Every Day Light

[Judy Harder]

May 20



Be a nonconformist
For reading & meditation: Romans 12:1-13
"Dont let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould '" (v.2, Phillips)

We must spend some more time focusing on the fact that many of today's Christians are like the Ephraimites we spoke of a few days ago - good at parading, but not so good in battle. They cry out for help with their problems, but when confronted with the demands of Scripture, one of which is to die to self, they scurry like rats down the first bolthole they can find. They want a medicine man with a quick cure, not direct advice about how to repent of their egocentricity. I sometimes wonder to myself whether this trend in todays Church is the result of our being brain-washed by an age that tends to make quitting a way of life. Anna Sklar, in her book Runaway Wives, uncovered an incredible statistic of American life when she said that a decade ago, for every woman who walked away from her home and family responsibility, 600 husbands and fathers did so. Today, for each man who does that, two women do. My purpose in making this statement is not to take sides with either group, but simply to point out that, more and more, the modern trend is to choose the way of escape as the method of dealing with problems. Things that were once viewed by society as a stigma are now accepted without the flicker of an eyelid. "Let's just quit" are almost household words. A marriage gets shaky, hits a few rough patches and the solution is: "Let's get a divorce." How much of today's worldly patterns are affecting our thinking, I wonder? And how much are we letting the world squeeze us into its own mould?
Prayer:

Father, make me a nonconformist - not in a denominational sense, but in a dynamic sense. Forgive me if I have allowed the world to squeeze me into its own mould. Change my way of thinking to Your way of thinking. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Matthew 6:19-24; 1 Kings 18:21; Ephesians 6:5; James 1:8
1. What does it mean to have singleness of heart?
2. How does Satan seek to divert us?

[Judy Harder]

May 21



The greatest temptation
For reading & meditation: Luke 4:1-13
"Jesus ' was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." (vv.1-2)

I am often asked the question: What is the greatest temptation a Christian faces? My reply is usually this: the temptation to avoid the way of the cross. It was temptation that constantly faced our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is one that constantly faces us: It is the way the Master went Should not the servant tread it still? There were two outstanding periods in Jesus life when He was greatly tempted to face the sorrow and sin of the world in some way other than the one He took. One such time was the temptation in the desert, and the other was at the coming of the Greeks. As we have already looked at the latter incident - and will briefly examine it once more before we conclude - we shall focus our thinking over the next few days on our Lord's temptation in the desert. Following His baptism in the River Jordan, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted (or tested) by the devil. He got away from humanity in order to prepare Himself for the ordeal of giving Himself to humanity. In a sense, the temptation began as soon as He entered the desert. What temptation? The testing of His purposes to see whether, being the Son of God, He would also be the Son of Man. For to be the Son of Man would mean that He would take upon Himself all that falls on the sons of men. Yet on that issue, He never wavered. The Son of God willingly accepted all that was involved in becoming the Son of Man, so that the sons of men might become the sons of God.
Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Son of God and also Son of Man, how can I ever sufficiently thank You for aligning Yourself with this sinful human race? I cannot understand it, but yet I stand upon it - and stand upon it for all eternity. Amen.

For further study:
Matthew 4:1-11; Genesis 3:1-12; Hebrews 4:15
1. Compare the temptations of Jesus and Adam.
2. Why did Adam fail, and Jesus overcome?

[Judy Harder]

May 22



Feeding on the wrong bread
For reading & meditation: Hebrews 10:1-18
"' I have come to do your will, O God."(v.7)

We continue looking at Christ's temptation in the desert, but from a slightly different perspective. We are seeing how the temptation was designed to keep Him from identifying Himself with the sons of men. We saw yesterday how, He withdrew from men in order that He might give Himself to men. The issue was not so much whether He was the Son of God - He had heard that confirmed quite clearly at His baptism - but whether, being the Son of God, He would also be the Son of Man. Once Jesus feels that His period of fasting is over, He prepares to return to feed His weakened body, but the tempter intervenes and tempts Him to turn the stones of the desert into bread. In doing this, is he really saying to Jesus: "Why go back to men? Stay here and feed Yourself. You are the Son of God, isn't that enough"? We cannot be sure, of course, but seen in this light, it is a possibility. In all spiritual work, there is always the temptation to withdraw, to feed ourselves apart, to rejoice in the fact that we are sons of God and feast upon it. Many Christians down the ages have fallen for this, and have opted for an "escape mentality" in which they attempt to avoid the issue of death via a cross by isolating themselves from it. Mark this and mark it well: a similar temptation will come to you - the temptation to avoid the challenge of going down into the death of your self-life, by focusing on the fact that you are already a son of God, and that there is no need for any further humiliation or pain.
Prayer:

Gracious and loving heavenly Father, help me, as You did Your Son, to resist every temptation that tries to keep me from coming to grips with my own personal Calvary. Abide with me, and then I can abide with anything. Amen.

For further study:
Ephesians 1:1-23; Genesis 3:15; John 16:33; 1 John 3:8
1. How did Jesus destroy the Devil's works?
2. How can we overcome the Devil's works?

[Judy Harder]

May 23



The divine end
For reading & meditation: Philippians 3:1-14
"' that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings '" (v.10, RSV)

If the first temptation contained elements designed to prevent Christ from returning to humanity as the Son of Man, then the second temptation might be seen as an attempt to get Him to take a different attitude to men. Was the devil saying: "If you must go back, then do not take the attitude You took when You began. Don't stand alongside man, but stand on the pinnacle of the Temple. Be worshipped, be honoured and respected. Your place is up there, not down among those wretched multitudes"? A similar temptation will come to you, too. Satan will say: "Stay above all this talk of going down into death; escape the pain by remaining above it. You can descend to help men and women, but then let the angels carry you back to your exalted position." Then came the subtle third temptation, which seemed to suggest this: "If You are determined to be the Son of Man and to be one with men, then adopt humanity's methods - fall down and worship me. If You are going to be like them, be like them in everything, and take a similar attitude to those who obey me." Jesus refused this way too. He would be the Son of Man and let everything that falls on men fall on Him. But there would be this difference - He would reach the divine end only by means of the divine method, and by doing the will of His Father in heaven. At that point, He put His feet upon the way that He knew would lead ultimately to the cross. No temptation would divert Him from that. And no temptation must divert you and me either.
Prayer:

O Father, help me to do with temptation what Jesus did with it - to use it to reinforce my readiness to do Your will. I am so thankful that Your tests are not meant to catch me out, but to spur me on. Help me to meet every test - triumphantly. Amen.

For further study:
Psalms 37:1-40; Luke 12:29
1. What 7 steps of trusting are in Psalm 37?
2. What are the 5 results of trusting?

[Judy Harder]

May 24

A second look
For reading & meditation: John 12:20-36
"Jesus replied, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.' " (v.23)

Having experienced the principle that life is always preceded by death, we return now to focus again on the incident which launched us into this study the coming of the Greeks to Jesus. I firmly believe that this incident has been greatly overlooked by Bible expositors and commentators. We usually take the text, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus" (v.21), and leave it at that. But this is one of the most momentous events in the life of our Lord - an event that is next in importance, in my judgement, to His temptation in the wilderness. In many ways, it was more subtle than the wilderness experience, for the wilderness represents the temptation that comes at the beginning of one's ministry, while the coming of the Greeks represents the temptation that comes as one gets close to the end. It is often as one gets close to one's goal that the temptation to compromise, or to take an easier way becomes more acute. Just as, in the desert, there was a pull to get Jesus to take another way, so here we see a similar situation. As I said at the beginning of our study, we cannot be at all sure that the Greeks arrived with the intention of enticing Christ to come to Athens, but it is significant that their arrival threw Him into a spiritual crisis. Assuming that to be so, the issue before Him was acceptance in Athens or rejection in Jerusalem. A philosopher's chair, or a grisly cross. A similar issue confronts those of us who are His followers. Do we go the way of the cross, or do we go the way of the crowds?
Prayer:

Father, my mind is made up - I want to go Your way. Help me to come out clearly on Your side - for You and against everything that is against You. This I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Colossians 1:1-29; Psalms 45:11; Deuteronomy 5:7
1. What was Satan's aim in tempting Jesus?
2. What did Christ accomplish through overcoming him?

