Where am I?

headed, and filled in the gaps just by going. Occasionally, however, I would have trouble because I’d lose track of which way was North.  I found out that to get where you’re going, it helps to know where you are.  What helps me is 1 Timothy 4:12 which says: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faithand in purity.”  Something I’ve been doing for a long time is, every now and then, taking a few second to ask myself some questions from this verse to help me get a better idea of where I am in my person growth.  To give you a glimpse of what I do, I’ll give you a brief description of each with a few questions.

Speech - This isn’t just ‘is my speech clean?’  It’s also whether or not it honors God.  I ask myself questions like:

• Do I gossip?
• Do I speak negatively or hurtfully of others?
• Do I speak negatively of myself?
• Do I talk too much about myself and not enough about Jesus and others?

Life - This is about our general conduct, personal habits, etc.  For this part a take a few minutes to see if I have any bad habits or tendencies.

• Can I call myself a person of integrity?
• Can I say that I’m punctual – that being on-time is important to me?
• Are my actions throughout my everyday Christ-like?

Love - Jesus’ defining quality was love.  God sent his Son to the earth because he loved (John 3:16).   We also know that God is love (1 John 4:16).  If this is true, which it is, then we should strive to be people who are known for their love.

• Do I make it a conscious effort to show others that I love them?
• Do I take time to show compassion to those who are in need?
• Does it bother me that there are people going to Hell?

Faith - This one is vertical; me and God.

• Am I consistent in my devotions?
• What does my prayer life look like?
• Do I make it a priority to be a witness?
• Am I willing to take risks or deviate from my schedule to follow God’s will and leading?

Purity - For this one, I think of a glass of water.  If you walked into a restaurant and ordered a glass of water, but instead you received a glass of sand, of course you wouldn’t drink it.  But what about if it was filled with water and only a little dirt?  It would still be no good.  We should also have our lives pure before God.

•  Have I compromised my standards in any way?
• Have I diluted my focus on Jesus, or split my devotion to God?
• Is there anything getting in the way of my relationship with God/is that relationship my #1 priority?

Again, this is just something that helps me from time-to-time in evaluating the status of my growth, or lack thereof.  I think it’s important to keep growing and keep upping the bar.  As I’ve grown over the last few years, I’ve changed some of the questions.  But maybe you’re farther along than I, or maybe you’re not yet where I am.  Whatever the case, I want to encourage you to maybe put some of your own questions in and then do some thinking (or you can borrow my questions – that’s why I put them there).  Then just take a few minutes, sit down, and work some stuff out with God.  Find out where  you are.  If you ask him with the right motives, he’ll give you an answer, and you’ll be all the better for it.

Zachary

Live Loud

Something that I’ve been learning a lot about recently is living loudly.  No, I’m not talking about your little brother.  But I’m sure we all know at least one person who IS loud in that way.  And maybe it isn’t such a bad thing – maybe it’s just misguided.  Okay, maybe I’m sounding a little weird but let me explain:  We all have a desire to be heard to an extent - how and why we go about that is what makes the difference

THE WHY: This is the easy part.  In living a Christian life, we should want to be heard because we want others to know Jesus.  It’s that simple; if we have the opportunity to be heard and don’t speak about Jesus, we’re just like everyone else.  It can be hard to speak about Jesus, though, when we’re in the way.  What I mean is that I too often want to talk about me rather than talking about the one who made me.  Rather than saying, ‘this is what I am,’ I should be introducing people to the one I want to be like.

THE HOW: So how exactly do we go about living loudly?  I was talking to a friend the other day who didn’t know what to think because someone at school was under the impression that my friend didn’t believe in God at all.  My friend assured me that they’re trying to live a godly life; but lets be honest, we ALL try.  But to what extent?  Then they told me they’re doing it – they’re doing what they should. ‘Doing’ is when people stop questioning whether we know God; ’being’ is when their lives start being changed because of it.  We live loudly by being what we should be, and NOT trying to hide it.

The thing is that anyone can be loud, a guitarist can be loud by strumming as hard as he can; but not everyone can live loudly.  It takes a guitarist who knowshow to play to play something with a meaning or purpose.  In the same way, Christians should know how to live loudly for the purpose of telling others about Jesus.

Raising the volume,

Zack

 

Young in the faith

Last night, I had an awesome conversation (what some might call  ’iron time’), with one of the other students.  For his take on this, read Ross Dyer’s blog called: “Take off the dress you fool!”  We were being real with each other, and asking questions like: “What do you see in me that needs to change?”  Somewhere in the conversation, God brought a portion of scripture back to my mind from earlier in the day, and I had somewhat of a revelation.  It was 1 John 2:13-14.   I’m not saying that my conclusion is the literal or intended meaning of the text, but just hear me out.  I won’t be too heretical.  Promise.

“13 I am writing to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I am writing to you who are young in the faith
because you have won your battle with the evil one.
. . .    . . .
14[b] I have written to you who are mature in the faith
because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning.
I have written to you who are young in the faith
because you are strong.
God’s word lives in your hearts,
and you have won your battle with the evil one.”

I had a hard time understanding why John formatted it this way – and to be honest, I still don’t really know why.  Maybe it was something to do with literary technique, or a style that we don’t really use in the English language.  Having read it yesterday I’m still not 100% sure what it means, but it wasn’t until that night that God spoke to me through it.  Basically, he said: “Stop settling for just knowing who I am, and start winning battles. I am my word, so I’ll live in you.  And start winning battles; not just for you, but to win others to my kingdom as well.  I created you to be strong, and I gave you a zeal; why then, do you think you can “mature” out of being a radical Christian?”  I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be a mature Christian that can handle sin because I know Christ.  If that’s what growing up in the faith is, then I don’t want it.  Luckily, I don’t think we’re necessarily doomed to that scholarly, apathetic, passionless faith.  Yeah, it’s important to have knowledge, but I’d choose zeal over knowledge any day.  Knowledge can always be gained, but I never want to be unimpressed with God.

