Many of us know that positive thoughts in us attract positive energy towards us, sometimes referred to as The Law of Attraction. God's Word instructs us to think on Himself and what is positive in us and in our lives. One verse, amongst many, is "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you" (Isaiah 26:3). An old Cherokee fable likens the positive and negative in us to two wolves which are at war within each of us. Which one are we feeding?

I saw a picture of a 4 legged table with one leg working its way loose, ready to tip the table over. I believe that this is a reminder that whilst some bible verses may be clear, such as "Trust in the Lord with all your heart", others may be more complicated, contradictory or may even seem wrong to us. Jesus said he has given us His Holy Spirit to help us in our understanding (John 14:26), but this picture of the four legs of a table are a good reminder that some verses may need 4 background considerations, namely context, grammar, theology and history/culture at the time the verses was written, which are sometimes used in literary analysis. Also we may have personal blockages in our understanding through our previous experiences, our education etc. Let us ask God to open our minds and hearts before we dismiss God's Word as untrue and/or incomprehensible.

"For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day". (John 6:40). I believe those words of Jesus but I forget that in the preceding verse he also said, "And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day". As we have been given to him, we are a gift. I forget that. Think on that...

I had a reminder of the 1980s Japanese video game Pac-Man which has made me further think on the advances in video games which attempt to emulate reality with amazing and sophisticated technology. We also have supposed reality shows which pick and choose what they want us to see. Social Media often shows us only the good and fun aspects of others' lives. Many of us are searching for Truth and Reality. I certainly don't expect anyone to just believe my words about God but to find out for themselves, by calling out to God to reveal Himself to them personally, to show them that He is real. As I often say, He absolutely wants a relationship with you, with everyone. "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" (Jeremiah 29:13)

When we are looking for the right person in our life and eventually find them, there is a sense of knowing that we have come home and are meeting our destiny. Finding our person does not diminish others. Similarly, when we meet Jesus there is a sense of fulfillment which again, does not diminish other life teachers and Christian leaders. God has created them all. However, there is a difference in knowing Jesus as He is God but you have to experience a relationship with Him to know that. It is just the same as meeting someone just right for you who you can't explain until you meet them. Ask Jesus to explain Himself. For example, what does the following mean when he asks us to go to the extra mile for seemingly no reward but that he will reward us? "Then Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbours; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous". Luke 14:13-14). Ask him.

I have never seen an imperfect looking swan. This makes me reflect on the fact that God looks at us humans as already the perfect finished creations He intended us to be when in fact, in this world, none of us are. I am so relieved that God has that hope in me and indeed in all of us to restore us, living in harmony with Him in eternity. The Bible tells us that we have this one life when we can choose to be restored to Him. It is so difficult to conceive of this though many of us recognise that we are imperfect and would love to improve. Many verses assure us that in Christ we are being renewed and restored but we look for other paths to follow which require effort on our parts. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation". We don't have to fulfill any conditions other than to believe. As recorded in John 3:16 Jesus himself said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life". We may think Jesus taught some good truths but do we believe Him when He said he came to give us eternal life?

It is difficult to rest in God as this means trusting God and being at peace. This state of mind and heart manifests itself through us when we are praising Him, forgiving others (because no one is perfect no one is going to behave perfectly towards us) and praying for others. Do we follow that instruction to "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)?

I have been reminded that when my children were little, one morning one of them scribbled permanent gold marker over my beautiful Indonesian coffee table and I couldn't clean it off. In the afternoon another proceeded to play with playdough on the same table, forgetting to put a plastic sheet underneath. Whilst picking up the playdough by dabbing it into one ball, I discovered the properties of the playdough were perfect for cleaning off the gold markings! In my early Christian walk that taught me the meaning of the verse: "We know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). God not only converts a negative circumstance into something good, He sometimes engineers seemingly negative circumstances and ones we consider not a good idea, into what He knows is best for us.

Whilst we may have a routine to our lives which gives us some predictability, none of us absolutely knows what the future holds for us. God asks us to trust Him as we have markers, like the beautiful stars represent in an inky black sky. King David declared these words on behalf of God, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you" (Psalm 32:8). There are many verses that can give us suchlike assurance for our future.

Many years ago I remember that Puffed Wheat was one of my then four year old sister's favourite breakfast cereals. Somehow that imagery has made me think on how much time has elapsed since then and now we are here together in Cascais where I work and she is visiting. Over all these years God has been with us and He knew in advance what paths we would take and are still to take in our lives. There are many verses in the bible that remind us of this and it can be a great comfort to know He is always with us and can help direct us to Him at all times, should we desire that. For instance, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus"(Philippians 1:6)