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*For more information on David Jeremiah and Turning Point ministries, visit DavidJeremiahPodcast.org.

What if happiness isn’t about what you gain—but what you avoid? In this message, we uncover the “downward pull” that slowly leads people away from joy and into regret. Learn how staying anchored in God’s Word protects your life and leads to strength, stability, and success.

Do you have questions about the Bible, theology, or Christian Living? Ask on demand and get instant biblical answers, sourced directly from Dr. Jeremiah's sermons. Check out SmartSearch by David Jeremiah by visiting DavidJeremiahPodcast.org.

You know (most of) the right answers for your heart's questions—but laundry piles, secret shame, and nonstop noise keep drowning them out. Author Andrea Griffith gets brutally honest about hiding sin, chasing control, and what finally broke her cycle of shame. Rather than fronting a polished faith, find the space Scripture meets real life and freedom starts by dragging what’s hidden into the light.

Show Notes and Resources

• Center: Wrapping your life around the One who Matters Most by Andrea Griffith and more studies→ thechurchhub.org

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• Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
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In an overpopulated world it’s easy to underestimate the value of you, your vote, your convictions, your determination to say, “I stand against this.” Even though you can’t do everything you can do something. It makes a difference.

It was one of those winter nights that chills you to the bone - cold temperatures, a brisk north wind, a freezing rain, some snow. Our friends were inside their house, and their horses were inside their barn. Well, actually, three out of four of their horses were inside the barn. Cassie, their Shetland, was standing outside for some strange reason. So as our friends looked out their window, they saw this pitiful scene: one lone horse under a barn light, standing there with the freezing rain and snow pounding down on her, forming ice on her mane. Now, her horse friends were all smart enough to be in their nice warm stalls, but, oh no, not Cassie.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "In the Cold When You Could Be Warm."

That horse chose to stand out in the cold - when all the time she could have been in the warm place that had been provided for her. You know in some ways, a lot of people are making that same mistake - maybe you.

In a way, maybe you feel as if you've been standing out in the cold for a long time. There's this loneliness that no relationship has satisfied, this confusion, this gnawing sense of uncertainty and insecurity, this emptiness that never seems to go away no matter what you've filled yourself up with. Emotionally, spiritually, it's as if you're out in the chilling wind and the freezing rain. But you don't have to be. There's a warm place that's been provided for you, but you have got to step inside. In fact, this very day, I believe Jesus Christ himself may be beckoning you to come in where it's warm.

Listen to His invitation. It's our word for today from the Word of God in Matthew 11:28 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." If we're "weary and burdened" it may be because we haven't come to Him. It could be that Jesus has been asking you to come to Him for a long time but you've never responded. He's been waiting to answer your loneliness with His unloseable love, to turn your confusion into a sense of knowing why you're here and where you're going. He wants to replace that uncertainty with this unshakeable peace, to fill that emptiness in your heart with the relationship with Him that you were made for. But you're still in the cold because you've never really come inside where Jesus is.

There are actually five things you can do with the man who died to pay for your sins. You can just outright reject Jesus. You can ignore Jesus, pushing Him to the margins for other pursuits. You can postpone Jesus - you'll get around to Him someday. You can agree with Jesus - believing everything you've ever been told about Him. Or you can commit yourself completely to Jesus. Four of those five responses end the same place - out in the cold, now and forever. Only one leads to heaven: giving yourself to Jesus. Yes, it's possible to agree with everything about Jesus and yet never have given yourself to Him. It's about commitment, not agreement.

Today, though, He's close to you. He's where you are, and He's whispering, "Come to me...I will give you rest." Today you can begin your relationship with Him by saying, "Jesus, you died for me and I'm giving myself to you for now and forever." That's when you receive what He's been waiting to give you all these years. If that's what you want, we would love to help you begin your love relationship with Jesus. That's why our website is there. That's why I encourage you to go there today. It's ANewStory.com.

You've been out in the cold long enough. There's no need for you to be out there any longer. You're so close to the warmth and the safety of belonging to Jesus Christ. Today, won't you come inside?

Read: Romans 5:6-8; 2 Timothy 1:9-10

Bax scooped the wet sand with as much care as he could stand, completing the last tower on his masterpiece. Finally, he thought. He sat back and admired his creation, but only long enough for his three-year-old brother Matt to run up from the water’s edge.

“Mommy, I found a—” CRASH! Matt tripped over Bax’s bucket and fell headlong into Bax’s castle!

“Matt! Look what you did! I’ve been working on my castle the whole time we’ve been here!” Angry, Bax advanced on his brother, wielding his plastic shovel. Matt beat a hasty retreat behind their mother.

“I sorry, Bax, I sorry! Accident!” Matt cried.

