Devotions By Jan


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Ultimate Sacrifice

Scripture for Today: Mark 12:33 “To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important that ALL burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Today on this Memorial Day we remember the ultimate sacrifice made by so many soldiers who gave their lives for our freedoms.  If it were not for their willingness to put their lives on the line, we would not be enjoying the rights and privileges that we do.  To honor their sacrifice is only right as we are the beneficiaries of their selfless acts of bravery.

Today’s verse talks about a sacrifice that is living.  This sacrifice puts to death one’s own rights and privileges in honor of the One who made the ultimate sacrifice for us.  Christ died to free us from the penalty of our own sin.  And in response to His incredible sacrifice of love, we give Him all of our heart and strength.  Like David, our sacrifice to Him in return is a broken and contrite heart (Ps. 51:17).  And in loving response to His ultimate sacrifice, our bodies become a living sacrifice, living out His good, pleasing and perfect will (Rom. 12:1-2).

To live for His pleasure and to die to my own selfish desires is a constant battle.  Yet, it is what He asks of me as His child.  He is worthy of any and all sacrifice.  And when I compare my small struggles with what He went through for me, well, there is no comparison!  Because of His ultimate sacrifice of love, He has every right to demand “my soul, my life, my all.”   He has my soul.  He even has my life.  It is that “all” part that can be so difficult sometimes.

Lord, help me to surrender all!


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Gorilla Prayers

Scripture for Today: Psalm 84:2 “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”

If this gorilla is really praying, I wonder what his request might be.  Perhaps he is praying for a mate!  Could he be praying for freedom from his zoo habitat?  Maybe he is praying for something special for his next meal.  It seems ludicrous that any animal would pray.  Their needs are simple both physically and emotionally and there does not seem to be any awareness of a spiritual realm.

Today’s verse puts a finger on exactly what separates us from animals.  An animal, even if one argued that he had a soul, does not yearn for the Lord.  His heart and flesh do not cry out to the living God.   The longing for a relationship with the God of the universe is something beyond their capacity.  But for man, it is exactly why we were created.  God Himself put the idea and longing for eternity in the human heart (Eccl. 3:11).  We are made to cry out for Him in our innermost being.  Even just one day in His presence is better than one thousand days elsewhere (verse 10).

The Lord fills and completes me.  It is my communion with Him that enriches my very existence.  When my relationship with Him is interrupted by my own wandering or indifference, it does not take long to sense that something is missing.  Feeling that lack, I cry out to Him for reassurance that He is there and that He still loves me.  He always answers.  And somehow, I am more human when I am connected to my Creator.  The yearning is satisfied and it is “well with my soul.”

Thank you Lord, for completing me.


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Cupcake

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 119: 97 “Oh how I love Your Law.  I meditate on it all day long.”

This bunny reminds me of the one we used to have in Grenoble.   Cupcake had a beautiful long-haired coat and would sit on our laps like a cat.  But he was a bit of a free spirit too.  We would allow him to roam the enclosed back yard.  The problem was that every time we opened the door to the detached garage, he would make a run for it!  In his little bunny brain he was sure that freedom lay just beyond that door!  One day he made it and we never saw him again.  I sometimes wonder if it was a car on that street or a hawk from the mountains above us that did him in!

Today’s verse expresses love for God’s Law.  This is not the usual sentiment when thinking about law.  One can understand feeling respect but love seems a bit extreme.  However, God’s Law makes one wise, gives understanding and insight and keeps us from evil.  God’s Law gives us boundaries for our protection.  Unfortunately, we tend to constantly push at those boundaries, not understanding that they are there for our protection.

My independent spirit is SO strong!  I do not enjoy anyone telling me what I can or cannot do.  There’s a rebel lurking inside of me!  I want my own way, even if that way leads to ruin and despair.  My Creator must just shake His head at me when I am as foolish as Cupcake was.  His Law is really another expression of His loving care for me.  His arms are the Law that enclose me.  When I obey Him our communion is sweet.  Loving His Law is part of loving Him.

Lord, change my heart to love Your Law.


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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.

 


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“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!