Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

JULY 2

This World Is Not My Home

"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God." - Colossians 3:1

First Peter 2:11 says that we are aliens and strangers in this world. We are in the world, but we are not of the world. We are twice-born in a world of once-born people, and we're going to find ourselves going against the tide most of the time.

It's like a deep sea diver who is underwater and outside his natural environment. He could not live if he weren't linked to his life supply above. That's the way we need to live. If we are to survive, we must stay linked to Jesus who is our life.

The Bible says we're not to set our affections on things beneath, but on things above where Christ sits at the right hand of the Father. (Colossians 3:1)

It's time to check your lifeline...are you trusting in anything in this world? Are you making friends with the things of this world?

[Judy Harder]

JULY 3

Bringing Up Godly Children in an Ungodly World

"O God, Thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared Thy wondrous works." - Psalm 71:17

Satan is on a killing spree — he wants to kill our memory and set us awash in the sea of forgetfulness without any recollection of our Christian heritage as a nation.

Tragically, he's aiming his artillery at our children, and particularly in the place where they used to grow in the knowledge of good things — the public school. Prayer is out. Police are in. Bibles are out. Values clarification is in. The Ten Commandments are out. Social engineering is in. Creation is out. Evolution is in. History is out. Revisionism is in. God says we need to remember the generation to come.

You have an important job — to influence the lives of those who will come after you. Teach them to walk in the ways of the Lord and against the tide of the world.

[Judy Harder]

JULY 4

Remembering Our Spiritual and Political Heritage

"That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments." - Psalm 78:7

On June 8, 1845, Andrew Jackson said, "The Bible is the rock upon which our Republic rests." Just a few years prior, in 1820, another of our forefathers, Daniel Webster, said, "Let us not forget the religious character of our origin." In the days of our founding fathers, people didn't quibble about the Bible's importance. Our forefathers brought hither their high veneration for the Christian religion, being journeyed in its light and labored in its hope. They sought to incorporate, listen to, and infuse its influence through all their institutions: civil, political, and literary.

American heritage is important, but so is your personal spiritual heritage as a believer and as a family. Why not take some time this week to write down the spiritual heritage of your family?

[Judy Harder]

JULY 5

Jesus Lives Forevermore

"I am He that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore." - Revelation 1:18

I went to see Lenin's tomb when I was in Moscow. He is sealed in a crystal case. You can see his waxen face and his trimmed beard, and on that tomb these words are written: "He was the greatest leader of all peoples of all countries of all times. He was the lord of the new humanity. He was the savior of the world."

Do you notice it's all past tense? He was. Jesus is alive. He is the great I AM. It is an encounter with the living Christ that makes the difference in our lives. We serve a Savior who is alive and listening to our every prayer. He is bottling every tear and rejoicing with every victory.

Thank God for His plan of love that sent His Son to die for you. Praise Him that Jesus lives forevermore!

[Judy Harder]

JULY 6

Surrender First

". . . now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness." - Romans 6:19

After a splendid victory at sea, Lord Nelson confronted the French admiral who was surrendering. Dressed in all his regalia, the admiral approached Nelson to surrender. With his sword swinging by his side, the admiral put out his hand to the British commander.

Lord Nelson stepped back and said, "Your sword first."

There are a lot of people who think they can walk up and glad-hand the Lord Jesus Christ.  He says, "Your sword first." Surrender first! Jesus is not an appeaser, and He will never make a truce with sin. Never! We have to abdicate the throne. We have to surrender.

Read Romans 6. Count the number of times the word "yield" is written. What does Paul want us to yield?

[Judy Harder]

JULY 7

Only One Life Ever Lived to Perfection

"Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come." - Revelation 4:8

There has never been a man like the Lord Jesus. I was deeply stirred by these words, written by John Phillips about Jesus:

"He never uttered a hasty, unkind, untrue, or frivolous word. He never entertained an impure thought. His talents never debased for selfish ends. His influence, never bad. His judgment, never wrong. He never had to apologize for anything that He did or retract a single word He said. He was never too late or too soon, never upset, never insipid, never shallow or afraid. . . He had absolute victory from the moment He drew his first breath in that Bethlehem barn until the moment He closed His eyes in death on the cross of Calvary."

If you're looking for a hero, let me suggest mine. His name is Jesus.

[Judy Harder]

JULY 8

Are You in the Secret Service?

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." - Romans 1:16

Are you ashamed to put a Bible on your desk at work? Are you ashamed to bow your head in the cafeteria? Are you ashamed to invite people to Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of the One who died for you?

A little boy had a dog, and someone asked him what kind of dog he was. He was just a mongrel, but the little fellow said, "Well, he's a police dog." The friend said, "He doesn't look like a police dog." The little guy replied, "He's in the secret service."

I'm afraid there are many of us who are in the secret service. We ought to be open and bold for the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Ask God to lead you out in strength and boldness today to live for Him and proclaim His love to others.

[Judy Harder]

JULY 9

Not Allowing Past Sins to Silence Our Witness

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." - 1 John 1:9

A young preacher was called out of a life of sin to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. While in the pulpit one day, he received a note in which someone had written all his past sins. In addition it read, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself? And you're up there telling people to get right with God!"

Do you know what the young preacher did? He read that note, bowed his head in prayer, stood up and said, "Ladies and gentleman I have received a note, and here is what it says." Then, in front of that whole crowd, he read every one of those sins. Then he said this: "Yes, I am ashamed of myself, but I am not ashamed of my Savior!"

What are some past sins in your life that are holding you back from fully proclaiming God's power to others? Confess them and bury them in His sea of forgetfulness.

[Judy Harder]

JULY 10

Ready to Give an Answer

"But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." - 1 Peter 3:15

Sometimes during an interview a reporter may ask me, "Do you think a Jew without Jesus is lost?" If I say, "Yes," then I will look like a racist or a bigot. If I say, "No," then, I have dishonored the Lord Jesus Christ who died for the sins of all people. So, how do I answer?

I say, "Friend, I believe that one of my own children without Jesus would be lost. It doesn't matter whether he's a Jew or a Gentile. You see, God demands absolute perfection and none of us can provide it. That's why we need the gospel. We need Jesus. We need the righteousness of God that comes by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ."

What would you say if someone asked you that question? Ask the Lord to prepare you.

[Judy Harder]

JULY 11

Real Faith: What It Is—What It's Not

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." - Romans 5:1

It's faith that enables us to live the Christian life. In order to know what faith is, let me tell you what faith is not.

·         Faith is not a hunch.
·         Faith is not positive thinking.
·         Faith is not responding to emotions, feelings, or icicles up and down your spine or miracles, signs and wonders.
·         Faith is not believing that God can do something.

Faith is knowing that God will. Faith is taking God at His word. Real faith dies to doubt. It is deaf to discouragement. It is blind to impossibilities. Now this is the kind of faith we need.

What kind of faith do you have? Do you have the faith that is small as a mustard seed, but can move a mountain? Ask God for it today.