I Define Fatherhood

September 10, 2019 Jarrid Wilson, a pastor at California based church Harvest Christian Fellowship committed suicide. Jarrid was very open and candid about his bouts with depression. With his wife by his side they founded an outreach to help people dealing with depression and suicidal thoughts called “Anthem of Hope”. Jarrid is survived by his wife Juli and their two young sons. Since his death, Harvest Church has gathered around his family in love and support and dedicated the entire week of praise and worship and preaching to Jarrid’s legacy as a believer in Christ.

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The Lead Pastor at Harvest, Greg Laurie consoled the congregation as they navigated through the pain and sadness of Jarrid’s sudden death. During his sermon he touched on many important issues, none more important than the reassurance that Jarrid as a believer in Christ was now in heaven in the presence of the Lord. As Greg put it “One dark moment in a Christians life cannot undo what Christ did on the Cross,” It’s a reminder that we are not saved by our own merits but by the finished work of The cross. When you stand before God, you won’t be judged by the last thing you did before you died, but by the last thing Jesus did before He died. Salvation is a gift! Given to those who place their faith in Christ Jesus. We cannot lose something that we did not earn to begin with. Jarrid was such a man who placed his faith in Christ and though his struggles with depression won this battle, eternally Hope gets the last word. Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more (Romans 5:20). The Apostle Paul put it this way. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?… No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else In all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39 NIV. #hopegetsthelastword #harvestchristianfellowship #jarridwilson #jesus #saved #eternalsecurity

You ever wondered why it seems like those who deny God “prosper” more so than those who do? Read Psalm 73.

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I use to think about this a lot and from time to time that evil spirit of envy tries to creep into my thoughts. But as the psalmist writes •

Those who hate You and live for themselves “are like a dream when one awakes. And when you arise Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.”

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Why do we envy temporary treasures or “success” that others obtain?

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Children of Christ are the wealthiest on this earth. We have the only treasure that will not fade with time. And it should move us NOT to envy others but to have compassion towards them and to tell them about Christ. So that they too may experience the everlasting treasure.

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“You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory…. my flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

#forevertreasure #lifeinChrist #Jesus #love #God #marriage

Accountability: ac·count·a·bil·i·ty

noun

1. the fact or condition of being accountable; responsibility.

It amazes me how often we as a people shift blame. Instead of owning our faults our mistakes our sin, we look to point the finger in another direction.

Tell me if any of these sound familiar…

“If God didn’t want me to do what I did, he should’ve stopped me.”

“If sin is bad why does it feel so Good?”

“I can’t help that God made me this way. It’s His fault. Not mine.”

The problem isn’t God, the problem is our lack of self control and accountability. God isn’t a puppeteer in our lives. He has given us the gift of a choice and he allows us to exercise it. Whether for good or for bad is our decision.

Accountability has been our problem since the beginning. From the moment sin entered the heart of man we have sought ways to relinquish responsibility for our actions. Think to when God came to Adam shortly after he and Eve ate from the forbidden tree. What did Adam do when questioned about the sin he had committed? “It was the woman that YOU gave me Lord. She gave me the fruit of the tree and I ate it.” Genesis 3:9-13. Instead of accepting responsibility for his actions Adam shifted the blame onto Eve and God. He had no accountability for his actions. At the heart of every sin is an accountability deficiency.

That’s why a Gospel preached without the need of repentance is no Gospel at all. It is a lie. “Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!” Matthew 4:17. Before we are told to follow Christ we are told to repent. Why is repentance so important? Because It’s an acknowledgment of the sin in your life. You aren’t making excuses or shifting blame, you are owning up to your faults and recognizing that you have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God and are in need of a savior! Rebirth in the spirit cannot occur in a proud heart that denies accountability.

#Jesus #sin #repent #love #God #love #Holyspirit #christian

If asked to illustrate the current spiritual condition of this world, I would have to say it’s very similar to the associated image.

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I hear pretty frequently

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“We all have our own truth”

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We are living in the age of no truth. No truth opens the door for ANYTHING to be accepted. Truth has been made subjective and it is seen as unloving and cruel to contest one’s idea of “truth”.

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But just because someone has a strong belief in something does not mean it’s true. Belief does not define truth.

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We must examine the evidence.

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All roads and all beliefs and all “truths” do not lead to God. They contradict each other so the reality of the matter is, is that we can all Be wrong, but we can’t all be right.

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Either Jesus is the way, the truth and the life or He is not. But He can’t be true amongst other “truths” of the world.

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Follow the evidence.

