Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, June 18 & 19

Proclaimers of God's Word: John Hyde

You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent, and give Him no rest till He establishes and till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Isaiah 62:6-7

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 62:1-7


John ("Praying") Hyde sailed to India in 1892 to evangelize Punjab. After struggling for several years, Hyde rededicated himself to working through prayer. He believed Isaiah 62 commands us to remind God of His promises and "give Him no rest" till He answers.

In early 1908, Hyde prayed to win at least one soul to Christ per day. By December 31, he had recorded 400 converts. The following year, the Lord laid two souls per day on his heart, and his prayer was again answered. The next year he prayed for four souls daily with similar results.

Once, stopping at a cottage for water, Praying Hyde asked God for ten souls. He presented the Gospel, and all nine members of the family were saved. But what of number ten? A nephew who had been playing outside ran into the room and was promptly converted.

"Praying" became Hyde's middle name. It should be ours as well, for the prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective (James 5:16, NIV).

*Turning Point will soon be tracking our radio program in Punjabi and broadcasting the Gospel into India and Pakistan.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 80:1-85:13
Psalm 86:1-89:52

[Judy Harder]

Monday, June 20

The Fig Tree Is Leafing!

Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.
Matthew 24:32

Recommended Reading
Matthew 24:32-35


Botanists tell us that figs were among the earliest plants in history to be cultivated by farmers and orchard growers. They are native to the Mediterranean basin and have been an important crop for thousands of years. Figs are high in calcium and fiber. They provide needed nutrients like copper, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin K.

In Christ's day, there were fig trees everywhere, for the ideal state of a Jewish person was to dwell under his own vine and fig tree (1 Kings 4:25).

In His sermon on the Signs of the Times in Matthew 24, Jesus used the fig tree as an illustration. When a fig tree leafs out in the spring, it's a sign summer is near and the harvest is coming. In the same way, when we see the signs of the times happening all around us, we should realize His return is near. When the signs mentioned in Matthew 24 occur, we'll not have long to wait for the Second Coming. "Know that it is near--at the doors!" (verse 33)

Wouldn't you agree the fig tree is in leaf? He may return at any moment. So what will you do to be ready for that day?

This could be the day! Jesus Christ could return in the Rapture to take His own to be with Him!
David Jeremiah

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 90:1-95:11

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, June 21

Certainly

I will certainly be with you....
Exodus 3:12

Recommended Reading
Psalm 66:16-20


What does actor Nicolas Cage have in common with basketball legend Julius (Dr. "J") Erving? Or with the hip-hop artist Chamillionaire? Or with former Detroit Red Wings hockey star Sergei Federov? Or with Patricia Kluge, multi-millionaire ex-wife of a media mogul? All have gone through foreclosure proceedings on their homes. In Kluge's case, the home was a whopping palatial estate in Virginia once valued at $100 million. It seems not even the so-called rich and famous are immune from the shifting economic landscape.

There's no permanence in money and no lasting security in our economy. Proverbs 23:5 says, "Riches certainly make themselves wings." In fact, nothing in this world provides certainty except for our Lord Jesus Christ. He will certainly be with us. He will certainly hear us (Psalm 66:19).

If you're pinched and pressured right now, you're in good company. These are uncertain times. But we have a sure and certain hope. We walk by faith; and faith is "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1, NIV, 1984). You can certainly trust Him with your hopes, your dreams--your very life.

Yes, it was love made Him die on the tree; Oh, I am certain that Jesus loves me!
Philip Bliss

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 96:1-102:28

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, June 22

The Days of Noah

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matthew 24:37

Recommended Reading
Hebrews 11:6-7


Noah's Arks are popping up all over the place. A Dutch builder has a full-sized replica on the Maas River in the Netherlands. Another full-sized replica is planned in Kentucky. There's a life-sized fiberglass copy in Hong Kong. And smaller-scale versions sit here and there on sites around the world.

Perhaps in the providence of God, we need to be reminded we're living in the days of Noah. Both Jesus and Peter compare the days before the flood to those preceding the return of Christ. Jesus said, "They ate... drank... married wives... were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all" (Luke 17:2). Peter said, "The world that then existed perished, being flooded with water." In the same way, he said, the current earth is facing imminent judgment by fire (2 Peter 3:6-7).

We Christians are Noahs--preachers of righteousness in an evil age, warning others of the judgment to come. Noah was different in his day, and we must be the same. Let's flood the world with gospel truth! Today is a good day to share the Good News.

The judgment of God shall come... And that judgment is swift and sure and certain, as it was in the days of Noah.
W. A. Criswell, in his sermon "Judgment of the Flood"

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 103:1-105:45

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, June 23

The Midnight Cry

At midnight a cry was heard: "Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet Him!"
Matthew 25:6

Recommended Reading
Matthew 25:1-13


An old campfire song says, "Give me oil in my lamp; keep me burning." That's a good prayer to offer. It's from Jesus' story in Matthew 25 about the ten virgins assigned to accompany the bridegroom to the wedding. They were to illumine the way. They didn't know the hour of his arrival, so they were to remain ready. Half the virgins did so, with their lamps filled with oil and their wicks trimmed for the procession. The other five were unprepared for his coming.

All ten women looked the same; but when the hour came, only half were ready. Some were excluded from the wedding supper and locked outside the house. The door was closed. "Watch therefore," said Jesus, "for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (verse 13).

Paul told the church members in Corinth to "examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Make sure the oil of the Holy Spirit is in your heart and that you are prepared for the arrival of our Savior and Lord.

