Devotions By Jan

Monthly Archives: September 2019


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Sandbar

Scripture for Today: Matthew 7:26 “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”  

It must be odd to walk on a sandbar, surrounded by water and yet staying dry.  There are many famous sandbars in our world, many of which are found in the Philippines.  But the Haulover Sandbar in Biscayne Bay, Florida, enjoyed some notoriety when a baby grand piano suddenly made its appearance!  It was a true mystery how it got there.  It turns out that it was an artistic photo shoot done by a young man for his school application!  Had the piano stayed there, it would have eventually sunk or been overtaken by water.

Today’s verse describes something just as ludicrous; constructing a house on sand.  Hearing God’s Word but not applying it makes the foundation of our lives as precarious as sand.  Jesus assures the listeners that the crash of that house is inevitable.  In contrast, those that DO put into practice God’s Word will enjoy stability as their foundation is solid Rock.

The sand can represent words of shifting cultural norms.  They are easier to follow but the result is ruin.  God’s Word is true and eternal, unaffected by what is modern or popular (Ps. 119:160).  Building my life on the objective truth of His Words does not happen just by knowing and quoting it.  I can study those words for a lifetime but if I do not obey them as authoritative, then that next storm may just bring me down.  His words are practical and speak to every area of my life.  Applying them is a question of humility to do things His way and not my own!

Lord, keep me off that sand!


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Pyramid at the Louvre

Scripture for Today:  Genesis 2:24  “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

The pyramid at the Louvre is breathtaking, especially at night when it mirrors soft lights from inside.  Since 1989, the very year we moved to France, the largest of the five pyramids has served as a spectacular entrance to the Louvre museum.  It is made up entirely of 673 diamond and triangular shaped glass panes and metal poles.  At 71 feet high and 11,000 square feet, its 95 tons of steel and 105 tons of aluminum have made this an impressive landmark!

Today’s verse teaches that God can take two entirely different people and make them one.  As the sides of a pyramid come from different directions but are joined at the top, so marriage is to unite a man and a woman, making them one. That line at the base represents our shared life.  Every marriage has that connecting line.  But for a marriage of two believers, there is the advantage of another path to closeness.  At the apex of the triangle is the Lord.  As each of us move closer to Him, we can grow closer to each other at the same time.

I never feel closer to my husband than when I hear him pouring out his heart to the Lord when we pray together.  I feel our oneness when we serve Him together in some way.  When we share our struggles with trusting Him, I feel this oneness.  When we admit our failures and together ask Him for forgiveness, I feel this oneness.  Over the last forty years I have seen us move up and down on that line towards the Lord.  But I can say with conviction that it is worth the effort!

Thank you, Lord, for making us one!


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Miracle Baby

Scripture for Today: Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.”

You may wonder why this sweet baby boy has dirt under his fingernails.  No, he was not playing in the dirt, but in the dirt is where authorities found him, loosely buried with sticks and soil in the forest.  The man who put him there was tripped out on drugs and felt the baby was too heavy to carry.  Thankfully, he was apprehended and the baby saved.  It was a true miracle that the baby was found and survived 40 degree temperatures for nine hours!

Today’s verse tells us that nothing is too hard for the Lord.  The great power of His outstretched arm has brought into existence the heavens and the earth.  Anything else would seem to take less effort!  Surely, if He can blanket our sky with stars and shake our earth at will, than there is no problem beyond His reach.  By seeing and appreciating His power in creation, we can be assured that absolutely nothing is too hard for Him!

Anything that is caused by the power of God is a “miracle.”  Sometimes, I put my own definition to the word.  Often I think of miracles only in terms of the visible and spectacular.  But even more astonishing than a healing that confounds doctors, or an accident that should have taken a life is the heart that is changed.  His power creates new clean hearts that love and obey Him.  To be able to let go and forgive someone who has done the unthinkable is a miracle!  His power has and continues to change me and it is all His doing!

Lord, help me to trust that nothing is too hard for You.

 


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The Manatee

Scripture for Today:Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” 

Who would ever want to harm this gentle creature?  The Florida manatee, or sea cow, measures up to 13 feet and 1,300 pounds.  Their slow lolling nature make this large marine mammal a favorite of tourists.  But there are Manatee Zone signs saying “Slow Speed” and “Minimal Wake” in an effort to protect them.  Even so, the manatee is classed as “vulnerable.”  Their greatest threat is human as they are hunted, drown in fishing nets, face habitat degradation or collide with fishing boats.

Today’s verse reminds us that our greatest enemy is not human.  Our biggest threat is spiritual against our souls.  We protect ourselves from evil by the different pieces of God’s armor: truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. (verses 10-19)  We can stand firm against evil with the protection He provides.  We can stand with confidence as well, knowing that He not only has determined the outcome of this war, but He fights with and for us!

My courage is so non-existent that I need to enlist my husband when in combat with a spider!  There is nothing in me to inspire fear in those dark forces of evil.  Yet, the Devil will flee from me when I am wholly submitted to God (James 4:7).  I can face the dark and stand strong, never with  my puny efforts but in the power of His might!  Although this is a subject that can illicit fear, God reassures my heart.  If God is for me, who can be against me? (Romans 8:31)

Thank you Lord, that my heart, mind and soul belong to You.


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Guarding the Queen

Scripture for Today: II Timothy 1:12 “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”  

Did you know that those guards at Buckingham Palace are actual soldiers in the British army carrying real guns?  There are four sentry guards when the Queen is in residence and only two when she is elsewhere.  In addition there are five regiments of foot guards: Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh.  Although their uniforms differ subtly, they all have the same charge to guard and protect.

Today’s verse is Paul’s declaration of faith in God’s power to guard what he has entrusted to Him, namely his soul.  During a time of discouraging imprisonment, Paul stays confident of God’s control.  He is suffering but does not feel shame for being in prison.  He shares in the sufferings of Christ but is also experiencing Christ’s abundant comfort (II Cor.1:5).  Paul knows that his soul will live on even if he does not survive.  God has promised and He is all -powerful and able to keep His word.

Knowing and being convinced of God’s power to guard my soul makes all the difference to how I live.  And it will make just as big a difference to how I die.  My eternal security rests on His finished work of perfect sacrifice.  It does not rest on me, my laundry list of good works or how I am feeling.  My soul is in His powerful hands and nothing and no one can pluck me out of there! (John 10:28).  I have no power to guard anything.  But He does.

Lord, I trust that You guard my soul!