Every Day Light

[Judy Harder]

May 16

Attacked but not injured
For reading & meditation: Matthew 10:5-20
"I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (v.16)

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only faith that dares to say to its followers: "Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves" (AV). It is as if Jesus is saying: "You will have as much chance of escaping difficulties and opposition as sheep have in the midst of wolves." If you are a Christian, you can expect people to oppose you - even hurt you. Notice what I say: "hurt" you, but not "harm" you. Sometimes God may not protect us from being hurt, but He will protect us from being harmed. One writer puts that same thought in this way: "At times God may suffer His children to be attacked, but providing they are fully abandoned to Him and His purposes, He will never suffer them to be injured." He is using the words "attack" to mean physical or verbal abuse, and "injury" to mean the scarring of the soul. In that sense, no attack from without can injure us; we can only be injured from within by wrong perspectives and wrong choices. Some time ago I quoted a maxim that goes like this: "No man is safe unless he can stand anything that happens to him." A young student wrote to me and said: "Then there aren't many people who are 'safe' - are there?" I point you now to another verse to lay alongside our text for today: "For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd" (Rev. 7:17, RSV). Christ's being on the throne is the pledge that we, too - somehow, some way - shall pass out of the midst of the "wolves" of people and things, to victory over both.
Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Master of every situation - even on a cross where You dispensed forgiveness to Your crucifiers - give me this mastery over circumstances. Help me to see I am not beaten until I am beaten within. Amen.

For further study:
2 Corinthians 4:1-12; Colossians 3:3-4; Revelation 1:18
1. What was Paul's testimony?
2. How did Paul view life?

[Judy Harder]

May 17

Stay in the kitchen
For reading & meditation: 1 Corinthians 10:1-13
"God ' will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but ' will provide the way of escape '" (v.13, NASB)

We turn now to another sphere of life from which many of us might long to be exempted - the area of strong and unrelenting temptation. Most of us, if we are honest, would like to be excused from having to face temptation, but temptation has its uses: it can work in Gods hands to the development of character, and help perfect the image of Christ in our lives. Mark Antony was called "the silver-throated orator of Rome", but he had the fatal flaw of not being able to resist a temptation. That indictment, I'm afraid, applies not just to Mark Antony, or to the ranks of the unconverted, but to many in the Church also. We all face temptation, and unfortunately far too many of us fall beneath its power. The root meaning of the word "temptation" (Greek, peirasmos) is that of testing. The dictionary defines temptation as the act of enticement to do wrong, by promise of pleasure or gain". Charles Swindoll commented: "Temptation motivates you to be bad by promising something good." Isn't that just like the devil? Are you facing a particularly fierce temptation at the moment? Then take heart - you have all the power you need to stand up under the blast. Harry S. Truman, a former President of the United States, is famous for saying: "If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen." But I've not found anyone who was able to stay strong without spending time in the "kitchen". If you can't stand the heat, stay in the kitchen - and in God's strength, learn to handle it."
Prayer:

O Father, show me how to experience continual victory over temptation. And help me, in this area of life also, not to be "a corn of wheat afraid to die" I face the fire in Your strength, knowing that You never allow what You cannot use. Amen.

For further study:
James 1:1-15; Romans 8:31; Hebrews 2:18
1. When are we tempted?
2. On what basis can we face and use temptation?

[Judy Harder]

May 18

The original quitters
For reading & meditation: Psalms 78:1-11
"They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them." (v.11)

We ended yesterday with the advice: "If you can't stand the heat, stay in the kitchen - and in God's strength, learn to handle it." The psalm before us today begins by commanding us to listen: "O my people, hear my teaching." You have only to read a few verses of this psalm to see that the psalmist Asaph is recalling the disobedience which characterised the Jews during their forty years' wandering in the wilderness. Then a strange verse appears: "The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows, turned back on the day of battle" (v.9). These Ephraimites were equipped with all they needed for warfare, but on the day of the battle - that is, the first day of the fray - they "turned back". Although well armed, in the moment of testing they were overcome by fear. Doubtless they paraded well and looked fine as they marched out to battle, but when they came face to face with the enemy, the only weapon they used was a cloud of dust as they retreated en masse - and in a hurry. A preacher I once heard referred to the Ephraimites in this verse as "the original quitters". What an indictment. The Ephraimites live on, you know; they are to be found in the rank and file of many a modern-day congregation. They look fine in church on Sunday mornings with a hymn book and a Bible in their hands, but let the hot rays of temptation beat upon them - and they run. They surrender to temptation because they have never learned how to surrender to God. As I've said before - when we surrender to God, then we need not surrender to anything else.
Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help me clarify to myself whether I am surrendered or not. For I see that if I do not fall at Your feet, then I fall at the feet of things and circumstances. Show me at whose feet I am lying. For Your own Name's sake. Amen.

