I head up Sovereignty Not Included, a podcast-centered media hub for informing the faithful Christians of the Christian faith.

Jan 22, 2016

Life Changers Program: Session 1

I want to share with you about the progression of my faith-walk over the last few months. Yes, there was an introductory session, but I recommend going directly to the source for that one. Here, I start at #1.

know the faith

I used to use the YouVersion bible application quite a bit. This is an application put together by Craig Groeshel’s team at Life Church in Oklahoma. It is available on most mobile devices. If you don’t have a bible handy, but you have a mobile device, I strongly recommend this resource. It has a significant number of English and other-language bibles to choose from.

I mention this because I used this app to listen to John 6. The Gospel according to St. John is not one of the synoptic accounts. It doesn’t tell the story of Jesus in the same way that Sts. Matthew, Mark, and Luke do. Instead, it can be really lofty. You may recognize some of the content of this chapter:

I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world.

This is such a crucial element of the Catholic faith, that Jesus the Christ gave us His flesh and blood to consume. My wife is a non-Catholic Christian. That means that this chapter does not possess the same literal meaning to her. We have many conversations and debates surrounding interpretation of the Holy Bible. For now, suffice it to say we agree to disagree.

I became reacquainted with podcasts within the last six months. Thankfully, I was introduced to the Rosary Army podcast. After binge-listening to legacy episodes, I decided to make a call and fill in the adoration hours listed in the Sunday bulletin. I offered the time there for the apostolate that Greg and Jennifer Willits were running, The Rosary Army.

I am not completely new to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. However, I had never committed myself to an hour of time previously. So, I guess it was an easy challenge to meet, spending time before the tabernacle. I just kept my schedule. Instead of looking at a box the whole time, I actually got to look directly at the consecrated Eucharist.

My brother, Joshua Maximilian, is one of the co-hosts of the podcast I produce, Sovereignty Not Included. He has really come around in the last year or so, and his faith is like none other. The final challenge for this session was met by asking him to join me at an hour of adoration.

When I first asked him, I don’t think he was really looking forward to it. This was early in the transformation God was working in him. Now, he looks forward to opportunities to adore the Word Made Flesh.