Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

, January 19

Giving by Grace

  For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing.
  2 Corinthians 8:3

  Recommended Reading
2 Corinthians 8:1-7 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20Corinthians%208:1-7&version=NKJV )

According to research, the rich give more dollars to charity, but the working poor give a larger percentage of their income. And the single biggest indicator of whether a person will give to charity is his or her religious life (or not). Religious people give more frequently and more overall (four times more) than non-religious people.*

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Biblical history seems to back up that research. The most generous people mentioned in the New Testament were the (apparently) poor Christian believers in Macedonia. When Paul asked them to contribute what they could to help the persecuted and suffering church in Jerusalem, they begged Paul to accept their gifts and deliver them to Jerusalem. And those were gifts given "in a great trial of affliction" and "deep poverty" (2 Corinthians 8:2). To what does Paul attribute their spontaneous "liberality"? "The grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia" (verse 1).

It's no wonder that Paul used the term "cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7) to describe those filled with grace to give. May you be a cheerful giver throughout this New Year.

  The secret of true giving is the joy of the Holy Ghost.
  Andrew Murray

  *abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2682730&page=2 (accessed 9-16-11).

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 6:1-8:32 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%206:1-8:32&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Friday, January 20

Infinite Grace to Give
  And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
  2 Corinthians 9:8

  Recommended Reading
Philippians 4:14-19 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204:14-19&version=NKJV )

We used to think of air and water--perhaps sunlight, also--as being available in super-abundant quantities, more than was needed. But no more. Clean air has become a rarity in many parts of the world, and experts are predicting that clean water will be fought over by nations in the future. Food, air, and water are becoming limited, rather than unlimited, resources.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

But there is one resource needed for life--indeed, the most important resource of all--that exists in infinite quantities: the grace of God. Nowhere in Scripture is grace pictured in limited terms. There is always more grace to come, more grace to replace grace that has been given. Because true giving is enabled by grace, our ability to give knows no limits. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians that God is able "to make all grace abound" toward us, that we will always have "all sufficiency," and "abundance for every good work."

If you sense God leading you to give, don't hold back out of a fear of running out. When you open your hand to give, grace is able to fill your empty hand with what you need, and more.

  A giving Savior should have giving disciples.
  J. C. Ryle

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 9:1-12:28 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%209:1-12:28&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, January 21 & 22

New Year's Resolution: Resolve to Gather

  [Andrew] first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ).
  John 1:41

  Recommended Reading
John 1:44-46 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:44-46&version=NKJV )

"Word of mouth" is the use of oral communication to pass information from person to person--and we find good examples of it in the four Gospels as news about Jesus spread. Scholars use the term " oikos  evangelism" ( oikos  is Greek for household) to describe how people "gossiped the Gospel" from one household to another along natural lines of communication between family and friends.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )
While other forms of evangelism are good (rallies, literature, crusades), the most natural way to spread any kind of good news--especially good news about Jesus--is one person telling another. There is a level of credibility born out of personal experience and based on a history of trust that makes personal evangelism effective. We can share the good news about Jesus nonverbally (the fruit of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-23) and verbally. Ideally, when people come to respect the life we live before them, they become much more open to hearing the how and why.

In 2012 resolve to gather others to Jesus through your life and your testimony about Him.

  All true theology has an evangelistic thrust, and all true evangelism is theology in action.
  J. I. Packer

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 12:29-19:25 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2012:29-19:25&version=NKJV )

 

[Judy Harder]

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Monday, January 23

Getting to Ten

  Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase.
  Proverbs 3:9

  Recommended Reading
Proverbs 3:9-10 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%203:9-10&version=NKJV )

In his book,  Seismic Shifts , Kevin Harney tells about Dan and Dawn, who had been active in church but had never reached the point of giving a full ten percent of their income to the Lord. They were juggling the expenses of a growing family. But they felt God wanted them to increase their giving, and they established a plan to do it in increments. One day Dan felt it was time to make the final step. He sat down with Dawn to suggest giving a full ten percent--a tithe. Smiling at him, she said, "We have been tithing for the past three months!" God had been so faithful in meeting their needs that Dan hadn't missed the money and hadn't realized his wife had accelerated the schedule.1

  Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Money is one way we can see who we are. If we try to control our money on our own, we do not trust Him as we should. But if we honor Him in giving, it's a mark of faith and faithfulness.