For further study:
Psalms 78:1-11; Romans 6:13; Ephesians 6:13
1. How did Daniel resist the temptation to compromise?
2. What are the results of resisting temptation?

[Judy Harder]

May 19

"No" to self - "Yes" to God
For reading & meditation: Colossians 3:1-17
"' seeing that you have put off the old nature with its practices and have put on the new nature '" (vv.9-10, RSV)

We continue from where we left off yesterday, saying that the reason why many of today's Christians surrender so easily to temptation is because they have never really learned how to surrender to God. Many (not all) of the people who come for counselling are struggling with the fact that they have never understood how to die to their own purposes and live for God's purposes. Time and time again in counselling, it has been my experience to watch a person slowly recognise that his problem is due, not so much to what is happening to him as his reactions to what is happening to him - and then decide not to do anything about it. I am saddened by the trend to treat biblical principles as optional rather than obligatory. It is amazing to notice the casualness with which so many approach Scripture and say: "I suppose I shouldn't really be living like this; I had better try to change - if I can." When that attitude is present, there is little hope of change. You see, if there is no experienced death, there can be no experienced life. When a person does not see the importance of recognising, albeit painfully, that God's way is the way of obedience, irrespective of whether we feel like it or not, and involves death to wrong patterns of thinking and wrong patterns of behaving, there will be no victory and no change. Putting on the new nature requires first putting off the old nature by asserting, with all the conviction possible, that one is going to go God's way no matter how much the carnal nature argues to the contrary.
Prayer:

O Father, help me shout a thunderous "No" to anything that is contrary to You, and a mighty "Yes" to all You want to do in my life. And when my carnal nature argues back, help me to put it in its place - under my feet. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

For further study:
James 4:1-8; Ephesians 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8-9
1. What 3 steps are given in James 4 for overcoming the Devil?
2. How would you apply these steps in a practical way?

[Judy Harder]

May 20

Be a nonconformist
For reading & meditation: Romans 12:1-13
"Dont let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould '" (v.2, Phillips)

We must spend some more time focusing on the fact that many of today's Christians are like the Ephraimites we spoke of a few days ago - good at parading, but not so good in battle. They cry out for help with their problems, but when confronted with the demands of Scripture, one of which is to die to self, they scurry like rats down the first bolthole they can find. They want a medicine man with a quick cure, not direct advice about how to repent of their egocentricity. I sometimes wonder to myself whether this trend in todays Church is the result of our being brain-washed by an age that tends to make quitting a way of life. Anna Sklar, in her book Runaway Wives, uncovered an incredible statistic of American life when she said that a decade ago, for every woman who walked away from her home and family responsibility, 600 husbands and fathers did so. Today, for each man who does that, two women do. My purpose in making this statement is not to take sides with either group, but simply to point out that, more and more, the modern trend is to choose the way of escape as the method of dealing with problems. Things that were once viewed by society as a stigma are now accepted without the flicker of an eyelid. "Let's just quit" are almost household words. A marriage gets shaky, hits a few rough patches and the solution is: "Let's get a divorce." How much of today's worldly patterns are affecting our thinking, I wonder? And how much are we letting the world squeeze us into its own mould?
Prayer:

Father, make me a nonconformist - not in a denominational sense, but in a dynamic sense. Forgive me if I have allowed the world to squeeze me into its own mould. Change my way of thinking to Your way of thinking. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Matthew 6:19-24; 1 Kings 18:21; Ephesians 6:5; James 1:8
1. What does it mean to have singleness of heart?
2. How does Satan seek to divert us?

