Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, September 28


Out on a Limb

And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.
Luke 19:8 (ESV)

Recommended Reading
Luke 19:1-10

Making restitution is a wonderful privilege. In a sense, it allows us to change the past. While we can never turn back the clock, we often have the opportunity of correcting past mistakes, making up for them, and turning them to good. If we've stolen, we can repay. If we've defrauded, we can restore. If we've taken, we can return. If we've injured, we can affirm. If we've broken, we can mend.

Zacchaeus was a diminutive man who crawled out on a limb for a glimpse of Jesus. Our Lord paused under the tree, looked up, and told him to come down. So moved was Zacchaeus that he received Christ into his heart and home, offered to give liberally to the poor, and promised to make restitution to anyone he had defrauded. Jesus replied, "Today salvation has come to this house... for the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost."

Look for ways to make restitution or amends for any wrongs you have done--and consider it a liberating privilege. It's an evidence of Christ's life-changing power.

Restitution is evidence to others that one has made a transaction with God. Be committed to making restitution when needed, in God's timing.
Robert A. Hanson


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Mark 4:26-6:44

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, September 29


The Nourished Soul

...nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.
1 Timothy 4:6b

Recommended Reading
1 Timothy 4:6-11
In his 1729 Christian classic, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life, William Law gave us the secret to a spiritual and productive life. "Nourish (your soul) with good works," he wrote, "make it wise with reading, enlighten it by meditation, make it tender with love, sweeten it with humility, humble it with penance, enliven it with Psalms and Hymns, and comfort it with frequent reflections on future glory."1

The normal Christian life is one of constant and continual revival. While longing for a global revival to sweep the earth or a local revival to touch our church, we can personally nourish our soul every day. We can grow wise by the reading of God's Word, become enlightened by meditating on memorized Scripture, learn to treat others with the tenderness of agape love, and display the sweet traits of humility and confession. We can bolster our spirits with hymns and songs, and we can comfort and strengthen our hearts by reflecting on heaven and on things above.

For renewal to take place, we have only to study God's blessed Word and let it do its work in our lives.

Regularity of devotion, this holiness of common life... is a devotion that is the duty of all orders of Christian people.
William Law

1William Law, A Serious Call (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966), 45, 88.


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Mark 6:45-8:38

[Judy Harder]

Friday, September 30

Clear and Concise

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and morrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Hebrews 4:12

Recommended Reading
Nehemiah 8

Over the past twenty years, the amount of money spent on public education has nearly doubled. But some wonder if students are coming out of school twice as educated? There are so many more resources, more technology, more gimmicks to entice students to be interested in learning, yet it appears that education is still on the decline in some communities. It seems as though all the "extras" are taking the place of clear, concise instruction.

Like many schools, some churches today are complicating the recipe for a thriving church by adopting the world's methods for motivating people. But what we really need is the clear, concise teaching of God's Word. It alone is the greatest motivational technique God gave His people.

Aren't you thankful it's that simple to "come alive" in Christ and gain motivation? And there are so many churches today that offer clear, concise Bible teaching. We can be thankful that God has given us His Word and teachers to help us understand the Bible and apply it to our lives.

The Bible was not given to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.
D.L. Moody


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Mark 9:1-10:34

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, October 1 & 2

Days of Creation: God Is in Control

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 40:21-24

One of the themes of the famous 1968 film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, was the idea of a man-made computer taking on human characteristics--even taking on a will of its own. That was a revolutionary thought in its day. It has always been true that creations of man are subject to their creators. And they still are today.

That reflects a principle set in motion by the God of heaven and earth; the God who created the world out of nothing and remains supreme over it. Man, the pinnacle of God's creation, attempts at times to rise up against the Creator and replace God's will with his own. God's response, in human terms, is to "laugh [and] . . . hold them in derision" (Psalm 2:4). Yes, man has a will that can be exercised, but only within limits. God is the Creator who never relinquishes control of this world to human or spiritual beings.

