Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[Judy Harder]

December 6

John 10:14-15
[Jesus said,] "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep."

Thoughts on today's verse

The goal of our walk with Jesus is to come to know him as our shepherd just as intimately as he knows the Father. A key thing for us to remember: In a world where so many people want to attract our attention and are willing to give us advice, we can refuse their voice. We listen to Jesus because he has shown his love for us by laying down his life for us. He is not a hireling, he is the Good Shepherd.

Prayer:

Holy Father, you are wonderful and generous beyond description. You have shown your love by sending your Son to be my Shepherd. Help me hear his voice through your Word. Help me hear his voice through the wise counsel of spiritual friends. Help me hear his voice through the words sung by my brothers and sisters when we are assembled. Help me hear his voice in the Holy Spirit's work on my conscience. Father, I want to follow your Son as my Shepherd and Lord because I know he, like you, is good! Through my Shepherd and Lord I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 7

John 11:25
[Jesus said,] "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

Thoughts on today's verse

This is the most important question you will ever answer. Do you really believe this? Do you believe that when you died with Christ in baptism through faith, that you died the most significant death and that your physical death will not separate you from Jesus? All of life, even all of eternity for you, hangs on this one question.

Prayer:

Almighty and Everlasting Father, I believe that because you have adopted me into your family, death will never claim me. Help me live with new vigor and confidence knowing that Satan cannot have me and death cannot claim me because I am yours through Jesus. In my precious Redeemer I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 8

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Thoughts on today's verse

I don't want to be any more exclusive than Jesus. But I do want to hear his voice. He calls me to find the way to the Father through him. I must also know that others must know him to find their way to the Father, too. How can we not be more passionate about those around us who do not really know Jesus as their Savior, Redeemer, Brother, and Lord? How can the first four books of our New Testament lie unread?

Prayer:

Holy God and Righteous Father, give me a passion for Jesus and a heart that knows him in word, deed, and concern. Through him I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

December 9

John 15:5-8
[Jesus said,] "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. This is to my Father's' glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."

Thoughts on today's verse

We take on Jesus' character (bear fruit) by remaining intimately connected to him. The distance between heaven and earth is not so great when heaven lives within us. In John 14, Jesus reminded us that if we will obey him, he will come and live in us and will reveal himself to us. So as we obey him, we know him better. His life becomes real in us.

Prayer:

Precious Lord, I want to obey your word, your will, and your example. I want to obey you to honor you, to love you, and to know you. So please, help me come to know you better as I walk more closely in your steps. Help me to know what it means to live your life in my world. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 10

Deuteronomy 18:15
The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like [Moses] from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.

Thoughts on today's verse

Jesus is that prophet like Moses. He has come and taught us God's truth. He has taught us with his words recorded in the Gospels. He has taught us with his example, through the deeds he has done. He is teaching us through his abiding presence in us and through the Spirit he has given us. But he teaches us most effectively when we put into practice what he has said.

Prayer:

El Shaddai, who thundered from Mount Sinai and gave your Law to your servant Moses, I believe you are still speaking today through Jesus. Help me not only hear his voice, but listen to his message and life and put it into practice today. Gently correct and lead me in the way of obedience so that I may more perfectly glorify you with the worship of my daily life. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

December 11

Isaiah 7:14
The Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

Thoughts on today's verse

God is interested in us personally. So much so that he personally gives us this sign. Because of Matthew's explanation of the meaning of the name Immanuel, we know what that sign was - Jesus coming to live as God with us. His presence is God's presence. His life is God's sign. The miracle of his conception is God's mystery and also his statement of grace for us.

Prayer:

Holy and Almighty Lord who refuses to be detached and far away: I thank you for coming to live among us in Jesus. I thank you and praise you for your sacrifice and pain. I know this sign cost you greatly so please let my praise in prayer, song, thought and life reflect my thanks to you in Jesus. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 12

Galatians 4:4-5
When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.

Thoughts on today's verse

God waited untill history reached his appointed time and sent Jesus. Just the right time -- Roman rule, Jewish subordination, good roads, freedom, a degree of safety, a common trading language, cruel and barbaric punishment accompanied by religious infighting. In times such as these, he sent his Son to be a woman's son. He emptied his home so he could send a redeemer to our home. He did it so we could be his children -- not pretend children, but real children, with full rights. So he could not only be God, but so he could be Abba.

Prayer:

Abba Father, even your name is precious to me. I gasp at how much it cost you to let me call you Abba. I don't understand such extravagant love, but I thank you for it. I know I don't deserve to call you Abba, but it sounds so right. Something inside resonates at the sound of Abba -- Holy, Righteous, Almighty, Abba! While I know that I will never be a perfect child, I rest today in the confidence that I am your child and that you claim me. Thank you in Jesus. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 13

Matthew 2:4-6
When King Herod had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written: 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Thoughts on today's verse

"The first will be last and the last will be first." That's one of Jesus' favorite sayings. Isn't it interesting that God said it long before he was born. Isn't it interesting that those who knew the Scriptures, but didn't know Jesus, said it too! Isn't it interesting that Herod and Jesus lived it thirty years before Jesus would teach it? Isn't it interesting that Jesus gave us the Lord's Supper to remember that while Jesus died and shed his blood, on the first day of the week, Sunday, he rose. When it matters most, Jesus and his people will finish first!

Prayer:

You, O Lord, are marvelous. You are God Almighty, the holy and majestic Creator. Yet you became the least so I can share in your glory. Please help me, O God, never to look down on someone else because they look like the least. I know, Father, that as I serve and love them, I'm serving and loving you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 14

Luke 1:26-28
God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

Thoughts on today's verse

Wow! Such a familiar sentence packed with emotion. An angel comes to Nazareth to visit and speak with a young woman engaged to be married. Before the history-shattering news is announced, she is given one key reminder that will be truer than she could imagine, "The Lord is with you."

Prayer:

My request, O God, I've sung many times: "Be with me Lord, I cannot live without Thee. I cannot bear to take one step alone." Father, I need your abiding presence to face the challenges of life. As you have upheld your children through the ages, I am thankful to greet each day knowing that I will not face it alone. In Jesus' name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

December 15

Luke 1:30-33
The angel said to [Mary], "Do not be afraid, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever."

Thoughts on today's verse

Jesus is identified by many names stated or implied in the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Notice how Jesus is identified in just this one passage: child, son, Jesus, great, Son of the Most High, King, son of David, and leader of Israel (Jacob). Jesus exhausts all descriptions, and yet chose to be limited to imperfect descriptions by becoming human. But this flood of names and descriptions helps us find Jesus a Savior in every trial and blessing of life. Jesus is Savior for all seasons.

Prayer:

Holy and Almighty Father, I thank you for all the ways Jesus is described and all the names he is given. They help me see the breadth of his nature and the depth of his character. Please bless me so I may always find a dimension of Jesus' ministry or a name or description of Jesus to help sustain me, when I walk through the shadows of doubt caused by the evil one. Help me, O Father, to see Jesus and not my preoccupations and biases so that when he comes again, I will know him, and he me. Through the glorious name of the Savior I pray. Amen.