Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, August 3

The God Response

But may the God of all grace . . . after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
1 Peter 5:10

Recommended Reading
2 Kings 6:8-23


When a gunman shot ten Amish children at their school, the world watched to see the reaction of the Amish community. With exemplary forgiveness, the Amish extended mercy to the man's family and pledged to heal the community. But the clarifying moment happened before the girls were shot. Details emerged that the killer asked the girls to pray for him. That's when God's grace illuminated the horrifying scene. The girls prayed for their killer, giving him what he didn't deserve, extending love to the unlovely.

None of us deserves grace, but we all hope for mercy. It's important to understand the difference between these two words so we can fully grasp the extent of God's love for us. Think of it this way: Mercy is God withholding the punishment we rightfully deserve (Romans 5:8; 6:23). Grace is God not only withholding that punishment but also offering the most precious of gifts--His Son (John 1:1, 14, 17).

Are you facing a personal crisis? Your heart aches, your world has shattered. Like the Amish with their astonishing healing response--look for ways to extend mercy. Step outside of your own pain and extend God's love and grace to someone who doesn't deserve it.

Grace grows best in winter.
Samuel Rutherford

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 10:1-13:27

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, August 4

Intercepted by Grace

And they glorified God in me.
Galatians 1:24

Recommended Reading
Acts 9:1-19


Perhaps you're familiar with the Christian authors Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel, former atheists whose research led them to the One they sought to discredit. Their transformed lives now lead other truth seekers to God. Nothing gets your attention like someone who holds a strong position and then refutes it.

God has a way of getting people's attention. Take the apostle Paul: summa cum laude among Jewish scholars, impeccable credentials, practiced every Jewish tradition with unswerving zeal (Philippians 3:5-6; Galatians 1:14). Paul was convinced that killing Christians was a noble service to God, and he took his gruesome assignment seriously (Acts 8:3). So how does a former terrorist of the church change his mind? Did he just wake up one morning and say, "I wonder what it would be like to be an apostle of grace?"

That's the miracle of being intercepted by grace. No one can look at the life of Paul--or any believer transformed by the Gospel--and not see God's glory. Paul testified that when people heard his radical testimony, they didn't glorify him. All they could do was glorify God (Galatians 1:24).

Think of a way for people to see God in you this week and amaze them with His glory!

Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace.
Karl Barth

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 14:1-17:27

[Judy Harder]

Friday, August 5

Standing Room Only

Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word.
Acts 4:29

Recommended Reading
Romans 1:16-17


Have you noticed schoolyard bullies have morphed into cyberspace bullies? And teenage peer pressure has followed us into adulthood via the media. But it is our Christian faith and morality that places us in the firing line for stigmas of intolerance and prejudice. Do we shore up or retreat?

As our Lord's return draws near, bold believers are needed to stand up, speak up, and not shut up for the defense of the Gospel! There is no better example for our critical mission than the apostle Paul. An outstanding freedom fighter, Paul fearlessly took on the Judaizers--a movement of people seeking to discredit his reputation for the sake of subverting the true message of the Gospel (Galatians 2:6-8).

We are free in Christ to say what we want to say, do what we want to do, and go where we want to go. Why should we take a stand? Because we know and love our Savior, we want to say what He would say, do what He would do, and go where He would go.

Now is the time to stand up and be counted as followers of Christ. Strategize a way to take a stand for the Gospel and do it fearlessly!

Stand Up! Stand Up for Jesus!
George Duffield

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 18:1-22:30

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, August 6

In a Pickle: Daniel (Self-Control)

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control.
2 Peter 1:5-6a

Recommended Reading
Daniel 1


We all face tempting situations. Yet the world tells us to do whatever makes us happy--even if what we want isn't honoring to God. With the lack of self-control that surrounds us, thankfully we have biblical examples of people who were able to deny the flesh and honor God.

