Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 5

I Know!

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9

If you were to ask me, "Adrian Rogers, are you saved?" I'd say, "Yes, praise God! I know I am saved!"

But if works have anything to do with my salvation, and you were to ask me, "Adrian Rogers, are you saved?" I'd have to say, "Well, now, let me think. Yes, I believe I'm saved. I prayed today and I studied the Bible. I didn't curse today, and I didn't steal. But uh-oh, I did lose my temper today. Well, let me see. I hope I'm saved."

If you depend upon works, a little or a lot, to get you to heaven; then you'll never be able to say, "Praise God, I know that I know that I'm saved." But you're not saved by works. You're saved by grace through faith.

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 7

Thy Will Be Done

"And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us." - 1 John 5:14

Do you know why our prayers sometimes are not answered? We're saying, "Not Thy will, but mine be done." Let me tell you something: prayer is not some exercise where you talk God into doing what He doesn't want to do. You'll never do that. Prayer is not bending God's will to fit your will. Prayer is finding the will of God and getting in on it. Do you know where man got into trouble? In the Garden of Eden when the first Adam said, "Not Thy will, but mine be done."

Thank God for the second Adam, the Lord Jesus, Who prayed in another garden, "Not My will, but Thine, be done (Luke 22:42)." Are you submitted to the will of God?

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 8

Time to Clean House

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7

Suppose you own a piece of property, and right in the middle of it you sell me an acre, and I have access in and out. Let's suppose all night long I'm playing loud music, I throw trash around, I desecrate your property. After a while you say "I want you out of there. Move out. You're defiling my land."

But I say, "I'm not going; you can't make me go. You sold me this piece of property; I've got a legal right to it and I'm not moving." Dear friend, you would not be able to move me out because you gave me a place there.

Some of you have done almost the same thing with Satan. Certain things in your life have become strongholds and you have given a place to the devil. You cannot dislodge him unless you legally dislodge him.

Even after you repent from sin, the devil is not going to walk out. You're going to have to run him out. You still have to clean house. You have to say, "Satan, I've given you a place, but I take it back in the name and the authority of Jesus. Satan, I don't shout at you, I don't plead with you, I don't argue with you, I don't beg you. I bring Jesus Christ against you. You have no right, no authority. This body of mine is the temple of the Holy Spirit of God. You are trespassing on my Father's property, and in the name of Jesus, Whose I am and Whom I serve, be gone!"  He'll flee from you.

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 9

15¢OR $150,000—To God It Is the Same

"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." - Luke 16:10.

Look carefully at this verse. Jesus is saying that when a person is unfaithful in the small things, he will be unfaithful in greater things as well. He didn't say "may be" unfaithful or "could be" unfaithful. It says he is. If you would steal so much as a 15-cent pencil and carry it home from the job—if it doesn't belong to you, you've made a place for the devil.

You say, "Wait a minute!" This is what the Bible says. A person who would steal a 15-cent pencil has the potential of stealing a $150,000 payroll. When you are unfaithful in that which is least, the Bible says you are unfaithful. That dawned on me the other day. I used to say, "Well, if I'm capable of stealing a little, then I'm capable of stealing a lot." That isn't what God says. God says if you are unfaithful in that which is least, you are unfaithful in that which is much, because with God thievery is thievery. It makes no difference

Ask yourself this question: "Is there any area of my life that is not impeccably, indisputably, completely honest?" If there's an area of dishonesty of your life, that will be the devil's campground.

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 10

Not Any Should Perish

"The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." - 2 Peter 3:9

Some people believe there is a certain number of persons who are going to be saved and that number has been fore-ordained—already settled, nothing we can do about it. They believe God has predestined some for heaven and some for hell. I don't believe that for one second!

I believe God wants everybody to be saved. Read today's verse—black print on white paper. Don't get the idea that God created a little baby and said, "You, child, are going to go to hell, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it." I don't believe that for a moment. Listen, God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

It's one thing to believe this. It's another to get out there and start sharing the Gospel with people. What are you doing to present them with the opportunity to be saved? Are you sharing the Lord Jesus Christ?

