Category Archives: Attitudes & Behavior

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May 4, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Today: Make it Count, Wisdom & Guidance

GONE FOREVER

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. [Psalm 90:12 (NIV)]

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.  [Mother Teresa]

When my mother-in-law sold her Florida condo, my husband and I spent two weeks cleaning, sorting, packing, shipping, donating, and tossing the possessions that remained after she returned north. We both had surgeries scheduled later that month so we worked hard and fast to get everything done while we were still able to lift and tote. Once done, we congratulated ourselves that twelve boxes had been shipped north and everything cleaned, disposed of, or donated in record time. Then, we got a call from my mother-in-law! In spite of already having several sets of dominoes in Illinois, she wanted a wooden set she’d left in Florida. Made by a friend, they had numbers instead of dots. Unaware of their sentimental value to her, they were in one of the first boxes donated to a charity for resale at their thrift stores. Although we checked at all four of the charity’s shops, the dominos were gone for good; there was no getting them back!

The dominoes we couldn’t get back reminded me of something else we can’t reclaim: time. We don’t want to thoughtlessly dispose of any of our precious days the way my husband and I did that bag of dominoes. Rich and poor alike, we all have a certain amount of time allotted to us and, like that hand-made set of dominoes, it is irreplaceable. Once spent, time is gone and gone for good; no amount of money can create or buy more of it. We’re all born with an expiration date, but we don’t know what it is. Nevertheless, as we age, we know that date is growing close.

It’s been said that life is like a roll of toilet paper—the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes! Indeed, at my age, time seems to pass at warp speed. Just as my husband and I wanted to get my mother-in-law’s house cleaned out before our surgeries, I have several half-finished projects that, God willing, I’d like to complete before I’m called home. Wanting to make the best use of the time remaining, I am going into semi-retirement. For the time being, I will continue hosting my web site and sending out devotions twice a week. While some new ones will appear, many of those devotions will have been previously published. (I have over 2,400 from which to choose.)

Thank you, dear reader, for allowing me into your life while joining me in my faith journey. My prayer is that you continue to grow in your faith. God’s peace and joy to you, jsjdevotions

Always remember your end and do not forget that lost time never returns. [Thomas à Kempis]

Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure. [Psalm 39:4-5 (NIV)]

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April 30, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Church & Worship, Knowing Him, Love & Works, Money & Wealth, Today: Make it Count

SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD (Anointing – Part 3)

But some were expressing indignation to one another: “Why has this perfume been wasted? For this perfume might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor.” And they began to scold her. Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a noble thing for me. You always have the poor with you, and you can do what is good for them whenever you want, but you do not always have me.” [Mark 14:4-7 (CSB)]

walking irisWhile anointing people seems a bit strange to us in the 21st century, in Jesus’ day it was a tradition among the Hebrews to anoint a guest with oil as a way of welcoming them into your home. Anointing them with perfume like nard, however, was a costly and significant act of devotion and honor—one saved for exceptional occasions. A major economic sacrifice, it signaled wholehearted commitment. That twelve ounces of nard used to anoint Jesus in Bethany represented a full year’s wages!

Unlike us, the people at that dinner in Bethany didn’t have the benefit of the gospels—they didn’t know what soon would happen. Had you been at that dinner some 2,000 years ago, what would you think if you saw a woman use an entire jar of expensive nard to anoint Jesus? Would that have seemed wasteful to you? If she were so willing to part with it, couldn’t she have used less on Jesus and sold the rest to serve the poor? The Hebrew Scriptures are filled with commands to care for widows and orphans and it was Jesus who told the rich young ruler to sell all his belongings and give to the poor! The disciples’ indignation at such extravagance is understandable and I might have joined in their criticism of her actions.

Were the disciples surprised when, rather than agreeing with them, Jesus said to leave his anointer alone and then praised her? He repeated the first part of Deuteronomy 15:11: “For there will never cease to be poor people in the land….” but didn’t say the rest: “that is why I am commanding you, ‘Open your hand willingly to your poor and needy brother in your land.’” True, the poor always will be with us in this broken world, but Jesus’ words seem somewhat callous until we understand His point. He wasn’t denying the importance of charity and the opportunities for charity will never cease. Nevertheless, there would not be another opportunity to do for Him what had been done! Unlike the poor, He would be there only a little longer and any chance to show Him love soon would be gone.

