For the record, the Fayette County Drug Task Force has attempted to return my call on two occasions at the end of last week. They don't leave return numbers.
At the same time, I had the opportunity to address drug use with the Bible Released Time class on Friday morning. One of the students in the class is one of the juveniles mentioned below. I gave the class five names and asked them what they had in common. Most of the student new exactly the answer I was after.
The names I gave them were Bible Released Time students over the last five years who were or are now drug dealers. I know at least four of the five have spent time in jail; one of the five was killed in drug related activity and one is currently being held by the U.S. Marshal Service (see Alumni posts).
The students were not very interested in talking about this; I suspect I broke some street code. We discussed how it is their responsibility to confront sin.
The very same day, one of the students in class was caught smoking dope on his porch.
Showing posts with label BRT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BRT. Show all posts
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Pride Goes Before Destruction
A few weekends ago I came across some information about one our former BRT students “John Apple”. John Apple was a standout basketball star. He had the gift and the dream.
In school, on and off the court, he was clearly admired by his peers and liked by his teachers. He was, simply put, a real nice guy.
John and I would meet almost every Friday at 6AM during his senior year. We would meet at McDonald’s for breakfast, prayer and Bible study. It was during one of those conversations we were talking about his gifts.
John refused to acknowledge his gifts as God given. He saw his talent and his ability and he saw the hard work and discipline, as well as the sacrifice. He refused to believe that God had anything to do with his gifts. “It was me who practiced, it was me who trained, it was me who was on the court…It’s all me.”
That was hard to hear as my own words came back to be from several years earlier when I arrogantly said the same thing about my academic work. John certainly was a nice guy but he was quietly arrogant. He had to repent or he would head towards destruction.
John’s arrogance intersected another part of his life. And to give you more background, his family was broken and financially struggling. He justified his drug dealing as a way to take burden off his family but more likely as a way to gain independence from them. He never mentioned his father and had a strained relationship with his mother.
John’s arrogance made him believe that he was untouchable, above the law. It was only a matter of time before the law would find John.
Now, some five years later, I learned that John was in federal prison under drug-related charges. He was found with over $100,000 in cash and drugs in his possession.
Arrogance, rationalizing moral failing… pride comes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18)
Other alumni stories:
Alumni
Encounter
In school, on and off the court, he was clearly admired by his peers and liked by his teachers. He was, simply put, a real nice guy.
John and I would meet almost every Friday at 6AM during his senior year. We would meet at McDonald’s for breakfast, prayer and Bible study. It was during one of those conversations we were talking about his gifts.
John refused to acknowledge his gifts as God given. He saw his talent and his ability and he saw the hard work and discipline, as well as the sacrifice. He refused to believe that God had anything to do with his gifts. “It was me who practiced, it was me who trained, it was me who was on the court…It’s all me.”
That was hard to hear as my own words came back to be from several years earlier when I arrogantly said the same thing about my academic work. John certainly was a nice guy but he was quietly arrogant. He had to repent or he would head towards destruction.
John’s arrogance intersected another part of his life. And to give you more background, his family was broken and financially struggling. He justified his drug dealing as a way to take burden off his family but more likely as a way to gain independence from them. He never mentioned his father and had a strained relationship with his mother.
John’s arrogance made him believe that he was untouchable, above the law. It was only a matter of time before the law would find John.
Now, some five years later, I learned that John was in federal prison under drug-related charges. He was found with over $100,000 in cash and drugs in his possession.
Arrogance, rationalizing moral failing… pride comes before the fall (Proverbs 16:18)
Other alumni stories:
Alumni
Encounter
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Freedom and Peace
Yesterday morning in BRT, we covered Mark 5. In this chapter, we see Jesus encounter three key people: a demon possessed man, a woman who suffers from a great illness, and a dead girl. If you read this chapter, you will see suffering, then fear and then amazement, astonishment, freedom and peace.
Jesus demonstrates his power over demons, illness and even death. In each situation, the person is miraculously changed from their Old Self to their New Self.
If Jesus has power over demons, illness and even death… he certainly has power over the situation you are in. As each of the persons in Mark 5 approached Jesus, I suggest you approach him who created you. He will change you, save you from the situation you are in, redeem you for his purpose and for his love.
