Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Monday, August 15

What We Cannot See

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

Recommended Reading
Genesis 22


Many of us claim that we have faith in God, trusting that He is real and that His promises are true. But if God asked us to act on our faith--trusting in what we cannot see--could He count our faith as righteousness?

Abraham believed God's promises. Even as he sat at the foot of Mount Moriah, preparing to go and sacrifice Isaac, he turned to his traveling party and said, "The lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you." He trusted that God would somehow intervene, and they would both come back. He knew this because God had told him that in Isaac his seed would be blessed. He didn't know how God was going to do it, but he believed God's promise.

Was Abraham righteous because he went up the mountain? No. Was he righteous because he raised the knife to take his son's life? No. Abraham was righteous for one reason: he believed, and his faith was counted unto him as righteousness.

Faith is believing what God says is true--even when we don't understand how it will all work out in the end.

Faith and obedience are inescapably related. There is no saving faith in God apart from obedience to God, and there can be no godly obedience without godly faith.
John MacArthur

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Lamentations 1:1-3:66

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, August 16

A Quickening Ray

The Lord has anointed Me . . . to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.
Isaiah 61:1

Recommended Reading
John 8:31-36


Shortly after he found freedom in Christ, Charles Wesley wrote a personal hymn of testimony, the fourth verse of which famously says: "Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature's night. Thine eye diffused a quickening ray--I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee."

Imagine a prisoner wanting to stay locked up when he could be free. Yes, that sometimes happens. But why live behind bars when we could be romping in fresh air?

Christ died to set us free from sin, death, and hell. He can instantly release us from gloom, despair, and hopelessness. He redeems and liberates us. He proclaims liberty to the captives and the opening of prison to those who are bound.

Why stay guilty when you can be free? Trust Christ today. Believe His Word and accept His grace. Goodbye shame! Goodbye regrets! Welcome grace!

As John 8:36 (NIV 1984) says: "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!"

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Charles Wesley

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Lamentations 4:1-Ezekiel 2:10

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, August 17

Mirror Angst

He who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer . . . this one will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:25

Recommended Reading
James 1:22-25


A fashion retailer recently commissioned a study of what women thought of their appearance in the mirror. Widely reported in newspapers earlier this year, researchers found that 90 percent of women in their 40s and 50s are unhappy with the way they look and suffer from "mid-life mirror angst syndrome." According to the report, middle-aged women are four times unhappier than teenage girls with what they see in the mirror.

Not so fast. For Christians, time enhances our appearance because the joy of the Lord shines through. As we age Scripture tells us we take on the "incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 3:4).

But how much better to gaze into the mirror of God's Word! James said that the law is a mirror to show us what we're like. Without Christ, all we see are the wrinkles of wickedness and ghostly pallor of despair. But with Christ, looking into God's Word doesn't bring condemnation or judgment. It's the perfect law of liberty, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).

Don't suffer mirror angst. Study His Word today and see the mirror image of Christ.

The mirror of the Word not only examines us and reveals our sins, but it helps to cleanse us as well.
Warren W. Wiersbe

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 3:1-7:27

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, August 18

Wayfaring Strangers

I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.
Proverbs 4:11 (NIV 1984)

Recommended Reading
Psalm 121


In 1936, a young Hungarian-born man found a job as interpreter for a French shipping line. As he traveled around, he noticed tourists who were interested in where to eat and sleep and sightsee. This fellow, Eugene Fodor, put together a guidebook for them. That started a 75-year tradition of Fodor's Travel Guides, the largest such enterprise in the English-speaking world.

Travel guides are helpful as we prepare for a trip, but they can't replace the trip itself. No matter how much you read about Westminster Abbey or the Great Wall of China, it's not like being there in person.

The Law of God is like a travel guide. We can see how we should walk, where we should go, how we should live, and what we should be. But no amount of cramming will actually get us there. Grace, on the other hand, is a trip to heaven with all expenses paid.

Don't just look at the pictures and read the text. Let Christ bring it alive in your life. He has come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly!

Leader of faithful souls, and Guide of all who travel to the sky, Come, and with us, even us, abide, who would on Thee alone rely.
Charles Wesley

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 8:1-11:25

[Judy Harder]

Friday, August 19

Time to Grow Up

Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.
Galatians 4:7

Recommended Reading
Galatians 4:1-7


Family experts advise parents to teach children from the get-go to put away their playthings. As soon as toddlers can walk, they should learn to pick up and put away. A cleanup routine can be part of a bedtime routine, along with bath, prayers, and story. The idea is that as we grow older, we'll do the same--but not because we're told. As we mature, we internalize the spirit of cleanliness and maturely want to live well-ordered lives.

In the same way, the Law was given when God's people were in their childhood. The Law treats people like they're babies. Everything is spelled out. But with the coming of Christ, the time set by the Father was fulfilled; and Christians are to live freely as mature sons in Christ and not under the supervision of the Law. It's time to grow up. We're under grace.

Christianity is no longer about legalistically following a set of rules. We've been set free from all such man-made rules and regulations. Now we walk in the Spirit and live out our faith with confidence and freedom.

