Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

 
Monday, April 7

Holy Is and Holy Does

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints ...
Romans 1:7

Recommended Reading
1 Peter 1:15-16 [ http://iz3.me/j0Fa1zwXd1A1 ]

We often hear people give this testimony: "I am a sinner saved by grace." Technically, that's true. But the New Testament would say it this way: "I was a sinner, but am now a saint, saved by grace." The New Testament does not refer to members of the body of Christ as sinners: "And such [ sinners ] were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified [ made holy ], but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:11).

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/k0Fa1zwXd1A1 ]

The word "saint" in the New Testament is based on the Greek word for "holy" -- a saint is a "holy one." "Saint" represents the position of the Christian before God, a position to which we are called in Christ (Romans 1:7). Because Christ is holy, and we are in Christ, we share in His holiness as saints before God. But as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:7-10, the life of a sinner is to be a past tense matter for the Christian. As holy ones before God, we are to live a life of holiness that mirrors our holy, positional life in Christ.

So, holiness is something we are ("called to be saints") as well as something we do ("Be holy, for I am holy"). Let your standing in Christ reflect your conduct in Christ today.

Christianity is a universal holiness in every part of life.
William Law

Read-Thru-the-Bible
2 Samuel 20-22 [ http://iz3.me/m0Fa1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, April 8

Eyes of Faith

O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.
2 Chronicles 20:12

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 41:8-10 [ http://iz3.me/WfNa1zwXd1A1 ]

There are times in life when we have done everything we know to do in the face of a crisis -- an illness, a financial reversal, an approaching natural disaster, a family problem. To paraphrase the apostle Paul when he wrote about spiritual armor in those times, "having done all, [ we can only ] stand" (Ephesians 6:13). But stand how? While tempted to stand in fear, the Bible encourages us to stand in faith in the One who can do what we cannot.

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/XfNa1zwXd1A1 ]

King Jehoshaphat of Judah found himself in such a situation when neighboring kings banded together against him. His army was vastly outnumbered, so he did the only thing he could do. He stood in faith rather than fear. In prayer, before all the people, he called upon God to defend His own name. His final confession was brutally honest: "We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on You."

If you find that you have done everything you know to do and the crisis is not yet solved, stand in faith. God is faithful and true. Confess your inability and His ability, and keep your eyes on Him.

The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety.
George Muller

Read-Thru-the-Bible
2 Samuel 23-24 [ http://iz3.me/afNa1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, April 9

Only a Cat's Paw

If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
1 John 5:14

Recommended Reading
1 John 5:13-15 [ http://iz3.me/tvXa1zwXd1A1 ]

When missionary J. Hudson Taylor was conducting services aboard a ship one Sunday, he noticed the captain looked troubled. A contrary wind was bearing the ship toward a dangerous reef. As the course grew more perilous, the captain said, "Well, we have done everything that can be done."

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/uvXa1zwXd1A1 ]

"No," said Taylor, "there is one thing we have not yet done. Four of us onboard are Christians. Let us each retire to his own cabin, and in agreed prayer ask the Lord to give us immediately a breeze." After a brief time in prayer, Taylor returned to the deck and told the first officer, a godless man, to let down the mainsail. With an oath the man did so, and a slight breeze caught it. "It's only a cat's paw," said the sailor, meaning a mere puff of wind. But it became a sustained breeze that pushed the ship back into its desired course.

Our prayers are strengthened when we know God is listening and that He is faithful. While we always say, "Your will be done," we must never lack confidence that He hears, answers, and keeps us on the right course.

You must go forward on your knees.
J. Hudson Taylor

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 1-2 [ http://iz3.me/vvXa1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, April 10

The King Eternal

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
1 Timothy 1:17

Recommended Reading
Revelation 5:8-14 [ http://iz3.me/DJka1zwXd1A1 ]

There are two eternities in 1 Timothy 1:17. There is a King who reigns eternally; and there is praise that greets Him forever and ever. Because God is eternal, His praise is everlasting.