When you next read a headline that makes you worry and wonder, remember that in the beginning God created everything by His Word--a Word that never fails to accomplish the purpose for which it was spoken (Isaiah 55:11).

Biblical patience is not rooted in fatalism that says everything is out of control. It is rooted in faith that says everything is in God's control.
John Blanchard


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Mark 10:35-14:72

[Judy Harder]

Culture Threat #4: The Attack Against the Sanctity of Marriage

Cohabiting without marriage has become so common that in a mere thirty years it has effected a complete inversion of America's attitude toward a practice that the Bible unambiguously labels sin.

At stake is the very future of our society.

If this mindset prevails and more couples choose to treat marriage as optional, future generations of children will suffer, and the very walls of society - built on the foundation of marriage - will crumble around us.

Is the future of traditional marriage in danger of becoming obsolete? I never thought I'd see the day when the answer to this question could be "Yes"- but that day has arrived. Our selfish natures, our increasingly godless culture, and our very government are hard at work against God's first ordained institution.

We can't control the choices of a secular society, but we can guard our own marriages in both concept and practice. And in so doing, we can show the world what it's missing.

What you can do:

Prepare:

Understand the fundamental shift in values away from God's Word toward societal consensus.
Know how to defend marriage against the prevailing postmodern philosophy.
Read Chapter Four of I Never Thought I'd See the Day! that examines cultural causes of today's deconstruction of marriage.
Pray:

Pray for your marriage and for other married couples you know to draw people closer to God.
Pray for our nation to return to a biblical foundation of marriage.
Pray for all marriages currently experiencing emotional and financial pressures.
Participate:

Commit to pray daily with your spouse for the health of your marriage.
Consider mentoring a young couple.
Listen and watch I Never Thought I'd See the Day! on Turning Point Television and Radio.
I want to help you know what God's Word says about the cultural and spiritual changes impacting America and the Church today and also know how to live faithfully in the midst of them.

DEADLINE: Pre-order I Never Thought I'd See the Day! before Tuesday, October 4, and discover the extraordinary opportunity to help reverse the destructive trends and call America back to faith in God, back to the solid foundation of His Word.

And when you order before Tuesday, you will gain access to over 100 Bible online resources at no cost to you!

God bless you,

David Jeremiah
 

[Judy Harder]

Monday, October 3

Surprising Conversions

It is hard for you to kick against the goads.
Acts 9:5b

Recommended Reading
Acts 9:10-15
As a mighty awakening rolled across New England in 1737, Rev. Jonathan Edwards compiled a pamphlet of revival stories. He titled it, A Narrative of Surprising Conversions. Over a hundred years later, William C. Conant wrote an updated version designed to include stories from the revivals of the 1800s. He used a similar title: Narratives of Surprising Conversions.

In a sense, every conversion is surprising. That God would reach down in infinite mercy and save any of us is a story of amazing grace. But the conversions of some souls are particularly surprising. No one expected Christianity's greatest enemy, Saul of Tarsus, to turn to Christ and become a great missionary. Paul later called himself the chief of sinners... "that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe" (1 Timothy 1:16).

Perhaps God will reach down and convert some strident anti-Christian voice today. Those who are the loudest may be the ones most secretly longing to believe. Let's pray for some more "surprising conversions."

It is wonderful that persons should be so suddenly and yet so greatly changed.
Jonathan Edwards in A Narrative of Surprising Conversions


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Mark 15:1-Luke 1:38

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, October 4

No God, or Know God

The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
Psalm 14:1

Recommended Reading
Psalm 14

Atheist Richard Dawkins recently told a newspaper that the Irish Constitution should be changed to remove all influence of the church. He referred to the church as an "evil" institution, and he expressed joy that secularism is growing in Ireland. How foolish! To be an atheist, one presupposes total knowledge. How arrogant to claim to have disproven the existence of God.

