Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[Judy Harder]

July 3

Proverbs 14:34
Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

Thoughts on today's verse

Wow, what an indictment. When we vote according to our pocketbook more than character and when we excuse the indiscretions, infidelities, and illegalities in the leaders of both political parties, we have reached a very sad state indeed! But before we rant and rave about the sad state of morality in our public officials, let's make sure we're honest in our own daily lives, that we don't say cruel things about others, that we remain faithful to our marriage and our purity vows to God, and let's make sure that we expect of ourselves higher standards than we do of others.

Prayer:

God, you are not only the Almighty, you are holy! Holy, Holy, Holy are you, the LORD God Almighty. May the whole earth be filled with your glory and may that glory be shown in what I do and say. Forgive me for my own sin and hypocrisy. Bless me with purity and holiness as I pledge my life to your glory. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 4

Psalms 33:12
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.

Thoughts on today's verse

What is god of our culture and our nation? Certainly our God is the LORD, Yahweh, King of Israel and Redeemer of the lost. But we can pray for revival to sweep our land and we can repent for not placing him first in our own lives. He has promised to respond if we will humble ourselves and seek him. Let's do that beginning today!

Prayer:

LORD, God of the heavens and Father of all nations, I humble myself before you today, acknowledging my own sin and the sin of my people. I pray that you will revive us by the power of your word and the sanctifying power of your Spirit. Bring renewal to our land. In the name of Jesus and by the power of the Spirit I ask this. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 7

Psalms 18:30
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

Thoughts on today's verse

A shield whose word can be trusted. But we must take refuge in him if his flawless word for us is to be a blessing and his presence a shield.

Prayer:

God of the Fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I trust my soul and future to you. You are my strength and shield and I pray that your name will be exalted in my life. Please protect and guard me and my family and my church from the Evil One and keep us physically safe and whole as we serve you this summer. In Jesus name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 8

Psalms 138:2
I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.

Thoughts on today's verse

For Christians, God's temple is one of two related things: either the Christian's body (1 Cor. 6:19-20) or the group of people who make up his Church (1 Cor. 3:16). Because of the flaws of the people in our churches, many are hypercritical of them. But God's Church is precious to him and should be to us. Anyone who destroys his church through division will be utterly destroyed. God's faithfulness to his people is seen in his preservation of the Church through all the ravages and persecutions of history. But God is still the center of the Church and he alone is to be exalted and the Church is still to be governed by his word and not just their own will.

Prayer:

Holy and matchless God, I praise you for your steadfast love and faithfulness revealed in the preseveration of your Church through all of history. I promise to cherish your Church and do all I can to help it grow and mature to be more like Jesus, but I recognize that you and you alone are to be exalted above all other things and that my church must never be more important than your will revealed in your word. Give me the courage to be true to you even if my church may not be. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 9

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Thoughts on today's verse

Of all the names for God in the Bible, this is my favorite: Him who is able to do immeasurably more. Our God is the same God who parted the Red Sea and fed 5,000 on a green hillside with only a couple of sardine sandwiches. He longs to do more than we ask and imagine, but most of us haven't really given him much of a challenge. Dream big dreams for God. Then hang on!

Prayer:

Almighty and awesome God, do in our day what you did in past days. Give us faith to believe and then amaze us at the smallness of our faith. Give us vision to see your plan and do greater things. We ask this, not for ourselves or our experience, but for your glory and the salvation of our world. In Jesus name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 10

Philippians 1:6
He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Thoughts on today's verse

God made the world in 6 days. Now he sustains it with his powerful word. But in each of us, he is still at work and will continue to work to his glory (see Philippians 2:12-13) until Christ comes to take us home!

Prayer:

Thank you Father, for being at work in my life. I confess that at times you seem distant, but looking back over the crucial moments where things were held in the balance, I can see your fingerprints and your grace leading me to where I am today. Please make your presence more powerfully known in my life as I seek your will and live to your glory. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 11

Jeremiah 32:17
Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.

Thoughts on today's verse

In the immense expanse of our universe, with its billions upon billions of stars, where our own tiny blue planet is only a small speck of sand on an inestimable seashore, God knows us each personally. Such knowledge it too wonderful to be true, and yet it is. God has shown us his love in Jesus to remind us that he not only knows us, but he cares for us.

Prayer:

O Great God of the heavens, thank you for caring for me even though I am such a small part of your great work in the universe. Your love is beyond my comprehension, and yet it thrills me to know that in your grace one day I will see you face-to-face. Through Jesus I praise you. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 14

John 15:10
(Jesus said) "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love."

Thoughts on today's verse

Love is not just a feeling, but it is action. For us as believers, the action that most shows our love for Jesus is for us to be obedient to his words and his example.

Prayer:

Father, thank you for showing your love in Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for showing us how to love our Father by being obedient to his will and word. Today I pledge to conciously try to live in obedience to your will. Please receive my actions, words, and thoughts today as an offering of praise to you. In Jesus name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 15

James 1:21
Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Thoughts on today's verse

Isn't it true! When we find ourselves caught in the clutches of the moral filth of our culture, we find the word of God boring and irrelevant. Yet even in those moments when Satan uses sin to harden our hearts, God's Spirit calls us to change at a level deeper than just the mere understanding of the words of Scripture. Thank God for his Spirit, which can use his word like a surgeons scalpel on our hearts.

Prayer:

Holy God, I pledge to you today to willingly and decisively give up the immoral habits in my life. I recognize that these not only offend your holiness and grace, but also harden me to your will, pull me away from your character, and blunt my witness to others. Please forgive me and then sustain me as I seek to live a life wholly pleasing to you. In Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

July 16

Colossians 2:9-10
In Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.

Thoughts on today's verse

If you had known Jesus' address in Nazareth along about A.D. 20, you could have gone to that house and said, "God lives here!" The doctrine of Jesus as fully God and fully man, fully God and yet having emptied himself of all of his divine privilege, is nearly impossible to fully understand, but is the awesome reality of Grace. God chose to be like us because we could not be like him. So in Jesus, God came to us so we could be given his fullness.

Prayer:

Almighty God, I confess that you are too great for me to comprehend. Yet as marvelous and mighty and majestic as you are, your grace is greater still. Thank you for sending Jesus so I could know you. Thank you for sending Jesus so I could be forgiven. Thank you for sending Jesus so I can go home to you and live forever. Thank you, Jesus, for coming to redeem me and then returning to the Father so I can speak to him through you. Amen.