Today I saw the tail of an animal, being the last of its passing form. I believe that this is a sombre reminder that during our time on earth we have the opportunity to use our soul (mind, emotion and will) to choose to connect to God forever. Let's not let this opportunity of securing eternal life pass us by, especially as none of us knows when our time on earth is up. "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me that you may have life!" (John 5:39-40). Beware of knowing the truth about Jesus Christ, and even believing it, but never receiving Him as your Lord and Saviour. You don't know when your time is up.

Today I saw a clean looking, translucent scar, which I believe is an important reminder that when God heals us, whether it be physical or emotional, He does not leave us with negative impacts. We have the scars of reminders of what we have been through but, above all, we have the reminder of God's loving and complete healing. "But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds', declares the LORD" (Jeremiah 30:17).

Today I saw a picture of a rooster crowing, reminding me of Peter assuring Jesus that he would always be by his side supporting Him. Jesus warned him that he would deny him three times before the rooster crowed that very night/dawn. This is, significantly, mentioned in all 4 gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. After Jesus's arrest, out of fear, Peter did indeed deny knowing Jesus, for which he wept bitterly as soon as he heard the rooster crow and realised Jesus had been right. As He did with Peter, Jesus knows and understands our frailties. After His death and resurrection Jesus met Peter again on the shore of the sea of Galilee, when Peter was out fishing, and lovingly gave him the opportunity to redeem himself three times (See John 21). Roosters not only crow to announce the start of the day, but also to declare their territory, to attract hens with their vitality, to alert the flock of potential dangers, to gather and lead the flock to food and even to celebrate the laying of an egg. How much more can we declare at the start of each day that the creator of the rooster, Jesus, reigns supreme in our lives as our life giver, leading us, protecting us and rejoicing over us.

Today I feel it is a sequel to Saturday's message of our physical brain being separate from our soul (representing our mind, emotions and will) and our spirit (which we can choose with our soul to be directly connected to God into eternity.) Our soul thirsts to drink the living waters that Jesus said only He can provide (see John 4) and King David described this so eloquently in Psalm 42:1 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God". What I remind ourselves time and time again is that "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you" (Matthew 7:7).

Today I saw an image of a brain, prompting me to reflect on the division of our body, soul and spirit. Sometimes the words "spirit", "soul" (and "heart ") are used interchangeably but, essentially, our spirit is what connects to God's Holy Spirit in purity and goes on into eternity even when our time on earth is over. Our soul is our Mind, Emotions and Will which we can align with God or not. I have known people who love God dearly but their brains stopped functioning lucidly because of dementia, injury etc. However, despite their physical limitations, I witnessed their connection with God as still being so real. Similarly, when we depart this earth, if we have this connection with God, our spirit will remain with Him into eternity. My suggestion is that we don't just use our brain and logical thinking to decide on God's existence and whether we want our spirit connected to Him, but to dig deeper into soul and spirit now, whilst we can. Romans 12:2 (New Living Translation) tells us, "Don't copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect".

Today is an extension to yesterday's message of waiting on, and obeying the Lord's Will to satisfy us and give us pleasure, rather than us focussing on instant gratification regardless of God. I heard a punchline in a movie last night of "Forever is composed of nows". In a way, that tallies with that same message of remaining constantly in God's Will, second by second, now by now so to speak; in God's Kingdom, where we follow Him constantly, we are lead towards eternal life. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:23). When we sin, it means we are doing what we want with things which are not what God wants. Though note that, as we spend time with God and trust what Jesus did for us, we get aligned with His Will and our desires become increasingly what He wants for us. What are we doing with our "nows"? Are we immediately gratifying ourselves with what we think are good things, but completely disregarding God? Or are we giving our "nows" to God for Him to bless us, satisfy us and give us pleasure in His perfect timing?

I saw an advertisement along the lines of "If you want it now you can have it now!" This is the psychology of the present time to expect to receive what we want immediately. In my childhood days we would often have to wait a week before we could see the sequel to an exciting show we were watching. Nowadays, we have the other extreme of being able to binge watch. This desire to be instantly gratified is taken advantage of by special offers to the consumers, air fares increasing as soon as we express interest etc. However, Jesus exemplifies and teaches us to be patient and wait for God's Will and timing. He came to earth as a baby, initially wholly reliant on human care, and being fully human with all our feelings of sadness, hunger and pain etc, ready to die for us as a young man of 33 years old, in order to save mankind. His Will was to completely adhere to His Father's Will and not His own desires. Do we stop and say, 'What do you want of me God?' or do we say, 'Let's do this now because it will give me pleasure right now'.

