Every Day Light

[Judy Harder]

October 7
God -- the aggressive Lover
1 John 4:7-21
"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us ..." (v.10)

When we perceive how much God loves us, an amazing effect is produced in our personalities -- we begin to love like Him. We cannot help it. Love -- agape love -- is not the fruit of labor; it is a response. When we stand at the foot of Calvary, the place where the love of God is fully focused and caught up, the scales drop from our eyes and our own love flames in response. We love Him because He first loved us.

Teresa of Avila tells how one day, going into her private room, she noticed a picture of our Lord being scourged before His crucifixion. She must have seen it hundreds of times, but in that moment of revelation she saw it as she had never seen it before. She saw God suffering -- suffering for love and suffering for her. The revelation sent her to her knees sobbing in pain and wonder, and when she arose, she was a changed woman. The revelation of Calvary's love was the great divide in her life. She said that she arose with a sense of "unpayable debt" and went out to share God's realized love with others.

Don't try to manufacture love. Linger in the shadow of the Cross. The love of God finds its most burning expression there. Meditate on it. Contemplate it. Remember that heaven knows no higher strategy for begetting love in mortal hearts than by granting us a vision of how much we are loved, a vision strong enough to evoke a response in our hearts -- and by that answering love begotten in us by the Holy Spirit, we are freed and purged and saved.

Prayer:
Gracious Father, I see that before I can love, I must comprehend how much I am loved. Help me be aware that in my heart I have the most aggressive Lover in the universe. I am eternally grateful. Amen.

For Further Study
Rom. 5:1-8; Jer. 31:3; Eph. 2:4-5; 1 John 3:1
1. How has God demonstrated His love for us?
2. What kind of love is God's love?

[Judy Harder]

October 8
Always a reason to rejoice
Psalm 105:1-15
"Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice." (v.3)

The second fruit of the Spirit is joy. It is no mere accident that "joy" follows the first, love. Joy is a by-product of love. If you concentrate on getting joy, it will elude you. But if you concentrate on getting love, then joy will seek you out -- you will be automatically joyful.

The nine qualities of the fruit of the Spirit are not natural attributes, but supernatural ones. You cannot manufacture them -- they just appear in our lives as we allow the Holy Spirit to have His way within us. I know many Christians who find it difficult to embrace the fact that the fruit of the Spirit is joy. They not only don't expect joy -- they don't want it. One grim Christian said to me once: "At the heart of our faith is a Cross. This means we ought to be spending our time weeping, not laughing."Well, it is true that there is a Cross at the heart of the Christian faith, and that following Christ involves some rigorous self-denials, but it does not alter -- and cannot alter -- the fact that the fruit of the Spirit is joy. We cannot deny that there is a good deal of suffering in Christianity, but beneath the suffering is a joy that will, if we allow it, burst upward through everything. I am bound to say that if there is no joy, there is no Christianity, for Christianity is inherent joy. The empty tomb takes away our empty gloom. We have an Easter morning in our faith, and that means there is always a reason to rejoice.

Prayer:
Father, I am so thankful that Your Holy Spirit applies redemption right to the roots of my being. Thus I can be glad even when I am sad. Thank You, dear Father. Amen.

For Further Study
Luke 10:17-22, 15:4-6; Heb. 12:2
1. How did Christ relate joy to the Cross?
2. What brings joy to His heart?

[Judy Harder]

October 9
Joy -- always there
Psalm 30:1-12
"... Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." (v.5)

Joy is a central characteristic of the Christian -- and yet so many know nothing of it. They are under the lash of duty, and not unabashed delight. They are artificial, not artesian. Someone once described such Christians as "creaking in body and soul as they limp along the highway toward glory." They walk the road to glory but they are certainly not walking the glory road.

