Daily Picture

Today I saw a yacht, the name of which originates from an old Dutch word, to hunt, as a small boat would go ahead of the fleet of ships, hunting down pirates, smugglers and rival ships. This imagery reminds me of the Great Commission Jesus has given to His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28). We need to be willing and intentional in this. Will we follow the example of pr...

This weekend I felt a compulsion to watch many of the Ironman Cascais contestants cross the finishing line after the gruelling daylong triathlon of swimming, cycling and marathon run. The first athlete had completed the entire course by around 5.15 p.m. and the last at around 1.15 a.m. the next day. I stayed on to watch and encourage the final runners. I was thinking about God wanting all of us to...

Whilst praying I saw a wedge of food such as of cake or cheese, reminding me of my enjoyment in snacking at night, knowing full well that it is healthier to stop eating after an early dinner, giving my stomach a break from more intake of food. However, as discussed in last Monday's message, we need to replace what is not good with something good, to avoid a relapse often to an even worse state tha...

Today I think upon the potential annoyance yesterday evening, when I arrived at the local post office, to find it had just shut. However, I decided to view it as knowledge for the future and to be grateful I still had this morning to post my parcel. This has made me reflect on what is required of us, as Christians, waiting for Jesus's promised return, which will occur suddenly with no warning. The...

Today I saw a piece of string which brought to mind the British expression 'How much is a piece of string?" to indicate that a timeline is unknown. This further causes me to reflect on the timeline for Jesus's return of which no one knows except God (see Matthew 24:36). However, we have been given advice and clues. Jesus gave the parable of the 10 virgins waiting for their bridegroom. Five were wi...

Today I saw a picture of a window with vertical bars overlooking a dark garden. This could represent the unknown which sometimes we are anxious or fearful over. When light comes we realise we needn't have been so. There are many verses in the Bible which tell us that the Spirit of God searches and knows all things. "For nothing is secret that will not be revealed ...(Luke 8:17). "He reveals deep a...

Today I saw a picture with parallel lines reminding me that though, as Christians, we may function as a pair in a friendship, relationship, marriage, ministry, at work etc., we are all committed to the Lord in different ways and God understands our different ways. "...The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not jud...

Today I saw a visible white nothingness, a vacuum. I am reminded that a vacuum will suck from what is around it. In Luke 11:24-26, Jesus warns, "When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left'. When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven o...

Today I saw a picture, in my mind's eye, of a pair of tweezers. As we know, the two arms are ineffective without a hand pushing them together and directing them. This reminds me of Ecclesiastes 4:12, in the Old Testament, which tells us that a cord of three strands is not quickly broken, further reminding us of the need for God's hand in our lives at all times. For instance, we may have a good foc...

Today I saw a picture of two lines meeting to create a wide obtuse angle. Obtuse originates from the Latin for blunt or dull. This contrasts to the pointed small sharp acute angle. I believe that this picture is to remind us of the need to keep ourselves sharp, focused and prepared with God's Word, ready and active for what God asks of us and to withstand whatever life throws at us. "For the Word...

Today I saw a large dead log, totally disconnected from its stump and roots. However, when there is no life, God can miraculously revive. God creates. In the Old Testament Book of Numbers (chapters 16 and 17), we read of a rebellion against Moses and his brother Aaron, inflamed by a man who was jealous of their leadership. God insisted that a leader of each of the 12 tribes of Israel lay their sta...

Today I saw an image of an eraser, bringing to mind God's assurance that He erases our sins (transgressions, iniquities, wrongdoings) through His son Jesus Christ, if we so choose. Isaiah 43:25 "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more". 'Even' is meaning 'All the more, I, to the point of exclusivity/only I'. It is wonderful that God's moti...

Today I saw a sword-billed hummingbird with a beak longer than its body. It has to dig deep into tubular flowers to collect nectar other creatures cannot access. It is highly inefficient and awkward for them to collect pollen from shallow surfaces. I believe that this imagery is to remind us that superficiality is unsatisfactory for us; deep in our beings we yearn for, and are satisfied when we di...

