Sue O’Donnell. 06.02.21
“ ‘There stands One among you whom you do not know’.” (John 1 v 27)
Meet with Christ Jesus.
You will find happiness
As you meet with holiness.
Holiness is God’s gift to us
By way of His Son,
The perfectly holy One.
Holiness is given a name,
It bears no shame
For has no blame.
To be holy, truly holy,
Is to live worthily
In the way Jesus is.
“That was the true Light which gives light to every (wo)man coming into the world.” (John 1 v 9)
He is trustworthy and true,
Fully obediently reverent,
Steadfastly prayerful,
Capable of complete selflessness,
Living to be giving love.
His love is far reaching,
Unconditional, graciously given.
His love is forthright, honest,
Straightforwardly working for others.
Jesus wants the best for anybody.
He labours for this for everybody.
He is a Confidant, a Best Friend.
“As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name...” (John 1 v 12)
Wise in Spirit, He counsels us.
Jesus encourages, uplifts, supports.
Oh that our entire world
Were caught up in His love!
Such love as conquers negativity
And the evil of all iniquity.
Such love that is compassionate,
Patient, tolerant and kindly.
Yes, meet with Christ Jesus,
And do not look backwards
To the life you would rather
You were never a part of.
“O LORD, do not rebuke me in Your anger or discipline me in Your rage. Have compassion on me, LORD, for I am weak. Heal me, LORD,...I am sick at heart. How long, O LORD, until You restore me? Return, O LORD, and rescue me. Save me because of Your unfailing love.” (Psalm 6 v 1-4 NLT)
Instead, move forwards.
His victory over sin and death
Makes us of right standing
Before the throne of mercy.
Our Father admits us into His company
To honour the efforts of His Son,
And the full working of the Holy Spirit,
An Advocate, a Paraclete,
Who invites us to meet with
Our true destiny, making us holy.
In this is the fullest happiness.
We must, must, must listen to the Lord Jesus.
“ ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through Me’.” (John 14 v 6)
“ ‘If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me, but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.” (John 10 v 37, 38)
Lord Jesus, all Your followers do believe You are the Christ, the risen, ascended, crucified Son of God, who comes to us by the Holy Spirit that we may lead an informed life.
You are the living and abiding Word of God we can turn to at any time. Thank You for helping us towards experiencing fullness of life in this way.
You describe Yourself as “ ‘The good Shepherd. The good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (John 10 v 11) which is exactly what You did. We extol You for Your †of victory winning forgiveness and righteousness for us.
This is how and where we find the fullness of life You promise us. “ ‘I am the door’,” (v 9) the entry point to a life of faith which delights our Father.
It is in discovering this for ourselves as we learn to listen to You, ask of You, long to belong to You, we realise we have to turn to Your Spirit, He who has the power over holiness.
You gift us the life enriching, faith building, prayer shaping Spirit so we “Will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture’,” (v 9 cont) all we need to enjoy life and thrive.
The Spirit shares Your wisdom with us so we can see that “ ‘The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy’,” (v 10) so we are put on our guard against all that is evil.
But marvellously, You “Have come that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly’,” (v 10) enjoying Your company day by day. In You we find our safety and security.
This is such a comfort, thank You. Life will not run out of control when we put You in charge as Master and Lord, for it cannot. You who live within us is greater by far than satan’s evil influence over the world.
Your all loving, wise, reassuring presence soothes our hearts and minds and delights our soul and spirit. For Yours is the way of life our Father intends us to live. It is the right way, the only way to find holiness.
What pleasure it is to receive from You, dearest Brother, full of love for us, able to offer a real peace to us, a peace the world cannot give because it does not recognise You. But we do!
You are the joy that no one and nothing except our own wilful sinning can take away from us. You are our burden carrier, able to redeem us from all that is evil. Thank You for rescuing us.
You show us the Father’s will is for us to seek, find and live by Your holiness. We exalt You for all You say and do to make this possible. The entire human race is indebted to You, Lord and Saviour.
It is Your sacred heart of love which is truly meritorious. We claim this as our own, as we become Your works in progress. “Blessed be the name of Jesus. Blessed by His most Sacred Heart.” (Divine Praises)
You are our spiritual communion with all the saints in heaven, making one worshipping company here on earth, united with those who have passed to glory. You are the resurrection and the life we seek and long for.
Thank You for satisfying that longing.
May all our efforts striving after holiness be united with Your exemplary life and sacrificial death as perfect love covers all sins as does the shedding of Your blood at the †, recalled in each celebration of the Holy
Eucharist.
You are food for our nourishment on the journey home to heaven. Your blood still cleanses and purifies us.
“Blessed be His most Precious Blood. Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Sacrament of the altar’.” (The Divine Praises)
We can offer our feeble efforts towards holiness, praying for those to be united with Your unique gifting of Your full holiness, as offered us in the most wondrous sacrifice of the Mass, celebrated worldwide, day by
day.
You are our Saviour for today and each day, our forever Saviour dwelling among us that we behold Your “Glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1 v 14)
Lord Jesus, You are life to us, the life of holiness we long to emulate and offer so as to delight and honour our Father who evolved that we can all receive of You, that fullness which is freely given.
We received the law through Moses, but find ourselves incapable to living up to its demands, but You are our new day, our guidance into all holiness. Thank You for the grace of Your love for us, a love steadfastly
faithful and true.
Being closest to our Father’s heart of love, You are our connection with this, the perfect connection. Thank You for making possible the human and the holy. May we be fast learners, not slipping backwards.
Lord, please teach us to pray through the day as You did, seeking a silent retreat whereby we can meet with our Father by being alongside You and motivated by the Holy Spirit, He who puts Your love into action.
You convince us that the Lord God is “Our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble” (Psalm 46 v 1 NLT) which try to impair the everyday. But all thanks to You, Lord Jesus, we are the recipients of our Father’s loving mercy.
May Your Spirit make us wise about all things pertaining to holiness. As long as we keep praying, this will happen. Only yesterday I was so blessed to receive an answer to a prayer, and I could hear, see, feel You at work helping me.
Thank You for all the efforts to make us holy. “My child, listen and be wise: keep your heart on the right course,” (Proverbs 23 v 19) Your wisdom instructs us, clothing us with sound sense and dignity, as befits
Your brothers and sisters.
May all our days be virtuous, capable of delighting our Father because we have become Your good works, making sound progress in all the ways of holiness day by prayer blessed day. This is our hope, our privilege
and even our right, as we claim You, Lord, the Christ, the chosen One and Light of the world. We rejoice to be a part of this, Your holiness. Thank You so much. May we live an informed life daily, all to the honour of
the Almighty Trinity. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
LOVE
LIFE