Today I am reminded of the verse in the Old Testament's Song of Soloman 2:15 "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom". This is warning us that what is precious in our lives can be slowly and subtly destroyed by seemingly insignificant, but consistently effective, destroyers of what we are developing such as of relationships, a job, a project etc. With this analogy we can think of big foxes overtly eating the grapes which are the fruit of the harvest, but it is the little foxes, who can't reach the grapes, which will inevitably nibble away at the roots of the vine so destroying everything and not just the fruit. The Song of Soloman describes romantic love and we can equate this with Jesus as our bridegroom. Do we have 'little foxes' in our life which are gnawing away at our potential time with Jesus and the resultant wonderful fruit?

In the last 24 hours I "happened" to have heard the Gospel (that is, good news) a couple of times, reminding me as to how amazingly wonderful the news is. Contrary to other religious beliefs in which we aspire to get to God by improving ourselves, Christians rejoice in God coming down to all humanity in the person of Jesus Christ. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me" (John 6:38). God's will is to save us and take away the sin that hinders us from having eternal life. We need to be constantly reminded of this good news to prevent us berating ourselves for not aspiring high enough. It is not about us achieving heights of success but God coming down to help us because we can't succeed on our own. We have the maybe most often quoted bible verse of John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life". The original Greek for "begotten" is 'monogenes' meaning one of a kind, unique. We are created sons and daughters of our Father God but begotten son Jesus was not created but is of the same divine being and essence of eternal God/Love.

Yesterday and today I have been meditating on the words describing God in Acts 17:27b-28a "He is not far from any one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being ...". God is near us in the beautiful nature around us and in those times of love we experience because God is love, as disciple John reminds us in his gospel chapter 4 verse 8 and in his letter chapter 4 verse 16. John was able to declare that Jesus loved Him because he knew that Jesus is Love so to Love is His constant default. Jesus is the expression and example of God and all He ever did was to exude love, even in the times of uncomfortable Truths. God's Kingdom is one of giving which actually implies that when we are there giving, we are actually receiving from all those around us who are automatically giving too. Where else would you rather be than a place of constant love?

Today I saw 4 upright table legs but no table top. This has caused me to reflect on us feeling prepared for a purpose but not feeling fulfilled. If we know God, we can ask Him what He has yet for us to do. However, if we do not know God, then we are at a loss as to how to fill that empty space and yearning in our heart. If only we could all realise that being prepared for a purpose, such as with 4 unused legs of a table, but not fulfilling that purpose, leaves us unsatisfied, and that it is God who directs our purposes and fulfills the desires which He has given us in the first place. He knows the answer to our lack of complete fulfilment.

Today's is an extension to yesterday's message whereby we know that spending time with God who is Love, translates into us becoming increasingly loving (1 John 4:8). 1 John 4 continues in verse 9 to say, "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him". This reminds us that Jesus in perfect unity with God gave us the perfect example when he lived on this earth as a human, of how we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind; to then love our neighbours as ourself - 'as ourself' because we personally know God's love for us. This was also said by Jesus Himself when asked how to do the works of God, "...to.believe in the one he has sent" (John 6:29). A close relationship with God is, first and foremost, what we need and what we were created for. Then our heart, soul and mind find peace.

I have been reminded today that it is sometimes easier and seems justifiable to lovingly put other people first, before spending time with God. Concisely put, I could say we are doing for God before being with Him. However, actually, Jesus is recounted as telling His disciples that our first commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. The second commandment is to love our neighbour as thyself.(See Matthew 22:37-39) So, yes, we are indeed to "do" love for God but first we are to "be" with Love so that we can learn how to be loved and how to love others. God is Love. "Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is Love". (1 John 4:8). In other words, when we know Love by spending time with Love, we are then able to do Love.

God does not give up on His abundant giving. If we experience His free giving to us, do we represent God in our giving? "..Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 19:8b). Giving can take many forms - small or large; regular or a one off; of time, possessions or finances etc. but it is for the benefit of the receiver and not, conversely, for the giver to feel good. Each time we receive from God are we freshly grateful, able to declare, "...Great is your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22)? Or do we take God for granted, if we acknowledge Him at all?

