Daily Picture

Today I saw a whale with a reminder of the Great American classic of Moby Dick. The author of this great book died without knowing that it would one day be a classic. At the time of his death it had received mixed reviews and was even out of print. Jesus has received mixed reviews following His death on the cross and is slowly being understood and received as mankind's awesome saviour. God is "pat...

I saw a dark tunnel and heard the prophetic words "Don't despair". An inspirational Christian writer wisely counsels that we would not discard our train ticket and jump off the train if we were in a tunnel but, instead, we would trust the engineer. Similarly, we can trust God with the full extent of our lives, not just the parts that we can explain. "We are hard-pressed but not crushed; we are per...

About a hundred years ago rock hard slabs of toffee used to be sold with a small hammer so the toffee could be smashed into smaller more manageable pieces for sucking. (This is now more of a novelty feature). Old Testament prophet Jeremiah declares God's Word to us: "Is not my Word like fire, declares the Lord, and like a hammer which shatters a rock?". God's Word can come straight to the point an...

I had an image of a boomerang today. If thrown correctly it will return to its origin. Similarly our destination is our origin! God created us, as King David succinctly declares, "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them".(Psalm 139:16). God wants us back with Him for all eternity but, i...

I "saw" clouds again in my mind's eye, with a sense of expectation of Jesus returning on a cloud, as the Bible tells us. It is no coincidence that a cloud hid Jesus when He went up to heaven after His death on the cross and 40 days of visiting His disciples with many convincing proofs that He was alive. We then read that He will also return to us on a cloud, at a time that only God knows. (Acts 1:...

I saw a big white square of God nearly obliterating a black shape representing our worries. The little bit of visible black is the bit of worry that we often hang on to. Jesus tells us repeatedly to "Let not our heart be troubled ..." (John 14:27). To "Let" go completely requires effort. We were recently reminded of Jesus's greatest commandment that we are to love God fully and to love others as o...

On seeing a picture of Nomads travelling in the desert, I think of Abram. In the first book in the bible we are told how God had instructed Abram to leave his home and travel like a nomad to a land He had in store for him.(Genesis 12). We now know that the Hebrew lineage started with Abram. Abram trusted and obeyed God. God did not let him down on any of His promises, one of which was a son. He an...

Today I saw some cotton wool buds being stuck on a child's art work to depict clouds. That reminds me that actually even our real earth's clouds are in a temporary state and that the Bible tells us that we will be passing on to a beautiful permanent place. For instance, when God gave instructions to Moses to build the Tabernacle, the place of worship for people of Israel when wandering across the...

Today I saw a picture of an animal's pointed ear, intentionally listening. There is a difference between choosing to/wanting to listen, as opposed to not being able to avoid hearing a sound. Interestingly, the word Obedience has the Latin root of "oboedire" to listen intently. Over time obedience has become an unpopular word as it suggests someone overpowering us. God wants us to obey Him in the s...

Today I was reminded of the talking donkey in the Old Testament which God used to stop his master from going to curse the people of Israel. (Numbers 22:28-34). God can use anybody or anything to fulfill His purposes. A prophet speaks God's Word and to this day God still uses His people to share His word. A prophet told me many years back that God would use me despite me. Well, that certainly is a...

"There's no change without change." I have heard those words repeatedly recently and saw them on a T.shirt yesterday. They came to my mind again this morning during prayer. Some self- leadership courses advise us to be the change. I believe that the Daily Picture message today is to reiterate that we do indeed need to have a change in our circumstances if we want to achieve different results in ou...

I woke up very early this morning and envisaged me throwing a fishing line into some water with nothing on the end, but then on hooking up a worm. I felt the sense that we have to be careful as to what bait we hook on to. We all have our own risky bait that if we start being hooked up to it, could draw us deeper into something that isn't good for us and also may extend badly in the way we treat ot...

I must be following a sand theme as today I "saw" a desert fort, following yesterday's sandcastle. This brings to mind two of King David's psalms where he declares God as always being his fortress in whatever difficult situations he is in - Psalm 18:2 and Psalm 91. In Psalm 91 David also invites us to personally declare God as our refuge and fortress. Finally David speaks prophetically from God to...

