Godly Daddy

By Jeff Rushing
Godly Daddy contributor

I’ll admit it, I’m zapped. And not the good kind like the Scott Baio movie. (Man I miss the 80s.)

You know how in Star Wars when Luke tells Wedge to fly away because he supposedly “can’t do any good back there,” even though Wedge could at least provide a buffer between Luke and Vader in only the most important mission in Rebel Alliance history? Yeah, something like that.

I find that I don’t have any patience for things that irritate me, such as the fact that Mickey D’s in our area now serve breakfast starting at 3 a.m., so when I’m on my way to work I can’t have a burger and fries (to make up for that workout at the gym). If you’re up at 3 a.m. it’s because you’ve been up for a while, not because you woke up and want breakfast.

Meanwhile, at home I’m overwhelmed dealing with a 3 1/2-year-old boy who wants to play outside all day, never sleep and never eat, and a 19-month-old girl who might burn the house down at any minute, so great is her rage at not getting to drink from the juice cup with Dora the Explorer’s head on it.

I delight in my kiddies, and playing with them is a highlight of every day. I just don’t get enough sleep because of a weird overlap between my work schedule and home schedule, and I grow frustrated by the lack of time to finish any project in any reasonable time.

This has decimated my joie de vivre, which is either French for “joy of life” or “jive turkey,” I forget.

But you know what gives me encouragement? Our very own Messiah was tired and hungry and even seems to get annoyed quite a bit in the Gospels.

Jesus’ humanity is on display all over Matthew, Mark, Luke and John:

In Matthew 21:18-22, Jesus was so hungry that he curses a fig tree that wasn’t producing any. Wouldn’t you like to smite Burger King sometimes when they forget the toy out of the kids’ meal? Of course, Jesus was able to turn it into a teachable moment about faith. My cursing would be a sin.

Walking through Samaria in John 4, Jesus was pooped and plopped down by a well looking for refreshment. The disciples went to get some grub, but He still took the opportunity to convert a Samarian woman who was shocked how much Jesus knew about her troubled personal life.

Mark 3:1-6 tells of the time Jesus laid the verbal smack down on the Pharisees when he healed a man on the Sabbath, much to their dismay. Jesus is said to have been “deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts” before he went ahead and performed the miracle, much like when I get tired of asking Cooper to bring in his toys from the patio and just do it myself.

Finally, the one everyone remembers, the only true case of righteous anger in history, Jesus overturning the money-changers’ tables at the temple as told in John 2:13-25. Before he did so, Jesus “made a scourge of small cords” and drove them out. Jesus ain’t got time for that.

Surely, of course Jesus had much more control of his emotions than I do, since even when he was tired and hungry he went out to the crowds to teach.

I, on the other hand, go sit on our big brown chair checking email on the Kindle Fire and pretend not to notice that Penny is climbing on the piano to jump off with a balloon hoping to float away like Piglet.

Maybe Jesus would sing the Darryl Worley song “Sounds Like Life to Me” while I complain:

Sounds like life to me; it ain’t no fantasy,
It’s just a common case of everyday reality,
Man I know it’s tough but you gotta suck it up,
To hear you talk you’re caught up in some tragedy,
It sounds like life to me.

So, since I won’t be getting an extra sleep anytime soon and there never be enough time to get everything done, what can I do?

Prayer does help. Every morning on the way to work I ask for God’s help to show the fruits of the spirit throughout the day, at work and at home. And in the car. And at the gym. And walking on the sidewalk. (You get the idea.)

When it comes to my kiddos and the times they threaten to drive me bonkers, I can remember verses like James 1:19 – Why, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath and Ecclesiastes 7:9 – Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.

Or, I can find a comfortable place to curl up in the fetal position and try to rest my foolish bosom for a few quality minutes.

Recently, I sat through a wonderful service by a great teacher of the Word of God. She taught on the Prodigal Son…or more about the father. Something that I never really thought of in this story is the heartbreak of the father.  His son, in all practicality, wished that the father was dead.  It was the custom of the day that the inheritance of the father would be passed on to the children at the time of his passing.   The youngest son, who honestly didn’t have the rights to have the inheritance nor did he have the say on how much should he get, came to his father and demanded his portion.  The father, being the man that he was, gave his sons their portion of the inheritance before it was their time.

The young son went off and squandered all the money that he had in a far away land. When it was all said and done, there was a famine that had swept over the land that the son was in. He was left with no options, no money, and no hope.  He went and sought the help of a local farmer.  In this day, Jews did not associate with Gentiles nor did they work for them.  As a matter of fact, the young son went to work as a pig tender which was a huge no no in his day.

