Devotions By Jan


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The Narrows at Zion

Scripture for Today: Psalm 125:2 “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.”

The Narrows at Zion National Park are breathtaking!  We approached it from the bottom and only hiked a few miles in along the Virgin River.  The 16 mile hike is a wet one with a third of it done in the 45 degree water.  We were not quite that adventuresome.  But what impresses me most are the vertical sheer canyon walls soaring high above.  Surrounded by these majestic rock faces of the mountains, one cannot help but feel very small.

Our verse for today likens the love and protection of the Lord to surrounding mountains.  Jerusalem is not surrounded by a ring of peaks, but it is situated in a mountainous region.  God’s care is as constant and unmovable as mountains.  Those who trust in Him and His care are not shaken (verse 1) but are themselves like Mount Zion.

What a wonderful assurance to know that I am surrounded by God’s constant faithful love!  There is nowhere that I can turn that I cannot see it and feel it.  Like a ring of mountains, His love surrounds me.  He reminds me with every mountain view just how wide, long, high and deep His love is for me (Eph. 3:18).  He especially reminds me when I read His Word with His promises of love.

There is nothing I can do to remove those mountains far from my presence.  His love is too strong.  Nothing can separate me from that love.  My view of it may be blocked by the fog of my own waywardness and rebellion, but it continues on.  His love continues today, tomorrow and for eternity!

Lord, I need to feel your love surrounding, supporting and reassuring me today.


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The Right to Disconnect

Scripture for Today: Psalm 85:8 “I will listen to what God the Lord says; He promises peace to His people, His faithful servants – but let them not turn to folly.”

France has just passed a labor law that makes sending after-hour emails illegal between employer and employee!  The idea is to minimize work-related stress as technology often blurs the lines between personal and professional life.  Companies of over fifty employees are expected to comply.  I can understand the good intentions behind this law but can envision all kinds of complicated problems it can create too!  But the right to disconnect has its appeal.  When we leave work physically it would be nice to leave behind all thought of work as well.

Today’s verse is a declaration from David to listen to all that God says.  He connects listening to God’s voice with the peace of obedience and right relationship with Him.  This peace is promised to those who are faithful to obey Him.  But turning again to our own foolish ideas destroys that peace.  When we turn a deaf ear to His voice, we act like foolish sheep who get themselves into trouble.  We listen to the voice of our Shepherd so that we can follow His footsteps (John 10:27).

We all have the right to disconnect from God but it can be risky, especially after hours and on the weekends!  His voice keeps me out of trouble.  His voice keeps me from harm of my own making.  And His voice speaks peace to my soul.  He is so hard to hear sometimes with all the other voices clamoring for attention.  He is loud enough.  It is just that I am not quiet enough to wait and expect His voice.

Lord, I need to hear Your voice today.


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Broken Record

Scripture for Today: Luke 17:4 “Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

The phrase, ‘sounding like a broken record,’ probably has lost much of its meaning with the demise of vinyl records.  Of course, the record was not really broken when a word or phrase of a song repeated itself over and over.  It was usually a scratch or piece of debris causing the needle to get stuck.  But the phrase came to mean repeating one’s self.  This repetition devalues whatever is said, making it sound insincere.  The more one repeats one’s self, the more what is said sounds canned or contrived.

Today’s verse describes a similar scenario.  Someone who apologizes seven times within a twenty-four hour period loses credibility.  How could it not seem forced and artificial?  Yet, Jesus is saying that even so, we are to forgive.  Even more difficult is the idea that we are forgiving a brother or sister in the Lord (verse 3).  Our expectations of them are usually higher!  Jesus added to this challenge when He answered Peter’s question with the number 70×7 (Matt. 18:22).  The idea is that we are not even to count but always extend that forgiveness to those who ask.

What Jesus asks elicits the same response as that of His disciples, “Increase our faith!”  How else could I rise to this kind of challenge?  And yet, I so often ask the Lord to forgive me over and over, like that broken record.  And He does, every time.  He never withholds His pardon.  If He is so ready to give grace to me, then I need to extend that same grace to others.

Lord, help me to be as gracious to others as You are to me.


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Time Out

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 32:17 “The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever.”

All a mother wants is peace and quiet.  With lack of sleep and an overwhelming schedule, the last thing she wants to deal with is a toddler’s tantrum.  At least for a few minutes there is blessed peace and quiet as the sobs subside and the anger dissipates.  One can hope that those few moments in the corner will lead to some understanding of their bad behavior.  But at the very least, there is a break in the action and a chance to catch one’s breath!  Both toddler and mother can rediscover a sense of calm.

Today’s verse talks about a time when God’s Spirit is poured out on Israel.  It will be a time of peace and blessing.  There will no longer be strife and oppression because of the Lord reestablishing His justice.  The contrast is stark between life with His righteousness and life without it.  When His laws are obeyed, the “desert becomes a fertile field and the fertile field seems like a forest” (verse 15).  What a beautiful picture of how God wants life to be!

We long for peace but we do not seem to make that connection with righteousness.  Instead we connect peace to getting enough sleep, having the right environment or having our every wish fulfilled.  But peace is intricately linked to my obedience to Him.  When I follow His way, I can enjoy that sense of quietness and confidence.  I have that peace with God, not because I am perfect but because He makes me righteous through faith in His Son (Rom.3:22).  But I still need to have those “time outs” to think about following Him more closely!

Help me Lord, to experience Your peace today.


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Nasty Gopher!

lilian_darling@yahoo.com credit photographer

Scripture for Today: Ephesians3:17b-18 “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”

My Dad grew extensive gardens with award winning irises.  As an adult I can understand the war he had with gophers.  But as a young girl I was on their side.  I was horrified that Dad would run the hose through their burrows and flush them out with water.  When the root-eating rodent popped out my Dad would be ready with his shovel.  There are more humane methods to be rid of them.  But they sure are a menace to enjoying all those beautiful cared-for flowers.

Today’s verse talks about being rooted and established in God’s love.  Having roots is essential to grow in faith and enjoy good spiritual health.  But then there are those nasty gophers.  They burrow underneath where we cannot see them and gnaw on those roots.  We start to doubt His love.  Before long what is happening below the surface starts to be visible in the flower that droops.  God’s love has not changed but we are no longer drawing from it.

God’s love for me is wider, longer, higher and deeper than I can realize on my own.  I need His power to really grasp this truth.  But when I do, His love nourishes me and makes me strong.  When I live out the truth of His love, my faith and confidence flourish.  Those gophers do not have a chance to erode anything.  The Lord is so good to continually reassure me of His love.  Regardless of how I feel, His love is constant and true.

Thank you Lord, for holding me up with Your love.