Give Me an Undivided Heart--Jan. 17, 2017

Give me an undivided heart, O God,

that I may walk in your truth,

and worship only you.

Help, Holy Spirit, for my eyes are shut,

and my mind as well; I cannot

see, cannot understand.

 I am blinded by my idols, my desire

to be approved, to be admired,

to be the best at all I do.

Living with my heart divided against itself,

living with such futility in my mind,

is not the way I learned Christ.

Forgive my idol worship.

Lectionary Readings

Ps. 123; 146; 30; 86

Isa. 44:9-20

Eph. 4:17-27

Mark 3:19b-35

Selected Verses

Ps. 86:11

Teach me your way, O LORD,
          that I may walk in your truth;
          give me an undivided heart to revere your name. 

Isa. 44:18

[Those who worship idols] do not know, nor do they comprehend; for their eyes are shut, so that they cannot see, and their minds as well, so that they cannot understand. 

Eph. 4:17, 20

Now this I affirm and insist on in the Lord: you must no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds.  …That is not the way you learned Christ! 

Mark 3:24-25

If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.