Legalism is lists--the filthy five, the nasty nine, the dirty dozen. But God already likes us, and we should live to please Him from our hearts, not from a list of rules.
David Jeremiah

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 12:1-15:8

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, August 20 & 21

In a Pickle: Esther (Meekness)

For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.
Psalm 149:4

Recommended Reading
Esther 8


A beautiful young woman, Esther won the approval of King Ahasuerus and quickly moved from being a Jewess orphan to Persian Queen. Soon after her arrival to the palace her relative, Mordecai, informed her that the Jewish people were scheduled for annihilation by the wicked Haman. And Mordecai posed a challenging question to Esther, "Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14)

Esther courageously formulated a plan and waited patiently for an opportunity to invite the king and Haman to her banquets. At just the right moment, she presented her plea with gentle humility, asking for mercy for herself and her people.

Although her outward beauty played an important role in King Ahasuerus' granting her request, even more important was her respectful, humble attitude toward her husband. Her meekness--her quiet, gentle strength--saved the Jewish people. It is a reminder that meekness is not weakness, but strength under the control of the Holy Spirit.

The higher people are in the favor of God, the more tender they are.
Martin Luther

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 16:1-17:24
Ezekiel 18:1-20:49

[Judy Harder]

Monday, August 22

Grow Up!

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
1 Corinthians 13:11

Recommended Reading
Col. 2:20-23


Advertisers are fascinated with the new market of twenty- and thirty-somethings who are acting less grown-up. These young adults will wait in long lines to buy cupcakes with sprinkles, toy figurines from childhood television shows, and clamor for cartoons and animated movies. After work, many race home to play computer games.

Rewind to the First Century and you'll find the apostle Paul concerned for Christians who were spiritually immature (Galatians 4:1-11). These converts were more comfortable living by the Law rather than acknowledging their freedom in Christ. Legalism is a grace-stealer, and Paul contrasts it with the spiritual maturity of those living by faith in Christ. He cites the privilege of calling God "Abba, Father," our daddy (Galatians 4:6). In Aramaic, "Daddy" isn't infantile, but an intimate cry of the heart from grown children.

Decide what is childish in your spiritual life--legalism or an old habit--and cry out to God to help you put it away! Grow up to be like your heavenly Father so people recognize His likeness in you.

To ask that God's love should be content with us as we are is to ask that God should cease to be God.
C. S. Lewis

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 21:1-23:49

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, August 23

Confident in You, in the Lord!

I have confidence in you, in the Lord . . .
Galatians 5:10a

Recommended Reading
Philippians 1:6-8


The German writer, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, once observed, "Correction does much, but encouragement does more."

Yes, but correction and encouragement, wisely combined, does the most.

In Galatians, Paul devoted a bottle of ink to correcting and reproving his readers for theological carelessness. But along the way, he sought to encourage them and express his love and confidence toward them. Constant correction tears us down and demoralizes our hearts. When we're the source or the object of nagging, harping criticism, things only get worse. We change our ways more quickly when surrounded by people who are both honest and uplifting.

Notice that Paul didn't just say, "I have confidence in you." He added an intriguing qualification: "I have confidence in you, in the Lord." He meant: "I have confidence in the Lord that He can work in you what is pleasing to Him."

Don't just be "onto" people all the time. Don't be harping and criticizing too much. Add a spoonful of sugar. Learn to say, "I have confidence in you, in the Lord!"

Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and let him know that you trust him . . . Every individual responds to confidence.
Booker T. Washington

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 24:1-27:36

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, August 24

The Forgotten Ministry

Rebuke one who has understanding, and he will discern knowledge.
Proverbs 19:25

Recommended Reading
Proverbs 15:28-33


We can see every face in the world except one--our own. We can see what our face looks like in a mirror or in a picture; but it's a reflection, not the real thing. We can't see ourselves as others can. To be our best, we need the help of those who can see us better than we can see ourselves.

The practice of "rebuking" is the forgotten ministry. We're uncomfortable being on either the giving or receiving end of it. But it's a precious thing within the context of a close friendship where mutual trust has evolved over time. It functions most happily within relationships with a history of honesty and humility. It's often rendered from one who is older (like a father) to one who is younger (like a son); but it must always be done with love, for its aim is the edification of the other.

If you're concerned about someone you love, it's often best just to pray. But sometimes a corrective word is of greater value than a year's worth of flattery.

The more wisdom a man has the more desirous he should be to have his weaknesses shown him, because a little folly is a great blemish to him (with a) reputation for wisdom and honor.
Matthew Henry

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 28:1-31:18
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[Judy Harder]

Thursday, August 25

Aim for Perfection

Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace.
2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV 1984)

Recommended Reading
Galatians 5:16-18


In the King James Version, 2 Corinthians 13:11 says, "Be perfect." The New King James says, "Become complete." Other translations capture the spirit of Paul's advice by saying: "Aim for perfection." We're to daily grow more like Him who is perfect in every way.

The Bible says that God's ways are perfect and He is perfect in knowledge (Deuteronomy 32:4; Job 37:16). The law of the Lord is perfect (Psalm 19:7). His love and even His hatred are perfect (1 John 4:18; Psalm 139:22). He's able to keep us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3). We can experience His good and perfect will and enjoy His good and perfect gifts (Romans 12:2; James 1:17). His eternal city, the heavenly Zion, is "the perfection of beauty" (Psalm 50:2).

Sinless perfection may not be possible in this life, but the psalmist testified, "The LORD will perfect that which concerns me" (Psalm 138:. We can aim at perfection. Without Christ, our efforts in trying to achieve perfection are wasted; but in Christ, He who has begun a good work in us will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6).

Although it is true that we will never achieve sinless perfection until we reach heaven, this should never keep us from striving and saying with Fanny Crosby, "Take the world, but give me Jesus."
Kenneth W. Osbeck

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Ezekiel 32:1-34:31