As a young man, Daniel found himself in a tempting situation as a servant to the king of Babylon. The king ordered that Daniel and the other Jewish advisors receive a daily portion of his delicacies and wine. Not wanting to defile his body, Daniel requested to receive only vegetables and water for ten days. At the end of the ten days, his features appeared better and fatter in flesh than the young men who ate the king's portions. And because Daniel exhibited self-control, the Bible says God gave him knowledge and skill in all literature, as well as wisdom and understanding in all visions and dreams (Daniel 1:5-17).

Demonstrating self-control may not be easy at the time, but the sweetness of honoring God is certainly worth the effort.

I am a spiritual being . . . I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal.
Max Lucado

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 23:1-25:38
Jeremiah 26:1-29:32

[Judy Harder]

Monday, August 8

The Cross Road

You were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit . . .
1 Corinthians 6:20

Recommended Reading
1 Cor. 15:51-58


Murdered last March for opposing harsh blasphemy laws and working to establish religious liberty in law, the Pakistani cabinet member Shahbaz Bhatti recorded a video to be released in the event of his death. "I know the meaning of the cross," he testified, "I am following the cross. I am living for my community and suffering people . . . and I will die to defend their rights."

Throughout church history, in strategic moments martyrs have stood in the gap to protect the truth of God's Word. Bhatti's testimony is compelling: "I know the meaning of the cross." That is what every believer needs to understand. Do we know what it cost God to offer grace to us? His Son endured horrific suffering on the cross, receiving the penalty for our sins to offer us eternal life. Bhatti so poignantly reminds us that believers are not exempt from suffering.

Let's not take the gift of grace for granted. Value your faith by spending time in God's Word and in prayer so you grow closer to your Grace-giver. And set time aside to pray for persecuted Christians worldwide as we near the day of Christ's return.

May our greatest goal be to follow Christ--not worrying about the cost.

Grace--God's riches at Christ's expense.
Anonymous

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 30:1-32:44

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, August 9

How Easy to Judge!

One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.
Romans 14:5

Recommended Reading
Romans 14:1-13


When Charles E. Fuller helped pioneer the ministry of radio evangelism in the 1920s, a fellow clergyman denounced him. Satan is the prince of the power of the air, said the man; so how can Christians have anything to do with the airwaves? Furthermore, claimed the critic, radio would "give one preacher too much prominence," would be too "costly," and would develop a "stay-at-home" attitude among believers.

How easy it often is to judge! We'd have a less critical spirit and fewer "church fights" if we better understood Romans 14. Here the apostle Paul tells us that while we must be adamant about the fundamental truths of the Christian faith, we should have maturity when it comes to non-essential matters. The Bible's rule is: "Let each be fully convinced in his own mind" (Romans 14:5). After all, Paul asked bluntly, "Who are you to judge another's servant?" (verse 4).

Our core beliefs are unshakable and unchanging. But on secondary issues, there's greater liberty for a variety of opinions. Think about this: If we all agree on everything, we double our chances of being wrong.

If two people agree about everything, one of them is unnecessary.
Ruth Bell Graham

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 33:1-36:32

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, August 10

Adopted for Life

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

Recommended Reading
Ephesians 1:5-7


In his book, Adopted for Life, Russell Moore writes movingly of the needs of children around the world and the importance of Christian adoption. As people heard he was writing this book, some asked, "So, is the book about the doctrine of adoption or, you know, real adoption?"

"That's a hard question to answer," Moore replied, "because you can't talk about the one without talking about the other." We learn how to be fathers by watching our heavenly Father; and we learn to raise our children by observing how He nurtures us. "We believe Jesus in heavenly things--our adoption in Christ," writes Moore, "so we follow Him in earthly things--the adoption of children."

