Every Day Light

[Judy Harder]

July 8

The most powerful word
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 25:11-28
"As a north wind brings rain, so a sly tongue brings angry looks." (v.23)
It's astonishing, the effect words can have upon you. This is why the writer of Proverbs refers so often to words and the way they ought to be used.

Here's a teaser I want to drop in that highlights the way words can be used. Professor Ernest Brennick of Columbia University is credited with inventing this sentence which can be made to have eight different meanings by placing the word "only" in all possible positions in it: "I hit him in the eye yesterday." Don't write to me for all the permutations; work them out for yourself. Someone has compiled a list of the most powerful words in the English language. "The bitterest word - alone. The most revered word - mother. The most feared word - death. The coldest word - no. The warmest word - friend." What, I wonder is the most powerful word you have ever come across? I will tell you mine - Jesus. Charles Colson, one of President Nixon's right-hand men who, after the Watergate affair, was wonderfully converted to Christ, tells of visiting a man on death row. The man had been in a fetal position for months and would speak to no one. Charles told him the gospel and asked him to say the name Jesus. A week later he returned to find the man sitting in his chair, shaven, and the cell swept clean. When he asked what had happened, the man said, "Jesus lives here now." He went to the electric chair but his last words to the executioner were these: "I'm going to be with the Lord."

Prayer:

O Father, when I utter the name Jesus something profound goes on in my being. It is like an oratorio in two syllables, a library compressed into a single word. May I learn and appropriate in my life all the power that lies behind that name. Amen.

For Further Study

2 Pet. 2:1-18; Mal. 3:13; 1 Thess. 2:5; 3 John 10
1. What sorts of words are referred to in the above verses?
2. What biblical phrase draws you most powerfully into the presence of God?

[Judy Harder]

July 9



A disciplined tongue
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 10:18-32
"' he who holds his tongue is wise." (v.19)

I'm glad God included in the book of Proverbs the words that are before us today. It's important to talk, but talking too much is as bad as not talking at all. Proverbs extols rationing our words. Once, when Thomas Edison the inventor was at a reception, the toastmaster stood up and complimented him on his many inventions, especially the talking machine. After the toastmaster sat down, the aged inventor rose to his feet and said, "Thank you for those remarks, but I must correct one thing. It was God who invented the talking machine. I only invented the first one that can be shut off." A doctor told me that once, while writing out a prescription, he asked a woman to put out her tongue. When he had finished, she said to him, "But doctor, you never even looked at my tongue." The doctor replied, "It wasn't necessary, I just wanted you to keep quiet while I wrote the prescription." Amidst the humor of today's notes, don't miss the point - words are important but don't overdo them. I like the advice of an anonymous poet who wrote: If your lips would keep from slips Five things observe with care: Of whom you speak, to whom you speak, And how and when and where. A wise person has a disciplined tongue. Many need to learn this, for, like the tongue in old shoes, our tongue is often the last thing to be worn out. If a disciplined tongue is your need, ask God to help you, for an undisciplined tongue is an unloving tongue.
Prayer:

Father, I realize that oftentimes my tongue is the most difficult thing to bring under control. Yet I have the promise of Your help even in this. I give you my tongue to be bridled - take over the reins. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For Further Study
Matt. 12:30-37; Titus 1:1-10; Job 11:3
1. What did Jesus say we will have to account for?
2. What did Paul mean by "mere talkers" (Titus 1:10)?

