Jon Hatch's Blog

One of the things I’ve been hearing and reading about lately in our relationship with God is that he often give us a vision for something that is bigger than ourselves. A passion for something that only with His help will we be able to do. Makes me wonder than if whenever we feel inadequate for a task, or the goal for something is too far out of our reach, or something we know needs to happen just seems impossible… if that is actually God calling us to action. Calling us to keep going. Encouraging us to push through the unbelief. To trust in Him to finish what He started in us and through us. Maybe my discouragement is the first step in realizing the task before me can only be done with God involved. And the next step is to trust His lead.

Maybe…

Until I know for sure, I think I’ll err on the side of trusting Him.

The more and more time I spend with Jesus the more I find my ways of thinking being challenged. One of those, which I believe many who follow Christ have, is the thought of being able to give more once we have received more. Many times we think that we can’t give because we haven’t been given much or we don’t have enough to give. We often end up telling ourselves, “If only I had this much money, or if only I had this big of a house. Then I could really serve God and others.” I don’t know about you but I’ve found myself caught up in this line of thinking.

Then I read Mark 12:41-44 and my thoughts are flipped upside down.

I am challenged to see that it’s not how much I give, but how I leverage what I been have given for the benefit of others. No matter how small an amount that might be. I know several people who have blessed my family and I through what might seem like small sacrifices to others, but to them was a huge sacrifice of leveraging what they were given.

Maybe the right question isn’t, “How can I make more so I can give more?” but rather, “How can I leverage more of what I have right now for the benefit of others?”

And it doesn’t always have to be monetarily.

I read this post on Seth Godin’s blog last week. Gave me some good thoughts.

January 11
“I’ve Got Your Back…
These are the words that entrepreneurs, painters, artists, statesmen, customer service pioneers and writers need to hear.
Not true. They don’t need to hear them, they need to feel them.
No artist needs a fair weather friend, an employee or customer or partner who waits to do the calculus before deciding if they’re going to be there for them.
No, if you want her to go all in, if you want her to take the risk and brave the fear, then it sure helps if you’re there too, no matter what. There’s a cost to that, a pain and risk that comes from that sort of trust. After all, it might not work. Failure (or worse! embarrassment) might ensue. That’s precisely why it’s worth so much. Because it’s difficult and scarce.
Later, when it’s all good and it’s all working, your offer of support means very little. The artist never forgets the few who came through when it really mattered.
Who’s got your back? More important, whose back do you have?”

If you’re like me you probably long for friends who would be willing to tell you this and mean it with their actions. And if you’re like me you probably want to be that kind of friend. I wonder how richer our lives would be with these types of relationships. How confident would we be in our steps of faith knowing there was someone with us through thick and thin? What if there were people who stood by you even when you failed? How much more would we be willing to brave what we believe God calling us to do? I believe the church can be, and should be, a place where these types of relationships are formed.

Have you ever had someone stand up for you or stick by you during a mistake or failure? Have you ever stood by someone or stood up for them through a risk they took?

If you happened to watch the Jets upset the Patriots this past Sunday you might have caught a post game interview with a linebacker for the Jets, Bart Scott. If you didn’t I would recommend you watch it here…

To me it’s somewhat hilarious, but there was something about his demeanor and what he said that spoke to me. You see, this world is full of people and forces that want to see us fail. Fail at whatever it is we believe we’re called by God to do. We hear these voices telling us daily that we can’t do it, that we’re not good enough, that we might as well quit. Sometimes they are completely audible from someone, but other times they come in the form of circumstances or situations we find ourselves in. Maybe illness, lack of encouragement, people you trust jump ship on you, negative comments on your blog, etc. And sometimes I just feel like “going off” on these voices! But what this interview reminds me of is that even when no one else does, we still have to believe! We still have to believe in ourselves and what God has called each of us to in carrying out his message of hope. Will we fail at times? Of course! But failure shouldn’t stop us from believing. And when you meet even minor successes feel free, maybe not in an interview, but privately, to let those negative “voices” know you did it in spite of them, and because of the one voice who always believes in you. It might not always be the loudest, but it is always there.

By the way I have nothing against the Patriots. So please don’t call me a New England hater. I just loved this interview!

It has been an awesome week of Vacation Bible School! All the kids are having so much fun and learning a lot about Joseph. The Egypt theme is a hit. Our volunteer leaders are doing so great! It truly has been a hit of a week because of them. It is incredible to be a part of children’s ministry and watch God transform little hearts from the inside out.

Today we celebrate our moms and all they have done, do and continue to do for us. No matter how old we get. It was a conversation with my mom when I was in third grade that led me into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I will never forget that conversation nor my mother’s heart toward her son hearing about Jesus and His love. God knew what He was doing in creating the family and the role our mom’s would play in our lives. Thanks mom for listening to God and speaking into your sons life. I will be forever grateful! Love you!

One week ago today my third nephew, first on the Hatch side, Lincoln Hatch, was born. I am so crazy excited for my brother and his wife! God is awesome how He does this whole new life thing. It’s truly miraculous. Another little person has been welcomed to this planet which means another adventure is going to be lived out. You know, everyone takes their own journey and my brother has his own that God has taken him on and prepared him for this moment. And I couldn’t be more proud of my little “bigger than me” brother and who God has made him to be. He is going to be an amazing dad and I can’t wait to see the adventure God has for him and his family and all of us as we watch our kids grow up together.

Last night my wife discovered while reading through my son’s kid bible that some of the pages were printed out of order. Half of the Moses story was in the back of the bible while a story about Paul had made it to the beginning. Surprised by this she says out loud, “That’s funny, this story doesn’t belong here.” To which our oldest replies, “Mom, it is supposed to be there. That’s where God wanted it to be. So it’s in the right place because God put it there.” She explained and showed him what had happened exactly with the printing and he understood. But somewhere along the line our son has caught the truth that God’s word is infallible. I don’t know who he picked this up from because I don’t ever remember having a conversation about this truth with him. But someone, a grandparent, children’s ministry teacher, or other adult has spoken into my sons life and communicated a valuable truth that God’s word is complete and true and can’t be messed with. I am so thankful for multiple voices speaking into my 5 year old’s life.

Below is a very insightful post from Pete Wilson (http://withoutwax.tv/)

I’m convinced that the majority of us live about 98% accountable. The problem with being 98% accountable is that it’s about as useless as not being accountable at all.
It might even be more dangerous.
You see, you go to your small group.
You meet with your accountability partner.
You even intentionally confess just enough to seem open and honest.
But you guard and conceal the 2% that is slowly gaining momentum in the dark.
Provers 28:13 says,
People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.
Confess?
Even the 2%?
Especially the 2%.
Today I’m praying you have at least one relationship where you can be fully known and fully loved for it’s in that moment you find yourself coming fully alive.
How are you doing with the final 2%?

Saw a great movie with my boys last Friday night… “How To Train Your Dragon”. So fun and funny. It was so neat to be with my young men and watch and laugh and get scared and just have a blast. Made me think about how I’m training my little dragons. Am I keeping the balance between letting them be who God made them to be and yet helping to guide their hearts which comes out in their behavior and actions. Bottom line is we live either out of a necessity to survive or out of love that was showed to us. I want my boys to live their lives out of love not out of a necessity to survive. I want them to know they are loved. Love is more powerful than we think. It can turn even the most ferocious of hearts around.