Every Day Light

[Judy Harder]

April 26

Going - yet not knowing
For reading & meditation: Acts 20:17-35
"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there." (v.22)

We come now to examine another area into which our Lord, eager to obtain fruit from our lives, may be leading us: that of ambiguity and uncertainty. By ambiguity, I mean those situations we sometimes find ourselves in where the Lord's purposes are not clear, and by uncertainty, I mean the feelings we get when we dont know which direction to take on the road ahead. Are you the kind of person who likes to see the way ahead as far as you possibly can? Do you find yourself getting irritated and frustrated when the Lord unfolds His purposes just one step at a time? If so, then your irritation is saying something about you. What is it saying? Perhaps it is saying that in this area of your life, you are "a corn of wheat afraid to die"; you are fearful of trusting yourself to the unseen and unknown purposes of God. There isn't a Christian reading my words now who hasn't been called to walk this path of uncertainty and ambiguity, and there may be many who are there at this moment. The apostle Paul, in the verse before us today, was in this situation when he said: "I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there" (v.22, GNB). What an honest admission: going - yet not knowing. Yet there seems to be no anxiety or apprehension in that statement. And why? Because the great apostle had died to all self-interest. Having surrendered to God, he was not at the mercy of circumstances, situations, feelings - anything. Sure of God - the one great Certainty - he needed to fear no uncertainty.
Prayer:

O God, I see that unless my certainty is in You - the divine Certainty - I will be at the mercy of all uncertainties. Forgive my little antics of self-dependence. Help me to live in God-dependence. Amen.

For further study:
James 4:10-17; Proverbs 27:1; Isaiah 55:8
1. What should our attitude be?
2. What picture does James give us of life?

[Judy Harder]

April 27

Talking to God all night
For reading & meditation: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation '" (v.17)

We ended yesterday by saying that because Paul had died to all self-interest, he was not at the mercy of ambiguity and uncertainty. Sure of God, he was sure of the future. You see, if you don't surrender to God, don't think you don't surrender. Everybody surrenders to something. If you don't surrender to God, then you will surrender to something else - your moods, your circumstances, your fears, your self-centred concerns. And if you do, you will end up becoming downcast and disillusioned. A doctor tells of being called to see a patient, the head of a large company, who was having increasing attacks of asthma. The doctor could find no physical basis for the asthma, and so he asked the man: "Is there anything troubling you?" The patient replied: "No, doctor, I'm a member of a church, in fact an official in the church - nothing is troubling me." The next day the patient again sent for the doctor and said to him: "Yesterday I told you nothing was troubling me, but I've been talking to God all night. I looked at the ceiling and saw the words: 'Seek first the kingdom of God.' Doctor, I've been seeking my own kingdom. I've been a completely self-centred man. But last night something happened to me. I'm seeking first the kingdom of God." The doctor said: "I went away with tears streaming down my cheeks. I had seen the birth of a soul." Surrender means not just the birth of a soul, but the birth of everything - new relationships, new perspectives on life, new power to face whatever comes, and a new sense of certainty and belonging - a new everything.
Prayer:

O Father, it is obvious that unless my confidence is placed in the Ultimate, then I will not be able to cope with the immediate. Help me to be a fully surrendered person. For surrendered to You, I need surrender to nothing else. Amen.

For further study:
2 Corinthians 8:1-9; Philippians 2:4
1. What was Christ's example?
2. How can we imitate Him?

[Judy Harder]

April 28

The future - safe with Him
For reading & meditation: Colossians 3:1-15
"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (v.3)

We are discovering that when we are surrendered to the certain, we need never surrender to the uncertain. Sure of God, we do not have to be sure of anything else. A Christian who shrinks from walking the road of ambiguity and uncertainty in company with his Lord is saying, in effect: "My trust is in myself and not in Him." We don't like to put it in those terms, of course, because it challenges our self-interest. And if there is one thing we must learn about the self, it is that it does not like to be challenged, confronted or dislodged. The self, however, must be disciplined to die. It must die to being first in order to live as second. That is why the centre of the kingdom of God is a cross. We must go through spiritually what Jesus went through physically - we must die and be buried in order to experience a resurrection into freedom and fullness of life. A man who was part of a small group who had met together to deepen their spiritual understanding said: "I see what I need, and I see that I don't want what I need." In those words, he identified the struggle we all have with this business of self. Who is to be first - myself or God? That decision decides all other decisions - it is a seed decision. The moment you fully surrender to Christ, you automatically die to your own intentions and purposes and you gain a new perspective on life. From then on, you live in a state of Christ-reference - not self-reference. You look out at ambiguity and uncertainty and say: "I may not know what the future holds - so what? I know who holds the future."
Prayer:

My Father and my God, I see now that I've been out of focus, and all of life's pictures have been blurred and distorted. Help me to see life from a new point of view - Your point of view. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For further study:
2 Timothy 2:1-13; Romans 6:6;2Cor.4:11
1. Which saying is trustworthy?
2. How does this apply to you?

[Judy Harder]

April 29

Strangers and pilgrims
For reading & meditation: Hebrews 11:8-16
"' Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (v.16)

We continue meditating on the fact that one of the reasons why we find it so difficult to cope with ambiguity and uncertainty is because we have never really died to self-interest. We are more concerned about our own purposes than we are about His - hence we are uncertain and insecure. Today we look at Abraham and the way he handled his situation of ambiguity and uncertainty. He was almost seventy-five years old when God called him to step out on the pathway of uncertainty. There he was, loading up his camel caravan with his wife and nephew, bound for 'somewhere'. The Amplified Bible puts if most effectively when it says: "' he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go." Charles Swindoll humorously pictures a conversation between Abraham and his neighbours going something like this: "Abraham, where are your going?" "I'm moving." "Why? Why ever would you want to leave Ur?" "God has made it clear that I should go." "God? You've been talking to Him again?" "Right. He told me to leave. I must go." "Well, where are you going?" "I don't know; He didn't tell me that." "Wait a minute, you know you ought to go, but you don't know where you ought to go?" "Yes." "Abraham, you really have gone off the deep end." And so it continues. It isn't easy to obey without understanding. It is the same thing that we talked about two days ago: going - without knowing. It might help to remind ourselves of the term God sometimes uses to describe us - strangers and pilgrims. People on the move, free to follow Him wherever He leads - regardless.
Prayer:

O God, You who wrap me around as the atmosphere wraps itself around my body. Let me respond to You as my physical body responds to its environment - and lives. Help me to trust You even when I cannot trace You. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Hebrews 11:8-16; Psalms 25:9,48:14
1. What was the result of Abraham's obedience?
2. What followed his first step of obedience?

[Judy Harder]

April 30

A personal word
For reading & meditation: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
"But by the grace of God I am what I am '" (v.10)

Today we ask ourselves: Why is it that even though we may have a fairly mature faith in God, we still find it frustrating to be caught up in situations where we have no clear direction or control? The root cause of this is misplaced dependency - we depend too much upon ourselves and not enough upon God. As I examine my own life, I am constantly amazed that after over fifty years' experience in the Christian faith, I am still sometimes prone to take the way of independence rather than dependence. Do you not find a similar tendency in yourself? I want God's way - so very much - but I want it on my own terms. Granted, this is less of a problem now than it was, say, thirty years ago, but it is still sometimes a struggle nevertheless. What does this say about me? It says that in this area of my life, there is still a need to die to my own self-concern, and even before these lines were written I had to get down on my knees and acknowledge this before the Lord. I may still have struggles with this issue in the future, but I know for sure that at this moment, my will is more yielded to Him than ever. Perhaps this is the last battle I shall have to fight on this matter, and when I find myself facing situations in the future that are vague and ambiguous without fearing the outcome, I will know the issue has been settled once and for all. I have exposed my heart to you in obedience to the prompting of the Spirit. I need Him as much as you.
Prayer:

O Father, as we see yet again where we should be centred - in You - help us to die in those areas of life where we have established our independence. Only in You can we be safe and steady and growing. Help us, dear Lord. Amen.

For further study:
Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:24; 1 Peter 2:24
1. What happens if we live according to the sinful nature?
2. How do we know we are sons of God?

[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?