Genuine Motivation: Young Christian Man Aug 2011

V GENUINE MOTIV TION AUG

2011

EMBRACE BOREDOM (FOR A SEASON) THE RIGHT

CONDITIONS

FOR UNCONDITIONAL LOVE JESUS ON NAZARETH:

SHEESH! NO RESPECT!

HIGH TECH BIBLE TOOLS (BEYOND LOGOS)

YOUNG CHRISTIAN MAN

YOUNG CHRISTIAN MAN 04

Feature Article: Bored for a Season

08

On The Couch: Uncomfortably Suited

10

Can You Relate: Jesus on Nazareth: Sheesh, No Respect!

12

May God Bless the Hell Out of You: The Right Conditions THE MERRY MONK For Unconditional Love

14

Cornered by Grace: Shame on You! (NOT)

16

Press On: How to become Addicted To God (Conclusion)

18

The Tool Box: Bible Study Resources

DAVID PRATT

Randy kosloski

Thomas Mollohan

ROBERT BEAMES WILL DOLE

Jeffrey Bridgman

a publication of On My Own now Ministries

www.onmyownnow.com

Visit our Archives to VieW PAST ISSUES OF GENUINE MOTIVATION

AUGUST 2011 Editor In Chief / Rob Beames Art + Creative Director / MIKE MURO & DANIELA BERMÚDEZ

BORED FOR A SEASON

GM : 04

Feature Article - by - DAVID PRATT

If the beginning of this essay seems a little boring, that would be because it’s about my life, which was boring for a long time. But hang in here with me — I promise it gets better.

My childhood was sadly typical of the American family of the last couple of decades. My mom and dad had both been married before, and had a blended family with one child right out of the starting gate. Then not long after they were married, Mom became pregnant with me, and down the road came my little sister.

When I was nine, one day I came home from school to find my mom already home and sitting on the couch in the living room. Through her sobs, I managed to make out something to the effect of “your dad’s not coming home today.” As it was put to me, dad had found another family in another town and decided that was where he wanted to be. To spare you the details of the emotional torment I felt for some time (which a majority of American youth are intimately acquainted with anyway), it’s enough to say the remainder of my childhood was spent in a broken home with separate families, leading separate lives.

The relevance of my childhood to my purity journey is simply that I never had an example of what a godly, healthy marriage relationship should be like. There was no “mom and dad” in the angst of my adolescence and teenage years. That’s not to say that my mother didn’t do the best she could. I love my mother and am fully grateful for the efforts she made to raise us the best she could.

Nonetheless, it was not a home with open communication.

We just didn’t talk about things like our problems, feelings, schedules and especially not about sex or the opposite sex.

There were a lot of serious, significant conversations that needed to take place, but never did. We went to church every other weekend, stayed away from drugs and alcohol, and basically lived very boring lives. I was raised to be a good kid who stays out of trouble.

If it wasn’t a good family influence that set me on the right track, then what was it? To be quite honest, I’m pretty sure my initial decision to not have premarital sex was made in seventh grade science class, the unit on sex education.

Gross pictures and horrific stories scared the sex out of me! I realized then that I had no desire to have sex before I was married.

High school was spent listening to stories of who’d done what with whom and where and how and other details that still turn my face red as I’m writing this. There was pressure for everyone, but for me, an athlete, it was worse. All the other guys were doing that stuff, so why shouldn’t I? As bad as I wanted to “become a man” (how cliché is that), I stayed away from sex to stay out of trouble. There was something else too: the people around me who were having sex and partying their weekends away weren’t happy. They talked like everything was awesome and just what they wanted, but their lives were empty.

There was a lot of junk to deal with in high school, but I

had other, good influences too. My core group of friends was incredible. We not only got along well, but they put up with me, listened to me, encouraged me. They lived life with me, hurting when I hurt and rejoicing when I was joyful. Those guys got me plugged into a ministry where people cared for me, mentored me and prayed for me.

I had no idea that strangers could care so much about me. These were the kind of people who you can tell are set apart by the kind of life they live. I heard them talk about purity and about living a life that was righteous and without blemish before a God who desires those things from me. Even though I knew it was good to be a Christian, I didn’t understand the relationship they were describing.

As I spent more time learning and listening to my Christian friends, I noticed more and more of them were pledging to live a certain lifestyle before the Lord. They wanted to wait for marriage to have sex to honor their King, not just to stay out of trouble and avoid nasty STDs or fathering a child. Then I began to want that too. I didn’t know why, but I wanted that very badly. Soon I realized that my life and my virginity did not belong to me anymore, but to my King.

