Devotions based on Albert  Haase’s book This Sacred Moment

This book is all about becoming holy right where we are. It is hard to find the words to really describe what it means to be a holy person but we can think of people who exemplify a holy life;  Dietrich BonHoeffer, Eliszabeh Fry, Mother Teresa and others. The dictionary says holy means, “devoted to the service of God; saints and holy men.”  Jesus command is to love God and our neighbor, and the Sermon on the Mount gives us a lot of ways to put that into action. The beatitudes attack the agenda of our ego which focuses on our self-concern, self-image, self-gratification and self-preservation. We all need to make a choice between the false attractions of the world (earthly treasures) and the eternal ( treasures of heaven).  If we chose heavenly treasures it means putting our concerns in the hands of God and trusting He will meet our needs. We are challenged to be nonjudgmental and to treat others as we want to be treated. We are not to love only in words but in actions. The flesh life ( Gal. 5:16-26) is consumed with the agenda of the ego and may lead to addictions, to seeing others as competitors and rivals, to outrageous demands, to putting exaggerated emotional investment in possessions etc. But the life of the Spirit blossoms with love and the fruit of the Spirit. Life according to the Spirit is a selfless life that forms the heart of holiness.