It was then that he came to his senses.  ”My father’s servants have more than enough food to eat and here I sit and starve.” And on his way he went back home.  He rehearsed all that he would say to his father. He thought. He talked. While in a distance his father saw him walking.  He knew that this was his boy.

Something that Carol Kornacki mentioned was this; in order to get to his home he had to go through the village.  In that day and time it was not proper for a son who had dishonored his father to return home for if he did, he would be stoned.  The father saw him afar. The father ran to his son. In this day, it was also unaccustomed for a man to run, especially one of high esteem.

Putting away his status as a higher authority, the father ran to his son. Not only did he run, he embraced his son. His arms were opened wide.  His heart was rendered.  His thoughts were on his son whom had been lost but now was found.

How often as parents do we see our children as the prodigal son? My prayer is that I never have to witness or encounter that. However, I have to be realistic. I will put the word into my children. But I will also fail them as a father. What would happen if one of my children were to stray? Would I be willing to put my own feelings and thoughts aside as a hurt man? Or would I harbor unforgiveness towards my child?

I have often seen fathers and their children not speak to each other for years because of this. I have seen fathers and their children bitter and resentful because they cannot look pass the hurt and anger and see the truth.  I am reminded of Jesus on Cross.  He looked up to heaven in prayer and said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” I have been referencing this a lot lately. Truthfully, those that hurt us have not true intentions on hurting us. They don’t set out to hurt us.  It just happens.

As a father, will you and I be able to let it go and run to our children with arms opened wide?  Will we be able to say, don’t worry about it that all is forgiven? So much more would our Father in heaven do that for you and I.

Have you ever been driven by results? As a man, I have to admit that I hate to fail.  In maintaining this blog, I feared that it would never take off….and it still may not take off.  It doesn’t mean that I will fail.  It doesn’t define who I am. Though I want to see my Google Analytic results going sky or the sales on our site increase, if I fail I know that failure doesn’t define me. It does not define how God sees me at all.

One thing that I have never been able to shake up until recently is work.  I have always been driven by works.  I was always worried that someone was upset because I didn’t do well enough.  If someone was upset, I would take on the responsibility for their unhappiness not realizing that I was trying to play the part of God.  Let me explain.

Growing up, I would say to God “If you will…I will…” “If you do…I do…” thinking that I could manipulate God into doing what I wanted to do. It truly wasn’t intentional. The only problem is that God cannot be manipulated. You cannot make God do anything that is not according to His will or His word. You can’t even work your way into what you think is right.

We, as parents, do the very same thing to our children.  Without thinking about it, we demand that our children “do.” I don’t think it is intentional. But we demand and our kids grow up with the same frame of mind that is of our Heavenly Father.

It is no different than you or I when we become a follower of Jesus Christ. We find ourselves walking down the road negating what happened at the cross. We decided our eternal destiny by standing on what we can do when Christ already conquered in turn trying to take the place of God. In Hebrews 10:10 we read; “For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”

He already conquered it on the cross long before we even decided to sin or fail.  Before you and I were even knit our mother’s womb, God decided to send His Son to die for the sins that you would commit long after you were placed on this earth.  The authority of grace lies in the cross and in the cross alone. Without grace, we would find ourselves lost and deserted. Instead, because of the cross, we can now find ourselves free.

Grace does not give you a get out of hell free ticket or a free ticket to sin. No, grace causes you to not want to sin.  Grace causes you to want to show love to the Father. Grace causes you to come to Him instead of shying away from Him. Beyond Grace? Now you can see Him in a new light.

“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Ephesians 2:8-9

By Jeff Rushing, Godly Daddy contributor

I know you’ll be shocked to learn about political disagreement on the internet and cable news. I know, the sky is blue and all that.

A kerfuffle erupted earlier this month when MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry said in a promotional spot that “we have to break through our kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents or kids belong to their families, and recognize that kids belong to their communities.”

On its head the statement seems innocuous. We’ve been inundated with the “it takes a village” stuff for two decades now, after all. The idea of our kids being helped along by many people isn’t that bad.

But it never stops there. In addition to her “Village” material Hillary Clinton also said that “we have to start thinking and believing that there isn’t really any such thing as someone else’s child . . . For that reason, we cannot permit discussions of children and families to be subverted by political or ideological debate.”

There’s the idea among the Leftist elite that they know what’s best for us and will implement laws to do so, whether it’s making it illegal to sell drinks larger than 16 ounces or the government inspecting school lunches brought from home to check if they meet USDA guidelines.

There’s a famous story of former Texas Republican senator Phil Gramm telling a woman of Clinton’s ilk, “My educational policies are based on the fact that I care more about my children than you do.” She says, “No, you don’t.” Gramm replies, “Okay: What are their names?”

