Quiet Walk

[Judy Harder]

January 12

Genesis 21

Abraham and Sarah rejoice in the birth of the son of promise.

INSIGHT

Perhaps we do not celebrate enough -- often enough or grandly enough. Perhaps we do not make enough out of the good things God does for us.

Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. Certainly that was a cultural event.

It would seem odd to celebrate the same event today. Yet there are other things we could celebrate within our culture, but we don't.

When was the last time you made a big deal out of something important? Perhaps a high school or college graduation. A successful music recital. Climbing a mountain, or running a marathon.

God has created us with emotions that make life a richer experience for us. Perhaps we should celebrate more -- in both quantity and quality.

PRAYER

· Celebrate your personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ by giving Him your praise:

I will go in the strength of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness,
of Yours only.
O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous
works (Psalms 71:16-17).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord:

Lord, You are near to those who have a
broken heart,
And save such as have a contrite spirit
(based on Psalms 34:18).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. As you agree with God's will, voice your affirmation of His Word:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· the Lord's leading in your life,
· opportunities to share your faith,
· the concerns of your heart.

· Offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21).

[Judy Harder]

January 13
Genesis 22

Abraham offers his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice.

INSIGHT

God tests our faith -- not to catch us failing so that He can punish us or merely to determine genuineness -- but to strengthen and increase our faith for the future.

The concept of testing includes refining or purifying. It is the same word used to describe the process of refining gold to purify it and to increase its value. The purpose of testing is to yield spiritual maturity.

We see from Abraham's life that God tests us for our good. We, then, can trust Him, even during times of testing.

PRAYER

· Give praise to God that He always acts in your interest:

You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
For I believe Your commandments.
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
You are good, and do good;
Teach me Your statutes (Psalms 119:65-68).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him:

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief (1 Timothy 1:15).

· As you confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, voice your affirmation of God's Word:

Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
You will revive me;
You will stretch out Your hand
Against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me
(Psalms 138:7).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· a greater ability to withstand temptation,
· civil leaders to act in godly ways,
· your prayer list.

· Offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

I will worship toward Your holy temple,
And praise Your name
For Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word above
all Your name.
In the day when I cried out,
You answered me,
And made me bold with strength in my
soul (Psalms 138:2-3).

[Judy Harder]

January 14

Genesis 24

Isaac takes Rebekah as his wife.

INSIGHT

A steward is one who is commissioned to oversee the welfare and execute the affairs of another. The closer a steward is able to represent the mind of his superior, the better he fulfills his role. Therefore, when a steward is on assignment, ideally he has no personal mind or will; he strives to have the mind and will of his superior.
Eliezer, Abraham's servant, was an excellent example of a faithful steward. His complete mindset was to represent the will of Abraham as faithfully as possible. As Christians, we are stewards of Christ, and as such, we are to strive to have the mind and will of Christ. In addition, we are always on assignment (1 Corinthians 6:20). By studying Eliezer, we can gain insight into how to be a more faithful steward of Christ.

PRAYER

· Thank the Lord and give Him your praise for making you a steward of the precious truth of salvation in Christ:

Remember me, O Lord, with the favor You
have toward Your people;
Oh, visit me with Your salvation,
That I may see the benefit of Your chosen
ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your
nation,
That I may glory with Your inheritance
(Psalms 106:4-5).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord:

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? (Psalms 6:1-3).

· As you confess your sins, voice your affirmation of God's Word: God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· greater faithfulness to the steward-ship of sharing the Gospel,
· the work of missions in the former Communist Bloc,
· today's activities.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble.
Lord, I hope for Your salvation,
And I do Your commandments.
My soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I love them exceedingly
(Psalms 119:165-167).

[Judy Harder]

January 15

Genesis 27

Jacob deceives Isaac into blessing him rather than his older brother Esau.

INSIGHT

This chapter is a low point in the life of a chosen family. It is difficult to justify the behavior of anyone. Perhaps the deepest, most helpful lesson we can learn from this chapter is that since God was able to make a saint out of someone like Jacob, God can take our lives -- with all of their sin and failure -- and make something out of them for His glory.

Jacob lied; we lie. Jacob failed to trust God; we fail to trust God. Jacob became a man of God; we can become men and women of God. Jacob was used by the Lord; the Lord can use us, too.

For a child of God, there is always a future; and that future can bear fruit. If God can use Jacob, God can use us.

PRAYER

· We praise the Lord with joy because He never gives up on us, His children:

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 (Psalms 100:1-3).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord in response to His revelation:
O Lord, I have heard your speech and was afraid;
O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!
In the midst of the years make it known;
In wrath remember mercy (Habakkuk 3:2).

· As you confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, voice your affirmation of God's Word:

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· faithfulness with your finances,
· revival among Christians in America,
· the concerns of your heart.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore (Psalms 121:.

[Judy Harder]

January 16

Genesis 28

Jacob dreams of angels and heaven.

INSIGHT

Jacob's dream -- in which he sees the angels ascending and descending the ladder to heaven -- seems to be a turning point in his life. It appears to be the point at which he receives a personal relationship with the Lord. Jacob's life after this encounter was not flawless. But God was able to use him in a central role to fulfill ancient promises.

So, too, we must have a personal relationship with God through Jesus, His Son, and our Savior, before we can experience the work of God in us and through us. Do you know Jesus personally? If not, why not receive Him as your Savior and Lord now?

