muscles of the upper arm. This has made me further think on the occasion when Aaron (older brother of Moses) and Hur (leader of the tribe of Judah) held up Moses's arms which needed to stay up the whole time during the Israelites' battle against the Amalekites, to ensure victory. (Exodus...

Today, after a few grey dreary days, I saw the sun cast a long shadow of my body as I stood outside on a pavement. That caused me to ponder on the first verse of Psalm 139 "He who dwells in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." God always wants us to be right close to Him, under His shadow, but sometimes it is fear, shame and guilt which prevents us from...

Today I saw a huge crest of a wave. Riding a crest of a wave usually describes a time of maximum prosperity, high popularity or exceptional success but it doesn't last, as depicted by a wave crashing to shore. I get the sense that this wave I saw represents, instead, the difficult things we are contending with, which will also pass. In the Bible, we are taught to focus on Godly events and qualitie...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw delicious looking hot fudge sauce to pour over ice cream. God wants us to feast, have good food and drink and to celebrate. The bible indicates many such events but always, in the context of thanking God, putting Him first and following His timing. Otherwise, we could be being gluttonous which, though initially is to overindulge ourselves, ends up in our poverty (Pro...

Today in my spirit, I saw a white hospital bed in a neurosurgery ward. This immediately directed my thinking to Jesus's healing of a paralysed man once he had said to him, " Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5). This is not implying that sickness is as a result of sin. We all sin, to varying degrees. Jesus could not have proven to that man, who had been previously paralysed, that his sins were...

Today I received the impression that I am to share on the concept of how we position ourselves in whatever societal group we are in - family, friendship group, work etc. Jesus directs us to be humble and in Luke 14:8-11 we read, "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honour, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited...

I have started this week seeing a series of road signs such as those indicating directions of left and right, speed limits etc. We all know the necessity of boundaries. God has given us boundaries purely for our good. Some we understand and are willing to obey such as not murdering, some we are willing to obey but can't always succeed in, such as being truthful at all times, but there are maybe so...

Today I saw a scarab beetle which were much revered by the ancient Egyptians as, to them, these beetles represented new life, with new beetles seemingly springing from their dung. In fact the adult laid eggs in the dung where the larvae ingested the nutrients for a few weeks and then emerged as beetles. Images of the revered beetles adorned much of the ancient Egyptian's life, such as their jewell...

Today I was reminded of one of the very first pictures God gave to me, once I started following His son Jesus in earnest. It was a picture of me as a single yellow flower, in a field, with God leaning over me with great love; yellow flowers are my favourite. I then had another picture a few weeks on, with me again as a yellow flower but I am with a throng of other flowers and we are all surroundin...

Today I saw blank lined pages which I believe represent our lives ahead. It is true that we do not know what our future holds but we can know that God is showing us the direction we should go, in the same way that lines on a page direct our writing. Many bible verses attest to this. For instance, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:6); "Your word is...

Today I saw a cocoon or chrysalis - the silk encasing of a caterpillar, to later emerge as a moth or butterfly. It is totally amazing that the cells of the caterpillar dissolve in the cocoon, and that all that remains of the caterpillar are its trachea and nervous system. A radically new form is then created. This has caused me to reflect that this miracle of metamorphosis could mirror the total c...