I saw a grille or the horizontal and vertical bars of a cage, through which a visible gas was pouring. Gas will extend to as far as is possible. Similarly, the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ, is available to us everywhere, with no restrictions. The Holy Spirit is in all creation so, in effect, God's presence is everywhere. In Psalm 139:7, David declares the omnipresence of our mighty God. In Je...

Today I saw lined paper from an exercise book that a child might have to use to practise writing letters. I remember disliking having to write repeated big letters; my instinct was to write small letters. This concurs with educator Maria Montessori's assertion that all children display human tendencies at a very young age, one being an attraction to what is small and detailed. Witness a young chil...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw a picture of a lion's face. We have looked at Satan being likened to a prowling lion looking for his prey. Satan is sometimes referred to as "the ape of God" because he has no fresh creative ideas or ability to create but, instead, he copies God and tries to lead people away from God. Meanwhile, Jesus is likened to a lion, but one that is majestic and mighty; at the...

Today I saw an imaginary image of a large arrow. This has brought to mind an incident recounted in the Old Testament (2 Kings 13:14-19) in which Prophet Elisha advises King Jehoash to shoot an arrow through a window, in the direction of his enemy. In so doing, Elisha puts his hand on the king's, representing God's power and direction in the battle ahead, and declared, " The LORD"s arrow of victory...

Today I saw a pair of passive talons/claws, seemingly not attached to any body, though potentially scary and dangerous. It has caused me to think of the devil's tactics to scare us into thinking there is no God or if He exists that He is an unjust, unloving and ineffectual God. The devil prowls around looking for those who think like that (see 1 Peter 5:8). Thankfully, in 1 Peter 5:6 we read, "Hum...

The theme recently seems to have been about us missing out, in not accessing what God has for us. Yesterday we were specifically cautioned that we sometimes hold on to what we believe is beautiful and precious when God has something far better for us. Today's message is more on the lines of recognising that physical wealth is temporary and the constant amassing of it does not fulfil us (see Eccles...

Today I saw a white door that couldn't be opened towards me because of some tubs of beautiful flowers blocking the way. However, if opened, there was a far more beautiful expanse of meadow and nature behind that door. I believe that this picture is to remind us that sometimes we hold on to what we believe is precious and beautiful, which in fact is distracting us, delaying us, preventing us from r...

Today I saw a picture of a small bowl of fluffy white hot steaming rice. Rice can be mixed with so many other foods and eaten in a multitude of countries. There is no verse about rice in the Bible as rice is not grown in dry Israel. However, interestingly a company in Israel has developed a way to considerably reduce the amount of water used to cultivate rice and dramatically cut methane emissions...

Today I find myself reflecting again on Jesus's words that he has "come so that they may have life and have it to the full" (John 10:10). This was in the context of him being the Shepherd and we are His sheep. God has so much for us but do we receive it? Think of the power source of an old music device, such as a tape recorder, which it needs to be attached to. However, even then, the green power...

Yesterday we reflected on the absence of fear when we really trust in God's love for us individually. Another way of putting it, is that Faith (in God), drives away Fear. Sometimes we can lose sight of the simplicity of God's Words to us, to encourage us to trust Him always. In Mark 11:24 Jesus is recorded as saying, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have rece...

Today I envisaged a straw-stuffed scarecrow. Scarecrows can generate a comfortable feeling such as of the amiable character in The Wizard of Oz film or in the English nursery rhyme, "I'm a Dingle Dangle Scarecrow with a flippy floppy hat ...". However, in contrast, there is a horror film with a scary grotesque scarecrow, which can generate fear. Just as none of these scarecrows are actually real,...

Today seems to be a sequel to yesterday's audio Devotional in that a friend who had listened to it, told me of a poem called 'Leisure' by William Henry Davies. The first and last lines read, "What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?" The body of the poem provides awesome examples of nature which we would miss unless we are intentional about looking out for them. "to...