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/EJka1zwXd1A1 ]

One of the reasons God promises us eternal life is so we can render everlasting praise. The Bible says, "Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God" (Psalm 90:2). The cry of the holy ones in heaven is: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13)

If Christians only think in terms of time, our lives are miserable. The Bible says that without the reality of the resurrection and its ensuring eternal life, we are the most pitiful of people (1 Corinthians 15:19). But Christ has risen from the dead! The Day of the Lord is coming. Eternity is our inheritance. As we better contemplate the nature of our eternal King, we'll better cope with the tensions of time. Since we're going to praise Him forever, why not begin now? Why not start living with eternity in view!

We must meet the uncertainties of this world with the certainty of the world to come.
A. W. Tozer

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 3-5 [ http://iz3.me/FJka1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Friday, April 11

What God Knows

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, saying, "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure."
Isaiah 46:10

Recommended Reading
Revelation 1:8; 21:6; 22:13 [ http://iz3.me/DUta1zwXd1A1 ]

An obscure literary figure of speech, called merism, occurs often in Scripture. A merism is the use of two contrasting words to refer to something in its entirety. For example, if we say, "He searched high and low," we are really saying, "He searched everywhere." Or if we say, like the psalmist, "You know my sitting down and my rising up" (Psalm 139:2), we would be saying that God knows everything about us. That's what God meant when He said, through Isaiah, that He declared "the end from the beginning." That is, God knows everything "from A to Z" about everything! He knows A, He knows Z, and everything in between.

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/EUta1zwXd1A1 ]

God employed merism to describe Himself. Christ called Himself "the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," and then explained the figure of speech: "Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Revelation 1:. Christ is eternal and His knowledge is complete.

There is nothing God doesn't know about your life. You may know the past and present, but God also knows the future. Choose today to walk securely -- not in what you know, but in what you believe.

God knows what He is going to make of us.
James M. Boice

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 6-7 [ http://iz3.me/FUta1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, April 12 & 13

Page Turners! Jesus' Temptation

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
Matthew 9:35a

Recommended Reading
Matthew 4:1-11 [ http://iz3.me/Dp3b1zwXd1A1 ]

Will the family survive the flood? Will the jury declare the innocent man not guilty? Will the mistreated wife forgive her husband? Will the rescue party find the lost hiker? When everything hangs in the balance -- when everything depends on a moment in time -- we can't put the story down until we know how it ends.

Watch This Week's TV Broadcast [ http://iz3.me/Ep3b1zwXd1A1 ]

Too many people read the story of Jesus' temptation by Satan as just another event without realizing it was a crisis situation. It was all about why Paul referred to Jesus as "the last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45). As the last Adam, Jesus came to restore all that the first Adam had lost through sin. But in order to reverse Adam's failure, Jesus had to be tempted like the first Adam was. The last Adam had to obey God in the wilderness in order to reverse what the first Adam gave up in the Garden. The kingdom of God was hanging in the balance. Fortunately, Jesus remained true to the Father and established the authority of God's kingdom on earth.

Every moment of temptation in our lives is a crisis moment. Purpose today to be true to your kingdom calling.

Before we can pray, "Thy kingdom come," we must be willing to pray, "My kingdom go."
Alan Redpath

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 8-12 [ http://iz3.me/Fp3b1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Monday, April 14

No Credibility Gaps

.... being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
Romans 4:21

Recommended Reading
Romans 4:16-25 [ http://iz3.me/Me6b1zwXd1A1 ]

Several years ago when a particular United States governor was caught breaking an oft-repeated campaign promise, he explained that his prior words were simply "political statements" that had to be adjusted with changing circumstances. He was adopting the philosophy of Machiavelli, the prince of politicians, who said, "The promise given was a necessity of the past; the word broken is the necessity of the present." Promise breaking seems to be standard operating procedure for many of today's politicians. Still, we somehow expect our leaders to keep their promises; and when they break them, it creates a credibility gap with those they govern.

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/Ne6b1zwXd1A1 ]

God is different. His promises are sure. No matter how many promises He has made, each one is more certain than the sunrise, more enduring than the highest mountain, more abiding than the deepest sea.

When Abraham believed the promises of God, it was credited to him as righteousness. Whenever in a time of doubt or darkness we find a promise in Scripture and cling to it in faith, God is pleased. He is faithful. He will always do as He has said.

