Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[Judy Harder]

April 10

Romans 5:6-8
At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Thoughts on today's verse

Jesus died for us,but not because he had some high hopes for who we are or what we would be. No, he died for us because he knew exactly who we are and what we would be without him. But praise be to God, we are now God's righteousness because he took our sin and gave us God's grace (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
Prayer:

Holy God, thank you for Jesus, my Savior. No words are adequate to express my love and devotion to you for such an incredible gift! Through him I give and live my thanks to you. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 11


1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness, by his wounds you have been healed.

Thoughts on today's verse

He bore our sins. He didn't just carry them, he suffered the penalty we deserved. His anguish was our healing, his suffering our righteousness. How can we ever think of going back to sin after he suffered so much to bear their penalty?
Prayer:

Holy God, how you could stand to see your precious Son under the weight of my sin, all sin, I will never understand. Thank you for such a great love and for being so great a God. There is none who can be compared to you, O God. Your greatness is beyond imagining and your love beyond my dreams. I will live this day to your glory through him who bore my sin so I could be your child. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 12

Luke 9:23-24
Jesus said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.

Thoughts on today's verse

"I've just got to find myself." Won't ever happen. We do not "find ourselves, our life" by pursuing it. We find it by losing it to something or someone greater than ourselves. We find our life by losing it to Jesus and the work of his Kingdom.
Prayer:

Master and Maker of all that lives and breathes, take my life and every breath and use it for your glory. May my words and actions this day be pleasing to you. Through Jesus I offer you this prayer and praise. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 13

Romans 3:23-24
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Thoughts on today's verse

"I blew it!" Come to think of it, we've all blown it! We don't measure up. We're not divine. We might be decent, but decent won't do. Only the divine, the truly righteous, make it past the grave in glory. Thank God that grace is freely given and the price for our sin was paid by Jesus. While I "blew it" he renewed it!
Prayer:

Kind and Loving Father, thank you for being so generous with your grace. May I be as passionate for your righteousness as you were in redeeming me from my sin. Through Jesus I ask this. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 14


1 Corinthians 15:1-4
I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you... that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according Scriptures.

Thoughts on today's verse

The Gospel story is pretty simple to understand. The grace of the Gospel is glorious to receive. The sacrifice of the Gospel is incomprehensible. The victory of the Gospel is life.
Prayer:

Almighty Lord, thank you for the empty tomb and Jesus' victory over the grave. Just as Jesus' death pardoned my sin, his resurrection assures my future. Thank you for grace and glory. May my life today be lived by the power of the resurrection. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 15


Romans 13:6-7
This is why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him. If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Thoughts on today's verse

Owe! Tax day. Not my favorite, how about yours? But where would we be without government, order and laws? While we may not like how the system functions today, what if we had no system? Let's be redemptive in our living and obedient in our citizenship.
Prayer:

Holy God, I thank you that I am free in you and belong to no man or power. Yet because I want your name to be respected, I pledge to obey the laws of this land as long as they do not run directly in contradiction to your will. At the same time, I fervently pray that you heal our land. Through Jesus I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 16

Romans 13:8
Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.

Thoughts on today's verse

He paid a debt and I owe one. Thank God I don't owe the debt for my sin, but I owe others the same love, respect and grace with which God has treated me!
Prayer:

Holy God who owns all things, I thank you for not just owning me, but for having bought me out of slavery, sin, and death. Please kindle love in my heart through the Holy Spirit so I will love others as you do. In Jesus' name. Amen.'

[Judy Harder]

April 17


1 Corinthians 1:18
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Thoughts on today's verse

Power! We love power. We love the sound and fury of power. We love the ability to change things that power brings. But the greatest power ever unleashed on this earth was the power displayed when the Almighty God held back his power while his Son was persecuted and murdered so we could be saved. Now that's an awesome display of power.
Prayer:

Holy and Majestic God on high, I praise you for your incredible might and power. But I also thank you for your love, which guides the release of that power. Thank you for knowing that I am but dust without your sustaining Spirit. Thank you for saving me by withholding your mighty power so I could be pardoned by your sacrificial power. Through Jesus' mercy I offer this prayer. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 18


Romans 10:9-10
If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Thoughts on today's verse

Imagine Jesus being proud of you! He said if we confess him before others here on earth, he will speak up for us in heaven. Confessing that Jesus is Lord is simply acknowledging the truth. But for believers, it is more than that, since at the close of time every knee will bow and every tongue confess his name. For us, confessing Jesus is anticipating his triumph in which we will share.
Prayer:

Mighty God, your Son is my Lord. I love him and praise him for his redeeming sacrifice. I thank him for his conquest of the grave. I marvel at his sacrificial and triumphant grace. Jesus is Lord. I know it sounds sweet in your ears so I say it again, Jesus is my Lord. Thank you for being so great that you would be so sacrificial. Through my Lord and Savior I offer this thanks. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

April 19


1 Corinthians 15:20-22
Christ has indeed been raised, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Thoughts on today's verse

Being eternal is nothing new. Being like Jesus, completely, immortally will be new. But when the moment of glory hung in the balance as Jesus was revived from his death sleep, we too were given the assurance that death no longer claims us. The only death that really matters is our death to sin with Jesus in baptism. If we have shared in that death, we will most certainly share in his resurrection (see Romans 6:1-14).
Prayer:

Almighty, Most Powerful God. Because of your grace and the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, I know I will see you face to face. Help me now, however, to live that resurrected life being more like Jesus today than any day ever before. Through my Risen Lord I pray! . Amen.'