Every Day Light

[Judy Harder]

May 1
The crucified "self"
For reading & meditation: Galatians 2:15-21
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me '" (v.20)

If there is one note ringing through these pages, it is this: to the extent that we are afraid to die to our self-interest, to that extent will our Christian lives be unfruitful. We remind ourselves again: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just one grain; never becomes more but lives by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest" (John 12:24, Amplified Bible). It is easy to say but difficult to put into practice - difficult but not impossible. Today we ask ourselves: What exactly happens when we "die" to self? Does it mean that the "self" undergoes annihilation? No. The death to which we are called is the death of the false life we have been living, the false ideas and values we have set up, the false world of sin and evil, and the false self, organised around self-concern. When Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ", he meant that he had died to all the purposes in his life except Christ's purposes. This whole passage telling of Paul's burial and resurrection is one of the most exciting in the New Testament. He goes on to say: "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me." Paul discovered that life was much more positive and powerful when he pursued God's purposes rather than his own purposes. He got on better with Christ than he did with himself. This may take some thinking through, but the truth is, if you won't live with God, you won't be able to live harmoniously with yourself - nor, for that matter, with anyone else.

Prayer:
O God, I just can't go through life with this ghastly contradiction - the self - at the centre of my being. I cannot bear this constant civil war within me. Command it to cease and command me to be free. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Galatians 5:1-25; Romans 6:2; Colossians 3:3
1. To what have we been called?
2. How is this achieved?

[Judy Harder]

May 2
Grace upon grace
For reading & meditation: John 1:1-17
"And from his fullness have we all received, grace upon grace." (v.16, RSV)

Today we ask: What purpose does God have in leading us into situations which are uncertain and ambiguous? He does so in order that we might learn to depend on Him and not on ourselves. Just as in times of loneliness we learn to realise His presence, so in times of uncertainty we learn to realise His power. The major reason why our lives are unfruitful lies right here: we depend more on our own strength than we do on His. How can God teach us dependence unless He puts us into situations which are so uncertain that we are compelled either to choose the way of frustration or the way of faith? And if we draw back from entering such situations, we will miss a valuable spiritual education and our lives will become barren. A statement I came across some time ago sums up what I want to say concerning ambiguity and uncertainty. It is this: "God's purposes are always God's enablings." In other words, when God steers you into strange and uncertain situations, He will keep you very much in the dark concerning His purposes, but He will not leave you bereft of His grace. The purpose of God and the grace of God are two sides of the one coin. If you accept the purpose, you get the grace; if you refuse the purpose, you annul the grace. Anything God purposes for you, He gives you the grace to perform. John speaks in our text for today of "grace upon grace". One preacher I know translates that text like this: "Use the grace I give you and rest assured - there will always be more to follow."

Prayer:
O Father, how wonderful it would be if I could master this lesson today, and become a living illustration of "grace upon grace". May it be so, to the honour and glory of Your peerless and precious Name. Amen.

For further study:
2 Cor. 12:1-10; Ephesians 2:6-7; Philippians 4:19
1. How did Paul view his "thorn in the flesh"?
2. What was his attitude?

[Judy Harder]

May 3
The final battle
For reading & meditation: 1 Timothy 6:3-11
"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil '" (v.10)

We now start examining some of the areas of life into which we are led by God in order that He might make our lives more fruitful and profitable to Him. First we focus upon the problem of cramped financial circumstances. No one can deny that money plays an enormous part in our lives. It was Balzac who said more than a century ago: "The final battle for Christian discipleship will be over the money problem: till that is solved there can be no universal application of Christianity." It comes as a great surprise to many new Christians that the Bible talks a good deal about money, and more than one preacher has pointed out that when Jesus was here on earth, this was one of the subjects He talked about most. One of the most interesting aspects of money to a Christian is that through either the giving or the withholding of it, God is able to steer our lives into the areas in which He wants us involved. Do you find yourself in financial straits at the moment? Does your bank account need month-to-month resuscitation? Then dont panic - God may be allowing this financial stringency in order to teach you some valuable lessons about Himself. Thousands of Christians will testify that God has no more certain way of getting our undivided attention than by withholding money or putting us into tight financial circumstances. How strange that when our pockets are full, often God has to shout to get our attention, but when they are empty, we are alert and ready to hear His faintest whisper.

Prayer:
O Father, if it is true that the final battle for Christian discipleship will be over the money problem, then help me resolve this issue once and for all in these next few days. Help me to make whatever I own the instrument of Your purposes. Amen.

For further study:
James 5:1-5; Ecclesiastes 5:10
1. What is avarice?
2. What is the lesson of the partridge?

[Judy Harder]

May 4
Gods four purposes for money
For reading & meditation: 1 Timothy 6:6-19
"But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that."(v.

