Turning Point with David Jeremiah

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, May 26 & 27

   Dear Moms: Mary, the Mother of Jesus

  Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
  Luke 1:38

    Recommended Reading
Luke 1:26-38 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%201:26-38&version=NKJV )
2:21-40 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202:21-40&version=NKJV )

Unlike some others who became mothers after years of barrenness, Mary was not seeking to have a child. Indeed, she was not even pregnant. So when the angel Gabriel announced that God had chosen her to be the mother of Jesus, she was as much puzzled as awestruck. But her response was characteristic: "Let it be to me according to your word."

       Watch This Week's TV Broadcast ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/television.aspx?tid=email_watchedevo )

The realization of what it would mean to be the mother of Jesus grew on Mary gradually. When Jesus was eight days old, Mary learned that "a sword" would pierce her own soul because of her Son (Luke 2:35). And when He was found to possess wisdom beyond His young years, her perception of His mission was stretched in a new way (Luke 2:41-52). It was only when His public ministry began, and she saw how her Son was treated by those who rejected Him, that her protective instincts surfaced (Luke 8:19-21). And they must have reached a peak when she stood at the foot of the cross and watched her Son die an unjust death (John 19:25).

Thank God today for mothers who submit to God's will for their children even when it is more painful than they could have imagined.

  The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a mother.
  St. Thérèse of Lisieux

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Job 21:1–28:28 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2021:1%E2%80%9328:28&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Monday, May 28

From Praise to Praise

  For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
  Matthew 6:13

    Recommended Reading
Matthew 6:9-13 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:9-13&version=NKJV )

Many of us remember our mothers buying dress patterns to aid in sewing. Perhaps you've done the same yourself. A pattern is a paper template from which the parts of the dress are traced onto the fabric before cutting and stitching together at the home sewing machine.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

The Lord's Prayer is a pattern that allows us to trace and assemble a beautiful prayer life at home. There's hardly anything that touches life that isn't included in this prayer. It expands to cover all our needs and relationships, and it encompasses matters affecting both time and eternity.

One of the most useful observations is that the Lord's Prayer begins and ends on a note of praise. Left to ourselves, we'd probably begin and end our prayers with our own needs. But Jesus taught us to begin with the attitude: "Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be Your name." And to end with: "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

When we begin and end our prayers with praise, we keep the focus on Him, and that's the pattern for joy.

  Worship seals all prayers at the front and at the back. Always pray with praise beginning and praise ending.
  David Jeremiah

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Job 29:1-31:40 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2029:1-31:40&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, May 29

Needing the Knee

  Pray without ceasing.
  1 Thessalonians 5:17

    Recommended Reading
1 Thessalonians 1:2-4 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%201:2-4&version=NKJV )
A strange phenomenon swept over Washington's Union Station on the morning of June 6, 1944. No announcements came across the speakers. No one made a loud pronouncement. But suddenly the hustle and bustle of thousands of people crisscrossing the vast terminal came to a quiet moment of silence and stillness. One person after another dropped to a knee, folded their hands, and prayed. A few minutes later the phenomenon passed, people returned to their feet and scurried toward their trains or taxis. What had happened? It was D-Day, and news of the invasion flashed from person to person. Everyone felt the need for prayer.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

A popular football player has recently re-popularized the habit of dropping to one's knee in prayer. Many of the biblical characters knelt when they prayed--not always, but sometimes. And kneeling is a godly habit that represents our reverence to the Lord.

But whether we're kneeling literally or figuratively, our hearts should always be in an attitude of prayer. We can pray at all times, even amid the hustle and bustle of life. Even now.

  Prayer isn't limited to a slot in our schedule. It's living in the Lord's presence and being open to Him.
  Cheri Fuller

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Job 32:1-34:37 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2032:1-34:37&version=NKJV )

:angel:oooo

[Judy Harder]

 
Wednesday, May 30

Is Your Church Cold?

