Devotions By Jan


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Dead in the Water

Scripture for Today: John 3:8 “The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

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It was early spring and we were having some unusually calm, warm weather in our part of France. We took advantage of the sunshine and drove up the Vosges mountains all the way to Lac Gérardmer. The sailing club was out in full force but no one was moving. It was absolutely still and calm with glassy unruffled water. There was nothing for those boats to do but wait for the wind to pick up again. They were dead in the water without that wind to move them. How long they were to be stuck no one could predict.

Today’s verse is part of a discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus. The Lord is describing spiritual matters using images in nature. No one can know the origin of wind or its direction. So it is with the Holy Spirit. Although God’s Word teaches the role of the Spirit, there remains something mysterious in the way He works. One cannot predict or reduce to a formula the movement of the Spirit. Revivals can happen in the most unlikely places and at the most unexpected times. The Spirit is God and He will do what He wills.

I may never completely understand the work of God’s Spirit but I do know that without Him I am “dead in the water” going nowhere. It is the Spirit that gives power and strength. There is no progress without Him. It is the Spirit that keeps me moving in the right direction, giving wisdom. He knows when to push hard with hurricane force! He knows when to be a gentle breeze.

Lord, I need your Spirit to fill, move and direct me today!

(Look familiar? This is a repost from 2014)


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The Kookaburra

Scripture for Today: Proverbs 31:25 “She is clothed with strength and dignity: she can laugh at the days to come.”

I only knew about this bird from the children’s song growing up. So I was curious to see this Australian bird at the zoo. She was a lot bigger than I imagined being 18 inches long. Her beak is 4 inches long and with it she can eat chickens, ducklings and even some small snakes! She is monogamous and she defends her territory. Often, her young will remain with her to help raise the next year’s brood. But most surprising is her loud laugh!

Today’s verse describes a woman whose qualities raise what seems to be an impossible standard for others! This description of the perfect wife and mother was given by the Queen Mother to her son, King Lemuel. The passage describes a woman of “noble character” fit for royalty (verse 10). After an extensive list of characteristics the conclusion is that charm and beauty are less important than fearing the Lord (verse 30). Fearing the Lord makes it possible to “laugh at the days to come.” There is a light heart even when facing the unknown future.

Of all the qualities listed for this perfect woman, this ability to laugh at the days to come has got to be the most difficult for me. It is a litmus test of my faith in God and His plan for me. To laugh at the days to come does not mean I do not prepare for them. But it does mean that I can trust Him for the unexpected. I can trust Him for what is around that blind curve. Whatever He allows to happen, He will carry me through it. Whatever the challenge of the days to come, He is enough.

Thank you Lord, for giving me a light heart.

(Look familiar? This is a repost from 2019.)


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Pennies

Scripture for Today: Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I am He who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

I am one of those rare people who still bend down to pick up a lost penny, bad or not! The phrase, “a bad penny always turns up,” was coined in the mid eighteenth century. Pennies used to be more valuable and because they were easily counterfeited, the “bad ones” would continually circulate, turning up in a pocket or purse. “Turning up like a bad penny,” came to mean someone or something unwanted, turning up repeatedly and unexpectedly.

Today’s verse reassures the believer that God’s forgiveness of sin is complete. He chooses to no longer remember our sins. Because of Christ’s perfect sacrifice for sin, the penalty has been paid and God’s justice is satisfied.  Those sins are blotted out forever. When He forgives, He does not bring it up again. But like a bad penny, the thought of them for the believer can turn up at the most unwanted and inopportune times. Thankfully, that is never the case for the Lord. Of course, He is all knowing and so forgets nothing. But the idea is that He does not call it to mind with censor and judgement.

I would love to be able to “remember my sins no longer.” But the memories remain. Thankfully, God’s Word is full of reassurances of unconditional love and complete pardon. The Lord graciously softens and blurs memories of past failures. If guilty memories occasionally do reappear, He is there to build me back up. If nothing else, those remembrances can serve to remind me that I am not perfect, but His forgiveness is!

Thank you Lord, that Your grace chooses not to remember what is forgiven!

(Look familiar? This is a repost from 2018)


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Sand Dollar Invasion!

Scripture for Today: John 17:15 “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.”

Rachel Hathaway https://www.flickr.com/photos/rachelhathaway/4945569932

If you want to get rich quick, thousands of sand dollars are right now littering the southern edges of Seaside Beach on the Oregon coast! They are washing up alive on the afternoon high tides and getting stranded. If thrown back in, the ocean just plops them back up on the sand. And the longer they are outside their intertidal zone, the more unlikely their survival. That zone is found above the water level at low tide and underwater at high tide.

Today’s verse is part of the prayer Jesus prays for His disciples and for all those who will believe their message (verse 20). He asks that they be protected from the evil one even though they are in a world where he is active (John 12:31). Believers are part of this world but not of this world (verses 14 & 16). We are part of God’s Kingdom and are no longer in a kingdom of darkness (Col. 1:13). Loving the world and adopting its values is incompatible with loving the Father (I John 2:15).

When I identify too closely with the world’s ideas of what is important, it is as if I am no longer in those intertidal waters where I can thrive. Yes, I am part of this world but I need to be nourished by the environment He has chosen to strengthen me. His Word keeps my values unworldly. Being encouraged by His people keeps me on track. I do not belong up on the sand where I dry out and shrivel. I do not want the world to pull me away from my love for Him.

Lord, keep me close to You.


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A Flintstone House

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.” 

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This bizarre-looking structure is part of the Radwaniyah Presidential Complex in Baghdad, Iraq. For years it was shrouded in mystery behind stone walls until the US occupation of the site in 2003. It was dubbed the “Flintstone House” by the soldiers, not realizing that it was in fact a playhouse built for the children associated with Saddam Hussein. At one time, it had running water, a real kitchen and elevators. It may have been solidly built with stone, but its foundation was shifting sand and the end of the Iraqian leader is well known.

Today’s verse describes a fool as someone who builds his 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.

That sand can represent our own ideas of what is right and what is wrong. 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 Word 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!