Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, February 26 & 27

"I Love You Forever"--The Permanence of God's Love

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Romans 8:35a

Recommended Reading
Romans 8:35-39


"Separation anxiety" is defined as the fear or dread felt by a person at the prospect of being separated from a beneficial relationship or environment. It becomes a disorder when such anxiety rises to a level that it impairs one's ability to function normally. The great reformer, Martin Luther, might have suffered from such anxiety at the prospect of being separated from God due to his own sinfulness. Only his discovery, from Romans 1:17, that a relationship with God is sustained by faith, not works, set Martin Luther free from his anxiety.

No true Christian should ever fear being separated from the love of God in Christ Jesus. That is the clear testimony of God himself through His inspired Word. Living as we do in a world of imperfect love and failing relationships, it is challenging to rest in a love so pure and so permanent that it will never cease. But that is the nature of God's love. Paul exhausted his creativity trying to think of something that could come between us and God's love--and he failed (Romans 8:38-39)!

"Be anxious for nothing," Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6--including the permanence of God's love.

The true measure of God's love is that He loves without measure.
Unknown

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 8:1-14:29

[Judy Harder]

Monday, February 28

The Unfailing Husband

For your Maker is your husband--the Lord Almighty is his name--the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.
Isaiah 54:5 (NIV)

Recommended Reading
Ruth 4:13-22


In the Old Testament, Jehovah presents Himself as the Husband of the nation of Israel. In the New Testament, the church is pictured as the bride of Christ. How remarkable that the Bible consistently presents our Maker as our husband. Just as a caring man goes out of his way to enrich the life of his bride, God blesses us with loving provisions. He will never abandon, leave, forsake, neglect, nor forget us. He constantly demonstrates His love in expressions large and small. He gives us His name. He daily meets our needs. He lavishes His blessings. He has a mansion for us in heaven.

Sooner or later, we'll be disappointed by every friend on earth; none are perfect. But the Lord Jesus Christ will never let us down. When we are lonely, He comes calling. When we feel weak, He imparts strength. When we're hurt, His wounds provide strong medicine for inward healing. When we're aging, He reminds us of the eternal life bound up in His resurrection.

Your Maker is your husband--the Lord Almighty is His name.

Let the love of husband be never so pure and fervent, it is but a faint picture of the flame that burns in the heart of Jesus.
Charles H. Spurgeon, in his sermon "Bands of Love"

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 15:1-18:22

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, March 1

Spring Has Sprung

I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2b

Recommended Reading
John 14:1-6


In one of his hit songs, Frank Sinatra sang merrily, "You make me feel so young; you make me feel like spring has sprung." He was saying that a good romance ages well. "And even when I'm old and gray," he crooned, "I'm gonna feel the way I do today."

A fine romance and a good marriage keep us young. But they also require tending. Romantic husbands figure out how to keep the courtship strong. Have you planned a special evening recently? Arranged for the babysitter? Made reservations at a quiet restaurant? Picked up some flowers? Given a tender hug? Spoken those three special words?

Just as a romantic husband spends time preparing special occasions for his wife, the Lord Jesus is planning something special for His Bride, the Church. When He rose from the dead and ascended to heaven, He wasn't just returning to the throne to be idle. Our Lord is always at work. He promised His disciples He would prepare a place for them. Remembering the eternal life He lovingly promised us is a good way to stay young--to feel that spring has sprung.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 19:1-22:30

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, March 2

Crazy Busy

Be still, and know that I am God.
Psalm 46:10a

Recommended Reading
Psalm 46


In his book, CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked and About to Snap, Edward M. Hallowell wrote about the moment he knew he had crossed the dark side from busy to crazy busy. It was when he lost his temper at a rotary dial phone while on vacation. His cell phone wouldn't work, and he just about went nuts waiting for the dial to return to start with every number. Then, calming down, he timed the process. The entire dialing process took all of eleven seconds. "What a fool I had become," he wrote. "I had become a man in a hurry even when I had no need to hurry."1

Sometimes we're too busy to even notice we're busy. Our daily tasks weigh us down, and we unwillingly but unwittingly neglect what's most important--our inner nourishment and our family fellowship. Plan time for rest. Build some solitude into your routines. Establish plenty of time for spouse and family. Stop being crazy busy. Be still and remember Him who rules over all.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake, to guide the future as He has the past.
Catharina A. von Schlegel

1Alina Gugend, "Too Busy to Notice You're Too Busy," The New York Times, March 31, 2007.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 23:1-26:19

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, March 3

Loaded Living

Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits.
Psalm 68:19

Recommended Reading
1 Peter 1:2-5


Joseph Leek, a 90-year-old Britisher, was a tightwad. He regularly sauntered to his neighbor's house to watch television in order to reduce his electricity bill. He shopped at secondhand clothing stores and put off home repairs. It was a shock to everyone after his death when he left almost two million dollars to an organization that provides guide dogs for the blind.

Too bad he never met the English spinster, Mary Guthrie Essame. She was a retired nurse who also wore hand-me-downs and lived in a ramshackle house. Friends were amazed when she left ten million dollars to charity upon her death.

These kinds of stories--and there are many of them--remind us of two things. First, from a material perspective, we should live simply and wisely so as to be faithful supporters of God's work. But second, in a spiritual sense, how sad to live as paupers when we're the children of the King. Our God loads us with blessings every day, and we should fully enjoy the peace and pleasure of His promises and presence.

Let's live frugally--but joyfully!