The word "joy" (Greek: chara) is a strong and robust word. It is not resignation wearing a wan smile. It means a joy that is exuberant and overflowing. The summons to rejoice is sounded no less than seventy times in the New Testament and the word chara occurs close on sixty times. The New Testament is a book of joy. Dr. William Barclay says that joy is the distinguishing atmosphere of the Christian life. He wrote: "We may put it this way -- whatever the ingredients of Christian experience and in whatever proportions they are mixed together, joy is one of them."Even in the first year after the death of my wife, I was wonderfully conscious of Christ's joy quietly breaking through the layers of my sadness and grief. Joy is always present in the heart of a Christian. It may not always be felt or recognized -- but it is always there. And eventually it will break the surface, no matter what our situation or our circumstances. I have always maintained that joy is an inevitable part of the Christian life. Now I am sure. Oh, so very sure.

Prayer:
Father, thank You for reminding me that when joy has its roots in You, then its fruits will eventually appear -- no matter what happens. Eternal honor and praise be to Your wonderful Name. Amen.

For Further Study
Psa. 126:1-6; 16:11; Neh. 8:10
1. What does joy bring to our beings?
2. How are tears linked with joy?

[Judy Harder]

October 10
Joy -- more than pleasure
John 16:17-33
"... I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy." (v.22)

One of the reasons why so many Christians do not experience the delights of spiritual joy is because they do not expect to. A woman who came into the experience of Christian conversion: "Strange, but I never associated joy with God before." How sad that many do not expect their faith to make them basically and fully joyful now. They think that joy is reserved for the hereafter. Our Lord pointed out to the disciples that it was for the present.

We can better understand this supernatural joy if we distinguish it from the pleasures of life with which it is sometimes confused. Spiritual or supernatural joy is quite different from pleasure or happiness. A worldling can experience pleasure and happiness but he cannot experience supernatural joy. Indeed, worldly people often pride themselves in knowing how to experience pleasure. Yet pleasure and Christian joy cannot be equated. Look with me at some of the differences. Pleasure depends on circumstances. It requires a measure of health and wealth. It demands that the life conditions be kindly and thus it can be stolen from us by things like lack of money -- or even a toothache.

Christian joy is completely independent of circumstances. It is there in the believer even when "strength and health and friends" are gone; when circumstances are not only unkind but savage. Out of all the miracles I have witnessed in my life, none is more wonderful than the miracle of seeing Christ's exuberant joy burst forth in those who are caught up in pain or persecution. The springs of Christian joy are deep within and can exist, no matter what the circumstances.

Prayer:
O Father, how can I thank You enough for imparting into my sadness Your unconquerable gladness. No matter what happens -- all is well with my soul. I am so grateful. Amen.

For Further Study
Acts 5:12-42, 16:23-25; 2 Cor. 6:10
1. How did the apostles respond to persecution?
2. How did Paul express it?

[Judy Harder]

October 11
Changing pleasures
Hebrews 13:1-16
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (v.

We said yesterday that pleasure and Christian joy cannot be equated because pleasure depends on circumstances -- Christian joy does not. Another difference is this -- pleasures come and go. Look back over your life for a moment and think of the changing things that have given you pleasure over the years. Perhaps, when you were a child, it was a bicycle that brought you pleasure. Or a football. Or a doll. Then when you entered your teens, it was something else. A relationship, perhaps -- or a sport. In later years, the things that gave you pleasure changed again. The theatre, books, an armchair ... the things that give us pleasure change with changing years. But the joy of God is constant.

Yet another difference between pleasure and joy is this -- pleasure satiates. It is easy to have too much. And when the point of satiety is passed, a sense of revulsion sets in. The things for which we crave become repulsive to us. Joy, however, never satiates. A Christian says: "We have enough, yet not too much to long for more." A final difference between pleasure and joy is that pleasure always remains superficial. It is like a Christmas party in a home where there is no true understanding of Christmas -- a party, but a party without purpose; a coronation, but no monarch. Joy, however, is deep. It bubbles beneath the personality, no matter what the circumstances. Joy, supernatural joy, is true bliss.

Prayer:
Gracious Father, fill me with this joy as I go out to face the world today. For the world is sad and I must not add to its gloom. Help me to radiate Your joy wherever I go. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For Further Study
Hab. 3; Heb. 10:34; 1 Pet. 4:12-13 
1. What was Habakkuk's testimony?
2. Why could he say this?

[Judy Harder]

October 12
Enjoy yourself?

