Happy Independence Day

[Judy Harder]

Who's the Boss

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. - Romans 13:1

Jane's five-year-old neighbor must've seen Jane giving her kids treats because he was over in a flash. "My mom said I can have a Popsicle," he bellowed. And that reminds me of the story of an¬other little boy who would show up on his neighbor's doorstep at 9 o'clock in the morning and say, "My mom said I can stay until dinner." 

As we grow up we hopefully grow in our understanding of au¬thority. For instance. you wouldn't walk into your boss's office and declare, "My wife said I can have a raise." But sometimes we try to usurp God's authority. There are many people out there who know the truth, but in order to achieve their own selfish desires, they will use the truth or present the truth in an untruthful way.

It's not all that difficult to understand that God has and God is the ultimate authority in life. How that plays out in life can be confusing, unless you're willing to surrender your will to His.

"The man or woman who is wholly or joyously surrendered to Christ can't make a wrong choice. Any choice will be the right one." - A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

[Judy Harder]

A Promise in the Pain

When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stout hearted. - Psalm 138:3         

About five seconds outside the womb I think we all discover that this life isn't easy. And it seems that the older we get the tougher it becomes. Some people have problems or are attracted to difficul¬ties like fleas to a dog. Others make it through life with relatively little difficulty. 

But most likely, you'll face some tough times in life, and it's not im¬portant how your challenges stack up to the challenges of others. Sometimes you might wonder if you are going to be able to make it through, and you will if you hold onto God. He's promised to see you through.

Are you weighed down? Do you feel overcome with grief or alone in your struggle? 

You can choose to take steps to walk through your challenges and come through them a stronger person.

Remember, believing in God and in Jesus Christ doesn't mean you won't have problems. But it does mean you have resources, people, and God's Spirit who will see you through your problems. What could be better?

"Adversity causes some men to break; others to break records." - William A. Ward (1921-1994)

[Judy Harder]

Begger or Prince

Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God. - John 1:12

Are you a beggar or a prince?  Some religious people will tell you that you're despicable and worthless.  Others will say that you're the pinnacle of creation or the center of the universe. 

I think the words of C. S. Lewis from his great work The Chronicles of Narnia communicates the division between beggar and prince well. The voice of the lion, Aslan, is a respresentation of Jesus Christ says in the book Prince Caspian, "You come from the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve. And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content."

Friend, you were made in the image of God. That image, however, has been tragically marred and gracefully corrected. It was marred when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. It was grace¬fully corrected when Christ bore our sins on the cross . . . when he gave His life to pay the price for our sin.

Erect your head in honor of being a child of God. At the same time, bow in fear and respect to the King of Kings.

"You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure about you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us." - Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979)

[Judy Harder]

God Is In Control

And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." - Isaiah 6:3

Did you know there is now a modern day version of the Golden Rule? It says that "He who has the gold sets the rules".

Who sets the rules for you? Your supervisor? The company president? The government? Whoever sets the rules has great power. Sometimes we feel like that particular person has too much power and control over our lives. We long to be that person who has the gold and sets the rules.

On the highest level, God is the one who sets the rules and has the greatest power over us. We make choices in life, but He is the ul¬timate boss. Through the prophet Isaiah, God told us to "maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who keeps his hand from doing any evil."

It's good to know that God is kind and just. In our daily decisions, we need to follow God's rules that are found in the Bible. Hopefully, you follow those rules in grateful response to Christ and what He's done for you, not in an effort to earn your way into heaven.

Sometimes when people around us are flaunting their power, it's easy to forget who is ultimately in control. I challenge you today to obey God's rules for your life. Turn your situation over to God. He is in control.

"There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, 'All right, then, have it your way.'" -C. S. Lewis (1898-1963)

[Judy Harder]

Help Your Neighbor

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. - Philippians 2:4

When you see someone who needs help, do you stop?

On a road in England, a van spun out of control and plunged into a lake. In a black limousine, Princess Diana rode past the site. "Pull off here", she told her driver. The Princess ran toward the van, jumped into the water, and pulled a man out of his vehicle. They waited until the police arrived. The Princess of Wales had saved a homeless vagrant.

Once a Jewish law expert asked Jesus about how to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked the man, "What does the law say?" The man told Jesus, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and Love your neighbor as yourself". Then Jesus told a story about the Good Samaritan. When some robbers beat up a man, a priest and a religious leader had walked passed this half-dead man . . . yet ignored him. Then a Samaritan man lovingly loaded the man on his donkey and took him to an inn.

It's easy to walk past people who need our help. But it takes love and concern to look at the people around us as our neighbor. Who is my neighbor? Jesus gave us an example in the Bible, and Princess Diana gave us a modern day example. 

I challenge you today to look for an unexpected opportunity to help someone in need.

"If you haven't any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble." -Bob Hope (1903-2003)

[Judy Harder]

The Grandness of God

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." - Revelation 1:8

Recently a team of astronomers announced they have conclusive proof that a powerful black hole is 50 million light years away. Since the early 1900's Albert Einstein predicted there were black holes as a part of his theory of relativity. At first black holes were only a theory and based on math formulas. For many years as¬tronomers have been trying to prove the existence of these black holes in space. Now with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists can prove the existence of these black holes.

