Daily Courage

[Judy Harder]

Lord, teach us to pray. (Luke 11:1)

Gerhard Hamm

I am so grateful to my parents for having taught us to pray. And above all, for having been praying people themselves.

We saw the value and the power of prayer in our parents. Father was shot and killed for it and mother deported to Siberia, where she died. We, their children, have never considered this a tragic loss, but a spiritual victory.

Their prayers were taken up to heaven by angels and put into golden censers (Revelation 8:3, 4). And their prayers were heard. They had twenty children, ten of whom are dead now, and many of them died in Siberia. We, the remaining ten children, suffered much in Siberia, but God has been good and merciful to us. All ten have become servants of the Lord. In times of severe persecution, we saw how our parents found strength in the Lord, through prayer and faith. We want to follow in their footsteps and go on. Do our children see the power of prayer in us?

"Lord, teach us to pray."

[Judy Harder]

Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. (Psalm 126:5)

Gerhard Hamm

Crying is a natural human quality. You can cry out of grief, but also because of joy. You can cry out of anger, but also out of pity.

During a meeting in Siberia at which 11,000 people had gathered, I met a woman who was very depressed. She was crying about her own life as well as her daughter's, who she was very worried about. "Oh, help me please; I am so worried about my child. She is an alcoholic and drinks all day. Her husband has beaten her up many times. Her life is hell on earth, is there still hope for her?"

I told her that God is able to make all things new. He can set people free from sin, from alcohol and bad habits, so that we become a new creation. I found out that the woman had not yet decided to give her life to Christ. So I asked, "How can you expect God to do something for your child when you don't follow Him yourself?"

The next day, she came to the open air meeting again. She was beaming with joy through her tears. She cried, "I have given my life to the Lord. His peace is in my heart now and I believe that He can forgive and cure my child too. I will pray for it every day."

What a change! And the change will have its effect on her child. From tears to joy. "Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy." For God hears!

Writer for the month - Gerhard Hamm from Russia spent many years in prisons and labor camps in Northern Siberia.

[Judy Harder]

This psalm was probably written by David when Absalom was plotting to dethrone him. It seems that David was aware of this plan. What can he do to stop it? He turns to the Lord, his God.

David

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing.
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.
In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell....
Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies - make straight your way before me.
Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.
Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you.
But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them that those who love your name may rejoice in you.
For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.
(Psalm 5:1-4, 8-12)

[Judy Harder]

So Abram left, as the Lord had told him. (Genesis 12:4)

Constantin Caraman

The next few meditations are about ordinary people who did extraordinary things.

People who blessed those who persecuted them.

People like Enoch who walked with God in a world of haste.

People like Job who trusted the Lord for better or for worse.

Is this not what God expects from us as well? If He does - He enables.

Abraham seems to have had a mission that was impossible. Emigrating at the age of 75, leaving his country; without even knowing where to go.

Abraham heard and obeyed the Word of the Lord. No objections like, "Lord, are You quite sure? Here in Ur are many more possibilities to serve You. This is the cultural, commercial and political centre of the world." No, Abraham obeyed God unconditionally. And God changed his name: Abram (father of height) became Abraham (father of a multitude).

Abraham did an unusual thing which made him tower above all others (father of height) and as such he became a source of blessing (father of a multitude).

Abraham, God's friend.

What was his secret? Unconditional obedience to the Lord.

Writer for the month - Constantin Caraman from Romania was in prison three times for his faith.

[Judy Harder]

Enoch walked with God. (Genesis 5:24)

Constantin Caraman

Walking with God. Can it be done today?

Was it not much easier for Enoch to walk with God? Did he not live in the "good old days?" No, those old days were not that good. They were times of change and apostasy.

In fact, people lived according to their own standards so much that it was not difficult to notice a man who had different standards, God's standards: he walked with God.

He did so in spite of the slander and temptation of the world around him.

No, it is not at all easy to walk with God. It is much easier to only believe in God in your hearts and live like the rest of the world. But that is not walking with God. That is a compromise which makes any walk with God impossible.

How then do we walk with God? By acknowledging Him in all things, in seeking Him, and living for Him.

"In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6).

How delightful it is to walk with God in those paths.

[Judy Harder]

I have sinned against the Lord. (2 Samuel 12:13)

Constantin Caraman

It takes courage to tell a king the truth, especially when the truth will result in punishment. Punishment for the king (by God) and punishment for yourself (by the king). John the Baptist did it and it cost him his head.

