Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Holiness


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Garlands

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 4:9 “She (wisdom) will give you a garland to grace your head and present you with a glorious crown.”

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What woman does not feel more beautiful with a flower garland on her head? Even as little girls, we play with field flowers, making chains and placing them on our heads. We pretend we are princesses and prance around feeling special. There does seem to be something royal about a garland on the head as it can resemble a tiara. The bridal industry understands this and there is quite a wide choice of flower garlands for the big day.

Today’s verse describes wisdom as being that garland or crown. Wisdom in a life makes it beautiful and graceful. Wisdom, or skillful living, even brightens the face and changes its hard appearance! (Eccl. 8:1) More important than physical beauty, a wise life exudes a loveliness and grace that does not diminish with time. And that wisdom is found in obeying and loving His Word. It is the Lord who gives this wisdom as knowledge and understanding come directly from His mouth (Prov. 2:6)

Like Eve, I can desire wisdom but look in the wrong place for it (Gen. 3:6). Just because something looks good and pleases the eye does not mean it will make me wise. A life marked by wisdom will be a life that makes right choices. And I cannot discern which choices are right without God’s Word telling me exactly what they are! He is my source of wisdom, helping me lead a life without the complications and sorrow of sin. Obedience to my Creator is wise living that creates for me grace and glory!

Lord, grace my head with Your wisdom today.

(Look familiar? This is a repost from 2014)


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Cat Snake

Scripture for Today: Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

Meet just one of the 35 different species of the Cat Snake! There is quite a variety among them in both appearance and habitat. Some are black with bright yellow bands. Other species are brown or tan, often with dark mottling. Some species live in tropical rainforest and swamps, while others live in grasslands and woodlands. Like many cats, the Cat Snake likes to hunt at night. But its name comes from their cat-like eyes with their vertical elliptical pupils! If I thought those thin oddly-shaped pupils wouldn’t see much, I would be wrong!

Today’s verse describes eyes that are opened to see more than most; wonderful things in God’s law. Our eyes can miss what is positive in God’s commandments. Those wonders can easily escape us. This verse is a prayer that God would open spiritual eyes to see God’s law differently. This entire psalm goes on to extol and praise God’s law. The author’s eyes have been opened to see a long list of wonderful things: blessing, purity, delight, strength, understanding, knowledge, good judgement, freedom and comfort, to name just a few!  God certainly answered the author’s prayer.

I do not often feel this way about God’s law. Instead of seeing “wonderful things,” in His law, I sometimes see it as negative and restrictive. My eyes need to be opened. I want to see those same wonders in His law, especially the comfort and blessing. And how wonderful His law must be to actually give freedom! God’s law is given with love and with the desire to make life work for me. I need my eyes open to explore and discover how God wants me to live and to see it as wonderful!

Lord, open my eyes today.


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Snow Monkey

Scripture for Today: Revelation 3:15 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other.”

This Japanese macaque or snow monkey looks almost asleep as she enjoys the warmth of the hot springs. These volcanic pools or “onsens” can reach 100 degrees fahrenheit at Hell’s Valley or Honshu, Japan. This boiling water bubbles up from frozen snow-covered ground due to volcanic activity underneath. What a contrast with the bitter cold of this alpine environment! No other primate is more northern living nor lives in a colder climate!

Believers were neither hot nor cold in today’s verse. The Lord is rebuking the church of Laodicea out of love. (verse 19) These believers were doing good deeds. But something was wrong. They were not done with any kind of passion. Perhaps they were showing kindness and giving to others out of habit or a sense of obligation. However, the Lord sees the heart and the motivation. And like the good works that prove to be wood, hay and straw rather than gold, silver and costly stones, there is a marked difference (I Cor. 3:12-13) The Lord asks them to repent and be earnest.

The difficult question I ask myself is whether I am being earnest. No one else can know the answer as it is a matter of the heart. Frankly, the good I may do for someone else may be tainted with thoughts of self aggrandizement or reciprocal expectations. When my thoughts of “I should help” outweigh my thoughts of “I want to help” than perhaps I am being lukewarm. The only way I know to be passionate in serving Him is to continually connect to the Vine and have that fruit naturally flow from my relationship with Him!

Lord, keep me earnest today.


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Protecting Vines

Scripture for Today: John 15:1-2 “I (Jesus) am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is frozen_vineyard_in_luxembourg.jpeg
Mya, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

France is experiencing record lows late in the season. Drastic action is being taken to keep those vines from freezing. This includes lighting fires and “crop candles” in an effort to raise the temperature. Some vinedressers even concoct a special herb tea infusion for the vines! Giant fans and helicopters are used to pull warmer air from higher up, pushing it toward the ground.

Today’s verses describes some drastic action as well. God is the gardener or vinedresser for His true vine; His Son, Jesus. Believers are the branches that need special care to be fruitful. Not only do we as the branches need to stay connected to our Vine but we are worked on by our Vinedresser to be fruitful. Some branches are cut off because they produce absolutely no fruit, completely missing their reason to be! Others produce fruit but need His pruning and cleaning to produce more and better fruit for Him.

I would rather have His care, even if it involves drastic measures, than to completely miss my purpose! Being pruned is not a comfortable experience. But I know my Father’s discipline is not a punishment as my sins are paid for on the cross. His discipline is a teaching moment and always done with love and for my benefit. He turns around the freezing temperatures of indifference or pride in my life. With His care, I can look forward to my service becoming more and better fruit!

Lord, thank you for Your loving care.


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National No Housework Day

Psalm 51:2-3 “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.”

Did you know this is National No Housework Day? Apparently the cat on the chair does and perhaps the other cat on the table does too! They are totally unconcerned about the clutter! This certainly seems like a busy household with shoes scattered, clothes hanging out, and laundry to be put away. What is puzzling is that water can under the table. I am sure anyone dropping in at my house would find something puzzling as well! But on this day of no housework, washing and cleaning take a back seat!

Today’s verse is all about a washing and cleansing that really has no day off! This verse is a prayer of David’s after his sin with Bathsheba. He asks God for mercy and compassion to blot out what he had done (vs 1). David does not minimize his sin. Because of his feelings of guilt, his sin is always before him (vs 3). Yet he understands that God’s cleansing can make his heart whiter than snow (vs 7) and that God’s washing will give him a pure heart!

What a patient and forgiving God I have! Because of Christ and His sacrifice for my sin, I can humbly come to Him for His cleansing and know that He will not send me away. There is no limit to His forgiveness. He is faithful and just to forgive my sin (I John 1:9) and that faithfulness He shows me reaches to the skies! (Ps. 36:5) With His promise of complete forgiveness, I can start over again and again with a light pure heart!

Thank you Lord, that You are faithful to forgive me.

Photo Cedit Leonora Enking at https://www.flickr.com/photos/33037982@N04/