Quiet Walk

[Judy Harder]

March 24
Luke 16

Through parables, Jesus gives instruction on the proper perspective of wealth.

INSIGHT

It's hard to let go of the temporal and lay hold of the eternal. And the temporal world can hold on to rich and poor alike through money. Both the greedy and the envious live as if there were no eternal realm.

Jesus often speaks about a true and good perspective on money. Perhaps His financial teaching can be summed up by this: Our faith should be in God, not money. We must be careful always to trust God who supplies the money rather than to trust the money itself.

PRAYER

· The Lord can be completely trusted with all your needs. Thank Him with praise:

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday
( Psalm 37:3-6).

· As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:

See, O Lord, that I am in distress;
My soul is troubled;
My heart is overturned within me,
For I have been very rebellious.
Outside the sword bereaves,
At home it is like death
(Lamentations 1:20).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance. . . .
The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song shall be with me --
A prayer to the God of my life
(Psalm 42:5, .

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater faith in God's providence,
· the needs of your friends,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

May I learn in whatever state I am, to be content (based on Philippians 4:11). 

[Judy Harder]

March 25

Luke 17

Jesus describes the circumstances surrounding His second coming.

INSIGHT

Gratitude is beautiful to witness. When a person's eyes light up as they open a gift, the giver enjoys the experience as much as the receiver.
We appreciate gratitude, and so does the Lord. He loves to see His children rejoicing at His many good gifts.

Gratitude to the Lord can be cultivated. Imagine what your life would be like without the Lord's grace. Show the Lord that you appreciate Him by nurturing an attitude of gratitude.

PRAYER

· Offer your praise to the Lord who is so liberal with His good gifts:

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
And to sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
And Your faithfulness every night,
On an instrument of ten strings,
On the lute,
And on the harp,
With harmonious sound.
For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work;
I will triumph in the works of Your hands
(Psalm 92:1-4).

· As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession:

Oh, that my ways were directed
To keep Your statutes!
Then I would not be ashamed,
When I look into all Your commandments
(Psalm 119:5-6).

· As you reflect on God's mercy, confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

You have . . . given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your right hand has held me up,
Your gentleness has made me great.
You enlarged my path under me;
So my feet did not slip
(Psalm 18:35-36).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· a renewed commitment to showing gratitude for God's many blessings,
· opportunities to encourage other believers,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Close your prayer time with the Lord with this offering from the pages of Scripture:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17). 

 

[Judy Harder]

March 26
Mark 10

Jesus prepares His disciples for His death.

INSIGHT

If there is anything between you and the Lord, He will pinpoint it and ask you to give it up. He wants total commitment -- nothing less.

That does not mean you cannot be committed to other things. It just means that He wants nothing to be higher on your priority list than He is.

A husband must be committed to his wife and children. A professional must be committed to his job. But all must be committed to the Lord first.

The rich young ruler learned this in a very painful lesson. We can learn from his experience: Put the Lord first.

PRAYER

· As an expression of your commitment to the Lord, offer Him this psalm of praise:

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.
Thus I will bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name. . . .
When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches.
Because You have been my help,
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.
My soul follows close behind You;
Your right hand upholds me
(Psalm 63:3-4, 6-8).

· Pray this passage of confession to the Lord:

You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart --
These, O God, You will not despise
(Psalm 51:16-17).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray to the Lord this affirmation of your faith in Him:

I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater commitment to Christ,
· the work of missions in the Middle East,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

May You, the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after we have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle us. To You be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen (based on 1 Peter 5:10-11). 

[Judy Harder]

March 27
Mark 11

Jesus is perceived as an earthly king as He rides into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey.

INSIGHT

When Jesus rides into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, why does the crowd rush out to greet Him? The answer is found in Jewish culture and history. In Old Testament times, one of the ways a king was inaugurated was to get on a donkey and have a large retinue of people walk along behind him shouting, "Long live the King!"

The crowd in the temple wants to make Jesus king. When they see Him riding toward them on a donkey, they use it as an opportunity to precipitate a coronation. That He was crucified shortly afterward indicates that they were looking only for a national leader rather than a personal Savior. How do you see Him?

PRAYER

· Express your praise to the Lord in the words of this psalm:

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture
(Psalm 100:1-3).

· As you seek to keep your life free from sin, confess this prayer to the Lord:

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me, and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting
(Psalm 139:23-24).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Pause to pray this passage of affirmation to the Lord:

The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater faithfulness in sharing Christ,
· your state and local leaders and civic affairs,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

O God of peace, sanctify me completely; make my whole spirit, soul, and body to be preserved blameless at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ (based on 1 Thessalonians 5:23). 

[Judy Harder]

March 29
Mark 13

Jesus responds to His disciples' questions regarding His future coming.

INSIGHT

To the world, the idea of Jesus returning in history to judge His enemies and reward His friends is a joke.

"Come down out of the clouds," people say, "and spend your time thinking about what you can do right here and now."

Though the world doesn't take the doctrine of the Second Coming seriously, the Bible places great emphasis on the teaching. Christians, then, need to take it seriously as well. Twice in Mark 13 Jesus warns, "Be on the alert!" Properly understood, awaiting Christ's return should help us live righteously as we do God's work in this world.

PRAYER

· Express your gratitude to the Lord for His promises by offering Him praise:

Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!
For He has done marvelous things; . . .
Shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth;
Break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises
(Psalm 98:1, 4).

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand
(Psalm 95:6-7).

