Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

JUNE 26

True Joy & Peace Comes From the Lord Alone

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3

You may admit that God is necessary, but do you honestly know that God is enough and that He is, in fact, more than enough?

To find out if God is enough for you, let me ask you a couple of questions. Where do you obtain your joy? Is it from the Lord or from somewhere else? If your joy is from your health and it goes, then your joy will fly out the window. Many a believer has lost his health, his business, his family, his reputation, but has still maintained his joy because the source of genuine contentment and peace is in God. Indeed one may not know that God is enough until God is all one has.

When was the last time you visited a hospital waiting room and shared Christ with those who are hurting? Maybe you could do that sometime this weekend.

[Judy Harder]

JUNE 27

What Real Faith Is

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

People join churches today with wrong expectations. They think that church membership guarantees blessings and no burdens. Some think that God is just a heavenly cafeteria. And if it doesn't work out as they wish, they say, "Well, it's not paying off! I thought if I gave my heart to Jesus, then He would supply everything I wanted and I'd have no more worries." People fall away because their expectations are not met. Let me tell you what real faith is. Real faith is not just receiving from God the things you want. Real faith is accepting from God the things He gives.

How are your spiritual eyeglasses? Are you looking at life with the eyes of the Lord and trusting that He will provide, not necessarily what you want, but what you need?

[Judy Harder]

JUNE 28

Meeting Social and Spiritual Needs

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst." John 6:35

Sometimes people in large churches get a lot of grief from "the world" because of the great expenses of building and maintaining their church. I've heard, "Why didn't they take that money and feed the poor?"

Here's my answer, "People need Jesus." The social gospel thinks that all men need is food. If I had five billion dollars and bought everybody on earth a snack; in several hours, they'd all be hungry again. There's nothing wrong with feeding the poor. We ought to do that. But the social gospel puts an emphasis on what is temporary. The true gospel puts the emphasis upon what is eternal. Folks need more than soup and soap, they need salvation.

Think about ways that you can get involved with the needs to feed, clothe, and house the homeless. Then also find the open door to feed them with the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.

[Judy Harder]

JUNE 29

Where is Your Focus Today?

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

When a runner is in a race, he puts his eyes on the goal. He doesn't look at the grandstand or the other runners. Neither does he examine himself. He has his eyes on the goal. He looks away from everything else. The finish line is all he sees.

That's exactly what we're to do. The reason many Christians fail in the race is that they have not learned to look away from other things. They're trying to look in both directions at the same time, and James 1:8 says, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." And Matthew 6:22 says, "If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."

Where is your focus today? Has the world drawn you back into itself, luring you away from the command of our Lord? Read Matthew 28:19-20. That's your goal.

[Judy Harder]

JUNE 30

Assurance of Your Salvation

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts 16:31

A Christian is not somebody who merely believes that Christ died for his sins. The devil believes that. A Christian is somebody who has repented of his sins and invited Christ into his heart to be his Savior and Lord. You can intellectually believe that an airplane can fly, but in order to fly you must try out its wings. In the same way, when you give your heart to Jesus Christ, He takes control of your life and begins to make you into the person He wants you to be. Your life doesn't have to be absolutely perfect for you to go to heaven. At the moment you trust Christ as your personal Savior, you are eternally saved, eternally secure, and God begins to work on you.

Isn't it wonderful to know you are saved? Now, spread the word of that assurance to a neighbor today.

[Judy Harder]

July 1

Would You Turn Down a Pardon?

"For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Matthew 26:28

In 1829 George Wilson was adjudicated guilty and given the death sentence for murder. But Wilson had some friends who petitioned President Andrew Jackson for a pardon.

Jackson granted the pardon, and it was brought to prison and given to Wilson. To everyone's surprise, Wilson said, "I am going to hang."

There had never been a refusal to a pardon, so the courts didn't know what to do. Discussion went all the way to the Supreme Court, and Justice John Marshall gave this ruling: "A pardon is a piece of paper, the value of which depends upon the acceptance by the person implicated. If he does not accept the pardon, then he must be executed."

