Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

October 18

The Valley, the Shadow, and a Promise

"The Lord isnigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth." - Psalm 145:18

Psalm 23 speaks of the "valley of the shadow of death." For every shadow, there must be light. Jesus Christ said, "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). A shadow may frighten you, but a shadow cannot really hurt you.

I dare say that a shadow at one time or another has spooked many of us. But thank God, death is but a shadow if you know the Lord Jesus Christ. If you keep your face toward the light, the shadow will fall behind you. You won't even see the shadow. God doesn't bring us to a valley to leave us there. He always brings us through.

God is never closer than when you are in a dark valley. That's when He is especially near. In the original language, we're told Hebrews 13:5 actually has five negatives! The Amplified Bible translates it this way: "I will never, no, not ever, never leave you nor forsake you." Memorize this short, precious verse today.

[Judy Harder]

October 19

Finding Your Way when Human Reasoning Won't Do

"Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear Him, and keep His commandments, and obey His voice, and ye shall serve Him, and cleave unto Him." - Deuteronomy 13:4

When we read a command in the Bible, whether we understand it or not, we ought to obey it. The Bible is not first and foremost a book to be explained, it is a book to be believed and obeyed.

So many times we want to tell God how He ought to do things. I can imagine those early apostles when they first met Paul persecuting believers. Those well-meaning Christians could have been praying for God to strike Paul dead, but what did God do? He struck him alive! And aren't you glad He did?

Don't substitute human reasoning for obedience. God says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9).

[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 26

If You Keep Your Eyes on Jesus...

"And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." - John 16:22

When I was a boy and living on the Florida coastline, my brother and I were a little disappointed when a hurricane passed us by because of the exhilaration we experienced leaning into the wind and tasting the salty air! I can remember waves sometimes reaching fifty feet in the air. What a sight! But did you know there has never been a storm to move the ocean floor?

There will be storms that will course across the surface of our lives with raging torment, but the child of God can know a deep-down joy that nothing can take away. If you keep your eyes on Jesus, He will bring a joy that no man can take from you.

Oh, thank God for the steadfastness of His power, love, and mercy. Is your joy full in Christ today despite the winds of adversity?

[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.