Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Monday, June 3

Two Cans and a String

And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the LORD and wept in anguish.
1 Samuel 1:10

Recommended Reading
1 Samuel 1:8-18 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Samuel%201:8-18&version=NKJV )

Remember playing with two cans and a string? The science behind that children's toy really works. When you take two cans or paper cups, punch holes in the bottom of them, and stretch a string between them, you've recreated a primitive phone. The sound of your voice vibrates the bottom of the cup at 1,000 times a second, and the vibrations run along the string, making the bottom of the second cup vibrate with sound waves. The early telephones worked the same way, except the wires were electric.

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

Whenever we pray, God is on the other end of the line with His ear to the cup, hearing every word and listening to every vibration of our voices. He hears even the faintest sigh. The prophet Daniel prayed regularly all his life and history was changed. The apostle Paul prayed, and cities were opened to the Gospel. Hannah prayed and God lifted her burden.

If you're in anguish or distress, you don't need two cans and a string. Two bent knees and a broken heart will do just fine.

Those persons who know the deep peace of God, the unfathomable peace that passeth all understanding, are always men and women of much prayer.
R. A. Torrey

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

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, June 4

Sandpapering Your Fingers

I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.
Acts 24:16

Recommended Reading
Acts 24:10-16 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%2024:10-16&version=NKJV )

Occasionally in the movies we'll see gunslingers, pickpockets, and safecrackers sandpaper their fingertips to make them more sensitive so that they can better feel the trigger of the gun, the wallet in the victim's coat, or the tumblers in the dial of a lock. Whether this happens in real life is anyone's guess, but it does illustrate the issue of sensitivity. When our skin becomes callused, it's harder to feel things. Remember how tough our feet became as children running around barefoot in the summer? We could step on thistles and thorns without pain.

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The Bible warns against letting our conscience become callused or seared (1 Timothy 4:2). We need a tender conscience, like that of Paul who said, "Men  and  brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day" (Acts 23:1). The prophet Daniel gives us an example of someone who was sensitive to sin and temptation, striving to maintain a pure conscience in a pagan world.

Beware a callused conscience. Learn to align your conscience to the Scriptures and keep it tender before God.

The good conscience is lost in most cases, not by adopting a heretical creed, but by indulging in the pleasures of sin.
William Arnot, nineteenth-century Scottish preacher

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

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, June 5

Not My Will

Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.
Luke 22:42

Recommended Reading
Daniel 9:1-19 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%209:1-19&version=NKJV )

One of the hardest human challenges is to submit. It begins when toddlers learn to obey their parents when they want to say, "No!" As children of God, we live with that challenge all our life -- submitting our will to the will of the Father when all we can think of is "Why?"

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When the prophet Daniel was a captive in Babylon, he read from the prophet Jeremiah that Israel's exile would last 70 years (Daniel 9:2; Jeremiah 25:11). And so Daniel turned to God in prayer to pray in accordance with the will of God. He didn't complain or protest that Israel was in captivity. Rather, in humility, he agreed with God that Israel deserved to be there (Daniel 9:1-19). Daniel displayed humility (verse 3), worship (verse 4), confession (verses 5-15), and petition (verses 16-19). Yes, he asked for the captivity to end. But he couched his request in submission to God's will -- just as Jesus did in the most difficult moment of His life: "...not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).

If you wish God's will for your life were different right now, before asking for it to be different, agree with God that His will is worth submitting to.

The essence of sin is arrogance; the essence of salvation is submission.
Alan Redpath

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Job 39-42 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2039-42&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, June 6

Letting God Be God

And [Gabriel] informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand."
Daniel 9:22

Recommended Reading
Galatians 6:6-10 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%206:6-10&version=NKJV )

When we read in the Bible that we "reap what we sow" (Galatians 6:7), we first think of agriculture. Next, we think of our behavior -- sowing kindness reaps kindness in return. But the principle of sowing and reaping applies to everything in the kingdom of God.

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When the prophet Daniel sowed humility, he reaped wisdom and the "skill to understand" his situation. The angel Gabriel appeared to explain something Daniel had never considered -- something that was a brand new insight. Daniel thought Israel had been consigned to 70 years of discipline. But Gabriel showed Daniel that Israel's future would last not 70 years, but 70 sevens of years -- or 490 years (Daniel 9:24). Gabriel went on to explain the details to Daniel (Daniel 9:25-27). Daniel sowed humility and reaped wisdom. Daniel sowed the freedom to let God be God and reaped freedom that came with understanding.

If you are seeking freedom -- or anything else -- from God, first give God the right to be God in your life. Sowing submission brings a harvest of freedom and understanding.

Suffering times are a Christian's harvest times.
Charles H. Spurgeon

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 1-8 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%201-8&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Friday, June 7

The God Who Hears

Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.
Isaiah 59:1-3

Recommended Reading
1 John 5:14-15 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%205:14-15&version=NKJV)

Imagine a child approaching her father to ask for something. He doesn't acknowledge the request or the presence of his daughter by his chair. In fact, he appears not to have heard the question or even be aware that she is asking.

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Every feeling person recoils at such indifference. And the Bible presents the exact opposite of such a scenario when it comes to our requests before God. We are told, in the plainest of terms, to let our requests be made known to God, who is a loving Father (Matthew 7:7; Romans 8:32; Philippians 4:6-7. God may not give the answer immediately, but God hears and considers our every thoughtful prayer. He never neglects our petitions when we pray. In two cases, the prophet Daniel was told that God heard his prayers as soon as Daniel opened his mouth (Daniel 9:23; 10:12). In both situations, the answers were dispatched immediately. In one case, the answer arrived immediately; in the other, spiritual warfare delayed the answer by three weeks.

