Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie (Wikipedia).
I don’t think that anyone particularly likes a hypocrite, although I think at some point in our lives we have all succumb to the temptation to indulge in judging another for something that you yourself are guilty of. At some point I think we have all paraded ourselves around like we have done no wrong when clearly we all have done wrong at some point in our lives. Why then, do we say one thing and do another? Why do we lie and then shame our friends and neighbors for it? Why do we eat and drink and then judge another in their indulgent behaviors? What is wrong with us? We lie, cheat, steel, gossip and then look to another with our nose in the air; we murder hate and covet in our hearts, but our mouths place blame and ridicule on others.
It is almost as if it is a sickness, a disease, or an active virus living inside that twist our thoughts to attack someone else’s character. It’s like a sickness that starts in one and is passed to another, attacking you from the inside out and progressively getting worse until the illness takes over leaving nothing left or true of the human character.
Are we all just sick then, and are we slowly drowning in our impending doom? Is that why we feel such an urge to drag others down, because this spreading virus within is gripping at our feet? Could it be that the only thing we can think of to keep us afloat is to grab hold of someone else that seems to be staying afloat despite this crushing disease epidemic? A raft we think. Something to save us from our misery , not a human being but a raft that we would do anything to get so we can somehow, for just a moment, be pulled from our own misery and float on someone else’s feelings.
The thing is, though, we are all drowning in this world of the sick and trying to float on another who is drowning just like you, is never going to keep your head above water. So then what do we do when the urge to criticize creeps in even though we know the consequences of our judgements sink us so low we feel as if we would never get out?
Grab on to Jesus. He says grab on, take my coat tails, my feet and my hands and I will pull you up. I will not let you drowned because I came with my life vest and I am here to save (Acts 5:30-32). He says follow me to the path that leads to everything good. He says I am your life raft, take hold because there's room for everyone. Take hold, because the wages of sin is death but through Jesus there is forgiveness and life. (Romans 6:23) Take hold because the love he has for your life is more that you can even imagine (Romans 5:8). Take hold he says, and don’t forget your neighbor sinking along side, pull him with you on the raft of life, because the path to healing is not made for one but for all. The path for life and truth is open to all who desire it. So grab on he says, follow me, I will show you the way and you will be saved.
Lauren Vopatek
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
Idle Hands
Why do we become so lazy sometimes? Why is it that some days, some weeks, and some months the things we have to do become like mountains that are waiting to be climbed? Where do those certain days or even years of completely avoiding all that you know you should do come from?
I think back sometimes to a time when I was a teenager and all I wanted to do was what I wanted to do, even if it meant grounding or even jail. As a teenager we seem to almost ignore the consequences of our actions. We drank underage and bought cigarettes with fake IDS. We saw rated R movies behind our parents back and snuck out past curfew. We bought the music they said was not appropriate, we went to places that were forbidden and even wore the things they thought we’d never even dream of wearing. We rebelled. We did it because we wanted to test the waters, see what we could get away with, and find out how many bad choices we could choose without fully reaping the consequences.
In our adult lives are we still rebelling? Is our avoidance of our bills and work and exercise a rebellion, still testing the waters to see how many bad choices we can make before we drowned?
Why do we naturally want to test the waters and do our own thing? Why do we have such a hard time just turning off that tv show to go for a walk. Why do we have such a hard time picking up our stuff when it would be so easy to put it away as soon as you were done. Why do we eat chips and a soda for dinner when making dinner would be so much healthier for our bodies?
Our natural disobedience is naturally causing our own demise. Our inclination to disobey is making it harder on ourselves when we choose the things in which we know will ultimately be bad for us. If we choose TV over walking, how much harder is it to walk when your hart doesn’t know how to pump fast anymore? When our bills and papers and cloths are piling high how much harder is that project to tackle when you finally do? When we eat chips for dinner and never learn the simplicity of cooking thru continual practice, how much harder is it to learn later on when the pounds of laziness sneak up on your once small frame.
