Daily Picture

I further reflect on yesterday's message which stated that Jesus saves us from our sin before we even recognise our sins and repent of them. Well, that must anger some people for any number of reasons such as feeling no need for being saved, belief in other ways of being saved, dismissal of any life after death etc. If we do believe, our understanding of how we receive salvation through Jesus is p...

Today's is a sequel to yesterday's message of our need to repent of our sins. We have the amazing news that before we even recognise our sins, Jesus took all our punishment for all of us, on the Cross. When we receive this amazing gift from God, then the Holy Spirit works in us to gradually reveal our sinful nature to us which we can repent of step by step. So, though we are already cleared of the...

Today I saw smoke pouring out of a mountain, bringing to mind Psalm 104 of King David who describes God's awesome creation and Who "touches the mountains and they smoke" (v.32). David continues to say "May my meditation be pleasing to Him, as I rejoice in the LORD. But may sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more. Praise the LORD, my soul. Praise the LORD". This could appear hypocri...

Today I am reminded of prophet Nathan in the Old Testament, telling King David of a poor man with one female lamb who he loved dearly. When a rich man, with many lambs, needed to entertain he used the poor man's lamb for the meal. King David was outraged at the behaviour of this rich man. Nathan revealed to David that the tale was an allegory of his behaviour, as David, who had multiple wives and...

Today I saw a slow moving queue of long black limousines, representing a solemn sad funeral farewell. It suddenly made me think of the deep mourning of Jesus's disciples before he reappeared to them and proved that he had been resurrected from the dead. This could only have been possible because he had led a completely sinless life so was able to defy death. Jesus's resurrection lays foundation to...

Today at home I accidentally knocked over a tall orchid with its earth and the water in the base saucer, onto my cream rug. It made a big mess. In fact I had been feeling that that cream rug did not suit the overall decor. Also, the plant had been ill placed. Many of us can see that what might initially seem disastrous can be in our favour and also have experienced God changing a bad situation int...

Today I saw a black stormy sky ready to drop its cargo but then I saw God extending one arm underneath, creating a shelter over the people below. Sometimes we forget or are unaware of God's presence as we fear that we are still in dreaded darkness. In fact, the darkness has been transcended by God's presence and protection within His shelter and under His wings. Like the darkness just before dawn,...

Today I saw an anchor, reminding me that our hope is anchored in faith in God, as opposed to comprising of fantasy and wishful thinking. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" _yet_ (Hebrews 11:1) and "We have this hope as an anchor for the soul ..."(Hebrews 6:19). "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts throug...

Today I saw a salamander, which used to be believed to have mystical powers to withstand fire. I am reminded of God's promises that He will give us strength to withstand fiery trials, one verse of which is: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love and sound judgement"(2 Timothy 1:7). Jesus told His disciples (still applying to us), "I have said these things to you, that i...

Today I saw a few embroidered random stitches versus a large completed tapestry. Often we forget that instant pleasures are not what only makes life worthwhile. My past week with family in Sweden was absolutely wonderful and it was made up of many lovely instant moments. Now I am back in Portugal, I naturally miss them. I am now alone in my apartment. However, I reflect that no longer having those...

I missed recording Devotionals on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and being away on holiday I have lost track of the day of the week, so here I am with a Sunday message! Recently I mentioned that God can give us seemingly strange ways to follow, in the sense of away from the norm. Today I reflect on the fact that we are even called "peculiar" in praising God for bringing us out of darkness into light...

Today I saw an image in my mind's eye of a weird looking house constructed at a weird angle. I then remembered a house converted from a water tower, referred to as The House in the Clouds. I have now discovered how many unique upside houses there are. This has caused me to further reflect on everyone's uniqueness. God has created us to be used by Him uniquely, however strange we may appear to othe...