Before we can understand what God may be trying to achieve in our lives by putting us into tight financial circumstances, we must know something of our Lord's purposes for money. Many Christians think that the purpose of money is to provide security, establish independence, or create power and influence, but this is a very worldly view of the subject. The Bible shows us that God has four basic purposes which He wants to achieve through money - and understanding these purposes is crucial if we are to be fruitful and productive Christians. The first purpose of money is to provide basic needs. Its surprising how little money we need in order to sustain the basic needs of life. These needs can be summed up in the words food, clothing and shelter. And God demonstrates His loving care by assuring us of His help in obtaining these basic essentials: "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labour or spin ' will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" (Matt. 6:28-30). Since the dawn on time, humankind has tried to become independent of God. There are tendencies in our fallen nature to be self-sufficient and self-supporting. We would much rather pray, "Give us this month our monthly pay cheque" than "Give us this day our daily bread." And why? Because it doesn't bring us face to face with our need to be daily dependent on the Lord. How wise was our Lord in including that phrase in the model prayer He gave His disciples. He knew the recognition of daily needs would help to produce daily dependence.

Prayer:
Father, I pray that You will bring me under the complete sway of Your Spirit so that my spiritual dependence will not be year by year, month by month or week by week - but day by day. This I ask in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Matthew 6:19-34, 10:29-31; 1 Peter 5:7 
1. What are we to seek first?
2. What will follow?

[Judy Harder]

May 5
True contentment?
For reading & meditation: 1 Timothy 6:6
"But godliness with contentment is great gain."(v.6)

We continue meditating on the first of God's four purposes for money - to provide our basic needs. We saw yesterday that God longs for us to be dependent on Him. This is not because God is possessive, but because He knows that we experience our greatest happiness and freedom when we rely on Him alone. When we fail to recognise our need for God, we tend to lose our love for God. And the more we lose our love for God, the more we come to depend upon ourselves. Permit me to remind you again of the text we looked at yesterday: "If we have food and clothing, we will be content" (1 Tim. 6:. Contentment is the satisfaction we get from knowing there will be provision for our basic needs. We begin to lose our contentment when we compare what we have with what others have - and then before long expectations dominate our focus. To the degree that our expectations increase, contentment diminishes. One of the great advantages of being content with basics is that it equips us to resist the alluring advertising which seeks to convince us that we are able really to enjoy life unless we buy some new commodity. A contented person feels wealthy because he knows that what he already possesses is all he needs for daily living. A veteran missionary, meeting some new recruits to the mission field, surprised them by saying: "The first thing I would like you to do is to make a list of all the things you think you need - then I will spend some time with you showing you how to do without them."

Prayer:
O my Father, I see that material things can be a good servant but a bad master. Deliver me from the bondage of the material and help me to become a truly contented person. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For further study:
1. What was Paul's testimony?
2. How should we live?

[Judy Harder]

May 6
Presumption versus faith
For reading & meditation: Psalms 37:1-26
"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him '" (v.7)

We look now at God's second purpose for money: to confirm His loving direction in our lives. God will use the supply of money or the lack of it to confirm His direction and guidance for many of the decisions we make in our lives. I constantly meet Christians who tell me that one of the biggest lessons they have learned in the Christian life is that of discerning God's guidance through His giving or His withholding of money. Some years ago, a minister shared with me how he had asked God to guide him over a certain project, and part of his prayer, he said, went like this: "Lord, give me the money to do this, or else it just cannot be done." The money didn't come, so the minister went ahead and borrowed money for the project. A few weeks later, the project got into difficulties and he was declared bankrupt. I said to him: "Do you know what made you go ahead even though God did not provide the money?" He paused for a few minutes, and said with tears in his eyes: "I had not then learned the difference between presumption and faith." "What is the difference?" I asked. He replied: "Faith is trusting God to achieve His purposes through us, presumption is deciding what we want to accomplish and trying to get God to do it for us." It is so easy to claim that Christ is Lord of our lives, but, as someone put it: "His Lordship is only confirmed when we are obedient to the promptings and limitations which He places on our daily decisions."

Prayer:
My Lord and my God, You know my proneness to "nudge" You when I don't think You are working things out right. Make me sensitive to the promptings of Your Spirit and the limitations that You set upon my life. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For further study:
Psalms 46:1-11; 40:1; Isaiah 26:8
1. How can we know God?
2. How much time will you spend waiting on Him today?

[Judy Harder]

May 7
Generosity generates
For reading & meditation: Romans 12:9-21

"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." (v.13)

Today we look at God's third purpose for money: to bless and enrich other Christians. One of the characteristics which God wants to develop in us is that of generosity, for our generosity will determine how much spiritual light we have in our being. Take this verse: "If your Eye is generous, the whole of your body will be illumined" (Matt. 6:22, Moffatt). If your "eye" - your outlook on life, your whole way of looking at things and people - is generous, then your whole personality is illuminated, is lighted up. If you have a greedy or selfish "eye", your whole being will be filled with darkness. In Acts 11:27-30 we read about a severe famine that caused suffering to many Jewish Christians. The church at Antioch - made up mostly of Gentiles - sent an offering to their fellow believers in Jerusalem, and that offering was an important means of tearing down national and cultural barriers between them, and building bonds of genuine Christian love. God likens generous giving to reaping a harvest: "He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Cor. 9:6, RSV). Perhaps the greatest benefit of generous giving to other Christians, however, is this - it results in "an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God" (v.12, Phillips). Yes, God will give you much so that you can give away much, and when you take your gifts to those who need them they will break out in thanksgiving and praise of God for your help. Giving to the needs of fellow Christians means that many will thank God and fill His Church with praise.