We rebel because it’s human nature to want to do our own thing. God gave us the free will to choose our destiny but sometimes we choose poorly. We prize our time as a precious commodity and rather not fill it with things that were told to do. In the end, our disobedience is the thing that robs us most of our time because what once was a small pile of bills is now a mountain too daunting to climb. What was once a few cloths to launder is now a sea that were slowly sickening to the bottom of, and that clean and pure heart that once ran so well is now clogged and slowing needing to be fully detailed jumpstarted flushed and rebooted.
So is there hope for the mess we have created and the mountains we have put in our path? I think so. Jesus says “because of laziness the building decays and through idleness of hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18) Everything crumbles when laziness creeps in but he gives us a promise of hope. He says , “And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, In which you once walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and or the mind and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others, but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together in Christ ( by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:1
So, if we ignore our pride (proverbs 11:2), be obedient to the words of wisdom and just do the things we continually put off, only good can come. And, if you have already created a mountain don’t worry God Forgives you and says he’s there to help if you trust that he will.
Lauren Vopatek
Thank you, Alex and Abby for your amazing contributions. Ps I wish Rice Crispys would pick up themselves.
I think back sometimes to a time when I was a teenager and all I wanted to do was what I wanted to do, even if it meant grounding or even jail. As a teenager we seem to almost ignore the consequences of our actions. We drank underage and bought cigarettes with fake IDS. We saw rated R movies behind our parents back and snuck out past curfew. We bought the music they said was not appropriate, we went to places that were forbidden and even wore the things they thought we’d never even dream of wearing. We rebelled. We did it because we wanted to test the waters, see what we could get away with, and find out how many bad choices we could choose without fully reaping the consequences.
In our adult lives are we still rebelling? Is our avoidance of our bills and work and exercise a rebellion, still testing the waters to see how many bad choices we can make before we drowned?
Why do we naturally want to test the waters and do our own thing? Why do we have such a hard time just turning off that tv show to go for a walk. Why do we have such a hard time picking up our stuff when it would be so easy to put it away as soon as you were done. Why do we eat chips and a soda for dinner when making dinner would be so much healthier for our bodies?
Our natural disobedience is naturally causing our own demise. Our inclination to disobey is making it harder on ourselves when we choose the things in which we know will ultimately be bad for us. If we choose TV over walking, how much harder is it to walk when your hart doesn’t know how to pump fast anymore? When our bills and papers and cloths are piling high how much harder is that project to tackle when you finally do? When we eat chips for dinner and never learn the simplicity of cooking thru continual practice, how much harder is it to learn later on when the pounds of laziness sneak up on your once small frame.
We rebel because it’s human nature to want to do our own thing. God gave us the free will to choose our destiny but sometimes we choose poorly. We prize our time as a precious commodity and rather not fill it with things that were told to do. In the end, our disobedience is the thing that robs us most of our time because what once was a small pile of bills is now a mountain too daunting to climb. What was once a few cloths to launder is now a sea that were slowly sickening to the bottom of, and that clean and pure heart that once ran so well is now clogged and slowing needing to be fully detailed jumpstarted flushed and rebooted.
So is there hope for the mess we have created and the mountains we have put in our path? I think so. Jesus says “because of laziness the building decays and through idleness of hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18) Everything crumbles when laziness creeps in but he gives us a promise of hope. He says , “And you He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins, In which you once walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and or the mind and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others, but God who is rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together in Christ ( by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:1
So, if we ignore our pride (proverbs 11:2), be obedient to the words of wisdom and just do the things we continually put off, only good can come. And, if you have already created a mountain don’t worry God Forgives you and says he’s there to help if you trust that he will.
Lauren Vopatek
Thank you, Alex and Abby for your amazing contributions. Ps I wish Rice Crispys would pick up themselves.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The Path of Life
On the path of life, the search for the right road is always a struggle, but when that right road is finally discovered it brings about a new set of challenges. This road of truth and life is sometimes slightly bumpy. There are potholes and snares haphazardly placed like a devised plot to make us stumble. There are sharp thorns strewn about carelessly that pierce our skin and make us bleed, sometimes draining every last bit of life out of out frail bodies. There are narrow straights that seem almost impossible to squeeze through and wide open spaces that make following the right road a hard one to choose. And, with all of these things, there can even come a time where the bridge to where you know you need to be is temporarily out of service and the only way across is with a helping hand.