[Judy Harder]

July 10

We become what we say
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 21:16-31
"He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity." (v.23)

Why is the tongue so important? Because the expression of a thing deepens the impression. A word uttered becomes a word made flesh - in us. We become the incarnation of what we express. Jesus said, "By your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned" (Matt. 12:37). After I saw that a person becomes what he says, I have looked at this verse in a different light. If you tell a lie, you become a lie. I said earlier, when dealing more fully with the subject of integrity, that the deepest punishment of a lie is to be the one who tells the lie. That person has to live with someone he cannot trust. Now look at what I am saying from the opposite perspective. When we express good things, positive things, loving things, scriptural things, these things go deeper into us. Clear expression deepens impression. A brilliant young physicist tells how he often discusses complex issues relating to physics with his wife who doesn't know the first thing about the subject. He told a friend, "I describe in detail what I am doing and she doesn?t understand a word. But sometimes when I'm through - I do." If it is true - and I believe it is - that we become the incarnation of what we express, then how careful we ought to be to ensure that what we say is guarded and governed by truth, integrity and kindness. Always remember: every word you utter becomes flesh - in you.
Prayer: O Father, how awesome is this thought - I become the incarnation of what I express. Cleanse me deep within so that I may be pure in soul as well as speech. I would be a clarified person. Grant it please, dear Father. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For Further Study
Tim. 4:1-12; Psa. 34:13; Phil. 4:8
1. In what areas was Timothy to set a good example?
2. What should our thoughts be focused on?

[Judy Harder]

July 11

The cause of most friction
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 16:21-33
"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." (v.24)
Watch your tone of voice carefully. An old Chinese proverb says, "If you have a soft voice, you don't need a big stick." I am convinced that most of the friction in human relationships is caused not so much by the words we speak, as by the tone of voice in which we speak them. Our speech conveys out thoughts; our tone of voice, however, conveys our mood. How easy it is to say, "I love you," in a tone that conveys the very opposite. Proverbs does not actually say we should focus on the right tone of voice but the implication is clearly there in the command to use words that are kind and gentle and tender. Of course, you can say things in the right tone of voice without any real feelings of kindness at all. That is why the Bible urges us to do more than seek a change in behavior, but a change that goes right down to the core of our being. Change must always come from the inside out, otherwise it will not be real change. Take once again the germ-free scalpel of the Spirit - the Word of God - and if necessary let it cauterise your tongue. Indeed, let it go deeper - into the "thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12, NKJV). What is our conclusion after meditating these past eight days on the subject of words? Is it not this: the wise are those who understand how their words can impact another person, for good or for bad, and commit themselves to using words only as Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:29 - words that are "helpful for building others up."

Prayer: O God, I ask once more, help me to hold my tongue when I should and to speak when I should. I see so clearly that my tongue can have sourness or sweetness, but it cannot have both at the same time. Give me the wisdom of a right way with words. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For Further Study
1 Cor. 13:4-7; Prov. 15:1; Eph. 4:2
1. What is to motivate our words?
2. Read 1 Corinthians 13, changing the word "love" for "my words."

[Judy Harder]

July 12

Single soul in two bodies
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 22:10-16
"He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend." (v.11)

The next pillar of wisdom to occupy our attention is that of friendship.
The wise are those who know how to make friends. The book of Proverbs emphasizes the whole area of relationships - love and respect for parents, love for one's spouse and so on - but it pays particular attention to the matter of friendship. Why is friendship such an important theme in Proverbs? What exactly is friendship? How do we go about the task of developing good friendships? These are some of the questions we must come to grips with over the next few days. First - what exactly is friendship? Many years ago a Christian magazine offered a prize for the best definition of friendship sent in by its readers. Of the thousands of answers received the one that received first prize was this: "A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out." One way I describe friendship is this: "Friendship is the knitting of one soul with another so that both become stronger and better by virtue of their relationship." Another definition of friendship by an ancient philosopher is "a single soul dwelling in two bodies." The word "friendship" is usually applied to non-sexual relationships between people of the same sex, but of course it can be applied equally to people of opposite sexes. It goes without saying, I think, that romantic relationships like courtship and marriage ought to contain and demonstrate the qualities of friendship, and it is sad when married partners live together without also being the closest of friends. One's life partner ought to be one's best friend.
Prayer:

Father, teach me the art of making friends. Help me see at the very beginning that being a friend is more important than having a friend. Save me from getting the wrong perspective on this. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For Further Study

Eccl. 4:1-10; Psa. 119:63-64
1. What is the value of a friend?
2. What was the psalmist's attitude?