We break our promises to one another. We break our promises to God. But God never breaks His promises to us.
R. C. Sproul, in  The Promises of God

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 13-15 [ http://iz3.me/Oe6b1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, April 15

Abide With Me

My days are like a shadow that lengthens, and I wither away like grass. But You, O Lord, shall endure forever.
Psalm 102:11-12

Recommended Reading
Psalm 102:8-17 [ http://iz3.me/hvFb1zwXd1A1 ]

When you see a butterfly with its beautiful wings fluttering around your yard or park, you might wonder about its longevity. It has a one-month lifespan. Alligators live about 50 years. There are whales swimming in the oceans that carry around ivory points of spears flung at them 200 years ago. A giant tortoise can celebrate 250 birthdays. The Antarctic Sponge has a lifespan of 1500 years. And there is a species of jellyfish said to be virtually immortal. When it grows old it has the ability to cycle back to an immature stage and start all over again.

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/ivFb1zwXd1A1 ]

Yet time passes, everything decays, and except for the reality of God, the entire universe will one day burn out, die out, and fade to blackness.

Except for the reality of God. The psalmist said, "But You, O Lord, shall endure forever." God is our constant in a changing world. He is our stability in unstable times. You can anchor your soul on Him, the Rock that abides forever. He died to give us eternal life, and He lives to prepare our eternal home. You can forever abide in Him who changes not.

Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
Henry Lyte, in the hymn "Abide With Me."

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 16-18  [ http://iz3.me/jvFb1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, April 16

The Fatigue Factor

I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You.
Job 42:2

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 40:27-31 [ http://iz3.me/DvPb1zwXd1A1 ]

The word "fatigue" frequently shows up in the headlines, preceded by a host of adjectives. Congress suffers budget fatigue. Sports teams lose because of travel fatigue. Trains derail because of driver fatigue. Soldiers face battle fatigue. Ministries go unfunded because of donor fatigue. There was even a report recently about young people suffering Facebook fatigue. All these reports -- and more -- are accurate. We are a society of tired people in a tired world.

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/EvPb1zwXd1A1 ]

But God isn't tired. "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary" (Isaiah 40:28). Since God possesses all the power in the universe, He can do anything He chooses. He can do everything as easily as He does anything. Nothing is more difficult for God than anything else; He does all things with the same amount of ease. Nothing is too hard for Him. Nothing is remotely hard for Him. He never grows tired.

The Bible repeatedly reassures us of God's strengthening grace. So take care of yourself, avoid unnecessary weariness, rest in Him, and draw from His strength.

The same God who built a 100,000-mile ring around Saturn also made the tiny feather of a humming bird. He can do anything; His power is unlimited.
David Jeremiah

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 19-20 [ http://iz3.me/FvPb1zwXd1A1 ]

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, April 17

The Power of Jesus' Name

Every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
Philippians 2:11

Recommended Reading
Philippians 2:5-11 [ http://iz3.me/o6cb1zwXd1A1 ]

In his 1875 book on the history of hymns, Edwin Long tells of a missionary in India named Reverend E. P. Scott who determined to reach a dangerous tribe with the Gospel. His friends sought to dissuade him, saying, "We will never see you again." He said, "But I must carry Jesus to them." Traveling through the area, Scott found himself surrounded by warriors brandishing spears pointed at his chest. The missionary, expecting to die, quietly extracted his violin from its case, closed his eyes, and decided to die singing "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name."

Listen to Today's Radio Message [ http://iz3.me/p6cb1zwXd1A1 ]

The expected attack didn't come. On the third verse ("Let every kindred, every tribe, on this terrestrial ball..."), Scott opened his eyes to see the spears lowered and tears in the eyes of the warriors. Reverend Scott went on to devote years of labor to evangelizing this tribe.

The power of the Lord Jesus exceeds all the dangers and demands of earth. Nothing is too difficult for Him, and no prayer too hard to answer. Praise Him today for His power, find strength in His omnipotence, and crown Him Lord of all.

All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall; bring forth the royal diadem, and crown Him Lord of all.
Edward Perronet

Read-Thru-the-Bible
1 Kings 21-22 [ http://iz3.me/q6cb1zwXd1A1 ]