Our road, when traveled alone, can be a daunting task with all of these traps and distractions, but with community there is hope. Without road mates, who would be there to warn you when a pothole is about to make you stumble or release you when you fall into a perfectly set trap? Who would be there to pull out your thorn when it’s pierced you so deeply that the internal wound just continues to bleed? Who would be there when the only way down the road is to lean on someone’s shoulder until your wound has fully healed?
This is why we have community. The people who we invest in and live life closely with are the ones who get us to the finish line. They are the ones who push us when we think the road just seems too hard to walk and the ones that keep us on track when our path becomes wide open with endless distractions. With community, those small narrow parts of the road seem to widen, and the choices of which direction to take become clear. As we walk this life with others the stronger we become. Our wounds heal faster, our discernment gets sharper and our survival rate is dramatically increased. With many we are strong, but with one we are week. It is written in the Holy handbook for life that, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5
In the end our path we choose may be the upright and righteous one, but alone we are not strong enough to walk it. Without the whole fully functioning body working together for the ultimate good of each other we will never reach our goal on the one true path of life.
Lauren Rae Vopatek
Our road, when traveled alone, can be a daunting task with all of these traps and distractions, but with community there is hope. Without road mates, who would be there to warn you when a pothole is about to make you stumble or release you when you fall into a perfectly set trap? Who would be there to pull out your thorn when it’s pierced you so deeply that the internal wound just continues to bleed? Who would be there when the only way down the road is to lean on someone’s shoulder until your wound has fully healed?
This is why we have community. The people who we invest in and live life closely with are the ones who get us to the finish line. They are the ones who push us when we think the road just seems too hard to walk and the ones that keep us on track when our path becomes wide open with endless distractions. With community, those small narrow parts of the road seem to widen, and the choices of which direction to take become clear. As we walk this life with others the stronger we become. Our wounds heal faster, our discernment gets sharper and our survival rate is dramatically increased. With many we are strong, but with one we are week. It is written in the Holy handbook for life that, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:4-5
In the end our path we choose may be the upright and righteous one, but alone we are not strong enough to walk it. Without the whole fully functioning body working together for the ultimate good of each other we will never reach our goal on the one true path of life.
Lauren Rae Vopatek
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Beauty
We all know the old statement, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Well, then what is beauty? If it’s in the eye of the beholder it must mean that there can’t be any true definition of beauty, because only the beholder can define it at that moment in time. It means beauty is constantly changing depending on the individual and what the beholder deems to be beautiful. The actual definition of beauty is: very pleasing and impressive to look at, listen to, touch, smell, or taste; so if everyone on earth has a different idea about what is pleasing, beauty can never be truly defined with a clear picture or clear statement. I can show one person the same picture, and they can see too totally different things. One may see beauty, and one may see nothing entirely special at all.
Then, why do we strive for something that cannot even be defined? What gives us that insatiable taste for what can only be described as beautiful? Could it be because our all mighty creator was just that, a creator? He created what was pleasing to him. In Genesis 1 He created light and he was pleased. He created darkness and he was pleased. It says it right in the beginning of the Bible that God created us, and he was pleased, and if you remember the definition of beauty it’s what is pleasing. So, if we are created already as beautiful in the eyes of the all mighty creator, why do we try and physically change our outward appearance, to make ourselves more beautiful? We are made beautiful already in the eye of our own creator.
Lauren Vopatek
Then, why do we strive for something that cannot even be defined? What gives us that insatiable taste for what can only be described as beautiful? Could it be because our all mighty creator was just that, a creator? He created what was pleasing to him. In Genesis 1 He created light and he was pleased. He created darkness and he was pleased. It says it right in the beginning of the Bible that God created us, and he was pleased, and if you remember the definition of beauty it’s what is pleasing. So, if we are created already as beautiful in the eyes of the all mighty creator, why do we try and physically change our outward appearance, to make ourselves more beautiful? We are made beautiful already in the eye of our own creator.
