Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

MAY 1

Standing on the Inside

"For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry..." - 1 Samuel 15:23

There is a classic story about a father who told his little four year old son to sit down, but the son didn't sit down. So the father said a second time, "Son, I said sit down." The boy still didn't sit down. Finally, the father took him by the shoulders and forcefully placed him in the chair. He said, "Now, Son, sit there!" The little boy answered, "Okay, I may be sitting down but—" he added defiantly, "I'm standing up on the inside!"

A lot of us are in that mode. A rebellious spirit is not always discernible except to God and the person who has it.

Is there some area in your life where you're "standing up on the inside"? If on the inside you still harbor a rebellious spirit, you are not really "obeying."

[Judy Harder]

MAY 2

Knowing God Intimately

"Now therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, show me now Thy way, that I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight..." - Exodus 33:13

There are two ways that you can know God: casually or intimately. You can know about God, or you can know God. To know about God is to know His works. To know God intimately is to know His way.

Moses asked to know God intimately. But most people know God on the first level. All they know are the works of God. They know what God does, but they don't know the ways of God. Not everybody, even those who claim to be saved, knows God intimately. They don't know who God is. How sad it will be in the resurrection to meet a God face to face that we have not known heart to heart.

As you go through your day, ask God to show you His ways and to reveal to you how they are in contrast to the way the world thinks.

[Judy Harder]

MAY 3

Avoiding the Panic Button

"He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel." Psalm 103:7  "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him ..." - Psalm 37:7

Peter and James were both put in prison for preaching the gospel. But James had his head cut off while Peter was delivered miraculously out of the same prison. Did God love Peter more than he loved James?

Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost. He stood up for the Lord Jesus Christ, and 3,000 souls were saved (Acts 2). But Stephen preached, and he got 3,000 stones. They stoned him to death (Acts 7:59).

If all you see are the works of God, you're going to be hopelessly confused.  If you don't have a deeper insight into the ways of God, you're going to be pushing the panic button all the time. You will never be able to rest until you know God intimately. To know God intimately is the way of tranquility.

To know God intimately begins with two things: time in His Word and time in prayer. You know God intimately by direct dealing with God. You can't know anyone that you don't spend time with.

[Judy Harder]

MAY 5

Does Money Satisfy?

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." - 1 Timothy 6:6

Dr. Vance Havner is quoted as saying, "I'm often amused and amazed at the way we equate Christianity with success, popularity, and prosperity. We may not admit it, but we use the same old gauge the world uses, except we employ religious language. It would appear that gain is godliness with us, in spite of Paul's formula that godliness plus contentment equals prosperity."

So often we say that money will not satisfy, but that all depends on what we're trying to satisfy. The problem is not that money doesn't satisfy. The greater danger is that it does—but only for a season. If you have it and you are satisfied with the things of this world, that's a dangerous place to be spiritually.

Consider this: Paul had one of the best pedigrees any Jewish person could have. Yet he wrote (Philippians 3:7-8): "But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

[Judy Harder]

MAY 6

You Will Never See My Face

"... 'for I [God] will not go up in the midst of thee [the Israelites]; for thou art a stiff-necked people: lest I consume thee in the way'. ... And he [Moses] said unto Him, 'If Thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence.'" - Exodus 33:3,15

What is Moses saying here? He's saying, "God, if You're not going, I'm not going." St. Augustine is attributed with asking this question: "If God were to come to you and say, 'I'll give you anything you want. Nothing will be withheld. You can have whatever you want with one exception: you will never see My face,' would you take that proposition?" He then said, "If a chill went over your soul when you heard that phrase, 'You will never see my face,' thank God for that chill."

God offered to send the Israelites along their way with the protection of an angel. He promised them victory in the Promised Land. But Moses said: "I don't want Canaan without you. I don't want an angel to guide us. I don't want victory. I don't want milk and honey. I want you, God."

Is there anything today you want more than God's presence? Think carefully. If so, then that thing—whatever or whomever it is—is an idol.

[Judy Harder]

MAY 7

Enough is Enough!

"And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." - Joshua 24:15

It's always been amazing to me when critics say, "These evangelical Christians are trying to cram their values down the throats of other people."

Of course, I want to ask this question:

"Who was it that redefined when life begins? Who is it that has changed the way Americans think about premarital sex? Who is telling us what is decent and what is not? Who wants to dictate when and where you can pray and when you can't? Are they not the same ones that want to decide who lives and who dies?"

We have people out there who are trying to remold and remake society in their own image, and it's time God's people said, "Enough is enough!"

[Judy Harder]

MAY 8

A Proverb is a Proverb, Not a Promise

"Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

Some parents have almost put themselves in an early grave because they've had a wayward child. Someone has taken this proverb and beaten them over the head with it.

Friend, this verse is a proverb. If you read the book of Proverbs and try to turn proverbs into promises, you'll lose your faith. A proverb is a proverb. A promise is a promise. A precept is a precept. A parable is a parable. A prophecy is a prophecy. You have to be careful.

There are proverbs that tell you the way to be wealthy. Does that mean everyone who follows one of these proverbs is automatically going to be wealthy? A proverb is a general principle that when generally applied will bring a general result.

Instead of grabbing Proverbs as promises, ask God for discernment. He desires us to "rightly divide the word of truth," not use it as a club to beat up fellow believers. (2 Timothy 2:15)

[Judy Harder]

MAY 9

Children Need Encouragement Like Plants Need Water

"And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." - Ephesians 6:4

Children need encouragement like a plant needs water. They need it over and over again.

And you need to catch them doing something right! Let them know you believe in them. Let your speech affirm them. Be positive. Constantly encourage them.

Encouragement is twice as powerful as praise. Praise says, "You are great because you did something." Now there's nothing wrong with praise, but I'm just saying that encouragement is twice as strong as praise. There's a real difference. Encouragement looks at a child not primarily for what the child achieves, but for who the child is—and says "Thank you. I'm so grateful for you."

It's a fine line, but think about it. Catch your children doing something right and let them know through your encouragement that you believe in them.

[Judy Harder]

MAY 10

Not the Ten Suggestions

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night." - Psalm 1:2

Ted Koppel, ABC's original Nightline host for decades, was addressing the 1987 graduating class at Duke University. If he never ever says anything else right, he said a mouthful to those students:

"In the place of Truth we have discovered facts; for moral absolutes we have substituted moral ambiguity. We now communicate with everyone and say absolutely nothing." And then he said, "What Moses brought down from Mount Sinai were not 'The Ten Suggestions.' They are commandments. Are, not were. The sheer brilliance of the Ten Commandments is that they codify in a handful of words acceptable human behavior, not just for then or now, but for all time."

Mr. Koppel got it just right!

It is a tragedy that The Ten Commandments have been removed from the walls of many public schools.  But more important than The Ten Commandments being on the wall at the local school is that they be taught in your home and written upon the walls of your heart.

[Judy Harder]

MAY 12

Train Your Children

"Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." - Genesis 2:24

A boy responded disrespectfully to his mother, and his dad responded this way:

"Son, when you disrespected your mother, you sinned against God because God says you are to honor her (Exodus 20:12). You're going to have to answer to God for that. And you sinned against her, and you're going to have to answer to her for that."

But then he added, "Not only is she your mother, she's my wife. And you're not going to talk that way to my wife. Now you've got me to deal with because you have disrespected my wife."

What kind of lesson is that to a youngster? For a husband to protect his wife is one of the greatest lessons I have ever heard in my life!