Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Monday, October 8

Carved in Stone

And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
Exodus 31:18

Recommended Reading
Exodus 20:1-17 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2020:1-17&version=NKJV )

Remember when you first drew pictures with an Etch A Sketch? If you wanted to change your mind, you could simply shake it. Everything would disappear, and you could start all over again. It's one of the most popular toys in history. Unfortunately, too often our society writes its moral standards on its own Etch A Sketch. Our cultural sense of right and wrong is based on societal consensus, not on the unchanging Word of God. In abandoning the absolute standards of a holy God, we've become a world in which morality is relative; it's whatever people want it to be.

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

Christians take a different view. The Lord didn't write His Commandments on an Etch A Sketch. They were carved in stone, indicating their durable and permanent value. The commands of God flow from His character and establish the moral baseline of the universe. No matter how hard it tries, this world can never erase the truth of God's Word or the demands of His Ten Commandments. They are rock solid, and we can base our moral codes on the tablets of His holiness.

If God would have wanted us to live in a permissive society He would have given us Ten Suggestions and not Ten Commandments.
Zig Ziglar

*evolutionnews.org/2012/03/mathematician_a057741.html

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 10:1-11:54 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2010:1-11:54&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, October 9

Never, Never, Never

For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Hebrews 13:5b

Recommended Reading
Lamentations 3:22-23 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%20Lamentations%203:22-23&version=NKJV )

As prime minister of England, Winston Churchill returned to address the students at Harrow School, his alma mater, on October 29, 1941. The previous year, London had weathered, and survived under Churchill's leadership, the withering attacks of the German Air Force in what became known as the Battle of Britain. When Churchill addressed the Harrow students, he told them, "This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense..."

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Even with best intentions, sometimes human determination runs out. But God's determination never stops. To paraphrase Churchill, God never stops loving -- never, never, never, never. The apostle Paul pictured God's love in Christ like a constantly flowing stream that nothing could interrupt. He wrote that nothing "shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:39).

Sometimes it's easy to feel like God has stopped loving, or that we've been separated from His love. But feelings don't win the war. Never giving in to them does.

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

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 12:1-13:35 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012:1-13:35&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, October 10

Carry Me

  ...and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.
Deuteronomy 1:31

Recommended Reading
Deuteronomy 33:25-29  ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=%20Deuteronomy%2033:25-29&version=NKJV )

It happens any place that the journey lasts longer than the strength in the little legs of a small child. That child looks up at her parent and says, with arms lifted toward heaven, "Carry me." Few parents can resist such an opportunity to hold a little one close, to be strong when the little one is weak, to take the child where it cannot go on its own. Even if the parent is already tired, love for the child overcomes all.

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When Israel stumbled out of slavery in Egypt, taking halting steps as a childish nation, there were many times when God carried her in the wilderness, "as a man carries his son." There were many times when God provided, protected, and persevered with His nation-child on the basis of love alone. When Israel, the child, had nothing to give to God except her needs, God loved "in spite of" and guided her toward the home He had promised her.

If you are weak today, in need of being carried, lift your arms toward your heavenly Father and say, "Carry me, Abba" (Romans 8:15). When we are weak, His love is strong (2 Corinthians 12:10).

The work which His goodness began, the arm of His strength will complete.
Augustus M. Toplady

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 14:1-16:31 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2014:1-16:31&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, October 11

REDeemed

I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

Recommended Reading
Romans 5:8-11  ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205:8-11&version=NKJV )

The blood of Jesus. His sacrifice sets Christianity apart from every other religion. It's the foundation of our salvation. The eternal guarantee of His love for us. No other love -- the love of a spouse, a child, a friend -- can compare with the extravagant love of God poured out through the precious blood of His only Son.

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Yet some songwriters, authors, and -- sad to say -- preachers stay away from mentioning the blood of Jesus. They feel it's too offensive. In fact, the opposite is true. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends" (John 15:13). The deepest love we can experience as humans is directly tied to the blood of Jesus. And His all-encompassing love is beyond human understanding: He not only died for His friends, He died for His enemies (Romans 5:8-10).