Today I could see a still vast ocean with the straight line of the horizon in the background. Consider that even if we can't see the horizon, it remains in existence. Also, as we are fully aware, the ocean is not always calm and is certainly never so in its entirety. This is a good analogy - with the horizon representing God's promises, His Word, which He never retracts. In the context of the whole ocean it is always there in its vastness, as with our lives, but it is not always calm. God wants us to trust that He will keep all His promises in the context of our whole life even He doesn't seem to be doing it in the way and in the timing we want or expect. So, confidently declare/pray His Word into our lives and into the lives of others. God spoke through the prophet Isaiah, "It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it". (Isaiah 55:11).

Today I am thinking on the power of prayer. Yesterday I told a friend who is battling against some tough bureacracy in her life, that I am praying for her. She declared that she needed far more help than prayer and that she needs a miracle. Not much later she heard that her case has been taken up to a higher level for sorting out. Was that the power of prayer or simply good fortune? You can so see how what seems to be just words - "I will pray for you" - and just coincidental good fortune, is not taken very seriously by some. And yet, the power of prayer and aligning our words with God's words is so powerful and He can perform miracles. Prayer requires faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, and the conviction of their reality" (Hebrews 11:1). What I can honestly and categorically say is that I get peace in handing my prayer requests over to God and He has never let me down. If it is all fabrication, the peace I have and the positive results are worth having these "fabrications". Also, are the repeated coincidences in my life really coincidentally coincidental? Food for thought.

Today I saw rock strata which, when studied, give an indication of the history of the land, events that have occurred which have caused the varied rock formations. Also, through our human experiences, we build up metaphorically rocky layers which serve as defence mechanisms etc. When we receive Jesus, and His Holy Spirit comes to reside in us at our invitation, He breaks down our barriers to our inner self and the destiny God has for us. We could so easily not be following God's path for us if we are determined to block people and actions in our lives rather than allow God to guide and lead us. Ephesians 1:13 (New Century Version) "When you heard the new teaching - the Good News about your salvation - you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put His special mark of ownership upon you by giving you the Holy Spirit that He had promised". Do you want to follow God's destiny for you or not? He is not forcing you.

Today I saw a magic wand in my mind's eye. In fairy tales, whoever wields a wand has power over another to bestow good or bad gifts. God is not like that. He is giving us the choice to come to Him, to be with Him, for Him to bestow the good gifts that He has for us. Jesus told His disciple Philip, "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), having previously said that He had come to give abundant life (see John 10:10). Jesus is in the image of God, the bestower of abundant life. However, it is completely our choice to believe His Words or not. In John 12:47 we read Jesus's Words, "If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge Him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it". Phew to there being no judgement now. I do ask though - "Do you have an assured better alternative?" In due course, when Jesus returns as He has further promised, He will indeed then make judgements and receive those who have chosen to be with Him. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all His angels are with Him, he will sit on His glorious throne ... He will put the sheep on His right but the goats on His left. Then the king will say to those on His right, 'Come, my Father has blessed you! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you ..." (Matthew 25:31, 33-34).

Today I saw hexagons forming a tessellation, a repeated unbroken pattern, which reminded me of people I have met in my life who never expect their lives to diverge from routine boredom, negative expectations etc. As such, they do nothing to break their expections. However, God actually has unique plans which are perfectly suited for each and every one of us. He equips us and enables us to manage what it is He has in store for us. Are we interested in pursuing His plans for us or shall we maintain our tesselated pattern of repeated 'sameness'? A man called Jabez in the Old Testament which means "Sorrowful; Borne in pain" in Hebrew, decided to change the expectations on his life and prayed to God, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain' And God granted his request". (1 Chronicles 4:10).

Today I am reflecting on actual hinges and brackets which have been supplied with a shelving unit I have assembled, in order to secure it to a wall, in case someone climbs the unit or, I guess, there is an earthquake to knock it down. It is already well weighted down by books and really it does not need to be mounted on the wall. As a result, it will be much easier to move in the future if necessary. Where is this leading me? Well, Iu believe, firstly, it is a good reminder to be well grounded in God and Jesus. We are "like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers." (Psalm 1:3); Jesus is our rock and foundation (Matthew 7:23-27). However, we also have freedom, just like my shelving unit if it is not mounted to the wall and yet is secure. "...where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:17). "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.: (John 8:36)." In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." (Ephesians 3:12). "Through Him everyone who believes is set free from every sin .." (Acts 13:39a). Anchored and yet able to move freely within the constraints of safety.