  If our habits or hobbies are so expensive that we can't give God the first ten percent, it might be time to break a habit or scale back on a hobby.
  Kevin Harney

  1Kevin G. Harney,  Seismic Shifts  (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 198.

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 20:1-22:31 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020:1-22:31&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, January 24

Over the Moon

  The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
  Matthew 13:45-46

  Recommended Reading
Matthew 13:44-46 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013:44-46&version=NKJV )

Several years ago, NASA gave each of the fifty United States a special gift--a small rock from the moon. Now it turns out many states have lost them. Arkansas has looked for years for the valuable lunar rock, which came from the Apollo 17 mission. It was finally discovered in a small plastic box among the papers of former governor Bill Clinton. The rocks are priceless; but unless they're found, they are worthless.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

The Bible teaches that our faith is like a pearl of great price. We must always cherish and value our relationship with Christ and be faithful with all that is entrusted to us. When we find this pearl, it costs all we have. We give Him our souls, our possessions, our faith, our future, our goals, our habits, our dreams. But in the process, we become infinitely and eternally richer.

Don't be careless with your pearl of great price. Don't misplace your faith. God rewards the faithful with a bounty of blessings.

  I will cling to the old rugged cross, and exchange it some day for a crown.
  George Bennard

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 23:1-25:40 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2023:1-25:40&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, January 25

A Powerhouse of Promises

  His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises.
  1 Peter 1:3-4

  Recommended Reading
Luke 6:37-49 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206:37-49&version=NKJV )

Hundreds of promises are given throughout Scripture to believers who choose to live in obedience to God's Word. This heavenly bank of promises is powerful and purposeful for all our needs. When God provides for us, He gives lavishly from His riches. But understand that God supplies all our needs, not "greeds."

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

The apostle Paul explained God's heavenly bank this way: "And my God [His promise is positive; italics added] shall supply [His promise is pointed] all your need [His promise is plentiful] according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:19). Notice that God doesn't supply "out of" His riches, but "according to" His riches in glory. We give our tithes and offerings "out of" available funds in the bank. God gives commensurate with His riches, not simply "out of." His bank is colossal.

What are a couple of God's promises that are dearest to you at this point in your life? Are you evidencing these promises to others? How can you live so that those you come in contact with daily will be drawn to the power and purpose of God's promises in you?

  The future is as bright as the promises of God.
  Adoniram Judson

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 26:1-28:43 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2026:1-28:43&version=NKJV )



Thursday, January 26

Open-Eyed Faith

  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
  Hebrews 11:6

  Recommended Reading
Hebrews 11:4 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2011:4&version=NKJV )
Hebrews 7-29 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%207-29&version=NKJV )

You've probably heard the phrase, "I'm taking a step of faith," when someone starts tithing. That illustration can be confusing. It insinuates that faith is nothing more than blind optimism. A commitment to tithing is not just trusting God in the dark, jumping off a cliff into nowhere land. If someone tells you, "I'm just believing, just trusting," ask them who they are believing? Because  that  is the defining question of faith and will direct the way we give our money and time.

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Faith begins when God speaks. Romans 10:17 explains, "So then faith  comes  by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Every person mentioned in the Bible's Hall of Faith, Hebrews 11, exercised their faith by responding to what God told them to do: Abel  offered  a sacrifice; Noah  prepared  an ark; Abraham  offered  up Isaac; Moses  left  Egypt. When God said, "Do this," they did it.

We shouldn't approach stewardship and biblical giving as simply topics for discussion. Take the faith step with your eyes open, and say, "Okay, God! I will do what You say!"

  Stewardship is what I do after I say I believe.
  Author Unknown

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 29:1-30:38 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2029:1-30:38&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Friday, January 27

Walking by Faith

  For we walk by faith, not by sight.
  2 Corinthians 5:7

  Recommended Reading
Hebrews 11:1-2 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2011:1-2&version=NKJV )

Imagine you've gone through a difficult experience in your life and you're fearful of what the future might hold. To encourage you, a friend says, "You can do it, one day at a time. Remember: just walk by religion, not by sight." Walk by religion? To a biblically-literate Christian, the very sound of that phrase is off-putting, to say the least.

  http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo
  Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Not religion, for you probably know what Paul really said in 2 Corinthians 5:7: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." But even the idea of walking by faith seems contrary to common sense. If we walked by religion, we would at least have a tangible structure--things that are seen--to pin our hopes on: buildings, traditions, schedules, liturgies, ministers, and the like. If we walk by faith, we have only the promises of God. But we also have "the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). We not only have God's promises, we have the evidence from thousands of years of history that He has kept His promises to those who trust Him. And He will keep His promises for you.