Explore what Jesus has said and demonstrated of His love through His death on the cross. It will help you grasp how dearly and passionately God loves you. And above all, thank Him for His precious blood.

I thought I could have leaped from earth to heaven at one spring when I first saw my sins drowned in the Redeemer's blood.
Charles Spurgeon

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 17:1-18:43 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2017:1-18:43&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Friday, October 12

Unchanging Love Changes Us

....without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Hebrews 9:22

Recommended Reading
Hebrews 9:11-14  ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%209:11-14&version=NKJV )

The average person celebrating Valentine's Day this year was expected to shell out the most money ever -- $126.03 -- according to BIGinsight's 10-year survey history. With total spending expected to reach $17.6 billion, retailers were celebrating emotional spending.1 Too many times, the concept of love is one of fleeting emotions. Fickle, finicky, and fast-paced, human love is the antithesis of God's unchanging, all-encompassing, eternal love-written in the blood of His Son.

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That God loves us is the most profound truth in the universe. Experiencing God's eternal love has the potential to answer every question, solve every problem, and satisfy the deepest yearnings of the heart. So why are many people who believe this still unable to fully utilize the power of God's love in their personal lives?

God's love is more than just talk. It is real. It completely changes the way we think, the way we see others, the way we live each day. Love delivers us from the vicious cycle of vengeful retaliation. It makes life worth living. It changes everything. Take a loving step and share the message of God's unchanging love with your neighbor, your colleague, your...

The Cross is the ultimate evidence that there is no length the love of God will refuse to go in effecting reconciliation.
Kent Hughes

1 nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1304> accessed 6/12/12.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 19:1-20:47 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2019:1-20:47&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Always: Always Trust

I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.
Psalm 16:8

Recommended Reading
Psalm 16 [ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2016&version=NKJV ]

Dr. Charles Allen was a popular twentieth-century Methodist preacher and writer who devoted twelve years to pastoring a large church in Atlanta, Georgia. He once said that when he traveled he carried a little radio with him in his bag. He liked to listen to an Atlanta station. But if his trip took him too far away, he couldn't pick up the station. There was too much static and the voice of the station was blotted out. "It is the same radio," he wrote. "The station is broadcasting with the same power. But I have gone too far away."

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His point was that many of us miss God's voice because we have tuned him out. We've got to stay tuned in to the right frequency, and listen carefully. We must set the Lord before us always, listening for His message, and trusting Him always. "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).

Are you tuned in to God's Word today? At His right hand? Listening carefully? Trusting always?

Only believe, only believe; all things are possible, only believe. That is more than just a little chorus. It is the Christian faith.
Charles L. Allen


Read-Thru-the-Bible
Luke 21:1-22:71, Luke 23:1-24:53 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2021:1-22:71,%20Luke%2023:1-24:53&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Monday, October 15

Rains of Repentance

No chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.
Hebrews 12:11

Recommended Reading
Hebrews 12:7-11  ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012:7-11&version=NKJV )

Dr. Paul White, a missionary physician in East Africa, described a drought threatening his area. Day after day, the blazing sun beat down and the plants withered. The regular rains were months late. One day the chief visited the local clergyman, and Dr. White joined them. "Bwana, we have sinned," said the chief. "We must ask God's forgiveness and His help. Can we have next Sunday as a day of repentance and prayer for rain?"

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The word went out and large numbers gathered. The African pastor preached a powerful sermon on repentance, and everyone united in earnest prayer. Within an hour, gentle rain was falling, and three inches followed within three days. 1

Every affliction isn't necessarily an act of divine chastening, but we should bear this in mind -- very often the Lord uses difficulty to discipline and deepen us. When facing a problem, ask, "What is the Lord trying to teach me?" Sometimes we think of discipline as being hurtful, but God's discipline is helpful. It offers eternal benefits.

