holiness, day 1

Come to Stillness:
Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God.

Opening Prayer:
Gracious and loving God, you know the deep inner patterns of my life that keep me from being totally yours.  You know the misformed structures of my being that hold me in bondage to something less than your high purpose for my life.  You also know my reluctance to let you have your way with me in these areas.  Hear the deeper cry of my heart for wholeness and by your grace enable me to open to your transforming presence in this time.  Lord, have mercy. (Invitation to a Journey by Robert Mulholland Jr.)

Psalm for the Week: Psalm 99

Scripture for the Day: Isaiah 6:1-8

Reading for Reflection:

For the Christian, therefore, holiness is the fruit of our association with Jesus.  It seems to set us apart, not in the sense of being other-worldly, but rather in the sense of being grasped by the Kingdom vision that formed the center of Jesus’ life and message.  The call to holiness is a call to live in this world, but not of it—meaning that as we open ourselves to the relationship Jesus offers, we are more and more able to live from a perspective and a vision that transcends what we normally experience. (Invitation to Holiness by James Fenhagen)

Reflection and Listening: silent and written

Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself

Song for the Week: Holy, Holy, Holy

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which wert and art and evermore shalt be.

Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see,
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All Thy works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in Three Persons, blessed Trinity!

Closing Prayer:
Thank you Lord, that you see me as holy because of the gift of your Son.  Help me to celebrate the holiness you have given me by being wholly yours this day.  Amen. (JLB)