By the time I graduated from high school, I felt certain I had heard all the stories and experienced all the temptations…WRONG! High school was nothing compared to living in a coed dorm my freshman year. I went from being sheltered and guarded to having no area of my life private anymore. Not only was my life open to the public, so was everyone else’s. There are things you just don’t need to know about other people — and I knew them all!

It doesn’t take long to realize when you’re out on your own for the first time that all the ideals, promises and good intentions you had going in get shattered very quickly.

The little world I had known was being blown away. I was surrounded and bombarded by all kinds of things I had been able to avoid during high school. Everywhere I turned there were people, drinks, smells, substances, etc., going around that I didn’t want anything to do with — and all this in a Christian university! Call me a wimp, pansy, momma’s boy or whatever you like, but I knew they were not things that honored Christ.

Again, it was true friends that helped me stay the course.

If it had not been for a couple of people in my college life who believed with me and in me, I very easily could have gotten lost in the midst of all the craziness. I can’t stress enough how important it is to surround yourself with people who are not afraid to live a Christ-like life along with you.

That doesn’t mean I didn’t struggle in faith. I had a lot of unanswered questions about how to apply biblical principles to my life: “What does this mean?” “Should I do this or that?” “What in the world am I doing here?” In retrospect, I can’t really say how or why things worked in my life the way they did, except that God wanted it and He made it happen.

GM : 05

Toward the end of my second year of college, an acquaintance from the campus Baptist ministry approached me about staying around that summer to be an intern with a student ministry at a local church. I had never given much thought to going into ministry, and really didn’t even want to. Without thinking about it, I said yes, and served in this church for $40 a week.

Then things got confusing, but I believe it was all under the control of God. He does what He wants; He has the right to do that. Now that I was actually contemplating ministry, things that were never too much of a temptation before came at me all of a sudden like a hurricane.

I realize now that the Devil really does not want people to be in ministry or to seek God’s will for their lives. When you begin to really pursue God and His desires, Satan will go in hot pursuit of you. It’s in the Bible; you should check it out in Mark 4. He is trying to steal your life away from you.

For me, that meant that he was coming at me with sexual temptation and sin. What had not been a problem for me, or even a real temptation, became one big-time when I surrendered to follow God’s call to ministry. The choice to give away my virginity and have sex outside of marriage was all of sudden right on my doorstep.

It was no coincidence (there are no coincidences!) that I was living by myself that summer, isolated from those strong friendships. I was alone, except for the opportunities to give in to my flesh and be with girls who would have welcomed it. I would be lying to say I was not interested and that the thought never crossed my mind.

I knew that no one else would have to know what I had done over the summer. It was a ridiculously tough time in my life and one that very few people know about to this day.

But I fought it. In the back of my mind was always the thought that sex outside of marriage was not what God or I wanted for my life. Knowing that I was about to go into a lifestyle where my choices and actions would be held to a higher accountability made it an even more critical issue. I could not minister to someone if I wasn’t living the life that I claimed to believe in. It was a gut-wrenching time for me. I have never been through anything that was so torturing to wrestle with, but deep down the Lord continued to give me the strength to overcome. It sounds stupid, but it is the truth. God will give us the strength and opportunity to avoid the things that cloud our relationship with Him. We must have the courage to follow Him. It was also no accident that within my first week of ministry as an intern, I met the girl who would be my bride two and a half years later. We spent quite a while serving together and getting to know each other before we even realized what was going on between us. God was moving our hearts closer. After about a year, we began dating.

Then a year later, we got engaged and six months later, married.

There was no way at the time, when i was struggling with

GM : 06

temptation, that i could have seen or realized what god had in store. To think that i might have given in to a few moments of pleasure makes me sick, when i compare it to the relationship i have with my wife.

IT’S LIKE I ALMOST CHOSE BEEF JERKY OVER FILET MIGNON (which is a steak… you should try it sometime).

During that first year, my future wife and I were both a part of a student ministry that put a lot of emphasis on understanding what God desired of our lives in purity and obedience with our bodies. One evening we had a service called “My Beloved.” We spent that evening writing letters to our future spouses, promising that we would wait until that night that God would allow us to be together. We even received rings with “My Beloved” inscribed on the outside.

The rings were supposed to be worn until the day we were able to replace them with our wedding bands. Even though I had chosen abstinence, that night was the first time I had ever actually made a promise. And I had no idea that the woman to whom I was writing that letter was sitting in the room, writing a letter to me as well.