The godly have some good in them; therefore the devil afflicts them; and some evil in them, therefore God afflicts them.
Thomas Watson, Puritan writer

1 Dr. Paul White, Doctor of Tanganyika (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955), 177-178.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
John 1:1-3:21 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:1-3:21&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Monday, October 15

Sometimes Love Hurts

For whom the LORD loves He chastens...
Hebrews 12:6

Recommended Reading
Hebrews 12:5-6 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2012:5-6&version=NKJV )

The moment after a child is corrected, they usually don't want to hear, "I love you." To immature ears, the sentiment sounds insincere. Perspective makes all the difference. As adults, we get it. But do we understand our heavenly Father's discipline? A. W. Tozer illustrates God's loving correction:

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He may sometimes chasten us, it is true, but even this He does with a smile, the proud, tender smile of a Father who is bursting with pleasure over an imperfect but promising son who is coming every day to look more and more like the One whose child he is. 1

The story of the prodigal son illustrates how love can hurt. While only one son is called the prodigal, both sons were lost. One was lost in a distant land and the other at home. But God loved both. This story about a human father and his sons tells an even greater story about our heavenly Father's love for all lost sons and daughters.

Jesus looks down through time to this very moment and His eyes meet yours: Which son represents you in this story? He wants you to know the result is the same... God loves you.

Look beyond the rod to the All-wise hand that wields it!
A.W. Pink

1Warren W. Wiersbe,  The Best of A. W. Tozer  (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1978), 120-122.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
John 3:22-5:18 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%203:22-5:18&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, October 17

Pull Up! Pull Up!

My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction.
Proverbs 3:11

Recommended Reading
Numbers 22:20-35 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers%2022:20-35&version=NKJV )

In relating the experiences of soldiers in Afghanistan, Doug Stanton tells of a resupply mission bringing provisions to a field hospital. Visibility was zero, and pilot Greg Gibson was flying by cues on tiny screens in his dim cockpit. Exhausted, he handed the controls to his copilot and leaned back. Suddenly crew members in the back of the helicopter shouted, "Pull up! Pull up!" When the copilot didn't respond instantly, Gibson grabbed the stick and put the aircraft into a serious bank. They tipped onto their side, knocking the crew in the back to the deck. They barely missed running into a mountain. The crew had seen rocks coming at them and had yelled just in time. Though the chopper was damaged, disaster was averted because of immediate corrective action.1

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No one likes to be corrected, but we easily veer off course. The Lord sometimes "shouts" to us. His corrections let us know He's watching for us, helping us in low visibility, and keeping us from self-made disasters. Don't resent His correction. Respond to it immediately.

God's intention in disciplining His people is to reform them by giving them a clear sense of the evil of sin and making them seek Him for relief.
Matthew Henry

1 Doug Stanton, Adapted from the book Horse Soldiers (New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2009).

Read-Thru-the-Bible
John 5:19-6:71 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%205:19-6:71&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, October 18

Seeing the Potential

Now when Jesus looked at him, He said, "You are Simon the son of Jonah. You shall be called Cephas" (which is translated, A Stone).
John 1:42

Recommended Reading
John 1:35-42 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201:35-42&version=NKJV )

In his book,  You Can Lead Effectively , Mathew Philip wrote, "Jesus had the habit of always seeing the potential for good in the people around him. Jesus saw the potential for good in Simon Peter. Jesus identified the potential in Simon when He said, 'You are rock' before [Peter] understood his own potential."1

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Jesus saw the potential in the Samaritan woman, in Mary Magdalene, in the simple fishermen of Galilee. He sees the potential in everyone, for He made us on purpose, designed us in His image, wrote the script of our lives in advance, and intends to use us for His glory. He knows the thoughts He thinks toward us, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

The Lord Jesus is the potter, you're the clay, and He longs to shape you into a vessel fit for His use (2 Timothy 2:21). His love not only recognizes who you are but what you will become. He knows the legacy before us.

Jesus saw the potential you have to bring glory to God. Today, emulate his example by telling others how great a gift it is to honor him with your life.

From the book Moments of Peace in the Morning (Baker Publishing Group)

1Mathew Philip,  You Can Lead Effectively  (Maitland, FL: Zulon Press, 2008), 19.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
John 7:1-8:30 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%207:1-8:30&version=NKJV )