Yesterday's message was very deep and subject to misinterpretation so I hesitated to share it widely. I was reflecting on the Portuguese word "maneira" meaning the way, the method, from the Latin root 'manus' = hand. In John 4:6 Jesus is recorded as declaring "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life". He is not stating that He is the route, the destination to eternal life in heaven. Rather, the whole verse is Jesus metaphorically wanting to take us by the hand in relationship now, leading us to an ever increasing closeness to His Father as a Way of being. In that process we will be changing into His image. God is the great "I am". Jesus is "I am". The Way is not a destination but an existence in God, the Father, now. To get to know our Father is a huge process and all our journeys are unique in this. That then makes it impossible to compare our journeys, which then eradicates our ability to judge. It is a precious gift to be constantly with God, the Way, and to be gradually changed into His image of perfect love. Think carefully on Hebrews 13:5 "Let your manner of living be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have. For He hath said, "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee". (KJ21 translation)

Today I notice that it is my 666th Daily Picture uploaded on to Spotify. 666 is associated with the Mark of the Beast and the antichrist in the final book of the bible, Revelation, representing a system opposed to

God. The trebling of the 6 emphasises its adamant attack on Jesus. Meanwhile, may I point out the significance of 7, representing God and perfection. In Matthew 18:21 Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?" In this, Peter is suggesting complete forgiveness. However, Jesus replies with even greater emphasis on the importance of forgiveness, "No, not seven times ...but seventy times seven". The multiplying of the 7 reinforces the need for us to forgive, but also highlights God's enormous forgiveness towards us. The final verse in the entire bible, with very little variance in translations, is: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. (Amen)." (Revelation 22:21). How significant is that! Hold on to that Truth and do not fear.

Today I saw a carpentry shed, reminding me that Jesus had grown up learning some woodwork skills from his carpenter fatherJoseph (Matthew 13:55) and Jesus had indeed been referred to as a carpenter (Mark 6:3). Jesus forsook his carpentry, continuing to obey God's will: "Now Jesus himself was about 30 years old when he began his ministry..." (Luke 3:23) as did the disciples who forsook their jobs as fishermen, a tax collector etc in order to follow Jesus. None of our skills and experiences are wasted but God does want us to follow the example of Jesus and trust in His guidance in where He wants us to go.

Today I saw a nest with a mother bird returning to her babies in the nest but I sensed something was wrong. I heard the word, "cuckoo" and am reminded of the deceptive ways of the mother cuckoo who lays an egg in another bird's nest to hatch and be raised by another mother bird. There are a lot of deceptive tactics involved in this subterfuge, which further makes me ponder on how comfortable and convinced we can be by someone who enters our life or even our heart, without even considering that they are not being authentic. Jesus warns of "false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves" (Matthew 7:15). We are told by Apostle Paul that "...every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world" (1 John 4:2-3). Note that Paul is referring to spirits and not to people, for "We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against...spiritual hosts of wickedness...(Ephesians 6:12). Without the gift of discernment any of us can be deceived by a "cuckoo", a person who is being deceived themselves. We need to know the real Christ, in order to recognise the antichrist who wants to destroy us.

Today I saw a derelict, desolate, dilapidated building, in need of a lot of restoration. That could represent mankind as a whole, which was originally fully connected to God through Adam and Eve's bloodline, then separated from God through them, and which now needs to be reinstated. The building could also represent our individual lives, parts of which need restoration such as of ill health, emotional wounds, brokenness, missed opportunities, all lost and stolen blessings. The most important restoration is of our relationship with God, from which all blessings emanate. "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." (1 Peter 5:10)

Today, I saw an electric sandwich maker which has brought to mind the heat of God in our lives. He sometimes intentionally puts us through fiery trials or at least, uncomfortable times. If we try to avoid them and/or complain about these times we are actually losing out on a gift! The gift is likened to a refiner's fire which purifies silver or gold, burning off their impurities. When the liquid silver or gold is pure, the refiner is able to see his reflection in it. Do you think that that is a wonderful gift from God, for Him to be able to see His image in our lives? He does need to change us and that requires us to trust Him in all circumstances, even better if we are able to thank Him too! In 1 Peter 1:6-7 we read, "In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come that the proven genuineness of your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed."

Today I saw a picture of a Catherine Wheel, a dramatically spinning firework shooting out hundreds of brightly coloured sparks. This seems like a sequel to us being a ray of light extending from Jesus. We can be dramatic for Jesus as one united body, not vying for individual attention and merit. Not long before He was crucified Jesus said, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in Me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). Why is this? Because, as His Body, we cover a greater geographical distance and over a longer time than Jesus's ministry on earth. With the Holy Spirit empowering us we can extend Jesus's work. Do we believe and trust Jesus's words on this and do we want to?

Today I saw a previously barren twig displaying little green leaves with a chorus of birds tweeting in the background. It is Spring! What a wonderful reminder of expectations. We are told that God's promises are always fulfilled (2 Corinthians 1:20). The more we experience the perfect timing of God's fulfillment, after having waited, the stronger our faith and expectation becomes in the future. We need these times of waiting and expectation, not only to strengthen our faith but to trust in God's perfect timing. We can liken this to never forcing open the petals of a flower when still in bud, but learning to wait. Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Note 'wait' mentioned twice in the one verse. King David experienced long waits but trusted God and His timings. God considered David as a man after His own heart (see 1 Samuel 13:14). It is also no coincidence that Jesus's earthly heritage, through Joseph, is descended from David's lineage (see Matthew 1).

Today I saw a picture of a lit candle on a tall candlestand on the ground. Jesus is the Light and when He ignites us we are one of His rays of light, reflecting His love, grace and truth so dispelling darkness and sharing the hope that Jesus provides. The Gospel of Matthew 5:14-16 recounts Jesus as saying "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven". Let's be a ray of Jesus's light standing tall and bright for Him.

I saw an olympic diving board, with me bouncing gently on the highest board until I swooped down into a dive. What freedom there is in doing that but to get that point of decision to dive, there is a need to walk up the steps and choose to go higher, then testing for bounce and movement. This could be likened to our walk towards Jesus - a decision to learn more about Him, test Him a little and then take the plunge of faith. Is our life just for our breathing time on earth with no God and no further existence? Or do we think we can get to God ourselves once we take our last breath? Or is there eternal life? The Body of Christ believes that Jesus has not only taken our sins on the cross so we can be reunited to God, but He also said to His disciples, as recounted in John 14:3: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am". If you haven't started your walk towards Jesus, try. The freedom you will feel and will actually have is for real.