Had this been anyone else, Jesus’ words would have been outrageous and self-centered. But, Jesus wasn’t a narcissist, He was God! The God who, for our sake, “Though he was rich… became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” [2 Cor 8:9] Let us remember that the first of the great commandments is to love God above all others and that is exactly what the woman did! Yes, we are to care for the poor but, first and foremost, we are to worship God! When she saw an opportunity to serve Jesus, she did and saved nothing for herself. That alabaster jar of nard, worth 300 denarii, might have been her dowry!

Genuine devotion never considers the cost; it simply does all that it can. When she anointed Jesus that night in Bethany, this woman simply did what she could. Jesus asks nothing more of us—we are to do what we can. In his Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, J.D. Jones said this about her: “She spent herself to the uttermost. ‘What she could’: and I confess that I feel a stab at my conscience as I read the little phrase. How many of us can say that?” I can’t; can you?

She has done what she could; she has anointed my body in advance for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” [Mark 14:8-9 (CSB)]

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April 23, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Thanks & Praise

AT SIMON THE PHARISEE’S (Anointing – Part 1)

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT)]

Tri-colored Heron - breedingIn Luke 7:36-50, we find a “sinful” woman anointing Jesus with her tears and perfumed oil. Taking place in Galilee early in Jesus’ ministry, this occurs at the home of Simon the Pharisee. During a banquet at the Pharisee’s home, a “sinful” woman carrying an alabaster jar entered. Remorseful for her sins, the uninvited guest fell at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears, wiped them with her hair, and kissed His feet while anointing them with perfume from her jar.

To Simon, the woman’s sins contaminated Jesus and made Him ritually unclean. The Pharisee silently questioned Jesus’ credentials as a prophet. If Jesus were a real prophet, He’d know she was a sinner and never allow her presence let alone her touch! Although His host’s thoughts of judgment and disdain were unspoken, Jesus knew what he (and probably the others present) were thinking. He answered their thoughts with a parable about a money lender who forgave the debts of two debtors—one who owed just 50 denarii and the other who owed 500. When Jesus asked Simon which debtor would love the lender most, the man admitted it would be the one with the larger debt.

Comparing the woman to Simon, Jesus noted his host’s rudeness to Him. Although it was customary to anoint a guest’s head with oil as a way of saying, “You are an honored guest,” Simon had not. Nor had his host offered Jesus the foot washing ordinarily given to guests. While the woman had been sincere and respectful in her devotion, Simon had been disingenuous in his invitation and rude to his guest. To the dismay of those present, Jesus told the woman, “Your sins are forgiven…. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” [7:49,50]

While we tend to remember the unnamed “sinful” woman in Luke’s account, it is as much about Simon as it is about the sinner who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears. In Jesus’ parable, just as the debtor whose massive debt was forgiven and loves greatly represents the “sinful” woman, the debtor whose love is minimal represents Simon.

The “sinful” woman knew she was unworthy, but the sanctimonious Simon didn’t recognize his unworthiness. She was fully aware of her sizeable sin debt but Simon, so focused on judgment and looking good to others, didn’t see his. The woman knew she needed saving, but the self-righteous Simon couldn’t see the need for a savior because he didn’t know he was drowning!

Knowing this woman’s past, Simon decided it determined her future. Thinking “once a sinner always a sinner,” he never wondered about her apparent change of heart. The woman, however, no longer was the sinner Simon knew. Something changed her and that something was Jesus. She didn’t anoint Jesus to earn forgiveness; she experienced Jesus’ forgiveness before entering Simon’s house. Rather than a transaction, this was a gift for the Lord coming from her faith, love, and thanksgiving.

Like one of the parable’s debtors, she knew she was forgiven much so she loved greatly. After experiencing Jesus’ love and forgiveness, she deliberately sought Him and did for Him what Simon should have done. Like her, do we fully appreciate Jesus’ forgiveness? Do we appreciate it enough to humble ourselves in the presence of others? Enough to go where we’re not welcome? Enough to publicly lavish Him with expressions of love and faith? Enough to serve the Lord wherever He takes us? We should!

“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” [Luke 7:47 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2026 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
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April 20, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Plan, Holidays & Holy Days, Today: Make it Count, Wisdom & Guidance

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” [Genesis 1:28 (NLT)]

All creatures great and small, All things wise and wonderful, The Lord God made them all. [Cecil Frances Alexander]

AFRICAN PENGUIN

A giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus is the narrator in Shelby Van Pelt’s delightful novel Remarkably Bright Creatures. While the animal’s ability to verbalize is pure fiction, Marcellus’ curmudgeonly personality and ability to plan are quite possible. Said to have the intelligence of a Labrador retriever or a 3-year-old child, octopuses are the most intelligent of the invertebrates. They can use tools, recognize people, hold grudges, escape aquariums, untie knots, and solve mazes.

