Daily Picture

Today I very much got the sense of an Exchange of positive energy when we are in God's Kingdom. This is an extension of the recent theme of us being part of one body, the Body of Christ. That positive energy exists whatever the circumstances, indeed, despite our circumstances. We can share our trials for others to pray for us and to support us, both of which are a privilege in both parties' direct...

Today I sensed the word Community. As devoted Christians we are all part of the one Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13 tells us "For in one Spirit we were all baptised into one body". In other words we are emersed in Him and Him in us. (Anyway inadequate but, hopefully, a sufficient analogy is that of a sponge in water which also has the water in it). We equally need each other and no one is more...

Today I saw a picture of a fairy which we know is fictitious. How about Jesus?! Our Western calendar relates to Him and people who profess to having a personal relationship with Him has never waned. He has more than 2 billion followers in the world today. The Bible is the most published book ever. However, above all these facts is the invitation to seek Jesus earnestly, with the promise that you w...

I feel that today's Devotional is a sequel to yesterday's regarding God getting our attention through our pain which, note, He does not give us in the first place. God can turn any situation round for good. It is more difficult for God to get our attention when all is going well for us and we seemingly don't need Him. He has so much more to offer us than we can provide for ourselves - an abundant...

Today I saw an image of a chrysalis emerging into a butterfly. What an awesome transformation! God's transformative creative powers are also there for us and our situations, however seemingly impossible. Luke1:37 "For with God nothing shall be impossible". That requires faith to hold on to God's promises which haven't materialised yet, as Mary did when Angel Gabriel told her that she would bear Go...

Today I saw an image of a megaphone which brings to mind British writer and theologian C. S. Lewis's comment that God "shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world". God does not give us pain but I believe that CSLewis is telling us that if we don't listen to God and don't feel our need for Him when all is going smoothly in our lives, then pain is God's way of really trying to get...

Today I saw a feast on a table with a white dove flying above it, signifying the Holy Spirit. In Revelations 3:20 the risen Christ tells His church: "Here I am! I stand at the church and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with Me ". Jesus, the face of God, wants to eat with us, expressing love and intimacy. This is an echo of His w...

Today I saw a trampoline with a security net surrounding it. That is a good reminder that in the same way that we don't need the actual net to be able to use the trampoline well, we don't need God for a lot of what we are capable of doing. However, how wonderful it is to have God's protection for all eventualities. Psalm 91 offers a good description of God's wonderful protection. He is our refuge...

Today I saw an old fashioned chimney sweep brush which pushes soot and debris up.and out of the chimney flue. I am reminded of the verses in Matthew 12:43-45 which, to be honest, actually I usually don't want to consider. In those verses Jesus cautions that though we can call an evil spirit from a body, it can return with more spirits if we are not careful to replace it with good. Let us fill ours...

Today I saw a picture of a regular ballpoint pen with an opening and closing click at the opposite end to the nib, which moves the ink cartridge. If the ink cartridge is not out the pen cannot be used to write. This is a good reminder that though God equips us to do His work, we are not operative unless we are switched on to willingly serve Him, and to do so whilst trusting Him. There are many ver...

Today I saw starfish and baby turtles on the beach. Starfish have no brain, no central nervous system and have many sucker feet on the underside which fill up with fluid alternately so the feet without the fluid are the ones that move with the shifting weight and balance. Turtle mothers lay their eggs in warm sand and then abandon them as they return to the ocean. When the baby turtles hatch they...

Today I saw a window with an inky black sky behind. When Jesus was on the cross, from 12 to 3.00 p.m., there was utter darkness which must have been terrifying at that time of the day. Then, at Jesus's exact point of death, the thick temple curtain amazingly tore in two from the top to the bottom making the Holiest of Holies accessible to all, instead of just to the High Priest. There was a dramat...

