Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

October 20

Do You Feel "Fogged In"?

"Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful." - Psalm 116:5

Imagine you are in a plane, ready for take-off on the runway. The pilot has come on the intercom and announced there's a delay because of fog. You glance out your window. It looks so gloomy and dark. You wonder if the sun is shining.

The fog lifts enough for the control tower to give the pilot the green light, and the plane takes off. It's still cloudy, but the plane starts climbing, climbing, climbing. Suddenly, the plane bursts through the clouds, and it is so gloriously bright that you have to blink your eyes. Now, you realize the sun has been there all the time.

That's the way it is with Jehovah God, the Son of righteousness with healing in His wings (see Malachi 4:2-3). He is always loving, always giving. He is waiting for you to see Him now.

Invite the Holy Spirit to show you today the true condition of the sky—above the clouds. Open your heart to His presence and let Him speak to you about what is really there beyond the fog. Things are not always what they seem. And God has His hand upon you.

[Judy Harder]

October 21

Every Failure—Is a Prayer Failure!

"In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him." - Ephesians 3:12

One of the grandest privileges you and I have is the privilege of prayer. I believe when we get to heaven, one of the things that will amaze us is that we prayed so poorly, and we prayed so little, while we were here on earth.

I want to tell you: you do not have a failure in your life but what it is a prayer failure. You do not have a need in your life but what prayer could supply that need. There's not a sin in your life that a proper prayer life couldn't overcome.

Hymn writer Joseph M. Scriven penned these words, "O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."

Friend, rather than wringing our hands, we ought to be bending our knees.

[Judy Harder]

October 22

Does Your Life Help or Hurt the Cause of Christ?

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" - Romans 10:14

You are either a helper or a hurter when it comes to reaching the world for Christ. Why? Because, like "Big Brother," the world is watching your "Sunday-go-to-church" behavior and wondering how it compares to your behavior the rest of the week.

Do they see you giving your time and resources to help them when they're hurting? Do they witness how you treat your family? Or how you entertain your friends? Or do you even know their names?

The greatest argument for Christ and the greatest argument against Christ is the life of a Christian. Hymn writer Philip P. Bliss penned, "Let the lower lights be burning! Send a gleam across the wave! Some poor fainting struggling seaman You may rescue, you may save."

[Judy Harder]

October 23

Just Give Me Jesus

"Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." - Psalm 29:2

There was a man who had lived a long life with Jesus, and now he was dying. His loved ones came to him and asked him to sign his name to a legal document. They said, "Daddy, if you would sign this, it would help us with a lot of legal difficulties. We hate to mention it, but it needs to be done."

With the old man facing eternity, he lifted his quivering hand and signed the paper. Before long, he went to be with the Lord. When the family picked up the document, to their amazement he had signed, "Jesus." More than likely, it was the only name that meant anything to him in those moments.

What name means the most to you right now? There will come a time when the only name that will mean anything to you is—Jesus.

[Judy Harder]

October 24

The Goal of An Unbroken Circle

"In the fear of the Lord is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge." - Proverbs 14:26

The devil hates families who worship together. He will allow parents to be religious, but he does not want them to take their children to heaven with them. As a result, we're losing an entire generation. Our children are being left behind to die and go to hell because we are compromising with Satan.

Catherine Booth, wife of the founder of the Salvation Army, prayed, "Oh God, I will not stand before Thee without all my children."

There are many fathers and mothers today who need to say that. Stand firm, Mom. Stand firm, Dad. Gather those children close to you and love them to Jesus.

[Judy Harder]

October 25

More Than One Reason to Live by God's Principles

"For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness." - 1 Thessalonians 4:7

A former president of the American Psychiatric Association said, "Premarital sex relationships resulting from the so-called new morality have greatly increased the number of young people in mental hospitals."

Dr. Billy Graham said he talked to the head psychiatrist at one of our great universities. At that time he said, "Over fifty percent of the students at that university are suffering psychological problems because of immoral relationships."

Friend, why does God tell us to live a pure and holy life? It's not only so that we can have fellowship with Him, but also it is for our own mental health! He knows holiness brings life to our bones, healing to our hearts, and joy to our steps!

[Judy Harder]

October 27

Let Your New Life Push Out the Old!

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Our eyes delight to see those trees in autumn which turn glorious colors, then drop their leaves one by one. But there are certain trees that hold their leaves until spring. They wither and turn brown, but they don't drop. Not until spring do these trees lose their leaves—when the new leaves push out the old leaves.

That's exactly what happens to our old habits and our old lives when we find the Lord Jesus. The new life pushes that old life off.

It's not a matter of plucking off this leaf and knocking off that leaf. The Christian life is not forged in that manner. Our new life replaces our old life when we are born again.

[Judy Harder]

October 28

Come This Morning to the Cleansing Basin

"Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin." - Psalm 51:2

Before a priest could enter the Holy of Holies, he had to stop by the basin and wash his hands and feet. He had already been washed from head to toe, but there is no floor in the tabernacle, only dirt. This final preparation before he entered God's presence was to symbolize the washing away of the defilement of this world.

As you and I come into contact with the world, we are going to become defiled. We don't need a bath all over. We are already saved. But each day we must ask God to search our hearts and cleanse us from our sins.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if each of us came into the presence of God as seriously as the Old Testament priests? We should. Have you been to the cleansing basin this morning?

[Judy Harder]

October 29

Are You Sitting on the Lukewarm Fence?

"According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death." - Philippians 1:20

May God help us today in the midst of our lukewarm apathy toward the things that matter most to Him! If it's worth anything, it's worth everything. May God forgive those who will not go the second mile.

Now, in some things moderation is good, like eating, rest, recreation, exercise, and finances. But when it comes to spiritual warfare, moderation is a sin. When it comes to believing the Bible, moderation is a sin. When it comes to loving the Lord, moderation is a sin!

Suppose a wife asked her husband, "Honey, do you love me?" And he said, "Well, moderately." She'd fix his wagon, don't you think?

Friend, if the world considers you a "moderate" when it comes to your Christianity, you are riding the fence of lukewarmness.

[Judy Harder]

October 30

God May Use Distress to Expand Your Influence

"And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that Thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that Thine hand might be with me, and that Thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested." - 1 Chronicles 4:10

The story of Jabez is one of a man who wanted his influence to be enlarged. God can stretch you, as well.

If you ask that God enlarge your influence, be aware of this: For the Psalmist, Psalm 4:1 says that God enlarged him when he was "in distress." You can expect that God may use distressing circumstances to do that in you. And the pain will be worth it all.

When God enlarges you, He does so to fill you with more of Himself. Don't be satisfied with God's filling a small place if God wants to fill a larger place.

Are you ready to say, "God I want more. I want You to enlarge my coasts. I don't want just a blessing. I want a blessing indeed"? We need to pray big prayers to a big God.