Jim Geraghty of National Review Online is blunt in his assessment of this worldview: “(F)or a couple of months, you thought that “Gangnam Style” was cool and exciting. You buy houses you can’t afford, study majors that leave you unemployable, believe politicians’ promises, buy lottery tickets and ignore the astronomical odds of winning, obsess about the lives of celebrities that have absolutely no impact on your lives, and believe that the appropriate response to your team winning the championship is to riot. I’m not sure I would trust you to water my plants, much less take a role in the raising of my children.”

My kids are a gift from God, not The Community.

This is the same community of loose morals and political correctness that is going to force me to have “The Talk” about five years sooner than I want to talk to my kids about intercourse and internet monsters.

This is the same community that thinks smoking in movies is the eternal sin because it leads to children puffing, but will get huffy if you suggest that the violence, sex, drugs and foul language are just as influential.

Getting Biblical, The Community was easily persuaded to release a criminal named Barrabas instead of the Christ.

Our church has a parent/child dedication twice a year, during which parents hold up their kids to God and promise to raise them in a spiritual household, and the church vows to pray and help the parents so that the children have a godly upbringing.

The dedication prayer does not say, “We pledge to do what God wants, unless of course The Community thinks it’s weird religious stuff, in that case we’ll give in and go along with what they say.”

Harris-Perry later defended herself with more of the same, writing, “I have no intention of apologizing for saying that our children, all of our children, are part of more than our households, they are part of our communities and deserve to have the care, attention, resources, respect and opportunities of those communities.”

If this means she’s going to pay for my diapers, happy meals and private school tuition, then I’ll have a sit-down to discuss terms. If it means you’re going to try to change my kids because of what you think of my social views as a Jesus follower in the culture wars, then no thanks.

I am amazed at the awesomeness of God.  I seriously stand amazed at what God is doing and will do for His kids.  In Psalm 91, it says that “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”  Right now, I believe that we are experiencing the peace of God by the rest of God.  We are to be resting in Him in the shadow of the Almighty.  Following the “rest” of God is “This I declare of the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him.”  We are refugees of this world in the arms of Christ as we fight on.  It is so easy for you and I to preach to one another.  The hard part is living it.

Several years ago we discovered a major leak in our kitchen.  We had been soaking towels from time to time and could not figure it out.  I moved everything in our mudroom out thinking it was coming from the wall where our bathroom is.  Dry as a bone.  I looked by our water softener, which we haven’t used since we moved in, dry as the desert.  I looked at Sara and said “it’s the fridge.”  I was avoiding that because you and I know that it’s not cheap buying a refrigerator.

The easy thing to do is to rant and rave at the fact that, yet again, we are forking money out that we don’t need to be spending in our one income family.  I have to side step here and will readdress this at a later time but for a one income family with three kids, God has been taking great care of us.  The hard thing to do is to stand back and go, “God we need a great deal.”  Where’s your faith?!  Speak to that fridge and tell it to dry up in Jesus name!

Let’s be real.  Perhaps God wants to bless my family with a greater fridge.  Maybe someone will give us a new one.  Maybe we will find the deal of the century.  What if we didn’t?  I look at the three Hebrew boys in Daniel who were commanded to bow to the statue of the king and refused.  It was said that even if God didn’t save them, they still would not bow down.

Instead of loosing our peace or loosing our hair, we are, in the shadow of the Almighty, to come to Him and pray.  I have been reading a book called “Just Like Jesus” by Max Lucado which as revolutionized my way of thinking.  Yesterday’s was on “being led by the unseeing hand.”  What would have happened if I had been lead by my own hand?  The next verse of Psalms 91 would not happen.  “For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague.”

But Will, your fridge is leaking.  How is that rescuing you?  This question may arise in your mind.  There are always tests that we live in.  The enemy loves to have a cackle to try you on what God’s word says.  The enemy knows the word and if he can get you off track, he can get you out of the shadow of the Almighty, he will do it.

Be led by the “unseen hand” by being in communication with Him.  I am finding myself more each day being challenged in this area.  I had a rough week this week with my health, with my mind, and with a few other areas.  What would have happened if I had not communicated with the Lord my need? He would not have had the opportunity to fight that battle for me and I would have been off track for what He had planned for me.       With fridge leaking, my peace is not if my appliances are working, my faith is not in the finances to replace the item, my thoughts are not on who is going to help install it, my focus is not on the principal of the matter.  My peace is in Him who gave me the focus to focus on Him who will provide a way even where there seems to be no way.  What are you doing this week to be in the shadow of the Almighty?  How are you communicating with Him?  Are you communicating with Him? Open the lines of communication with your heavenly Father for He desires to talk to you about everything.