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 27:1-28:68

[Judy Harder]

Friday, March 4

No More Wedding Bells?

Let each esteem others better than himself.
Philippians 2:3

Recommended Reading
Philippians 2:1-4


A Pew Research Center study last fall revealed the way our society is changing its view of marriage. Nearly 40 percent of respondents said that marriage is becoming obsolete. Cohabitation has become the norm, and many people are accepting the view that wedding bells aren't needed to have a family.1

It's incorrect to view love as something we fall into and out of, as if we were at the mercy of some kind of romantic fate. To love someone faithfully and continually is more a matter of choice than of chemistry. It's more volitional than emotional. We decide that if God loves us, we can love others. We choose to love just as we choose to be patient and kind. We determine to put others before ourselves as the Bible commands in Philippians 2.

John MacArthur makes an unusual statement in his book, Different by Design: "When you choose to love someone who is no longer attractive to you, he or she will soon become attractive. Loving as Christ loves does not depend on what others are in themselves, but entirely on what we are in Christ."

Love is a choice we make--it is an act of our will as well as our heart.
John MacArthur

1Hope Yen, "More in U.S. Taking Marriage Off the Table," The Associated Press, November 18, 2010.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 29:1-31:30

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, March 5 & 6

Experiential Living: Experience Love

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1 John 3:16

Recommended Reading
1 John 3:16-23


Many years ago in a Bible class conducted at a Y.M.C.A., the discussion turned to the topic of love. One of the participants was a printer. He told the group that his mother had died when he was a baby and he had been raised by a stern father who was a "cold moralist." The man said he had never experienced love and didn't understand what it was. He asked the group, "What do you mean by the love of God?" His friends were amazed to discover someone sitting beside them who had never experienced love. From that day on you can be sure they took every opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ to the loveless printer.1

It saddens us to realize there are people who never know what love feels like. But only those who know the love of Christ really know true love; and only those who know His love can show His love. Take a moment today to thank God for His indescribable gift, and ask Him to show you someone you can love today.

A sense of God's love will excite in you great gratitude. "Oh!" you will say, "how can I repay the Lord for such an amazing favour?"
Charles H. Spurgeon in his sermon "Daniel's Band"

1"Three Men from One Class" Association Men, Vol. 35, Issue 5, p. 219.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 32:1-Joshua 4:24

[Judy Harder]

Monday, March 7

Time Lost Is Never Found

Tell Archippus: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord."
Colossians 4:17 (NIV)

Recommended Reading
Colossians 4:12-18


In Poor Richard's Almanac, Benjamin Franklin advised, "If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time may be the greatest prodigality, since lost time is never found again ...Let us then be up and doing, and doing to the purpose; so by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity."

Throughout eternity, God's servants will serve Him. We'll be worshipping around the throne in New Jerusalem and enjoying our fellowship, work, and pursuits with endless joy. But here on earth, we have limited time to care for our families and fulfill our Father's will.

Let's spend time doing those things that convey God's love to those around us. Christ had only 33 years, and in His active public ministry He had only 36 months. But He made every moment count; and on the eve of His crucifixion He said, "I have finished the work which You have given Me to do" (John 17:4).

Let's be diligent today to finish the work He's assigned us this day.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Joshua 5:1-8:35

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, March 8

Driven Into Sovereign Arms

...to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning.
Isaiah 61:3

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 61:1-3


Kay Arthur was bitterly disappointed when she contracted a heart infection that forced her removal from the mission field. She and her family, serving in Mexico, were forced to return home. "I felt like a failure," she wrote. "Depression set in until I cried, 'Father, whatever You want.' It would be several years before I'd see how He'd use those formative years of study in Mexico to prepare me to write inductive Bible studies that would eventually reach 52 countries."

"My disappointments aren't over," Kay admits. "Pain and trials are almost constant companions, but never enemies. They drive me into His sovereign arms. There He takes my disappointments and works everything together for good."1

Sometimes we feel our world is falling apart, but the lessons learned through the pain often bring hidden blessings. The Lord promises in Isaiah 61 to exchange our mourning with His oil of joy, and to give a garment of praise to those who are weighed down in spirit. Cast your burdens on the Lord and let Him become the strength of your heart. Let trouble drive you into His sovereign arms.

The devil sometimes goes too far. He drives us straight into the Lord's arms.
Ruth Bell Graham

1Kay Arthur, "In Person: My Disappointments, His Appointments," Moody Magazine, January, 1992, p. 30.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Joshua 9:1-11:23

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, March 9

Now I Understand

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.
Psalm 119:71

Recommended Reading
Job 42:1-6


Clayton Christensen is a professor at Harvard Business School and is well-known for articulating his theory of disruptive technology--an unexpected product or service that disrupts an existing market and helps create a new category of customers. Examples of disruptive technologies include desktop publishing, CD-ROMs, DVDs, personal computers, steamships, telephones, and automobiles. Disruptive technologies are usually resisted at first and then accepted because of their benefits and efficiencies.

God allows disruptive moments in our lives that we almost always question or resist because they are painful, unanticipated, misunderstood, and often not optional. Yet in hindsight, they are always embraced for the good or blessing which results. In the Old Testament, Job is the classic example of a life being disrupted, while Paul's thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) is an obvious New Testament example.

If God has allowed a disruptive moment in your life, walk through it by faith rather than by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7)--and be prepared to say, "Now I understand."

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Joshua 12:1-14:15