Today I saw a little bowl of holy water which is often at the side of the main door of a Catholic church. There used to be the required ritual, when entering a church, of making the sign of the cross with index finger, and maybe also the middle finger, having been dipped in the blessed water; then they are placed on forehead (saying 'In the name of the Father"), chest ("and of the Son") and one sh...

Today, in my mind's eye, I saw a picture of a large garden sieve which I recall my sister using when she and he husband bought a plot of land in France with a house and rough earth surrounding it. She painstakingly sieved the rockery to get rid of the coarser stones and rocks. Ten years on she has a most beautiful garden. She had had to work hard to get it that way and to some extent to maintain i...

Yesterday I was reminded that the Peace that Jesus promises us regardless of our circumstances, requires active choice on our part. On receiving Jesus we don't automatically stop worrying over anything. Every time a situation arises which could cause us to worry or panic, we need to consciously decide to trust God and not to worry. This is easier said than done. Yesterday the taxi driver driving m...

Today I am reflecting on the words Peace and Joy that God gives but in a different sense to the usual meanings. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you: my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives" (John 14:27). It is Peace and Joy from the Spirit residing within us, not necessarily generated by our external circumstances. Let me give you an example of a worldly person's view of peace...

Today I think on the Christmas nativity shepherds. Unlike earlier times, in those days shepherds were social and spiritual outcasts, right at the bottom of the pecking order, perceived as ignorant, smelly and sinful and never to be trusted. And yet, the Angel came to them first to tell them of Jesus Christ's arrival and for them to spread the wonderful news. God can change hearts. The shepherds we...

Today I am reminded of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. We learn that there were 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus's earthly father Joseph and on to Jesus. Jesus was connected to a sinful physical human family, representing all of mankind, as we all sometimes sin. Jesus had to be human in order to die sinless on mankind's behalf, so we ca...

Today I saw what seemed to be a vintage Scalextric model train set. Some children (and adults) get great excitement and use of imagination with these wonderful miniature versions of the true size originals. This has triggered me to thinking on the ingenuity and advancement of mankind's progression in the technological world. Sometimes we need to accept change to promote growth, rather than get stu...

I am contemplating winter accessories such as gloves, scarf, hood lined with fur and furry boots. I was recently intrigued to learn that the fur on hoods is much more effective in combatting the cold if it is possible to fold it inwards towards your ears, rather than keep it showing externally to provide a good "look". Also, I learnt a long time ago that a robust good quality sole for winter footw...

Today I had a picture of a box with a little hole from which I could look out at the expanse around me. Meanwhile, whoever was outside the box could not see me inside the box but that doesn't mean I do not exist. It is not a perfect allegory but it helps make the point that one entity can see a lot more than the other but both fully exist. As such, God knows us fully but we only know Him in part....

Today I saw little red paper confetti hearts showering down on us. God has not promised us heaven here on earth; that is our next destination. However, whilst we are here on earth His love will constantly be with us despite our circumstances. (See Isaiah 41:10). Often the worst aspect of our negative circumstances is the fear and panic within us. God wants us to trust that He will be with us throu...

Today I am reminded of the soldiers who hammered nails into Jesus's hands and feet without a second thought as to the additional pain they were inflicting, and/or with justification as to their actions. Aren't there many people like that? And yet amongst the people we love and want to pray for, and the hurting people we are often asked to pray for, are those people we don't like and who have parti...

Today I saw an acrobat doing a balancing act, causing me to reflect on this busy world where so many of us are balancing jobs and responsibilities. However, our lives should not be about fitting God into our balancing act but about putting him first, as our priority every day. When we do, however illogical it may seem or feel, we will find that the rest of our day, and whatever balancing we need t...

Today I saw an arrow on course but then it started losing its flight. Two thoughts come to mind: words are like arrows - once shot they cannot be called back. As such we need to be careful of what we say as we can't take the words back and they could be misconstrued so not make the effect we originally intended. Also, if arrows of non-loving uncomfortable, painful or vindictive words are shot at u...