Today I "saw" an ancient pyramid withstanding the test of time and a simple sandcastle disappearing with a rising tide. This serves as a good reminder of Jesus's words encouraging us to build our lives on the foundation of His words, analogous to a house built on rocks. In comparison a house built on shifting sands will easily be washed away. (Matthew 7:24-27). The preceding verses in Matthew 7 as...

Today I had a "picture" of a stately, alert male deer with beautiful antlers. Deer used to be prevalent in Israel and are often mentioned in the bible to signify firm grounding in the Lord. We can stand regal because of our Father God king but there is also a reminder of the need to always remain humble in our reliance on God to be able to scale mountains, representing challenges, and thus to stan...

Today I saw a giant cup and saucer as used in a fairground. They whirl round and round at a fast pace, clockwise and anti clockwise. They are not my "cup of tea"! However, some people love them. There are many opinions in this world such as with the origin of the actual word "tea". Some people think its etymology is based on a Portuguese queen in the 17th century introducing tea to England as part...

I saw a picture of Joss sticks, a form of incense sticks, which some Chinese burn to honour their ancestors. Apparently, records of incense can be dated as far back as 3600 bc India and then on to China, Greece and elsewhere. It is used for many reasons such as for religious, spiritual and meditative purposes. The Buddhists also have a practical purpose, reminiscent of the days when running water...

Today my image is of someone struggling to climb up the slanted side of a roof to get to a cross at the top. That reminds me that when Jesus was on earth for 33 years he struggled with the same issues we have, for example of hunger (Matthew 21:18), tiredness (John 4:6) and stress (Luke 22:44) etc. He also needed help ( Mark 15:21) to carry his huge heavy wooden cross up the hill to Golgotha upon w...

I saw a picture of an axe head in my mind's eye. This has reminded me of the bible account in 2 Kings 6:1-7 describing an axe head which one of the prophet Elisha's followers inadvertently dropped into the River Jordan. He was particularly concerned as he had borrowed the axe which had sunk out of sight. Elisha patiently, lovingly and supernaturally caused the axe head to rise and be retrieved. Th...

I saw a picture of a cup and saucer. They are words that often go together in English as do say Bucket and Spade, Fish and Chips. God and You (say your name) go together too. John 4:16 tells us that God is Love and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him". To abide is to dwell, to live. It is not just a word; it is an action. Jesus equates Himself with God in his love for us to...

The disciple John refers to himself as the disciple Jesus loved - for instance he says in his gospel account of The Last Supper that "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved". (John 13:23). Other incidences are in: John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7&20. John was not implying that Jesus didn't love the other disciples. It was more that He knew for himself that Jesus loved h...

A man was desperately looking for his missing 5 year old son in a a very busy park. He came across a pond and his first thought was that his son had drowned. He entreated God to protect his son, for whom he would sacrifice anything and everything. His son was found safe and sound but it made the man think on how much Jesus loves us and gave the supreme sacrifice of his life for us.

I saw a picture of the hood on a stroller/pram. This brings to mind the Daily Picture devotional on Saturday 3rd last week in reference to 1 Corinthians 13 about Love. Verse 7 says love always protects and some translations says love bears all; the original Greek implies to "roof over, keep silent". Sometimes a hood on a baby pram has to be folded back. With the focus on the hood, and not on a bab...

Jesus always responds to us immediately, though we need to trust Him in what He gives us and in the timing of us receiving it. He knows what is best for us. Many of us know the bible account of Peter walking on water towards Jesus and starting to sink when he looked away from Jesus and instead to the high waves. However, as soon as Peter cried out for help, " *immediately* Jesus reached out his ha...

Yesterday, someone said to me, "To plant seeds is to believe in the future". I loved that and it made me think of verses in the bible that encourage us to sow positively and then we reap multifold. Galatians 6:8b tells us, "whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life". We need love and patience to apply that but it seems so worth it. Proverbs11:24-25, amongst other bi...