Hypocrisy

Wow, I haven't written in a very long time. I promise to change that! Ive been busy lately, you know, having a newborn can take up a lot of your time! But, thats gonna change! I miss writing and jotting down my thoughts, so I shall continue!

Today I was talking with a good friend of mine about Christians, the Church, and how hypocrisy runs rampant in both. We compared examples and eventually he asked me, essentially, how I can affiliate myself with such a group thats full of hypocrites? It was an interesting question, but ultimately I don't consider myself a Christian; I am simply someone who loves Jesus and I try the best I can to love everyone else. But, what I tried to explain is that, even though the Church and Christianity are full of hypocrites, you shouldn't let that keep you from Jesus. Like my friend, I have met and talked with a lot of people who have rejected Jesus and Christianity because of the blatant hypocrisy of the church; Pastors who are phony, empty and hollow. 

And you know what? They're right. Now, before you freak out at my response there, keep reading. 

They are right. There is way to much hypocrisy in the church. And there always has been. But, its not like its being condoned. For every hypocrite there are 20+ more men and women of integrity in the Church that cry out against hypocrisy. 

And since when do you let hypocrisy determine your participation or affiliation with anything? We all have heard about all the crazy Doctors that are out there… but has that kept you from going to a Doctor when you're sick? How about all the reports from hamburger meat that had e. coli? Bet you still eat burgers. Despite all the hypocrisy in the government, you still live here, why? Because despite the hypocrisy, America is the best place to live. Period. Even if you abandon Christianity all together, what faith would you turn to where no hypocrisy exists? You think there are no hypocritical Hindus? Muslims? Buddhists? Every belief system has hypocrites that give their respective religion a bad image in some form or fashion.

What you have to remember is that its not our job to bother with the hypocrites, thats God's job (Matthew 24:51). Whatever they do in their life is between them and God, and God will sort it out when its their time. Im not saying its easy to look past them, I know its not. But the Church is not perfect because NOBODY is perfect. But Jesus is. Keep you sights set on Him. 

"We all either try to hide our bad sides or we try to make them look good. But deep inside we all know that we fall short of living the way we know we should. No one can escape the charge of “hypocrite”—no one except Jesus Himself. He is the only One who has lived up to God's standards; the only One who has perfectly lived what He preached. Only through Christ can we escape the penalty due our hypocrisy… By living within the security of Christ' Love, we are free to peel off masks and to become real, honest people."

                - Cliff Knechtle

Future Dad... Again.

I'm afraid. In a week's time, I'm going to be a daddy again. This time to a beautiful little girl. I've done this before with my son, but it still doesn't make it any easier on my nerves. Am I going to be a good dad to her? I'm afraid of failure. Its in the back of my mind because I feel somewhat like I failed my son, not being able to keep our family together. I tell myself that he understands, and I really think he does. He's incredibly smart. I make every effort to see him and spend time with him when ever I can. We play football, video games, watch movies, wrestle, and even play jokes on his step mom and my wife, Jaclyn. I can see it in his eyes, he's happy.

But, what is a Father? What is he supposed to be? Who is he supposed to be? "Father" can be a positive word for many, but also a very painful one for others. When my son was born, he was the most amazing thing I had seen in my entire life. I promised him that no matter what, I would always be there for him. That I would never leave him, I will always love him, and that he can always count on me being there for him. I think i've done that pretty well, and ultimately, i'm going to promise my little girl the same thing. Not every little girl gets to be Daddy's little girl. Some kids have their dads walk out on them. Some will tell you that their dad "doesnt exist". Ive made a promise to myself that my kids will never say that about me, their Dad. If ever comes the day when I'm not here for them, it'll be the day that God takes me from this earth, and takes me home.

I always look back on my childhood at my dad as a model. My dad and I always had a great relationship. He always seemed to find time for me, even juggling two jobs. He had always held me to high standards (and still does), but those standards were never unreasonable: Always have a firm handshake, and look people in the eyes. To love people, because you never know who or where they'll be in the future. To make something of myself, to strive to be the best at what I do, but to never let my ambition come before my happiness. And above all, family ALWAYS comes first.

I can talk to my dad about anything, and feel very comfortable asking his advice on everything from finances, marriage, and just life in general. We have grown closer as I have gotten older because we share the same love for sports, entertainment, and family… But mostly sports, haha. I have never felt anything negative about our relationship in general, though of course there are times when we may not see eye to eye when he points out my flaws, but thats to be expected in any father/son relationship.

But, thats important to me because, I think that a father who is honest with his daughter about his own flaws becomes her confidant. I once read that If a father always finds time to cuddle, listen to, toss in the air, dance with, run alongside, coach, comfort, and protect his daughter, he will give her her the gift of life he is built to give. If a father withholds nothing, teaching his daughter the life skills she needs to know, he shares an active kind of respect for variety in a girl’s developing self. If a father competes with his daughter in games, but especially when she is young, lets her win her share of races, he is showing her both his own humility and her potential. Then, the man she sees as her father becomes more than an arm to walk down the aisle with, he becomes in his daughter’s mind, fearless.

I want to be someone she can trust, someone she can talk with, someone she can walk through life together with.  I want to be someone who can humbly and brokenly reflect the love that her God has for her.  I want to woo the heart of my daughter so that she knows that her beauty goes beyond the length of her hair and the color of her eyes. I want her to know that she is deeply beautiful because of Who made her.  I want her to believe that her Father desires a deep and meaningful relationship with her, and so do I.

