genuine motivation: young christian man sept 10

8/8/2019 Genuine Motivation: Young Christian Man Sept 10

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Y O U N G C H R I S T I A NSept. 2 0 1 0

GENUINE M O TIV TION V

YOU HAVE A FRIEND REQUEST:BUT IS IT SINCERE?

GODS GRACE :B E T T E R T H A N T H E

M O N K E Y S P AW

THE RECAP ON Imaginary Jesus

DEBT VS. SAVINGS : Which One To Tackle First?


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ART + CREATIVE DIRECTOR / MICHAEL MURO

EDITOR IN CHIEF / ROB BEAMES

A PUBLICATION OF ON MY OWN NOW MINISTRIES
http://genmoycm.wordpress.com/http://www.onmyownnow.com/


4/16PHOTO COURTESY OF CHANCEFORBACON.COM


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http://www.themerrymonk.com/http://www.themerrymonk.com/


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by Randy Kosloski

THE ILLUSION OF CONTROL

on

thecouch


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You Have A Friend Request

Can You RelateBy Thom Mollohan


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The word friend itself will likely losepower and significance, possibly obscuringthe importance of the kind of relationshipthat we need and deeply crave.

One of the highest virtues quicklyidentified with true friendship ispersonal sacrifice on behalf ofanother, even to the point of death.

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I dont want to rush Christmas, but considering the heat wave that is hovering over most of the nation,perhaps its not a bad idea to imagine Santa Clause sweeping through a deep, cold Christmas snow. Whoknows, it might even be a bit therapeutic. Santa makes me think of a modern remake of the popular Christmasmovie Miracle on 34th Street, in which an attorney tries to prove that Santa exists by citing the wordswritten on a dollar bill: In God We Trust. He concluded that if the United States government can put its faithin an entity without providing any proof of its existence, then by the collaborative belief of the citizens of NewYork City, the judge should accept that Santa Claus exists in the person of Kris Kringle. In the movies climax,the judge is persuaded and the entire city breaks out in a joyous celebration.

C O R N E R E D B Y G R A C E / / B Y R O B B E A M E S


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In reality, you and I certainly arent wrestling withwhether Santa exists, and most of us take for grantedthat God exists too. Rather, the issue we wrestle withis the manner in which God exists in our lives. Wemight readily believe, by faith, that Gods presencein our life is constant and benevolent toward us. Yet,as we go about our daily lives we may distrust thistruth more than we know. Given our past experience,its easy to pervert Gods role in our lives to matchthe flawed authority figures we known, such as apower-hungry police officer, an overbearing parent,a humiliating boss, a cruel landlord, etc. All of theseflawed relationships have subtly formed a backdropfor our thoughts about God, even though we may notrealize it.

A well known English short story writer of the 1930s,W. W. Jacobs, wrote a story that burned an intenseimprint on my mind from the first time I read it.As the story goes, a couple find themselves in thepossession of a monkey paw, which promises togrant them three wishes. As many of us might do,they spend their first wish asking for a ton of money.The enchanted appendage immediately produces,but only through the death of their beloved, albeitheavily insured, son in a vicious car wreck. After theydiscover the source of their newly found wealth, themother hastily wishes her son back home alive. Soon,there is an eerie knock at their front door by the handof a scarred, partially decomposed, walking zombie!Too afraid to look at their sons now repugnantexistence, the father mercifully uses the last wish to

return their son to the grave from which he came.

It may be imperceptible to us, but too often, we actas if God deals with us like the wicked monkey pawin the story dealt with that couplelike Hes out tomake us the butt of cruel ironies. However, this isntthe way Jesus described Gods nature:

Sadly, we often dont ask God, because we fearwe will get what we want only at a grave price. Weare sometimes afraid to seek, because we dontknow if well want what we find. At times, we arehesitant to knock for fear the door will be openedby a hideous creature. Yet, this scripture, as well asmany like it, clearly and gently rebuke this counterfeitconcept of God.

In our sinful state we too readily believe lies aboutwho God is. Since we know we actually deserve asnake, its difficult to believe this is not the way Godtreats His precious children. We may conceive ourreward to be a poisonous scorpion, so we dont wantto accept our Fathers loving response to His prizedpossessions. Ultimately, we can be sure of this fact:God knows how to give good gifts to us. He notonly knows how to do so, but He continually gives tous in the person and presence of the Holy Spirit. Atone time or another we have all wanted God to be likeSanta and unload a big, red bag of toys, but He givesus much more than that. He gives us Himself! Onlyin His faultless wisdom, can He know that this is thebest, most treasured gift He could possibly give to us.

