Quiet Walk

[Judy Harder]

August 5

Ecclesiastes 12

The pursuit of temporal things is futile.

INSIGHT

Our society tends to breed materialism. Young couples expect to own a house, two cars, and maybe a boat. We dream of the day when we can afford to take exotic vacations and own a bigger house. Game shows offer spectacular prizes, and lottery tickets are sold by the thousands. But Solomon experienced tremendous wealth and found himself unhappy. He learned that eternal things matter most. God wants His children to invest their brief lives in others—not just in material things.

PRAYER

God has promised that He will provide His children's needs. Let's praise Him:
"Why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? . . . But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (Matthew 6:28-30, 33).

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
"Do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? . . . Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?" (Matthew 6:25, 27).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? . . . If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:7-9, 11).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Contentment with the material possessions you own
-- God's provision for the less fortunate
-- Safety of missionaries in Central America

Offer this closing prayer to God:
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

[Judy Harder]

Saturday, August 06, 2011 


Quiet Walk
     
August 6

Song of Solomon 1

Solomon expresses the beauty of married love.

INSIGHT

Hebrews 13:4 says that the marriage bed is holy and "undefiled." In his commentary on the Song of Solomon, A Song for Lovers, Craig Glickman writes: "No artist could have fashioned two people better suited for one another. He was the king of their great nation; she, his chosen bride. Spring had seen their love blossom like the flowers in the palace gardens. Their love was destined to be a song for the world. And, in fact, so ideal was their love that the song about them was chosen as one of the books of sacred Scripture. It became the only one of the entire collection devoted exclusively to courtship and marriage." The Song of Solomon gives us God's perspective on marriage and love.

PRAYER

Offer the Lord your praise for the unconditional love He gives you as a member of the church, the "bride of Christ":
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 (Psalm 57:1, 9-10).

Now express any additional thoughts of praise, adoration, or thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be confounded because of me, O God of Israel
(Psalm 69:5-6).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord as you agree with and submit yourself to the will of God, your heavenly Father:
You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield (Psalm 5:12).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- A more intimate relationship with your Bridegroom
-- Greater love for fellow Christians
-- Your activities for the day

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in
From this time forth, and even forevermore (Psalm 121:.

 

[Judy Harder]

August 7

Isaiah 6

Isaiah is commissioned to become a prophet to Israel.

INSIGHT

Isaiah sees the Lord in a terrifying vision which makes him acutely aware of his sinfulness and God's holiness. The Lord takes away his sin—seeing the repentance of his heart—and then commissions Isaiah to serve Him as a prophet. This event illustrates how the Lord calls His servants. First, He reveals Himself through His Word. When the hearer receives the Scriptures, he becomes aware of his sin and asks God for forgiveness and salvation. God then sends him into the world to take the message of salvation to others.

PRAYER

God is holy, and we praise Him because He makes us holy, cleansing us spiritually with the blood of Christ:
O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who set Your glory above the heavens! . . .
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him? . . . O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:1, 3-4, 9).

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions;
According to Your mercy remember me,
For Your goodness' sake, O Lord (Psalm 25:7).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel (Ezra 7:10).

I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, "The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him" (Ezra 8:22).


As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- National leaders and current events
-- Greater faithfulness with your time
-- Your activities for the day

Finally, offer this closing prayer:
"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]

August 8

Isaiah 40

The Lord gives strength to those who wait on Him.

INSIGHT

God has given us the Christian family as a picture of the relationship between Him and His children. We are given earthly fathers, that we might more fully understand our heavenly Father. Just as an earthly father takes no delight in disciplining his children, so our heavenly Father takes no delight in disciplining His children. Hear the tenderness in these words: "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" (v. 1). God tenderly loves us and takes no pleasure in our pain, although He desires our spiritual growth as a result.

PRAYER

Since the earthly family pictures the heavenly family, praise the Lord that He is your heavenly Father:
He is the Rock, His work is perfect;
For all His ways are justice,
A God of truth and without injustice;
Righteous and upright is He (Deuteronomy 32:4).

"The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
Let God be exalted,
The Rock of my salvation! (2 Samuel 22:47).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So 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).

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13).

Make your requests known to God, and include:
-- Greater wisdom for living life
-- Needs of your immediate family
-- Those you know who are suffering

Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:
To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen (Jude 24-25).

[Judy Harder]

August 9

Isaiah 53

Our Savior bore the chastisement for our iniquity.

INSIGHT

When Christians suffer, they are tempted to resent God, to wonder: "Why me?!" If God is all good and all powerful, why must His children suffer? The answer to that question is difficult –and not totally satisfying to the finite mind. Jesus maintains His credibility, however, in that He readily suffered for us all—suffering more than He will ever ask of us. Why must God's children suffer? We don't know. What we do know is that God was willing to suffer for us. He asks nothing of us that He was not willing to do for us.

