Leaves of Life

[Judy Harder]

March 27


Psalm 62:7
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Thoughts on today's verse

Who we are, what becomes of us in life, is in God's hands. We cannot purchase or achieve lasting honor for ourselves without his blessing. We cannot secure the future or our safety without his protection and blessing. The basis of all achievement and glory is dependent upon us placing our lives in his care.
Prayer:

O Rock, Fortress of my life, I place myself in your care. Take charge of my future and use me for your glory. In you I take refuge, and on your strength I rely to make my days worthwhile. In the precious name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

MARCH TWENTY-SEVENTH

Alfred Vigny born 1799.
General A. W. Greely born 1847.
Sir Gilbert Scott died 1878.

It takes great strength to bring your life up square
With your accepted thought and hold it there:
Resisting the inertia that drags it back
From new attempts, to the old habit's track.
It is so easy to drift back, to sink.
So hard to live abreast of what you think.
--Charlotte Perkins Stetson.

If a person had delivered up your body to anyone whom he met in his way, you would certainly be angry. And do you feel no shame in delivering up your own mind to be disconcerted and confounded by anyone who happens to give you ill language.
--Epictetus.

Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision.
--Acts 26. 19.

My Father, my soul sinks with shame when I think of the great moments that I have given over to mean little things. Help me that I may reckon more on the value of time, and live not to tolerate life, but to have a great need for it, that day by day I may have a deeper consciousness of its appropriate use. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

March 29


2 Corinthians 5:21
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Thoughts on today's verse

Righteousness! That's what we are. God's righteousness. We are the testimony of how holy, just, and gracious he truly is, because in Jesus, we are his righteousness!
Prayer:

Thank you, O Almighty God, for making me righteous in the blood of your son's death. May people see in me a reflection of your holiness, justice, and mercy. Through Jesus, who sacrificed for my sins, I pray. Amen

[Judy Harder]

April 1


Psalm 14:1
The fool says in his heart there is no God.

Thoughts on today's verse

We have raised an angry fist to fate, cursed the darkness, and denied there is a God. Each of these is equally ineffective. To rob heaven of God is only to rob ourselves of grace, hope, and a future. How foolish indeed to forget that behind a creation of wonder, order, variety, beauty, ferocity, and pattern is the Creator who is far greater than his handiwork.
Prayer:

O Lord God Almighty, Creator and Sustainer, thank you for being there, but for being with me today. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 2


Matthew 20:17-19
Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"

Thoughts on today's verse

One thing the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) make clear is that Jesus' death on the cross was no accident. Jesus knew the challenge that awaited him in Jerusalem, and he walked into it to deliver us from the same fate.
Prayer:

Holy God and Loving Father, thank you for your plan to cover my sin with your grace by the death of your Son. May I live today aware of his sacrifice and confident of his victory over sin and death so my life may reflect your victory. Through Jesus, my precious Savior, I pray. Amen

[Judy Harder]

April 3


Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Thoughts on today's verse

"He drives where he looks, he drives where he looks!" That statement by a disgruntled elderly wife about her husband really spoke the truth. But then it's true of all of us. We "live like where we look" That's why it's important to fix our eyes on Jesus!
Prayer:

Almighty and holy God, without your grace and the gift of your salvation I could not approach you with confidence. Thank you for sending Jesus! Thank you for his life, his death, his resurrection, his exaltation and his intercession. I pledge this day to keep my eyes on him! Through him I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

HeartLight

April 4


Ephesians 1:7
In Christ we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

Thoughts on today's verse

Forgiveness. What a sweet and precious gift. What we could not fix, make up, or pay for, God did for us in Jesus. With him each day is a fresh start and rebirth of springtime. But my what a cost!
Prayer:

Thank you, Father, for your anguish it cost to forgive my sins by the blood of your Son. I pledge today that I will not take lightly the cost of my sin and will live to your glory in appreciation of your grace. Through him who sacrificed all for my salvation I pray. Amen

[Judy Harder]

  HeartLight
April 5


2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Thoughts on today's verse

"What am I living for?" While that is an important question, the most important question of all is, "Who am I living for?" Only one person I can live for insures that I will never die, because he has already died for me and conquered death!
Prayer:

Victorious Lord, thank you for giving me triumph over death through Jesus my Lord. Thank you for giving me victory over sin through his sacrificial death. Thank you for giving me victory today in my life as I live it for him. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 6


1 John 3:16
This is how we know love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Thoughts on today's verse

What does it mean to lay down our lives for our brothers? Sounds pretty extravagant, but the next verse in 1 John 3 reminds us that most often it's very simple: if we have a brother or sister in Christ with needs, we give up what we have to fill that need!
Prayer:

Lord God Almighty, I am convicted by your sacrifice and ask for eyes to see and grace to act when my brothers and sisters are in need. Through the name of Jesus I ask this. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 7


Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Thoughts on today's verse

When we are baptized into Christ, we share in his crucifixion and we are raised up to be new people. Christ is alive in us. The real challenge is for us to be "Christ alive!" Our motivation? Not to earn salvation, which has already been given us by grace, but to honor him who sacrificed all to save us. (See Romans 6:1-14)
Prayer:

Thank you, God, for loving me and sending Jesus to redeem me from my sin. I promise you today that I will live by faith in your Son who gave himself so I can spend eternity with you. I ask that by your Spirit, you help Jesus' life be seen in me. Through him I pray. Amen.