Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[Judy Harder]

November 14

1 Peter 3:18
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.

Thoughts on today's verse

Having stood over the open graves of friends, family members, and strangers, I know the appearance and feel of death's finality and our human frailty. But Christ's death is that great reminder that death is a matter of perspective and faith. I believe God raised Jesus from the dead and that he is the first fruits of those of us who believe in him. He is alive, not just in Spirit, but in bodily form and so we will also be!

Prayer:

Almighty God, thank you for the gifts of your grace, Spirit, forgiveness and life. Most of all, thanks for the gift of you Son, who brought life and immortality to me through your salvation. While I have no great desire to die, I know I can look through death to you and your victory in me through Jesus. Please give me the courage to live for you every day until that day you take me home. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

November 15

Psalms 119:143
Trouble and distress have come upon me, but your commands are my delight.

Thoughts on today's verse

This verse is hard for me, because I know I am so blessed. Trouble and distress do not seem to be a part of my vocabulary right now. But I know in many places in the world, this statement is true of Christians who are under attack and live under the threat of persecution and death. But their love for God and their commitment to obedience is greater than Satan's threats because God's will is their delight.

Prayer:

Majestic and holy God, I ask you to bless and liberate your church that is under persecution. But Father, I ask that if deliverance is not what is coming, I pray for my brothers and sisters and myself, that we may be found faithful in death before surrendering to compromise. Please strengthen our faith: we believe but help our unbelief. Empower us through your Spirit to be obedient: forgive us when we fall. Most of all, deliver us without fault into your glorious presence. In Jesus we find our salvation and assurance. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

November 16

Psalms 119:18
Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.

Thoughts on today's verse

From our perspective of grace, having been liberated from law-keeping as a means of justification and righteousness, this is a very fitting prayer. We can look around our world and see the anarchy and brutality when there is no principle of law undergirding the soul of a society. God's law provided so many wonderful blessings, and can still bless us today if we will let it. But the greatest blessing of the O.T. Law is Jesus, in whom all of God's promises find their fulfillment.

Prayer:

Holy Father, thank you for your righteousness. Knowing that you will dispense justice and settle all injustice when you judge the earth gives me comfort because I know that through Jesus, you see me as righteous. My prayer today is that I can live in a way that brings honor to you and reflects the character of your Son when he walked this earth. Through him I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

November 17

Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Thoughts on today's verse

God's promises, God's Scripture, help us find our way in a pluralistic world of competing voices and lights our path in these times so given to cynicism and despair. What great grace we have to know God's will in our own words!

Prayer:

Loving Father, thank you for giving me your truth in Scripture. To know that you love me enough to communicate in language I can read is truly awe inspiring to me. Make my heart hunger for your truth revealed in your Word. I want to grow to be a righteous and gracious child in your family. With love through my older brother I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

November 19

Psalms 1:1-2
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Thoughts on today's verse

I get to choose which sources of information I feed my mind. But this privilege and freedom is also a responsibility. God longs to bless me, but that blessing remains dormant until my heart delights in knowing and doing his will.

Prayer:

Wondrous Creator, just as you fashioned such a beautiful world and put me together in my mother's womb, I also ask that you create in me a desire to know your truth and an insight into how to live that truth. I know your Holy Spirit is in me to help me in this journey, but I want so much to please you and bless you because of all the ways you have blessed me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

November 20

Psalms 95:1-2
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

Thoughts on today's verse

Joy knows no better explanation than laughter and song. We sing to the Lord because we are joyful! Our music is not inhibited or held back, but exuberant and as full of sound as it is of heart. Thanksgiving brings us into the Father's presence and it is our joy at being saved that leads us to sing.

Prayer:

O most wonderful and glorious God, thank you so much for saving me from sin, death, law, and futility. Thank you for saving me and giving me the assurance, through your Holy Spirit, that I can come before you with exuberant and overflowing joy. Your love and grace have not only given me hope but have made me your child. Hear my heart and be blessed by my songs of praise. Through Jesus I pray and because of Jesus I will shout your praise forever and ever. Amen.!

[Judy Harder]

November 21

1 Corinthians 1:4-5
I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way - in all your speaking and in all your knowledge.

Thoughts on today's verse

The apostle Paul was amazing. He is writing one of the most problematic churches and yet finds reasons to give thanks for them. First, he is thankful for them because Jesus died for them. When God extends his grace to others, how can we not do the same? Second, he recognizes the areas of their abuse are also a reason to give thanks - they may have distorted it, but when reined in to honor God, these gifts could bless their church. Even though he has tough words to follow, Paul's example reminds us that a child of God is something to be cherished, even if they have problems.

Prayer:

Gracious Father, give me the heart to see reasons to be thankful for all of your children. I confess that it is often so easy for me to view others based on how they view! me, share my theological opinions, or how much trouble they cause me. Forgive me, for I know if you had done the same with me, I would have never been one of your children. Please help me rejoice in your children. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

November 22

Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Thoughts on today's verse

Peace - that illusive state of grace that incorporates all of life's well-being. Because of Jesus, we have true shalom - wellness in body, soul, and spirit. His relationships with others, his victory over sin, death and the grave insures that we can have peace, too! So as we receive the Spirit of Christ into our hearts, we can live with our brothers and sisters, no matter how flawed, in a state of peace. Besides, as Paul changes metaphors on us, we are the Body of Christ and of course a body does not want to be at war with itself. So live in peace with others, and do so with thanksgiving.

Prayer:

Blessed Father of all believers, please give me a heart to love your people. I know as the character of Jesus permeates my life, I will appreciate the preciousness of each of your children more and will come to see those difficult family members as the grit out of which you will fashion my pearl. I pray you give me grace till my heart matches my commitment to love all of your children. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

November 23

Psalms 100:4-5
Enter [the Lord's] gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Thoughts on today's verse

Worship is always about entering - entering into grace, entering with thanksgiving, entering to share with others, but most of all entering into the Lord's presence in a special way. But our entering is not the basis of worship. Instead, worship is about the Lord's faithfulness, goodness, and enduring grace. We come to God like so many before us, who are waiting with God for us. We come to praise him for all he has been, all he is, and all he will be. We come to enter and worship.

Prayer:

Faithful God, the Almighty Rock of Israel, the God on whom the generations trusted, you alone, LORD, are God. I praise you for your enduring grace and mercy. I praise you because I want my heart tuned to your will. I praise you, because I want to prepare for my longest lifetime, the one in your presence. I praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

November 25

Colossians 3:17
Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Thoughts on today's verse

Everything! All! No matter what we say, no matter what we do, it is to be offered as a gift of thanks to God with Jesus' name, power, and honor attached! This makes all of life our worship and thanksgiving to God. There's no such thing as going to worship; if we live, if we talk, if we act it's worship. So how has your worship been lately?

Prayer:

Almighty and Most Holy God, I want all of my life to be lived out to your glory, a living testament of thanks to you for the grace you have given me in Jesus. While I do not always do this as well as I would like, I lovingly offer you my words, my actions, my heart and my mind to bring you glory by doing your will. Please, use your Spirit to remove the areas of self-deception from my life so that weakness and hypocrisy will not rob my discipleship of its intended worship of your majesty. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.