Some two years later during our wedding ceremony when it was time to exchange rings, stare in each other’s eyes and say the mushy vows and so on (like you see on TV), my bride had to remove the “My Beloved” ring before she could put on my wedding band. Having to take off that ring was one of the coolest moments of the wedding. I had been able to keep my promise to her, just as she had been able to keep her promise to me. We enjoyed our first night together knowing in full confidence that we belonged to each other. There is something incredible about knowing that we gave something to each other that we have never shared with anyone else.

It really was an incredible day that I thankfully will only enjoy once, as strange as that sounds. (And I pray the same for you.) My wife is my beauty and my bride.

Marriage isn’t always easy, but we know we belong to each other. It’s a beauty that we were all made to know.

I have no regrets about how my life was lived, even though it was at times painfully frustrating and sometimes just plain dull. But to be able to look back and see that God was doing something through my frustration and dullness gives me great joy today.

I don’t know who you are or what you’ve been through or done in life, but I know this: God is calling you to live through Him. And I pray that you might be at peace knowing that God may desire a season of boredom for you.

GOD IS CALLING YOU TO LIVE THROUGH HIM. AND I PRAY THAT YOU MIGHT BE AT PEACE KNOWING THAT GOD MAY DESIRE A SEASON OF BOREDOM FOR YOU.

This story was excerpted from the new book Purity’s Big Payoff/Premarital Sex is a Big Rip-off, edited by Donna Lee Schillinger.

The most difficult task in the life of a Christian single today is maintaining purity until marriage. The payoff is perfect love and sex, just as our Creator intended. But if that’s so awesome, why aren’t more people choosing it? And how can premarital sex be so bad if so many people are doing it and loving it? People who were virgins when they married aren’t usually the type to kiss and tell. And when premarital sex goes wrong, no one wants to Tweet it.

This awkward silence from both contingents isn’t helping the next generation to decide well on the issue of premarital sex.

Purity’s Big Payoff/Premarital Sex is a Big Rip-off is a collection of 17 firstperson narratives about successfully waiting for marriage to have sex—or not. Contributors on both sides of the issue candidly share in face-reddening detail what they learned on their way to the wedding bed. Young people aiming to remain pure will be encouraged and learn practical strategies for resisting sexual temptation. Those who wish they had waited will learn that it’s never too late to restore purity with God’s grace.

Learn more at PuritysBigPayoff.com. Now on sale at major online booksellers, through your local bookstore or for a special price of $12 plus free shipping at www.OnMyOwnNow.com, which receives as a donation half of the proceeds of its sales. Also available in Kindle through Amazon.com.

También en español: La Gran Recompensa de la Pureza / La Gran Estafa del Sexo Prematrimonial. Visite www.VivaLaPureza.info.

on the couch

UNCOMFORTABLY SUITED

by Randy Kosloski

“CHANGE IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE. BE WILLING TO EXCHANGE WHAT YOU ARE, FOR WHAT YOU COULD BECOME.”

- ANONYMOUS

Wearing a three-piece suit is an oddly acceptable form of torture for a man. It’s as bad as laying lock stone. I remember once I had to lay lock stone with my father to refinish our driveway. After that experience, I concluded that there would be a section in hell for certain people to lay lock stone in the heat. Some years later I had my first experience with a three-piece suit and decided that there would be people in hell forced to wear three-piece suits, as well. And the really depraved will be laying lock stone in the heat, while wearing three-piece suits. When locked inside a three-piece suit there is constant heat, constraint and mental anguish. The best feeling in the world can be to peel that suit away from your body. The euphoria which ensues is largely because it feels like you have been wearing the uncomfortable suit for years, though it may have only been a few minutes.

A religious persona can feel very similar to the threepiece suit. It can be constraining. It can cause angst as well as the desire to peel it off in the most inappropriate ways.

I once did my very best to help a man we’ll call Drake who came to me because he was having such a hard time keeping on his straight-and-narrow, three-piece suit. He was finding himself drawn to completely inappropriate devices to shed his. He thought what was binding him was low self esteem. I really felt that the problem was the suit.

When you are wearing the suit, nothing looks right or feels right, because you are interpreting everything through the aguish that you constantly feel while wearing the suit. The suit taints everything. I do not think that I was ever really able to convince Drake of my theory that the suit was stifling him. He would nod politely, but I think there was something about him that sort of liked the suit.