This truth is difficult to believe at times, especiallywhen we experience pain, loss or brokenness. Whatwe experience at the hand of our loving Fatherdoesnt always seem to match what Hes revealedabout His incredible loving nature toward us. But wecan be certain He experiences every minute of whatwe experience alongside of us. He paid an incredibleprice for the right to do just that!

Its been said that all one has to do to catch amonkey is to put a piece of fruit in a tree trunk witha hole only big enough for the monkeys hand to fit.Supposedly, once the monkey has the fruit in hishand, he will refuse to loosen his clinched fist, evento free himself. We can have this kind of absurdtenacity when it comes to holding on to false imagesof God. Sometimes its difficult to let go, even if itmeans our freedom.

Given what Jesus has revealed about Gods character,we should no longer believe that God would try toset us up, like some control-hungry villain. No, wecan trust in His constant goodness toward usevenif it doesnt always seem good to us. Its alright todrop the bananathat one held tightly in the fist ofthe monkeys paw. That false, monkey-paw conceptof God can go, too. We are now free to grab onto thetruth that Hes revealed about Himselfand bask init! (I believe He wanted me to remind you of this.)


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Most of us have read or recited numerous times the words taken fromthe Lords Prayer, Your will be done, but how often have we trulypondered what that means? What is the signi cance of requestingthat Gods will be done?

GM : 14

BY WILL DOLE

PHOTO COURTESY OF DILLA AWALUDDIN


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When we pray, we are approaching God as a child doesa loving father. Its sometimes dif cult to associate thefactespecially since we cant see Himthat God isntsome faceless, nameless force in the sky. Neither is He the

awed, violent, condescending, harsh, neglectful, cruel,uncaring, mean, or otherwise sinful father we may have inthis world. No, He is the perfect Father to us all, especiallyto the fatherless. Regardless of the type of relationshipwe have had with our dad here on earthif we had oneat allwe can trust that God will consistently treat us in aloving and caring way.

Nevertheless, when we make requests to Him, we shouldkeep in mind that He is sovereign. This means He is all-powerful over all that He has made, and that He has aperfect plan which will be carried out. That may not soundcomforting, because it means we are not in control. Yet,because He knows us and has entered intoa relationshipwith us, His control is the best thing for us.

We also should keep in mind that God deeply loves us,and from this love He carries out His plan for our lives.This being true, after a while we may start to wonder if we need to pray. We might think that if God is all powerfuland is going to execute His plan anyway, there is no pointin praying. Why should we take our cares to God whoalready knows them? Thats a good question.

Part of the answer lies in the question itself. We should takeour cares to God because He already knows them. Whenwe put these two truths together and understand themthe fact that He is both all-knowing and all-powerfulwecan truly pray Your will be done. Since God will see Hisperfect will done in the end, we should ask for it, too. Ithelps us align our heart with His.

This is how Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, Father, if You are willing, take this cup from Me; yet notMy will, but Yours be done (Luke 22:42). Its amazingto think that Jesus Christ, God incarnate, the secondmember of the Trinity, humbled Himself to join us in ourhuman plight. This prayer is lifted up just before Jesusis betrayed by Judas and turned over to be cruci ed, soHes pretty desperate. But thats just part of it. No doubt

His greater anguish stems from knowing that somethingis about to happen for the rst and only time in all of history, written and unwritten: the separation of JesusChrist from God the Father. The excruciating physical painof the cruci xion is surely secondary to the emotional andspiritual af iction Jesus is about to undergo.

So in His moment of extreme distress, what does Jesusdo? He prays. Jesus goes to the One who holds the entireworld in the palm of His hand, and humbly makes Hisrequests. He acknowledges His pain, His anxiety, and Hissorrow. He admits that He would much rather not bear

this pain, and if He could take another route, He would.But most importantly He submits to the will of the Father.And after He had done so, God sent an angel to give Himstrength. Did God change the path for Jesus? No, butHe did provide the means to endure it. God cares moreabout the loving relationship He offers us, than about ourcomfort, success or even our earthly life.

When we recognize that we have a loving Father who notonly created us, but intensely loves us, we can trust thatHe will always act in our best interest. Sometimes this trustcomes by faith alone, because its dif cult to understand

or experience at the time. But, when we ponder Godstrue character, we can sincerely pray Your will be done. Coming to this place of humility will radically transform ourprayer life. It takes God out of the box where our minds sooften con ne Him, and restores Him to His rightful placeon the throne of our lives.

We should also keep in mind that

GOD DEEPLY LOVES US, AND FROM THIS LOVE

H E C A R R I E S O U T H I S P L A N S F O R O U R L I V E S .

God cares more about the loving relationship He offers us, than about our comfort, success or even our earthly life.


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BOOK REVIEW: Imaginary Jesus

THE RECAP

genuine motivation: young christian man sept 10

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