Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Devotions


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Finders Keepers?

Scripture for Today: Romans 3:23-24 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Would you return a lost wallet?  That was the question researchers explored in a three-year study.  They placed 17,303 wallets with varying amounts of cash in 355 cities worldwide.  Besides the cash, each wallet had only a name and an email address.  Their findings were surprising.  More people returned the wallets with larger amounts than those with the smaller amounts!  One explanation given was that it felt more like stealing with the larger amounts of cash.  The conscience was not quite as bothered keeping the smaller amounts.

Today’s verse does not differentiate between “small” sins and large.  It does not address whether one feels like a sinner or not.  Just as the image is black and white, there are moral absolutes when it comes to God’s laws.  And the bad news is that all of humanity falls short of the perfect standards of a holy God.  But the good news is that the same “all” who blow it are offered His grace.  Because of the redemption that came through Christ, we can have right standing before God.

I am included in that first “all.”  But I cannot be included in the next “all” until I confess and come clean with Him.  My pride keeps me from admitting my guilt.  I am an expert at diminishing and rationalizing my behaviors and attitudes.  It is easy to do when I compare myself with some others and come out “smelling like a rose.”  But when I compare myself to His perfection, I no longer smell so good.  He waits for me to be honest and humble with Him about my wrongdoing.

Thank you Lord, for freely forgiving me.


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Big-Hearted Giraffe

Scripture for Today: John 5:39-40 “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.”

How regal the giraffe stands!  Being the tallest of the land animals between 14 and 19 feet, these stately animals have to have strong hearts.  And they do!  Their two-foot-long heart is equal to 50 human hearts!  The giraffe’s exceptional twenty-five pound heart is able to pump blood where it belongs.  Being that their necks are six feet long, their blood pressure is two times stronger than other animals in order to push that blood all the way from heart to head.

Jesus’ reprimand to the Pharisees in today’s verse addresses the distance between heart and head.  These men were admirably using their heads, searching out the Scriptures.  But unfortunately, they were missing the point.  They closed their minds to the truth that the Scriptures were pointing to Jesus as the Messiah and they refused to come to Him.  Their hearts were not involved.   And rather than come to Jesus for the life He promised, they preferred to continue searching the Scripture apart from Jesus Christ.

It is said there are 18 inches between a human’s head and heart.  That is a long distance in the spiritual realm.  One can agree to spiritual truth intellectually without that truth ever touching the heart.  My own experience bears this out as I can agree in my head that God’s way is best and at the same time stubbornly follow my own!  Jesus understands how I am made and so commands me to love Him with all my heart, soul, and mind (Matt. 22:27).  He wants all of me!

Lord, make my heart soft and obedient to all that You have taught me.


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Day of Remembrance

Scripture for Today: I John 4:10 “This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Memorial Day is a special day of remembrance, honoring  those who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.  The soldier who lies in this grave is no exception even though his remains could not be identified.  His name is not recorded but his sacrifice is commemorated even so.  On this day we want to remember the incredible price paid by all the fallen, named or unnamed.

Today’s verse speaks of another sacrifice, one made to secure our freedom from the power and curse of sin.  He has won the battle over evil and darkness forever.  His name is known and has been for centuries.  The name of Jesus is a polarizing one that has provoked hate, division and rebellion as well as love, unity and submission.  His sacrifice to secure for us a future in Heaven was done out of love.  And His love is the supreme example of a life-changing sacrificial love.

I remember Christ’s sacrifice not only on Good Friday and when taking communion, but hopefully everyday.  I sometimes  forget though how costly His sacrifice was.  It was not only physical pain that Jesus endured but the incredible pain of separation from the Father.  It was the first time in all of eternity that God turned away from His Son.  And it was because of my sin.  Jesus suffered that separation from God so I would not have to.  His sacrifice is proof positive of His love for me!  Every time I think on it I am overwhelmed with gratitude and a desire to make His name known!

Lord, remind me of Your sacrifice every day.

 


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Coxswain Rowing

Scripture for Today: Colossians 2:19  “They have lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.”

As I look out the window at Buzzard’s Bay I see the rowing teams practicing from the nearby private academy.  The only one who seems to know where the boat is going is the coxswain who sits in the stern facing the bow.  This member of the team does not row but his role is crucial.  It is only with his specific calls that the rowers can make any progress.  He is responsible for steering the boat and for coordinating the power and rhythm of the rowers.  Without him, there is no unity.

Today’s verse speaks of the Church as a body with a head.  That Head is Christ (Col. 1:18).  If we lose our connection with Him we have lost the ability to work together.  We each have a role to play as members of this body, and there is no growth without Him.  He is the One who directs and leads.  He is the One who steers us in the right direction.  He has the same call for all of us and that is to glorify Him.

There is a temptation to think I am really something!  I may think I know a better way to move forward.  But with this attitude I lose connection with the Lord and I lose connection with other members.  That is because it is Christ who holds us together.  He sees where I am going but asks me to operate by faith and trust Him.  When I am listening for His calls I find unity with other believers doing the same thing!

Thank you Lord, for the progress You make possible!

 


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Measuring Tape

Scripture for Today:  I John 2:21  “I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth.”

We have several measuring tapes around the house.  They never seem to be at hand when needed.  Instead they are hiding out in the most inconvenient place in the house.  They must change places behind my back.  In my Sunday School class I handed out home-made rulers.  One was correct, but the others were off in some small way.  When I asked the children to measure the same object, they each came up with different results.  The arguments that followed were lively and comical!  Before they came to blows I stepped in to explain how the measures they used were different from each other.

Today’s verse talks about truth as if it were indeed an absolute and not up for individual interpretation.  One can know and discern what is true and what is not true.  Just as there was only one ruler with a true standard, so there is objective truth and not contradictory ones, even in the spiritual realm.  This way of thinking is so contrary to today’s prevailing thought that what is true depends on one’s point of view and experience.

“What is truth?” was the question Pilate posed to Jesus.  And His response?  “Everyone who is of the Truth hears My voice.”  (John 18:38)  I can be confident that hearing His voice is hearing truth.  The lies of the Deceiver are designed to restrict and bind me but His truth, found in His Word, sets me free (John 8:32).  I am to intentionally set my mind on truth. (Phil.4:8).  I do not want to waste mental energy on anything less!

Thank you Lord, that You are truth.