Daily Picture

It is more a reflection today than a picture. Aside from atheism and agnosticism, it is easier to believe in an all powerful God, who we might bow to, than to making a second step of also believing thatJesus is God and is our Lord and Saviour, believing His words - "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). Then, a third step is even more outl...

Today's message is a sequel to yesterday's with the imagery of party balloons filled with hot air (representing words without truth and substance) floating in, and falling from, the sky. In today's sequel I saw a pair of white scissors popping some of the balloons. I believe that this is a reminder that we can call upon the Holy Spirit, who resides in us when we have received Jesus as our Lord and...

I saw an image of a balloon being blown up, then leaving the lips of the person exhaling, floating up in the air and eventually falling. I subsequently saw a host of other balloons rising with their hot air, cooling and then dropping out of sight. We use the expression "hot air" to describe words that end up being revealed as having little truth or substance. We are bombarded by supposed truths th...

Today I saw a picture of a white heart with a window inside which has made me think of the expression "the eyes are the window to the soul", whereby our eyes reveal what is deep within us. The whole of Matthew 6 gives an account of Jesus telling His followers to look at what is important to God and His Kingdom rather than focusing on self and what gives immediate pleasure and praise. I encourage y...

Today I saw a side image of a water slide so I couldn't see what fun was happening on it and then the slide went upwards so there was definitely no fun. I believe the point of the message is to remind us not to ignore fun times and play. Life is not just about work and being serious. There are various verses to choose from but I am choosing from a 5th century bc Jewish leader Nehemiah who helped s...

I saw a picture of a spanner. It can usefully loosen or tighten a nut or a bolt. We can liken this to words that encourage when needed as well as positively help in discouraging a wrong course of action. Both directions can be useful . However, we also have an English expression of "a spanner in the works" which indicates a person or thing which prevents the successful implementation of a plan. Le...

I saw an image of a salamander which, astonishingly, has the ability to regenerate some of its internal organs as well as its limbs. It has good defense mechanisms for surviving fires which has helped build up the myth that salamanders can totally withstand fires. It sheds its skin on a regular basis. Salamanders are not specifically mentioned in the bible but the characteristics of regeneration,...

I saw I an image of a tornado and heard the words, "Examine your life". We can reflect on our lives with Jesus as our benchmark, to see how we have improved and aim to improve more, with the Holy Spirit empowering us. Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:5 says to "Examine yourself to see if you are in the faith". I think the image of a tornado is to emphasise the seriousness of the need to examine ou...

I saw a long winding hose today with water eventually getting to the end but also there was a shower of rain coming down in the picture. This reminds me of the Holy Spirit which I described, yesterday, as the Power of God. He can flow through us at His discretion and can fall down upon us whenever He chooses. Apostle Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 2:4 how he has no eloquence or wisdom of his own...

I feel that this is a sequel of yesterday's message encouraging us to trust and obey. I had completely forgotten that I had been enamoured by the etymology of "obey" from the Latin, meaning to lean towards and listen intently. What a case in point that we can so easily forget a Truth if we don't meditate on it. Let's listen to the Word which issues from God. God's Word is God Himself (John 1:1). I...

I had words rather than a picture today - "Do what I say". Well, I can think of many reasons why, even as Christians, we don't want to follow Jesus's instructions - we are: scared; unconfident; doubtful that Jesus's reasons for what He has asked us to do are correct; do not consider the instructions to be wise and/or loving; not sure we heard correctly; have other priorities; would rather wait unt...

I saw the image of an ant. We all know them as hard-working and productive insects. King Solomon, in his book of wise sayings, exhorts us, "Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its way and be wise! " (Proverbs 6:6). If God gives us an instruction - do it; if God opens a metaphorical door for us - go through. Let's not be idle, procrastinate or be fearful. God will equip us and we will have positi...

I saw a solid square or rectangular shape, while praying this morning, which brought to mind the fact that in the bible we are told that Jesus is the cornerstone of the Church. "Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord". Think also o...

I saw an image of a frog today with the word "versatility". Frogs engender varied emotions and connections such as slimy or conversely cute, useful, adaptable but, for sure, they are versatile. Despite our circumstances inevitably changing, even if it is just in the process of getting older with a life of monotonous regularity for some people, we are exhorted by apostle Paul to focus on what is tr...

I read today that a very successful businessman predominantly attributed his success to the enthusiasm he has for his business. The word "enthusiasm" has the root in meaning of "God within" and signifies intense, eager enjoyment and interest in something. It used to have negative connotations of over zealous and excessive religiousness. God doesn't want these negative atttributes when in a relatio...

Jesus wants a relationship with us. We all know the word "relationship" which, in loose terms, refers to a connection between a thing or a person and more specifically has evolved to sometimes mean a sexual and/or intimate bond. The original Latin means to bring back and to restore. We are born to earthly parents but God is offering us spiritual parenthood too, to restore the bond that He original...

I saw a barbed wire fence which at first looked ominous until I was reminded of a story my father had made up when I was a little girl. I used to sit on his lap and I loved to listen to his deep, resonant voice recounting his stories. in this particular one, a little blue woollen man had got stuck on a barbed wire fence but of course he got saved in my loving father's story! This makes me further...

Jesus is the Word. We, as the Church, as His body, should aspire to use words that represent Him. In his letterJames (who Christian tradition holds as being Jesus's earthly brother) says, "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be....

I saw an image of me being surrounded by a ring of tall fire from which I could not physically escape. However, God reminded me not to fear as he could easily pluck me out. This brings to mind the 3 young men from Judah, taken captive in Babylon, who refused to worship any other than their own God. In his anger King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ordered his soldiers to bind and throw these 3 young men...

Seeing a wrinkle in some material has brought to mind the verses the apostle Paul has given the Christian Church to say that we are the Body of Jesus Christ, with Him as the head (Ephesians 1:22-23) and, as such, He wants to "present us to Himself without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish ..." (Ephesians 5:25). He makes an analogy with husbands and their wives. "He who loves his wife loves him...

A dear friend and regular listener to the Daily Picture pointed out to me that "We are only poor when we have nothing left to give". Think on the truth of that! God loves to give to us so if we learn to receive from Him and to recognise all He gives to us, our perspective will assuredly not be one of poverty. From the blessings we receive we can further bless others in our giving. Luke 21 tells us...

Today I was reminded of a picture I had when I first realised how much God loves me, in which I was a lone yellow flower (my favourite colour)in a field feeling very much loved and nurtured by God. Months later as I was maturing in my Christian walk I was aware of me being represented by a yellow flower again, but this time with a throng of other similar yellow flowers and we were closely surround...

Sorry as I somehow didn't convert this from being in draft form to being published yesterday. I cannot imagine anyone liking a black rat, displaying its sharp teeth ready for attack. We can liken this image to thoughts and situations which fill us with dread. However, let's take a step further and remember that God's Name is above all names however scary and negative. We can extend this imagery to...

The use of words is not necessarily the only way we can express gratitude and, indeed, what is spoken is not always sincere anyway. Are there other ways we can express our gratitude to God other than with sincere words? When we praise Him we are communicating a form of thanks. Also, if we recognise that our life, our blessings and our gifts are from Him, we can thank God with on-giving. Recently w...

Today I saw a vision of a bucket collecting water outside, giving an indication of the intensity of the rain, as with a meteorological rain gauge. It is only an indication though as rainfall can vary even within a small location. "Indication" is the key word in today's message I believe. Before He died Jesus said that He would return at a time that only God knows and that everyone will see Him sim...