Lauren Vopatek
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Most days I wake up and go about my day with a general sense of peace, but on certain days I wake up with a certain state of weariness. It’s the overwhelming feeling that the whole world is against me in some way and it’s all just too much to handle. It’s not often that it happens ,but when it does it feels like a weight has been tied to my chest and even moving to get out of bed seems like a daunting task.
This particular day was a mass attack of this very same pressure, like an ambush on my soul. I wrestled with myself as I laid in bed as to what to do, should I get up and start getting things done that I need to do, should I busy myself to take my mind off this crushing anxiety, should I work out to try and release some endorphins? These thoughts all streamed through my mind as I lay there in mental anguish wrestling with the sheets that tangled at my feet. In these times of need I sometimes become so desperate I forget that there is such a simple answer to my weariness. Jesus, so I went to my most trusted source, The Holy Bible.
I think of the Bible as not only my help and guidance for difficulties I’m having in my life but as my complete road map for life, and not only is it a roadmap but it’s a living word better than any fake British accented lady on your GPS. If you don’t know what I mean by living word I’ll give you a taste. In John chapter one it states: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
This means Jesus is the living word of God. His life and his teachings recorded in the new testament of the Bible are the direct link to God. But Jesus isn’t living anymore you say so how is the word still alive? Its alive because In John 14:26, Jesus promises to leave us with a guide after his death, the holy spirit: “ “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
It’s the living spirit of God within us! We have him always to direct our path, we just have to put down all those distracting things we try to busy ourselves with to solve our own problems and listen. He speaks in ways sometimes unimaginable, through scripture in the Bible, through friends and family, through words from a pastor, and even through a clear audible voice unmistakably the voice of God. He is living! The word is living, when you open the bible it’s not just words on a page but a voice from our Father, our creator savior and protector. 2 Corinthians 5:15. God is alive and jumping off the page every time you open that little leather-bound book and flip those thin sliced pages. If you just take a second to clear your thoughts and listen, you may be surprised at what you hear.
Today like I told you before, was a day of wrestles awakening, and today instead of busying myself to distract me from my anxiety or hiding under my blankets from the world outside my white down comforter, I opened my Bible. Haphazardly I leave my bookmark in different places and so I as I turned to the spot I bookmarked last, I came upon Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, yes, comfort my people!” says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her. That her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.”
If that’s not proof of the living word of God I don’t know what is. As I read I felt a rush of emotion pass through my body like a wave starting in the tip of my head rolling down through my spine until the pleasant tingle of joy hit all the way to my toes. This, my friend, is the Holy Spirit. He will come when ever you cry out to him. He will come in the middle of the night or the earliest of mornings. In your darkest hour and your most joyest hour he will come John 16:13“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.”
I continued reading and as I hit the last verse of the 40th chapter of Isaiah I read:
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord
The creator of the ends of the earth
Neither faints nor is weary
His understanding is unsearchable
He gives power to the weak
And to those who have no might He increases strength
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength
They shall mount up with wings like eagles
They shall run and not be weary
They shall walk and not faint.
I continued reading through Isaiah and all the while feeling as if the words were not only being read by my brain but my heart and soul as if I was not even reading them at all but being spoken to by God audibly, like a voice within me unrecognizable to my own. I listened more intently now as the story and the words I was being told were becoming more profound and inspiring by the minute. As I approached Isaiah 43:1 I began to feel the tears of joy swell in my eyes and these few simple verses just jumped off the page:
But now, thus says the Lord, who has created you, o Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel:”Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you; for I am the Lord your God; The holy one of Israel, your savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in my sight you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men to you, and people for your life. Fear not for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, “Give them up!” And to the south, “Do not keep them back” Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth- Everyone who is called by my name whom I have created for my glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him”
As I finished reading the sun poured in my window and people began to stir. I thanked God for waking me up early with that bout of slight anxiety so I could be reminded of his Glory his power and how madly in love he is with me. How sweet and magnificent is it to have your true love to comfort you in the midst of doubt and frustration. I thank the lord for all of the gifts he has given me in my life and for the bad times too, because without my bouts of bad the Good would never taste so sweet. Thank you, Lord, for your everlasting promise of love and protection.
