Love Worth Finding

[Judy Harder]

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
†


Lord, here I am,
Lead me the way to go;
Lord, here I am,
Your way I long to know.

Daughter, I am here,
I Myself am the Way;
Stay close to Me, My child,
Listen to all I say.



No one comes to the Father
Except through Me;
Child, I am the Way,
The Key to eternity.

Embrace My sweet love,
Obey My each command;
I will dazzle you with graces,
Hold you in My hand.



When you are weary,
When your strength does fail,
Cling to Me all the more,
For My love will prevail.

Yes, Lord, take my hand,
I go wherever You will lead;
I find joy in Your presence,
You richly fill every need.



No one is sweeter,
My Jesus, than You;
You are Life, You are the Way,
All that is perfect and true.

I vow to walk with You,
To abide in Your will;
When I am in Heaven
I will sing Your praises still.



Yes, Lord, here I am,
Your way I delight to go;
Lord, I am Yours,
Only You I long to know.

~*~

Caroline Gavin ©August 2012
Purposeful Pathway

[Judy Harder]

August 18

An Offering of Continual Praise

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." - Romans 12:1

In the Old Testament, the priests would offer an animal sacrifice to God. What do believers offer today? Romans 12:1 tells us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices.

And just as the altars of old had two flesh hooks to keep the sacrifice from slipping off, we have two hooks that hold our bodies there—discipline and devotion. Are you disciplining yourself and devoting yourself as a living sacrifice to the glory of God?

In the Old Testament, the priests would burn incense as a fragrant offering to the Lord. What do we do today? Hebrews 13:15 says we continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

Our incense of praise should be going up out of our body, as we are the temple of the Holy Spirit (see 1 Corinthians 3:16). Are you giving God a continual offering of praise every moment of every day?

[Judy Harder]

August 19

His Peace and Joy in Suffering

"For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps." - 1 Peter 2:21

Christ suffered for you.

"But I don't want to suffer for Him."

You're going to suffer anyway—whether you are saved or lost. That is life in a fallen world.

When you submit to Jesus Christ and obey the Word of God, He is going to arch a rainbow of hope over your suffering. He is going to write Romans 8:28 over what you are going through. You will know that your current trial is for your good.

Surrender and submission to God is the only way to get His grace and power over your life. Joy, peace, and worry-free days are ahead for the one who lays his life down for the glory of God. Suffering will come, but joy will follow.

[Judy Harder]

August 20

Who Are You Burning Your Candle For?

"For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." - Romans 8:13

We preachers are fond of saying, "Get right with God. You may die!" It is far better to say, "Get right with God. You may live!" The greatest joy in life is living for Jesus. Why waste more time? There is a life to live.

Friend, the best thing that you can say about a life lived without Christ is that it is a wasted life. Billy Sunday, a revival preacher from the 1920s, said that the deathbed repentance is "burning the candle of life for the devil, and then blowing the smoke in God's face."

If you are not saved, it's not too late for you to be saved. If you want to be saved—wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you've done, Jesus wants to save you. Repent and believe and you will be saved.

[Judy Harder]

August 21

When?

"I must work the works of Him that sent Me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." John 9:4

Robert Moffett, a great missionary statesman, said, "We shall have all eternity in which to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before the sun sets in which to win them."

Life's setting sun is sinking low. There are only a limited number of days in which to save souls. Are you going to spend your days investing in the things of this world, or putting up treasures in heaven? When?

Are you going to start sowing seeds of salvation or are you going to plant happiness in this life alone? When?

Are you going to do something nice for your wife? When?

Are you going to write your father? When?

Make a promise to yourself right now that you will not put off until tomorrow what you should be doing today.

[Judy Harder]

August 22

Two Days that Will Steal Your Joy

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13-14

There are two days that can steal your joy and the fulfillment of today. One is tomorrow and the other is yesterday. Both are days in which we as Christians should refuse to live.

So many of us have never learned how to separate ourselves from yesterday. We are still dragging it around with us and it is stealing our joy. Paul could have lived there in the realm of guilt, but he refused.

Maybe you, like Paul and countless others, have committed some horrible sins. But friend, what God has called cleaned, let no man call unclean. If you have confessed that sin and given it to God, it is buried in the depths. Don't let it contaminate your day. Learn to live in the present.

[Judy Harder]

August 23

Submitting to One Another

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28

If we are going to survive in the tough times of our lives, we must learn to submit. That's right. Now, I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but let me explain.

The Word of God teaches us that no one is inferior to anyone else. We are one in Jesus Christ. Submission is something we do to one another "in the fear of God" (Ephesians 5:21). Through submission comes power and victory.

Do you want to know a good definition of submission? Here it is: Submission is one equal willingly placing himself under another equal that God may therefore be glorified.

We are never more like Jesus than when we submit. And never more like the devil than when we rebel.

[Judy Harder]

August 24

Be Vigilant—You Have an Enemy

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." - 1 Peter 5:8

Your adversary the devil is prowling about like a roaring lion. Don't underestimate his power.

Satan is an enemy you need to respect like an electrician who has respect for the wires that carry deadly voltage. He knows where the insulation is and he knows how to handle electricity. If an electrician loses his respect for this power, he is going to be in serious trouble.

Everything may be going great for you right now. You've got money in the bank, a good job, good health. You're dancing through the forest and picking wildflowers. But behind a bush is a lion so deadly, he can pounce on you and swallow you whole. You've got to be vigilant.

[Judy Harder]

August 27

Hidden from the Wise, Revealed to the Humble

"But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in His presence." - 1 Corinthians 1:27-29

What wisdom is there in dying on a cross? The Greeks couldn't understand it, and yet that is the wisdom of God.

God is so wise that the person with the highest IQ cannot figure Him out. If you could come to God with your intellect, then God is not fair because all of the smart people would have a head start and the rest of us would be left standing in the shadows. Your spirituality would be based upon your intellect.

I'm so glad that God has "hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes" (Matthew 11:25).

It's not that God is so high that few can figure Him out; it is that God has placed Himself at such a level that few of us will get down low enough to see God revealing Himself to us.

[Judy Harder]

August 28

Shaking Hands or Saving Lives?

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." - John 3:36

There was a preacher who kept a painting in his study of a shipwreck. There were sailors in lifeboats reaching out their hands to people floating on debris from the ship. A little boy looked at the painting and asked his daddy, "Are those in the lifeboats trying to save those people or are they just shaking hands?"

I wonder about us. It is all right to have friends; in fact, I encourage you to do that. But are you doing more than just socializing? Wouldn't it be a shame if all you did was shake the hands of those around you, when you could be serving and showing them the way to God through Jesus Christ?

We don't pray, live, and witness as if people are dying and going to hell or heaven every day around us. May God have mercy on us. The need of the hour is for men and women to have a servant's heart.