If you are facing an uncertain future (and who isn't?), remember to walk by faith--faith in the God who promises never to leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5).

  Walking by faith means being prepared to trust where we are not permitted to see.
  John Blanchard

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 31:1-34:35 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2031:1-34:35&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, January 28 & 29

New Year's Resolution: Resolve to Go

  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
  Acts 1:8

  Recommended Reading
Matthew 28:19-20 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2028:19-20&version=NKJV )

The Internet is shrinking the world. In the nineteenth century it took missionaries weeks to travel from England or America to reach a foreign field. Today, via our computer, we can be active participants in a missionary endeavor a half a world away.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

The distinction between evangelism being local and missions being "not local" is still helpful. And today, there is no reason for every Christian not to be involved in both. God may not call us to physically travel to a foreign country to do evangelism, but we can "go" in other ways. We can learn about the country and its people groups, scan the news feeds to stay informed, and then give and pray with a focused intensity to see souls brought into God's kingdom. Information is no longer a barrier to involvement. The Internet--and other technologies--provides more information than we can ever use.

In 2012 resolve to become a world Christian--one who is vitally involved in reaching the world Christ died to save.

  The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him the more intensely missionary we become.
  Henry Martyn

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Exodus 35:1-40:38 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2035:1-40:38&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Monday, January 30

The Fear Nots of the Bible

  You drew near on the day I called on You, and said, "Do not fear!"
  Lamentations 3:57

  Recommended Reading
Matthew 14:25-27 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2014:25-27&version=NKJV )

Many years ago, a book was published in London entitled  The Fear Nots of Scripture . The writer said, "It may surely be a profitable, as well as pleasant, occupation to consider some of the 'Fear nots' of Scripture; some of the many and varied instances in which the trembling servants of God are addressed in the reassuring words, 'Fear not; be not afraid.'"1

  Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Observant Christians have always known about this biblical theme. The Bible is packed with phrases like "Fear not," "Don't be afraid," "Fret not," and "Let not your hearts be troubled."

Fear shows up in our lives in many ways--terror, alarm, anxiety, worry, panic, phobia, apprehension, unease, nervousness, hysteria, dread. It's a universal emotion, and it's often justified. But the Lord doesn't want us to live in chronic fear. "Fear not" are words God spoke to Abraham, Hagar, Jacob, Israel at the Red Sea, Gideon, Solomon, Zacharias, the disciples, Paul, and John. And to you.

"It is I," He said. "Do not be afraid" (Matthew 14:27).

  Are you afraid? Remember the "fear nots" of the Bible.
  Elisabeth Elliot

  1 The Fear Nots of Scripture , author unknown (London: S. W. Partridge & Co., 1879), vii.

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Leviticus 1:1-4:35 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%201:1-4:35&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, January 31

The Relief of Forgiveness

  And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
  Matthew 6:12

  Recommended Reading
Matthew 18:21-27 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2018:21-27&version=NKJV )

In this age of financial crisis, newspapers are full of articles about loans being "forgiven." The debt loads of entire nations are sometimes forgiven. There's talk about student loans being forgiven, or homeowners being forgiven for unpaid mortgages, or institutions forgiven that are too big to fail. But one financial expert warned that there's no such thing as free forgiveness. Someone has to bear the burden of the debt.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Regarding our sins and souls, Jesus paid it all. We come to Him with a load of guilt and confess all our regrets. We tell Him about that moment of foolishness that causes shame. We admit the stupid thing we did or said. The tragedy we caused. The hurt we inflicted.

As we confess it, He forgives it. As we lay it before Him, He washes it away with the blood of Calvary. What God has forgiven should no longer have dominion over our minds. In the blood of Jesus, we have relief from our captivity of guilt and fear. It's nailed to the Cross and we bear it no more.

  There is unspeakable joy...for the person who knows release from guilt and the relief of forgiveness.
  Stuart Briscoe

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Leviticus 5:1-7:38 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Leviticus%205:1-7:38&version=NKJV )