Scientists have identified distinctive behavioral traits in animals as diverse as elk, fish, ferrets, spotted hyenas, spiders, sea anemones, rodents, lizards, and birds. Naturally, the same characteristic presents differently in different species. An introverted octopus, for example, will stay in its den while feeding and try to hide by changing color, but an introverted human might stand alone at a party or skip the party entirely. As for a shy African penguin named Tubbs who once wintered at our local zoo—the introverted bird took his food into the back corner of his den to eat it, usually stood with his back to the other penguins and zoo visitors, and, like many timid fellows, wasn’t successful with the females.

Several years ago, we became acquainted with Tubbs and his penguin friends Missy, Squirt, and Sal when we had the opportunity to meet their keepers and go behind their exhibit to feed them. Initially, the penguins all looked alike but, when we looked more closely, we realized their black chest spots were as unique as are human fingerprints. Like zebras, jaguars, monarch butterflies, and the rest of God’s creatures, no two are exactly alike. God never repeats himself.

As we fed those fascinating birds, their distinctive personalities began to emerge. Along with the socially awkward Tubbs, we met the outgoing Missy who, unfortunately for Tubbs, clearly had a crush on her human keeper. The “hen-pecked” Sal followed his domineering mate Squirt wherever she went. Although the other penguins preferred eating their fish “headfirst,” Squirt insisted on getting her dinner presented sideways. While it was penguin instinct that made Tubbs gorge himself in preparation for molting, it was his timid personality that caused the curious penguin to peek around a corner at us rather than stand at the gate with the others.

Scientists have found intelligence, personalities, and emotions in everything from limpets and crabs to coyotes and water striders. Nevertheless, until meeting those penguins, I’d thought of personalities only in domesticated animals and attributed them to training and environment. I hadn’t considered the possibility of undomesticated animals having distinctive personalities and the ability to feel and express emotions, but scientists have found that even honey bees can exhibit optimism and pessimism!

The fictional Marcellus was a gentle reminder of the lessons I learned from my time with the penguins. While animals may not be able to speak in a way that we can understand or exhibit emotions in a way we recognize, there is nothing dumb or unfeeling about any of God’s creatures. Their complexity and diversity point to our unlimited Creator and His intelligent, imaginative, and loving design. God created every living thing and none of His creation happened by accident.

God commanded us to keep and care for His creation, not to exploit or abuse it. As title holder to the earth, He will hold us responsible for the way we care for it and for the creatures with whom we share it. Wednesday is Earth Day, a day dedicated to honoring the environmental movement, raising awareness about pollution, and promoting global sustainability. Saving the environment depends on each and every one of us. For the sake of penguins, octopuses, and the rest of God’s creatures who are unable to speak for themselves, let us be better stewards of God’s beautiful earth.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our brothers the animals to whom Thou gavest the earth as their home in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty so that the voice of the earth, which should have gone up to Thee in song has been a groan of travail. May we realize that they live not for us alone, but for themselves and for Thee and that they love the sweetness of life. [Attributed to St. Basil the Great]

You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority—the flocks and the herds and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents. [Psalm 8:6-8 (NLT)]

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April 13, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Fruit of the Spirit, Love & Works, Temptation & Sin

THE JESUS METER

When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. [John 15:8 (NLT)]

grapesIf there were a litmus test for Christians, it would not be pious words, powerful preaching, grandiose gestures, or even extraordinary feats; it would be the presence of the Fruit of the Spirit. If love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control aren’t evident in our lives, we may be talking the talk but we’re clearly not walking the walk. Jesus recognizes us by our fruit and, if we’re bearing the Fruit of the Spirit, people will see some of Christ in us.

It’s not always easy to exhibit the Spirit’s fruit and I’m reminded of Shirley who lived in our Colorado mountain town. Although the town’s bus service was free and frequent, we often saw her hitch-hiking around town. Carrying her ever-present travel mug of coffee, Shirley would stand in the middle of traffic and shout at drivers who passed without stopping. Although she maintained sobriety, years of hard living, drug and alcohol abuse, along with a traumatic brain injury had taken their toll. Shirley usually attended our church but she could be found at any church’s activity when free food was involved. Supported by family but living on her own, Shirley meant well but she was erratic and could be disruptive, muddled, and even volatile. When a pastor friend called her his “Jesus meter,” knowing Shirley, I understood what he meant. This challenging woman was his litmus test for Christlikeness!