It's encouraging to know that despite the bluster of the atheists, Christianity is growing by leaps and bounds. In 1979, missiologist Patrick Johnstone was asked the most difficult places on earth for a Gospel breakthrough. He said Mongolia and Albania. Today there are at least 40,000 Mongolian believers, and Albania now has religious freedom and a thriving church. There are even reports that the church within Iran is growing at a remarkable pace; and according to the most recent edition of Operation World: "There are now Christians living and fellowshipping in every country on earth."1

Don't be discouraged. There is a God and He is not silent.

Christianity is the greatest intellectual system the mind of man has ever touched.
Francis Schaeffer


1Jason Mandryk, Operation World: Seventh Edition (WEC International, 2010), 4-5.


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 1:39-2:52

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, October 5


Picture Perfect

The LORD has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet.
Nahum 1:3b

Recommended Reading
Nahum 1:1-7

According to United Press International, an Alabama couple whose house was destroyed in last May's outbreak of tornadoes said that their 1982 wedding photo turned up in Tennessee. When a tornado destroyed the home of Mike and Freida Evans of Hackleburg, Alabama, a photograph of their wedding was among the items lost. Apparently the picture was blown 120 miles to Lincoln County, Tennessee. A family there found the photo in their yard and had it printed in the local paper to find the owners. The Evans family said the picture appeared to be completely undamaged.

"When we go through trials, it only makes us stronger," Freida Evans said. "I am a survivor. I had depended on my faith and church family to get us through after the accident, and that's what we'll do now. We'll be able to build back."1

Sometimes our lives feel like a whirlwind, but we have confidence in the future because we have a God who rides above the storms.

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform; He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.
William Cowper


1"Tornado Carries Photo 120 Miles" in UPI.Com, May 30, 2011.



Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 3:1-4:44

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, October 6

To Steal, Kill, & Destroy

And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat."
Luke 22:31

Recommended Reading
John 10:7-10

On the next rainy day, sit down with a cup of tea and look up the key biblical references to our devilish enemy, Satan. On a piece of paper, list the verbs attached to his name. You'll find things like this: Satan beguiles, seduces, opposes, resists, takes away, deceives, lies, hinders, steals, kills, destroys, buffets, tempts, persecutes, blasphemes, accuses, binds, and sifts as wheat.

We're in a battle, and our enemy is on the attack. We need to resist him. Satan can't stand the hymns of the faith, so sing. He can't overcome the prayers of the saints, so pray. He can't defeat the Lord Jesus Christ, so claim the power of the Blood. He can't overthrow the truth, so quote the Scriptures. He can't vanquish the joy of the Lord, so rejoice. He can't divert God's grace, so use the shield of faith.

We must use the weapons God has given us. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

It may be that Satan is planning some fresh temptation with which to assail you; but, though he desires to... sift you as wheat, Christ is praying for you, that your faith fail not.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, in his sermon, "The Tenses"


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 5:1-6:49

[Judy Harder]

Friday, October 7

Accepting Reality

Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Matthew 16:16

Recommended Reading
Philippians 2:9-11

"Lewis's Trilemma" refers to the most popular presentation of the "Liar, Lunatic, Lord" defense for the divinity of Christ made by C. S. Lewis in his talks and writings. While the argument had been verbalized before in the nineteenth century, it was Lewis's expansion of the argument in Mere Christianity that established its permanence in apologetic discussions. The idea of the "trilemma" has to do with Jesus' claims to be God: He was either a liar (which means He couldn't be God), or a lunatic (He was self-deceived and mentally unaware of His own claims), or He was Lord--"however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem," Lewis said.

Radio humorist Garrison Keillor once said, "Sometimes we have to look reality in the face and deny it!" That seems to be the approach of many when it comes to Jesus. There is no evidence that Jesus was not who He claimed to be, yet many are unwilling to bow their knee before Him (though all will one day--Philippians 2:9-11).

Who do you say Jesus is? It is wiser to accept reality than to deny it.

Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma.
John "Rabbi" Duncan


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 7:1–8:39