Devotions By Jan


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Forever 21

Scripture for Today: Psalm 119:96“To all perfection I see a limit but Your commands are boundless.” 

I have always been intrigued by the name of this store.  Would I want to be 21 forever?  Who does not want to turn back the clock and “re-do” the past, perhaps appreciating what once we took for granted?  But to be stuck at 21 without any chance at change or growth does not appeal.  To be any age forever would be to stagnate.  And of course this store is not forever, especially as they are considering filing for bankruptcy.

Of course, there are very few things in life that are forever.  But today’s verse tells us that God’s Word is eternal, not having the boundaries of time.  Everything else we can name has a limit and an end.  What man can come up with may seem perfect and complete.  But it will end.  In contrast, God’s Word has no limits.  It is broad, boundless and viable for every age.  And it is without end.  It will continue into eternity.  Not one letter or stroke of the pen will disappear before heaven and earth do! (Matt. 5:18)  God’s Word is forever, unlike anything we can touch on this earth.

Because His commands are boundless, they will always speak to my circumstances.  I cannot say that God’s Word does not have the answer in whatever dilemma I face.  His words are not bound by time OR by scope!  His words give wisdom, comfort and guidance to every challenge in my life.  No other book can do what God’s eternal word claims to do.  But how easily I am distracted by other voices.  Or I do not give His Word the time and study to find those answers.

Lord, keep me in Your boundless, relevant and eternal Word.

 

 

 


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Polaroid Photos

Scripture for Today: I John 3:2 “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

I am so glad that the polaroid instant photos have made a comeback!  Of course, with digital cameras one sees the picture immediately.  But there is something special about seeing the image slowly develop right before the eyes!  The anticipation is part of the fun and the convenient hard copy makes sharing easy.

Today’s verse tells us that we are slowly changing and developing.  Those who belong to God have Him as our Photographer.  He is slowly developing in us the image of His Son.  It is a long process lasting a lifetime.  But one day, the photograph will be completed and the clear image of Jesus will be seen in us.  We are not sure what that will look like but at the moment we see Jesus, the work will be finished!

I sometimes get impatient with this very slow process.  There are days where His image in me is clearer than in others.  But some days, the photograph is dark and fuzzy.  Those are the days I am not walking with Him.  He does not continue His developing work in me without my cooperation and obedience.  However, regardless of the rate of development, He has promised that one day His work will be complete (Phil. 1:6) and I will be like Him!  A more beautiful image will just not be possible!  What a fantastic hope this is!  When I think on this truth I am more motivated to cooperate with Him in obedience.

Lord, make me more like You today!


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Sandbar

Scripture for Today: Matthew 7:26 “But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.”  

It must be odd to walk on a sandbar, surrounded by water and yet staying dry.  There are many famous sandbars in our world, many of which are found in the Philippines.  But the Haulover Sandbar in Biscayne Bay, Florida, enjoyed some notoriety when a baby grand piano suddenly made its appearance!  It was a true mystery how it got there.  It turns out that it was an artistic photo shoot done by a young man for his school application!  Had the piano stayed there, it would have eventually sunk or been overtaken by water.

Today’s verse describes something just as ludicrous; constructing a house on sand.  Hearing God’s Word but not applying it makes the foundation of our lives as precarious as sand.  Jesus assures the listeners that the crash of that house is inevitable.  In contrast, those that DO put into practice God’s Word will enjoy stability as their foundation is solid Rock.

The sand can represent words of shifting cultural norms.  They are easier to follow but the result is ruin.  God’s Word is true and eternal, unaffected by what is modern or popular (Ps. 119:160).  Building my life on the objective truth of His Words does not happen just by knowing and quoting it.  I can study those words for a lifetime but if I do not obey them as authoritative, then that next storm may just bring me down.  His words are practical and speak to every area of my life.  Applying them is a question of humility to do things His way and not my own!

Lord, keep me off that sand!


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Pyramid at the Louvre

Scripture for Today:  Genesis 2:24  “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

The pyramid at the Louvre is breathtaking, especially at night when it mirrors soft lights from inside.  Since 1989, the very year we moved to France, the largest of the five pyramids has served as a spectacular entrance to the Louvre museum.  It is made up entirely of 673 diamond and triangular shaped glass panes and metal poles.  At 71 feet high and 11,000 square feet, its 95 tons of steel and 105 tons of aluminum have made this an impressive landmark!

Today’s verse teaches that God can take two entirely different people and make them one.  As the sides of a pyramid come from different directions but are joined at the top, so marriage is to unite a man and a woman, making them one. That line at the base represents our shared life.  Every marriage has that connecting line.  But for a marriage of two believers, there is the advantage of another path to closeness.  At the apex of the triangle is the Lord.  As each of us move closer to Him, we can grow closer to each other at the same time.

I never feel closer to my husband than when I hear him pouring out his heart to the Lord when we pray together.  I feel our oneness when we serve Him together in some way.  When we share our struggles with trusting Him, I feel this oneness.  When we admit our failures and together ask Him for forgiveness, I feel this oneness.  Over the last forty years I have seen us move up and down on that line towards the Lord.  But I can say with conviction that it is worth the effort!

Thank you, Lord, for making us one!


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Miracle Baby

Scripture for Today: Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.”

You may wonder why this sweet baby boy has dirt under his fingernails.  No, he was not playing in the dirt, but in the dirt is where authorities found him, loosely buried with sticks and soil in the forest.  The man who put him there was tripped out on drugs and felt the baby was too heavy to carry.  Thankfully, he was apprehended and the baby saved.  It was a true miracle that the baby was found and survived 40 degree temperatures for nine hours!

Today’s verse tells us that nothing is too hard for the Lord.  The great power of His outstretched arm has brought into existence the heavens and the earth.  Anything else would seem to take less effort!  Surely, if He can blanket our sky with stars and shake our earth at will, than there is no problem beyond His reach.  By seeing and appreciating His power in creation, we can be assured that absolutely nothing is too hard for Him!

Anything that is caused by the power of God is a “miracle.”  Sometimes, I put my own definition to the word.  Often I think of miracles only in terms of the visible and spectacular.  But even more astonishing than a healing that confounds doctors, or an accident that should have taken a life is the heart that is changed.  His power creates new clean hearts that love and obey Him.  To be able to let go and forgive someone who has done the unthinkable is a miracle!  His power has and continues to change me and it is all His doing!

Lord, help me to trust that nothing is too hard for You.