Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

August 21

When These Things Begin to Come to Pass

"Therefore I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto Thy name." - 2 Samuel 22:50

If we get into an auto accident and come out alive, we typically thank God for sparing our lives. But do you ever just thank God for saving your life as you drove home from work and didn't have an accident? Isn't that even better?

I heard a story that poignantly illustrates this. One Sunday a husband and wife heard that a person in their church whose son died on the battlefield gave a significant love offering in his memory. On the way home, the wife asked her husband, "Why don't we give an offering for our son?"

"Why?" he answered. "Our son wasn't killed."

She said, "Don't you think that's a good reason?"

[Judy Harder]

August 22

Peace, Be Still

"Keep me as the apple of the eye...hide me under the shadow of Thy wings." - Psalm 17:8

Charles Wesley was walking through the woods on a stormy day when a lightening storm broke out and the rain began to come down in torrents. A bolt of lightening flashed, and a little bird was so frightened that it flew down to Wesley and it tried to hide in his coat.

He was so moved by the scene that he wrote a song we often sing: "Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly, while the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high. Hide me, O my Savior, hide, 'til the storm of life is past; safe unto the haven guide me, O receive my soul at last." That's what our Lord does. He hides us, sustains us, and keeps us.

Are the storms of life raging around you? Hide yourself in the dark clouds—they are just the shadow of His wing.

[Judy Harder]

August 23

How Passionate Is Our Love for the Lord?

"For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it." - Matthew 16:25

When I was a little boy and I found something that didn't belong to me, I'd say, "Finders keepers, losers weepers!"

But do you know what the apostle Paul said? "Keepers weepers, losers finders."

He said, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Philippians 3:7).

Religion does not save us. Jesus saves us. And He's calling us to not only turn from our sins, but to turn from our righteousness.

What are you holding onto in your life that brings you security? Let it go to the glory of God! You can trust Him to provide for all your needs.

[Judy Harder]

August 24

That I May Know Him

"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." - Philippians 3:10

One day I was making a call on a businessman with a friend of mine. This dear man of God began giving his testimony of how the Lord saved him. But then he said something that really shocked me. I was speechless. He said, "I used to believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross and that He was buried and rose again. But I don't believe it anymore."

I was stopped dead in my tracks. Then with a smile on his face he said, "I don't believe it anymore. Now, I know it!"

Oh, to go from believing to knowing the Savior! What a change of thought. What a change of heart. What a glorious revelation and transformation!

Do you know him? Really know Him today? Or do you just believe that He died, was buried, and rose again?

[Judy Harder]

August 25

To Be Found in Christ

"But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption." - 1 Corinthians 1:30

Paul thought it was the greatest of blessings to be found "in Him" (see Philippians 3:9). Paul exchanged a set of rules for a friend.

Hadn't you rather have a friend than a set of rules? Before this, Paul had the law. Now, he has the Lord. And what a difference! What a safe place—to be found in Jesus Christ.

You're not just a church member if you are saved, you are in Christ. You are in His body and He is in you. Talk about fellowship divine! You may be alone, but you'll never be lonely again because the Lord Jesus Christ is in you and you are in the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have a hymnal in your home, find the hymn "In The Garden" and meditate on its truth, that "He tells me I am His own."

[Judy Harder]

August 26

More Than We Can Ask or Think

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." - Ephesians 3:20

To be found in Jesus, Paul says, is worth more than all of his religion, race, and ritual. It is a relationship with the Almighty God. It is Jesus. Paul says, "I'm tired of trying. I'm going to start trusting."

Basically, Paul lived a life of working his way to heaven before he met the Lord on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9). Legalism is a terrible thing. It is a harsh task master under which no one can succeed.

Liberty, not legalism, is what the Lord Jesus Christ offers. Freedom, not bondage. Relationship, not religion. We give up nothing for which Jesus will not abundantly offer more than we could ever hope or dream.

Read Colossians 3:11. What does it mean for Christ to be your "all in all"?

[Judy Harder]

August 27

Take It to the Lord in Prayer

"Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows." - Job 22:27

Have you ever disagreed with someone and felt you were in the right? I have. What started out as a conversation turns into a confrontation. And the tension becomes so thick you can cut it with a knife. At that point, it's time to separate before things disintegrate.

And when you separate, it's time to communicate with the Lord. It's when you get alone with God that the communion of conviction comes, and what seemed to be confusion becomes crystal clear in His light. More often than not, the Holy Spirit has shown me that I was in the wrong and needed to ask forgiveness.

Have you had a disagreement with someone lately? It's time to retreat, reflect, and receive what the Lord wants to tell you. Enter your prayer closet today.

[Judy Harder]

August 28

God Is Your Best Purity

". . . it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." - 1 Corinthians 7:1-2

Premarital sex always endangers future marital happiness. It follows as night follows day. Surveys have shown that those who were sexually pure when they went to the marriage altar have the greatest opportunity to have a happy marriage.

You can understand why. Suppose a man says to a woman "I love you so much, I just can't wait." He talks her into giving in to his desires. Now think about a man who loves and respects a woman by keeping her pure. Do you see the trust that this builds? God has a wonderful plan for you. Sex is so bad outside marriage because it's so good inside marriage.

Are you single? Take courage from knowing God's best is your purity. Though it may be hard to wait, God will honor your obedience.

[Judy Harder]

August 29

Fidelity, a Multi-Facetted Trait of Character

"Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."  - Hebrews 13:4

I'm continually amazed at the apathetic responses to surveys where people are asked, "Does it make any difference to you whether a candidate is faithful to his wife or not?" Or, "Would you vote for a man that was unfaithful to his wife?" And they say, "It doesn't matter."

Well, friend, it makes a difference to me. And more importantly, it makes a difference to God. When couples break solemn vows—unless they repent with every ounce of their hearts—trust is broken. Put it down big, straight, and plain: People who treat sex lightly will treat other people lightly.

Are you married? Find some time today to express to your spouse your love and faithful commitment to him or her.

[Judy Harder]

August 30

Imputing Righteousness to Your Account

"Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." - Romans 4:6

God imputes righteousness to you through His Son. What does "impute" mean? To put on your account. At the moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God makes you righteous. Romans 4:8 says, "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." A woman was asked one day what it felt like to be saved and she replied, "It feels as though I am standing in Jesus' shoes and He is standing in mine." A scholar or theologian couldn't have said it any better.

"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Thank God that though you are a sinner, He doesn't impute it to you, and though you are not righteous, He imputes—puts into your account— that to you!