Heartlight/Leaves of Light

[Judy Harder]

February 20

Proverbs 17:9
He who covers over an offense promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

Thoughts on today's verse

"It's just a little harmless gossip." The Wise Teacher reminds us that gossip is neither little nor harmless. Its consequences are huge and its damage horrible. Instead, it is much better to be a peacemaker and an offense-mender.

Prayer:

Father of Glory, I confess that I am often more a peace lover than a peacemaker. Give me the character not to repeat gossip, but instead have the wisdom and strength to be an offense-mender. Through the Prince of Peace I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 21

Romans 13:9-10
The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Thoughts on today's verse

Wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to have laws to keep people in line! That's the point behind Paul's message here. Treat our neighbors as we would like to be treated. Love them as we like to be loved. If we do that, then we're not going to do anything that would hurt them, much less violate a command of law!

Prayer:

God, who gave Moses the Law on tablets of stone, please write your character and will on my heart so I might be a living stone, testifying to your righteousness and grace. Help me to think more carefully about how my neighbors feel before I act or react to them today! Through your Son I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Thoughts on today's verse

What is there to fear if God sent his Son to die to redeem us? What is there to fear if we cannot be separated from the love God has for us in Christ Jesus? What is there to fear except ourselves? As we love God and his children, we are reminded by his love for us, which is far better than our meager love for others. Rather than run from him in fear, we bow before him in thanks, knowing that he who hears our prayers is also he who loves us and stops our fears.

Prayer:
Loving Father, thank you that I can revere you without fearing your wrath. Thank you that I can revere your word and yet not be terrified by my inadequacies. May your love in me produce a closer likeness to your holiness, righteousness, justice, and mercy than all the laws, threats, and judges combined. Through Jesus, who ransomed me from sin, I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 23

Ephesians 2:4-5

Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved.

Thoughts on today's verse

I cannot think of anything I'd prefer the Holy God to be rich in than mercy. I know my failures, shortcomings, sins, and transgressions. Without his mercy to pardon, and without his grace to send Jesus to pardon at first, I would be lost and without God. Now, because of his rich mercy, my life is tied to Jesus' future and not the one I earned for myself.

Prayer:

Father of all grace and mercy, thank you. Thank you for being God like you are God. Thank you for extending grace when I have not deserved it. Thank you for giving mercy when I most needed it. Thank you for giving life when I thought my life was doomed and hopeless. May my wealth be found in mercy and grace much more than money and gold. Help me be more like you. Through my older brother, Jesus, I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 24

1 John 4:19
We love because [God] first loved us.

Thoughts on today's verse

It's all very simple. God is love. He is its origin, example, and architect. I love because he loved me first. I know how to love because he has demonstrated it. I can love because he made me to have his likeness. He is the fountain, the motivation, and the pinnacle of love. I love because he does, first, last, and always.

Prayer:

God of comfort, thank you for comforting me with your love. Just as a child learns from parents how to do so many things, I want to learn to love as you do: sacrificially, selflessly, and submissively, so that others may know that they do not have to earn your love, only receive it. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 25

Matthew 22:37-39
Love the Lord you God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

Thoughts on today's verse

Some things are just not very complicated. Living for Jesus can be boiled down to two principles: love God with everything I am and have, and love others and treat them as I would like to be treated. Not too hard to understand. I guess it's living it that is the challenge!

Prayer:

O Living and only True God. Please accept the work of my hands, the words of my mouth, the moments of my rest, and the love of my heart as my worship to you this day. I pray that it is pleasing and refreshing to you. Through your only Son I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 26

1 John 4:9
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Thoughts on today's verse

Love is a verb. We can't say it enough. Love must not only be spoken, but must also be shown. The beginning of love is God. He showed his love in the most sacrificial of ways so we could know our incredible value to him. The price of our adoption was the emptying of heaven of its greatest treasure, God the Son, who is our Savior.

Prayer:

Loving Father, thank you for adopting me into your family. I can never thank you enough or ever repay you for your kindness, but please receive the service of my life today as thanksgiving for your grace and my small way of trying to share the love you have given me. Through my Brother and my Ransom I pray. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 27

1 John 3:18
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

Thoughts on today's verse

"Talk is cheap!" "You can tell me with your words, but I'll show it with my life." "Put your life where your mouth is." We know the slogans, now let's live love in truth. In a world where barter has replaced sacrificial and steadfast love, let's go against the grain and do the truth!

Prayer:

Sacrificial Father, I confess to you that at times I am selfish. Other times my intentions are good, but my follow- through and faithfulness are lacking. Use your Spirit to empower and enable me to be what I hope to become, to your glory. May your love be seen in my actions of genuine concern today. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 28

2 Timothy 1:7
God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline.

Thoughts on today's verse

Power! We like that concept. When it is godly power, might does make right, because godly power is accompanied by love and self-discipline. These three together make a person's life effective. Live life to its fullest: not as a closet Christian, afraid of standing true and firm, but one who lives by God's power, shares God's love, and displays God's virtues.

Prayer:

Holy God, you are without comparison in your majesty and might. I have no right to come into your presence, and yet you have invited me here by your love and your grace. You are my Rock, my Fortress, and my Strength. I depend upon your guidance and your mercy to sustain me through my storms and to reclaim me from my stumbles. Holy God, you are without comparison and I worship you. In Jesus name. Amen.

[Judy Harder]

February 29

Psalm 73:25-26
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Thoughts on today's verse

What can truly fulfill and sustain us? Maybe the best way to answer that question is by asking another: What can we keep when our bodies are placed silently in their graves at death? Only our relationship with God and his people last beyond the grave. If he is what lasts, then how can we displace him for anything that doesn't?

Prayer:

Mighty Yahweh, Strength of Israel, Keeper of the Covenant and Fulfillment Maker of every prophecy-you are my hope, my strength and my future. I live this day in wide open amazement that the keeper of the universe knows my name, hears my voice, and cares for me. Thank you for being my past, my present, and my future, the Great I Am. Through my Savior I pray. Amen.'