Jesus was always rebuking religious people, calling them hypocrites, and noting that their hearts did not match their religious fervor. Whereas the religious of Jesus’ day were too deep into themselves to receive salvation, sinners honestly came to Jesus’ feet, begging forgiveness. Maybe this is what we should do, wear our sins honestly and let God do His work. Hide them inside a religious three-piece suit and we can become like the religious elite of Jesus’ day, almost beyond saving.

The Pharisees were pretty good at wearing their suits all day every day. But more often today, like in Drake’s case, we slip out of the suit when no one is looking, if only for a moment, to be recharged. Drake would jump out alright, get into some nasty stuff, and jump back in, slightly revived. However, consequences followed him.

Not only did the consequences of his nasty stuff follow him, but there were also consequences for the false belief he had that he could jump in and out of his faith, like changing clothes. As a result, his faith was thin and largely ineffective. He could not lead his family or be effective in his work because the Spirit of God was not with him. He was not truly living his faith. He was only wearing it from time to time.

In The Voyage of the Dawntreader, C.S. Lewis writes about how Aslan, a Christ-figure, had to tear into the very heart of Eustace to peel the dragon’s body off him.

Lewis accurately depicts this transformation as only a beginning. Even after he once again looked like a young boy, he was not immediately a different person. It was obvious to everyone when Eustace shed his three-piece dragon suit, so he had no choice but to be honest from then on. His honesty is what allowed him to be changed. It’s the same for everyone.

Unfortunately, I am not as good a therapist as Aslan, and I was not able to rip into the heart of Drake and peel his three-piece suit from him. But, in my defense, Aslan has the luxury of choosing his timing. Aslan was able to wait until Eustace had learned what he needed to learn and until he had suffered just enough in his three-piece suit. He didn’t wait so long as to allow Eustace to be bitter and hopeless. But he left him in his state long enough for the lesson of the suit to take root.

I have not mastered the art of timing to this degree.

Drake is probably still wearing his suit from time to time.

Sometimes after attending a wedding, I will take my three-piece suit off at the entrance of my home. I drop my suit right next to my shoes at the door. The ecstasy of tearing that three-piece suit off is really something that can only be experienced and not described. It is impossible to live inside the three-piece suit; the suit itself necessitates a break out. When the three-piece suit is of a religious nature, these breakouts can be very ugly. However, if we will ditch the suit and just live inside our own skin, Jesus can meet us and change us.

GM : 09

JESUS ON NAZARETH:

SHEESH, NO RESPECT!

CAN YOU RELATE / BY THOM MOLLOHAN “Going home is never easy,” I once heard someone say. I’ve also heard that once you leave and set out on your own path in life, “you can never really go back home.” I’m not sure that such sweeping statements apply to every situation, but they certainly applied to the Lord Jesus who did go back to His hometown in the days of His earthly ministry.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, spent a very brief time in Egypt – when Herod the Great was trying to find and kill Him – and he frequented Jerusalem, in accordance with the law of Moses. But the town of Nazareth is privileged to be known as Jesus’ hometown. It was Nazareth in which the Lord would have cultivated His earliest human friendships and fond memories. Did He feel sentimental towards this small town and wax nostalgic whenever He heard the first century equivalent of the Bruce Springsteen song, “This Is Your Hometown”? I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that He did.

What I do see, however, as I read of Jesus’ experience of going back home, is that Nazareth had no earthly idea who they had in their ranks for nearly thirty years.

GM : 10

“Jesus… went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

‘Where did this man get these things?’ they asked. ‘What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home’” (Mark 6:1-4).

What a shame! They thought they were seeing right through this guy, but they really didn’t know Him at all.

And in dismissing His divine identity, they were dismissing the very hope and only source of life that each and every one of Nazareth’s citizens so desperately needed.

“He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mark 6:5-6).

There are a lot of takes on Mark 6:5. Some say that somehow God’s power was curtailed by the hard hearts of the people of Nazareth. I disagree. Refusing to recognize the glorious nature of Jesus cannot in any way diminish it.

What it can do is tragically limit what we could otherwise hope for in knowing Him. If we don’t recognize the Living Water, our parched souls will always thirst (John 4:10, 14-15; Jeremiah 2:13). Refusing to accept that He has the authority to forgive sin prevents us from having that cursed burden lifted from our shoulders and being liberated from crushing condemnation (Matthew 9:2, 5-6; John 8:10-11; Romans 8:1).