This is the heart of the message yesterday morning. As we taught and preached, the words of the gospel and love of God penetrated the hearts of some of these young folks. They are hurting, hiding and lonely. They know there is a great void in their life. I don’t know their specific situation but I know they suffer. Pray that they would approach God with a heart intent on change… that they would lead a life of freedom and peace.
Jesus demonstrates his power over demons, illness and even death. In each situation, the person is miraculously changed from their Old Self to their New Self.
If Jesus has power over demons, illness and even death… he certainly has power over the situation you are in. As each of the persons in Mark 5 approached Jesus, I suggest you approach him who created you. He will change you, save you from the situation you are in, redeem you for his purpose and for his love.
This is the heart of the message yesterday morning. As we taught and preached, the words of the gospel and love of God penetrated the hearts of some of these young folks. They are hurting, hiding and lonely. They know there is a great void in their life. I don’t know their specific situation but I know they suffer. Pray that they would approach God with a heart intent on change… that they would lead a life of freedom and peace.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
BRT 2007
This year at Bible Released Time we are reading and studying the Gospel of Mark. We have a (mostly) attentive class that runs the gamut in spiritual maturity. There are serious students, sleeping students, and at least one drug dealer.
Our objective with this year’s format is to help the students to understand how to read and study the Bible. We are reading and listening to it through The Bible Experience project. The discussions are always enjoyable and always non-linear… we are constantly expecting the unexpected comment or question. It keeps us sharp.
The basic premise we are teaching them about reading the bible is simple
• Read to understand
• Seek the spiritual teaching
• Apply the word to your life
How do we do this?
1. Pray
Pray that this part of God’s Word would be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Ps 119:105). Pray that this Word would dwell in you richly (Col 3:16). Pray that God would give you insight and understanding into the passage (2 Tim 2:7).
2. Read it and ask the basic questions.
Who? What? Where? Why? When?
3. Read it and ask some harder questions.
• What did I learn about God?
• What did I learn about myself?
• What lessons about life have I learned?
• What can I do this week based on what I learned?
4. Read it and live it
Our objective with this year’s format is to help the students to understand how to read and study the Bible. We are reading and listening to it through The Bible Experience project. The discussions are always enjoyable and always non-linear… we are constantly expecting the unexpected comment or question. It keeps us sharp.
The basic premise we are teaching them about reading the bible is simple
• Read to understand
• Seek the spiritual teaching
• Apply the word to your life
How do we do this?
1. Pray
Pray that this part of God’s Word would be a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Ps 119:105). Pray that this Word would dwell in you richly (Col 3:16). Pray that God would give you insight and understanding into the passage (2 Tim 2:7).
2. Read it and ask the basic questions.
Who? What? Where? Why? When?
3. Read it and ask some harder questions.
• What did I learn about God?
• What did I learn about myself?
• What lessons about life have I learned?
• What can I do this week based on what I learned?
4. Read it and live it
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Alumni
Bible Released Time has seen hundreds of students through the classroom over the last decade. We have seen great hope for the future and at least as much fear and despair. We have consistently heard the desire to escape Brownsville and all that it represents. Among our alumni are military, Ph.Ds, professional athletes and ministers. We also have seen our share of convicts, unwed mothers and irresponsible fathers; many before or even if they graduate.
This is a story about “John”.
John had an infectious smile and a big personality. He was a natural leader that oscillated between arrogance and insecurity. One of his strengths, the desire to please, was also one of his greatest weaknesses. He could easily shift from leading a discussion and asking smart or provocative questions to degenerating the conversation and becoming the class clown. It was this latter, disruptive behavior that ultimately got him kicked out of the class. And yet, I counted John as a friend.
John always had the opportunity to return. But he never asked and he never apologized. It’s possible that it was his pride that kept him away. It’s also possible that it never even struck him that he could return, that he could be redeemed. That is a place of hopelessness and great despair. I heard several months later that he was kicked out of school.
A year went by before I saw John again. It was at the funeral of a young girl and her father who tragically died in a fire. This young girl was overcome by smoke and flames and died trying to save her handicapped dad. The contrast between the sacrifice of this young girl and John’s life was harsh.
It was after the funeral when I asked him what happened at school. He blamed me… “since I couldn’t go to Bible Released Time anymore, I didn’t have any reason to go to school”.
I could only respond “John, that was on you.” It was his behavior, his decision and his refusal to repent that led to his expulsion. Some have told me this was a tragedy; I disagree. It’s a tragedy that a middle school girl and her father died in a fire. John’s life was a matter of decision. I walked away from that conversation disappointed in his decisions but not mine.
