Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

January 29

What is Salvation?

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God." 1 John 5:1 

What is salvation?

It's not a creed. You say, "Well, I believe the plan of salvation." You can believe the plan of salvation and go straight to hell.

You're not saved by the plan of salvation, you're saved by the man of salvation.

Salvation is not a creed.

It's not a code. You say, "Well, I believe if you live right you'll go to heaven." If you could be saved by living right, then Calvary was a blunder.

It's not a cause. You say, "I'm a member of a good, fundamental, Bible believing church." It's not any of these things. It's Christ.

Salvation is not believing something, it is receiving Someone. The true gospel is one that centers in Jesus Christ.

Ask God to give you a divine opportunity to boldly share Jesus with someone today. Maybe it's a co-worker, maybe it's your child. Maybe it's a stranger who sits next to you at a restaurant. Be strong and of good courage. God will go before you to prepare the way.

[Judy Harder]

January 30

Fear Not 

"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." Joshua 1:9

 

The devil is the sinister minister of fear. When he clamps his icy fingers of fear on your heart, do you become afraid of what he'll do to you if you take a stand for God? 

 

Don't be afraid. Fear is an insult to God who said, "I will be with thee." Fear will destroy you.

Are you a worrywart? One lady said, "Don't tell me it does no good to worry. Most of the things I worry about never come to pass."

Be not dismayed. God will take care of you.

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what your fears are, then confess them as sin. Repent, then reach up and take hold of His right hand that is outstretched to sustain you and give you the victory!   

[Judy Harder]

January 31

The Powerful Influence of Music 

". . . and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5 

Satan is waging a battle to control the thought life of America's teenagers.

The typical teenager listens to an average of 10,500 hours of rock music from the seventh to the tenth grade. That's only 500 hours shy of all the time he/she spends in school from first through twelfth grade!

Do you have any idea of the fatalism bombarding the airwaves everyday into young people's heads? The National Education Association estimates that a percentage of the 5,000 teenage suicides we have in America every year are caused by the fatalistic music of today's youth.

Someone has said, "You let me write the songs that a nation sings, and I don't care who makes its laws."

Is there a teen in your life? If so, spend some time this week talking with them about the music they listen to and the healthy choices they need to make to take back the ground Satan is trying to conquer with his onslaught of fatalistic music.   

[Judy Harder]

February 1

God's Grace Takes the Initiative 


"We love Him, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

When I was in the sixth grade, I wrote a love note to Joyce Louise Gentry. Then she became my bride and my beloved. Do you know she still has that note? From that time on she began to take an interest in me. Do you know why? Because I first loved her.

Do you know what the Bible is? It is God's love letter to you. It is God saying to you, "I have set my eye upon you. I love you!"

You're not saved by doing good works. You're not saved by joining a church. You are saved by the grace of God that said, "I love you" first. 

When was the last time you wrote a love letter? 
When was the last time you received one? 
Spend some time today and write a love letter to the Lord. 

[Judy Harder]

February 2

Justice, Mercy and Grace 


"...the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11

There are three words that came together at Calvary: 

justice 
mercy 
grace

Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. 

But wait a minute; grace is more than that! It is grace that gives at great cost to the giver. It is not cheap. Grace cost the life of God's Son. Jesus gave freely of Himself in agony and blood. 

Did you know that grace has to chase us down? If God didn't run faster than us, we would never be saved! Grace seeks to give to vile and wicked people that which they don't deserve and can never deserve. 

Are you a grace-giver? Find someone today and do a favor for them - something for which they couldn't possibly repay you. Perhaps it will even be for a stranger you will never see again.   

[Judy Harder]

February 3

Perfectionism Is a Thief 

 


"For He hath made Him to be sin for us, Who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

Did you know that your performance doesn't make you any more or less acceptable in God's eyes?

If you think that God is going to accept you on the basis of your quiet time, your Bible study, or your service, you will fall into a trap of never knowing if you've done enough. You'll never truly feel accepted.

Perfectionism is a thief. It promises rewards, but it steals both joy and satisfaction. Why? Because perfection is an unattainable goal! If you are a perfectionist, you've set an impossible goal for yourself, and therefore you will constantly be faced with frustration and failure.

Two things about you are true, without your "performance"— 

You are forgiven in Christ. 
You are righteous in Christ.
Are you a perfectionist? Ask the Holy Spirit to free you from the fear of failure. Now make a conscious decision that you can be less than perfect and still be loved by God. 

[Judy Harder]

February 4

Perfection Found in Jesus Alone 


"Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:39 

A perfectionist in the church is a miserable person. And not only that, but he makes everybody else miserable, too. The fellowship is never sweet enough. The teacher is never prepared enough. The music is never spiritual enough, and on and on it goes.

Jesus supplies the only perfection that we will ever attain until we get to heaven.

It is not perfection that God is looking for in His children; it is excellence.

God is working in you to achieve His purpose for His glory.

Memorize this statement, "I am worthy apart from my performance because Christ died for me and gave His life to me. My life is hidden in Him. Jesus loves me."   

[Judy Harder]

February 5

Defining Your Personal Value


"For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Romans 12:3

Do you try to be the best or do you simply try to do your best? The perfectionist has to be the best. He has to be #1. He can't accept himself.

The grace of God exalts a man without inflating him, and it humbles a man without debasing him. The person who strives for excellence says, "I am what I am by the grace of God."

Do you value yourself by what you do or by what you are? You have a choice. You can either choose to see yourself as God sees you, or you can choose to see yourself as the world sees you. Whose opinion will you listen to today?

Is there someone in your life whose opinion matters deeply to you? Instead of defining who you are by their opinions, measure yourself by God's standard in His Word. 

[Judy Harder]

February 6

Just As I Am

"To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved." Ephesians1:6

Do you have a "know-so" salvation? What I mean is, do you know that you are saved and have the assurance that if you died tonight, you'd spend eternity with the Lord in heaven?

Many folks don't have that assurance, and in some cases it is not a spiritual problem. It is a psychological problem. They cannot accept the fact that God has accepted them.

Charlotte Elliott penned these words to a timeless hymn of assurance:

"Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou biddest me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!"

You are accepted just as you are. It is all grace. 

Find the hymn "Just As I Am" and sing it to the Lord. Make it your song throughout the day when Satan tries to make you doubt God's love and eternal gift of salvation.   

[Judy Harder]

February 7

The Misunderstood Principle of Submission

"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous." 1 John 5:3

Submission is a term that has been grievously distorted because there are men who have used the word as a weapon to club their wives rather than as a hammer to build their homes.

When God tells a wife to submit to her husband, He also tells the husband to love his wife "even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it" (Ephesians 5:22-25).

When God tells children to obey their parents, He also instructs the fathers to "provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4).

When God tells you to submit to Him, it is for your good (James 4:7). Jesus is the head of the church, and He leads by love. The same should be true in the home.

Discuss the principle of submission with your family and friends this week. Contrast what the world would say it means to submit with what God desires for us.