Psalm 105:26-45
"He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy." (v.43)

A minister tells of standing outside his church one Sunday evening, shaking hands with the worshippers as they dispersed. It had been a joyous evening when God had come very close to His people and the awesome hush of His presence was upon them as they made their way home. A crowded motor coach, returning with revellers from the seaside and held up by the traffic, stopped outside the church. Some of the occupants, flushed with drink, put their heads out of the windows and shouted to those who were leaving the church: "Why don't you learn to enjoy yourself?" The preacher said: "Two ways of life met there for an instant. The coach moved on with the question hanging in the air: 'Why don't you enjoy yourself?' "Little did the men who shouted that question realize that it is those who think they are artists in enjoying themselves who signally fail. The Christian has more joy to the square inch than others have to the square mile. And it is pure, unalloyed joy without a kick-back in it. No Christian who has spent time in the presence of God in a church or among his fellow Christians the night before ever gets up in the morning and says: "Oh dear, I wish I hadn't been a Christian last night. My head is aching from the effects of spending time in the presence of God and among my fellow Christians. Why ever did I do it?" Christian joy is the kind that gives enjoyment without a hangover. It is a kick without a kick-back. Bliss, perfect bliss is the prerogative only of the people of God.

Prayer:
Father, I sense that Your joy is a joy that will outlast all earthly joys. I will still be singing when the sounds and pleasures of earth are silent and gone. Thank You, dear Father. Amen.

For Further Study
Isa. 61:1-10; Psa. 126:2; Ezra 6:22
1. How did Isaiah express his joy?
2. How will unbelievers respond when they see true joy?

[Judy Harder]

October 13
Joy is Jesus

John 15:1-17
"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." (v.11)

The words of our Lord in the text before us today point to the fact that His joy and our joy are not different joys -- but one and the same. He says: "My joy may be in you and ... your joy may be complete." His joy and our joy are not alien, but allied. And you cannot take His joy within you without your own joy being made complete. We are made in the inner structure of our beings for the joy of Christ; His joy completes ours."All things were created by him and for him" (Col. 1:16). This exciting verse tells us that the stamp of Christ is upon all creation -- we were made by Him and for Him. I sometimes imagine that if we could design an instrument that could look into the human spirit, we would see stamped there the words: "Made by Christ and for Christ."Christian joy certainly awaits us in heaven but we can also experience it as we make our way toward heaven. Christian joy is a joy that flows out of a sense of well-being, of harmony with the sum total of reality, of direct and immediate contact with His joy. Rendell Harris says; "Joy is the strength of the people of God; it is their characteristic mark." And when that mark is absent, then the characteristic of a Christian is absent. The best definition of joy I have ever heard, one that comes close to the text before us today, was given to me by a thirteen-year-old boy: "Joy is Jesus." What better definition can one want? Jesus!

Prayer:
My Father and my God, help me day by day to come closer to Jesus -- then I will come closer to Joy. Show me any blocks in my life that may be hindering that desired closeness. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For Further Study
Acts 8:1-8; John 17:13; 1 Pet. 1:8
1. What brought joy to Samaria?
2. How does Peter describe this joy?

[Judy Harder]

October 14
Limp in -- leap out

Nehemiah 8:1-12
"... the joy of the Lord is your strength." (v.10)

Joy is part of a Christian's armor. Jealousy, for example, can quickly find a lodging place in a heart which is unsatisfied. The joy of Jesus banishes all that. This particular fruit of the Spirit secures us from the sins which can so easily beset us. Brimming joy, for example, helps to cancel out any envy that may arise within us. Instead, our souls long to share the treasures that we ourselves have found.

Joy keeps us alert and alive spiritually. Disease germs, we are told, penetrate most easily into a body debilitated by despondency. So do the termites of the spirit. They enter without ceremony and eat away the health of the soul. Joy gives them no room. It immunizes the spirit against attack. Joy is not just the bloom of health; it is its protection also. Remember, you are made for joy and if there is not joy in your life, then there is something wrong: joy is being blocked. Clear away the blocks and joy comes automatically.