I would guess another year passed before I heard John’s name again. He was living or spending time at one of the local housing projects. Apparently, he was dealing drugs and, one summer day, became upset with a woman who was visiting. She was in the driver seat of her car when he reached in and struck her.
Some time later, the woman came back with her boyfriend. John was still hanging around when they drove by, pointed a gun at him and killed him on the spot.
We don’t have many “things” we can really call our own. Our decisions are one of those things. I am grateful for that. In fact, is it because we are created in the image of God that we have choice and we have free will.
John’s life was marked by a series of choices that day he left our class. Choices and decisions that carried him through his life. Choices that ultimately led to his death. And a choice, that was never made, to take him out of that spiral, to return to life… to return to God.
Today, you will make many decisions. And today, you will make a choice. Today, you will choose life or death. There is one day that decision will be too late. I pray you choose life. (Deuteronomy 30:10-20)
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Encounter
A few Sunday’s ago, I ran into one of our former students. We were on our way home from church and stopping at the mini-mart to pick up supplies. I was walking across the parking lot among the traffic, cars, and the people. A young man was calling my name and walking towards me. I recognized him but just couldn’t remember his name. He quickly updated me on his life since graduation while his friend kept telling him to hurry up, people passed by and I started to feel uncomfortable. Things were not well for him.
He celebrated his 18th birthday with a drug arrest, he has a child, he’s confused, and he’s helpless and maybe even hopeless.
If you were approached by a family member, a friend, a neighbor who was reaching out for help… mentally, emotionally and spiritually battered and abused; what would you do?
His court date was in a few days, his child was living apart from him, he was moving from house to house, lacks a job… What would you do? What would you say to this young man?
I froze and gave him the safest and easiest answer… “I’ll pray for you”. He thanked me and we went our separate ways. The cock crowed. The man lay on the side of the road and I made a commitment to pray for him when I was in the safety of my home. I did the least I could do to the least of them. God forgive me.
My commitment is to find this man and respond to God, with or without words, in thought and deed.
He celebrated his 18th birthday with a drug arrest, he has a child, he’s confused, and he’s helpless and maybe even hopeless.
If you were approached by a family member, a friend, a neighbor who was reaching out for help… mentally, emotionally and spiritually battered and abused; what would you do?
His court date was in a few days, his child was living apart from him, he was moving from house to house, lacks a job… What would you do? What would you say to this young man?
I froze and gave him the safest and easiest answer… “I’ll pray for you”. He thanked me and we went our separate ways. The cock crowed. The man lay on the side of the road and I made a commitment to pray for him when I was in the safety of my home. I did the least I could do to the least of them. God forgive me.
My commitment is to find this man and respond to God, with or without words, in thought and deed.
Catching Up and Kicking Out
It’s been several weeks since I made a posting about Bible Released Time. We didn’t have class for three weeks in a row and that threw me out of kilter. First, my chronic back problem put me on the floor and out of commission, then we celebrated Easter, and then I was out of town. We’ve been back in the saddle but not without incidence.
We did have the pizza party for the class. Wicked Pizza. At the end, four of the boys thought it would be cute to sneak out the back door; they returned but then 3 of the 4 thought it would doubly cute to hide when the bus came. A sad state of their hearts to express their gratitude with abject disobedience.
I would have left them but by time I called the school to have security take care of it, they ran out. As I sat in class, a bit angry, the three versus that came to mind were
Proverbs 29:18
Matthew 7:6
Matthew 10:14
Needless to say, they have been removed from class. I will talk more about this in a future post; but, for now, will say that we have seen greater interest in the word and perhaps even the hints of spiritual fruit among those remaining in the class. Amen!
We did have the pizza party for the class. Wicked Pizza. At the end, four of the boys thought it would be cute to sneak out the back door; they returned but then 3 of the 4 thought it would doubly cute to hide when the bus came. A sad state of their hearts to express their gratitude with abject disobedience.
I would have left them but by time I called the school to have security take care of it, they ran out. As I sat in class, a bit angry, the three versus that came to mind were
Proverbs 29:18
Matthew 7:6
Matthew 10:14
Needless to say, they have been removed from class. I will talk more about this in a future post; but, for now, will say that we have seen greater interest in the word and perhaps even the hints of spiritual fruit among those remaining in the class. Amen!
