Dear Ones,
Hope you have a Spirit-filled day! I am going to have a quiet day, much like yesterday as I have a head cold and have used up a couple boxes of kleenex. We had to postpone company coming today as I don’t want to share my cold with them or Al.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
What does it mean to be holy? We can ask ourselves if we would want to be described as a holy person, one who is devoted to the Lord. Early one morning the words of a chorus I learned many years ago came to mind and I always want to pay attention whenever that happens. One of the verses to the song goes, “Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit, Come and fill our hearts anew Holy Spirit and we lift our voice before You as a token of our love. Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit.” I had been reading another book by
Franciscan Albert Haase, This Sacred Moment, and he writes about having a heart of holiness.  When we live life according to the Spirit and devote ourselves to serving the Lord it becomes a holy life.

Our biggest problem is that we have to move from a self-serving narcissistic life and die to self and choose to serve the Lord. That is death to our flesh and ego but if we can get beyond that we will find a blessed life of holiness that is lived by the Spirit. We have only to open our eyes to those who are such an example like Mother Teresa who served the poor and dying or missionaries that have left all to serve the lost. We might think of the apostle Paul who gave up being a rule keeper, a peer pleasing man and became a slave of Christ. In Gal. 5:16 &18 he says, “My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. … Why don’t you choose to be led by the spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?”

Hass wrote that Holiness is all about selfless openness and response to God’s call as we give up preoccupation with ourselves, not looking at our own interests but the interests of others. That means we will have an openness to see the needs around us and to hear what the Lord is asking of us. It is not wondering what is in it for us but how we can give of ourselves and serve.

Let us be self-emptying that there may be room for the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts anew.

Challenge of today: Experience joy by responding to God’s call to holiness.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy