The parent of the virtues

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others. - Marcus Tullius Cicero

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:1-17 (NIV)

There is so little in the Bible that give as clear an if…then situation than in this passage. When I desire peace, I must get rid of the things above and fill that empty space with the things suggested. It may seem formulaic, but it is so comforting to know that there really is something I can do to make things better. It is a promise that God keeps. It is not always that simple, because it is not simple to control our thoughts.

Blessings,

Shiann

Confessing our vices

A prayer to challenge us, and a scripture to give us comfort.

Prayer of Confession - Our Vices and Virtues

O Father, we know that all of us have sinned
and fallen short of your glory.
We confess that we know personally the hatred which divides
nation from nation, race from race, sisters from brothers.
We admit that even though our words or thoughts
may conceal hate, our actions give us away.
Father forgive.
We realize that the covetousness of people and nations
to possess what is not their own is not distant from us,
but has taken up residence in our heart as well.
Father forgive.
We own up to stockpiles of the greed which exploits
the work of human hands, and lays waste to the earth,
Father forgive.
We concede that our bottomless hunger has sharpened the pangs of
our envy of the welfare and happiness of others.
Father forgive.
We acknowledge our deafness, our indifference to the plight
of the imprisoned, the homeless, the refugee,
Father forgive.
We allow our eyes to lead us into the lust which dishonors the bodies
of men, women and children,
Father forgive.
We confess the pride which leads to trust in ourselves and not in you,
Father forgive.

[Selah – a turning]

Father, help us to swallow our pride and fill our throats with your praise;
Correct our vision from lust to the discernment of beauty and truth;
Open our ears to your calling to forsake our indifference,
and embrace a passion that tunes our ears
to hear the cries of the oppressed for justice;
Refine our taste with your goodness that we may satisfy our hunger
With contentment instead of deepening it with envy;
Liquidate our greed to make room in our lives for
the conservation of our planet’s resources;
O Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Remove the dross of covetousness from our hearts and shape us
into vessels of blessing for others;
Train our minds to purge hatred from our thoughts
And fill the gap with love for others before our waywardness
replaces it with something worse.
Help us empty ourselves of evil, Father,
so that you may fill us with that which is good.

Continue your work of conversion in us, Father.
O Lord, in your mercy

Hear our prayer.

Through your Spirit, shape us to conform to the image of Jesus;
In the name of your perfect imager we petition you,

Amen.

Enlighten us with your word, O Lord.

See, a king will reign in righteousness,
and princes will rule with justice.

Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,
a covert from the tempest,
like streams of water in a dry place,
like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.
Then the eyes of those who have sight will not be closed,
and the ears of those who have hearing will listen,

The minds of the rash will have good judgment,
and the tongues of stammerers will speak readily and distinctly.
A fool will no longer be called noble,
nor a villain said to be honorable.

For fools speak folly,
and their minds plot iniquity:
to practice ungodliness,
to utter error concerning the Lord,
to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,
and to deprive the thirsty of drink.

The villainies of villains are evil;
they devise wicked devices
to ruin the poor with lying words,
even when the plea of the needy is right.
But those who are noble plan noble things,
and by noble things they stand.

- Isa 32:1-8 NRSV

Grace and peace,

Ron

Live by the Spirit

Our character is made up of virtues and vices.
The events of the day, and our disposition toward the Spirit,
tend to lean us toward either our virtues or vices.
If we yield our body and soul to chasing physical desires,
then we will become more animal than truly human.
If we live by the Spirit, practicing spiritual disciplines with our body and soul,
then God can work in us to replace our vices with virtues,
and shape our character to conform more closely
to that of Jesus Christ.

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit,
and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh;
for these are opposed to each other,
to prevent you from doing what you want.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions,
envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these.
I am warning you, as I warned you before:
those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another
Galatians 5:16-26 (NRSV)

Here is a prayer to turn our minds to the virtues:

Teach me, O God, so to use all the circumstances of my life today
that they may bring forth in me the fruits of holiness
rather than the fruits of sin.
Let me use disappointments as material for patience;
Let me use success as material for thankfulness;
Let me use suspense as material for perseverance;
Let me use danger as material for courage;
Let me use reproach as material for longsuffering;
Let me use praise as material for humility;
Let me use pleasure as material for temperance;
Let me use pains as material for endurance.
John Baillie

I pray for you two of the great virtues:

Grace and peace,

Ron