Devotions By Jan


by Leave a comment

Chocolate Only Please

Scripture for Today: Ephesians 5:21-22  “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.”

My husband and I were having lunch with my French chorale group after a concert.  At that round table,  everyone was ordering the ice cream dessert, vanilla with chocolate sauce.  My husband, concerned about cost, told me we could get a cone later that night.  I was not happy as chocolate ice cream is my weakness.  As my husband left for the bathroom, others encouraged me to go ahead and order!  Thankfully, I resisted as they were out of the chocolate sauce and gave everyone strawberry instead.  Later that night I doubly enjoyed my chocolate ice cream cone!

Today’s verse tells us that we are to submit to others as a sign of reverence for Christ.  This submission is done reciprocally in a marriage but then wives are specifically addressed.  When a wife submits to her husband she is showing her love by respecting him (verse 33).  This submission is not unlike our submission to the Lord, also to show love and respect.  And just as the submission of Christ to the Father is a strength, so our submission is a show of strength and commitment to God’s plan.

The hardest part of submitting to my husband’s wishes that day was the public nature of it.  I was concerned that I would look like a weak push-over in front of the others.  But respecting my husband was more important than their opinion.  The Lord was so good to sweeten the experience that evening with what I really wanted.  And the added benefit was the sweetness in our relationship!

Lord, give me the strength to submit, showing my love for my husband and for You.

 


by Leave a comment

“Fomite”

Scripture for Today: Matthew 8:3 “Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ He said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately he was cleansed of his leprosy.”

There seems to be plenty of new-to-me phrases and words during this time of pandemic.  Fomite is one.  It refers to any inanimate object that can harbor germs and spread illness.  A fomite can be anything: a toy, an electronic device, a counter, a door handle or an elevator button, to name a few.  The fomite harbors the germs for a time, transmitting disease when we touch that object.  There are many creative but impractical ways to avoid directly touching anything.  Or one could just be diligent about hand-washing.

There is touch in  today’s verse.  And although what is touched is not inanimate, it was definitely unclean.  Leprosy was thought to be highly contagious and it was required of those who suffered from it to shout out, “unclean” so others would stay away and not get infected.  This man knelt in front of Jesus and affirmed his belief that the Lord could make him clean if He were willing.  Without any thought of contagion, Jesus reaches out His hand and gives him his healing touch.

I could not live without human touch.  And I could not have any kind of spiritual life without His touch.  Thankfully, God does not wait for me to “clean up my act” before I approach Him on bended knee.  If Jesus were unwilling to touch an unclean heart with His forgiveness, I would be lost.  He is pure and holy and yet He was willing to touch this unclean sinner.  By His touch He quickened to life what was spiritually dead in me.

Lord, how grateful I am for the power of Your cleansing healing touch!

 


by Leave a comment

Rosa Carte Blanche

Scripture for Today: Titus 2:12 “It (grace) teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,”

This beautiful rose did not grace our earth until its creation in 1982.  The rose begins as a dark pink bud, opening as a pale pink bloom and then fading to near white.  Its name, “Carte blanche” (blank page) was an idiom attributed to King Charles II of France.  He gave his workers a blank page with his signature, allowing them freedom as to how a task was completed.

Some may believe that grace gives us “carte blanche” to do what we please.  But today’s verse gives insight into the role grace plays in the life of a believer.  At the start, grace, or God’s unmerited favor, is how we are saved (Eph. 2:8-9).  But it does not stop there.  Grace continues to impact our lives, teaching us to say no to what is ungodly and worldly.  Grace, rather than give us carte blanche to do whatever we like, teaches us to be self-controlled.  Grace motivates believers to lead godly upright lives.  It is God’s favor that provides a way out of temptation (I Cor. 10:13).

His grace is greater than all my sin.  There is not a single sin that He is not willing to forgive!  But rather than presume on His grace, I want to live up to it.  I do not want His grace for me to be in vain.  He knows I blew it yesterday.  He knows I will blow it today.  His grace means that my relationship with Him continues.  I want to grow in grace (II Peter 3:18) and understand God’s grace (Col. 1:6) but I know it will be a life-long process.

Thank you Lord, that You show grace to me.

Photo Credit: Anna reg/CC BY-SA https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosa_Carte_Blanche.jpg

 

 

 

 

 


by Leave a comment

The Gecko

Scripture for Today: Deuteronomy 13:4 “It is the Lord your God you must follow, and Him you must revere. Keep His commandments and obey Him; serve Him and hold fast to Him.”

Meet our uninvited house guest!  He and all his friends even faithfully attended our small church in Taiwan one summer long ago! I didn’t mind the geckos as they ate all those nasty mosquitos and spiders.  And I will admit they were a welcomed entertainment during sermons in Taiwanese that I did not understand.  Their ability to scamper up walls and dart upside down across the ceilings had me worried, but holding on never seemed to be a problem!

Today’s verse tells us to hold fast to the Lord our God.  We hold fast to Him by refusing to follow any other god.  It is through revering Him, obeying Him and serving Him that we hold firmly to our faith.  Regardless of what the world around us does, we are to stay true to Him.  This charge was repeated by Joshua as his farewell message (Joshua 23:8).  He knew the people would feel the pressure from surrounding nations to worship false gods.  And he knew that the people would experience blessing and not discipline if they would hold fast to God.

Holding fast to God is a challenge in any century.  Resisting the surrounding culture takes firm resolve.  Those false gods of money, recognition, or influence can be enticing.  But when I am occupied with obeying His Word and serving Him, I am less inclined to let go of Him.  Just as God created the toe pads of the gecko to grip ceilings and walls, so He has created me to desire Him.  The Lord will not let me fall when I hold fast!

Lord, keep me faithful to You today.


by Leave a comment

Remote Control Mix-Up

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 37:5  “Commit your way to the Lord;  trust in Him and He will do this.”

This array of remote controls is impressive!  I cannot imagine trying to keep them all straight.  Seriously, I would probably mix them up to the point of inadvertently turning on or off the wrong thing.  Even with the few we have, I have been mixed up, pointing the fan remote at the television and wondering why nothing happened!  All these controls must give one a sense of command.  With voice recognition we can tell lights to come on or heating to turn off.  It is a powerful feeling to have the environment obey one’s every command!

Today’s verse teaches believers to give up control of our lives to the Lord.  There are plenty of things over which we have no control.  But for those things we do, we are to entrust even those to Him.  This is not a natural reaction to a problem.  In fact, in facing a difficulty beyond one’s control, the first inclination is to somehow find a sense of control.  But committing one’s way to the Lord is yielding it all to Him.  It is an intentional decision to allow the Lord His perfect way and to relinquish control.

My basic problem in yielding those controls to Him is a lack of trust.  Why ever do I think I can do a better job of it than He can?  Trusting in myself and my own limited understanding may keep control in my feeble hands but His way is always better.  Even when His way is difficult, I can trust that He knows what He is doing.  Nothing is random and I can be confident that He does have a plan.

Thank you, Lord, for your wise and loving control.