# Becoming day 6 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *God of our creation and re-creation, you who are constantly at work to shape me in the wholeness of Christ, you know the hardness of the structures of my being that resist your shaping touch. You know the deep inner rigidities of my being that reject your changing grace. By your grace soften my hardness and rigidity; help me to become pliable in your hands. Even as I pray this, may there be a melting of my innate resistance to your transforming love. Amen. (Invitation to a Journey by M. Robert Mulholland Jr.)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 37 #### He Will Not Forsake His Saints [a] Of David. *37 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.* *5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.7 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.* *10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.* *14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;15 their sword shall enter their own heart,and their bows shall be broken.16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked. 17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.* *18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless,and their heritage will remain forever; 19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.* *21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,but the righteous is generous and gives; 22 for those blessed by the Lord[c] shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way; 24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,for the Lord upholds his hand.* *25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. 26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. 28 For the Lord loves justice;he will not forsake his saints.They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.* *29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.* *30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.33 The Lord will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,spreading himself like a green laurel tree.[d]36 But he passed away,[e] and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.* *37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,because they take refuge in him.* #### Scripture for the Day: Matthew 5:1-16 #### The Sermon on the Mount *5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.* #### The Beatitudes *2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons[a] of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.* *Salt and Light 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that[b] they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.* #### Reading for Reflection: *The man who has struggled to purify himself and has had nothing but repeated failures will experience real relief when he stops tinkering with his soul and looks away to the perfect One. While he looks at Christ, the very things he has so long been trying to do will be getting done within him. It will be God working in him to will and to do. (Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer)* *Love changes us in ways that the law cannot. Spiritual formation, a term used to describe the process of being changed into the image of Christ, doesn’t happen by following disciplines. It happens by falling in love. When we fall in love with Jesus, all the other loves in our life fall into place. And those that once competed with Christ now subordinate themselves to him. Everything in our life finds its proper value once we have properly valued him. (The Divine Embrace by Ken Gire)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: May the Mind of Christ, My Savior *May the mind of Christ, my Savior,* *Live in me from day to day,* *By His love and power controlling* *All I do and say.* *May the Word of God dwell richly* *In my heart from hour to hour,* *So that all may see I triumph* *Only through His power.* *May the peace of God, my Father,* *Rule my life in everything.* *That I may be calm to comfort* *Sick and sorrowing.* *May the love of Jesus fill me,* *As the waters fill the sea;* *Him exalting, self-abasing* *This is victory.* ### Closing Prayer: *Father, forgive us when we think that life is more about what we are doing than about who we are becoming. Help us to remember that more than anything else you want our hearts. Allow us to give them to you fully, that we might receive yours in return; changing us more into the likeness your Son Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen. (JLB)*