Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[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 28

1 Timothy 2:5-6
There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.

Thoughts on today's verse

We do not need another person, no matter how mighty, pious, or special, to intercede for us before God. As his children, we can go freely, knowing that God himself has provided the perfect mediator between us and himself. That mediator alone is head of the church and chief priest before God for us. His name is Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Prayer:

O God, you are my God, and I praise you for making yourself so available. I know that in my power, I have no right to approach you. Yet in your grace you not only provided a ransom for my sin but a mediator for my approach to you. Jesus, I thank you as well, for paying the price and staying at the Father's side to intercede and speak for me! Thank you for making this prayer known to the Father. 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]

March 30

Isaiah 53:3-4 
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and he carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

Thoughts on today's verse

Jesus was everything and became nothing and we didn't notice what he did for us. We just assumed he deserved it, and so we did not repent. But there was something about that sacrificial story that grabbed our hearts and called us home we found in him not only a Savior, but a servant.

Prayer:

God Almighty, your plan to redeem me takes my breath away. How and why you chose to take your precious son and expose him to such public disgrace I will never comprehend. But this I do know: you love me with an everlasting love. I pledge to you that I will serve you with all of my strength in thanks for his great sacrifice. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

March 31

Isaiah 53:5-6
He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Thoughts on today's verse

I don't know how Jesus could stand up under its weight. He had my sin, your sin, our sin, placed upon him so we would not have to bear the consequences of it. But in that sacrifice, as horrible as it was, we find ourselves healed, cured of the most awful disease a sin-sick soul. In its place, he has left us a transforming peace.

Prayer:

God of peace, fill my soul with the wonder of your grace. Let me not forget the cost of your love. Stir in me the constant and abiding memory of your redemptive grace. Thank you. In Jesus' name 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]

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]

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.