Prayer:
O God, help be to become a truly generous person, for I see that when I am generous, then my generosity generates generosity in others. I ask this in the peerless and exalted Name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

For further study:
1 Kings 17:8-16
1. What is the lesson of the widow of Zarephath?
2. How will you be generous today?

[Judy Harder]

May 8
What is a financial miracle?
For reading & meditation: Malachi 3:1-12
" 'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven '' " (v.10)

We look now at God's fourth purpose for money: to show His divine power. God is a supernatural God - something Christians seem to forget - and He delights to demonstrate His reality and power among His people. One means through which God has chosen to do this is through His miraculous provision of money. What is a financial miracle? It is a supernatural event whereby God provides one of His children with the money required to meet a financial need - and usually it involves such precise timing that it cannot fail to point to the Lord's direct intervention. When a Christian prays about a financial need, for example, and an unexpected gift is given to him by someone who knows nothing about the need, the supernatural power of God is demonstrated. In the days of Elijah, the nation of Israel tried to worship God and serve Baal at the same time. Elijah knew that this would inevitably lead to God's judgment, so he proposed a simple test. The test involved building two altars, one for God and one for Baal, and whichever answered by a display of supernatural power was the one whom they would worship. The prophets of Baal cried out to their non-existent deity all day, but nothing happened. Then Elijah prayed, and in response to his prayer God sent fire from heaven. One of the biggest of the false gods of this age is money. It has become an idol because people expect from it what only God can give - true security. As the world hankers after money, God wants to prove to those who seek Him that they will not lack any good thing.

Prayer:
O Father, help me to see that I grow into the image of the god that I serve. I don't want to be like money - hard and metallic; I want to be like You - gracious and beneficient. Help me to keep my focus only on You. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For further study:
2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Deuteronomy 30:9
1. What does God love?
2. How can we reap bountifully?

[Judy Harder]

May 9
The day you "die"
For reading & meditation: Genesis 22:1-14
"Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love '" (v.2)

Having seen God's four purposes for money, we are now ready to ask: What part does money play in our lives? Does it draw us closer to God, or drive us further away from Him? Is our security in silver - or in the Saviour? Most of us would claim that we are serving God. We would strenuously deny that we have a greater love for money than we do for the Master. God, however, is aware that what we believe to be the situation is not always so. Sometimes He has to bring us into cramped financial circumstances so that we realise where our true security lies. Although the story of Abraham and Isaac does not have a precise application to what we are saying here, there are certain similarities which I consider do apply. First, God singled out in Abraham's life the thing he most loved - his only son. God often starts His test of our character with the thing that we love the most. Is money one of your greatest loves? If so, recognise and acknowledge it right now. Second, God pinned Abraham down to a fixed time and place. God's way of doing business always involves a specific time and place. "Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering" (v.2). Let the place where you are sitting now be your meeting place with God. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Abraham could never have lifted the knife over his son unless he had "died" to him in his emotions. Without this emotional break, the offering is only a meaningless ritual. This must be the day on which you "die" to the bondage of money.

Prayer:
O Father, Your timing is perfect. Today, by faith, I "die" to all emotional attachments to money, and lay every financial bondage on Your altar. Father, it's done - Im free. Help me now to live out that freedom. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Matthew 26:1-13; Luke 21:4; Acts 4:34-35
1. What did Jesus say about the woman who anointed Him?
2. What was the attitude of the early Church?

[Judy Harder]

May 10
Problems? No, prods!
For reading & meditation: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12
"' God ' is using your sufferings to make you ready for his kingdom." (v. 5, TLB)

We pause at this point to remind ourselves of the principle we are seeking to understand, namely that in God's order of things, life is always preceded by death. A grain of wheat has within it the potential of becoming many grains of wheat, but first the solitary grain must fall into the ground and die. It is only after death that its potential is released, and out of the dying comes an abundant harvest. That principle is not just to be seen as an interesting fact of nature; if our lives are to be fruitful, then we, too, must be willing to die to our own purposes so that we might live to God's. The next sphere of life we examine is the area of obstacles and opposition. Would you like your life to be free of those potentially frustrating situations that block your way or impede your spiritual development? Then let me say at once, you could be worse off without them. The obstacles and opposition you face can turn out to be prods - prods toward your spiritual growth. A minister friend of mine who was going through a period of great difficulty once asked me to pray with him that God would remove all the obstacles from his ministry. I put my hand lovingly on his shoulder and replied: "If He does, it will make your ministry less effective." He saw the point, and instead asked me to pray that God would help him to die to his own concerns. I did, and from that day to this, his ministry has flourished and become extremely fruitful. And so, my friend, can yours.

Prayer:
O Father, more and more the conviction grows that it is not what happens to me, but what I do with it, that is important. Deepen this conviction within me so that it becomes a controlling one - today and every day. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Acts 5:41; Romans 8:17
1. How did Paul view his setbacks?
2. What was the positive outcome?