Quiet Walk

[Judy Harder]

April 27
John 18

After His arrest, Jesus is taken before Pilate and the religious leaders.

INSIGHT

As the power of the Creator of the universe was veiled in human flesh in Jesus of Nazareth, men came with torches and weapons to subdue Him.
He asked, "Whom are you seeking?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am He." With the force of those words from Jesus, they "drew back, and fell to the ground" (John 18:6).

It must have rattled their confidence to have to arrest Jesus. How much greater significance it lends to Jesus' words: "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself" (John 10:17-18).

For our sakes, Jesus laid down His life that we might take it up. He became what we are so that we might become what He is. Praise and glory to God!

PRAYER

· Offer to the Lord your praise for His willingness to lay down His life for you:

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who only does wondrous things!
And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen
(Psalm 72:18-19).

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

No temptation has overtaken me except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that I may be able to bear it (based on 1 Corinthians 10:13).

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

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation (Hebrews 9:27-28).

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

· greater sensitivity to sin,
· the ministry of your local church,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, . . . through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:20-21). 

[Judy Harder]

April 28
John 19

After being cruelly mistreated, Jesus is crucified and gives up His spirit.

INSIGHT

The apostle John reveals the most detailed picture of Pilate's judgment of Jesus. At first, Pilate says, "I find no fault in Him at all" (18:38). Then, he scourges Jesus, hoping to placate the Jews. Without success, he makes efforts to release Jesus, but the Jewish leaders will not stand for it. Anxious about his political reputation in Rome, Pilate caves in, washes his hands of the affair, and releases Jesus to the Jewish leaders to be crucified.

We place much of the blame for Jesus' death on Pilate. But if at any point in time Pilate had repented of His deed, Jesus Himself would have welcomed him into the kingdom of God.

PRAYER

· Give your praise to the Lord for sending His only begotten Son to provide the way for your redemption:

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities
(Isaiah 53:10-11).

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

All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all
(Isaiah 53:6).

· Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

All the ends of the world
Shall remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations
Shall worship before You.
For the kingdom is the Lord's,
And He rules over the nations
(Psalm 22:27-28).

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

· deeper gratitude for your salvation,
· the integrity of those who represent Christ in the pulpit,
· your activities for the day.

· 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 29
John 20

After Jesus's resurrection, He appears to His disciples and reassures Thomas of His deity.

INSIGHT

God commands us to believe in Him, but He doesn't require us to believe in Him contrary to the evidence.

Thomas needed to be shown that the miracle of Jesus' resurrection was really true. God provided Thomas with the proof he needed. Jesus appeared to Thomas and said, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands. . . . Do not be unbelieving, but believing" (20:27). Jesus saw what Thomas needed and gave him sufficient evidence to believe.

You don't have to be afraid of sincere doubt. That doubt can be changed. Just examine the evidence of Christ's work in the New Testament. Then ask God to help you to believe according to the evidence. Like the father in Mark 9:24, your prayer can be: "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

PRAYER

· Praise the Lord that He has made the truths of His existence, power, and righteousness plain for all people to see:

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the
foundations of the earth?
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in
(Isaiah 40:21-22).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord:

When I know to do good and do not do it, to me it is sin (based on James 4:17).

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

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him
(Psalm 103: 11-13).

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

· greater love for the glory of God's creation,
· the work of missions in Asia,
· your activities for the day,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Sing to the Lord a new song, and His praise from the ends of the earth (Isaiah 42:10). 

[Judy Harder]

April 30
John 21

Jesus appears to His disciples again to reassure them and to build their faith.

INSIGHT

Without a shepherd, the sheep scatter. After Jesus' death, His disciples scatter and the fishermen return to the sea. They simply do not know what to do next.

After an evening of unfruitful fishing, they return to shore to find Jesus there with breakfast ready. We see a picture of Peter and Jesus, eating together in perfect harmony. Bear in mind, this is the man who denied that he ever knew Jesus. This incident adds weight to Jesus' statement that the one can love greater who has been forgiven for the greater sin.

The Lord is mindful of our frame and knows that we are but dust. You must not let sin fester in your heart. Confess it and accept His forgiveness.

PRAYER

· The Lord reigns and He forgives. Praise Him for His blessings on our behalf:

The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty;
The Lord is clothed,
He has girded Himself with strength.
Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved.
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting
(Psalm 93:1-2).

He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen (Deuteronomy 10:21).

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

I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions,
And like a cloud, your sins.
Return to Me, for I have redeemed you
(Isaiah 44:22).

· As you confess your sins, pause and pray this affirmation to the Lord:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).

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

· your spiritual growth,
· the fulfillment of the Great Commission,
· your activities for the day.

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

Blessing and honor and glory and power
Be to Him who sits on the throne,
And to the Lamb, forever and ever!
(Revelation 5:13). 

[Judy Harder]

May 1
Joshua 1

The people pledge their allegiance to Joshua's leadership.

INSIGHT

The genius of God's moral code is that everything He requires of us is for our own good. When we violate His code of life, we suffer harmful consequences.

Joshua's success is dependent upon not deviating from God's Law. God instructs Joshua to meditate on the Law day and night so "that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it" (1:. When Joshua does according "to all that is written in it," then "[1] will make your way prosperous, and then [1] will have good success."

Anything less than obedience to God is not only disappointing to Him-it is self-destructive. There is more than one reason for faithfulness to His Word.

PRAYER

· As you think of the impact of the Word of God on your life, offer the Lord this praise:

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods. . . .
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker
(Psalm 95:1-3, 6).