PRAYER

· Offer praise to your Savior in the words of this psalm:

Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations (Psalms 100:4-5).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord:

Unto You I lift up my eyes,
O You who dwell in the heavens.
Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So my eyes look to You, the Lord my God,
Until You have mercy on me
(based on Psalms 123:1-2).

· As you confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, voice your affirmation of God's Word:

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· greater love for your family,
· the work of missions in North and South America,
· today's activities.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

Now may the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, that we may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
(based on Romans 15:13).

[Judy Harder]

January 17

Genesis 37

Jacob's son, Joseph, is sold by his brothers.

INSIGHT

Feeling loved is one of life's greatest needs. When we do not feel loved, we often will go to great lengths to try to earn love or retaliate against those who keep us from being loved.

Joseph's brothers contemplated murder but instead kidnapped Joseph to get rid of him. His brothers thought of him as a threat -- all because Jacob displayed his preference for Joseph.

Jacob's preferential treatment of Joseph in no way condones the actions of the brothers, but it points out to us as Christians that we should love all men as Christ would. When individuals feel that love, it makes it easier for them to love others in return.

PRAYER

· Praise our Lord that He can enable us to avoid showing partiality, so that we can love as He loves (James 2:1):

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!
There is no want to those who fear Him
(Psalms 34:8-9).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him:

Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight --
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge (Psalms 51:4).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. As you agree with God's will, voice your affirmation of His Word:

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· wisdom in decision making,
· the needs of your friends,
· your prayer list.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

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

[Judy Harder]

January 18
Genesis 39

Joseph resists the advances of Potiphar's wife.

INSIGHT

Mark Twain once wrote: "Always do right. It will gratify some and astonish the rest." While we smile at that, there are greater reasons for doing right.

Joseph is a good example. When he resisted the advances of Potiphar's wife, Joseph set himself on the road to the throne of Egypt. Had he given in, Joseph would have set himself on the road to ruin.

Always do right. There is more at stake than you might think.

PRAYER

· We praise Christ Jesus for His wonderful works:

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. . .
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well. . .
How precious also are Your thoughts to me,
O God!
How great is the sum of them!
(Psalms 139:1).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him:

Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
And I shall be innocent of great transgression (Psalms 19:12-13).

· As you confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, voice your affirmation of God's Word:

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· a passion for moral excellence,
· Christian education institutions,
· today's activities.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalms 90:12).

[Judy Harder]

January 19

Genesis 40

Joseph is confined in prison.
INSIGHT

Joseph is one of the finest examples in the Bible of faithfulness in the face of tribulation. Wherever he was, Joseph lived for the glory of God. He demonstrated that he could be trusted in the tough times, thereby making himself eligible for God to use him in other settings. Joseph was faithful over small things, so God was able to set him over large things.

Most of our failures come with the small things. It rarely occurs to us that the challenge of the moment is to demonstrate ourselves faithful at that point. Then -- and only then -- will we be trusted in the greater things. Joseph is a good reminder.

PRAYER

· Faithfulness in praise is a part of our privilege as servants of God:

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And Your dominion endures throughout all generations (Psalms 145:13).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him:

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities (Psalms 51:7-9).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. As you agree with God's will, voice your affirmation of His Word:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:16-17).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· deliverance from temptation,
· laborers for His harvest,
· the concerns of your heart.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:17).

[Judy Harder]

January 20

Genesis 41

Joseph rises to power.

INSIGHT

God does the work of God, and man does the work of man. The work of man is faithfulness to what God has called him; the work of God is results. If we reverse the two, we can drive ourselves to an early grave. If we keep them in line, we can labor with freedom.

We need not get puffed up with pride when things go well, nor need we get distressed when things go poorly. To Pharaoh's question, Joseph answered, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace" (Genesis 41:16). Our job is faithfulness; God's job is results.

PRAYER

· Thank the Lord that He always does what He desires:

His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to  generation... He does according to His will in the army of
heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand  Or say to Him, "What have You done?" (Daniel 4:34-35).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life in fellowship with Him:

May You hear the supplications of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray . . . hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive (2 Chronicles 6:21).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. As you agree with God's will, voice your affirmation of His Word:

The Lord is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is for me among those who help me;
Therefore I shall see my desire on those who hate me (Psalms 118:6-7).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· greater faithfulness in your life,
· mercy on those who are suffering,
· today's activities.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

[Judy Harder]

January 21

Genesis 42

Joseph's brothers go to Egypt.

INSIGHT

This puzzling chapter becomes more enlightening when we suggest that Joseph was testing his brothers to discover if they would treat Benjamin differently than they had treated him. The issue was whether or not they could be trusted to bring Joseph's beloved brother to him without harm. While Joseph's heart cried out for reconciliation with his family, he was being cautious for Benjamin's sake. Joseph was wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove (Matthew 10:16).

We should be the same.

PRAYER

· Give heart-felt praise to the all-wise, all-loving God:

God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered? (Job 9:4).

· Now pray this confession to the Lord to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him:

I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,"
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin
(Psalms 32:5).

· Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. As you agree with God's will, voice your affirmation of His Word:

Rejoice the soul of Your servant,
For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,
And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You
(Psalms 86:4-5).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· greater wisdom in dealing with the problems you face in your life on a daily basis,
· wisdom for your church's leaders,
· your prayer list.

· Now offer this prayer of worship to the Lord:

Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy
(Psalms 107:1-2).