The word hypocrite is defined as:

1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

In studying hypocrisy and the questions of whether one is a hypocrite or not, a gentleman named Lonnie Lee came up with an interesting formula to determine this:

Hypocrisy = l Beliefs - Actions l

In his formula he's trying to showcase that a person's beliefs or actions if not synonymous with their counterpart, show that you are a hypocrite.

I'm in full agreement of his formula, having run into several hypocrites myself. This is the most noticeable thing from their behavior. When what they state, believe, or even at times preach, they later do the exact opposite in there own lives.

In reading other people's thoughts on hypocrisy, it's a widely known fact that some of the people at church are hypocrites as well. It is true that many that show up on Sunday might be hiding behind fake smiles, having impure motives of being there, and not even agreeing to the words they are singing in church songs.

However being a Christian also naturally puts' us under the microscope of being analyzed to death, or until someone can find that one chink in our armor to be able to throw out the word hypocrite to us. I won't dispute my imperfections or the likelihood that at some time in my life I have been a hypocrite. But there is also a difference in the future when events come up in other people's lives where we are offered the option to give advice where we can appear like a hypocrite naturally; yet in fact are actually just trying to give good advice from the perspective of having gone through the problem ourselves.

At the heart of hypocrisy lies the most important issue involved, of whether a hypocrite is the type that will admit their own hypocrisy or try to lie or self-justify why they are allowed special conditions to be able to be a hypocrite while the opposite party involved is not given that exemption. Whether Christian or not, these people are easily the worst of the types of hypocrites because their reasoning is completely irrational and that type of self-justification can make someone a very dangerous individual to others as well as themselves.

In closing I don't think any of us are going to get through life without being or acting like a hypocrite at some point. In my opinion I think the best thing we can do as Christians is be humble and accept our own imperfections even to the point of humility by admitting at times that our actions or thoughts were hypocritical of our belief system. It is at that moment of admitting our own shortcomings where growth can be had both in life and with our faith in Christ.

Matthew 7

3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

On Father's Day this month, the pastor of my church put together a kind of 'letter' from our real Father, God, to His children. I thought today that I would share this with you; that it shows you just how much He loves us. Everything written is parts of verses from the Bible.

My Child...

You may not know me, but I know everything about you (Psalm 139:1) I know when you sit down and when you rise up (Psalm 139:2) I am familiar with all your ways (Psalm 139:3) Even the very hairs on your head are numbered (Matthew 10:29-31) For you were made in my image (Genesis 1:27) In me you live and move and have your being (Acts 17:28) For you are my offspring (Acts 17:28) I knew you even before you were concieved (Jeremiah 1:4-5) I chose you when I planned creation (Ephesians 1:11-12) You were not a misake (Psalm 139:139:15-16) For all your days are written in my book (Psalm 139:15-16) I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live (Acts 17:26) You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) I knit you together in your mother's womb (Psalm 139:13) And brought you forth on he day you were born (Psalm 71:6) I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me (John 8:41-44) I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expresion of love (1 John 4:16) And it is my desire to lavish my love on you (1 John 3:1) Simply because you are my child and I am your faher (1 John 3:1) I offer you more than your earthly faher ever could (Matthew 7:11) For I am the perfect Father (Matthew 5:48) Every good gift that you recieve comes from my hand (James 1:17) For I am your provider and I meet all your needs (Matthew 6:31-33) My plan for your future has always been filled with hope (Jeremiah 29:11) Because I love you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3).

My thoughts toward you are countless as tje sand on the seashore (Psalm 139:17-18) And I rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17) I will never stop doing good to you (Jeremiah 32:40) For you are my treasured possession (Exodus 19:5) I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul (Jeremiah 32:41) And I want to show you great and marvelous things (Jeremiah 33:3) If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me (Deuteronomy 4:29).

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4) For it is I who gave you those desires (Philippians 2:13) I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine (Ephesians 3:20) For I am your greatest encourager (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17) I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles (2 Corinhians 1:3-4) When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you (Psalm 34:18) As a shephard carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart (Isaiah 40:11).

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes (Revelation 21:3-4) And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth (Revelation 21:4) I am your Father and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus (John 17:23) For in Jesus my love for you is revealed (John 17:26) He is the exact representation of my being (Hebrews 1:3) And He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you (Romans 8:31) And to tell you that I am not counting your sins (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled (2 Corinthians 5:18-19) His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you (1 John 4:10) I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love (Romans 8:32).

If you recieve the gift of my son Jesus, you recieve me (1 John 2:23) And nothing will ever seperate you from my love again (Romans 8:38-39) Come home and I'll throw the biggest party Heaven has ever seen (Luke 15:7) I have always been Father and will always be Father (Ephesians 3:14-15) My question is, will you be my child? (John 1:12-13) I am waiting for you (Luke 15:11-32)

...Love, Your Dad
Almighty God.

Here is my story on how I became a christian...

