Almighty God, to whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
—Book of Common Prayer 1662 (translation)
“So, what’s on your agenda today? What are you up to?”
Has anyone ever confronted you at the beginning of a new day with words like those? It’s quite reasonable for one dear friend to inquire of another what plans he or she has made for the day. Usually, if you're asked such a question, you have a ready response. Right?
“Today, I’m gonna tackle thus and such.” Or, “I have four phone calls to return and a bunch of reports to review.” Or, “Once the kids are off to school, I’ve got several loads of laundry to do, the house to clean, and a bunch of errands to run. And, if I’m lucky, I’ll get to the gym to try to stay ahead on my weight loss program.”
The Psalmist answered this way in Psalm 95:6-8:
6 Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7 for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,
as you did that day at Massah in the desert...
Well, I don’t know about you, but I think I have my marching orders for the day:
- Do not harden my heart
- Seek God's cleansing for my heart by the power of the Holy Spirit
- Focus on perfectly loving God through the power of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ
- Worthily magnify God’s Holy Name
I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a busy day!
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