Devotions By Jan


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Sleeping Security

starbucks-security-guard-sleeping-on-duty-videoScripture for Today: Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

I had to smile at this security guard asleep on the job.  He even has a cup of coffee in his hand, but his fatigue got the best of him!  Perhaps if he were standing instead of sitting, he could have stayed alert.  It seems unusual to post a guard at a Starbucks but perhaps this particular site was losing money from shoplifters.  With the security guard asleep on the job, there could have been all kinds of shoplifting without any consequences.  I would be surprised if this guard kept his job.

Our verse for today talks about the task of guarding our hearts.  It needs guarding as from it comes everything we think and do.  We guard our hearts because it is the center of our being, determining all of our choices and lifestyles.  For that reason, we guard what enters and we guard what comes out.

I would like to think that my mind is the source of everything I do.  My mind seems to be more easily controlled.  It can be taught, enlightened and stretched with new information.  Logic in decision making seems to make sense of what I do.  However, it never seems to work that way.  My head will say one thing and my heart quite another.  Emotions cloud the issue and veer me off course.  Somehow, knowing the best path does not always ensure that I take it.  My heart moves me in another direction.  Rather than trust my deceitful heart (Jer. 17:9) I need to guard it from betraying me.

Lord, I want to belong entirely to You.  Keep me awake and alert so that all that flows from my heart pleases You.


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Wedding Jewelry

bride-wearing-chinese-green-jade-necklaceScripture for Today: Isaiah 61:10 “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

This radiant bride reminded me of my own wedding day.  There were a few surprises marrying into a Chinese family.  An unexpected gift of jade was given me by my new Chinese Grandmother-in-law just after the ceremony.  She saw that I wore it right away with my wedding dress.  Jade is traditionally thought to ward off evil spirits and keep the couple safe on the wedding day.  This stone is historically thought to be royal, representing virtue, purity and righteousness.

Our verse for today brings all kinds of images to mind.  As believers we are clothed in the Lord’s righteousness.  The material is pure dazzling white because of the forgiveness we receive by faith.  As the Church, we are the Bride of Christ.  We are purified and presented to Him without spot or wrinkle.  We are glorious, set apart in a love relationship with Him (Eph. 5:27).  As if that were not enough, we are adorned with jewelry on that beautiful day that begins our eternity with Him!

My own efforts at righteousness are regarded as filthy rags (Is. 64:6).  They are as ineffectual as jade in truly making me virtuous or pure.  But the jewels I wear on that day will, like righteousness, be a gift of grace from His hand.  Jade will not make me royal either, but being a child of the King does!

What a day that will be!  Today I can “delight greatly” in just the thought of what is to come!  His salvation and righteousness make me beautiful!

 


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Screen Door

screenunnamedScripture for Today: Romans 12:9 “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”

For twenty five years I lived without screens.  The French feel it ruins the appearance of a door or window.  But I love our screen door!  It brings in the light and the sunshine and helps me feel connected to the neighbors.  With it open, we can capture the breeze and keep the air fresh.  I especially like screening out the insects.  Unfortunately, in this older house the screen does not fit exactly to the frame.  There are gaps at the bottom and the top.  Some of those nasty insects still get through.

In our verse for today we are to screen out what is evil and only allow in what is good.  In that way our love for others is sincere.  A wide open door can allow a love in that is not sincere but tainted with evil.  Those little bothersome insects of selfishness come through making our love less sincere.  One can open wide the door for love to enter but allow entrance as well to all kinds of questionable thoughts and actions in the name of love.

A love that is sincere and without evil is described in I Corinthians 13:4-7.  This picture of true love has little resemblance to what is around me.  I need to screen out impatience, selfishness, pride, envy and an unforgiving spirit.  I need to open the door wide and cling to faithfulness, speaking truth and showing honor.  God’s Word tells me how to view love.  God’s Word tells me when love is sincere.  Without His Word, I would not be able to discern what is truly good and sincere.

Thank you Lord, for love that is sincere and good.  Give me wisdom to screen everything else out!

 


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Hummingbird

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 119:103-104 “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.”

I love watching hummingbirds!  They are so tiny and colorful and the speed at which they dart around fascinates me!  They flap their wings about 50 times a second so that all one sees is a blur.  Hummingbirds can fly up to 34 mph and can even fly backwards.  Pictured here is the “sword-billed” hummingbird whose bill is longer than its body!  In the higher elevations of South America, he can dig deep into the “corollas” of the flower to reach that sweet nectar.  He hovers there until he has had his fill.

Today’s verse describes God’s Word as being sweet to the taste.  What the Lord communicates to my heart is sweeter than honey or the nectar from a flower.  His Word is His love letter to me.  Even the commands and warnings are there because He cares about me and wants the best for me.  Loving His Word makes me wary of any wrong path that takes me away from Him.  Understanding and wisdom for living are found in its pages.  His companionship is felt through those promises and words of love.

Sometimes reading and studying His Word is difficult.  Time presses and the day quickly fills with obligations and distractions.  Rather than darting off to the next thing, I need to take the time and “hover” there at the source of all that sweetness.  Sometimes the meaning of a verse is not so clear.  It is at that time I need a longer bill to dig deep.  The effort is always worth the sweetness I find!

Lord, keep my mouth full of the sweetness of Your Word.

 

 

 


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Surprised!

horseunnamedScripture for Today: I Peter 4:12 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.”

On a recent horseback riding adventure, my husband got the “privilege” of riding the unpredictable one!  This unruly horse would bolt and even nudge mine, causing my horse to kick back at him.  Unfortunately, he missed, kicking my husband’s shin instead!  Bolting up the embankment of a stream he decided to stop suddenly, throwing my poor husband over his head and to the ground!  Thankfully, he was able to successfully break his fall, only bruising his ribs and his ego!  It happened so quickly, we were all surprised!

Our verse for today tells believers not to be surprised at the hard times we suffer.  They are not the exception, but the norm.  We are not exempt from difficulties, although sometimes we think we should be.  We get used to an easy gait and get lulled into thinking that an easy life is our right and privilege as God’s own.  Then something sudden happens and we are surprised!  Rather than holding on, the ordeal unseats us.

The “fiery ordeal” in this verse is not something that is caused by our own wrong choices.  It is an ordeal that comes from living as a believer in an unbelieving world.  Rather than be surprised at the negative reactions, I am told to rejoice that I can participate in some small measure what Jesus faced.  I can expect that others will heap abuse on me (I Peter 4:4).   I am not ever to be surprised if the world hates me (I John 3:13).  This testing of my faith is never very comfortable!

Help me Lord, to stay faithful to You, even when it is hard.