Quiet Walk

[Judy Harder]

April 8

Luke 23

Pilate sentences Jesus to be crucified on the hill called Golgotha, "The Skull."

INSIGHT

Without conflict, there are no heroes. The hero and coward look alike until the battle begins. Then and only then, in the face of the challenge, is each one's true character manifested.

In Jesus' time, you do not expect heroes of the Christian faith to emerge from the ranks of the Pharisees. But Joseph of Arimathea defies the expectations.

This godly man risks wealth, reputation, and perhaps personal safety, when he asks for and receives the permission to take down Jesus' body from the cross and lay it in his own tomb.

PRAYER

· Give God praise that He enables His children to do heroic deeds on His behalf:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks. By faith Enoch was translated so that he did not see death . . for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased You, O God (based on Hebrews 11:1-5).

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

You were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (based on Ephesians 2:1-2).

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

We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 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 5:20-21).

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

· greater courage in evangelism,
· the work of missions in Europe,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Since I am surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, . . . let me run with endurance the race that is set before me (based on Hebrews 12:1).

[Judy Harder]

April 9

Luke 24

After Jesus rises from the dead, He appears to a number of His disciples.

INSIGHT

The most reasonable explanation for the empty tomb is the Resurrection. If, as some have claimed, Jesus had not been killed but only weakened by the crucifixion, the stone and the soldiers would have prevented His escape from the tomb. If Jesus' friends had tried to steal the body, the stone and the soldiers likewise would have prevented them. Jesus' enemies would not have taken the body, since a missing body would only encourage belief in His resurrection. The easiest way to quiet claims of His resurrection would have been to produce the body. This they could not do.

The angel said, "He is not here, for He is risen, as He said" (Matthew 28:6). Since Jesus predicted and experienced His own death, burial, and resurrection, we can trust Him with our lives.

PRAYER

· The Lord can be trusted with our lives because of His own life, and we praise Him:

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works. . .
The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
And those who know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You
(Psalm 9:1, 9-10).

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

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
(Psalm 19:12-13).

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

All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out (John 6:37).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, pray for:
· greater love for the lost,
· the work of missions in Africa,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands
(Psalm 90:17).

[Judy Harder]

April 10

John 1

John traces the deity of Christ from "the beginning."

INSIGHT

The Scriptures are such an intimate and personal revelation of the mind of God that there is no distance between the Word and God Himself. John writes: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1). This verse refers to Jesus, and yet, He is called "the Word."

In Revelation 19:13, John writes of Jesus: "He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God." To know the Word is to know God; to uphold the Word is to uphold God; to believe the Word is to believe God; and to obey the Word is to obey God.

PRAYER

· The Word of the Lord is certain, and we praise Him for that trust:

I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies
(Psalm 18:1-3).

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

Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done . . . (Joshua 7:20).

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day (Psalm 25:4-5).

· Confessing any sins the Holy Spirit brings to your mind, pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1).

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

· greater faithfulness with the gifts and talents God has given you,
· your state and local leaders and civic affairs,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Bless the Lord, all His works,
In all places of His dominion.
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(Psalm 103:22).

[Judy Harder]

April 11

John 2

Jesus turns water into wine at a wedding in Cana to demonstrate His deity to His disciples.

INSIGHT

In John 2:24 we read, "But Jesus did not commit Himself to them." The word commit is the same word that is translated "faith" or "believe" in other places in the Bible. It gives us additional insight concerning the concept of faith in the Bible.

Faith is more than just intellectual understanding. Once someone understands the Gospel, he must make a personal commitment to it. He must entrust himself to it. In reality, to believe in Jesus Christ is to commit one's self to Him.

PRAYER

· Offer your praise to Jesus, who, as God, offers us salvation:

Be exalted, O Lord, in Your own strength!
We will sing and praise Your power
(Psalm 21:13).

Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the Lord is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord
(Psalm 33:3-5).

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

Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.
The humble He guides in justice,
And the humble He teaches His way. . . .
For Your name's sake, O Lord,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great
(Psalm 25:8-9, 11).

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

Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

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

· greater wisdom in decision making,
· the needs of your friends,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:5-6).

[Judy Harder]

April 12

John 3

Jesus explains the spiritual nature of salvation.

INSIGHT

Faith, or belief, is often misunderstood. Faith has been defined as "believing in spite of there being nothing to believe" or "believing in spite of the evidence to the contrary." It is often viewed as identical with wishful thinking. If we believe hard enough, we can make something come true (regardless of whether or not God may approve).

None of these concepts is biblical. Faith is belief based on sufficient evidence. In other words, faith is trusting what God has revealed in His Word and in the world, both of which give ample testimony to the truth.

PRAYER

· The sensitive and believing heart looks for opportunities to praise the Lord for His goodness:

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
Oh, magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together. . . .
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
(Psalm 34:1-3, .

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

Sing praise to the Lord,
You saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning
(Psalm 30:4-5).

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

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will guide you with My eye (Psalm 32:.

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

· spiritual victory over temptation,
· opportunities to serve the Lord,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

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

[Judy Harder]

April 13

John 4

Jesus encounters a Samaritan woman.

INSIGHT

The supreme activity of a Christian is worship. As Jesus talks with the Samaritan woman about a location of worship, He proclaims that God is spirit and that those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.