Fifty million light years. As I thought about that distance, it was more than my mind could imagine. We usually talk about size with words like big, large, extra large, and huge. A black hole is bigger than big . . . it defies our comprehension.

This science news also gave me a new appreciation for how big and how grand God is. The opening line of the Bible says "God created the heavens and the earth". Yet despite the grandness of the heavens, God cares about the intimate details of my life. In the New Testament book of Matthew, Jesus says that God knows when a sparrow falls to the ground and that even the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

I challenge you today to consider how big the world is, but also realize that we can have an intimate relationship with the God who created it.

"People see God every day, they just don't recognize him." -Pearl Baily (1918-1988)

[Judy Harder]

Nothing Is Impossible

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." - Mark 10:27

Are you facing a situation that looks impossible to fix?

In 1969, the pollution was terrible along the Cuyahoga River near Cleveland, Ohio. It was unimaginable that it could ever be cleaned up. The river was so polluted that it actually caught fire and burned. Now, years later, this river is one of the outstanding examples of environmental cleanup.

But the river wasn't changed in a few days or a few months. It took years of work to build new sewage plants and reduce the industrial pollution. Eventually that hard work paid off and now the water in the river is cleaner than ever.

Maybe you are facing an impossible situation. Maybe you have a habit that is driving your family crazy. Possibly you drink too much or don't know how to control your credit card use. When you face such an impossible situation, don't you want a quick fix and some¬thing to change immediately?

While God can perform miracles and instantly remove your desire for drugs or alcohol, for most of us the changes are gradual and in¬volve a lot of effort and work . . . like cleaning up a polluted river.

I challenge you today as you are facing your difficulties to put them in God's hands and trust in his timing.

"As the poet said, 'Only God can make a tree' probably because it's so hard to figure out how to get the bark on." -Woody Allen (1935-    )

[Judy Harder]

Finding the Balance

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." But wisdom is proved right by her actions. - Matthew 11:19

Have you ever flirted with danger? Recently six officials in the White House were told by their doctors that their "stress levels were so high, they were flirting with danger unless they slowed down." While actual people were not named, it reminded me that each of us flirts with danger at times.

Like when driving your car, you step on the gas and fly down the highway towards your next meeting risking your safety and risking that you won't have a tire blow out, let alone see a policeman with a radar gun. Or maybe you put your money in some volatile invest¬ment, or you keep piling on the work and don't know how to say "no", and risk burnout.

One of the key ingredients to lowering our stress level is finding the proper balance in our life. It keeps us from flirting with danger. In the Bible, wisdom and folly are described as two different women. Folly calls out, "Let all who are simple come in here! Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious! But little do they know  that her guests are in the depths of the grave." On the other hand, Wisdom says, "Instruct a wise man, and he will be wiser still."

Each day, we choose whether to flirt with danger by living in an imbalanced state or to walk in wisdom. I challenge you today to think about what you are doing and to walk in wisdom. 

"Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony." - Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

[Judy Harder]

Riches of Grace

Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? - James 2:5

Have you ever wanted to instantly be a millionaire?

It happened one day to Howard Jenkins. One day Jenkins checked his account through an automated teller and discovered that his account had over $88 million dollars in it. To double check the amazing number, Jenkins went into the bank and asked the teller for his balance. When she wrote eight zeros on the piece of paper, he almost fainted.

Although he knew that it was an error, Jenkins asked to withdraw $4 million and they handed it to him without batting an eye. He showed the money to his girlfriend, and her first reaction was, "Where are we going?" But then she said, "We can't keep this money." Jenkins already knew it.  He just wanted to be a millionaire for the afternoon. He returned the cash.

You may strike it rich or work your way to be a millionaire. But if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you have available incredible riches . . . riches of grace.

I challenge you today, to celebrate the riches of God's grace in your life.

"The riches of His free grace cause me to daily triumph over all the temptations of the wicked one, who is very vigilant, and seeks all occasions to disturb me." - George Whitefield (1714-1770)

[Judy Harder]

Trust God Each Day

But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, "You are my God." - Psalm 31:14

Do you recall an ad that captured your attention?

No matter which medium . . . television, radio, print, or the web, ads are made to catch attention. Recently I was caught off guard with a newspaper ad. It pictured a gray-haired senior citizen in a wet suit. The woman was holding up her surf board along the edge of the beach. The ad began, "No matter where life takes you, your health care coverage goes along."

The ad was designed to have you think about your future. No one knows what crisis tomorrow may bring. The life of faith involves living each day trusting God to guide and direct your future. That doesn't mean that you are naïve and ignore things like health care coverage. But for the bigger picture of life, you can trust God. In the unexpected events of life, you can trust God. The Bible de¬scribes faith as "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

You may not know where your life is taking you. But you can be sure that tomorrow, God has something prepared for you that you can't see or imagine. That's why we need to learn to trust God each day, no matter what the day holds.

"God's promises are like the stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine." - David Nicholas (1705-1769)