O Christian . . . wait for the coming of your Lord, but let it be with your lamps trimmed and your lights burning.
Charles Spurgeon, in his sermon "A Visit to the Harvest Field"

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 106:1-107:43
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

[Judy Harder]

Friday, June 24

A Waxy Feel

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief....
Hebrews 3:12

Recommended Reading
John 3:14-17


Merchants in Connecticut were on the lookout earlier this year for counterfeit $100 bills. The bills were of such quality that standard tests failed to identify them as fakes. The only giveaway was a slightly waxy feel when held in the fingers.

Satan is a master counterfeiter, and Jesus constantly warned us to beware of fakes. Wheat and the tares look the same as they grow, He said, but at the harvest they produce different crops (Matthew 13:24-30). False teachers will come as wolves in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15). False christs will arise at the end of the age (Matthew 24:24). The ten virgins in Matthew 25 were similarly dressed and outfitted, but only five were truly ready for the bridegroom.

We mustn't doubt our salvation once we have truly received Christ as Lord. We can know with abiding assurance that we're saved. But we do want to make sure we have truly received Christ as Savior and Lord. If that isn't settled in your life, kneel down today and give yourself fully and finally to Him in true repentance and faith.

The Blood makes us safe; the Book makes us sure.
Source unknown

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 108:1-114:8
 

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, June 25 & 26

Proclaimers of God's Word: Dr. L. Nelson Bell

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done marvelous things! Do not be afraid....
Joel 2:21-22

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 41:10-13


Dr. and Mrs. L. Nelson Bell (whose daughter Ruth would marry evangelist Billy Graham) were medical missionaries in China who found themselves in dangerous straits when the Japanese invaded in 1938. On Christmas Day, Nelson wrote his mother in America, saying: "This past Thursday it was my time to lead the foreign prayer meeting, and I talked about the place of physical fear in the life of the Christian. Last week it dawned on me that our Lord, tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin, hungered, thirsted, was tired, became angry, and gave every evidence of His humanity, but He was never fearful. Fear, therefore, must come from lack of faith--sin. Just as we never become sinless, so we never entirely lose fear, but it surely is His will for His children to live with peace in their hearts, trusting in Him and His promises."1

If your mind is vexed by various fears and alarms, remember that Jesus is not afraid. All is under His control and you are in His safekeeping.

I think the greatest tribute to mother's courage is that we children never sensed fear and we ourselves never had any fear.
Ruth Bell Graham

1John C. Pollock, A Foreign Devil in China (Minneapolis: World Wide Publications, 1971), 191, 81.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 115:1-119:32
Psalm 119:33-119:120

[Judy Harder]

Monday, June 27

Faithful in Little Things

Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things...
Matthew 25:23

Recommended Reading
Matthew 25:14-30


Puritan Richard Baxter said, "It will be an unspeakable comfort to look back on a life well spent and be able to say in humble sincerity, My time was not cast away . . . . It was spent in sincere labors for my God--in making my calling and election sure, in doing good to men's souls and bodies, it was entirely devoted to God.'"

In His Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, Jesus stressed the importance of being faithful to the work assigned us. We want to hear Him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

It's not the amount of our work that's important, or the status of it, or the notoriety of it. It's the faithfulness with which we do exactly what He has assigned us. Our lives and labors call for perseverance, persistence, patience, and prayer.

If God has assigned our daily tasks, He'll produce an eternal harvest. Don't give up; and don't worry if the work seems small, the costs large, or the results meager. Just be faithful to the will of God--nothing more, nothing less.

Seeking to please God in little matters is a test of real devotion and love. Let your aim be to please our dear Lord perfectly in little things.
Jean Grou

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 119:121-124:8

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, June 28

Accountable

It is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
1 Corinthians 4:2

Recommended Reading
1 Cor. 4:1-2


Taxpayers around the world are in a feisty mood. They're demanding civic leaders and public employees to be accountable for the managing of the common good. They expect politicians to be accountable to the voters. They're ready to hold their governments accountable to act in a wise and disciplined way. They want to hold teachers accountable for the schools and generals for the armies. Without accountability, there's little discipline or restraint in our world.

Christ provides accountability for His people, too. He's like the owner of an estate who expects His employees to be good stewards of the things entrusted to them. God has given us time, talents, and treasures. Our lives do not belong to us. We belong to Him, and we're stewards on His behalf. One day we'll be judged on the basis of our faithfulness to what God has entrusted to us.

When we see Christ, we will show Him what we have done with what He has trusted into our care. All that we have will be a meager offering to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but it will be accepted and blessed because we have been faithful with whatever talent or treasure He has given into our keeping. What a day that will be when we hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Truehearted, wholehearted, faithful, and loyal, King of our Lives, by Thy grace we will be.
Frances Havergal

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 125:1-135:21

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, June 29

Flax in the Flame

This is a faithful saying, and worthy of acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.
1 Timothy 1:15

Recommended Reading
Revelation 6:12-17


David Marks was born to godly Connecticut parents in 1805, and his awareness of God began early. The incident that started him thinking about the Savior was when he saw some flax burn. He had heard of the fires of hell; and as he watched the flax, he thought how dreadful one moment in hell would be.

He decided that if the Day of Judgment came, he would hide in the well. Running to his mother, he shared his plan; but she replied, "Ah, my son, the water will boil and the earth will burn." He then told her he would run to a spot he knew in the rocks where he could hide. She said, "But the rocks will melt."

Young David pondered at length the reality of that coming day. Putting his hand over his heart, he looked toward heaven and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner."

David recognized that he was not ready to stand before Holy God in his present state. What a simple, yet profound reminder that only through His mercy are we rescued from the punishment that we deserve. Are you ready?

The only passport we need to heaven is Jesus.
David Jeremiah

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 136:1-140:13
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