Devotions By Jan

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Don’t Look Down!

Scripture for Today:  II Corinthians 5:7  “…for we walk by faith and not by sight.”

I can just imagine how frightening it would be to walk across the bridge pictured here.  Perhaps, if I could avoid looking down, I could make it across much more easily.

I am at a point in my life where I can say that most of my life has already been lived!  In looking back, I am amazed at some of the scary crossings through which God has led me.  In retrospect I can see the dangers He led me through and the ways He has kept me from falling.  I could not see it at the time.

The Lord does not always give us too much information about what He is doing.  If He did, then faith would not be necessary.  But sometimes He does not let us see how He is leading for our own good!  Crossing this bridge without looking down has got to be easier!

There are more scary crossings in my future.  I am sure of it.  But I do not have to have all the details in advance.  Nor do I need all the details during the actual crossing.  I only need to keep my eyes ahead, and not look down!  My eyes are to be fixed on Jesus, who not only started me on this journey of faith, but will bring it to completion (Heb.12:2).

I often think that walking by faith is something pretty difficult.  But in fact, it can be much more difficult to be focusing on the impossible circumstances surrounding me.  Trusting and acknowledging Him, allowing Him to direct my paths means safety and security.  It means peace and confidence because He is trustworthy.

Lord, keep me from looking down!


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The Cricket

Scripture for Today:  Psalms 150:6  “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!  Praise the Lord!”

I am amazed to learn that there are about nine hundred different species of crickets……none of which are welcome in my home!  I know there are those that say they bring good luck, but that is a luck I can do without!  In some parts of China crickets are treated as pets, caged and fed.  Even though my husband is half Chinese, this is not an option!

It is rumored that crickets can tell you the outside temperature!  If one counts the number of chirps made in one minute, divides by four and then adds the number forty, the result is the current outside temperature (in Fahrenheit).  No thanks, I prefer reading a temperature gauge!

But what comes to mind when thinking about crickets is the chirping song the males make when they rub their wings together.  I do enjoy their song outside on a warm evening, as long as I do not see them!  Their sound can even be calming.  As disgusting as they look, they make a beautiful music!

Our verse for today is a call to praise the Lord.  In this short psalm, instruments are listed that can praise the Lord.  But so can this cricket.  He has breath too and his chirping is praise to his Creator.  Psalm 148:10 calls on all creeping things to praise the Lord as well, and the cricket most definitely qualifies!

I want His praise to continually be in my mouth!  Life and breath were given to me for this very purpose.  He is worthy of all my praise all the time.  May every breath of my life be a praise to Him for all He has done for me!


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Bubble Wrap

Scripture for Today: Psalm 17:7  “Show Your marvelous loving kindness, O You who save by Your right hand, those who trust and take refuge in You from those who rise up against them.”

I am quite familiar with bubble wrap with all the moves I have lived through.  Most of the time I just use newspaper for my breakables.  But for those items that are particularly fragile, I use bubble wrap for extra protection.  Of course, it is a lot less effective when the kids have been into it, popping those bubbles!  This last move I was quite proud of myself that only one item was broken.

A young mother recently shared with me that she wished she could wrap her small son in a bubble and so protect him from all potential danger.  What mother does not share that same feeling!  My children are adults and I still feel that way towards them!  But a mother is powerless to provide complete protection for her child.

Thankfully, there is Someone whose love and protection is trustworthy.  I wish belonging to the Lord meant that we were never touched by evil, sickness or accident.  We live in a fallen world and it is not Paradise!  But God’s Word reassures us that He is in control.  The pain and suffering He allows is always used for His higher purposes.  None of it is “bad luck” or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Our verse for today tells us that evil will not triumph!  I am to run to Him for protection.  His right hand is mighty to save when I take refuge in His loving kindness.  Even when I watch the news on television, I can continue to feel safe and secure.  Yes, I am fragile, but He is my protection!


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Unchained!

Scripture for Today: Psalm 107: 13-14  “Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses.  He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke apart the bonds that held them.”

The French have an expression that makes me smile.  They use their word for “unchained” to express the idea of over-active, over-playful or hyper!  It is a great way to describe school children let go from their classes at the end of the day.  There is visible joy in being liberated at last!

There are all sorts of chains that hold people back.  My heart goes out to people seen on news reports who are bound and used because of evil men.  But there are spiritual chains as well.  Chains due to our own sin are the hardest to break.  One can be chained to a sinful habit without even being aware.  Some live their lives in the pursuit of personal freedom, rejecting whatever mores and values they feel restrain them.  They end up bound and tangled in their own sinful behavior, powerless to change things.

Our verse for today is a cry for freedom from bondage.  These people were bound because they rebelled against Him and His counsel.  There was nothing they could do to free themselves.  Yet God was gracious and saved them from their distress.

He is still doing it!  His grace is still unchaining those who cry to Him.  Satan would like one to believe that those chains are unbreakable.  But Christ’s sacrifice has broken the power of sin and death forever!  His love is unending and His grace is amazing!

“My chains are gone, I’ve been set free.  My God, my Savior has ransomed me.  And like a flood His mercy reigns, unending love, amazing grace!”


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Storks

Scripture for Today:  Jeremiah 8:7  “Even the stork in the sky knows when it is time to move on.  The turtledove, swallow and the crane recognize the normal times for their migration.  But My people pay no attention to what I, the Lord, require of them.”

I am fortunate to live in an area known for its stork population.  I so enjoy watching them fly past our windows.  The cranes around here are almost as big but do not have the same “wow” effect for me.  I am anxious to see them return with the warmer weather.  They winter in Sub-Saharan Africa, something I wish I could do!  They often will return to the exact same nest.

Our verse for today talks about four different kinds of birds but with one thing in common; they all migrate.  Their little bird brains know instinctively when it is time to move on so as to avoid the freezing temperatures.  Jeremiah mentions these birds as a contrast to the Israelites.  The people prided themselves in possessing the Law of God.  But they continually turned to their own individual course, rather than following God’s way.  The Law, instead of being written in their hearts, became a mere code or outward ceremony.

I wish obeying God was as instinctive for me as migration is for the birds.  But then it would not mean as much.  God wants my obedience to be an intentional choice.  Knowing what God expects of me is a good thing.  But I do not want to make the same mistake as the Israelites.  The point is not how many Bible verses I can recite by heart.  He is more interested in how many I obey!  Help me, Lord, to be obedient.