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 11

Shut the Devil's Mouth

"When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." - John 11:4

The devil's charge against Job was that Job didn't really love God—that the only reason Job served God was that God had bribed him. God said, "To prove He loves me, Satan, you can take anything from him but his life." Job continued to serve the Lord and said, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him..." (Job 13:15). Isn't that great?

God often gets the glory through our trials. There are servants of God today, special people who've been chosen of God to shut the devil's mouth by saying, "Though I do not have physical health or a lot of this world's goods, I love my God. Jesus Christ is real to me, and Jesus Christ is enough for me."

Sometimes sickness may glorify God. Andrew Murray, a dear old saint, wrote:

"In times of trouble the trusting child of God may say, 'First He brought me here, it is by His will that I'm in this great place. Next, He will keep me here in His love and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child. Then He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends for me to learn and working in the grace He means to bestow. And in His good time He can bring me out again. How and when—He knows.'"

So many people have an "if" faith: "Lord, if you do this..." But what you need is a "though" faith. "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." And that shuts the mouth of the devil!

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 12

What God Can Do

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6

A. C. Dickson, a fine expositor of the Word of God, said when we depend upon organization, we get what organization can do. When we depend upon education, we get what education can do. When we depend on money, we get what money can do. When we depend on singing and preaching, we get what singing and preaching can do.

But then he said when we depend upon prayer, we get what God can do. And, oh, what this world needs is what God can do! What our cities need is what God can do! What your home needs is what God can do! What our churches need is what God can do!

Are you depending on what God can do? Are you depending on prayer?

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 14

God Is Still on the Phone

"...ye have not, because ye ask not." - James 4:2

A little girl heard the choir singing that song "God Is Still on the Throne." She didn't understand it quite correctly and told someone they were singing "God is still on the phone." Well, He is!

There's a heavenly hotline and thankfully God is still on the phone! He answers our prayers. Prayer—that you and I can talk with God—is the greatest Christian privilege. The One Who scooped out the seas, heaped up the mountains, and flung out the stars—the omnipotent God — has invited us to talk with Him. There is no possible way I could overstate the importance of prayer. And I pray that you will never underestimate the importance of prayer.

Prayer is the Christian's greatest privilege. It is the Christian's greatest power. But it is also the Christian's greatest failure. We have not because we ask not. May God forgive us.

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 15

Healing the Wounded

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." - Galatians 6:1

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when a new convert comes down the aisle, especially if he's been a notorious sinner, everybody watches him like a hawk? Well, the first thing you know, if he slips back into his old world, so many times the Christians say, "Uh huh, just as I thought. Look at him; look how he failed." And rather than helping him, it seems as though they put their heel on his head and push him down further into the mud. Somebody has said the Christian army is the only army in the world that shoots its wounded.

We are not to criticize, we're to help, we're to lift, we're to boost. "Confess your faults one to another and pray one for another." This is the command we should obey. We should pray one for another.

[Judy Harder]

APRIL 16

Cursed

"And unto Adam He said...cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." - Genesis 3:17

The crown of thorns Jesus wore—what does it speak of? It symbolizes the curse upon humanity, on you, on me, on us all, because of sin. When God created mankind and put him in the Garden of Eden, there were no thorns. A curse came upon Adam and Eve because they sinned and disobeyed God. The thorn, the thistle, are the result of the curse of sin upon humanity.  Jesus wore a crown of thorns because He bore that curse...the hardship, sorrow, and death that come with sin.

Are you having heartaches? Are you having sorrow? Do you know sickness? The thorny pathway we walk is because of sin. The bed of briars we sleep on is because of sin.

Who is taking care of your sin today? Who is paying the price for it? Is it under the blood? Are you trusting Christ alone for that?