When you pray, know that God hears even before you speak (Matthew 6:. And know that His answer will not be late.

Anxiety and prayer are more opposed to each other than fire and water.
J. A. Bengel

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 9-17 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%209-17&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

 
Weekend, June 8 & 9

Healing

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Sometimes a family pet may stop eating and spend an unusual amount of time sleeping or resting. Our tendency is to make them better with remedies. But animals seem to know instinctively that the first thing, often the best thing, to do is to rest and wait for healing to come naturally.

I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't take our pet to the vet -- rather, that we might imitate them when we are feeling out of sorts. Instead of trying to "fix" our problem with activity, perhaps we need to rest -- to grow quiet enough to hear God's still, small voice speaking to our heart.

Find restoration on the road to new life.

Discover God's repose ... on Route 66.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 18-27 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2018-27&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Monday, June 10

Don't Work a Day in Your Life

A man's heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.
Proverbs 16:9

Recommended Reading
Ephesians 2:4-10 [ http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202:4-10&version=NKJV ]

Confucius said, "Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life." When you're doing what God wants you to do, there's work; but there's joy in the work. We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

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When evangelist George Whitefield was going to speak to a large crowd near the end of his life, someone commented on his feebleness. He acknowledged the observation; but, clasping his hands, simply prayed: "Lord Jesus, I am weary in Thy work, but not  of  it. If I have not yet finished my course, let me go and speak for Thee once more."1

We don't always know the dates God has set for accomplishing His plans for us, but we know He has a perfect plan. We may grow weary in the work; but the joy of the Lord is our strength as we press on to finish our course.

Press forward. Do not stop, do not linger in your journey, but strive for the mark set before you.
George Whitefield

1Helen C. Knight,  Lady Huntington and Her Friends  (New York: American Tract Society, 1853), 208.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 28-33 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2028-33&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, June 11

483 Years

And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself....
Daniel 9:26

Recommended Reading
Daniel 9:20-27 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%209:20-27&version=NKJV)

In the days of Daniel, Jerusalem lay in ruins, having been destroyed by Babylon in 586 B.C. But Daniel 9:20-27 predicted a decree to rebuild the city, and the issuing of that decree would trigger a timeline -- seven periods of seven years, followed by sixty-two periods of seven years, at the end of which the Messiah would be "cut off."

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Do the math: 7 x 7 = 49; and 62 x 7 = 434. Add 49 to 434, and you get 483 years.

Daniel predicted that 483 years after the decree for rebuilding Jerusalem, the Messiah would come into Jerusalem and be put to death. There are several ways of calculating this. They vary in detail, but here's the simplicity of it: The order to rebuild Jerusalem was issued by King Artaxerxes in the Book of Nehemiah. And 483 years later, Jesus Christ entered Jerusalem and was crucified exactly when Daniel had predicted.

If the Lord knows history's timeline, don't you think you can trust Him with yours? You can say with Psalm 31:15: "My times are in Your hand."

Psalm 22 vividly describes how Christ would die... Isaiah 53 describes why Christ would die... (Daniel 9) adds to this verse by identifying when Christ would die.
Bill Jones

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 34-37 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2034-37&version=NKJV )

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, June 12

Safety in Christ

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.
Revelation 3:10

Recommended Reading
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%204:15-18&version=NKJV )

When young recruits go through military basic training, slogging through the rain and mud, they are reminded, "You can do anything for eight weeks!" The promise of an end to travails gives strength and hope to carry on.

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Like a prophetic calendar, Daniel's vision of 70 weeks was like a chronology of hope (Daniel 9:24-27). Strangely, the last seven-year week held the promise not of consolation but of trouble and trial. A great abomination would occur in Jerusalem's temple (Daniel 9:27). It turns out, the seventieth week is the climax of the period known by Jeremiah as "the time of Jacob's trouble" (Jeremiah 30:7) -- a time of judgment and cleansing in Israel and the world. We know that period as the Great Tribulation. Fortunately, those in the body of Christ will not undergo that week of judgment. They will have been removed from earth by Christ at the Rapture. The full revelation of Scripture assures Christians that their destiny is not judgment but salvation and safety in Christ.

We may with the greatest assurance depend upon God for the safety of His church.
Matthew Henry

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 38-42 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2038-42&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, June 13

Love and Trouble

Therefore when you see the "abomination of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand). . . .
Matthew 24:15

Recommended Reading
Daniel 11:31 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%2011:31&version=NKJV )

The most common complaint against the notion of a loving God is that such a God would not allow the suffering and trouble seen in the world. Trouble in the world doesn't mean God is not good or powerful. Rather, it means God has reasons and plans that may not be plain to us.

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When Joseph went through trouble in his life, he recognized that God had a greater purpose, one that resulted in good for his whole family (Genesis 50:19-21). And the apostle who endured tremendous trouble and suffering for the sake of Christ is the same apostle who wrote that "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28). That purpose, Paul wrote, is "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29). Just as God has a purpose for individuals, God has a purpose for the world -- that it might reflect His goodness and beauty.

When you see God's world marred by sin, never forget that God's purposes are always at work and will be fulfilled.

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

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 43-49 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2043-49&version=NKJV )