Perhaps the Lord doesn't call us all to adopt children, but He does call all of us to be adopted into Christ. In joining His family, we become more like Him as we take on the traits of His family. It's primarily a relationship, not a set of rules. We are new creatures in Him--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

As we become more attuned to the Gospel, we'll have more of a burden for orphans. As we become more adoption-friendly, we'll be better able to understand the Gospel.
Russell Moore

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 37:1-41:18

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, August 11

Bertie's Book

They are not just idle words for you--they are your life.
Deuteronomy 32:47 NIV

Recommended Reading
1 Cor. 2:1-5


Bertrand Russell was born in 1872 into a wealthy family in Wales, but his childhood was darkened by the deaths of his parents and sister. Seeking answers, he turned to his older brother Frank who led him to begin studying geometry. Their textbook was Euclid's Elements, and Bertrand later said as he worked through that book, "I had not imagined there was anything so delicious in the world." He admitted that only his wish to better know mathematics kept him from suicide. In the end, Russell, an avowed agnostic, became an icon of unbelievers everywhere.1

Mathematics is a wonderful subject, and Euclid was a brilliant scholar. But what if Bertrand had found a Bible? What if his grief had been answered by a better book than Euclid's?

Any life philosophy that doesn't have Jesus Christ at its heart is doomed to fail. The Bible gives us God's message, and it is the foundation of our hope. The words of Scripture are not idle words--they are our life. We must always guard the truth and beware of falling away from reading and obeying it daily.

Faith in Jesus Christ is a cognitive, passionate, and moral commitment to that which stands up under the scrutiny of the mind, the heart, and the conscience.
Ravi Zacharias

1Paul Strathern, Bertrand Russell in 90 Minutes (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2001), 15.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 42:1-45:5

[Judy Harder]

Friday, August 12

A Springtime Meadow

. . .that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work.
Colossians 1:10

Recommended Reading
Colossians 1:9-12


Have you smiled at someone today? Held a door open? Let someone slip ahead of you in traffic? Changed a diaper? Written a check to charity?

Do any of those things make you more acceptable to God?

There's a biblical balance when it comes to acts of kindness and good deeds. Our lives should be filled with them, as flowers filling a springtime meadow. But we don't labor for the Lord from necessity but from love. The aim of spiritual maturity isn't to become more acceptable to God, for we are already fully accepted by Him through the blood of Christ. When we're justified by grace through faith, the righteousness of Christ is credited to our account. Thereafter we live a life of service because we love Him who has already accepted us in Christ.

Never worry about whether God loves you. If you know Christ as Savior, don't feel you have to win God's favor. You have all His grace for all your needs. Just serve Him with a desire to please Him in all you do and say.

Good works cannot put us right, but they necessarily follow when we are right; they are the natural fruit and the ordained sphere of the new creature in Christ Jesus.
Bernard H. Nadal, nineteenth-century American churchman

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 46:1-48:47

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, August 13 & 14

In a Pickle: Joseph (Long-Suffering)

We also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:3-4

Recommended Reading
Genesis 42-44


In our modern society, it is difficult to digest the concept of longsuffering. When we find ourselves in a thorny situation, we often resign to our challenge and wait for the end to come. And if we do suffer, our confrontations are often short lived. How many of us have had to suffer for years . . . or most of our lives?

Joseph did. And he could have easily given in to his inevitably horrible situation. Sold by his brothers, taken to a foreign land, accused wrongly by his master's wife, put in prison--yet Joseph refused to give up. Instead, he interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, became a ruling official, and saved the lives of many during the years of famine . . . including the brothers who betrayed him.

Joseph patiently served God, making the most of his situation while exhibiting the sweetness of long-suffering. He had no way of knowing what God had in store for him in the midst of his pain. The emotions he experienced reuniting with his father and saving his family from famine gave him great joy--erasing the years of sorrow. Like Joseph, we need to rest in God's purpose and plan when faced with trials.

If a bird is flying for pleasure, it flies with the wind; but if it meets danger, it turns and faces the wind in order that it may fly higher.
Corrie ten Boom

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Jeremiah 49:1-50:46
Jeremiah 51:1-52:34
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