Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[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 liv! e 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 9

Matthew 6:19-20
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Thoughts on today's verse

Where do you hide your heart? What we most value is where we will find our heart. So it is an important question. You see, we can treasure riches, control, security, relationships, and even church. Jesus comes to remind us that it is only by turning loose of the things that most of us keep as our treasures that we find what is truly treasure.

Prayer:

Majestic Father, I pray that out of the riches of your grace, you may help me find my treasure in you and nothing else. Today, I want to offer you all that I am and have to your glory. Through Jesus my example and Savior I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 10

1 Peter 1:15-16
Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Thoughts on today's verse

"Holy" is one of those words we generally associate with the "stained glass ghetto" -- a word only "church folks" use. That may be true, but it's still a great concept. Every kid knows that you don't eat hot dogs and potato chips on china. Mom's china is reserved for "special company" or "special occasions." Hot dogs are for paper plates and every day, china is for special events. When God is calling us to be holy, he's calling us to be china -- something special just for him, and as Peter emphasizes, just like him.

Prayer:

Holy Lord, God Almighty, I come before you knowing how great the distance is between your holiness and my commonness. I thank you for making me holy through the sacrifice of Jesus and by sending your Holy Spirit to live inside of me. Please receive my life today as a holy offering to you! Through Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

January 11

Psalms 118:5-6
In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and he answered by setting me free. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Thoughts on today's verse

The beginning of the year has been a trying time for people I care about. Maybe it's been that way for you or those you love. My prayer for you, and for them, is that they may know the comfort of God's presence. Whether it's the popular little poem "Footprints" or the familiar "Yea though I walk through the shadow of death, thou art with me," the presence of the Lord is absolutely vital to standing up against our anguish! The Lord does long to be with us, especially at those moments when we feel most alone. He told us that by experiencing it himself at the cross.

Prayer:

I am thankful, O God, that you refused to be God from a safe distance. Because you came and felt what it was like to be abandoned, forsaken, and alone, I know I can trust that I will never be forsaken by you. Please give me a clearer sense of your presence with me in my life today, I pray through Jesus. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 12

Galatians 3:26-29
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Thoughts on today's verse

One. Basic, simple, and easy to understand. When we become Christians through faith and baptism into Christ, we are made one with all other Christians around the world. Race, gender, and social status are gone. All that's left is One, the One, Jesus. Our lives are his and thus are connected to each other. Our destination is the same, heaven. Our family is the church. No barriers. No closed doors. We are one.

Prayer:

Abba Father, thank you for adopting me into your family. May we be one earth now, as we will be when we are all together around your throne in heaven. I pray for unity among all those who call upon your name and share your Spirit so the world may know there is a solu! tion to conflict, strife and division. Through Jesus our Savior, I pray. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

January 13

2 Corinthians 5:19-20
God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Thoughts on today's verse

The price has been paid. The ransom is provided. God's judgment was averted, not because of anything we did to appease him, but by his own sacrifice of Jesus for our sins. If God has gone to such great lengths to reconcile us to himself and adopt us into his family, how can we refuse? We must not! Father God, we offer you our hearts!

Prayer:

O Gracious God, I know my sin has broken your heart and offended your holiness. Words, therefore, cannot communicate my thankfulness to you. You were hurt by my sin and yet provided a sacrifice to redeem me from it and reconcile me to you. I praise you for your grace, thank you for your love, and promise to share your mercy. Through Jesus my sacrifice I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 14

1 John 4:20-21
If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

Thoughts on today's verse

Love! The word can mean anything. Many in the Christian community have tried to define it by a dictionary or lexicon, not realizing the key word for love, agape, is defined by action. Before Christians got a hold of agape, it meant the same thing our word today does: just about anything! But if you read 1 John, you see what love is by what God does. God demonstrates his love. He asks us to do the same for our brothers and sisters. Love must be more than talk, it must be genuinely demonstrated in action!

Prayer:

Precious Father, you have so graciously shared your love with me. I must confess, in my heart I intend to love others as you do, but my intentions often get washed away with "busy-ness" or timidity. Father, through your Spirit, prompt me to show my love to others in actions rather than just thought and talk. Through Jesus, your greatest demonstration of love I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

January 15

John 8:31-32
Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Thoughts on today's verse

There are few things more coveted than freedom. People die for it. People pray for it. People strive for it. True freedom comes from knowing truth. Knowing truth only comes by living in obedience to Jesus. Truth is not something you merely think about or believe. Truth is something you do, you live. Jesus' teaching always ends with the exclamation: Blessed are you who do these things! Only by doing will we ever know the truth that liberates us.

Prayer:

To the only true God be glory, honor, power, and praise. Father, I seek not only your presence in my daily life, but also your pleasure in the choices I make. Please teach me more of your truth as I pledge to live today in obedience to your word and your will. Through Jesus the living Word I pray. Amen.