What miracles then couldn’t He do in the little burg of Nazareth? Well, His power over the physical realm was clearly unhindered, for He was still fully capable of bringing healing to physical bodies – and did so for some. Yet, the spiritual diseases of the people remained with them. The people’s collective refusal to accept Jesus for who He was closed their hearts to His power. In fact, Matthew 13 says that they “took offense at Him” (verse 57) and Mark 4 records that they practically lynched Him. Why? Because they felt that this carpenter had forgotten His place in society and was meddling with their personal lives. People don’t like when others point out their depravity, especially when it’s from one of their own.

We often say things like, “Just who does he think he is anyway? Why, that hypocrite! Where does he get off telling me how to live my life?”

Yes, it was actually in the spiritual realm that Jesus couldn’t work miracles. The hearts of the Nazarenes could not be penetrated. Though Jesus’ power is not diminished by lack of faith on your part or mine, we can be rendered unreachable if we refuse to climb down off of the pedestal of our pride and relinquish our selfishness. If we reject His right to our lives as Lord, or refuse to acknowledge the truth of His Word as applied to our lives – that we need to forsake sin and follow Him, we miss out on the grace that He would lavish upon us, if we would simply humble ourselves and turn to Him. Just think of the power that God could unleash in our lives if we would turn wholeheartedly to Him and let Him into our hearts! Such power can transform us, our family, our community and our country!

“IF MY PEOPLE, WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME, WILL HUMBLE THEMSELVES AND PRAY AND SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN I WILL HEAR FROM HEAVEN AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND” (2 CHRONICLES 7:14).

We as a people need miracles – especially that of transformation from self-serving to serving God and others. We need the miracle of hearts being set free from hopelessness and despair, given instead a new destiny filled with purpose, peace and joy. God wants to do just that in our lives! He is only waiting on us to really start believing that He is who He says He is, to repent, and to turn to Him.

Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past 15 ½ years and is the author of The Fairy Tale Parables. He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church and may be reached for comments or questions by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com.

GM : 11

THE RIGHT CONDITIONS FOR UNCONDITIONAL

LOVE

Jim Henderson has invented a new religion called Otherlyness. (Whereas I’m not a big fan of religion, I have developed a bizarre obsession with Jesus, and He was certainly…otherly.) Otherlyness has only three practices:

1. Be unusually interested in others.

2. Stay in the same room with those different than you.

3. Refuse to compare my best with your worst.

I love it!

As I asked Tim Tedder, a friend and a marriage counselor, “It all comes down to 100% unconditional love, right?”

Tim replied that unconditional love can be dangerous for people who are used to getting walked on. Some people, in the name of unconditional love, simply refuse to assert themselves or stand up for what’s right; but this isn’t love.

Tim suggested that in marriages, couples are either at war with each other, drifting apart, or actively moving toward each other, despite obstacles.

MAY GOD BLESS THE HELL OUT OF YOU

BY THE MERRY MONK GM : 12

Both Jim and Tim’s ideas are helpful at getting at this thing called love. Love is not an invitation for unchecked abuse, but it is the choice to stay in the room – to remain engaged. Love unconditionally values the other person and actively moves toward them. Jesus did this well, and that’s one of the reasons for my bizarre obsession with Him. That’s great for Jesus, but how do we love this way?

We all want love, but most of us are horrible at loving others. It’s easy to blame others for the lack of love in the world, but the self-aware and honest among us know differently. Humanity is only as healthy as the choices individual people make, and the state of the world reveals that we’re not doing so hot. More importantly, our lack of love is revealed most starkly by the state of our individual lives and relationships.

This can be a painful realization. It’s much easier to ignore our own crap and blame our problems on every other type of people. The list of people causing problems is endless, but the biggest problem is that I’m usually last on the list, and so are you.

Now, we’re not stupid. Experience tells us that we better look out for ourselves because other people won’t; so we put up walls. We’ve all experienced legitimate pain in the past and we’ve developed all kinds of creative and selfdeceptive ways to protect against future trauma. But the full-circle irony is that the hell we’re experiencing is caused by everyone looking out for themselves.

The only way we can fill the world with more love is if we become more loving. That’s a tall order when even the best of us can’t live up to our own standards. Should we lower our standards and accept a world imprisoned by selfishness? Many will, but not me. That’s not because I’m such a stellar human being. The reason I won’t accept less than love is that I’ve had the privilege of meeting Him. That’s the key. The only people who can love are those who’ve met Love, and you can tell how well someone knows Him by how loved you feel in their presence.