When David made some serious mistakes, God sent the prophet Nathan to point them out to him. It was a difficult task for Nathan. Which one of us would like to be a bearer of bad tidings? But Nathan went to tell the king what the consequences of his sin would be. How did David react? Did he have Nathan killed? No, David did something unusual - he accepted the criticism and admitted the guilt, "I have sinned."

He did not try to defend himself, but humbled himself before God. Is this not characteristic of a man after God's own heart?

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
(Psalm 139:23, 24)

Writer for the month - Constantin Caraman from Romania was in prison three times for his faith.

[Judy Harder]

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.  (Job 1:21)

Constantin Caraman

When I was working as a doctor in the Romanian countryside, I once met an old man. He was walking in the middle of the road, crying. I stopped and asked if there was anything I could do for him. He said, "I had seven sons and all of them have been killed." I looked into the face of this man to whom life had little meaning anymore. Automatically, the question arises, "O Lord, why so much suffering?"

"I can't go on any more and I don't want to either," the man said. In moments like these, it is better to be silent. Then the only thing for a doctor to do is to entrust him to the care of our Great Healer and pray for peace and strength. I was thinking about Job. He would have understood and helped this man much better. But Job was not there. But He, who was tempted in every way, just as we are, He was there - Jesus Christ. He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

Job knew grief like no other. His reaction to suffering was not a fatalistic one. Fatalists say, "It just happens to you and there is nothing you can do about it." But Job sought comfort in the Lord in spite of his inner struggle and his questions. He had the kind of submission that overcame the ordeal.

My life is in God's hand. It is safe there, whatever happens.

Writer for the month - Constantin Caraman from Romania was in prison three times for his faith.

[Judy Harder]

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (Matthew 5:44)

Constantin Caraman

This is no easy assignment. We are inclined to dislike those who hurt us. The best thing we are able to do is to ignore them. But God requires something totally different. He wants us to bless those who hate us. To pray for those who persecute us. That seems impossible. Remember that blessing someone does not mean that we approve of his actions. In fact, we disapprove of their behavior, but they need God. That's why we need to pray for them, and bless them with the love of the Lord.

In His sermon on the mount (Matthew 5:44-48), Jesus even tells us to love them. We ourselves could never find it in our hearts to love an enemy. It just goes against our nature. Where in the world will we find people who can? You will only find it in people who are no longer of this world, but now belong to the Kingdom of God.

In Christ, who forgave us first, we are able to do the unusual deed of embracing an enemy, of loving those who hate us, of praying for those who persecute us, of blessing those who curse us.

And so, through us, Christ can reach that hard heart, so that it may also discover Christ's forgiveness and have eternal life.

[Judy Harder]

Lord, do not hold this sin against them. (Acts 7:60)

Constantin Caraman

I would like to end the list of ordinary people who did extraordinary things with Stephen. After he had proclaimed the Gospel in Jerusalem, he was in serious trouble. Some of the onlookers attacked him and dragged him out, intending to kill him. "Away with him," they shouted, "we don't want to listen to this any longer."

Stephen knew there could be a reaction like this. After all, the disciples had been picked up and punished several times already. Yet, none of them had been stoned and killed. Stephen would be the first martyr.

When they started throwing stones at him, he could have cried, "Lord, help me, they are going too far. Lord, send down a fire from heaven to destroy these people. You don't want me to die, do you?"

While the stones came down and hit him, he knelt down and prayed. What did he pray for? Did he pray for strength to remain faithful? No, he prayed for those who cursed him, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

Until his last breath he had compassion on the sinners, and in doing so, he followed Christ's example.

Are we prepared to do this too?

[Judy Harder]

Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.  (Matthew 20:34)

Irina Ratushinskaya

Our attention is usually focused on the miracle instead of on the attitude of the one who is cured. And those who were cured reacted in different ways. Some of them followed Christ immediately - others did what Christ told them to do.

How about us? Christ has also touched us - physically or spiritually. How did we react? Did we follow Him? Or did we just live on as if nothing had ever happened?

Perhaps we steered the middle course and said, "Lord, I am grateful and I intend to follow You, but I have to settle a few other things first. Furnish the house, paper the rooms, finish that new project," and so on and so on.

The longer man makes plans to do something, the less chance there is that he will ever carry them out.

Significantly, the Gospel according to Luke mentions the fact that out of ten people who were cured of leprosy by Christ, only one returned to thank Him. And Jesus" question was, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?" (Luke 17:17)

May the Lord never need to ask that question of you and me.

Writer for the month - Irina Ratushinskaya from Russia was imprisoned for seven years in a labor camp. She has written about her experiences in a moving book entitled Grey is the Colour of Hope published by Sceptre Books, 1989.