Are you afraid?

Its obvious that Satan understands who we are in Jesus because of his repeated attempts to get us to submit to fear. But, when you are fully aware of the truth; the truth of who you are in Jesus, you wont be afraid. The only thing Satan can do is to distract you. He takes our focus off our identities in Christ, onto our seemingly fearful circumstances. Satan can't take away what Jesus has given you, so he tries to encourage you to lose sight of all you have and all you are in Christ.

God proves Himself faithful in our lives (Romans 8:37). Sometimes, you can allow intimidating circumstances to distract you from this truth, and then that causes you to submit to fear. Just like when the waves of the sea "distracted" Peter from Jesus' invitation to walk on water; The distraction caused Peter to be consumed by the waves. When you focus on the waves in life, overwhelming feelings of helplessness, Satan uses that to rob you of doing the impossible through Jesus. But, when you fix your eyes on Jesus, you will rise above all your fears and walk to Him by faith, on what previously were your fears! (Except for my fear of spiders… Im still working on that one…..)

All throughout the Bible, God instructs people to "not fear". Want to know something about "fear" in the Bible? When you add up all the instances in Scripture where it says, "do not fear," "fear not," and "be not afraid", it totals 365…… one occurrence for every day of the year. Makes sense, right? Maybe this is God's way of telling us that will never face a day where we will have a true reason to be afraid.

God during the "Tough Times"

So tonight, my daily reading plan had me read passages from the books of Matthew, Psalm, & Genesis. I know! A random combination scattered across the Bible, right?!?! Thats what I thought too, but of course He totally blows my mind as I read from the 3 books. He re-assured me of His presence with me during the tough times (like now).

Honestly, you feel so helpless during those times. When you're hurting, circumstances are out of your control, and you cant see relief for the future, what can you be sure of? Its tough because it seems like everything happens all at once, and has this "snowball" effect in your life. But, as I read, He showed me that it's during these times I have to remember most of all that He is with me during my hardships. 

During these times, God’s presence comforts us because He knows us intimately. He knows the desires of our hearts, because He's the one that put those desires there. He gives us what we need – His LOVE and STRENGTH, a sense of SECURITY. He lets us know that we are not alone, He is with us. He knows what it is to feel rejected. He knows what it is to feel alone. He knows what it is to suffer. He knows how it feels to lose a loved one. He carries us in His arms along with our problems & worries, and offers peace for our hearts. (Psalm 68:19). We don't need to be afraid because our God is not bound by limitations (Matthew 19:26).

God has a purpose for everything he does, even in allowing "hard times". The story of Joseph in Genesis clearly illustrates this. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery! But, God planned that those years would prepare him to become the leader of Egypt. At the time he was sold into slavery, Joseph could not see God’s purpose, **And neither will we, most of the time** But Joseph trusted Him through everything, and His faith was rewarded when he was able to rescue his family (Genesis 45:1–8).

We are called to live a life of faith. Believe God’s promises even if your circumstances are beyond you. Remember that your God is true. God will never leave you. He will never forsake you. His good purposes will always be carried out in the end.

Hate and Forgiveness

Do you hate someone? Or "strongly dislike" someone? There are always those people that make you so upset, do so much wrong, even wrong you on a normal basis, that you cant stand to be around them. Its in these times it can be hardest to do what God tells us to do; Love one another, to Instead of choosing revenge or retaliation when we’ve been wronged, love those we’d rather hate. 

Is there someone you can think of right now that you’d like to "pay back"? Do you want someone to hurt like you hurt? We have to resist that urge that comes so naturally to us, to get even. Resist repaying a wrong, because retaliation is usually excessive. When we do pay back, it’s often with interest. 1 Peter 3:9 says, “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called.” You can’t always stop people from hating you, but you don’t have to hate them back. You can’t always make people love you, but you can always love them back.

Believe me, I know it isn't easy. For those of you who know my past, you personally know how hard the road of forgiveness was for me to travel. It's tough, really tough. You can see all kinds of risks involved in forgiving others. like, what if what they did was really wrong? They may not even be sorry about it. It’s said that true forgiveness is hard to extend because it demands that we have to let go of something we value… which is the right to repay. But, what you have to realize is that forgiveness doesn’t clear someone from blame. It doesn’t clear their record with God. But, it does clear you of having to worry about how to punish them. When you forgive another person, you’re not turning them loose. You’re just turning them over to God. That’s why you often hear people who have genuinely forgiven say, "It felt like a weight being lifted off my shoulders." Yes. That’s exactly what it is. It’s like a breath of fresh air rushing into your heart. For the first time in a long time, you feel at peace. You feel free. 

If there is someone your struggling to forgive, try and do something kind for that person. It could be anything from saying something nice, a quick email, tweet, Facebook message, a text…. or even a big butterfinger blizzard from Dairy Queen! (Really, thats just what I want right now…. come to think of it, don’t get me one because if you do, I’ll know you’re mad at me for something).

As Christians we are called into relationship with God, but we are also called into relationship with God’s people. 1 John 3:22 -24 "You know that you are a Christian if you obey his command, And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."