[Judy Harder]

July 13

Synergism
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 17:1-17
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." (v.17)

We continue further with the point we made yesterday that in friendship we find the creation of a new energy that was never there before. The word that is often used to describe this is "synergism." It simply means that the whole is greater than the sum of its two parts. Synergy is seen everywhere in nature. If you put two plants close together, the roots mingle with one another and improve the quality of the soil so that both plants will grow better than they would if they had been separated. When you put two pieces of wood together, they hold much more than the total of the weight held by each separately. One plus one equals three or more. Stephen Covey describes synergism in this way: "' the relationship which the parts have to each other is a part in and of itself. It is not only a part, but the most catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting part." This is why, when understood correctly, friendship is quite frightening because you don't quite know what exactly is going to happen or where it will lead. Christians, of course, who bring their friendships under the authority of God and His Word need not be frightened of anything that comes, for they have - or should have - an internal security which enables them to handle anything and everything. A friendship can be frightening, exciting and at times exhausting. But it can also open up new possibilities, new trails, new adventures, new territories and new continents. We live deprived lives if we live without friends.
Prayer: Father, I see that I am made for relationships, not isolation. Help me understand this principle of synergism and how it can work to the extension of Your Kingdom. This I ask in Jesus' precious and incomparable Name. Amen.

For Further Study
2 Tim. 1:1-16; Rom. 16:1-16; Phil. 1:4-5
1. What did Paul say of Onesiphorus?
2. How did Paul describe his relationship to the Philippians?

[Judy Harder]

July 14

A friend with skin on
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 27:17-27
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." (v.17)

Sometimes I hear Christians say, "Why do I need friends? God is my friend - isn't that enough?" Such a statement demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of the purpose of human relationships. Yes, we need God as our Friend - our close and most intimate Friend - but, as I once heard a little boy put it, "We need friends with skin on also." You won't know who you are until you are in a relationship. Paul Tillich, a well-known theologian, made the same point: "You don't really know yourself until you are put over against someone other than yourself." You see, if no one ever reflects to you how you come across, never challenges your views, never confronts you, never encourages you to talk out your problems, then parts of you remain undiscovered. Others can do that, of course, who are not friends, but it is best done by someone who knows you best. My favorite definition of a friend is: "someone who knows all there is to know about you and loves you just the same." Looking back on my life, I can see how valuable my friends have been to me. Because I have felt safe with them, I have been able to reveal myself and in the revealing I have come to know myself in a way that I could never have done with a mere acquaintance. Yes, we need God as our friend, but we need human friends also. This might be difficult for some to accept, but the more effectively we relate on a horizontal level with our human friends, the more effectively we will relate on a vertical level with our heavenly Friend.

Prayer: Father, I see that my best friend is someone who brings out the best in me. Help me to be a best friend to someone - and bring out the best in that person. In Jesus' Name I ask it. Amen.

For Further Study
John 11:1-36; 13:23; James 2:23
1. What did the onlookers say of Jesus' relationship to Lazarus?
2. How is Abraham described?

[Judy Harder]

July 15

Steps to friendship
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 18:1-24
"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." (v.24)

Everyone needs a small circle of friends - even those who are married. I feel deeply sorry for anyone who does not have a friend. If friendship is so important, how do we go about making friends? The first step is - be friendly. The King James Version of our text for today says: "A man that hath friends must show himself friendly." You should not, however, become friendly just in order to gain a friend. This is a wrong motive because you are more interested in gaining a friend than being a friend. Self-centeredness will get you nowhere. Friendliness is the art of going out of yourself and appreciating others more than you appreciate yourself. It is really an attitude. Dale Carnegie in his book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, a secular approach to the subject but full of good sense nevertheless, said, "You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you." The main reason why people have no friends is because they demonstrate an unfriendly attitude. To have a friend - be one. The second step is - allow time for friendships to develop. Force no doors open in friendship but, like Christ in the book of Revelation, stand reverently at the door - and knock. Only if the door is opened from within should you go through. Some relationships you have with people may never develop into close friendships. Don't be upset about that. If you are open and friendly, then God will guide you and show you where deep friendships are to be developed.