If you are conscious that you lack this deep abiding joy, then look within. Ask yourself: how close am I to God? What steps do I need to take to deepen my relationship with Him? Give yourself to Him fully. If He is to transfer to you His total joy, then He must have the total you. A garage has a sign: "Limp in -- leap out." That's what will happen to you when you surrender yourself fully to Him. You will limp in and leap out. God is not withholding Himself and you must not withhold yourself. Where the two meet, joy is inevitable.

Prayer: O Father, forgive me that I go bumping through life on the broken springs of pleasure when I ought to be cruising in joy. I submit my life to You today for spiritual repairs. I limp in -- help me to leap out. Amen.

For Further Study
Acts 3:1-10; Isa. 12:3, 35:10; John 16:24
1. What was the testimony of the lame man?
2. What are we to do so that our joy may be complete?

[Judy Harder]

October 15
A word with a great history
Philippians 4:1-9
"... the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds ..." (v.7)

We pass now from considering love and joy to the third fruit of the Spirit -- peace. The order is an inspired one: first, love -- love is preeminent; then joy -- joy comes as a result of love; and then peace -- peace is joy grown quiet and assured. A preacher once drew a comparison between joy and peace: "Joy is peace with its hat thrown high in the air and peace is joy with its arms folded in serene assurance." How beautiful!William Barclay says that the word "peace" (Greek: eiriene) came into the New Testament with a great history. It is a translation of the Hebrew word shalom, meaning peace. In classical Greek, "peace" was mainly negative, implying freedom from war or hostilities, but in the New Testament, the word gathers up positive elements such as are seen in shalom. The central meaning is serenity and harmony. "Peace" occurs eighty-eight times in the New Testament, and it appears in every book. This makes the New Testament a book of peace.
The peace of which we are speaking here is not something that can be manufactured. We cannot make it -- any more than we can make the other fruit of the Spirit. It is divinely and supernaturally given -- a glorious consequence of God's presence in the soul. Jesus knew this kind of peace and He offers the same serenity to every one of His disciples: "My peace I give to you ... Let not your hearts be disquieted or timid" (John 14:27, Moffatt). Remember this -- when you remain in Him, you have access to a peace that not only passes understanding -- but all misunderstanding also.

Prayer: Father, I am conscious that the peace You desire to give me is a peace that reaches down to the depths of my being. Help me to open up those depths to You today. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For Further Study
Psa. 55:1-23; 29:11; 119:165
1. What was the heart-cry of the psalmist?
2. What was God's promise to him?

[Judy Harder]

October 16
What peace is not
2 Thessalonians 3:1-16
"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way ..." (v.16)

It will be easier to bring out the true character of peace if we seek to show how it differs from other states of mind with which it has a superficial resemblance.

Firstly, peace is not passivity. Some people are abnormally unreactive by temperament. Their natures are bovine -- slow like an ox. They just seem to let the world wash by and take no resolute attitude to life at all. It is possible to look at someone with a temperament like this and conclude that they are manifesting the fruit of the Spirit. But passivity is as far removed from peace as chalk is from cheese. One is natural, the other supernatural.

Again, peace is not mental gymnastics. Today's world is full of "mind-healers" who promise that if you attend their seminars or enroll in their courses, they will give you the poise and integration you always wanted. An advertisement says: "Let us show you how to achieve peace of mind." The phrase "peace of mind" in itself reveals the shallowness of the approach. You cannot have peace of mind until you have something deeper than peace of mind. When you have peace at the depths of your spirit, then peace of mind is the result of that deeper peace. You cannot have peace of mind if there is conflict in the spirit. Peace, which is the fruit of the Spirit, includes peace of mind, but it goes deeper than the mind and reaches to the center of the spirit. When peace flows there, then and only then can a person experience peace of mind. To tinker with the mind and let the depths be untouched is just to tinker.

Prayer: O Father, breathe into my spirit right now the deep serenity and peace that characterize Your own nature, so that all who come close to me shall feel Your peace. Amen.

For Further Study
Isa. 26:1-3; Psa. 4:8; Phil. 4:7
1. How are we kept in perfect peace?
2. Where does the Lord cause us to dwell?