Friday, March 30, 2007
The Food Pyramid of Evil
If the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, what is food?
Scripture is chalked full of major examples where food is the source of temptation: Adam and Eve, Cain, the Israelites wandering the in the desert, Jesus in the wilderness, the early church.
My prayer for the BRT class is that they would desire to encounter God as much as they desire a pizza party. Yes, the overwhelming desire and overt demand of the class is to have a pizza party… now.
How many times do you suppose Jesus was frustrated with the disciples that they just didn’t get it? I needed a guide to help me understand where the class is coming from, so I came up with this food pyramid of evil.
Pride is a garden variety sin. It’s putting yourself in the place of God. Adam and Eve wanted to know good and evil. We want to decide what is good or evil… we say we have no sin.
Self-Centeredness is being so consumed with your wants and desires that you ignore the needs of others.
Self-Absorption is close to self-centeredness. It is being so consumed with your needs, circumstances, etc. that you ignore the needs of others.
Idolatry is putting some thing in the place of God. It might be food but it is also entertainment, money, your job, …
Have you taken your daily allowance? Have you had your three square meals? Are you using the pyramid to determine your menu for tomorrow?
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Wicked Pizza
A wicked generation seeks a pizza.
What motivates you to learn more about God and the Holy Scriptures? A relationship with the Creator of the Universe, a deeper knowledge of the Word of Life… comfort in time of sorrow, protection in time of trouble, provision in time of need, love in our time and in eternity…? Or perhaps a pizza?
In our last class, we spoke of the nature of prayer. I challenged the class to remember the seven types of prayer. And to then to define each of the types of prayer. If they could do this, we committed to a pizza party by the end of the year.
At least three members of the class made an attempt! The attempt involved online research and they pulled down some quality information. However, no one found definitions for each of the seven we discussed and no one was able to provide a response without the “cheat sheets”. If it was a closed-book test, everyone would have failed. With an open book, they may have pulled off a “C”.
I agreed that Travis would judge the outcome. He is more generous than I and granted an “A”. Its an opportunity for me to learn more about grace.
Some Loose Ends:
A pizza party is of particular significance as I cut off all donuts, snacks, and the usual food we partake in during class. At least three members of the class stole drinks from the church refrigerator early in the school year. Only one was caught. All experienced the consequences. The student that was caught was given an opportunity to repent and apologize. He refused. Ultimately his behavior got him kicked out of school. The other students never stepped forward to acknowledge their sin.
What motivates you to learn more about God and the Holy Scriptures? A relationship with the Creator of the Universe, a deeper knowledge of the Word of Life… comfort in time of sorrow, protection in time of trouble, provision in time of need, love in our time and in eternity…? Or perhaps a pizza?
In our last class, we spoke of the nature of prayer. I challenged the class to remember the seven types of prayer. And to then to define each of the types of prayer. If they could do this, we committed to a pizza party by the end of the year.
At least three members of the class made an attempt! The attempt involved online research and they pulled down some quality information. However, no one found definitions for each of the seven we discussed and no one was able to provide a response without the “cheat sheets”. If it was a closed-book test, everyone would have failed. With an open book, they may have pulled off a “C”.
I agreed that Travis would judge the outcome. He is more generous than I and granted an “A”. Its an opportunity for me to learn more about grace.
Some Loose Ends:
A pizza party is of particular significance as I cut off all donuts, snacks, and the usual food we partake in during class. At least three members of the class stole drinks from the church refrigerator early in the school year. Only one was caught. All experienced the consequences. The student that was caught was given an opportunity to repent and apologize. He refused. Ultimately his behavior got him kicked out of school. The other students never stepped forward to acknowledge their sin.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Initial Results
If you were asked to actively seek and encounter God… then report back what happened; what would you have to say? A miraculous healing? A burning bush? A stone tablet?
The BRT class provided, once again, a snapshot of the state of the church… lethargic, apathetic, superficial, without expectation.
Three answers were extracted from the group. These answers can be categorized into three buckets: a lie, the trifle and superficial.
Lies. Why do we attribute things to God that are clearly not from Him? It’s nothing less than blasphemy. In our desire to please man, to showcase our religion, we cast swine before pearls.
The Trifle. It is no less a sin to make a mockery of God’s power by manipulating our conscience, our outcomes in accordance to our will in His name. The smallness of our expectation, the smallness of our encounter, the smallness of our hope is an affront to the power of the resurrection.