Prayer: Father, help me be a friend who does the knocking before I enter instead of knocking down after I have left. And show me not only how to sympathize with my friends' weaknesses, but summon up their strength. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For Further Study
Luke 7:36-50; Matt. 11:19; Luke 19:7
1. How did Jesus show friendliness?
2. How did others view it?

[Judy Harder]

July 16

When not a true friend
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 27:1-9
"Wounds from a friend can be trusted '" (v.6)

We continue looking at the steps we need to take in order to develop friendships. The third step is - be prepared to be hurt. No relationship is free from pain this side of eternity - so don't expect perfection in your friendships. If your goal in life is to stay safe, then don't get involved in developing friendships. Friendships demand that you leave your comfort zone and confront an unknown wilderness. There will be times when your words or actions are misunderstood, but stay with it when this happens. This is what friendship is all about - sticking closer than a brother. It is loving as you yourself are loved. Fourth - love your friend enough to confront him or her about anything you feel is not right. Ask yourself: Am I prepared to lose this friendship in the interest of truth? If not, then you haven't got a true friendship. You are in it for your own reasons, not God's. You are not a true friend. Where you see wrong, confront it, but do it lovingly, gently and firmly. That?s what friends are for - to help us see what we might otherwise be missing. Fifth - allow your friend to have other friends also. Don't suffocate your friend by demanding that he or she maintain just your friendship and no one else's. It is this attitude, more than any one thing, which is responsible for the death of friendships. Give your friend the freedom to move out into other relationships, make new contacts and see new people. You will desecrate a friendship if you try to dominate it.

Prayer: O Father, deliver me from being a suffocator in my relationships. Help me to have such a secure relationship with You that I can risk losing a friend if it is in the interest of that which is right. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For Further Study
John 15:1-17; 11:16; 13:1
1. What did Jesus call His disciples?
2. What was His command to them?

[Judy Harder]

July 17

No one has a double
For reading & meditation - Proverbs 27:10-16
"Do not forsake your friend '" (v.10)

Stay loyal and loving to your friends as far as you possibly can. I say "as far as you possibly can" because they may commit and continue in some sin - such as adultery - and this demands action by the church as described in Matthew 18. Discipline may have to be given and you have to be willing to be part of that by withdrawing from that friendship until repentance is demonstrated. Loyalty and love in this case would mean continuing in prayer for your friend - prayer, by the way, that may take hours, not minutes. The opposite of friendship is - isolation. And how much emotional damage is the result of that? "The world is so empty," said Goethe, "if one thinks only of mountains, rivers, and cities, but to know someone here and there who thinks and feels with us and, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth an inhabited garden." God made us for relationships and it is His will and purpose that we cultivate a circle of friends. Every friend is different. No one has a double in friendship. The more we have, the richer we are. Dr. Lawrence Crabb says, "Every day we ought to move out from our base in the home and say to ourselves: Lord, help me reach out and touch someone deep in their being today, not for the rewards it brings me in terms of good feelings, but for the blessing I can be to them." Jesus lived and acted like this. Perhaps this is why they called Him "the Friend of sinners." He hated sin, but loved the sinner.

Prayer: Father, one thing is clear - the wise are those who know how to make friends. Guide me in my future days so that in every relationship I may be able to apply some of the principles I have learned. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For Further Study
1 John 1:1-7; Acts 2:42; Phil. 1:3
1. What did the early Church devote themselves to?
2. What is the basis of deep fellowship?