  I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus.
  1 Corinthians 1:4

    Recommended Reading
1 Peter 2:4-10 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%202:4-10&version=NKJV )

Every winter the residents of Mitterfirmiansreut, Germany, build a church from snow. The tradition dates to 1911, when authorities denied a request for the building of a house of worship. Villagers decided to build it anyway, and they constructed it out of snow and ice. A frozen chapel has been built every year since, though the process is more expensive now. Last year's construction cost $200,000.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Some churches are certainly colder than others. The true church is made from living stones (1 Peter 2:5), and some of them are colder than others. Every congregation is made of flawed people, with different personalities, and opinions, and levels of maturity.

Paul fretted about his church at Corinth. But writing to them, he began with a prayer thanking God for each member. When we learn to thank God for our churches despite their perceived flaws, we'll be following a tradition established by Paul. We'll find that thanksgiving can thaw the icicles of our hearts and warm those of others.

  (When) some good man or woman comes into the church, or a new preacher, or God Himself comes by His Holy Spirit, there is a fire lighted in that cold church. Everyone begins to feel and act and pray differently.
  Hugh T. Kerr

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Job 35:1-37:24 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2035:1-37:24&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, May 31

Our Fellow Servants

  I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said to me, "See that you do not do that. For I am your fellow servant."
  Revelation 22:8-9

    Recommended Reading
Revelation 19:9-10 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2019:9-10&version=NKJV )

According to the Bible, there is a spiritual zone around earth containing unseen angelic activity. References to angels are in 39 books of the Bible--19 in the Old Testament, 20 in the New. Angelic activity runs from Genesis 3 to Revelation 22. The Lord must want us to ponder this, as Colossians 3 tells us to set our minds on things above.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Be thankful for angels, but remember that only God should be worshipped. In Revelation 19, the apostle John was so overwhelmed that he fell down to worship the angel who appeared to him. But the angel said, "Do not do it! I am your fellow servant." Three chapters later, John repeated his mistake, and the angel gave the same response, telling him that angels and Christians are fellow servants in the Lord's work.

What a concept! Don't worship angels but consider them  fellow servants . Though we may not see them, they're working alongside us in ways we'll only understand later.1

  Though we may not worship angels, we may esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And we may imitate them in all holiness.
  John Wesley

  1Adapted from Angels:  True Stories  by Robert J. Morgan (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011).

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Job 38:1-39:30 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2038:1-39:30&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Weekend, June 2 & 3

   The Father Knows Best: Love

  Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.
  1 John 3:1

    Recommended Reading
1 John 1:1-3 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%201:1-3&version=NKJV )

Dads are imperfect people, and it only takes a single thoughtless mistake to create misfortune. On a recent Saturday night, for example, a man in New York pulled into a convenience store to buy a drink, leaving his car running. A thief jumped into the vehicle and took off, not realizing the owner's six-year-old son was asleep in the backseat. Thankfully the boy slept through the whole ordeal. He was safe and sound-and still asleep-when officials found him inside the abandoned vehicle a half-hour later. The thief wasn't caught, but the dad was charged with endangering the child.

       Watch This Week's TV Broadcast ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/television.aspx?tid=email_watchedevo )
All dads make mistakes--some worse than others!--but there is one Father who will never make a mistake, let us down, endanger our lives, risk our well-being, leave us, or forsake us. He loves us with an everlasting love, and nothing can ever separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

We can rest in that!

  Rest. Rest. Rest in God's love.
  Madame Jeanne Guyon

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 1:1-8:9, Psalms 9:1-16:11 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%201:1-8:9 )

[Judy Harder]

Monday, June 4

Safe in the Arms of Jesus

  Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
  Matthew 18:14

    Recommended Reading
Matthew 18:10-14 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2018:10-14&version=NKJV )

The death of a child is inexplicable. We can't understand it. But we can trust the God of all comfort, who assures us that every life is precious, every soul is eternal, and every departed child is safe in His arms. Jesus said of the girl in Galilee, "She is not dead, but sleeping" (Luke 8:52). David said of his lifeless child, "I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me" (2 Samuel 12:23).

  Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

The mystery of heaven grows sweeter as we think of the children who have prematurely left earth to be with God. We may never get over the loss of a child, but we can get through it with the joy of the Lord as our strength. We can anticipate our reunions. We can remember He does all things well. Pastor John MacArthur wrote a prayer for grieving families, which said in part: "Turn their sorrow to joy as they accept the truth that their little one is safely in Your arms--now and forevermore."1

Amen.

