(Part 3) In the blanks below write the two most significant statements in today’s reading assignment. Be prepared to discuss why the statements you chose were significant to you.
“Don’t give in to feelings that are generated by fleshly, selfish thinking. They will not give you an accurate picture of reality. They will keep you trapped in a fantasy world of make-believe. – But I like fantasy worlds of make-believe, they’re so much more fun than reality.
“Not only must we know some things… and reckon those things to be true for us, but as Paul tells us, we must yield to the right master as a result of what we know and reckon .”
(Part 4) In the blanks below write the two most significant statements in today’s reading assignment. Be prepared to discuss why the statements you chose were significant to you.
“Just two choices on the shelf – pleasing God, or pleasing self – corny rhyme, but catchy and accurate.
“Instead of obeying the flesh is cry to postpone responsibility, Kirk needed to obey the Holy Spirit‘s conviction to resist the flesh – substitute ‘I need’ here ”
Some people say, ‘I’m just not good at yielding. That comes hard for me. I’m not sure I know how to yield.’ What is wrong with this protest? Back up your answer with specific examples.
“We are great at yielding to all the worldly whims and ideas that enter into our heads. For me, it’s computer games and TV watching, for others it’s coffee or new clothes.”
The text says the following: we would like to think that in this or that sin, we have been defeated. The humbling reality is that we have been disobedient. Do you agree with that statement? Give your reasons for agreeing or disagree with the statement.
“Yeah, it just feels better to be the helpless victim who fought valiantly before succumbing, but how often do we really besides a moment’s hesitation of ‘I really shouldn’t but maybe just one’ etc.”
Dearest Rachel –
Looks like this was another week that caught you having to rush through the last couple of days of your assignment. At least the fifth installment has enough in the way of responses to stand on its own – I checked – even if you didn’t get to the P.R.A.Y. acronym there either (of course, it was, unusually, on a third page, so it’s almost understandable that you didn’t see or get to it, in that case). At the same time, you made sure to answer at least one question on each page, presumably so you could have a voice in the weekly discussion.
I’m going to assume you’re just trying to be cute with the assertion that made-up fantasy worlds are better (well, “more fun” was the phrase you used) than real life. These days, I’ve heard the word “gamify” gain credence when it comes to both learning and accomplishing tasks; I don’t know if you ever heard it being used, but you would understand its meaning and endorse and embrace the concept wholeheartedly. But at the same time, that’s the “spoonful of sugar” that “makes the medicine go down,” to borrow from a certain fantasy story you would recognize; the fact is, you would also recognize that in real life, there is ‘medicine’ that needs to be taken, and generally make a point of taking it.
Of course taking one’s medicine is a form of yielding, which moves us on to the next day’s responses. This includes your acknowledgement that while we may claim we have trouble with doing that when it comes to God’s commands, we have a lot less difficulty acquiescing to our own demands and desires, whatever they may be. Admittedly – and maybe it’s because I’ve developed a taste for it now and again – it surprises me to see you list coffee there as something other people ‘yield’ to, but I guess one can get addicted to the stuff. Clothes and materialism in general is easier for me to wrap my head around – and, of course, I can confirm about your time spent on the computer or in front of the television.
Indeed, it’s sometimes hard for me to come up with memories that don’t involve those, which makes it hard for me to personalize those moments. It’s probably why I talk about times when we were traveling, as we had to set those machines aside to go out and about in unfamiliar places. That, and those were the times we got on camera, so I have images and video in front of me in a way that either of us with one screen or another in front of us wouldn’t be worth capturing for posterity.
These days, we seem to be that much more captured by that same technology than ever; although instead of being a niche thing for nerds like the two of us, everybody is carrying one in their pocket – or more likely, walking around with their face in their phone. Not to get too metaphorical, but it’s a good way to run into something you don’t mean or want to; when we yield to the screen, we could easily (and literally) find ourselves hitting a wall these days.
And with that said, I’ve going to leave it there for now, with the usual request for you to keep an eye on me and wish me well. I think I’m still going to be needing it.
Letters to Rachel 