Mom stepped in. “Bax, we don’t hit others. You know that Matt just tripped over your bucket. I think you can show him some grace.”

“But Mom, he ruined my sandcastle! If I had wrecked something Matt made, I’d definitely get in trouble,” Bax complained.

“Maybe, but remember what we talked about at church this week? We don’t suffer the worst consequences for the bad things we’ve done because Jesus showed us grace. He died for us on the cross and came back to life. Because of that, you can show that same kind of grace by forgiving your brother.”

“But that’s not fair!” Bax exclaimed.

“No, that’s not fair, but neither is the grace Jesus gives us. It’s not fair that God should treat us like we’ve done no wrong when we’ve certainly lied and cheated and acted selfishly.” Mom looked at him expectantly as Matt snuffled noisily.

Bax looked down at his smashed castle, then back at his brother’s red face. “I’m sorry for yelling at you, Matt. I’m sad about my sandcastle, but I know you didn’t do it on purpose. I forgive you. Can you forgive me too?”

Matt shuffled back around Mom and said, “I sorry too, Bax. I forgive you.”

“Thank you, boys,” Mom said. “And I have an idea. Let’s go up to the snack shop and get some ice cream!”

“Yes!” both boys exclaimed, and they started running up the beach, both relieved that they had been shown grace.

–Dylan Kraayenbrink

How about you? Can you think of a time when you were forgiven even though you had done something wrong? That wasn’t fair, but it was an example of someone showing you grace. God showed us grace by sending Jesus to die for our sins. When you trust in Jesus and accept God’s forgiveness, He gives you the Holy Spirit, who empowers you to give grace to others, even when it’s not fair or you don’t feel like it.

Today's Key Verse: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Forgive others

Learn how to communicate in a way that allows your children to grow up godly while making a difference in life.

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Theme: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Lives 5 - Paul

Paul's encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road converted him from a self-righteous persecutor into a humble follower of Christ. Have you truly been converted, or are you carrying on as you always have?

Acts 9:17–18 - “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized.”

Quote: "In the field of Christian evidences the conversion of Saul of Tarsus ranks in importance next to the resurrection of Jesus." Arnold Airhart

After great-grandma Clara passed away, her ten-foot-long prayer list became a family heirloom. On the long roll of paper were typewritten names of people for whom she prayed regularly. There were many extended family members, her friends, and people her friends were praying for, and the names of high-profile evangelists, pastors, and ministries. New family members and specific prayer requests are handwritten in the margins. I became emotional seeing my mother’s name on the list, added when she was just a child.

The apostle Paul wrote to the early church, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12). In his letter, Paul exhorted believers to do many things that displayed love in action—hating evil and loving good (v. 9), honoring others above yourself (v. 10), passionately serving God (v. 11), and practicing hospitality (v. 13). All these good works would be empty without the love of Christ working in us. That’s where faithful prayer comes in. Paul called his friends to “join [him] in [his] struggle by praying to God for [him]” (15:30). Specific requests for safety from opposers and a favorable reception in Jerusalem (v. 32) were on Paul’s list. I wonder if they ended up on the private prayer list of a great-grandma in Rome too.

Prayer empowers us to live in a way that “overcomes evil with good” (12:21). Though we may not always see the outcome, it creates a legacy of faithfulness for generations to come.

It’s Witness Wednesday! Todd talks with four students on campus, each with some kind of religious background or moral framework. Across the episode, Todd keeps pressing the same essential issue: God is just, man is guilty, and Jesus Christ is the only Savior. The gospel is not moral improvement, religious heritage, spiritual preference, or doing the best you can. It is Christ taking the punishment sinners deserve and crediting His righteousness to those who repent and trust Him.

Segment 1

• Casey believes “karma” settles the score—but who’s actually keeping track of right and wrong?

• If morality is just personal preference, why does guilt feel so real—and so unavoidable?

• Casey admits he doesn’t know the gospel… so what happens when God judges by His standard, not yours?

Segment 2

• Nathan says he believes in God—but when asked why, he can’t give a clear answer. Would you?

• If you think you’re a “good person,” do you actually pass God’s test—or fail it completely?

• The pieces finally connect: if Jesus died for sinners… what does that require from you right now?

Segment 3

• Kevin has a Methodist background—but can’t explain what he actually believes. Does that sound familiar?

• If nobody’s perfect, shouldn’t effort count? Or does God demand something far higher?

• The courtroom analogy hits hard: if you’re guilty, how can justice and mercy both be satisfied?

Segment 4

• A graduate student thinks grace + good works might balance out—but is that how salvation works?

• What if your best deeds are still corrupted at the root—would that change everything?

• Justification vs. sanctification: are you trusting Christ alone… or subtly trusting yourself?

___

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