Today I saw a pearl in a oyster shell. Pearls are created by the oyster when an irritant, like a bit of sand, enters its shell. Over the course of about 6 months to 4 years, it slowly covers the irritant with a thin layer of nacre which creates a beautiful pearl. What a good reminder that something beautiful can be created out of irritants although it invariably requires patience. Also, Jesus tell...

Today I saw one heavily laden black cloud but it was surrounded by a profuse display of light. The metaphorical black clouds of life are no match for the love and light of Jesus. In Matthew 5:45b, Jesus says that God "causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous". As His followers, Jesus wants us to exude goodness, equally to all, to the utmo...

I saw golden stars in the sky reminding me of our creator God. "Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing" (Isaiah 40:26). God showed Abraham, the Father of the Jewish faith, the stars in the sky and promised that his...

I saw a medication tablet and water to help ease it down. That is a good reminder of our need for Jesus, as the living water, to help us with the metaphorical pills in life. Jesus offered of Himself to a Samaritan woman who was spurned by society, saying that "whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of...

Today I was reminded of yesterday's sermon during the Sunday church service on how Jesus reacted to Satan's temptations, when he was in the wilderness, persuading Jesus to listen to his point of view and follow his instructions. Instead, Jesus responded with God's Word. We are encouraged to do the same. Counter any attack, conflict and opposition with God's Word, even if it is quietly to yourself,...

Today I got the sense of a man's inner thigh which nearly seems indecent! However, a hand on the thigh in ancient biblical times was an indication of a serious promise/oath. Its proximity to the man's sexual organs represents the seriousness of the oath in impacting the lineage of the person giving it, whether it is positively kept or negatively ignored. This leads me on to the lineage we have wit...

Today I saw an old fashioned tinny metal bin and lid. We can sometimes see these in a fun kitchen orchestra with two metal lids clanging together like cymbals, sounding very discordant. This din is likened to seemingly clever words and actions of giving which actually have no love behind them (as described in the first 3 verses of 1 Corinthians). The following verses describe unfailing love which...

Today I saw a picture of a beautiful blue, irregularly shaped, tranquil, small pool of water. I link this to Psalm 23 which is packed with peaceful truths within its 6 verses - God is personal to us (verse 1 "The Lord's my Shepherd; I shall not want") guiding us in good ways and protecting us. Verse 2 "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters". He restores...

Today I am reminded of Matthew 6:14 "Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us". Jesus tells us to forgive 70 X 7. With the number 7 signifying completeness, Jesus's figure represents the absolute necessity to forgive completely. What a tough call that is. It helps to remember that Jesus understands that we start off as spiritual 'newborn babies' and that we are growin...

Today I saw a picture of a mattress with a ripple effect. I then glanced at some marketing blurb on such a mattress and it describes what God genuinely wants to give us and can give us. 'Wake up each morning feeling refreshed. The Ripple Mattress Topper ...allows you to sleep in comfort. The ripples let the air circulate to keep you cool ...'. God can bless us this way if, when we go to bed, we re...

Today I saw a neat row of similar looking flowers as might be drawn for, or by, a child and the words "Set your house in order" (Hezekiah 38:1). Having order, but also 'going with the flow" and having fun may seem contradictory but think of a football match. Without rules, a referee and order, the football match could result in discontent and even chaos. Psalm 37:23 tells us: "The LORD makes firm...

I saw a pencil with an eraser, reminding me that God can blot out our sins (Psalm 51:9;Isaiah 43:25, 44:22). In the Old Testament (Exodus 32:28,35) about 3000 people were killed for not trusting God and worshiping a golden calf. God also struck the people with a plague. This seems so harsh but is a poignant reminder that sin is an atrocity to God with serious adverse consequences ending in death....

Many of us know the philosophy of The Law of Attraction, whereby positive thoughts attract positive outcomes and, conversely, negative thoughts attract negative outcomes. This morning I asked Jesus how he feels when He is not loved, understood and accepted, with His sole aim on the cross, and always has been, is to save us and draw everyone into His Kingdom of unconditional love. Whilst on earth J...