Superficial. If it has a bushy tail and lives in a tree… it must be Jesus. So goes the Sunday School joke. We relentlessly believe the right answer must be prayer. How do we encounter God? Pray. What should we do next? Pray. Someone is sick, what should we do? Pray. Prayer is not the wrong answer… it’s just the easy answer. Maybe God desires us to sacrifice, to give all we have to the poor, to visit the sick, to take a meal to their house, to suffer and persevere, to live in the hope of the resurrection.
In fact, this is all prayer. Prayer is a superficial answer because we have only a superficial understanding of what it is and what it means. Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.
There were two more points about prayer that we discussed.
Sin hinders our prayer. In fact, Jesus is the one Mediator between God and man. God cannot be approached if we deny Jesus. We deny Jesus by thought and deed, with or without words.
There are seven principal types of prayer: adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession and petition.
What is the mark of one who encounters God?
Repentance.
There of those who live among us without proper housing, food, heat… there are broken, oppressed, lonely, addicted, dying… and then the lost. What shall we do, then? Repent.
When we encounter God and experience his holiness, we will be broken and humble. We will repent. Then we will shine as a light in the world. And even one day shine like the sun.
Respond to God.
You can find more on prayer in the catechism.
http://anglicansonline.org/basics/catechism.html#Prayer%20and%20Worship
The BRT class provided, once again, a snapshot of the state of the church… lethargic, apathetic, superficial, without expectation.
Three answers were extracted from the group. These answers can be categorized into three buckets: a lie, the trifle and superficial.
Lies. Why do we attribute things to God that are clearly not from Him? It’s nothing less than blasphemy. In our desire to please man, to showcase our religion, we cast swine before pearls.
The Trifle. It is no less a sin to make a mockery of God’s power by manipulating our conscience, our outcomes in accordance to our will in His name. The smallness of our expectation, the smallness of our encounter, the smallness of our hope is an affront to the power of the resurrection.
Superficial. If it has a bushy tail and lives in a tree… it must be Jesus. So goes the Sunday School joke. We relentlessly believe the right answer must be prayer. How do we encounter God? Pray. What should we do next? Pray. Someone is sick, what should we do? Pray. Prayer is not the wrong answer… it’s just the easy answer. Maybe God desires us to sacrifice, to give all we have to the poor, to visit the sick, to take a meal to their house, to suffer and persevere, to live in the hope of the resurrection.
In fact, this is all prayer. Prayer is a superficial answer because we have only a superficial understanding of what it is and what it means. Prayer is responding to God, by thought and by deeds, with or without words.
There were two more points about prayer that we discussed.
Sin hinders our prayer. In fact, Jesus is the one Mediator between God and man. God cannot be approached if we deny Jesus. We deny Jesus by thought and deed, with or without words.
There are seven principal types of prayer: adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession and petition.
What is the mark of one who encounters God?
Repentance.
There of those who live among us without proper housing, food, heat… there are broken, oppressed, lonely, addicted, dying… and then the lost. What shall we do, then? Repent.
When we encounter God and experience his holiness, we will be broken and humble. We will repent. Then we will shine as a light in the world. And even one day shine like the sun.
Respond to God.
You can find more on prayer in the catechism.
http://anglicansonline.org/basics/catechism.html#Prayer%20and%20Worship
Saturday, March 10, 2007
The Challenge
What if you actively sought to encounter God every day? How would you do that? What would your life look like? What would your world look like?
The Bible provides thousands of years of history of man’s encounter with God… from the intimacy of Adam and Eve’s relationship with God in the Garden to the disciples fellowship with the risen Lord. And there is everything in between and beyond.
We see God actively pursuing and redeeming his creation, intersecting the lives of ordinary men and women in ordinary circumstances. We see a God who speaks to us through His word, His creation, through believers, through unbelievers, through our circumstance and through the supernatural and miraculous.
Are we seeking? Watching? Listening? Prepared?
On March 2, 2007 Travis challenged the BRT class to seek and listen. The Challenge is to actively seek the risen Lord, to encounter God. From there, we expect the extraordinary. The tactical “assignment” was to write down, on one side of paper, your “questions for God”… to speak to God. On the other side, to write down what you hear. Then, report back what happened.
God promises us if we seek we shall find.
The class seemed engaged. Will anyone complete the assignment?
