Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Holiness


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Waiting for the Bus!

Scripture for Today: Psalm 119:176 “I have strayed like a lost sheep.  Seek Your servant for I have not forgotten Your commands.”

I cannot even imagine what these sheep are thinking! Are they just trying to stay dry? If so, where is their shepherd? And the rest of the flock is no where in sight. Perhaps in their sheep brains they are thinking they have a better smarter idea than any of the other sheep. After all, they are calm comfortable and enjoying their shelter there in the countryside of Ireland. And what will they do when that noisy lumbering bus pulls up? Perhaps scatter in fear.

Today’s verse is the last verse of the longest psalm. The author, even though he has tremendous love and respect for God’s commands, still has a problem always following them. Like Paul, even knowing what is right to do does not always mean we do it! (Romans 7:18-21) After so many verses extolling and exalting God’s precepts, this author ends with a cry for help. He confesses his weakness and closes with a heartfelt prayer.

I have always wondered about this long psalm exalting and loving God’s Law so much. And yet the author is made of the same stuff I am, recognizing God’s commands as right and just and yet straying from them. I do the same thing when I think I have a better idea. I can so easily agree with a Biblical precept and then somehow excuse myself from following it. Thankfully when I stray, my Shepherd has that rod and staff to pull me back to where I should be: in the green pastures and beside still waters!

Lord, don’t let me stray today! 


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A Margin of Error

Scripture for Today: Ecclesiastes 7:20 “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”

It is complicated to calculate margin of error, at least to those who do not have strong math skills! This concept in statistics expresses the amount of random variation underlying a survey’s results. In principle, the larger the sample is, the smaller the margin of error is. The other important factor is the confidence level, whether 90, 95 or 99%. There are also other sources of error that come into play; bias in the questions, excluding groups that could not be contacted, people refusing to respond, people lying or miscounting.

In today’s verse there is absolutely no margin of error! The sample is the largest it can be: earth’s entire population. Added to this fact is the veracity of God’s Word. Paul affirms this statement when quoting Psalm 14:1-3, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Rom. 3:11) God’s standards of righteousness are well above man’s. God looks down from Heaven on all mankind. (Ps. 53:1-3) And if it were not for the grace He showed when taking on Himself the punishment of our sins on the cross, there would be no hope of forgiveness or of eternal life with Him.

No. There is no error at all in what God declares is true. I have a confidence level of 100% because God said it. There is not a person on this planet (myself included) that can merit eternal life. No one can slide in as part of some forgotten percentage. God does not grade on a curve. His standard is holiness and I am woefully short. Thankfully, He has given me not only abundant grace but also the righteousness of His Son! (Rom. 5:17)

Thank you Lord, that there are no margins of error needed in what You say!

(Look familiar? This is a repost from 2020)


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Suddenly Sightless!

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

I can just imagine the surprise this pigeon must have felt! He’s minding his own business when all of a sudden he can’t see a thing. As I am not a fan of pigeons I can’t feel too sorry for him. But he must have felt a bit lost and disorientated. With his little bird brain I wonder how long it took for him to figure it all out. Maybe he panicked and just waited for the next gust of wind to clear his vision.

Today’s verse is a prayer that God would open the eyes to see what is wonderful in God’s law. Our eyes can miss what is positive in God’s commandments. Those wonders can easily escape us. We need God’s Spirit to clear our vision to see God’s law differently. This entire psalm goes on to extol and praise His 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 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. There is a rebel inside of me that doesn’t like to be told what to do and what not to do. My eyes need to be opened! I want to see those same wonders in His law, especially the comfort and blessing! God’s law is given with love and with a 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!

Open my eyes today, Lord.


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Fridgescaping

Scripture for Today: I Samuel 16:7b “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart.”

There is landscaping or hardscaping or even tablescaping. But fridgescaping? Apparently this is the newest trend; to decorate the inside of your refrigerator! The refrigerator pictured here was put together with thoughtful care to achieve this look. Some people add to their shelves fresh flowers, fairy lights and picture frames. Of course, to admire your handiwork would require standing there with the door open, losing energy! What does your refrigerator say about you?

Today’s verse reminds us that God sees differently than man. We are concerned about image, whether it be clothes that make the man or decor that makes the refrigerator. But God sees beyond these distractions to the heart. David, the youngest of eight, was God’s choice to be anointed as King of Israel. Even though his brothers were older and taller, David, coming in from caring for the sheep and probably not smelling so good, was God’s choice as his heart was right.

It is so much easier to work on my image and a good impression than the real work of cleaning up the inside. But it does not matter so much what people think of me. The most important opinion is what God thinks, what He sees and what He knows about my heart. It is not a scary thought that He sees so much, only because I belong to Him and know His wonderful forgiveness. He goes right past those fresh flowers to the rotting vegetables in the drawer and lovingly and thoroughly cleans and forgives.

Thank you Lord, for making my heart clean.


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Hedgehog Held Hostage!

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 11:6 “The righteousness of the upright delivers them, but the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.”

A friend from our French church recently posted this picture asking for advice from the other church members. At first I didn’t know what it was I was seeing. But as I read his story it became clear that I was looking at a hedgehog. We had them roam our yard in France quite often as they lived under our house. But this one somehow got caught in the family’s badminton net. It seems that the spines on his back caught on the netting, trapping him until he was carefully and gingerly freed!

Today’s verse describes someone who is trapped: the unfaithful. His entrapment is the direct result of his evil desires. He is brought down by his own wickedness. (verse 5) What a contrast this is to the righteous one! His righteousness makes his paths straight. (verse 5) He is delivered from that sticky situation and rescued from trouble. (verse 8) The faithful righteous one will not suffer those added trials of life brought about by evil greedy desires. Instead, those who are in right standing with the Lord will have different desires, desires to please and obey the Lord.

My desires are not always very righteous! And to apply the term, “righteous” to me makes me squirm a bit as I know my heart! Thankfully, God has credited to me His righteousness because of my faith in Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection. (Romans 4:23-25) The Lord has my back even if (or when!) I make a mess of things! He delivers me. He lifts me back up and dusts me off when I fall. And when I desire Him above every other desire, I find myself on straighter paths and less likely to fall!

Thank you Lord, for Your faithfulness to me!