Last week we reviewed the first part of Luke 19 where Zacchaeus was eagerly seeking Jesus and found him while up in a tree.  Not that Jesus was in the tree… well, let’s be on with our study.  As Jesus would walk by, he had met Zacchaeus right where he was at the time.  He did not require Zacchaeus to have a certain prayer or a required reading of the text.  He didn’t make him bow before him or draw attention to himself that he was a sinner. What did Jesus say?  Nothing. When the religious leaders were acting pious, did Jesus rebuke them? No. What happened next would forever change the course of this one man’s life.

“But the people were displeased. ‘He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,’ they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” v. 7-8

Two things occurred here that are very important to not miss when encountering Christ.

a. Jesus wasn’t moved by other people’s opinions and nor should you.  Zacchaeus was not moved because the people were indignant of his association with Christ neither was Christ moved because of the indignation of the people against Zacchaeus which leads me to my next point…

b. Zacchaeus did not have to come to Jesus perfect. Have you heard this lie or even said this about being saved; “I will get saved when I get my life right…” “I have to get rid of this sin before Jesus can save me…” Let me tell you friend, if that is the case there is not one person who can be saved.  Let look at a story from Jesus on the cross and then we will come back to Zacchaeus…

“One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!” But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43 NLT

One criminal made fun of Christ and the other criminal made a plea to Christ.  Which did Christ respond to? It was the one who made a plea for Christ to remember him in paradise.  The men were both just as guilty and they were both condemned to die. What was the major distinction? One decided that he wanted an encounter with Jesus. Jesus did not give him a book of rules and regulations to abide by in order to be saved.  He simply said, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  I don’t know if the criminal had any clue what Jesus meant.  All the criminal seemed to have known was that this man was innocent and what he said must have been true. I wonder what went through the mind of that criminal as he passed through the gates of Heaven.

What does this have to do with Zacchaeus?  He didn’t ask Jesus what to do to be saved. He didn’t try to get right with Jesus.  He didn’t beg for forgiveness. He had no feelings of guilt.  He wasn’t weighed down. He had an encounter with Jesus. What was Jesus’ response?

“Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham.” v. 9

Jesus was well pleased with Zacchaeus’ response to him coming to dinner.  Jesus wasn’t impressed by what he ate, where he dined, or who he dined with.  In the end, his goal was to bring Zacchaeus to salvation.  He didn’t do it by preaching to him or condemning him. What did he do?  He simply went to his out for dinner.

As I reflected on this I had one question to ask; were you ever a Zacchaeus? Sure, you say that you go to church and give your money away, but were you ever had a true encounter with the King?

As a Godly dad, I am faced this question daily.  Are my children going to know about the true encounter with Jesus that I have had? Or will I keep it to myself for only me and Jesus to know about it? Do your children know about your faith in God? If not, today is the day that you need to tell them of your encounter with the King.

Oh, and by the way, if you haven’t had that encounter; today is that day. Don’t be shy.  He surely wasn’t. “‘Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

During this season of the Resurrection, I wanted to take a moment and focus on this thought.  Have you encountered Christ?

Primarily, those who read this blog would say that they know Christ.  That’s not the question that I am asking though.  Have you had an encounter with Christ?  Has He revolutionized your life?  Have you seen a complete 180 degree turn around in your walk?

There was a time that Jesus had entered Jericho on a regular, normal day. There was nothing special going on that day.  Jesus hadn’t had an agenda in mind to run into this man. Who? Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was a tax collector.  He was the tax collector of tax collectors.  He was the head honcho. He wasn’t in any need.  He didn’t need any more money, any more relationships, any more opportunities… yet something was lacking. All he knew was that Jesus was walking into Jericho.  He heard of Jesus.  The scripture doesn’t go into much detail on his knowledge of Jesus.  But I would fathom that with Jesus’ reputation…he knew. He had heard great things about Jesus.  He had heard horrible things about Jesus. There was had to have been something that drew Zacchaeus to Jesus.

“He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.  When Jesus came by, He looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. ‘Zacchaeus!’ He said. ‘Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Luke 19:3-5 NLT

A few things transpired here that is important that you and I see.  The first thing was Zacchaeus’ determination to see a man that he had never met.  It would not have been proper for men at that time to climb trees…let alone one who is of high position. Something had to transpire for Zacchaeus to long to see Jesus. The next thing really struck me. Jesus called out to him by name and told him that he MUST come into his house today.  There was such urgency in this for Jesus. Jesus called him out to meet with him.  What was Zacchaeus’ response?

“Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy.” V. 6

Zacchaeus was about to encounter Jesus.  There was no denying his excitement.  Some say it was because he wanted to show Jesus all his wonderful things.  Many say that it was because Jesus was well known and Zacchaeus wanted to be a part of that. Whatever the case may be….Zacchaeus was about to meet the Lord.