Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Good Morning from Chicago!

The new unit for this week is Unit 6, Good Stewards of Time

Focus Scripture for the Week: 1 Corinthians 16:13-14

Keep alert, stand firm in the your faith, be courageous, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.

Today's scripture: Romans 13:11-14

-- this section of scripture puts a different spin on the topic of use of our time. When we think of the idea of being good stewards of our time -- the first thing we think (or at least, I do) is about being efficient with my time -- doing a good job with my schedule, doing things as efficiently as possible, saving time where I can, multitasking, etc. In the Monday section, I think I talked about John Wesley's use of time in that he seemed to stay busy -- he apparently did a good job with using every moment of his day. In short, my first take on the title of this chapter is that it is about productivity.

-- today's scripture is not about productivity. It's about prioritization -- about what we do with our time as regards our own spiritual lives. The John Wesley story from earlier this week is not only a testament to how well he used his time, and how he didn't waste time -- but it is also a story about what he used his time for -- in terms of social outreach AND in how he made time for his personal devotional life. Today's scripture talks about how we use our time in the context of living right, of making the correct choices, of living a life fully in alignment with the 'light'.

-- there is, in today's scripture, also a sense that time is short - that there should be a sense of urgency in aligning the activities and priorities of our life with those of God. In short, the sooner we arrange and prioritize our lives -- the sooner we "set aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light", the better off we will be.

Today's prayer request: Wes and Susanne Russell

They are traveling today for Italy, and will be gone about two weeks.

Today's class member prayer:

Brandon Herring

Have a great day.