Devotions By Jan

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Brillo

brilloScripture For Today:  Ephesians 4:32  “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you.”

My husband enjoys taking his Mom to different museums and art galleries.  They especially enjoyed the exhibitions at the Huntington Library in California.  Their Modern Art section included this display of Brillo pads.

Brillo pads were invented when the shift was made from cast iron cookware to aluminum.  Their steel wool infused with soap was effective in removing  the black and restoring the shine.  In fact, the word “Brillo” calls to mind the word in French for “shine.”  (briller)  The only way a brillo pad can do its job is to rub, scrub and irritate the blackened residue until it is lifted off.   The result is clean and bright.

There are brothers and sisters in Christ who rub me the wrong way.  I love them better at a distance.  It may be that they have an annoying habit.  Perhaps, I do not appreciate the way they speak to me.  Whatever the reason, it is unavoidable.  Like the brillo pad, they irritate.

Our verse for today talks about what my attitude should be towards brothers and sisters in Christ.  Because of the Lord’s forgiveness and grace to me, I need to be gracious as well.  Tenderness should be what characterizes my demeanor.

I believe the Lord uses other believers to rub and irritate out of me what does not belong.  If I did not have to rub shoulders with difficult people,  opportunities to clean up and shine would be lost!  The Lord reveals the blackened bits in me through my relationships.  I am sure that I unknowingly play the role of that brillo pad in the lives of others as well!

Thank you Lord, that you want to shine through me!


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Wise

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 14:2-3  “The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God.  They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one.”

We live in an area where there are plenty of roads through forests.  Not too long ago, my husband was driving home quite late on one of these roads.  He saw a quick flash of wings and heard a sickening thump.  An owl had crashed into his windshield.  We often think of owls as wise, but somehow not this one!

I am not sure why we equate the idea of wisdom with the owl.  The French have the same idea in their thinking.  Perhaps it is because they are always asking questions!

There are so many verses in Scripture that describe wisdom in both the Old and New Testaments.  When thinking about how wisdom begins I normally think of Psalm 111:10 saying, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…”  Knowing Him and fearing Him starts us on the path of wisdom.

Our verse today talks about the very first step on that path of wisdom; to seek God.  Those who are actively seeking the God of the Bible are already showing that first glimmer of wisdom.  In contrast, Psalm 14:1 describes the fool as the one who says in his heart that there is no God.

Those who are seeking God are easy to distinguish from those who are not.  Those seeking God will allow the Lord to change their behavior.  Wisdom shows itself in right and godly living.  If I question whether I am wise, I need look no further than the way I live my life.  Ouch.

Lord, help me live wisely today.


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Moving Forward

Scripture for Today:  Jeremiah 29:11  “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope,”

The French celebrate New Year Eve much as the Americans do.  There are fireworks.  There is time off work.  And there are lots of special foods with family and friends.  Everything is closed on New Years Day.  The streets are quiet and deserted.  Many are sleeping in, having a “grasse matinée” after too much of everything the night before.

I think I am too old to make any New Year’s resolutions.  I have seen too many of them quickly abandoned in my life.  I do not need that kind of pressure.  I would hope that as a believer, I have an every-day motivation to please my Lord.

As I look forward to this New Year, I am faced with all kinds of potential changes, both positive and negative.  I have a very vivid imagination for what could be.  That is why today’s verse is so important to me.  The changes that the New Year could bring are no surprise to the Lord.  He is sovereign and over all.  The movement from one year to the next is only the next step in giving me a future and a hope that HE has planned.

How wonderful to be able to face the unknown future with this confidence!  Worry and fear need have no place in my thinking.  He holds me in the palm of His hand.  Whatever hard thing may be in store will be lived through with His help and love.

Thank you, Lord, for all the gifts and blessings that await me!  Happy New Year!


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Star of Bethlehem

Scripture for Today:  Daniel 12:3  “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.”

The starry sky can be so beautiful and awe inspiring.  I can just imagine the night sky near the time of Christ’s birth.  The star of Bethlehem, faithfully followed over miles and miles, led the wise men to exactly where Jesus was living as a young child.  There are those who want to explain away this miracle by pointing out some astronomical phenomenon.  However one may want to explain it, it remains unexplainable!  This star actually went before them and positioned itself over the exact location where they could find Jesus.

Our verse today teaches that those who are wise shine like the night sky.  Those who lead others to righteousness are likened to stars.  Of course, I have no wisdom or righteousness of my own.  I Corinthians 1:30 says that Christ became for me wisdom from God and righteousness.  He is my source.

The star of Bethlehem led those wise men to Wisdom and Righteousness in the person of Jesus.  Those who lead others to Christ today are doing the same.  In a sense, I can also be a star with the light of my life pointing others to Him.  If I shine at all, it is for Him.  My desire is that my light, like that star, lead others to the Source of wisdom and righteousness.

Today, we celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Light of the world.  What a privilege to be a part of His light and to guide others to Him!  Have a blessed light-filled Christmas!

(a re-post from Christmas 2012)


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Home for the Holidays

Scripture for Today:  II Corinthians 5:8  “We are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.”

I love the sappy Christmas carol with the words, “Oh there’s no place like home for the holidays.”  I am blessed to have my whole family here in France with me this year; my son, my two daughters, and their husbands, AND my baby grandson!  It is a rare event.  Somehow, as the kids grow into adults, coming together gets more and more complicated.  Oh, and then there is the ocean between us.

I asked my 90 year-old mother on the phone if she thought Christmas is celebrated every year in heaven.  She laughed at the idea and then said that they probably are celebrating every day up there!  But I do wonder if those that have gone before us mark the day in some way.

Our verse for today expresses Paul’s preference to be “home with the Lord” rather than at home in his body.  I love the idea of HOME.  It brings to mind love, warmth, and shelter.  This holiday season I am working hard to make our home warm and welcoming for the family’s arrival.  But Paul believes that being home with the Lord is far better than living here on earth.

There are friends and relatives of mine already with the Lord.  I miss them.  But they are home.  What is more, they are home for the holidays, in their true home.  The holidays they are enjoying far outshine what we can do to celebrate here on earth.  No budget, no tiredness, no dashed expectations, no overindulgence!

It is true, there is no place like home for the holidays.  How much more this is true for our eternal home!