#idefinefatherhood #Jesus #love #marriage

Look I know we all have past experiences concerning God and the church. Some good and some bad. A lot of us were impacted negatively by someone in the church or we just flat out never believed to begin with. I get it. I was that person once. Most of my understanding of the Bible and of Jesus came from other non believers and people who “grew up in church”.

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But one day I said enough is enough! Who are you Jesus? Really who are you and why have you been pursuing my heart for so long???

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I guess what I am saying is that we can’t let assumptions and experiences with similar sinful people stop us from finding out if Jesus is who He says He is.

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Do we really have a sinful condition? Did He really step in and take our punishment for us with his life?? Did He really rise and lives again? Is He really coming back one day?

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But you have to want it. Truly want it. He will not violate your choice and force His way into your heart.

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Just read it. Don’t know where to start? Start with the book of John. Grab a NIV or NLT version. Easier to read vs that Old English that no one speaks anymore lol.

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There is such a thing as TRUTH and it is out there.

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He’s waiting.

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Repentance>forgiveness>salvation>new life.

There has to come a day soon when we, the TRUE disciples of Jesus Christ, stop turning a blind eye towards lies and start taking a stand for the truth.

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The lies of our adversary are at an all time high. Literally anything goes. New Age Spiritual practices are popping up left and right using a false Jesus as a platform to propel their false religion. And what saddens me is that I look around at the saints and we remain quiet. Afraid of controversy. Afraid to stand a part from the crowd. 

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I get it we live in a world where to oppose someone’s thoughts and ideas is quickly labeled “unloving” and “offensive”, but we cannot let that detour us from proclaiming the Gospel.

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“God is love and you are being unloving!” 

Yes. God is love, but God is not compromising. No where in scripture will you find God compromising His word in order to quench our idea of “love”.

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The very nature of love testifies of truth! Where truth is absent, love cannot exist.

I am tired of sitting idle. If I come across a false teacher I will not be ashamed to expose the lie and just because I expose the lie does not mean I hate the person. I don’t hate anyone. I try my hardest to be like Jesus wherever I go, but if I see someone feeding another person poison I have to say something.

#idefinefatherhood

 

I’m reminded today of how too much of a good thing can become a bad thing in a marriage.

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I’m constantly and always doing something. When I’m not at work I’m at home working. Trying to cram in as much as I can before the sun sets.

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Between my career, my rambunctious blessings and home maintenance. My wife if I allow it can fall by the waist side. Leaving her and I little to no time together at the very end of the day.

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My career is good, raising my children is good and taking care of the home is good

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But none of those should out weigh the time I spend with my spouse.

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What does it profit a man if he is successful in his career, but his wife is lonely?

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What does it profit a man if he spends all his time catering to his children, but his wife needs are prioritized last?

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Sure your wife would like you to embark on some new home project, but what she really wants is more time with you.

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Men… we wear many hats and so many things require our attention, but time with our spouse cannot be neglected. We daily have to carve out time and find ways to be intimate with our spouse. Emotionally and physically. The same goes with fellowshipping with the Lord.

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Without a healthy marriage it’s impossible to glorify God as ONE and for your marriage to be a ministry and testimony to others.

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#forwhoeverthisisfor #marriage #happilyevenafter #love #Jesus #God #Love

Our flesh has a sinful constitutional aversion to acknowledge that there is a God.

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But why?

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The Bible supports this, in that every person inherently understands that there is a God. Creation testifies of a creator. (Romans 1:18-20)

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So why ignore it?

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Maybe because to acknowledge that there is a God is to acknowledge that you are accountable to someone greater then yourself and that you are not of your own doing.

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Our sin. The constitutional law of sin is to avert from God. Not to obey Him or seek Him. Our sin wants NOTHING to do with God.

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In the same breath, God does not want to “co-exist” with our sin neither. But there is a difference there. While sin wants to drive as far away as possible from God. God wants to come after our sin and crush it so that we can be reconciled to Him. That’s Love.

Men…

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Sometimes to break through tension in a marriage you have to grab hold of your wife and let her know that love will reign supreme in your lives.

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Reassure her of your commitment to her and to Jesus and that the devil will have NO part in your union.

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It is the Husband who decides how love will Be expressed in a marriage.

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Don’t wait for her to make the first move. You are the man and God has placed you as head of the marriage.

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Determine this day to love Jesus first with ALL your heart and allow Him to guide your actions towards your wife.

#idefinefatherhood #love #devotion #Jesus #marriage

Fix your thoughts on what is Just, honorable, loving, pure, praiseworthy and true. Fixing our thoughts… aligning our eyes… our feet will follow. #idefinefatherhood #LordJesus