š„ THE BRIEFING
When you become a parent, you start to see what it was like for your parents when you were a kid. I remember always trying to go to the other parent when I didnāt get the answer I wanted originally.
āUm, excuse me, but I didnāt like your answer so I went to my other option of authority - and other person tall enough to reach the cookie jar,ā would be my thought. The worst part for my parents is when I intercepted the other before they could align stances and I would end up getting what I wanted anyways. Mission success.
When I became a parent and our oldest son started to be able to communicate, I learned quickly what it was like for my parents when I would continually be asked the same question. You remember doing this to your parents?
āCan I have another cookie?ā
āYou canāt have it, itās not good for you.ā
āBut, I really want it.ā
āYou canāt have another cookie. It will make you sick.ā
āI donāt care, I want another cookie. Can I pleaseeeee have another cookie," as if the emphatic politeness would change my parentsā stance.
āNo, my answer is final. Iām not going to say it again. You cannot have another cookie because it is bad for you.ā
āUghhhhh, Iām going to ask Mom!"
Been through this before? My toddler canāt even talk yet and heās pulling it on us already. Heāll make a noise and point to the cabinet that he somehow always knows his Veggie Straws are on the other side. When Mom says āNoā, he finds me and does the same. Why? Because he either didnāt understand or didnāt like the answer.
In the same way we start to see our parentsā perspective when we become parents ourselves, I wonder what Godās perspective looks like when we do this to Him. How often do we pray for something and miss the answer? How often do we read a Scripture that points us to Him and shows us our next step towards Christ, then we close our Bible and move on to the next task in our day? Then we pray for the very thing God provided that we already missed.
I always forget about the 2nd half of John 6. The first half tells of legendary miracles of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and walking on water - feats impossible to man and proof He is more than man. Yet, the second half of the chapter talks about Jesusā continued teaching to those same followers he miraculously fed with a childās lunch.
They come and Jesus immediately calls them out for wanting more physical gifts - not spiritual. Jesus reminds them that He came as the true āBread of Lifeā given by God and come down from Heaven. The bread that Jesus speaks of will feed us and fulfill us for eternity, unlike bread made by man.
Through back and forth dialogue consisting of 43 verses, Jesus reiterates this same message again and again and again because the crowd just isnāt grasping His message. He told his followers not once, not twice, not three, not four (Iāll stop here, you either get my Lebron James Miami promise reference now or you donāt), but Jesus told them 12 times!
12 times! Surely, after 12 times the Jews understood and finally saw the Christ in front of them as the Son of God, right? Wrong. Not only did they not understand, many of those followers walked away and rejected Jesus, hoping the promised Messiah would one day come. They completely missed it.
The Son of God stood before his followers after performing multiple miracles . . . yet they still didnāt understand. He repeated himself 12 times . . . yet they still didnāt understand. God, Himself, in the form of man standing before them, giving them exactly what is best for them - a relationship with God through Christ - and they missed it.
(see John 6:22-69 for the full passage)
šļø THE CORNER TALK
Fellow dad - Jesus is our Bread of Life. Donāt miss it. He is our Savior, our Fulfillment, our Joy, our Peace, our Love, and our perfect example of how to be a man on this Earth. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He will feed your hunger, quench your thirst, and fill the emptiness of our heart. Please, donāt miss it.
āāSo, Jesus said to the twelve, You do not want to go away also, do you?ā Simon Peter answered Him, āLord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.āā - John 6:67-68
Simon Peter has it right. Jesus is the āBread of Lifeā. He and His words give life - eternal life that will never perish.
When your son needs guidance, Jesusā words give life.
When your daughter needs confidence, Jesusā words give life.
When your wife needs encouragement, Jesusā words give life.
When you need fulfillment, Jesusā words give life.
And, remember as I type, Iām the dad in your corner. But, there is another dad in your life that needs to hear this that needs you in their corner. Share with them the power of Jesusā life-giving words.
š„ THE FIGHT PLAN
This week: Memorize Jesusā words.
For some of you reading, memorizing Scripture takes you right back to Bible Drill (any other Southern Baptists out there?). Iām not asking you to memorize Scripture just to retain it. Iām asking for you to find Jesusā words and implement them into your familyās routine.
What is something Jesus spoke that you can repeat to your family?
Can you tie it into mealtime prayer or bedtime routine?
Do you repeat it to your kids with the same frequency you tell them youāre proud and you love them?
Do you write them notes somewhere for them to find Jesusā words greeting them through the day?
Find a way to take Jesusā words from Scripture and implement them into your familyās life. Speak, write, and repeat life over your family.
Then when youāve done it for this week, do it again and again and again. It may take more than 12 times for your kids, wife, and even yourself to grasp the truth from Jesusā words. It may take hundreds. But, make sure the words of truth from Jesus will ring true in your familyās ears.
š¤ THE HUDDLE
Remember the prayer Christ displays for us in Matthew 6:
āGive us this day our daily breadā
Christ is the Bread of Life. When weāre down and when weāre up, this truth remains clear: Christ will fulfill us.
It may not feel like it right now. If life feels like itās beating you down, everything you try is hitting a brick wall, and youāre at your end - Christ is the Bread of Life giving us what we need in our moment of weakness.
If youāre on top of the world, donāt lose sight. Keep at it. The bread of which we eat of this world will not sustain us. Only the Bread of Christ will sustain our spirit.
Youāre not alone. You have other fathers in the same fight. Ask them what they do. How do they let Christās words sit true in their hearts? How do they implement His words in their family rhythms? Youāre not alone. Christ is always with you, and brothers are there to help point you to Him. We are too.
In Your Corner,
Jimmy Hartley
QUICK INTRO!
Yes, thatās a new name underneath the title. Iām honored Chance has asked me to write for Dads Fight Club.
I accepted Christ very young and always lived in a God-honoring home. Iām blessed for my upbringing and probably take it for granted more than I show proper appreciation for it. I grew up in Central Florida until going away for college.
I attended a small college in Charlotte, NC to play baseball and attend school. Only the school part of that worked out, but God moved in me more than I could describe in a few short words. He instilled into me a purpose to inspire others that remains to this day.
After graduating, I met my wife through mutual friends and we got married in April 2022. We moved back to Florida in August of 2022. In March of 2024, we welcomed our first son. In October of 2025, we welcomed our second son. Life has moved fast and God has been good to us.
I met Chance at church and he invited me to āDads Fight Clubā. I knew nothing except the clear reference and he mentioned steaks. What guy would say no to that?
What I found was Godās provision for the community for which Iād been praying since we moved back to FL. Men need other men, especially to point each other towards Christ.
Iām honored Chance asked me to be a part of Dads Fight Club. I pray the words you read through Dads Fight Club point you to Christ and the eternal āBread of Lifeā.
In Christ,
Jimmy Hartley