· Having offered Him your praise, now pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

We look for light, but there is darkness! . . .
Our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them
(Isaiah 59:9, 12).

He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea
(Micah 7:19).

· As you make your requests known to the Lord, come to Him with your concerns and desires:

· your spiritual growth,
· the fulfillment of the Great Commission,
· your activities for the day.

· Finally, offer this 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 upon you,
And give you peace
(Numbers 6:24-26). 

[Judy Harder]

May 2
Joshua 2

Rahab shelters two spies and helps them escape from the city of Jericho.

INSIGHT

God will meet any person, any time, any place. There are few people who seem to be further from the Lord than a harlot. Yet, in the course of her everyday life, Rahab finds herself keeping a divine appointment with two strangers in need and, in the process, meets with God.

The kind of risks Rahab takes will not be taken without a searching heart. In her own way, she takes a step of faith; God meets her. Her reward is not only eternal life, but also the honor of being included in the messianic lineage. Wherever you are in your life, God will meet you there.

PRAYER

· Offer to the Lord this psalm of praise as you remember all He has done for you:

You who love the Lord, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
And gladness for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name
(Psalm 97:10-12).

· As you ponder the wondrous holiness of the Lord, pray this confession to Him as you seek to keep your life free from sin:

"Come now, and let us reason together,"
Says the Lord,
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool"
(Isaiah 1:18).

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

When the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:4-5).

[Judy Harder]

May 6
Joshua 23

Nearing his death, Joshua charges the Israelites to be faithful to the Lord.

INSIGHT

After a brilliant career as Israel's leader, Joshua bids them farewell. He urges them not to allow themselves to be corrupted by the gods or people of the nations around them. Then Joshua encourages them that if they are faithful, "all the good things" of the Lord will come upon them (23:15); if they are not faithful, "the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land" (23:15).

PRAYER

· Offer your praise to the Lord for His faithfulness to all generations of those who obey Him:

I will extol You, my God, O King;
And I will bless Your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless You,
And I will praise Your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
And His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty,
And on Your wondrous works
(Psalm 145:1-5).

· Pause for personal praise and thanksgiving. Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin: David said to the Lord, "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 which the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. I am the bread of life. . . . This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:47-48, 50-51).

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

· greater faith in God's providence,
· ministry leaders,
· whatever else is on your heart.

· Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:

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]

May 7
Joshua 24

Joshua reviews Israel's history, charges them to serve the Lord, then dies at the age of 110.

INSIGHT

Joshua again gathers Israel to hear a review of their history and the good things God has done for them. He states the benefits and consequences of faithfulness and unfaithfulness. "If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (v. 15). Fortunately, the Israelites accept the challenge and agree to serve the Lord.

From time to time, the Lord may challenge us through various and unpredictable ways. When we drift from Him, when we get stale, or cease growing, the Lord will often bring a circumstance into our lives which forces us to choose whom we will serve. At those times, we must learn from the nation of Israel and choose to serve the Lord.

PRAYER

· Because the Lord cares enough about us to challenge us to total commitment, we praise Him:

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.
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
(Psalm 100:1-5).

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

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. Now pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

They said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31).

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

· greater love for other Christians,
· missions in Europe and Asia,
· your activities for the day.

· Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:

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

[Judy Harder]

May 8
Judges 1

The tribes of Israel do an inadequate job of vanquishing the aliens living in the Promised Land.

INSIGHT

The book of Judges is a pathetic chronicle of a weak and willful people. Soon after Joshua's death, the Israelites begin to fall short of the directives he gave them. They fail at the most crucial point and tolerate the presence of immoral idol worshipers among them. The story which follows is one of sexual immorality, murder, idolatry, corruption, and greed. The depths to which the Israelites plunge is truly disgusting- reminding us of the warnings given by Moses and Joshua.

Turning your back on God always has tragic consequences. When we read about the Israelites, their foolishness seems so clear. Yet when we are faced with temptations today, it doesn't seem so clear. We can learn from the past, however. The consequences can be just as grave for us. A wise man walks with the Lord and is saved.

PRAYER

· Because we can be delivered from bondage to sin, offer your praise for the Lord's goodness:

O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions . . .
May my meditation be sweet to Him;
I will be glad in the Lord
(Psalm 104:24, 34).

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

He is despised and rejected by men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. . . .
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all
(Isaiah 53:3, 6).

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

Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11).

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

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

· Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:

The Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
(Psalm 84:11-12). 

[Judy Harder]

May 9
Judges 2

The Israelites begin worshipping Baal, a god of Canaan.

INSIGHT

There is a distinct pattern of events that begins to unfold in Judges. The children of Israel fall into sin and begin worshiping other gods. Sin is followed by servitude. The Lord causes other nations to rise up in judgment and enslave Israel.

Israel cries out to God for deliverance, and the Lord delivers them by raising up a judge to lead them to victory. Then the land has rest until that judge dies and the cycle begins again: sin, servitude, supplication, salvation, and silence. Sin is always followed by bondage. Repentance frees.

PRAYER

· Because God always honors our obedience to Him, we praise Him:

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great:
You are clothed with honor and majesty,
Who cover Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. . . .
May the glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord rejoice in His works.
May sinners be consumed from the earth,
And the wicked be no more. . . .
Bless the Lord, O my soul!
Praise the Lord!
(Psalm 104:1-2, 31, 35).

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

There is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20).

Thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
"In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and confidence shall be your strength"
(Isaiah 30:15).

· Pause to pray this affirmation to the Lord:

Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

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

· greater wisdom for living,
· the needs of your family,
· your activities for the day.

· 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).