Daily Picture

I was reminded of a preschooler book in which a little bear was feeling scared when it was getting dark and he didn't know his way home. It transpired that actually he was in sight of his home but he was crouched down, scared and unaware of the proximity of his home. Similarly, I received an official letter yesterday from the UK's NHS which I didn't quite understand and thought they were taking aw...

I saw a pair of feet with one foot in a lovely warm slipper and the other left bare. This has made me think on the fact that it is so easy to miss the fullness of Christ, which he offers us. We can go to church and declare His Word and yet still not really stand fully on His Word, trusting Him and having a victorious life. Paul reminds us "And the church is His body; it is made full and complete b...

The Rush Hour game is a strategy game for one player who is required to systematically move cars in a traffic jam on a grid in order to release one particular car. At first sight the task looks daunting. However, with a calm mind and logical thinking the required end result can be achieved. This is very reminiscent of our lives where we have to cope with inevitable stresses. Jesus advises us to tr...

In Apostle Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians he mentions the Armour of God that we can wear against evil. One piece of the armour is the "shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). Note it says "all" so whatever is metaphorically or literally thrown at us, let us know by faith that God can defend us.

The Chinese pictorial characters of the word Crisis are a compound of characters used in their words for Danger and Opportunity. What a wonderful reminder that when we are in danger, in a life threatening situation, we can take the opportunity to remember to call upon God. King David, in his Psalm 107, gives wonderful examples of God responding positively to everyone in dire situations who had pre...

Beatrix Potter, who created the famous character Peter Rabbit, also created Mr Tod, a handsome fox who was always trying to deceive the other animals. This fictional character draws me to Jesus's words where He warns us to be aware of "false prophets. They come in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them" (Matthew 7:15-16). Sometimes it takes...

I saw the buds of a willow catkin in my mind's eye but hadn't realised that there is quite a large number of other trees, such as Oak, Poplar, Birch, Alder and Hazel to name but a few, that bear catkins in winter or in spring before the leaves appear. A catkin is a cluster of unisexual flowers that have no petals. When fully developed, they are predominantly long and thin, hanging down like a youn...

Visiting a huge aquarium/oceanarium can give us a spectacular window into what lives in the depths of our seas and oceans. It cannot ever be a complete and absolute experience but it is providing us with an insight into a fuller picture of the ocean depths. Similarly, we can have the Holy Spirit residing in us, to provide us with an insight into the fullness of what God wants to ultimately give us...

Some of you may be familiar with the longest running science fiction series of Dr Who. He is an English timelord crossing time and space, entrancing viewers with his amazing adventures. His home and mode of transport is a 1920s police box which looks deceptively small on the outside but is unfathomably huge inside. Similarly, humans cannot fully fathom the emensity of God. The Message translation...

I think on the expression regarding making "mountains out of molehills". God can look after us with all our small molehills of problems as well as our mountains of problems, some of which we may well have blown out of proportion. God is always here for us. I quote various verses in the audio version of today's DAILY PICTURE, but for the purposes of this written précis, here is one verse from the b...

Continuing on yesterday's message of looking up at God (Colossians 3:2) we have a further verse from apostle Paul. He directs us to looks at Godly aspects of our lives which he lists, rather than counselling us on what not to look at. It is a far more positive and encouraging way to guide us. "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,...

Apostle Paul encourages us to set our minds on things above and not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2). This is easier said than done as human tendency is to pay heed to attitudes directed towards us. The negative ones can hurt us. What is most important is what God thinks of us. He loves us. If others don't see us of value to them, it doesn't diminish God's love for us but also we don't help...

In Greek mythology the goddess Athena punished Arachne who weaved beautiful tapestries but refused to attribute any of her talent to the Greek gods' supernatural power. She changed Arachne into a spider, destined to weave her spiderweb "tapestry" at night, never to be admired but to be swept away instead. In contrast, our God wants to bless us, helping us change in what we need to improve but, mea...

I acknowledge God as the giver of the picture and message on Daily Picture each morning. This morning, whilst praying, I had no picture but as God is the giver I wasn't in a position to make one up. However, it was a wonderful reminder of my reliance and gratitude towards God for all He gives. In the same chapter which I quoted from yesterday, apostle Paul reminds us "We have different gifts, acco...

We are to go and help those who are hungry, whether physically or spiritually, with the resources we have. In the his Letter to the Romans, Apostles Paul even counsels us to feed our enemies. They are in need, as we are, and when we help them, it could lead them to repent of their negatively ways. "..if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; ..." (Ro...

Society as a whole, so sometimes even including young children, is becomimg increasingly immune to scary, bloody and obscene images etc. We are bombarded with so many visual effects, which used to be considered negative, that we are becoming desensitised to them. Continuing along yesterday's theme of the devil "prowl (ing) around like a lion, looking for whom he can devour" (1 Peter 5:8) we are al...

Before a rabbit comes out of his rabbit hole, he is on full alert for potential danger. In the bible we are cautioned to do the same with the danger of Satan who is roaming around the earth, with his minions, looking for who he can control. He is roaring and accusing all day long, wanting people to fall for temptation, be fearful, guilty, ashamed etc. However, we can run to God for protection whic...

The rose petal may have a beautiful smell to grace a pot pourri, be part of a romantic cascade of petals on a couple's bed etc but in time, the petal will wither away. The petal itself, the bloom from which it came, the stem and the rose bush all have some importance but most significant is developing a healthy root system. Similarly, a bible verse, the individual book in the Bible from which it c...

Many years ago I had a pair of kitchen scissors which could cut larger pieces of chicken bone into mouth sized chunks, as often used in Asia for curries. The blades were not lethal to touch but if applied with force that was a different matter in its effect on bone. Similarly, one seemingly innocent word or two can also be used to cause great damage. The Message translation of Proverbs 18:21 says...

The image of a nightingale reminded me of John Keats' poem, "Ode to a Nightingale" which I studied at school. At the time it made no impact on me and, I have to admit, that I haven't thought about it since. Perhaps my youthfulness at the time was inadequate to understand the depth of the poem's philosophy so it was wasted on me. God's Truths can also escape us if we are disinterested or are not ta...

Do you know that feeling when you have put a goodie down and then can't find it when you are just about to eat its?! You have that sense of missing out on something. To a much greater degree God has put in us a desire to search for ultimate fulfilment as we know something is missing in our lives. Disillusionment, cynicism, a bombardment of negativity etc can all serve to squash that inner desire t...

I saw the imagery of a beautiful display of random different-coloured pebbles, lying in a bed of shallow water with the sun's ray bouncing off them. This made me think of the different journeys of those pebbles which brought them together at this one point in time, with the timing of the level of the shallow water and the sun shining at an exact angle. That is synchronicity which is beyond our con...

The back legs of a frog are created as such for extreme jumping and this applies to some humans who are naturally gifted to be athletes etc. However, whatever our genetic make up is, in general we need to exercise to build up our muscles. Similarly, faith is a gift from God but we need to exercise our faith. Faith is trusting God in His love and faithfulness towards us, before we have even seen th...

The creation of dams requires great human ingenuity and engineering skills. Dams protect mankind from the effects of potential flooding and direct water to where it is needed. They have been built over the centuries, apparently even as far back as 3000 BC with the Jawa Dam in Jordan. We know that beavers create their habitats with dams, as protected environments from predators. These creative skil...

We see butterflies settle with their two wings upright and together but also, apparently, they can pull them down vertically along their back as a form of camouflage (interestingly as an aside, in contrast to many moths which keep their wings horizontal). I liken these images of butterflies to God's promises to us - sometime, like wings outstretched, we can see the promises; other times we are awa...