Presence

Heavenly Father, you welcome me with open arms. Embrace me as I am today.

Scripture Reading

Ephesians 4:21-24 NRSVue

For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus, to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Reflection

So much of what we do depends on our attitude. Are we glass-half-full or glass-half-empty? Is everything good in life or is everything always one step away from disaster? If we keep waiting for the worst to happen, in all likelihood it eventually will. Better instead to ‘be renewed in the spirit of [y]our minds’.  We are given the gift of a new day every morning. When we wake up, we decide, knowingly or unknowingly, how we will greet that day. With excitement and anticipation or with an expection of disappointment? It’s not easy to maintain a positive outlook but we can try. Today, grateful for the gift of a new day, I resolve to be made new in the attitude of my mind.

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank you that in you I am a new creation, and that every day I have the opportunity to start again and to put on my ‘new self’. Help me to start each day with that thought, remembering that in you I am made righteous and holy, and to choose to live out of my God-given identity.  Amen.