I was just another emo girl in a small town. God was not a part of my vocabulary other than to curse it. I didn't know anything about Him. It was just the way I was raised. Well that all changed when my english teacher gave me a book report to do. So I went to the school library and asked the librarian if she could recommend any books for me. She handed me the Left Behind novels. They explained things to me that no one else bothered to do. It really got me thinking about God.

The following year when school started, I sat next to a pentecostal girl. Questions still lingered in my head, that I never bothered to seek answers to, until now. She really opened my eyes to Jesus. How he could really save someone like me. She explained to me how Jesus died, so that I may live and how I do need a savior. Okay God you really have my attention now.

That night, I walked into one of my resident's rooms at the nursing home I worked at. She was listening to a bible on audio tape. That sparked a conversation between the two of us. I told her I wanted to know God but I couldn't explain it. Something was holding me back from taking that final plunge. She prayed with me, which was really emotional. That night I got on my hands and knees and invited Jesus into my life. Ever since then we have had our ups and downs, but every step of the way Jesus has been there for me with open arms. Now when I look back on these events, how minor they were, I know God set it up like that. For the very purpose to lead me to my Savior.

I wrote this story because I want to show you how God uses people. How he can talk to you and how He is there even if you can't see Him.

"We are made right in God's sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done."(Romans 3:22 NLT)

Today the topic is Love. What is love? Does anyone know truly what love is? There are many questions pertaining to love. And now it is time to explore them.

The first question is what is love? Most people believe that love is an unbearable attraction to something. But is it really that unbearable? If love is so enticing and wonderful then why do people "fall out" of love. It is these questions that baffle so many people. Especially myself. I find it so hard to find love. Is it because I haven't met someone that I truly "loved"? Or is it because no one really knows love? Now I know that everyone and everything loves something. For instance, we assume that a dog loves their owner but do we really have a way of knowing that. The answer is absolutely not. We have no way of knowing because we can't communicate or understand them and that is very obvious. But going back to the point. How do people know that they love something and how do we know that other things love things? That we may never know.

Finishing, scientists can't exactly pinpoint why and where "love" comes from or even how it works but we can all assume that it is there and in action. I now leave you with these questions and I hope you think about these because I am sure that many have you have thought about it but never really got your head around the concept. Now it is time to actually try to put it all in perspective.

It's going to be 2 years since my father passed away. It feels as if it's been longer though. Because I'm surprised at how I can say that, and not tear up or anything. I feel as though I shouldn't be this comfortable talking about his passing just yet. As if I have to mourn for at least another year before I can go back to being "normal". Yet at the same time, it feels as though it was only yesterday that I lay in my bed crying in my darkened room, unable to understand how this could have happened to us. Why? How?

So much has changed since then. So many new things I've had to deal with, so many new responsibilities. They told me I'd be the man of the house now. Even now, two years later, I still feel as if I haven't yet filled that role properly. I've had to rely a lot on my mother, who in my opinion was the one who really took on the responsibility as the head of the household. It does seem only natural, she is my mother. But it should be me! I am the one that is supposed to take on the initiative and deal with the problems as they come by rather than wait for my mom to tell me that there are things that need to be done. But I'm always waiting. I really would rather have nothing to do with any of it but it always falls on me because I'm the only one who can do it. And yet, why do I always have to be told?

I guess I haven't grown up just yet. Here I am, day in and day out, trying to escape from reality immersing myself in my computer, in my games, making the online world my only world. And it bothers me when I have to leave it. There are no hardships online. No need to deal with making ends meet, driving family members to and from school or groceries, checking the oil and transmission on the cars, paying bills, wondering when the next check will be coming in. It's just so much easier in the internet. I just need to start up my favorite game, and enter the world someone created for me, free of responsibility, free of worry. But I can't play those games anymore. There are things that need to be done. There's a family out there waiting for me to do something about our lives, to lessen the burden that is in keeping a roof over our heads and putting food on the table.

I've had it too easy. And now, everything seems too hard as a result. But my dad was able to do it as if it was nothing. But I'm just a kid who still wants to have nothing to do with it. But there is no time for that anymore. It's time for me to grow up for real and fill my dad's shoes. I now want to have the authority, and the respect that he once had. I don't want to be told what to do anymore. I want the desire to keep this family together to come from within. I want to be the one to get up in the morning before everyone else does. I want to reach the point where I will do the things that need to be done before anyone can ever notice that there was anything needed to be done in the first place. I want to make it, so that nobody ever notices how hard it is to be the man of the house. Why? Because that's how my dad did it, because for the 23+ years of my life, never could I have foreseen the effort and dedication required to sustain our family.

But now I do.

"When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me." Corinthians 13:11

Death is one of those things that is extremely hard to get over. Everyone has experienced loosing a friend or family member, and knows how bad it feels. But why do we have to feel that way? We know everyone dies for a reason, and that they'll go to heaven. Shouldn't we be happy for the death of someone?

