Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

October 16

Making Your Own Idol

“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:3

What is an idol? A man takes his own ideas and puts them into the work of his hands, and then he begins to worship it. What he is really worshiping is himself.

You may say, “Well, I’m not guilty of idolatry.” Let’s just see...is there anything that you love more than God? Anything you fear more than God? Anything you serve more than God? Anything you trust more than God? Am I getting hot?

You say, “Well, I give God a place in my life.” God doesn’t want a place in your life. Then, you say, “Well, I give God prominence in my life.” God despises prominence in your life. God demands preeminence in your life. He will take nothing less.

Is there anyone or anything in your life that takes precedence over God? Confess it and repent of it. Now, put on the throne the rightful Master—the Lord Jesus!

For more from Love Worth Finding and Pastor Adrian Rogers, please visit www.lwf.org.

[Judy Harder]

Love Worth Finding
     
October 17

Obedience in Tithing

"His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Matthew 25:21

A man spoke to his pastor one day and said, "I don't know what's wrong, but God is not real to me anymore." The wise pastor asked, "Is there any sin in your life?" In a moment of honesty the man responded, "Years ago I was tithing regularly to God, but one day I thought, 'God doesn't need the money as much as I do,' so I stopped."

The pastor said, "Will God say, 'My child has disobeyed Me. He cannot trust Me with his resources, so I think I'll bless him with even more financial resources.' Will God do this?"

Absolutely not. If you're not faithful with little, He won't bless you with any more.

Are you faithfully tithing your income to the work of the Lord? If not, it's time to.

[Judy Harder]

October 18

Made White as Snow

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow . . ." Isaiah 1:18a

I heard of a man giving his testimony at a Salvation Army meeting. There was a heckler in the crowd shouting, "Would you shut up? You're just dreaming!"

The heckler felt a tug at his coattail and a little girl said, "That's my daddy up there. He used to be a drunkard and beat up my mommy. We didn't have enough food to eat. But then he got saved, and my daddy's life is changed. See that woman over there? See how happy she is? That's my mommy. Mister, if my daddy's dreaming, don't wake him up!"

What a Savior who can take a poor lost sinner and wash him, save him, and make him new. Hallelujah!

When was the last time you shared Christ with a homeless person? Avail yourself and allow God to use you to shine His light in that direction.

[Judy Harder]

October 19

The Miracle of the New Birth

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John 3:3

Nicodemus was so impressed with the miracles Jesus had done that he wanted to find out more. He asked Jesus about miracles, and Jesus began to talk to him about births. It's as if Jesus were saying, "Nicodemus, if you want to understand miracles, you're going to have to become a miracle."

Now Nicodemus was an intelligent man. He was a ruler of the Jews and a member of the Sanhedrin. Yet with all of his learning, he heard Jesus say to him, "Except you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God." People simply can't understand spiritual things until the Holy Spirit of God turns the light on in their souls.

Do you know someone who has a lot of education but no salvation? I challenge you to share this same Good News with him or her today.

[Judy Harder]

October 20

Clean Before the Lord

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Psalm 51:7

I heard of a missionary whose wife was very fastidious. They moved into a small hut, and soon she noticed that the floor was filthy. The first thing the wife wanted to do was to scrub that floor, so she scrubbed and scrubbed but to no avail. She began to wonder if she would ever get the floor clean. Finally, somebody told her the problem. It was a dirt floor! The more she scrubbed the more dirt she scrubbed up.

In the same way, we can never scrub off our sinful nature. All we do is reveal more of what is there.

I hate to tell you this, but we're rotten to the core.

Jesus said, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

How dirty are you this morning? How clean must you be before you can talk with your heavenly Father? Claim the blood of Jesus and commune freely with your Father who loves you.

[Judy Harder]

October 21

Faith in Our Great God

"Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2

How do you have faith? You look to Jesus, and faith is produced in your heart.

You don't have to work up faith.

Suppose I needed to cross the Mississippi River and I wasn't sure whether the bridge could hold me up or not. I could do one of two things. I could stand on the banks of the Mississippi and try to work up enough courage to make myself believe in that bridge, then timorously walk over that bridge. Or I could look at the semi-trucks traveling across the mighty steel and concrete of that bridge, believe, and boldly walk across in faith! In this case, faith is the by-product of seeing the strength of the bridge itself. In the same way, it's not great faith in God that you need; it is faith in a great God!

Attempt something so great in your life today that is doomed to failure unless God be in it.

[Judy Harder]

October 22

Born Again, Saved for All Time

"Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again." John 3:7

Have you ever known anyone who was physically born twice?

Have you ever known someone who was spiritually born twice?

Nowhere in the Bible will you find a passage that describes anyone being saved twice. Once you come into the family, you're in the family.

Now there were times when I disappointed my parents. There were times when my father had to chastise me, but I am a Rogers. I will be a Rogers for all eternity. It's the same way with your spiritual life. When you are born into the family of God, your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. It is fixed. It is done.

Do you know a brother or sister in Christ who is doubting his/her salvation? Encourage him/her with this Good News today.

[Judy Harder]

October 23

The Just Shall Live by Faith

"For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:17

Is God righteous? Yes.  And how is the righteousness of God revealed? It is revealed from faith to faith. God gives you truth. You believe that truth; God gives you more truth.

The more you obey the light, the more light you get.

The reason some of us don't understand the Bible any more than we do is that we haven't been living up to the light God has already given us. It's time we began taking God at His Word and obeying it. If we begin obeying the small things we understand, God will enlighten our path to help us understand the things we don't understand.

Ask God today to give you understanding into the depths of His Word so that you can begin to share His truth in greater ways with the lost around you.

[Judy Harder]

October 24

Embracing God's Light by Faith

"The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up." Matthew 4:16

There are two witnesses for the existence of God to all people:

§  One is the objective witness of creation.

§  The other is the subjective witness of conscience.

God speaks to a man and the man responds, "God, I want to know You and I need to know You. I do believe that You exist."

That's faith, and he goes from faith to faith as he steps in the light until he comes to the Lord Jesus Christ.

I believe with all my heart there's never been a man or woman who ever lived on the face of this earth who died without some opportunity to have received Christ, had they lived up to the light God gave them.

Is there someone in your life that claims to be an agnostic or an atheist? Try to engage them in a conversation about creation this week.

[Judy Harder]

A Guard Could Save You a Lot of Grief


Now, there's one good way to recognize the places that folks think are important—the guards. Yeah. I mean, they obviously think the White House is important; there are guards all around it. The bank usually has a guard. There are some club communities that I've seen where you don't get to even go into the neighborhood until the guard says, "Yes, somebody left a name here at the booth. You can go in."

Of course, there are guards at the airport, military installations, the ballpark. Oh, we know that important places need to be guarded; they need to be protected. You know, there is one important place in your life that really needs a guard, and probably doesn't have one. And it's not because of what will get in—it's because of what's getting out.