Daily Picture

God looks after all His creation. In the Bible, sparrows are often represented as little and seemingly insignificant ones. He dwells in all these little ones too. Not only does He reassure us that He wants to help everyone, however small, but He also encourages us to look out for those around us who He is leading us to extend care towards. "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least o...

The three wise men had "been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route". (Matthew 2:12). Prior to that King Herod had asked to be shown where baby Jesus was because he pretended he wanted to worship him, when actually he wanted to kill him. The three wise men used God's leading and direction to return home by another route to the one they had previo...

A sextant is a nautical navigational instrument, used to measure the angle between the horizon and a celestial body such as the sun, moon or a star, enabling the calculation of latitude and longitude. We are told in the Bible of The Three Wise Men who had read and understood prophecies, and followed the Star that they knew would lead them from the Far East to the promised Saviour in Bethlehem, who...

Most of us know Hans Christian Andersen's story of The Ugly Duckling, in which a grey cygnet was initially and mistakenly raised with ducklings. He gradually moved into his destiny as a beautiful white adult swan and in an environment of other swans. He was Home! "Our earthly home is not our true home, because we have a better home, and an abiding one in heaven" (Hebrews 10:34).

I remember when I was little my grandmother had a clothes mangle which was a big manual machine which pulled wet clothes through large rollers, to force out excess water. Times have moved on and we now use electric tumble driers. This reminds me of Jesus's cautionary words to the legalistic people of his time who were not prepared to accept that He had come to bring grace and mercy, instead of the...

Just as with a pregnant woman who is expectant of one baby (or more!) though is not entirely sure of the arrival date, we can also be assured that we are carrying God's promises, often uncertain as to when they will be fulfilled. The same applies to Jesus's return. We know it is going to happen but we do not know exactly when. Let's remain expectant and prepared. Jesus Himself said, "But understan...

God has given us imaginations but He wants to give to us even more than our imaginations can conceive. "Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him". (1 Corinthians 2:9). This does not imply He doesn't want to give to everybody. He does but, with love for all, He has given us free will to choose...

As we move into light, having been in darkness, our eyes gradually get adjusted. Jesus came to give sight to the blind, literally and metaphorically. Let us take that first step towards Him and for Him to take our hand whilst He leads us into eternity, as well as in our day to day life. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Nw the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit...

Sometimes we feel trapped in monotony but God can give us colour and variation. We do need to build up faith and trust in Him in order to step out of our comfort zones with Him. Jesus's assurance is that He came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). This is not just referring to our lives in eternity but to our lives here on earth.

However "frothy" our faith appears to non-believers in the sense of fanciful and nonsensical, we do in fact have a faith based on a true and loving God. There is always substance underneath the froth of a frothy beverage as there is to our faith. "Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1)

Cows have four compartments in their stomach so they make can swallow the grass they have grazed on which creates cud, regurgitate it and swallow it again. It is known as ruminating, a term we can use when we think deeply on something. We can also refer to this as meditating when thinking on God's Word. In the account of Esther's in the Old Testament, she wins favour with the King, through her lis...

Time never stops still. Even if we cannot see evidence of time around us, let us be cautioned not to waste time on indolence and stressful activity, but to focus on our Lord Who directs us to both rest and act in Him. Let us prepare ourselves as part of the Body of Christ, ready to meet our Bridegroom Jesus when He returns. (Matthew 25:1-10)

Whilst a lovely gesture, we do not actually need to hook little fingers or suchlike to indicate that we will be faithful to our word, to our promises. With God as our supreme example, our words should be enough. Our word should be our bond so to speak. Matthew 5:37 "But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No', 'No'.

Most people, especially children, love bubbles. They don't have to understand that the outer case of the bubbles is made of 3 layers, that surface tension affects the shape of the bubble. They don't need to know the scientific terms for cells that attract water and those that repel water and they don't need to be aware of the Marangoni effect on bubbles to enjoy bubbles! In the same vein, Jesus ca...

You have to be convinced and determined to swim upstream, against the general downward tide, which could even sweep dead fish along as well as pollutants. We may feel we have more support and comfort amongst the masses. However, the water becomes fresher and clearer the nearer to its source so, as we travel upwards, we become stronger and healthier. Also, we are in the company of other positive, s...

The Leviathan Beast is depicted in ancient mythology, including the Bible, twisting, turning and coiling around its prey. Many people believe that we are in the End times as mentioned in the Bible. Revelation 13 refers to a beast that opens its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander His name and His dwelling place and those who live in heaven. (Revelation 13:6). A second beast performs great signs...

When we follow our own ways, rather than follow Jesus's Way, we may think we are free but then our own ways can take over us and we can lose control. Paradoxically, when we go The Way of loving others rather than doing whatever seemingly satisfies only us, we are completely in control and there is much peace and joy.

When Jesus says He is The Way, that doesn't just mean He has worthwhile teachings to follow but, far more importantly, He has opened The Way for us to freely meet with and be with God. How has He made that possible? Many others were crucified; indeed, two other men were crucified at the very same time as Jesus so what was different about Jesus's death on a cross? The literal crux is that He was si...

As with a window with many separate framed panes of glass (lites), we can all be looking at God in different ways with different experiences. What is a constant is the direction we are all looking, towards Him, through the same window. John 14:6 "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through me".

I guess that we are all guilty of having raced ahead too quickly in some circumstances and then not being able to undo an action, such as mixing egg yolk and the white! Let us learn to slow down, trust the Lord for His wisdom and guidance. God will never be too late in helping us. Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God".

God wants to restore an eternal life to us and all that is good in it. Not only that's, His restorative work reinstates better than the original. (Job 42:10;Zechariah 9:12). Through Isaiah 40:31 He tells us "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint".

The Bible refers to three heavens - the sky as we know it which is directly above us (Genesis 1:6-9), the second heaven which encompasses God's vast creation beyond our full sight and ability to explain (as described by King David in Psalm 19:1-6) and the third heaven where God's spiritual throne is (as mentioned in 2 Corinthians 12:2). We need not confine ourselves to looking at the sky outside....

God wants to change us into His image but it will take a life time! He does it little by little as He knows a complete revealing of all the changes needed in us in one go could demoralise us. Think of dieting, exercising or suchlike - if we fail even once we sometimes feel like giving up. It is not going to be a perfect process with us involved in our transformation! However, God has already forgi...

Think of the intracacies of any city's underground map. However familiar we are with the different names of the stations no one can be totally familiar with every place the underground lines extend to. Similarly, however much we know, let us be aware that God knows everything about all of us, beyond anyone else's ability. For example, think of the intracacies of the workings in our bodies. He even...

God is not our puppet and we are not his puppets. He did not create us as robots to do his bidding. As with puppet Pinocchio who learnt to focus on Truth and became a real boy, so can we learn that following God and His Truths really isn't a controlling robotic situation but a place where we are fulfilling the life God created us to have. In that life we have peace and joy! John 8:32 "Then you wil...