God loves you and wants to pardon you, but if you refuse Him, you will die and go to hell. Cast yourself upon Him completely, and receive the free gift of His forgiveness today.

Have you repented of your sin and believed upon the atoning work of Christ's blood on the cross? Being good doesn't get you to heaven. It is only Jesus.

[Judy Harder]

July 2

Strengthened by Your Foes

"Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not." Numbers 14:9

Joshua and Caleb faced formidable foes in the Promised Land, and yet what was their response to their enemies? "They are bread for us." (Numbers 14:9).

What is bread? It is the staff of life. What happens when you eat bread? You are strengthened by it and you grow by it.

Paul also faced formidable foes. He wrote, "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries" (1 Corinthians 16:9).

Why isn't the door to victory easy? Because if it were easy, then you would become weak in your effort to work out your faith in God. God places obstacles in your path to give you strength. "Wheaties" is not the breakfast of champions— giants are. God wants you to feed upon your difficulties and depend upon Him to make you a conqueror.

What does it take to strengthen your body? What does it take to build your intellect? What does it take to grow love in relationships? Work. Read Philippians 2:12-13 and apply it to your life today.

[Judy Harder]

July 3

Renouncing the Rebel Inside

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:20

Is there stirring in your heart a spirit of rebellion today? Maybe you don't even recognize it. But if you do, let me plead with you to do something about it right now.


Ask God to cleanse you from your desire to rebel. 
Ask Him to root out the rebel in you. He is not going to remove it until you renounce it. It is your choice. 
Ask Him to forgive you for the foolish and careless words you have spoken. 
Ask Him to take out that spirit of rebellion against authorities. 
Ask Him to teach you how to lovingly respect people when they are in the wrong.

Either you crown Jesus as Lord, or you crucify Him. Are you with Jesus today or are you against Him?

Is there someone who has wronged you and you seek revenge? Do you have a need to have your rights exalted above others? Read and apply the truth of Philippians 2:3-11.

[Judy Harder]

July 4

Fires of Rebellion or Fires of Revival?

"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? Show us Thy mercy, O Lord, and grant us Thy salvation." Psalm 85:6-7

When I was a Boy Scout, a buddy and I took a seven-mile hike to earn a merit badge and decided to camp out. We pitched our tent, built a fire, cooked our dinner, and then went to sleep. The next morning we woke up, kindled another fire, fixed our breakfast, and then went out to explore the woods.

When we came back, the woods were on fire! A wind was blowing and I thought we'd never put out that fire.

Have you ever thought about the fire that came on the day of Pentecost? The Bible says there was a sound of a rushing mighty wind that spread His flame (see Acts 2:2). Let me ask you a question: Is America going to burn by the fires of rebellion or by the fires of revival?

How I pray that God will cause a mighty Pentecostal wind to sweep across America. Whether it does or not lies in the hands, hearts, minds, wills, prayers, ambitions, and aspirations of people like you and me.


Pray for America - for those who make and adjudicate the law of the land. 
Pray for preachers and teachers of God's Word. 
Pray for those who call themselves Christians. 
Pray for the lost. 
Pray 2 Chronicles 7:14. 
Ask God to save. 
Ask God to humble His people where we need humbling so that His glory may be known.

[Judy Harder]

July 5

He Will Never Abandon You

"For the Lord your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you." Deuteronomy 20:4

Do you remember the miracle that God performed when He brought the Israelites through the Red Sea, when they were being hunted down by Pharaoh's army? It was incredible.

Now, let me ask you: What happened three days later? The Israelites began grumbling because there was no water.

Do you think God would invest such a miraculous deliverance for them, and then abandon them just days later? Absolutely not!  But what happens to us when we are down in the dumps and wondering where God is taking us? We become just like the Israelites!

And yet God did something more for you than He did for them! He sent His precious and only Son to die on Calvary's tree for you. God redeemed you. More than God bringing you out of a watery grave, He delivered you from eternal damnation into glorious communion with Him forever! God saved you! What more could you possibly want?

Are you down in the dumps today? Do you feel like the victim of a bad situation? Do you feel like God has abandoned you? Then write down Deuteronomy 20:4 on a piece of paper and meditate on it until you believe it.