Blessings
Lauren Rae Vopatek
This particular day was a mass attack of this very same pressure, like an ambush on my soul. I wrestled with myself as I laid in bed as to what to do, should I get up and start getting things done that I need to do, should I busy myself to take my mind off this crushing anxiety, should I work out to try and release some endorphins? These thoughts all streamed through my mind as I lay there in mental anguish wrestling with the sheets that tangled at my feet. In these times of need I sometimes become so desperate I forget that there is such a simple answer to my weariness. Jesus, so I went to my most trusted source, The Holy Bible.
I think of the Bible as not only my help and guidance for difficulties I’m having in my life but as my complete road map for life, and not only is it a roadmap but it’s a living word better than any fake British accented lady on your GPS. If you don’t know what I mean by living word I’ll give you a taste. In John chapter one it states: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
This means Jesus is the living word of God. His life and his teachings recorded in the new testament of the Bible are the direct link to God. But Jesus isn’t living anymore you say so how is the word still alive? Its alive because In John 14:26, Jesus promises to leave us with a guide after his death, the holy spirit: “ “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
It’s the living spirit of God within us! We have him always to direct our path, we just have to put down all those distracting things we try to busy ourselves with to solve our own problems and listen. He speaks in ways sometimes unimaginable, through scripture in the Bible, through friends and family, through words from a pastor, and even through a clear audible voice unmistakably the voice of God. He is living! The word is living, when you open the bible it’s not just words on a page but a voice from our Father, our creator savior and protector. 2 Corinthians 5:15. God is alive and jumping off the page every time you open that little leather-bound book and flip those thin sliced pages. If you just take a second to clear your thoughts and listen, you may be surprised at what you hear.
Today like I told you before, was a day of wrestles awakening, and today instead of busying myself to distract me from my anxiety or hiding under my blankets from the world outside my white down comforter, I opened my Bible. Haphazardly I leave my bookmark in different places and so I as I turned to the spot I bookmarked last, I came upon Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, yes, comfort my people!” says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her. That her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.”
If that’s not proof of the living word of God I don’t know what is. As I read I felt a rush of emotion pass through my body like a wave starting in the tip of my head rolling down through my spine until the pleasant tingle of joy hit all the way to my toes. This, my friend, is the Holy Spirit. He will come when ever you cry out to him. He will come in the middle of the night or the earliest of mornings. In your darkest hour and your most joyest hour he will come John 16:13“Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.”
I continued reading and as I hit the last verse of the 40th chapter of Isaiah I read:
Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord
The creator of the ends of the earth
Neither faints nor is weary
His understanding is unsearchable
He gives power to the weak
And to those who have no might He increases strength
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength
They shall mount up with wings like eagles
They shall run and not be weary
They shall walk and not faint.
I continued reading through Isaiah and all the while feeling as if the words were not only being read by my brain but my heart and soul as if I was not even reading them at all but being spoken to by God audibly, like a voice within me unrecognizable to my own. I listened more intently now as the story and the words I was being told were becoming more profound and inspiring by the minute. As I approached Isaiah 43:1 I began to feel the tears of joy swell in my eyes and these few simple verses just jumped off the page:
But now, thus says the Lord, who has created you, o Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel:”Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you; for I am the Lord your God; The holy one of Israel, your savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Since you were precious in my sight you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men to you, and people for your life. Fear not for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, “Give them up!” And to the south, “Do not keep them back” Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth- Everyone who is called by my name whom I have created for my glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him”
As I finished reading the sun poured in my window and people began to stir. I thanked God for waking me up early with that bout of slight anxiety so I could be reminded of his Glory his power and how madly in love he is with me. How sweet and magnificent is it to have your true love to comfort you in the midst of doubt and frustration. I thank the lord for all of the gifts he has given me in my life and for the bad times too, because without my bouts of bad the Good would never taste so sweet. Thank you, Lord, for your everlasting promise of love and protection.
Blessings
Lauren Rae Vopatek
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