Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[Judy Harder]

December 30

John 16:33
[Jesus said,] "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Thoughts on today's verse

This world is a place of struggle. Yes, we can live above the struggle for awhile or can find a way to simply ignore or re-label the struggle for a time. But in the end, the struggle will find us. But in the midst of struggle, we can remind ourselves that our victory is secure. Jesus has won! We will share in his great triumph. In case you didn't know, the final outcome is already determined and Christians win big through Jesus.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for giving me the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord. I greet the future with anticipation because I know that each day brings me closer to you and the glorious future you have planned for all of your children. Until then I pray that I may never lose sight of that victory and I yearn for the day of its arrival! Through Jesus, the triumphant Rider on the white horse, I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 31

Isaiah 43:16 and 18-19
This is what the Lord says, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."

Thoughts on today's verse
The year is gone, finished, past. We cannot reclaim it or undo it. We cannot rest on the things it has brought us. If tomorrow dawns, it will be another day, a new opportunity, and the time to show our faith in Jesus as Lord. Let's journey forward, knowing that God already inhabits the future and promises to provide us refreshment.

Prayer:
Lord of all eternity, please help me to learn from my mistakes but not dwell on them. Please help me not rest on my accomplishments in this past year, but use them to further your work in me and through me. Please help me not quarrel with those who injured me yesterday, or last month. Instead, O Father, lead me in your paths and help me see your mighty works this next year. In Jesus name and by his power I ask it. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 1

2 Corinthians 5:17
If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Thoughts on today's verse
We all like "do-overs" or second chances. God does much better than that! He allows us to become new again. Being the "God of new things" he can even make us new. Beyond forgiveness, beyond cleansing, he makes us holy through Jesus. Let's use the opportunity of a New Year as a springboard to living a life fresh and new and alive to God!

Prayer:
O LORD, thank you for a New Year and a fresh start. Please give me wisdom and strength to serve you with integrity and faithfulness in this coming year. I pray that your work be done in my life as I offer myself, my plans, and my future to you. I pray this through Jesus, my intercessor and Lord. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 2

Psalms 90:12
Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Thoughts on today's verse
So often we look up and time has passed us by. The things we promised ourselves we'd accomplish and the deeds we told others we'd do get left undone. Before we know it, days have become weeks, and weeks months, and months years. We find ourselves unable to do what we once assumed we could do any time we want. We must ask the Spirit of God to help us see and seize the opportunities the LORD places in our path.

Prayer:
Father, I confess that so often I leave undone what needs to be done. Please help me see your plans in each of my days and live in a way which not only honors you, but also blesses those you want me to reach. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 3

Titus 2:11-12
The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.

Thoughts on today's verse
In a world that has no absolutes, in a world in search of moral standards, salvation by the costly grace of God beckons us to change our lifestyle in response to God's grace. Anyone who receives grace and refuses to pursue righteousness demonstrates his/her ignorance or hardness of heart. In our day, in our time, to be saved means to pursue righteousness -- not so that we may earn our salvation, but so that God's saving grace will not be fruitless in us.

Prayer:
Holy Father, I confess that I live in a confusing time. Satan is always distorting the distinction between right and wrong, good and evil, moral and immoral. Because you have been so gracious with me, may my life today reflect the righteousness you gave me through Jesus. "May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart, be pleasing in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer." Through Jesus, my atoning sacrifice I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 4

Micah 6:8
[God] has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Thoughts on today's verse

God's desires for us are not hard to discern. He wants to bless us with salvation. The incredible gift of his Son is powerful testimony to this truth. But salvation from sin and death is not something he wants to happen in our lives only once. He wants our lives to daily reflect his salvation and to share it with others. We should act justly and pursue mercy in our relationships, and honor him with our worship from a humble heart.

Prayer:

Almighty and compassionate Father, as I embrace this New Year, help my eyes see what your heart sees. Teach me to hate sin and be merciful to the repentant. Teach me to know truth and act fairly, while hating abuse and exploitation. Through your Spirit, stir me to reflect on the great distance between your holy majesty and my inconsistent character. Make me more your child, I pray, in Jesus name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 5

Isaiah 1:16-17
Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless.

Thoughts on today's verse

Do you find it easy to replace service to those in need with religious rituals? I know I do! But God wants us to not get so caught up in talking about him and celebrating his deeds, that we forget we're supposed to care for others like he does. Whether it is Jesus defining his ministry in Luke 4:18-19 or James talking about the kind of piety that pleases God (1:26-27), we must realize true faith is treating others as God would. Today's verse defines what God does and asks us to live the same.

Prayer:

O Great God of all comfort, open my eyes today to see those who need your love and give me the attentiveness, time, and compassion to serve them. May Jesus' work be seen in my life today. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 6

1 Peter 1:13
Prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Thoughts on today's verse

When Jesus came the first time, he came to reveal God (John 1:18). As wonderful, powerful, and gracious as he was in his earthly ministry, it did not fully reveal Jesus our Lord. Our hope is tied to his return. When he comes this time, he won't come to reveal God, but to reveal himself -- the conquering Lord, the Rider on the white horse. Every knee will bow. And we will see him as he really and fully is, Immanuel in power and grace. With this as our hope, we can be ready for active service to our king as people who live their lives under his leadership and control.

Prayer:

O Almighty God, I long for the day when I get to see Jesus face to face coming with the angels in power. Until that time, fasten my heart in hope to the glory Jesus will share with me on that day, and please empower me to live as one who knows that victory is mine in Jesus. Jesus, through your powerful name I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

January 7

Ephesians 5:1-2
Be imitators of God as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Thoughts on today's verse

Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. If we are to sincerely flatter God by being like him, imitation may be the most costly form of flattery as well. You see, love for God is never something that occurs just in our minds or our hearts. Love is something we do for another -- it is action. John said in 1 John 4 that we must love in both our deeds and our words. Love means to give ourselves up -- what we want, our rights, our desires -- to honor God and serve others. This is a kind of love that can change the world, or a marriage, or a family.

Prayer:

Abba Father, I will never fully understand how you could love me so much that you would allow your son to die for me as my sacrifice. Please help me love others sacrificially. I know the power to do this is not within me, so please pour your love into my heart so that I may share that love with others. Through Jesus, my brother and my sacrifice, I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 8

Amos 5:14-15
Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.

Thoughts on today's verse

A whole bunch of folks claim that God is on their side. In reality, that's not important at all. The real question is whether we are on God's side! That's determined more by what we seek and do rather than what we say and believe. God longs to be with us, but he will not sacrifice his character to extend us cheap grace, a grace that does not call us to be like him. He's looking for believers who put their character where their mouth is.

Prayer:

Most Holy God. Your righteousness and holiness are beyond me and my ability to attain. Yet I long, dear Father, to be more like you in every way humanly possible. Let me know of your presence with me as I seek you and your character in my life. Through Jesus the Righteous One I pray. Amen.