For worship, God is indifferent to places, nationalities, and methods. We may worship Him on a mound of dirt or in a cathedral. But we must worship Him in truth. When our body sits in a worship service but our mind is elsewhere, we are not worshiping.

Worship is an act of the will. You can decide to worship. Enter into the songs that are sung, the prayers that are prayed, and the Scripture that is read. Offer Him spiritual sacrifices, and you will experience worship.

PRAYER

· As an act of personal worship, offer this psalm of praise to the Lord:

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous;
And shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
(Psalm 32:11).

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings
(Psalm 33:1-2).

· Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin and in fellowship with Him:

Remember, O Lord, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they are from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness' sake, O Lord
(Psalm 25:6-7).

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

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you (John 15:12).

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

· greater passion for moral excellence,
· the ministry of Christian education institutions,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

The Lord shall preserve you from all evil;
He shall preserve your soul.
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore
(Psalm 121:7-8 ).

[Judy Harder]

April 14

John 5

Jesus infuriates the religious leaders by claiming equality with God.

INSIGHT

Many people in this world-atheists, agnostics, and those in pseudo-Christian cults-say that Jesus was merely a man, not God. What's more, these people say Jesus never claimed to be God. The Incarnation-the doctrine that Jesus was one person with two natures, one human, one divine-is an anti-biblical and absurd idea invented by the church in later centuries, these skeptics opine.

The gospel of John certainly dispels that notion. In chapter 8, John writes that the religious leaders of His day picked up stones to slay the Lord Jesus Christ because He made Himself equal with God. The Jewish leaders were men of Jesus' time and culture. They understood Jesus' meaning far better than 21st-century skeptics. And as far as they were concerned, Jesus was committing the blasphemy of claiming to be God-a capital offense.

PRAYER

· As an act of personal worship, offer the following praise to God the Son:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1-4, 14).

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

Our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
Have mercy on us,
O Lord, have mercy on us!
(Psalm 123:2-3).

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

But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward Your holy temple (Psalm 5:7).

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

· a greater love for the God-Man-Christ Jesus,
· the needs of your extended family,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
(Psalm 4:1).

[Judy Harder]

April 15

John 6

After feeding the 5000, Jesus teaches that He is the "Bread of Life."

INSIGHT

Throughout Jesus' ministry, He often speaks in figures of speech. Sometimes the people understand what those sayings mean; sometimes they don't.
Jesus promises living water to the woman at the well, so she will never thirst. Her reply is: "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water?" (John 4:11).

And in John 6, Jesus speaks of Himself as a bread even better than the manna in the desert, for He gives eternal life to the whole world, rather than merely physical life to the Hebrews in the desert. Missing his point, his audience says hungrily, "Lord, give us this bread always" (v. 34).

He later explains to His disciples, "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63). Jesus reveals the truths behind the figures of speech to His followers.

PRAYER

· Offer your praise to the God who reveals His will to you through His Word:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament shows His handiwork.
Day unto day utters speech,
And night unto night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech nor language
Where their voice is not heard.
Their line has gone out through all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world
(Psalm 19:1-4).

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

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
(Psalm 19:12-13).

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

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32).

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

· greater understanding of the Bible,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High
(Psalm 7:17).

[Judy Harder]

April 16

John 7

Jesus becomes involved in controversy with religious leaders over His true identity.

INSIGHT

When iron and aluminum shavings are mixed together, they are indistinguishable. You cannot identify them by sight; you must sweep a magnet through them. The magnet will attract all of the iron filings, but the aluminum filings will remain undisturbed.

The Lord Jesus Christ has exactly the same effect on those to whom He ministers. Those whose understanding is anchored in faith are drawn to Him like iron to a magnet. Those who choose not to believe remain undisturbed, as though nothing special has happened.

Some of the multitude were saying, "This is the Christ" while others were saying, "Surely the Christ is not going to come from Galilee, is He?" Understanding, combined with faith, understands even more. Unbelief blinds people.

PRAYER

· Let us praise Him, for surely, this is the Christ:

A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
You love righteousness and hate wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You
With the oil of gladness more than Your companions
(Psalm 45:6-7).

We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness,
In the midst of Your temple.
According to Your name, O God,
So is Your praise to the ends of the earth;
Your right hand is full of righteousness
(Psalm 48:9-10).

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

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit
(Psalm 32:1-2).

· Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Your word is a lamp to my feet,
And a light to my path (Psalm 119:105).

· 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,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen (2 Corinthians 13:14).

[Judy Harder]

April 17

John 8

Jesus teaches on truth.

INSIGHT

By nature, we want absolute freedom. But such freedom is not possible. In fact, no such thing as absolute freedom exists. To be free to sail the seven seas, we must make ourselves a slave to the compass. This subservience irritates us.

All of life is a contrast between freedoms and corresponding bondages. We can be slaves to Jesus and free from the bondage of sin, or we can be free from Jesus and slaves to the bondage of sin. We can make ourselves slaves to truth, and the truth can set us free.

PRAYER

· The heart that has been set free by truth can offer praise to the Lord of all truth:

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by. . . .
I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations.
For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
Let Your glory be above all the earth
(Psalm 57:1, 9-11).

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

When I kept silent, my bones grew old Through my groaning all the day long.
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
(Psalm 32:3, 5).

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

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Proverbs 9:10).

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

· greater faithfulness with the finances God has entrusted you with,
· revival to spread among American Christians,
· your activities for the day.

· Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel . . . to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen (Romans 16:25, 27).