This is where the real discussion starts, when you first find out someone has died your first emotion is grief. Huh? They just went to heaven to hang out with god and old friends, how is that bad? My first emotion is also grief and I have tried to control that, but always failed miserably.

So really the only reason we are grieving is because we will miss the desist? We are selfish people, we know they are in a better place but we feel bad, we know we will see them again in a happier more joyful place. But still we grieve.

But wait! There's a twist. Does god want us to grieve? Psalm 10:14 says "But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless." This means that god expects us to grieve and is always there for us when we are in trouble and grieving.

It's natural to grieve over a loved ones death, but just remember where they are going and how much better it is there.

Drugs have been more and more widely used since the 1960's. More people have become attached to them and more people are dying from them. Drugs have a hold on humanity, and they don't seem to be letting go anytime soon.

There are thousands of different types of drugs known today, perhaps even more. We can deduce, however, that there are more out there yet to be discovered. As we know, there are good drugs and there are bad drugs. Good drugs are the drugs that help with infections, illnesses, etc. Bad drugs are the drugs that cause the problems, not stop them.

That is how most people today have been taught. But what really makes a drug bad? Is it the effect that the drug has on the body? Is it the social interaction between the drug and society? Is it how the drug is used, or the general opinion from society about the drug? A list of the most commonly misused drugs is made readily available:
- Tobacco
- Alcohol
- Prescription Drugs
- Methamphetamine
- Marijuana
- Ecstasy
- Crack Cocaine
- Steroids
- Inhalants
- PCP
According to the website, these drugs are bad because they "rot the brain and body, they destroy the lives of people, and destroy the relationships with friends and family" (pg.1). I'm sure everyone will agree with that statement. We can all agree what causes heroin or cocaine to be bad for us.

What makes those drugs any worse than others? Many prescriptions out on the market have caused major health problems, and even death in its users. For decades we have relied on these drugs to help and even cure our serious health problems. Do they really help the way they say they do? Hundreds of lawsuits are being brought upon pharmaceutical companies for the drug Avandia. A drug used to treat Type II Diabetes, may be the cause of over 15,000 deaths. According to FOX news, researchers found that not only does Avandia increase heart attack risk by 43%, but it also increases the risk of DYING from cardiovascular diseases by 64%!

You've heard it all before. "This drug causes serious side effects such as liver disease, etc. etc." We all know the risks when we take these things. Are they really helping us or are they making us miserable? Are they delaying our trip up to heaven to be with the Father for all eternity or are we doing a good thing?

Most Christians would agree when it is your time to go, it's your time to go. But when it comes down to the line, do we make the right decision by accepting the drugs to keep us alive?

Sources

- http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,274596,00.html
- http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC063517/h-goodandbaddrugs.html

Everyone has a beginning- a mother and a father; a man and a woman unite in an intense moment of passion and in result of that union, you are then born into existence. It is written in our genes as human beings to procreate, to unite with another and create this "magic" called life. It's written in our blood to desire, to lust after our perspective counterparts for a union that would mean complete harmony. Let's progress past the various stages of courting. When you decide that you have chosen the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you make a promise to stay by his or her side as long as you "both shall live". Today, I'm going to be talking about commitment. Commitment, as defined by WordNet.com, is "the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action". I'm not just talking about having a commitment to serve God and do His works, but having commitment to a significant other in your life.

This particular topic comes to mind when thinking about two coworkers who are having trouble with their "commitment" to their significant other. One is having problems in the actual relations to his significant other while the fires of Hell are tempering the other's bond. Patience, perseverance, love, understanding- there are many different traits that are being called into play. Even in my own marriage, I'm having trouble with all of the above. Instead of slowing down and praying to God for guidance, I get caught in my own emotions and what I think I should do instead of doing what God knows I should do.

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
- Matthew 13:18-23.

So there are four different types of people a sower reaches when trying to spread the word of God. Some people are frozen in their ways and some people receive the word with an open mind and perceptive heart- the two extremes of the soils, acceptance and rejection. There are the other two; the person who obtains the word and feels joy but can't hold on to it because their faith isn't founded on solid ground and the other who allows the pressures of society and life to choke the word right out. In Matthew 10:32-33, Jesus says, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." Without commitment, how does a person expect to progress further in their faith? If someone falls in their walk in life, would you be willing to pick them up and bear the weight of two?

Please, encourage your fallen brothers and sisters. Be by their side and take care of them in their time of need. Don't let the world choke the joy of the word in you or shrug the commitment to serve God and others in your life. In 2 Samuel 19: 31-38 is an example of commitment, the reward of commitment between a king and his aged servant. I think that commitment works in a full circle between yourself and the one you're promising to be committed to. When you make a promise and bind yourself to the "course of action", like taking care of your significant other and promising to stick with him or her until "death does you part", it's the same promise you have made to God. To serve and honor the request when you decided that you could no longer live without Jesus. In the moment of time, however brief or long, you accepted Christ into your life, you decided to make a commitment to Him. Let's honor the commitment with love towards everyone else we share our lives with.