Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[Judy Harder]

October 10

Proverbs 19:20-21
Listen to advice and accept instruction and in the end you will be wise. Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

Thoughts on today's verse

"Man proposes, heaven disposes." Most of us rush to give advice and make grandiose plans. The wise man reminds us that wisdom comes from submitting to instruction for a significant period of time and then, only at the end of long listening, does it come. If you are like me, you would do much better to let your plans ripen a bit more in the light of the Lord before you launch into them. I am comforted that James, the wisdom writer of the New Testament, reminds us that God will give that wisdom if we seek it and not doubt.

Prayer:

Almighty God, teach me your ways and help me discern your paths for my life. I have so many plans and schemes, but I know if they are not from you, they will not stand. Lead me to your wisdom and I pledge to you that I will not only seek to know it, but also seek to live it. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 11

Psalms 62:8
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Thoughts on today's verse

It is so hard to share the secrets of our hearts with anyone. We want to keep our secret failings, embarrassments, and sins hidden, fearing others would reject us and we would shame ourselves. But hidden sin is only hidden from us, not from our Father. Hidden sin festers in our hearts and drives a wedge between us and the God who would forgive us and empower us to triumph over it if only we would pour out our hearts to him, because he is our refuge.

Prayer:

Loving Father and Holy God, today I want to confess to you several things on my heart. Father, I am afraid for others to know that I have. Holy God, I have sinned and ask your forgiveness for. Eternal Lord, I get anxious about. You alone are my refuge and strength. I trust these confessions with you and ask that you strengthen me by the power of your Holy Spirit not to fall into these same traps again and again. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 12

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Thoughts on today's verse

When things are tough, I find it easy to call on God and lean on his mercy and grace. He's my ripcord Savior. But I must confess, when I'm reveling in his blessings and things are going well, I am so much like the Israelites and forget to acknowledge that all the blessings I have and all the opportunities I have received come because of his grace. In my joy and success, I need to learn to acknowledge him!

Prayer:

Gracious Father, every good thing I have in my life has come because of you. The family I have been blessed with, the protection I have received, the values that I hold, the successes I have enjoyed, the hope I have, the salvation I have received, and the future I anticipate are all mine because of your grace and not my goodness. Thank you! Thank you! Through Jesus I thank you more! Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 13

Jeremiah 29:11
"I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Thoughts on today's verse

When Israel lay devastated in the face of a ruthless enemy that would rob all glory and strip bare the very soul of God's people, God issued his promise. While the destruction visited upon them was in response to their rebellion and sin, God's punishment wasn't punitive alone, but redemptive. In their destruction, God promised prosperity, hope, and a future. Just as a doctor must cause pain when he sets a broken bone so it may heal, God's discipline is not capricious but curative and ultimately life-giving.

Prayer:

In my struggles, O Lord, help me find your grace -- not in the relief of struggle and pain, but in redemption and change to your glory. By your grace and through my Savior I say it. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 14

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is -- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

Thoughts on today's verse

Don't be molded by the world. Wow, isn't that a tough one to obey? It's a reminder that what we think is one of the places of greatest spiritual warfare. Sloppy thinking is more than sloppy, it's dangerous because we are fed messages constantly that distort God's truth and holy values. But rather than being incensed by the world acting like the world, let's be transformed by renewing our minds and doing what Paul said he did -- take every thought, every word, captive for Christ. We often think a tithe is giving ten percent of our money, but an even more vital tithe is giving ten percent of our thought time totally to the things of God!

Prayer:

O Lord, please guard my soul from pride, my heart from callousness, and my mind from too much focus on unimportant things and not enough on your things. Teach me in my heart what it means to be about my Father's business, especially in the world of my thoughts! Through Jesus, my greatest example of time spent with you. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 15

2 Samuel 7:22
How great you are, O Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

Thoughts on today's verse

"I am Yahweh, who saved you out of Egypt. You must never have any other god but me!" The Lord God Almighty said at the beginning of the Ten Commandments. What else is there to say?

Prayer:

Holy, Righteous, and Only Living God, I hold you in the highest place in my heart. Forgive me when I do not hold you in the highest place in my life. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to give up all the little things that distract my allegiance to you and interfere with you being the Supreme and Sovereign God in my day-to-day life. In Jesus name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 16

Psalms 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Thoughts on today's verse

God does so much for us. He is the strength and promise that undergirds our lives. He is the one who has saved us from sin and death. Our worship comes from our gratitude for what he has done and recognition of who he is. But worship can never be compartmentalized and fit into church places or quiet times. Worship involves every aspect of life. That is why it is so important for us to tune the words of our mouths and the motives of our hearts to God's will and work. Then private worship, whether alone in quiet or in a group of Christians, becomes the tuning time for our hearts and lives so that our public worship, our lives lived out in the world, will play the song of God to a world who has not yet really heard it.

Prayer:

O Holy and Almighty God, I want this day to be a day of worship and honor to you. May m! y life praise you: not just in thought, not just in words, but also in action. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

October 17

Psalms 25:14-15
The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.

Thoughts on today's verse

Where does true deliverance come from? Only from God. Salvation is found in God through deep reverential respect for his holiness and might, through living in covenant relationship with him, and through maintaining our focus on him. Any other roads to salvation and deliverance are false and ultimately prove themselves to be a snare.

Prayer:

Precious Father, you have done so much to save me. You who are so holy and righteous have reached down to take my hand. Teach me your ways. Correct the wrongs in my life. Guide me into your truth. I want to not only be saved from my sin, but from days of uselessness and frustration. Make me a vessel that can be used to honor you. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 18

Psalms 27:14
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Thoughts on today's verse

If there is anything we don't like to do, it's wait. Maybe that is why God is so interested in us learning to do it! There is something purifying about remaining strong in tough times and remaining faithful when ill winds blow. So God gives us times of waiting to see if our search is really for him or merely for something new.

Prayer:

Loving Father, I know you have waited for me so many times -- for me to show my faith, repent of my sins, grow in holiness, come to you in prayer, act more mature, give to those who cannot return my care... Help me as I wait for you to show me the way with my decisions, to meet my needs, and reveal your presence in my loneliness. I really do seek you with all my heart. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

October 19

Psalms 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Thoughts on today's verse

Rather than seeing this as a way to get our wish list granted, let's see it for what it really is -- an invitation to seek a love relationship with God above all other things. In finding him, we will find our priorities properly aligned and our hearts tuned to know what is really valuable and what is not. Then we will see that what we have in him is our heart's greatest desire.

Prayer:

Awesome and Gracious Father, I confess to you that so often my heart is full of selfish things. But in moments like these, Father, I recognize that you are what I most need and your will is my heart's desire. Please kindle your Spirit in me so that I may see through any selfish, deception that would rob me of having you first in my life. Forgive me when I'm petty, selfish and shallow. May I know you as much as is possible for a mortal to know you, not so that I may be full, but that you may be honored. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.