  Neither life nor death shall ever, from the Lord His children sever.
  Karolina Sandell-Berg

  1John MacArthur,  Safe in the Arms of Jesus  (Nashville: Nelson, 2003), 171.

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 17:1-20:9 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2017:1-20:9&version=NKJV )

[Judy Harder]

Tuesday, June 5

Mercy in His Image

  "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God."
  Mark 10:14b

    Recommended Reading
Psalm 145:8-9 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20145:8-9&version=NKJV )

When a newborn wakes his parents crying in the middle of the night, he is nursed back to sleep by a weary and understanding parent. When a two-year old accidentally knocks over a cup of juice, it is wiped up by a patient and understanding parent. And when a fussy five-year old refuses to take her nap, she is led back to her bed by a firm, but understanding, parent.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

What is it that makes these parents respond with understanding--that keeps them from punishing an infant, toddler, or five-year-old for accidents or typical behaviors? It's the same thing that God extends to us: mercy and grace. We are made in the image of God and so have the same sense of mercy and grace that God has, tarnished as ours might be due to sin. We understand that children are not mature; they make mistakes and have accidents; they don't know right from wrong. So we extend mercy and grace and love toward them as God does for us. It's the same mercy and grace God extends throughout His creation.

For children whose lives end at a young age, God's mercy and understanding draw them to Himself for all eternity.

  What a world this would be if God sat on a throne of justice only, and if no mercy were ever to be shown to men!
  Albert Barnes

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 21:1–25:22 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2021:1 )

[Judy Harder]

Wednesday, June 6

Eternity in Our Heart

  He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts...
  Ecclesiastes 3:11

    Recommended Reading
Revelation 21:1-4 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%2021:1-4&version=NKJV )

The most difficult time to retain a student's attention during the school year is inevitably the last few weeks of the spring term, waiting for summer vacation. And the same interest level for their work is also difficult to maintain in an employee's life the last few weeks before retirement. If summer vacations and retirement create such expectation and excitement, how much more anticipation should there be for spending all eternity in the glories of heaven?

  Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Even if a person has no fear of death, almost everyone will admit to the feeling that death is an interruption, something that is unplanned. We have a sense that life should be about more than living three-score and ten years. And it is! We think life should go on because of the God-implanted sense of eternity carried in the heart of every human being (Ecclesiastes 3:11). God created man to live forever, but death entered with sin (Romans 5:12). Fortunately, we can live forever through faith in Christ who cancelled out our debt of sin.

Are you thinking as much about eternity today as about an upcoming vacation, or about relaxing in your senior years? Thank God for the privilege of living forever with Him!

  Eternity is the lifetime of the Almighty.
  Unknown

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 26:1–31:24 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2026:1–31:24&version=NKJV )
 

[Judy Harder]

Thursday, June 7

Taking Away the Sting

  "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
  1 Corinthians 15:55

    Recommended Reading
Philippians 1:20-26 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%201:20-26&version=NKJV )

Nineteenth century poet and pastor Henry Van Dyke made the statement: "Some people are so afraid to die that they never begin to live." That is a very astute observation. For some people, the thought of dying is something that they fear--almost to the point of compulsion.

Listen to Today's Radio Message ( http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/radio.aspx?tid=email_listenedevo )

Why is dying something we wish to escape? It's because it stings. At least that's how the New Testament describes it: "O Death, where is your sting?" Death stings for lots of reasons. Sometimes it comes with suffering and always with separation. Sometimes it's accompanied by regrets and unfulfilled dreams. Regardless of the reason, death, like all of life's "stings," is something to avoid. Unless, that is, you are a child of God for whom the sting of death has been removed by Christ. Yes, there is still separation and loss, but not without hope. The resurrection of Jesus Christ took the sting out of death and took victory away from the grave. As Jesus said, it is possible to live even though we die (John 11:25-26).

There is no better way to live than to look forward to life and to death. And you can look forward to both today through faith in Christ.

  He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave.
  Matthew Henry

  Read-Thru-the-Bible
Psalms 32:1–35:28 ( http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalms%2032:1%E2%80%9335:28&version=NKJV )