· As you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. As you agree with God, pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

This is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment (1 John 3:23).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater discipline in your personal Bible study,
· national and world affairs,
· your activities for the day.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1 Timothy 6:15-16). 

[Judy Harder]

April 1
Mark 14

Jesus spends His last two days in intimate communion with His closest friends.

INSIGHT

Prayer is one of the true mysteries in the Bible. It is inevitable, as we grow in our prayer life, that we will struggle with an inadequate understanding of how to pray.

The example of Jesus praying in Gethsemane helps us with what we can know and understand about prayer. First, we can know that prayer does not eliminate emotional struggling.

A second thing we can learn is that prayer can make us stronger spiritually and keep us from temptation. In each account of His prayer, Jesus says to His disciples, "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation." (Mark 14:38). If we watch and pray, we will be strengthened against temptation.

PRAYER

· As you continue your time with the Lord, offer to Him this praise:

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all
(1 Chronicles 29:11).

· Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

Seek the Lord while He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the Lord,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
For He will abundantly pardon
(Isaiah 55:6-7).

· As you confess your sins, pray this affirmation of God's Word:

He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength. . . .
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint
(Isaiah 40:29, 31).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater insight into the Scriptures,
· the hungry around the world,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance on you,
And give you peace
(Numbers 6:24-26). 

[Judy Harder]

April 2
Mark 15

After Jesus is crucified, Joseph of Arimathea buried Him in Joseph's own tomb.

INSIGHT

Most of us have a highly developed sense of justice. We want things to be fair, and we are incensed when they are not. From simple things like people cutting in line ahead of us to major things like prejudice and bigotry, we are angered when we see or experience injustice.

With that in mind, review what happens to Jesus. Though He is totally righteous and without sin, religious bigots manufacture charges against Him and take Him to a legal jellyfish who doesn't have the courage to execute justice. Then He is beaten, mocked, and crucified. Doesn't that inflame your sense of justice? He has the power to obliterate those who harm Him; yet He willingly endures it for us.

PRAYER

· Thank the Lord and praise Him for the "great and awesome" things He has done in offering you salvation:

Who is like You, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?
(Exodus 15:11).

Therefore You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears (2 Samuel 7:22).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

Of the Rock who begot me,
I am unmindful,
And have forgotten the God who fathered me
(based on Deuteronomy 32:18).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him (John 14:21).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater love for fellow Christians,
· the work of missions in Asia,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer
(Psalm 19:14). 

[Judy Harder]

April 3
Mark 16

Mary and Mary Magdalene discover that Jesus has risen from the dead.

INSIGHT

It is a momentous morning as Mary and Mary Magdalene walk to the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, intent on anointing the body of Jesus but not knowing how they will get into the tomb. They say to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us?"

Miracle number one: The stone has been rolled away. Miracle number two: An angel is sitting in the tomb to explain to them what has happened. Miracle number three: Jesus is gone; He has risen.

They have two responses. They were amazed! And they report to the disciples all that they have seen.

They expect to deal with death. But they find themselves in the middle of more life than they can imagine. Such paradox is God's way. He brings life from death.

PRAYER

· Give your praise to the Lord for offering you the gift of eternal life:

He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He
(Deuteronomy 32:4).

· Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

So Samuel said: "Has the Lord as great
delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams
(1 Samuel 15:22).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:.

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater faithfulness with your time,
· the president, national leaders, and national affairs,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever
(Psalm 23:6).  

[Judy Harder]

April 5
Matthew 27

Pilate tries Jesus then hands Him over to be crucified.

INSIGHT

Proverbs 20:17 says, "Bread gained by deceit is sweet to a man, but afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel." If ever a man illustrates that truth, Judas does. Some mysterious passion burns in his breast to betray Jesus.

Whether Judas seeks political ambition or mere lust for money, we do not know. But later, his remorse is so great that he throws the money away and hangs himself. We must remember Judas when illicit desire burns in our breast. Such desire always promises more than it delivers; it always turns to gravel in our mouths.

PRAYER

· The sacrifice which Jesus made for us took tremendous courage, for which we praise Him:

O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens! . . .
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him? . .
O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
(Psalm 8:1, 3-4, 9).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from the power of sin:

O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
My soul also is greatly troubled;
But You, O Lord-how long? (Psalm 6:1-3).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth (John 4:24).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· the leading of the Lord in your life,
· opportunities for personal evangelism,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it
(Psalm 118:24). 

[Judy Harder]

April 6
Matthew 28

After His resurrection, Jesus appears to His disciples.

INSIGHT

Jesus' message of salvation is the greatest news on earth. He does not leave to chance the need for His message to be taken to all earth's people.

In Matthew 28, Jesus charges His disciples with that task. If however, you begin the recital of the Great Commission with verse 19, you have the "great omission." Verse 19 begins with "Go therefore." But to fully understand the phrase, we must go to verse 18 to see what "therefore" is there for.

On the basis of His authority, we are to go, and to go in confidence that, as we are obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ's commission, He will accomplish His work through us.

PRAYER

· Because someone "came" to give the Gospel to us, thank the Lord and give Him your praise:

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
And let them say among the nations,
"The Lord reigns." . . .
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel from everlasting to everlasting!
And all the people said, "Amen!" and praised the Lord
(1 Chronicles 16:31, 34, 36).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly (2 Samuel 24:10).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:

· greater commitment to the Lord,
· blessings on the work of specific Christians,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord (Psalm 31:24).