While my friend’s “Jesus meter” was Shirley, ours could be the neighbor whose dog poops in our yard, the never-ending complainer at work, the perpetually late friend, a certain politician, or the relative who dithers about everything. Your meter may be tested by the customer service rep, aggressive drivers, or the person who takes your parking spot! While it’s different for each of us, we all have certain people and situations that rub us the wrong way, challenge our patience, or frustrate, annoy, and exasperate us. How we react in those challenging situations tells us where we stand on our “Jesus meter.” A low score on His meter tells us we’re not walking His walk!

When we encounter the Shirleys of the world, let us remember what Jesus said about loving our neighbor and doing for the “least of these.” Being a Christ follower doesn’t mean life will be without its temptations and challenges; there always will be people and situations that challenge our capacity to act as would Jesus. I suspect our Shirleys are part of God’s character building! They’ll try our patience, test our faith, challenge our self-control, and make us question our ability to love our neighbor. Flawed people that we are, we can’t bear Christ’s fruit on our power alone; it’s the power of the Holy Spirit that makes it possible! Nevertheless, sometimes we’ll get aggravated, exasperated, irritable, or anxious—times when we’ll fail to turn the other cheek, lose our tempers, and even say things we shouldn’t. When our “Jesus meter” fails to register, we must ask forgiveness, repent, take comfort in God’s grace, learn from our errors, reconnect with the Holy Spirit, and continue to grow on His vine.

God develops the fruit of the Spirit in your life by allowing you to experience circumstances in which you’re tempted to express the exact opposite quality. Character development always involves a choice, and temptation provides that opportunity.[Rick Warren]

Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. [John 15:4-5 (CSB)]

Copyright ©2026 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.

 

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April 9, 2026

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Attitudes & Behavior, Fruit of the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Love & Works, Salvation: A New You

A LITTLE LIKE A SWISS ARMY KNIFE

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. [Galatians 5:22-23 (CSB)]

In contrast to works, which are produced by us, the Fruit of the Spirit is produced by the Holy Spirit. Rather than a basket with a variety of fruit, this is one indivisible fruit characterized by nine virtues: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We could call this the “Christlikeness fruit” because these characteristics describe Jesus and should describe us.

Planted by the Spirit in our hearts when we accept Jesus, the Fruit of the Spirit is a little like a Swiss Army knife with its numerous functions. Just as the multi-faceted pocketknife can provide us with two blades, along with a corkscrew, screwdriver, bottle opener, scissors, toothpick, tweezers, can opener, and key ring, the Fruit of the Spirit is an all-purpose spiritual tool providing us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Victorinox, however, doesn’t equip every Swiss Army knife with the same tools. With its 13 functions, their rescue knife comes with a saw for cutting shatterproof glass, a seatbelt cutter, and a window breaker but it doesn’t have the huntsman knife’s corkscrew and multi-purpose hook or the mini champ’s cuticle pusher and orange peeler! Unlike the knife maker, however, God equips every one of His children with the same nine all-purpose attributes in the Fruit of the Spirit!

It’s not Victorinox’s “cross on shield” logo that identifies it; the knife is known by its tools! In the same way, it’s not labeling ourselves Christians that identifies us as such—we’re known as Christ’s followers when the Fruit of the Spirit is evident in our behavior. The tools on any Swiss Army knife are meant to be used but, once it’s sold, Victorinox doesn’t care if you never open the knife. The virtues of the Fruit of the Spirit, however, are meant to be evident and God notices when they aren’t.

When describing the Fruit of the Spirit in “newspaper English,” famed preacher Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932) may have said it best: “The Fruit of the Spirit is an affectionate, lovable disposition, a radiant spirit and a cheerful temper, a tranquil mind and a quiet manner, a forbearing patience in provoking circumstances and with trying people, a sympathetic insight and tactful helpfulness, generous judgment and a big-souled charity, loyalty and reliableness under all circumstances, humility that forgets self in the joy of others, in all things self-mastered and self-controlled, which is the final mark of perfecting.” It is the presence of the Fruit of the Spirit that enables us to grow more like Jesus every day—to have His purpose, thoughts, words and actions be ours.

We recognize a Swiss Army knife by its tools; do people recognize us by our fruit?

“I give you a new command: ‘Love one another.’ Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  [John 13:34-35 (CSB)]

Copyright ©2026 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.