Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

August 26

More Than We Can Ask or Think

"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Ephesians 3:20

To be found in Jesus, Paul says, is worth more than all of his religion, race, and ritual. It is a relationship with the Almighty God. It is Jesus. Paul says, "I'm tired of trying. I'm going to start trusting."

Basically, Paul lived a life of working his way to heaven before he met the Lord on the road to Damascus (see Acts 9). Legalism is a terrible thing. It is a harsh task master under which no one can succeed.

Liberty, not legalism, is what the Lord Jesus Christ offers. Freedom, not bondage. Relationship, not religion. We give up nothing for which Jesus will not abundantly offer more than we could ever hope or dream.

Read Colossians 3:11. What does it mean for Christ to be your "all in all"?

[Judy Harder]

August 27

Take It to the Lord in Prayer

"Thou shalt make thy prayer unto Him, and He shall hear thee, and thou shalt pay thy vows." Job 22:27

Have you ever disagreed with someone and felt you were in the right? I have. What started out as a conversation turns into a confrontation. And the tension becomes so thick you can cut it with a knife. At that point, it's time to separate before things disintegrate.

And when you separate, it's time to communicate with the Lord. It's when you get alone with God that the communion of conviction comes, and what seemed to be confusion becomes crystal clear in His light. More often than not, the Holy Spirit has shown me that I was in the wrong and needed to ask forgiveness.

Have you had a disagreement with someone lately? It's time to retreat, reflect, and receive what the Lord wants to tell you. Enter your prayer closet today.

[Judy Harder]

August 28

God Is Your Best Purity.

". . . it is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband." 1 Corinthians 7:1-2

Premarital sex always endangers future marital happiness. It follows as night follows day. Surveys have shown that those who were sexually pure when they went to the marriage altar have the greatest opportunity to have a happy marriage.

You can understand why. Suppose a man says to a woman "I love you so much, I just can't wait." He talks her into giving in to his desires. Now think about a man who loves and respects a woman by keeping her pure. Do you see the trust that this builds? God has a wonderful plan for you. Sex is so bad outside marriage because it's so good inside marriage.

Are you single? Take courage from knowing God's best is your purity. Though it may be hard to wait, God will honor your obedience.

[Judy Harder]

August 29

Fidelity, a Multi-Facetted Trait of Character

"Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge." Hebrews 13:4

I'm continually amazed at the apathetic responses to surveys where people are asked, "Does it make any difference to you whether a candidate is faithful to his wife or not?" Or, "Would you vote for a man that was unfaithful to his wife?" And they say, "It doesn't matter."

Well, friend, it makes a difference to me. And more importantly, it makes a difference to God. When couples break solemn vows—unless they repent with every ounce of their hearts—trust is broken. Put it down big, straight, and plain: People who treat sex lightly will treat other people lightly.

Are you married? Find some time today to express to your spouse your love and faithful commitment to him or her.

[Judy Harder]

August 30

Imputing Righteousness to Your Account

"Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." Romans 4:6

God imputes righteousness to you through His Son. What does "impute" mean? To put on your account. At the moment you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God makes you righteous. Romans 4:8 says, "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." A woman was asked one day what it felt like to be saved and she replied, "It feels as though I am standing in Jesus' shoes and He is standing in mine." A scholar or theologian couldn't have said it any better.

"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).

Thank God that though you are a sinner, He doesn't impute it to you, and though you are not righteous, He imputes—puts into your account— that to you!

[Judy Harder]

August 31

"After His Kind," Not Another Kind

"Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created." Psalm 148:5

In Genesis 1:11-12 we read, "And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good" (italics mine).

If evolution is true, then one specie would have to involve into another specie, and if that is true, then you would expect to find transitional forms of life. You hear talk about the "missing link." May I tell you, the whole chain is missing!

What do you believe about the origin of creation?

[Judy Harder]

SEPTEMBER 1

The Trial of Your Faith

"That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7

James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man."

Some people get confused between temptations and trials, and the difference between the two is this:

Trials are sent by God to cause us to stand.

Temptation to sin is sent by the devil to cause us to stumble.

One is meant for our maturity. The other is meant for our misery. James used this word interchangeably. While God does not cause both kinds, God allows both kinds, and He will use both to make us more like Jesus.

Are you in the furnace of affliction? Do you feel you're being tempted? Trust in God to see you through.

[Judy Harder]

September 2

Ready to Face Trials and Temptations

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

Winston Churchill was speaking to the House of Commons one day when he gave this advice, "We must always be ready to meet at our average moment, the thing that any possible enemy could hurl against us at his selected moment."

Satan could hurl a deadly temptation at you at any given moment. The phone could ring with terrible news about a friend. A police officer could knock on your door to inform you of a tragedy in your family.

Trials can come with such a force that they blow you off course. Temptation can strike at your backside and almost give you whiplash!

It is not God's will that you have a vacancy of temptation or trials but that you have victory in temptation and trials.

Are you ready at this moment to meet what the devil may throw at you or what God may allow to come your way? Get ready by spending time in His precious word today.

[Judy Harder]

September 3

All Things Are Under His Feet

"For He hath put all things under His feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him, it is manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him." 1 Corinthians 15:27

God has given us kingdom authority. Jesus said, "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you" (Luke 10:19).

When problems get over your head, remember they are under His feet.

You need not be discouraged when troubles strike. It is the pathway your Savior has walked before you. It is the way of the cross, and He has won the victory!

·         Write down the hardest thing you have to deal with today.
·         Now, put that paper on the floor.
·         Look down on it.

Now you have a glimpse of God's vantage point over the problems in your life.

Remember ... "He hath put all things under His feet."

[Judy Harder]

September 4

God's Omnipotence in Creation

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Genesis 1:1

An eloquent preacher said, "God stepped from behind the curtain of nowhere and stood upon the platform of nothing and spoke a world into existence."

God is the creator of all that your hand can touch, your eye can see, your ears can hear, and your nose can smell. If you see a watch, I hope you assume there's a watchmaker. And if you see the precise atomic flux of the universe, I hope that you don't believe that happened by chance.

Evolutionists believe that if you take billions of years and add time plus chance, that you can turn frogs into princes. In school they call that fairy tales. In the laboratory they call it science.

God spoke your life into existence. His Word sustains your breath. His Word can silence your breath. Thank Him for your life today!