Devotions By Jan

Author Archives: devotionsbyjan


by 1 Comment

Scars

Scripture for Today:  I Peter 2:24  “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed.”

The human body is amazing.  It can take such abuse and still function.  My husband, after years of basketball, has had four knee operations, two on each knee.  We tease each other that one knee is German and one knee is French!  He continues to play to this day but he will always have the scars.

I have a scar on my hand dating back to pre-teen days.  I was angry at my Mother at the time, so angry I could hardly see straight.  I walked into our glass side door, thinking it was open.  I can not look at that scar without thinking of my loss of control!

The Lord is so good to heal us from our injuries and from our diseases.  He promises us a glorified body one day that will never need healing again.  Our verse today talks about the price He paid for our physical and spiritual healing, His death on the cross.  We have been healed.  But sometimes scars are left behind.

I wonder why He allows those scars to remain.  They usually fade with time but why have them at all?  Perhaps, the scars are there to remind us of His healing in our lives.  They remind us of His goodness and grace.  We look at our scars and remember how we have failed and how much we need Him.  Our scars keep us humble.

We all have scars, seen or unseen.  Normally, scars are not so pretty.  But if they remind us of His love and forgiveness, if they remind us of His grace and healing, then they can be  beautiful!


by 2 Comments

Meditating

Scripture for Today:  Psalms 77:11-12  “I shall remember the deeds of the Lord;  surely I will remember your wonders of old.  I will meditate on all Your work and muse on Your deeds.”

There are plenty of cows in our area of France.  But then for a country with so many varieties of cheese, it stands to reason they would be everywhere!  It is fun to hear  the cow bells clanging.  Sometimes I feel like I live in the setting of a novel.

These cows are eating but it will be a very long time before they are finished.  Chewing their cud seems to take forever.  Their hay and grass is brought up from their stomachs back to their mouths to be chewed again, and again!  Their food is not completely digested until it has been brought up 62 times!

Our verse today talks about remembering, meditating and musing on all of the Lord’s wondrous works.  Memories are short.  One can hear and read of the miracles the Lord has done and yet forget them entirely.  Meditating is like chewing cud.  The truths in Scripture need to be digested again and again before they have an impact on our lives.

There are plenty of moments in the day where my mind is inactive or on “pilot.”  It takes an effort of the will to turn my mind to spiritual things and ruminate on His goodness.  But what a blessing when I do!  If it takes the cow 62 times to digest something, I wonder how long I need to meditate on a verse for it to “stick!”  I have the feeling it is more than 62 times!  There are no loftier thoughts than thoughts of Him.  He is worthy of all my thoughts.

Lord, keep me meditating on You and Your Word throughout this day.


by Leave a comment

My Author

Scripture for Today:  Hebrews 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

We have way too many books in our home.  I am reminded of just how many every time we have to move.  We were fortunate enough this last move to have purchased extra bookshelves from a library that was renovating.  At least we can be organized.  I find it hard to ever throw away a book.  The collection just keeps growing.

In our verse today, Jesus is described as an author, the Author of our faith.  He is the One who creates and initiates.  He is also the Author of my personal faith.

As the Author of my faith, He wrote the introduction.  He planned exactly who I am, the family He wanted me to have, and the way I would come to Him in faith for salvation.  When I look at my past, I see all the ways He has used my circumstances for His glory and purposes.

As the Author of my faith, He has written the conclusion to it.  I already know the ending to my story.  It is not shrouded in mystery but revealed in His Word.  The ending to my story is a triumphal one where faith becomes sight and I will be with Him forever!

Right now, I am living the chapters in between.  This is the unknown part.  This is the part that can seem so uncertain.  Not only that, I want to tell Him what to write.  But as the Author of my faith, He is also its perfecter.  I can trust that He knows what He is doing with my life.


by 1 Comment

Our Hearts

Scripture for Today:  Jeremiah 17:9  “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

When I see the form of a heart, I sure do not think of wickedness.  I think of romance.  I think of love.  I think of passion.  It is a beautiful symbol of what I like to think of as the best in human nature.

In the Bible, the heart is the seat of all our emotions and of our will.  It is what motivates and drives us.  When our hearts are right, that is a good thing.  When our hearts are rebellious, we get ourselves in big trouble!

I have often been quite sure about what I have wanted.  Then, when I have managed to receive it, I find that I did not want it after all.  That makes me think of the dog who chases after a car.  He has no clue what to do with it once he catches up to it!

My heart deceives me.  It will convince me that I will never be happy until this or that circumstance changes.  My heart will tell me that I will never be satisfied until I have a certain something.  But I have seen that the anticipated fulfillment is just not there.  In fact, after getting what I wanted, I sometimes am more unhappy.

The only One who really knows my heart is the Lord.  He searches it and tries it.  As my Creator, He knows what I really want and what will really make me happy.  I do not even know.  I think I do, but I do not.  The world is quick to say, “Just follow your heart.”  Embracing that philosophy is a dangerous idea.  My heart is wicked, prideful and selfish.  Better that I follow His heart.


by 3 Comments

Tears

Scripture for Today:  Psalms 56:8  “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle.  Are they not in Your book?”

I could not resist buying this simple bottle at the thrift store the other day.  I enjoy decorating with blue, a trait passed on by my Mother.  It does not hold very much, but it is big enough for a single rose.

There is a bottle belonging to the Lord that holds a lot more.  The liquid it contains is not water but salty tears.  What a moving image this is in our verse today.  The Lord is aware of every tear drop.

King David had plenty of occasions to shed tears.  When he wrote this Psalm he was on the run for his life.  His enemies were constantly after him.  Apparently, real men DO cry.  But he was confident the Lord knew of his circumstances and his feelings.  When David cried out, he was reassured that God was with him and for him.

He sees my tears too.  Although this is poetic imagery, I like to think of Him saving every drop.  It shows me that I am precious to Him.  He even sees the unshed tears.  God’s awareness of my circumstances and emotions would be meaningless if He did not also care.  But He not only cares, He has the power to do something about it!

Like David, I want to give my tears to Him.  He consoles like no other.  He comforts.  He sees and understands.  Just like He did with David, He reassures me that He is on my side.  No other one can dry my tears like He can.  In fact, one day there will be no more tears.  That is because one day, He will wipe away ALL tears from my eyes.