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8) I had read about Love. I had heard about Love. I had sensed Love’s presence in nature, but everything changed when I met Him. I met Love in my wife. I met Him in my parents. I met Love in Steve Brown and in other friends who’ve taught me Love’s ways, not only with words, but with action. These people have practiced otherlyness and have consistently moved toward me unconditionally. They have been Love incarnate, and it’s made all the difference. They showed me that Love’s selfless spirit is still alive and active in powerful ways in people’s lives.

Once I met Love’s spirit in the flesh and was convinced of His gentleness, kindness and transformative power, it was a short leap of faith to ask the spirit of Love to fill me, too.

Unconditional love must be manifest in the flesh or it’s just a nice idea.

This is incredibly hard. We have spent so much time protecting ourselves in the patterns of our labyrinthine prisons that lovingly giving ourselves away for the benefit of others can be a horrifying prospect. Especially when the others for whom we’re sacrificing don’t care, or worse, are actively engaged in trying to hurt us. It’s much easier to

act out of fear, put up a wall, take care of ourselves and let everyone one else fight for whatever scraps they can scrounge for themselves. Instead of acting in love and trusting Love to protect us, we’re constantly choosing to leave Love’s way.

People in my life have suffered, but that’s their own fault.

If they only knew how to love, they wouldn’t have to pay the price for their loveless actions. I eventually found myself isolated in a labyrinth of my own creation longing for Love.

One particularly dark evening, Love’s light visited me. He asked, “Son, why are you all alone?” I told Him that His world is filled with people who don’t know how to love, so I bailed. Then Love sang me a song.

“If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.

If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the home.

If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nation.

If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”

That sounded good, so I asked Love to put light in the souls of my wife, kids, friends and all the dirt bags in the world, because they were driving me nuts! Love replied, “That’s funny, everyone around you is asking Me to put the light of Love in your soul. When you receive the light of Love, you will become Love incarnate to those people who drive you nuts. Then leave the rest to Me.” I asked, “How do I get the light of Love in my soul?”

Love’s answer was simple, “Let Me love you…even though you’re totally turned around, we can find the way out of your labyrinth together.”

Then the strangest thing happened. Being loved unconditionally made me want to be more loving. I was so grateful that I didn’t have to suffer the consequences of my loveless actions alone, that I wanted to come out of my fortress of solitude and trust Love. I didn’t only want to trust Him to love me unconditionally, I wanted to trust Him with the people in my life who don’t know how to love.

This is the way to love like Jesus. We receive unconditional love from Love Himself. In grateful response we extend unconditional love to the unlovely until we can’t anymore.

When we fail to be Love incarnate, we go back to Love – or He comes to us – to let Him love us out of our prisons.

Little by little we become more like Love. This is the way to love like Jesus and fill the world with the image of Love!

GM : 13

SHAME

ON YOU

NOT C O R N E R E D BY G RAC E BY

ROB BEAMES

Nearing the end of my commute home from work, I noticed how nice the straight line of trees along one side of the road leading to our subdivision looked. Almost every one of them had nicely-shaped, full branches. They were just planted a few years ago, and I hadn’t imagined they would look so good so soon. But then last week, the talk about widening our road became a reality, and one morning I noticed that those trees were now just ugly trunks, standing erect and sawed off at their branches.

I thought, “Shame on them! Was there no way to replant those trees?” I would have loved to have one in my front yard. It’s all done in the name of progress, I suppose.

GM : 14

For some of us, this might seem to be a fitting illustration for the Biblical rebirth. Even if we don’t think of it quite like this, we may be living as if we were stripped of our former glory when we got saved. Now all that’s left is the naked truth about us and, well, it’s shameful.

Paul wrote frequently about regeneration as a key principle of the Gospel of Christ, “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.

He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3: 4-8).

We see here that spiritual renewal is not a result of anything we do; it’s only because of His mercy that we were made into new creatures and now oriented toward Him. We are also note that the washing is done by the Holy Spirit. Although we do contribute to our change, we are not the primary cause of it. The Holy Spirit makes us a new person when we trust in Christ alone to save us. This doesn’t remove our responsibility to change, but it does remove the guilt associated with our failures.

Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the concept of becoming new in John 3. This famous text formulates the very idea of what being a Christian means for many: being born again. And yet we also compare our spiritual renewal to how a baby has to gradually learn to walk, talk and think.

