Impulsiveness or Discipleship – Devotional for Thursday, October 21, 2010

But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith . . . —Jude 20

It’s natural to be impulsive; not good, but natural. In one of our first “teachings” on a Kairos weekend we tell the guys the difference between reaction and response. “Reaction” is  unthinking. “Response” adds some thought and some time to the natural knee jerk situation. Most of the inmates are there because they reacted to a situation without thought and certainly without prayerful consideration. 
We tend to “react” because we are not at a peaceful place with our life situation. We don’t have the quiet assurance that comes from a relationship with Christ. Impulsiveness is born of the natural man who is childish and self-centered.  Impulsiveness needs to be trained into intuition through discipline.
At our men’s prayer session, this morning we discussed what it means to be “holy” in today’s world. Holiness  is built entirely on the supernatural grace of God. A holy man walks confidently, patiently and quietly day-to-day. It requires the grace of God to walk that way on a daily basis. The result is an attractive and beautiful being, completely different from what the world is accustomed to. A holy man draws quiet attention, not to himself, but to Him within. It is a state, not easily obtained. It requires the power of God, applied consistently to a humble and obedient life.
Be blessed.
Nick

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