[Judy Harder]

May 25

Living by the heartbeat
For reading & meditation: John 5:16-30
"' the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing '" (v.19)

Although we do not know exactly why the Greeks came to Jesus, it is clear that their arrival aroused powerful emotions. He soliloquises: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24, RSV). Some commentators think that although there is no record of the Greeks having actually conversed with Christ, they might have sent a message via Andrew and Philip to the effect that He could have a long and fruitful life if He brought His message to their shores. Was this so? We will never know - at least, not this side of eternity. But if it was, this was His answer: life comes through giving life, and fruitfulness through falling into the ground and dying. Jesus did not live by the hourglass, but by the heartbeat. He knew that when we remain alone by ourselves - when we are like the "corn of wheat afraid to die" - we will find life shallow and fruitless. A refusal to pay the ultimate price - the price of giving ourselves - is to find ourselves paying the price of the deadness of life itself. Again we hear Him cry: "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world [as I must do] will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25). If the Greeks were coming to ask Him to love His life and save it - and thus save others - they were asking Him to bless without bleeding. Jesus knew that could not be done. There is no life without death, no gain without pain, no crown without a cross, and no victory except through surrender.
Prayer:

My Father and my God, soon I will leave this theme and focus on another. If I have not yet settled this issue of where my allegiance lies - with myself or with You - then help me to settle it today. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.

For further study:
Luke 15:11-32; Mark 8:36; Matthew 25:27-28
1. What did the prodigal son have to learn?
2. What is the lesson of the man with one talent?

[Judy Harder]

May 26



The hour of decision
For reading & meditation: 2 Corinthians 6:1-18
"I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation." (v.2)

Listen to Jesus as He receives the news that the Greeks have come to interview Him: "Now is my heart troubled '" (John 12:27). The Greek word used here for "troubled" is tarasso, which implies extreme agitation. And well might He be troubled, for being human as well as divine, our Lord would have felt as keenly as you and I the horror of impending death. Some of us are not troubled at this point because we fall in with the spirit of the age, and choose acceptance rather than rejection - the plaudits of men rather than the nails of a cross. We are afraid to die, and thus live on to experience only shallowness. Again our Lord cries: "And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour' " (John 12:27). Would He ask to be excused, from paying the supreme price? Some of us may be asking that at this very moment. We are asking to be "saved from this hour". Listen to how Jesus meets this moment: "No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour" (John 12:27). Can you see what He is saying? "All the ages have matched me against this moment, all the yearnings of men have brought me face to face with this crisis. I cannot fail now, for I would fail both God and them." Can you sense in your own heart right now that God has been working to bring you to this crisis point? For some of you, particularly those of you who have not yet fully surrendered your lives to God's purposes, this is a moment of destiny. Someone has brought you to this hour - that Someone is God.

Prayer:

O Father, what can I say? I feel a struggle going on inside me - the struggle concerning who is to be my soul's rightful Lord. Help me to make the final surrender. I do it now, fully and finally. In Jesus' worthy and wonderful Name. Amen.

For further study:
Acts 26:1-32; Psalms 32:6; Deuteronomy 30:19
1. What was Agrippa's response to the challenge?
2. How will you respond to God's challenge?

[Judy Harder]

May 27



It thundered
For reading & meditation: 1 Corinthians 2:1-16
"The spiritual man judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one." (v.15, RSV)

The final words of our Lord in the incident we are considering are these: "Father, glorify thy name" (John 12:28, RSV). What a decision! What a moment! "Father, do not think of what it costs me - only glorify Your name." At that moment, He gave God a blank cheque, blank save that it was signed in His own blood. It is a great moment in our life, too, when we hand God a blank cheque, signed in our own blood, and invite Him to call on us for all we have and all we are. One person described this moment as "the great renunciation". If that is so, then the moment of great renunciation is followed by a great annunciation. Listen: "Then a voice came from heaven, 'I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again' " (John 12:28, RSV). The moment Jesus made the final response, then heaven spoke. Many of us who complain we are living under a silent heaven would find it vocal with the voice of God if we would choose the Calvary way. Of course, the bystanders missed what was really going on and "said that it had thundered" (John 12:29). To them, it was the impersonal voice of nature. Others came a little closer to reality, and said: "An angel had spoken to him." To them, it was a little more than the impersonal voice of nature, and yet something less than the voice of God. Anyone who stands on the edges of life as a bystander is bound to give a shallow interpretation of what God is doing. It is only those who have faced the alternatives - to die or not to die - who are really involved.
Prayer:

My Father, I don't want to be a bystander. I want to be in the centre of all You are saying and all You are doing. Heres my cheque - signed with my own blood. Fill it in for everything You want from me. I do it willingly, gladly, happily. Amen.

For further study:
Joshua 24:1-15; Luke 10:42
1. What challenge did Joshua bring?
2. What was said of Moses?

[Judy Harder]

May 28



The last word is life
For reading & meditation: John 10:7-18
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (v.10)

At the close of our meditations we look at the results of the momentous choice Jesus made when the Greeks said: "Sir, we would like to see Jesus." Our Lord saw that three things would happen: first, the judgment of this world (John 12:31). What did choosing the cross have to do with that? This - the cross is the judgment seat of the world. I confess that the Man on the cross judges me, convicts me, challenges me. His Spirit of facing the world's sin and suffering makes my spirit tremble like a magnetic needle in a storm. At the cross, His love judges my hate, my selfishness, my desire to live only for myself. His self-sacrifice inspires my self-sacrifice. The second thing our Lord saw would happen was the overpowering of Satan: "Now shall the ruler of this world be cast out" (John 12:31, RSV). He would overthrow Satan, not by breaking his head, but by letting him break His heart. Third, He would make the cross the magnet by which He would draw all people to Himself: "But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32). His choice was made - and hopefully, ours is also. No longer will we lie on the edge of life's furrow - "a corn of wheat afraid to die" - but willingly roll over into the dark channel of death, knowing, as we do, that from our death will come a life that is well-pleasing to God - fruitful, profitable and productive. Afraid to die? No - afraid to live. For life that is not preceded by death is a life not worth living.
Prayer:

O Father, burn the message into my heart that when I try to save my life, I succeed only in losing it. And help me never to forget that the last word is not death, but life. Thank You, Father. Amen.

For further study:
Galatians 2:16-21; John 5:24; 1 John 3:14
1. What was Paul's great declaration?
2. Can you make that same declaration?

[Judy Harder]

May 29



Wise up and live
For reading & meditation: Proverbs 1:1-19
"For attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight" (v.2)

We set out to explore some of the great and thrilling themes of the book of Proverbs. I have no hesitation in saying that, as far as practical matters are concerned, it has influenced my thinking and colored my judgments more than any other book of the Bible. I shall never forget my pastor taking my aside just after I had been converted and saying, "I am going to teach you to steal, to drink, to lie and to swear." Seeing my astonishment, he quickly went on to add, "I want to teach you how to steal time out of every day to read something from the book of Proverbs. And then I want to teach you how to drink from its clear, refreshing waters, to lie on your bed at night and meditate on its great themes and to swear that by the grace of God you will put into practice its wonderful teaching." We begin with the question: What is the purpose of Proverbs? Our text for today gives us the clue. Listen to how the Living Bible paraphrases it: "He [Solomon] wrote them to teach his people how to live - how to act in every circumstance" (1:2). This then is what Proverbs is all about - wisdom for living. Multitudes know how to make a living but they do not know how to live. They know everything about life except how to live it. I tell you, the more you understand the book of Proverbs, and the more you put its truths and principles into practice, the more effective will be your living. I guarantee it.
Prayer:

O Father, help me come to grips with the wisdom that enables me not just to live, but to live abundantly. I want to know what I need to do as a person to get on in life. Through the ancient but inspired words of Proverbs teach me how. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Ecclesiastes 7:1-29; Psalms 104:24; Proverbs 3:19
1. What is God's creation built on?
2. What does wisdom preserve?