While conforming to the image of Christ may take time, that does not negate the complete transformation that does take place when a person accepts Christ into his heart. Nicodemus had trouble grasping the concept of how an adult man can be made into a new person with unlimited potential for growth – a mysterious truth that has to be accepted in faith. Challenging as it may be, we also need to capture and apply this truth of instantaneous, spiritual change of the new birth.

Maybe some of us feel like those sawed-off tree trunks in my neighborhood. Everything that made us who we are is for the burn pile now and slowly but surely we’ve got to re-grow some fruit-bearing branches. While it is true that God does cut away our dead branches, spiritually, He does not saw off all our branches in the moment we let Him in.

Rather, he makes us new creations, instantly! It would be like those trees in my neighborhood being replanted into a new spot and now bearing beautiful branches. That’s regeneration!

Just as regularly as we change clothes, we should also be reminded of our new position and identity in Christ. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true

righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

Of course, we are still a work in progress, and we often don’t act like our new selves – shame on us…in a way.

Even in our failures, we must not forget that God only sees the righteousness and holiness which is ours by faith. It’s not fair, but it’s precisely why absolutely no shame remains on us. Our shame was placed on Jesus Christ in full.

Shame is not generously poured out on us. No, through Jesus we are drenched in the Holy Spirit, not shame. By faith, we can set aside the shame we feel, along with our old way of life, and put on our new identity in Christ. As Christians, we no longer bear guilt and shame. We are 100% complete because of the perfect work and death of Jesus.

Do you lack devotion and love for Christ? Shame on you.

No! (Haven’t you been paying attention?)

ALL OF OUR SHAME – PAST AND FUTURE – WAS ON HIM. Knowing this, you can stretch yourself however His love beacons you. You can’t? Well, then, shame on you. No! (Getting with the program now?) His Holy Spirit has transformed you and will continue to change you as you patiently and persistently struggle with your sinful nature.

There is now, therefore, no condemnation – nor shame – for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).

Do you struggle with inferiority? Do you attend too many self-pity parties? Do you too quickly run away from challenges, or just remain passive when you know you ought to act? Shame on you. Not at all! (I bet you saw that one coming.) There is no shame on you any longer. All the shame that should have rested on you crushed Jesus on the cross. When we trust in that fact alone, and stop considering our constant failures as we strive to be like Him, then we are able to break free of these inhibiting patterns of self-loathing, passivity and guilt. We can start to become the person God has created us to be. We can start to do the good things we were created to do in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:10). We can do even greater things than we can imagine as we start to realize that we no longer bear shame, as it was washed away by Christ the moment we trusted in Him. Shame on you? (Say it with me, now…) No! Jesus washed away all our shame with His blood. Praise God that He loves us that much! We can now make the talk a reality.

Now, we can live for Him, and no longer live in shame.

GM : 15

HOW TO BECOME

ADDICTED TO GOD

CONCLUSION: DEVOTED TO PRAYER

PRESS ON

BY WILL DOLE GM : 16

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”

In the past three issues, we have delved into the question of how to become addicted to God, that is, how to follow Him both passionately and dependently. The focal point of this discussion has been Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” We’ve covered the other aspects of this verse (see the Press On archives for May, June and July 2011); only the topic of prayer remains.

I personally struggle greatly with prayer, so any lack of cohesiveness which may follow is due mainly to the fact that I wrestled with this as I wrote. I pray that my struggles prove beneficial.

One of the first issues many of us face in relation to prayer is the fact that we lead exceedingly busy lives. We know we ought to pray, but there simply doesn’t seem to be the time. Between work, school and social activities, the number of things demanding our attention already leaves us wondering if there really ought to be more hours in a day. Even the time that we consider as being dedicated to God is often filled with texting, checking Facebook updates, or sending email in an attempt to stay connected and minister to other believers. In a world where we rely more heavily on caffeine and sugar to energize our day than we do sleep and rest, who has time to pray?

As I pondered this poor excuse for my rotten prayer life, Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 came to mind: “Pray continually.” But how does this work? Does a switch flip inside my head one day, causing me to become a superhero Christian who spends 24 hours a day on my knees? Will I have to give up all else to do this? Obviously, this is not the case; but how does this concept meet real life?

When Paul says, “Pray continually,” he’s not suggesting it; it’s not one in a list of seven things to make us happier.

These instructions are sandwiched between commands such as “be patient, kind, fair, joyful and thankful.” Like these other exercises in controlling the self, it seems we must consciously decide to pray continually.

