Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Grace and Forgiveness


by Leave a comment

Playing Checkers

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

The game of Checkers has been around a lot longer than this 1937 scene pictured here.  Checkers is thought to be the oldest game in the world dating back over 4,000 years!  According to inscriptions found in the temple of Thebes, Egyptian kings took time out from overseeing the construction of the pyramids to play checkers!  Lots of famous people have since had a fondness for the game including past presidents, noted scientists and popular sport heroes.  Whoever the player may be however, it is certain that they have a “checkered past.”

Today’s verse is a wonderful reassurance for all of us who regret those black squares that mark our past.   No one is immune from having that checkered past as all have sinned and fallen short (Romans 3:23).  But the Lord has promised a forgiveness and pardon that is complete.  He blots out every sin and chooses to not remember them.  He no longer holds against us all of our failures and disobedience.  Jesus took on Himself the punishment for each of those sins.

I would love to be able to “remember my sins no longer.”  But the memories remain.  And Satan loves to whisper in my ears his accusations.  Thankfully, God’s Word is full of reassurances of unconditional love and complete pardon.  The Lord graciously softens and blurs memories of past failures.  If guilty memories occasionally do reappear, He is there to build me back up.  If nothing else, those memories remind me that I am not perfect, but His forgiveness is!  When I remember a checkered past I can also remember that His grace is greater than all my sin!

Thank you Lord, for wiping out and forgetting my sin forever!


by 1 Comment

The Sorry Game

Scripture for Today: II Corinthians 7:9 “Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended…”

I grew up with this board game and although it has gone through some revisions, it is still enjoyed today.  The idea was to get around the board first, usually by impeding the progress of others.  As the youngest in my family I often felt put upon and would relish my revenge by landing on an opponent and sending them home.  That most feared “sorry card” allowed a player to go directly to any occupied space and knock them off.  The expected “sorry”  spoken would of course sound hollow and insincere.  I was never really sorry!

Today’s verse talks about being sorry.  Sorrow for sin is something that God intended us to feel.  Sorrow is even called “godly sorrow” when it leads to repentance.  And of course, this repentance is heartfelt and not just lip service.  God sees into our hearts and responds with forgiveness and cleansing when we come clean with Him.  Trying to ignoring that sorrow and shame can be destructive as it can lingers on, even for a life time.  His forgiveness and grace allows us to lift our head again.

Being sorry is not enough if it does not lead me to fall on my knees and repent.  It is in repenting that I can turn my back on that sin.  That second step is where I find not only His forgiveness but a new start.  If I am only sorry I will probably be sorry again over the same thing.  He wants to give me victory over sin.  He lifts that burden of sorrow and makes my heart light again!

Thank you Lord, for erasing my sorrow.


by Leave a comment

Banana Peels

Scripture for Today: Romans 9:32 “…they pursued it (righteousness) not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.”

It is no laughing matter to slip on a banana peel!  However, it was the stuff of comedy routines in the early 1900’s Vaudeville stage.  This form of physical humor even appeared in the early silent films.  But it used to be much more of a hazard when it was common to throw one’s garbage out a window in the mid 1800’s.  Even as late as 1880 the public was admonished in the Harper’s Weekly about this slime-covered booby trap.  Just seven years ago a woman in California sued a store after allegedly falling and injuring herself on a peel left in the aisle.

People are stumbling in our verse for today.  They are stumbling over the stumbling stone, who is Jesus Christ.  Rather than obtaining a righteousness that is to come by faith in Him, law-followers put their trust in their own efforts at righteousness.  Our right standing with God is given through faith in Jesus Christ whether Jew or Gentile (Romans 3:22).  Unfortunately, there will always be those who feel it is their own efforts and works that save.  They stumble over the Truth but keep walking, doing things their own way.

With that same attitude I am at risk to slip and fall.  I have no righteousness of my own.  I cannot earn my way to Heaven or earn His favor and blessing!  He gives freely what I can never deserve.  It is my pride talking when I entertain even a whisper of self-congratulation.  He knows my every motive and thought and I know I cannot be righteous apart from Him.  It is all grace.

Thank you Lord, for the right standing You have given me!

 


by Leave a comment

Covering My Cracks

Scripture for Today: Psalm 32:5 “Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.’ And You forgave the guilt of  my sin.”

All is not lost with a cracked bowl.  The hairline crack on this one was deftly hidden by the painted design incorporating it.  An honest pottery merchant would label this piece as a “second” or “third”  because of the defect.  An unscrupulous pottery merchant might fill in the crack with wax, paint over it and try to pass it off as perfect.  The customer would be none the wiser, at least at first.  Eventually, the defect would be apparent.

Today’s verse is a great example of coming clean with the Lord.  King David recognized that some of his physical ailments could be attributed to keeping silent about his sin (verses 3-4).  When he acknowledged and confessed his wrongdoing he experienced God’s forgiveness, not only for his sin but also for his sense of guilt.  David understood that by having a deceitful spirit with God one would be forfeiting His blessing (verse 2).  He ends this psalm in joy and singing having reestablished his relationship with God.

When I am not honest with God, I am like that cracked pottery trying to pass myself off as perfect!  But the healing of those cracks can only come when I come clean with Him.  What keeps me from  humbling myself is my own stubborn pride.  It is much easier to ignore my sin and pretend everything is fine.  But before long, the cracks become apparent and my excuses no longer hold water.  I know He will restore to me that joy of salvation if I own up instead of cover up!

Lord, thank you for the forgiveness You so freely give!


by Leave a comment

Walking Backwards?

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 38:17 “Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In Your love You kept me from the pit of destruction; You have put all my sins behind Your back.”

Nothing stops a person so completely in their tracks than a muscle cramp!  The pain, though temporary, can be so intense and feels like it will last forever!  That involuntary contraction in the calf is incredibly strong and the only relief seems to be in massaging and stretching.  However, some have found that walking backwards is a good way to relieve the pain.

Our suffering may stop us in our tracks.  Like King Hezekiah, sometimes all we can do is turn our head to the wall and cry.  Today’s verse was written by King Hezekiah after his illness and recovery.  He acknowledges that there was benefit in his suffering.  He learned humility (verse 15) as a result of the “anguish of his soul.”  He understood that the Lord acted out of love and not malice towards him.  That suffering was used to save him from destruction.

Suffering in any form can shake my faith to its core.  When I do not see the outcome I want, the suffering can well transform itself into an anguish of the soul.  It is too easy for me to doubt God’s love and wonder if He really cares.  But God always acts out of love for His own.  He works that suffering into a benefit that is of eternal value although I may not always see it.   The ultimate suffering would be to spend eternity without Him.  I can never really doubt His love because He spared me that suffering when He forgave my sins.

Thank you Lord, for sparing me from the worse kind of suffering!