PRAYER

Thank the Lord and praise Him that He is so skillful and patient in teaching us His way:
Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever.
Yours, O Lord, is the greatness,
The power and the glory,
The victory and the majesty;
For all that is in heaven and in earth is Yours;
Yours is the kingdom, O Lord,
And You are exalted as head over all.
Both riches and honor come from You,
And You reign over all.
In Your hand is power and might;
In Your hand it is to make great
And to give strength to all (1 Chronicles 29:10-13).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
"O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens" (Ezra 9:6).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
"The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (2 Chronicles 16:9).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Greater insight into Scripture
-- The hungry around the world
-- Your activities for the day

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen (1 Timothy 6:15-16).

[Judy Harder]

August 10

Isaiah 55

All that salvation costs is what everyone can afford: one's self.

INSIGHT

Coming to the Lord costs a man nothing and, at the same time, costs him everything. The offer is free in that a man need not give anything in exchange for his salvation. "Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price" (v. 1). Yet receiving salvation costs man his life. He no longer has the freedom of self-determination. "Seek the Lord while He may be found . . . Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him" (vv. 6-7). All that it costs is what everyone can give: one's self.

PRAYER

Nothing can exceed the importance of the salvation that the Lord offers us in Christ, and for it, praise Him:
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever. . .
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
(1 Chronicles 16: 34, 36).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
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? (Psalm 6:1-3).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust" (Psalm 91:1-2).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Greater commitment to the Lord
-- The work of specific Christian ministries
-- Whatever else is on your heart

Close with this prayer of praise to the Lord:
"Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom,
Thanksgiving and honor and power and might,
Be to our God forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 7:12).

[Judy Harder]

August 11

Jeremiah 31

God establishes a covenant with the children of Israel to write His Law on their hearts.

INSIGHT

The primary theme of nearly all the Prophetic Books is warning of judgment for sin. The prophets proclaim the Word of God as their basic ministry, but from time to time, the Lord reveals to them a specific message for the children of Israel. If they do not turn from their sin, a specific judgment will follow. It is comforting to see, however, that in nearly all instances the judgment is to be followed by restoration. God's judgment on His children is not for retaliation but to get His children to turn from their sin to Him.

PRAYER

Praise God that He has made Himself knowable to mankind through Christ Jesus:
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. Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God (Romans 15:5-7).

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
"I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.

For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written,

"The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me."

For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope (Romans 15:1-4).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Growth in your knowledge of God
-- Your activities for the day
-- Whatever else is on your heart

Offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
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]

August 12

Lamentations 3

God sends a message of hope and restoration to Israel.

INSIGHT

Through the prophets, God has been warning Judah for many years to turn from idolatry to serve Him only. Finally, her sin has compounded to the point that judgment is no longer avoidable if God is to be true to His Word. But although destruction overtakes Judah, there is hope on the horizon. Jeremiah writes: "Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (vv. 22-23).

PRAYER

God blesses His children beyond measure. Count your blessings as you praise Him:
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, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:3-6).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. . . . All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify (1 Corinthians 10:12, 23).

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The Lord encourages us to come to Him with our concerns and desires. As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- A humble and submissive attitude
-- The work of prison ministries
-- Whatever else is on your heart

Offer this closing prayer to God:
It is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit (1 Peter 3:17-18).

[Judy Harder]

August 13

Ezekiel 37

Ezekiel has a vision of a huge valley filled with dry bones.

INSIGHT

The apostle John writes: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:1, 4). God is life—and not just life for today—but forever. Timothy writes that God alone possesses immortality (1 Timothy 6:16). God is life, and He is the giver of life. He can make dead things live. In Ezekiel's vision, a huge valley is filled with dead men's bones. Then God begins to move. The bones form skeletons upon which form flesh and clothes. Then God breathes into that valley of bodies the breath of life, and the bodies come alive. That is a picture of what God will do with Israel: give her life again. That is what He will do with anyone who believes in Him and asks Him for life. Have you asked God for eternal life?

PRAYER

The Lord gives us His immortality, so we praise Him:
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).

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 your sins.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:11).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Greater love for the lost
-- The work of missions in Africa
-- Whatever else is on your heart

Offer this closing prayer to God:
"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]

August 14

Daniel 1

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, chooses Israelite captives to be trained to serve him.

INSIGHT

Moral courage. It is the resolve to do what is right—even if no one knows. Regardless of the consequences. Even when you are weary. Even when there are extenuating circumstances and when everyone would understand if you "caved in." Daniel is a man of moral courage. The food he is offered probably violates the dietary restrictions in the Law of Moses. Note the words: "Daniel purposed in his heart" (1:. Then God brings Daniel into favor. He gives him skill; He gives him a healthy glow. When faced with moral challenges, we must do our part—be obedient from the heart. And then trust God to do His part.

PRAYER

Because God honors our commitment to moral excellence, praise Him with the words of this psalm:
O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water (Psalm 63:1).

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord:
And Achan answered Joshua and said,
"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).

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
"For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation" (Isaiah 12:2).

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:
-- Greater faithfulness with your talents
-- Your state and local leaders
-- Your activities for the day

Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
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).