Daily Reading: 18 January

(from www.christianaid.org.uk)

Muscle memory

Something to read

Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required. Then I said, ‘Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.’

- Psalm 40:6-8.

Something to think about

At the time of writing, comedian Jason Mansford has just released a new charity single called ‘Assembly Bangers’. The song is a medley of popular hymns sung in primary schools in decades gone by, and comments on social media suggest that people who haven’t sung a hymn in years are delighted to discover they still know all the words to these childhood favourites.

There are all kinds of things we know so well that they become part of us, without needing to think about them or look up the answer. The muscle memory you gain with playing an instrument, or driving a car; the favourite recipes you know like the back of your hand; phone numbers you learned before we had mobiles to remember them for us.

For the Psalmist, living in response to God’s grace has become part of who he is. Although the written law was surely important to him, he doesn’t rely on a reference book to make decisions. Rather, acting justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with God have become second nature to him, instinctive behaviours that he can draw on in everyday situations.

Something to do

Examine your habits. Is there one you’ve been wanting to kick, or something you’d like to take up? Begin today, and tell someone else what you’re doing!

Something to pray

God of my heart, thank you that know me completely and love me perfectly. Please inscribe your ways in me, that living to please you would become my instinct and my habit in every part of my life. Amen.

Today’s contributor is Rev Claire Jones