Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Friday, June 14

Set Your Heart

Then he said to me, "Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard."
Daniel 10:12a

Recommended Reading
Matthew 26:36-46 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:36-46&version=NKJV )

Many things tell a lot about a person: how he spends his money and what she does with her free time. What a person does when pressured or burdened may say the most since burdens are something we want to escape. Where we turn with our troubles reveals who or what we think is able to deliver us.

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Great characters in Scripture always turned to God. Hannah cried out to God (1 Samuel 1:10). David petitioned the Lord (Psalm 34:4). Paul called on God over and over (2 Corinthians 12:. And Jesus stayed in the presence of the Father seeking understanding of the trial He faced (Matthew 26:39). Daniel did the same, and the phrase used to describe his attitude characterizes all who see God as their first stop in times of confusion: Daniel "set [his] heart to understand" (Daniel 10:12). In that phrase is a sense of commitment and perseverance. There is no desire for a quick answer but rather for a heart that understands.

If you have questions today, set your heart before God to gain His understanding.

The Christian faith is ultimately not only a matter of doctrine or understanding or of intellect, it is a condition of the heart.
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in  Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 50-55 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2050-55&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, June 15 & 16

Repetition

You and I have forgotten a lot that we used to know. Perhaps it is an algebraic formula from a math class, or a telephone number, or the words of a hymn. The saying is definitely true, "Out of sight, out of mind." We eventually forget those things we stop using.

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The author of Psalm 119 said that he continually set God's judgments before him so he could walk in them. And he used the nighttime hours, watching the sheep, as a way to meditate on God's Word. In order to know and remember the truth of God's Word, we must continually keep it before us.

Persistently study the Bible on the road to new life.

Discover God's promises through the study of His Word . . . on Route 66.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 56-68 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2056-68&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Monday, June 17

333

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
Jeremiah 33:3

Recommended Reading
Jeremiah 33:1-3 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2033:1-3&version=NKJV )

When pastor and author Robert J. Morgan was visiting Vietnam, he met an aged pastor who had been imprisoned for his faith in earlier days. "My two 333s got me through the experience," said the man. "The first was Jeremiah 33:3: 'Call to Me, and I will answer you....' The other was Number 333 in the Vietnamese hymnbook." When asked the name of the hymn, the man couldn't think how to say it in English, so he started singing it. Instantly Pastor Morgan recognized the tune: "Face to face with Christ my Savior."

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

Sometimes when we pray, the answers don't come exactly when or as we'd like. But we should keep on praying and singing, for God will be faithful to our 333s and to all the other verses and songs He gives us.

If you have questions today, set your heart before God to gain His understanding.

Face to face I shall behold Him, far beyond the starry sky; face to face in all His glory, I shall see Him by and by!
Carrie E. Breck

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalm 69-72 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2069-72&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, June 18

Too Busy to Pray?

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.
Psalm 23:2-3a

Recommended Reading
John 14:1-6 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014:1-6&version=NKJV )

As far as we can tell, earth still spins at exactly the same speed as when King David wrote Psalm 23 and when Jesus said, "Let not your heart be troubled." But it surely seems to have sped up for most of us. Instead of long walks into town, we jump in our cars and fight the traffic. Instead of slow cruises across the Atlantic, we take flights of six jet-lagged hours. Rather than going to bed at sunset, we work into the night and deprive ourselves of sleep.

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

It's better to be busy than bored; but being too busy to pray is a clear indication our schedule is no longer under the Holy Spirit's control. Jesus interspersed periods of intense activity with seasons of withdrawal, carefully guarding His spiritual and emotional well-being.

If you're rushed at prayer, something's wrong. Stop a moment, figure out how you can again enjoy your necessary daily time with the Lord, and let Him restore your soul. Beware the barrenness of busyness.

Most of us are far too busy for our own spiritual good.
Bill Hybels

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 73-77 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2073-77&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, June 19

History and Prophecy

And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.
Daniel 8:26

Recommended Reading
Ezekiel 12:27 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2012:27&version=NKJV )

Michel de Nostredame, popularly referred to as Nostradamus, lived in sixteenth-century France. The first edition of his book  The Prophecies  appeared in 1555 and has remained in print. While the prophecies of Nostradamus have been misinterpreted, mistranslated, and misapplied so as to connect them with world events, no serious scholar assigns any predictive accuracy to them.

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

This is not so with the prophecies of Daniel. They have proven to be so accurate regarding the movement of world powers -- Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman -- that many have concluded they were written after the fact instead of before. One must either conclude that Daniel's prophecies are divinely inspired or that they represent history, not prophecy. Those who deny divine revelation frequently assign a human cause for prophecy that seems to accurately predict the future. Because history unfolded just as Daniel predicted, the prophecies yet to be fulfilled come to us with a divine stamp of certainty.

Offer praise and thanks to God today for the fact that He knows the future -- yours, as well as the world's.