The Bible provides thousands of years of history of man’s encounter with God… from the intimacy of Adam and Eve’s relationship with God in the Garden to the disciples fellowship with the risen Lord. And there is everything in between and beyond.
We see God actively pursuing and redeeming his creation, intersecting the lives of ordinary men and women in ordinary circumstances. We see a God who speaks to us through His word, His creation, through believers, through unbelievers, through our circumstance and through the supernatural and miraculous.
Are we seeking? Watching? Listening? Prepared?
On March 2, 2007 Travis challenged the BRT class to seek and listen. The Challenge is to actively seek the risen Lord, to encounter God. From there, we expect the extraordinary. The tactical “assignment” was to write down, on one side of paper, your “questions for God”… to speak to God. On the other side, to write down what you hear. Then, report back what happened.
God promises us if we seek we shall find.
The class seemed engaged. Will anyone complete the assignment?
Thursday, March 1, 2007
What is Bible Released Time (BRT)?
BRT, also known as Released Time Bible Education is an off-campus religious instruction program. Bible Released Time recognizes and reinforces the constitutionally protected right of parents to direct the religious education of their children. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the program.
In Brownsville, we have been doing BRT at the high school since 1995. This program is sponsored by the Brownsville Area Ministerial Association (BAMA). Our goal is to teach students the truth of God’s word so they may apply it to their lives.
For more information on Released Time Bible Education, please see www.releasedtime.org
In Brownsville, we have been doing BRT at the high school since 1995. This program is sponsored by the Brownsville Area Ministerial Association (BAMA). Our goal is to teach students the truth of God’s word so they may apply it to their lives.
For more information on Released Time Bible Education, please see www.releasedtime.org
What’s the most important thing you will do today?
That’s the question I posed to the Bible Released Time class on February 23, 2007. This simple question was the culmination of prayer, contemplation, scripture, conversation, inspiration, and teaching. The week before, Travis and I discussed an experiment where we would challenge the class to prayer for and write about a deepening relationship with God. That same week, I was impressed with a sermon on the intersection of the ordinary and extraordinary. Specifically, from Luke 9:27.
What does a life look like in the realm of the ordinary? In the extraordinary? When does that intersection occur? Why would I seek to lead an ordinary life? How does one lead an extraordinary life? … What’s the most important thing I will do today?
There were only three answers from the class, all were good or honest. (1) Pray (2) Work (3) Nothing.
You might conclude that these three answers represent three general categories: the spiritual, the worldly and the unconcerned.
The unconcerned or complacent or self-righteous truly don’t have a ”most important thing”. They have a need; they meet that need and then move to the next need. There is not time or necessity to consider anything beyond their immediate existence.
The worldly are more focused or very focused. They likely have a list, they may have goals. The list and the goals will often be material in nature and may include finances, work, home, vacation, groceries, etc.
The spiritual may be godly or ungodly, they may have lists or not, have an internal or external focus… they tend to be focused on becoming perfect. The questions are: In What? And Why and then How?
What are you seeking perfection in? love, righteousness, manners, morality, relationship,…?
Why are you seeking perfection? For the eyes of God or man?
How are you seeking perfection? Practicing virtues, practicing the law, … or are you being set free and made righteous… made holy… made perfect.
What is the most important thing you will do today?
Encounter God.
What does a life look like in the realm of the ordinary? In the extraordinary? When does that intersection occur? Why would I seek to lead an ordinary life? How does one lead an extraordinary life? … What’s the most important thing I will do today?
There were only three answers from the class, all were good or honest. (1) Pray (2) Work (3) Nothing.
You might conclude that these three answers represent three general categories: the spiritual, the worldly and the unconcerned.
The unconcerned or complacent or self-righteous truly don’t have a ”most important thing”. They have a need; they meet that need and then move to the next need. There is not time or necessity to consider anything beyond their immediate existence.
The worldly are more focused or very focused. They likely have a list, they may have goals. The list and the goals will often be material in nature and may include finances, work, home, vacation, groceries, etc.
The spiritual may be godly or ungodly, they may have lists or not, have an internal or external focus… they tend to be focused on becoming perfect. The questions are: In What? And Why and then How?
What are you seeking perfection in? love, righteousness, manners, morality, relationship,…?
Why are you seeking perfection? For the eyes of God or man?
How are you seeking perfection? Practicing virtues, practicing the law, … or are you being set free and made righteous… made holy… made perfect.
What is the most important thing you will do today?
Encounter God.
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