[Judy Harder]

May 21

The greatest temptation
For reading & meditation: Luke 4:1-13
"Jesus ' was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil." (vv.1-2)

I am often asked the question: What is the greatest temptation a Christian faces? My reply is usually this: the temptation to avoid the way of the cross. It was temptation that constantly faced our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is one that constantly faces us: It is the way the Master went Should not the servant tread it still? There were two outstanding periods in Jesus life when He was greatly tempted to face the sorrow and sin of the world in some way other than the one He took. One such time was the temptation in the desert, and the other was at the coming of the Greeks. As we have already looked at the latter incident - and will briefly examine it once more before we conclude - we shall focus our thinking over the next few days on our Lord's temptation in the desert. Following His baptism in the River Jordan, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted (or tested) by the devil. He got away from humanity in order to prepare Himself for the ordeal of giving Himself to humanity. In a sense, the temptation began as soon as He entered the desert. What temptation? The testing of His purposes to see whether, being the Son of God, He would also be the Son of Man. For to be the Son of Man would mean that He would take upon Himself all that falls on the sons of men. Yet on that issue, He never wavered. The Son of God willingly accepted all that was involved in becoming the Son of Man, so that the sons of men might become the sons of God.
Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Son of God and also Son of Man, how can I ever sufficiently thank You for aligning Yourself with this sinful human race? I cannot understand it, but yet I stand upon it - and stand upon it for all eternity. Amen.

For further study:
Matthew 4:1-11; Genesis 3:1-12; Hebrews 4:15
1. Compare the temptations of Jesus and Adam.
2. Why did Adam fail, and Jesus overcome?

[Judy Harder]

May 22

Feeding on the wrong bread
For reading & meditation: Hebrews 10:1-18
"' I have come to do your will, O God."(v.7)

We continue looking at Christ's temptation in the desert, but from a slightly different perspective. We are seeing how the temptation was designed to keep Him from identifying Himself with the sons of men. We saw yesterday how, He withdrew from men in order that He might give Himself to men. The issue was not so much whether He was the Son of God - He had heard that confirmed quite clearly at His baptism - but whether, being the Son of God, He would also be the Son of Man. Once Jesus feels that His period of fasting is over, He prepares to return to feed His weakened body, but the tempter intervenes and tempts Him to turn the stones of the desert into bread. In doing this, is he really saying to Jesus: "Why go back to men? Stay here and feed Yourself. You are the Son of God, isn't that enough"? We cannot be sure, of course, but seen in this light, it is a possibility. In all spiritual work, there is always the temptation to withdraw, to feed ourselves apart, to rejoice in the fact that we are sons of God and feast upon it. Many Christians down the ages have fallen for this, and have opted for an "escape mentality" in which they attempt to avoid the issue of death via a cross by isolating themselves from it. Mark this and mark it well: a similar temptation will come to you - the temptation to avoid the challenge of going down into the death of your self-life, by focusing on the fact that you are already a son of God, and that there is no need for any further humiliation or pain.
Prayer:

Gracious and loving heavenly Father, help me, as You did Your Son, to resist every temptation that tries to keep me from coming to grips with my own personal Calvary. Abide with me, and then I can abide with anything. Amen.

For further study:
Ephesians 1:1-23; Genesis 3:15; John 16:33; 1 John 3:8
1. How did Jesus destroy the Devil's works?
2. How can we overcome the Devil's works?

[Judy Harder]

May 23

The divine end
For reading & meditation: Philippians 3:1-14
"' that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings '" (v.10, RSV)

If the first temptation contained elements designed to prevent Christ from returning to humanity as the Son of Man, then the second temptation might be seen as an attempt to get Him to take a different attitude to men. Was the devil saying: "If you must go back, then do not take the attitude You took when You began. Don't stand alongside man, but stand on the pinnacle of the Temple. Be worshipped, be honoured and respected. Your place is up there, not down among those wretched multitudes"? A similar temptation will come to you, too. Satan will say: "Stay above all this talk of going down into death; escape the pain by remaining above it. You can descend to help men and women, but then let the angels carry you back to your exalted position." Then came the subtle third temptation, which seemed to suggest this: "If You are determined to be the Son of Man and to be one with men, then adopt humanity's methods - fall down and worship me. If You are going to be like them, be like them in everything, and take a similar attitude to those who obey me." Jesus refused this way too. He would be the Son of Man and let everything that falls on men fall on Him. But there would be this difference - He would reach the divine end only by means of the divine method, and by doing the will of His Father in heaven. At that point, He put His feet upon the way that He knew would lead ultimately to the cross. No temptation would divert Him from that. And no temptation must divert you and me either.
Prayer:

O Father, help me to do with temptation what Jesus did with it - to use it to reinforce my readiness to do Your will. I am so thankful that Your tests are not meant to catch me out, but to spur me on. Help me to meet every test - triumphantly. Amen.

For further study:
Psalms 37:1-40; Luke 12:29
1. What 7 steps of trusting are in Psalm 37?
2. What are the 5 results of trusting?

[Judy Harder]

May 24

A second look
For reading & meditation: John 12:20-36
"Jesus replied, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.' " (v.23)

Having experienced the principle that life is always preceded by death, we return now to focus again on the incident which launched us into this study the coming of the Greeks to Jesus. I firmly believe that this incident has been greatly overlooked by Bible expositors and commentators. We usually take the text, "Sir, we would like to see Jesus" (v.21), and leave it at that. But this is one of the most momentous events in the life of our Lord - an event that is next in importance, in my judgement, to His temptation in the wilderness. In many ways, it was more subtle than the wilderness experience, for the wilderness represents the temptation that comes at the beginning of one's ministry, while the coming of the Greeks represents the temptation that comes as one gets close to the end. It is often as one gets close to one's goal that the temptation to compromise, or to take an easier way becomes more acute. Just as, in the desert, there was a pull to get Jesus to take another way, so here we see a similar situation. As I said at the beginning of our study, we cannot be at all sure that the Greeks arrived with the intention of enticing Christ to come to Athens, but it is significant that their arrival threw Him into a spiritual crisis. Assuming that to be so, the issue before Him was acceptance in Athens or rejection in Jerusalem. A philosopher's chair, or a grisly cross. A similar issue confronts those of us who are His followers. Do we go the way of the cross, or do we go the way of the crowds?
Prayer:

Father, my mind is made up - I want to go Your way. Help me to come out clearly on Your side - for You and against everything that is against You. This I pray in Jesus' Name. Amen.

For further study:
Colossians 1:1-29; Psalms 45:11; Deuteronomy 5:7
1. What was Satan's aim in tempting Jesus?
2. What did Christ accomplish through overcoming him?

[Judy Harder]

May 25

Living by the heartbeat
For reading & meditation: John 5:16-30
"' the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing '" (v.19)

Although we do not know exactly why the Greeks came to Jesus, it is clear that their arrival aroused powerful emotions. He soliloquises: "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit" (John 12:24, RSV). Some commentators think that although there is no record of the Greeks having actually conversed with Christ, they might have sent a message via Andrew and Philip to the effect that He could have a long and fruitful life if He brought His message to their shores. Was this so? We will never know - at least, not this side of eternity. But if it was, this was His answer: life comes through giving life, and fruitfulness through falling into the ground and dying. Jesus did not live by the hourglass, but by the heartbeat. He knew that when we remain alone by ourselves - when we are like the "corn of wheat afraid to die" - we will find life shallow and fruitless. A refusal to pay the ultimate price - the price of giving ourselves - is to find ourselves paying the price of the deadness of life itself. Again we hear Him cry: "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world [as I must do] will keep it for eternal life" (John 12:25). If the Greeks were coming to ask Him to love His life and save it - and thus save others - they were asking Him to bless without bleeding. Jesus knew that could not be done. There is no life without death, no gain without pain, no crown without a cross, and no victory except through surrender.
Prayer:

My Father and my God, soon I will leave this theme and focus on another. If I have not yet settled this issue of where my allegiance lies - with myself or with You - then help me to settle it today. For Your own dear Name's sake. Amen.

For further study:
Luke 15:11-32; Mark 8:36; Matthew 25:27-28
1. What did the prodigal son have to learn?
2. What is the lesson of the man with one talent?