In [God], history and prophecy are one and the same.
A. W. Tozer

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 78-80 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2078-80&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, June 20

The Value of Prophecy

But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men.
1 Corinthians 14:3

Recommended Reading
Deuteronomy 18:21-22 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2018:21-22&version=NKJV )

Product user guides -- especially the "WARNING!" parts -- are provided so consumers remain safe, the products work as designed, and the purchaser enjoys the product. Those benefits are almost the same as the biblical benefits of prophecy: "edification and exhortation and comfort."

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

We can think of edification as teaching and information -- God telling us what we need to know about the future and revealing to us His omniscience, the fact that He sees past, present, and future as one. Exhortation can be thought of as a warning in the present in light of dangers in the future. Anyone who reads prophecies about end-time events ought to be motivated to "get right with God" before it is too late. And comfort comes in the form of future hope and certainty when life is troubling in the present. When Daniel received prophecies about the Son of Man and His eternal kingdom (Daniel 7:13-14), they were words of comfort to those who were captive in Babylon.

Every Christian is a student of prophecy. Previously fulfilled prophecies give us certainty that the Word of God is true and the future is certain.

No Bible subject holds more practical implications than the matter of prophecy.
Vance Havner

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 81-88 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2081-88&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Friday, June 21

"Ain't Gonna Study War No More"

And the government will be upon His shoulder.
Isaiah 9:6

Recommended Reading
Isaiah 9:1-7 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%209:1-7&version=NKJV )

War is the final proof of humanity's overwhelming sinfulness. Some wars are necessary; some are justified; but all are tragic, involving youth who under other circumstances might be the best of friends, facing each other in a life-or-death struggle. Dwight Eisenhower summed it up saying, "I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity."

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Jesus predicted that "wars and rumors of wars" would persist till the end of time, but a day is coming when war will be no more. There will be a final battle at Armageddon, and in victory Jesus will bring an end to earth's cycle of violence.

[And] of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever  (Isaiah 9:7).

We may grow discouraged in the face of world events, but reassurance comes in keeping our eyes on the face of our Prince of Peace.

In reading our newspapers today, we can see how God is setting the table, getting everything in order, preparing the way for Christ to return.
David Jeremiah

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 89-94 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2089-94&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, June 22 & 23

Self-Knowledge

The great British man of letters, Samuel Johnson, once observed that "almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities which he does not possess, and to gain applause which he cannot keep."

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The apostle Paul had a remedy for that kind of thinking. In Romans 12 he wrote that we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think; rather, we should think of ourselves in terms of the grace and gifts God has given us. When we learn to know and value ourselves as God knows us, we have gained true self-knowledge.

Get to know yourself on the road to new life.

Discover the grace and gifts God has given you . . . on Route 66.

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 95-106

[Judy Harder]

Monday, June 24

A Sense of Urgency

David asked Ahimelek,"Don't you have a spear or a sword here? I haven't brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king's mission was urgent."
1 Samuel 21:8 (NIV)

Recommended Reading
Luke 24:44-52 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2024:44-52&version=NKJV )

John Kotter, a renowned authority on leadership, writes that  urgency  is an essential element for those wanting to be successful, for most people are more complacent than they realize. "Insufficient urgency," he writes, "with all of its consequences, can be found in winners and losers, businesses and governments. It can undermine a plant, an office, or a whole country. Conversely, in all of these situations, a high sense of urgency can help produce results, and a whole way of life."

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

As Christians, we know Jesus is coming to earth like a thief in the night. Time is short, and the task of spreading His Gospel and expanding His work is urgent. More than 150,000 people die each day, and most go into eternity without the Savior.

While we don't know the day or the hour of our Lord's return, we don't have forever to finish the task -- He's coming soon! May our hearts overflow with an overwhelming urgency to fulfill His purposes and His Great Commission. The King's business is urgent!

We are much too complacent. And we don't even know it . . . With an attitude of true urgency, you try to accomplish something important each day.
John Kotter

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 107-111 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%20107-111&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, June 25

Heaven Rules

The Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone He wishes....
Daniel 4:17 (NIV)

Recommended Reading
Daniel 4:34-37 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%204:34-37&version=NKJV )

The last of the Major Prophets tells the story of a prophet and statesman named Daniel, who was among the exiles from Judah living in Babylon during the time when the nation of Judah no longer existed and the city of Jerusalem no longer stood. From all observable evidence, God's promises to Israel had failed. The Jewish people, it seemed, were finished, and with them God's redemptive plan for the earth.

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

But not so fast! The theme of the Book of Daniel is that the Most High still rules over the affairs of history regardless of who seems to be in control of the governmental centers of earth. The first six chapters of Daniel tell six stories emphasizing God's sovereign control over history, and the last six chapters give predictions as to God's plan for the future.

In every epoch, God's purposes are not delayed nor His decrees thwarted. Amid today's chaos and even during the coming Great Tribulation, God is and will forever be in control. We can rest assured "Heaven rules" (Daniel 4:26).

Apart from Christ, history is without final meaning, for real history is the history of redemption. History is His story.
J. Oswald Sanders

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 112-118 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%20112-118&version=NKJV )