Devotions By Jan

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Shielded

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 5:12 “For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord.  You surround him with favor as with a shield.”

There is a beautiful castle not far from us called Haut-Koenigsbourg.  It is perched high in the Vosges mountains and from its windows there are some amazing views.  It is a furnished castle with an armory filled with all kinds of ancient instruments of war.  Included in their collection are some antique shields.  Every piece of armor is critical but maybe none more than the shield that protects.

Normally, when I think of biblical references to the shield, my mind either goes to the list of spiritual armor in Ephesians 6, or the Psalms that talk of the Lord Himself being a shield.  Our verse for today talks about the shield being His favor.  What a beautiful thought, that He surrounds the righteous  with His favor and blessing!

He promises favor and blessing for those who are in right standing with Him.  I have no righteousness of my own, but I am the recipient of His righteousness.  I am His own and He in His grace takes care of His own.  I do not deserve such care and attention.

Because of His favor shielding me, I can take refuge in Him.  He is my Protector and that means I can move through this life without fear.  It also means I can face death without fear.  Putting my trust in Him is my defense in the midst of battle.  I can sing and shout for joy regardless of the circumstances.  I know the outcome of every skirmish as He is the Victor!  As Psalm 3:3 says, He is my shield and the “lifter of my head!”

I am so unworthy.  Thank you, Lord, for surrounding me with Your favor today.


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GPS

Scripture for Today: James 4:6 “But He gives a greater grace.  Therefore it says, God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

The other day while finding our way in the mountains, our GPS got totally confused.  Her voice stayed confident as she told us take the second exit at the round point where there was none!  There were several times that had we obeyed her, we would have turned right into the mountainside!  After listening to her continue to give us outrageous directions, we finally just turned her off!  Thankfully, we had an old fashioned map as a back up.  But not once did she apologize!  She never said, “I was wrong and you were right!”  Of course, had she admitted her mistake I would have fainted with surprise!

There is something in all of us that bristles at the thought of admitting our errors.  Sometimes, the only way it can happen is if we can point to extenuating circumstances!  Or we can maybe admit we were wrong if someone can share our chagrin.  It is never a comfortable experience.

In our relationship with the Lord, humbling ourselves and admitting our wrongs is the starting point to our relationship with Him.  We cannot receive forgiveness without confession.  But pride can keep us from admitting our sin.  Pride itself is the root of so much sin and heartache.  This is why it tops the list of abominable sins in Proverbs 6:17.   There are those who would rather face the opposition of the Almighty God than be humbled.

The good news is that there is grace for those who come clean with Him.  He shows me unmerited favor when I humble myself in honest confession.  Forgive me my pride, Lord!  Oh how I need your grace today!


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Autopilot

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

It worries me to think of an airplane with autopilot capabilities!  They have been in use for a long time, but my imagination takes flight sometimes along with the plane.  I can think of lots of things that could go wrong!  But everything is so computerized that planes can execute some pretty precise maneuvers, even landing a plane with zero visibility.

I learned that the autopilot of an aircraft is sometimes referred to as “George!”  It is a good thing that George can be switched off in times of failure.  That manual override is important when there is a bad connection or a sensor failure, resulting in a loss of needed input data.  The presence of that pilot remains essential.

Sometimes in my Christian walk, I feel like I am on autopilot.  I have been a believer a long time.  I can go through all the motions of the Christian life without much thought.  I can pray spiritual-sounding prayers at the drop of a hat.  I know all the lyrics of all the old hymns and can quote verses with the best of them.  But I usually know when I am on autopilot, as something is missing.  My heart is not in it.

Our verse today talks about leaning on our own understanding and directing ourselves.  When I am going through the motions, doing things in my own strength, and directing myself, I am at risk of messing up.  Flight turbulence brings me to my senses!  I acknowledge Him by giving Him back the controls.  Thank you, Lord, that You are there and waiting to straighten my paths.


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Fox

P1020410Scripture for Today: Ezekiel 13:3-4 “…Woe to the foolish prophets who are following their own spirit and have seen nothing.  O Israel, your prophets have been like foxes among the ruins.”

This Red Fox decided to pay our yard a visit!  He is not the first.  In fact, once we had a mother and her five kits having a play date outside our living room window!  As our house backs up to a hill with vineyards and forest, we are one of their first stops on their trip down!

I was relieved to learn that a fox and cat will ignore one another.  But if they do decide to fight, the fox will come off worse!  Even so, when I see these visitors, my immediate reaction is to check on our cat.  The fox has been called a “creature of opportunity,” eating virtually everything they come across.  They have even been called, “nature’s garbage collectors.”

Learning these facts helped me understand today’s verse.  It is a warning against false prophets who speak out of their own hearts (verse 2).  They are opportunists who follow their own spirits and do not speak God’s truth.  The false prophets are like foxes who forage for their own appetites.  To please their hearers, they tell the people that everything is fine.  There will always be crowds of people who are looking to have their ears tickled (II Tim. 4:3).

The Lord wants me to test the spirits to see whether they speak for Him (I John 4:1).  Those foxes still forage around today.  The only way I know to test what is said is to know and understand God’s written Word.  I can discern error by knowing the Truth.  Lord, may I be disciplined in studying Your Word!  Keep me from listening to the wrong voices.


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Getting at the Fruit!

IMG_20130814_112011Scripture for Today: Hebrews 12:11 “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

This morning I had wild blackberries on my cereal!  I had no idea that the thorny weed I had been meaning to pull out would bear fruit!  I have been annoyed brushing past it but I kept putting off doing anything about it.  Now, I am glad I procrastinated!  Those berries were a sweet surprise!  Getting at the fruit was difficult without getting stuck on the thorns, but well worth the effort.

Our verse for today speaks of fruit as well; the fruit of righteousness.  It comes as a result of thorny sorrowful discipline.  Every believer goes through it from time to time.  The Lord disciplines those He loves.  And He does it for our good so that we can share in His holiness (Heb. 12:6 &10).  It is not exacting punishment as He took that on Himself at the cross.  His discipline is proof that He loves me and that I belong to Him (Heb. 12:8).  He uses it to correct and teach.  Nevertheless, it hurts.

Probably, when He is in the process of disciplining me, I resemble that thorny weed.  I wonder if other believers look at me and think I need to be pulled out of there!  Do I sometimes look at other believers the same way?!  We are all in process of becoming like Him and becoming more fruitful.  He is patient and loving with me and I need to be the same way with others!

I am thankful that at the end of sorrow, there is joy at seeing what He has produced!  As much as it hurts, thank you, Lord, for Your loving discipline.