Category Archives: Knowing Him

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 24, 2015

Posted under

Bible Stories, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Miracles

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

In the same country there were shepherds in the fields. They were watching their flocks of sheep at night. The angel of the Lord came to them. The shining-greatness of the Lord shone around them. They were very much afraid. The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. See! I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people. Today, One Who saves from the punishment of sin has been born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord. There will be something special for you to see. This is the way you will know Him. You will find the Baby with cloth around Him, lying in a place where cattle are fed.” At once many angels from heaven were seen, along with the angel, giving thanks to God. They were saying, “Greatness and honor to our God in the highest heaven and peace on earth among men who please Him.” [Luke 2:8-15 (NLT)]

shepherdEvery December, the Botanic Gardens sponsor “Night Lights in the Garden.” For two weeks, once the sun goes down, their landscape transforms into a Florida version of a winter wonderland. Thousands of twinkling lights adorn the trees, gardens, ponds and paths. Holiday music is performed, shimmering icicles hang from tree branches, palms are wrapped in colored lights, and glowing orbs light the lawns. New last year was a laser light show. As we stepped into a garden surrounded by trees, our breath was taken away when we saw shimmering light illuminating the trees all around us. Sparkling light in various configurations kept flashing across the trees; it was absolutely beautiful.

I’m sure the angels put on a better show that blessed night so long ago but, standing in the midst of such an amazing display, I got an idea of what the shepherds might have seen the night of Jesus’ birth. I could imagine hearing angels singing, “Gloria, in excelsis Deo!” in the midst of such radiance. I knew I was just viewing a combination of electricity and holographic laser light technology and what the shepherds saw and heard was of divine origin. Nevertheless, I was awe struck. I’ve seen cards, candy, wooden storks, enormous bows, and large signs used to publicize a baby’s arrival, but angels from on high in an exhibition of God’s splendor certainly wins the prize when it comes to impressive birth announcements!

Oddly, it wasn’t government leaders, priests or kings but lowly shepherds who were the first to get the announcement of our Savior’s birth. Shepherding wasn’t socially acceptable—the shepherds’ social status was similar to that of dung sweepers or tax collectors. Yet, God chose these lowly men, who couldn’t even serve as witnesses in a court of law, to witness the Messiah’s arrival. Perhaps it was because shepherds not only watched over the sheep but also had the task of separating the perfect firstborn lambs that would be used in temple sacrifices as atonement for people’s sins. How fitting that these shepherds should witness of the arrival of Jesus—the one who would become known not only as the good shepherd but also as the lamb of God. Perhaps they readily recognized the infant child both as one of their own who would faithfully watch over his flock and as the perfect one-time sacrifice that would atone for the sins of all time.

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. [John 10:11 (NLV)]

The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming to him. He said, “See! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 (NLV)]

Copyright ©2015 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

December 2, 2015

Posted under

God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Promises, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

ONLY ONE WAY

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6 (NLT)]

Santa Rose de Lima-Abiqui NMWhen my children were young, they sometimes balked at trying a new food that I’d prepared. After pointing out that, while I was short and could cook, I was not a short-order cook, I always offered them a simple choice: some or none. God gives us the same options regarding His son Jesus Christ: take him or leave him! Just as I didn’t offer my children a different entree, God doesn’t offer us any alternatives for salvation.

When Jesus said, “I am the way,” he was pretty clear on our lack of options. He didn’t say, “I am one of the ways.” He is the only way. He didn’t say there were several means to come to the Father; there was only one—and that was through Him. It’s not only an offer that can’t be modified, but it’s also an offer than no one else could ever make.

Moreover, there is nothing that we can substitute for belief. We can’t buy or bribe or our way into heaven. Being famous or even especially kind or generous won’t do it. Jesus is the way and he makes it abundantly clear that he is the one and only way. We must take His path and follow in His footsteps. He is the truth and the reality of God’s promises. He is the life and only with him will we have eternal life.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. [1 John 5:12 (NLT)]

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. [Ephesians 2:18 (NLT)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

November 5, 2015

Posted under

God's Plan, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Nature, Peace of God, Sharing Our Faith, Spiritual Gifts

WHY DO I DO IT?

Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall they ask him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? [Romans 10:13-14 (TLB)]

I’d been asked to answer why Jesus moved me to write a Christian daily devotional. There certainly are times I ask myself that same question. I wondered how to reply to that query as I walked the swamp/bird sanctuary this morning.

corkscrew swamp sanctuaryOriginally a city girl, I never would have expected spending at least one day a week on this boardwalk in the midst of water, ferns, cypress, herons, hawks, spiders and gators. A private person, I would never have expected to share my faith journey so publicly either. While contemplating why I do it, I started taking pictures of the swamp. I silently complained that, no matter how many shots I take, I’ve never managed to capture the beauty, mystery and sense of peace I find in this strange place. Neither words nor photos can capture why I love it so—and yet I continue to try. I will admit that I didn’t love it at first. We first visited out of curiosity but became intrigued enough to come again and again and learn more about it. Now, whenever we have visitors, the swamp is a “must do” activity. Being so familiar with it, we can show them where the deer might be found, the gator family lives, the scarlet hibiscus and blue flag iris hide, the baby owls roost, and the woodpeckers nest—all of which we missed on our earlier visits. We can explain how the strangler fig grows, about the cypress knees, which wading bird they’re seeing, and what the seemingly dead resurrection fern will look like after a rain—none of which we knew when we first visited. We didn’t love the swamp at first but, as we came to know it, we grew to love it and want to share that love with others.

So, what compels me to post a Christian devotion five times a week? Just as I want to share my love of the swamp with our guests, even though I’m neither botanist nor zoologist, God has somehow tasked me with the sharing of my love of Jesus with strangers, even though I’m neither theologian nor minister! He’s given me the desire to share my faith and my failings, the peace of God and the struggles of a follower, the comfort of His presence and the guidance of His word so that others can experience the peace, love and joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus and reading the Bible.

My words and photos can’t do justice to the swamp so, if you’re ever in Southwest Florida, be sure to spend some time at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. You’ve just got to experience it for yourself. The words of my devotions can’t do justice to God, either. My prayer is that people will find them interesting enough to encourage them to delve into God’s word for themselves and take their own journey of faith. You’ve got to experience God firsthand and, as we found with the swamp, once you know Him, you’ll love Him. Unlike our favorite swamp, however, there’s no admission fee.

A true faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle. No, it is an active, lively, restless principle; it fills the heart, so that it cannot be easy till it is doing something for Jesus Christ. [George Whitefield]

When the Council saw the boldness of Peter and John and could see that they were obviously uneducated non-professionals, they were amazed and realized what being with Jesus had done for them! … [Peter and John replied] “We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we saw Jesus do and heard him say.” [Acts 4:13, 20 (TLB)]

For just preaching the Gospel isn’t any special credit to me—I couldn’t keep from preaching it if I wanted to. I would be utterly miserable. Woe unto me if I don’t. If I were volunteering my services of my own free will, then the Lord would give me a special reward; but that is not the situation, for God has picked me out and given me this sacred trust, and I have no choice. [1 Corinthians 9:16-17 (TLB)]  

swamp lily-great egret-blue flag iris

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

October 14, 2015

Posted under

Faith & Hope, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE LIFE PRESERVER

And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning. Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house! [Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (TLB)]

Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it. [Proverbs 22:6 (TLB)]

Kids don't float - FL3686WEBWhile walking on the beach last week, I saw a rack of life-vests. It was one of eleven such racks in our county’s free-of-charge loaner program: “Kid’s Don’t Float; Life Jackets Do!” Looking at those jackets made me think of a tragedy that occurred just a few days earlier on a beach in another county north of us, one that doesn’t have such a program. A nine-year old boy was playing in shallow water with his siblings when the wind gusted and what was described as a “freak” wave surged and knocked him over. The boy, who couldn’t swim, disappeared beneath the water and was swept away from shore. Nearly two days later his body was finally recovered.

Would a life vest program like our county’s have prevented this tragedy? Even if life jackets had been available, would he have worn one? We can only speculate as to whether knowing how to swim would have saved his life. The water was extremely choppy and even a strong swimmer would have had difficulty. Witnesses say the children were being properly supervised but that was not enough to protect this little boy. It was just a heart-breaking accident.

My sympathy and prayers go out to his family. Their tragedy, however, got me thinking about how easy it is for us all to think that children are safe or that we can protect them when really they’re not and we can’t. We lecture and supervise them and try to shield them from harm, poor choices, and the evil in our world but, short of keeping them in a bubble, it’s impossible. We have to let children make their way, not just at the beach, but in the treacherous waters they encounter every day in our troubled world. While we may not be able to prevent the rough seas, rip tides and undertows of life, we can do our best to equip youngsters to survive those hazards. Even more important than teaching them how to swim or insisting on a life vest, we must teach our children (and all the young people in our lives) God’s Word and raise them to know and love Jesus. We need to offer them more than a jacket made of nylon and foam to keep them from sinking under the schemes of the enemy. We need to show them how to use the best life preserver of all—the armor of God.

Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. … So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God. [Ephesians 6:10-11,13-17 (TLB)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

September 30, 2015

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, God's Grace & Love, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Prayer, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

QUESTIONABLE CHOICES

Today I have given you a choice between life and death, success and disaster. … Today I am giving you a choice of two ways. And I ask heaven and earth to be witnesses of your choice. You can choose life or death. The first choice will bring a blessing. The other choice will bring a curse. So choose life! [Deuteronomy 30:15,19 (ERV)]

There is a way that people think is right, but it leads only to death. [Proverbs 14:12 (ERV)]

wrong way -9773web
Perhaps you’ve seen the television ad that shows a woman who, after taking a taste test, discovers that the spaghetti sauce she’s been purchasing for years isn’t the best one. “I wonder what other questionable choices I’ve made?” she asks as the viewer sees a flashback to her dreadful hairstyles from the past. Having recently gone through our photo albums, I can attest to making several appalling choices in the way of hair, fashion and make-up. Fortunately, my worst choices were never captured on film. Unfortunately, those choices were far worse than the wrong pasta sauce, a frizzy perm, white eye shadow, or a plaid blazer so loud it required ear plugs.

Questionable choices—we all have made them and I suspect we all would rather not make any more of them. Yet, somehow we still do. It’s been said that “ego” is simply an acronym for the phrase “Edging God Out” and I’d have to agree. When we let our egos rule, we’re really telling God that we know better than He does. When egos rule, questionable choices often result. Looking back at my poor choices, I realize they all have something in common: the lack of prayer. Those faulty choices were the result of me trying to edge God out: I was sure I knew what I wanted or needed and how to go about doing or getting it. I was positive I didn’t need any advice, help or guidance from God in my decisions. How mistaken I was!

Fortunately, God is forgiving, generous and caring and my poorest choices, while leaving me a bit battered and scarred, didn’t leave me permanently maimed. Jesus never left my side and the Holy Spirit kept whispering in my ear until I finally understood that God knows best. My questionable choices in fashion may well continue but, if I allow God to lead me, my other (far more important) choices will unquestionably be good ones.

We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of our real selves. [Thomas Merton]

Do any of you need wisdom? Ask God for it. He is generous and enjoys giving to everyone. So he will give you wisdom. [James 1:5 (ERV)]

This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; that you will see the difference between what is important and what is not and choose what is important; that you will be pure and blameless for the coming of Christ; that your life will be full of the many good works that are produced by Jesus Christ to bring glory and praise to God. [Ephesians 1:9-11 (ERV)]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

September 15, 2015

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE EYE IN THE SKY

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. [Proverbs 15:3 (NIV)]

For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths. [Proverbs 5:21 (NIV)]

barred owl - CSS6769webDrones have certainly been in the news lately. North Dakota lawmakers just passed a law allowing police drones to carry “less than lethal” weapons such as tear gas or Tasers and Amazon is hoping to have “delivery-by-drone” available within the next few years. Several weeks ago, a Kentucky man blasted a drone out of the air with his shotgun while it hovered over his backyard. Indeed, drones are capable of highly advanced surveillance as a Rhode Island man recently learned. A Benedictine monk who works at the school operating a giant wind turbine, was relaxing in t-shirt and shorts, atop the 200-foot turbine when a drone spotted him catching his private quiet time in the sun. The video ended up on television and YouTube almost instantly.

When he was a toddler, my nephew thought that, by covering his eyes with his hands, he was invisible. Because he couldn’t see anyone, he figured no one could see him. The monk sun-bathing on the turbine knows that belief to be false! Whether we see them or not, it appears that we’re never able to get away from other people’s eyes. Sometimes we’re not a lot different than my nephew when it comes to our relationship with God. Just because we can’t see Him, we think He can’t see us; let’s not forget that not seeing Him doesn’t mean he’s not there. We can’t get away from God’s presence any easier than we can from drones.

Knowing we have absolutely no secrets from God is both reassuring and troubling. Granted, He knows what I look like without make-up or doing my hair, which means I can relax with Him like I would with a best girlfriend. I don’t have to maintain any pretense with Him. On the other hand, He also knows my every dirty little secret, which is far more disturbing than heartening. Since nothing is hidden from God, there are no excuses, justifications or lies about our bad behavior. We may be able to hide things from our family and friends but we can’t from God. He knows the dog didn’t eat the homework, we clearly knew the speed limit when caught speeding, we had time and money to help when we said we didn’t and that no one forced us to have the third drink or smoke the joint. He knows where we go on the Internet, with whom we chat, what we say, what we do, and with whom we do it. He knows more about us than even the most technically advanced drone and yet He still manages to love and forgive us.

Father, I welcome you into my life; search my thoughts and feelings, correct and direct me and lead me in your ways. Guide me so that my walk is always pleasing to your eyes.

Secret sins, services, and sorrow are under God’s eye. This speaks comfort to saints, and terror to sinners. [Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary]

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. … Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. [Psalm 139:1-2,23-24 (NIV)]

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. [1 John 2:6 (NIV)]