Colossians 4:2 says, “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” And Ephesians 6:18 states, “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and

ACTS 2:42

requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” These scriptures use words like “devote,” “continuously,” “all occasions,” “be alert,” and “keep on,” indicating the thought and diligence required. Continual prayer doesn’t happen unintentionally.

There isn’t some magical Bible passage to read to make ourselves pray more. We are to keep on devoting ourselves to it, in a continuous manner. Maybe it sounds archaic, but prayer really is a spiritual discipline. It is not natural to us, which is why it requires our devotion. What’s natural is to think of ways to satisfy self, but those thoughts cannot coexist with the sincere act of prayer.

Prayer says that I am dependent on God, whereas my natural inclination is to rely on my own wisdom and strength. In prayer, I make my requests known to God, even though often I am ashamed to tell God what I desire – as if He doesn’t know. In prayer, I praise God and lift to Him my thanksgiving, which is to deny that I have earned anything. Instead, I acknowledge that anything I receive is a gracious gift from my Heavenly Father. All of this runs counter to the flesh, which as Paul tells us, is at odds with the things of God (Galatians 5:17). So prayer is not simple.

It is not easy. It does require discipline.

Another thing I draw from the Bible’s discussion on prayer is that it is exceedingly important in continued spiritual growth. Prayer is a means of submitting our own will to His, and to neglect prayer is the same as believing ourselves capable of righteousness in our own power (Romans 7). We must continue always in prayer and submission, because Satan is constantly looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), and it is only in following Jesus that I am safe and able to have peace in spite of my circumstances. Even Jesus, God in human flesh, devoted much time to prayer (see John 17, Luke 24).

The point is that prayer is not easy. So long as we live in a sinful world and struggle with our fleshly nature, we will find it difficult to pray, at times. But it is necessary for continued growth and a deep relationship with our God, so it is incredibly worthwhile. I say all this not to guilt you into praying, but rather, so that your addiction to God might be complete! Submit yourself in prayer to the One who created you. “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you,” (1 Peter 5:7).

GM : 17

THE TOOL BOX BIBLE STUDY RESOURCES

BY JEFFREY BRIDGMAN

“WATCH YOUR LIFE AND DOCTRINE CLOSELY. PERSEVERE IN THEM...”

I TIMOTHY 4:16

Need some high-tech tools to help live this verse out?

Try these:

BIBLE STUDY SOFTWARE • E-Sword – the Sword of the Lord with an electronic edge. You can load various Bible translations, commentaries, devotions, dictionaries and graphics onto your personal PC. Most of these are free, but there are also premiums modules for a fee. Everything is in a single window so you can easily scan back and forth between the Word, commentaries, and dictionaries. By clicking on a verse, you open the related commentary.

Similarly, clicking on a word brings it up in the dictionary, or just hover over words and verses to get pop-up windows with the same information. Additionally, you can create your own study notes directly in the program, search the Bible, get the Bible in Greek and Hebrew, etc.

• Logos – A bible study resource with a comprehensive library just one click away. It is designed to be simple and intuitive yet extremely powerful. Type in a particular topic, person or passage and hit “Go,” and it will pull up everything related to your search, automatically organized. It includes everything you’d expect, like word studies and the ability to compare versions, but you can also set up a reading plan. In addition, it includes visuals of everything from the Temple of Israel to family trees of people in the Bible. It is available for Windows, Mac, and iPhone/iPad in various packages that range from the simple home setup, which includes 80 Bible and reference books, to what would be the equivalent of a full scholarly library containing over 1,600 books. You may experience sticker shock when you see the price, but if you consider the cost of actually buying all those books, along with the ease of use that Logos provides, it’s a steal.

• Quick Verse – similar to both of the above options, but provides more functionality than E-Sword and is cheaper than Logos, a middle-ground that is a popular choice.

ONLINE RESOURCES • YouVersion – Bible reading with a touch of social networking. You can read the Bible online in various versions and language, set up reading plans, connect with friends to keep each other accountable for reading and share notes on scriptures with each other. There’s an app for most mobile devices as well.

• Biblos.com and Studylight.org are similar. They both offer Bibles, dictionaries, concordances, commentaries and various other study tools.

• BibleGateway.com – A quick place to look up a Bible passage, verse or search by a keyword, in a number of versions in English and tons of other languages too.

STILL GOT QUESTIONS? Though not exactly Bible study resources, Got Questions? and Answers in Genesis can be useful for answering questions about things related to God and the Bible.

GM : 18