Young in the faith,

Zack

 

If God is my father, then I get to be a kid.

The other morning I was spending time with God and reading the Bible.  It was pretty awesome.  I read Mark 10:15 which says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it,” and I got a sweet new perspective that I never really had.  Even though most of us have probably heard this verse more times than we can remember, I asked God how I can receive his kingdom like a child.  When I usually hear Mark 10:15 I think of the faith that Children have; but God spoke a little more than that to me this time around.

I thought about the way children focus.  When a kid is really focused on something (yes, it does occasionally happen) it’s because they actually want to do what they’re doing.  I want to want Jesus the way a child would.  I also thought about the curiosity that children have.  They embrace the world with wide-eyes, having a hunger and itching to learn how, why, and for what reason things work the way they do.  I want to explore God the same way a child explores the world.  I want to read the Bible like it’s uncharted territory.

Another aspect of Children that is really challenging is their dependence.  They’re totally dependent on their parent(s).  Obviously it changes with age, but kids have to go to their father or mother when they need something.  They depend on them for food, and shelter, and clothing, and attention, and acceptance, and all of those things we need to thrive.  I don’t ever want to ”mature” out of being dependent on God that way.  I have to realize that I need to be dependent on him.

The last thing that I thought of that really challenged me that kids are just so good at is being persistent.  I just thought of that sort of are-we-there-yet scenario that we’ve all experienced in some way.  Maybe yours sounded more like this:

“Can we get a dog?”
“No.”
“Can we get a cat?”
“No.”
“Can we get a lizard?”
“No.”

Kids know what they want, and they’re persistent about getting it.  A good parent will tell them ‘no’ when necessary.  Why then do I feel so limited in my prayer life?  I have a good Father – the best actually – so he’ll tell me ‘no’ if I need to hear it.  Why not ask him?

Life is childhood,

Zachary

 

I can hear myself getting fatter!

Today was pretty sweet; both in the literal and figurative sense.  Literally,  I got to eat an amazingly delicious,  yet disgustingly fattening (but oh so delicious) paczki.  If you know what that is, I promise I won’t make a cheesy spiritual connection about getting ‘spiritually fat.’ If you don’t know what that is, it’s a Polish,  doughnut-like, filled pastry.  They can contain all kinds of fun stuff like custard, or raspberry filling, or custard, or apple-cinnamon, or lemon, or custard, or plum… or who knows what?  My favorite are probably the custards ones.  And for those of us who have a hard time trying to pronounce words with ‘c’s and ‘z’s that are way too friendly, just muddle together the two words ‘punch’ and ‘key’.  Say it mashed together with confidence, and if someone asks about it just pretend you had to yawn or cough or something.

Figuratively, today was even sweeter because I had the awesome opportunity to converse with a man named Alphonso while waiting in the line that makes paczki dreams come true.  Alphonso, Austin and I talked for what must have been about an hour or so.  We talked a lot about his life and history.  At first, I was a little discouraged because we went to Hamtramck to love on people, and look for ministry opportunities; yet, it was pretty hard to direct the conversation because Alphonso was a talker.  In fact, I hardly got any words at all.  Luckily, I realized something important: Sometimes, the best ministry isn’t doing the talking, but simply just quieting yourself and listening to the other person.  Some people just need someone to care.  There have been times where I simplylet a person talk, and once they voiced their situation, they realized how ridiculous their perspective was.  They walked away thanking me, yet I hadn’t said a word!

God is so gracious.  He lets us do the talking a lot of the time.  But I still want to be quite sometimes and know that he is God.  I want to hear his voice and receive his wisdom. For now, I’m alright with doing the listening.  But when I do speak, I want the name of Jesus to come out.

Learning to listen,

Zachary.

 

Faithful like Daniel

I don’t have something really profound that’ll endow some sort of life-changing enlightenment on you, but recently I’ve been learning a lot about faithfulness – maybe something you already know a lot about.  It was really cool though, I got to do a study and then write a paper about what I learned from reading the book of Daniel. All I’ve got to say is that he was an alright guy who did some alright stuff.  Okay, maybe that’s an understatement, and maybe I’ve really got more to say about him.  But really, Daniel was the man!  Throughout the first six chapters, we get to see about sixty years or so of his life.  He was the kind of person that caused kings and rulers to praise God.  He was an exceptional person but it all started with his faithfulness to God.  He was a solid wall of integrity because he actually lived what he believed and let God take care of the rest.  Maybe we wouldn’t have to worry as much about the opportunities we do or don’t have if we focused more on being faithful where God has placed us.  We know that God gives us the desire and the power to do what pleases him, we just have to be faithful to that calling.

Just a thought,

Zachary

 

My War With Me.

Thinking back, I can remember the final day of Xmin last year.  It was awesome to be able to take a deep breath and know that I had accomplish what I had set out to do.  Yeah, there were definitely some tough times.  I was stretched and challenged during those eight months more than I ever had been before; and I’ll be honest, I was a little sad to leave.  But, here I am again, and boy has the second year been tough . . . er.  Working while try to excel academically, while trying to grow with God and be involved in ministry is a lot to put on a schedule.  Sometimes it feels like I’m just barely keeping myself afloat, and others like I’m on the verge of sinking.

Yesterday in the reading plan, we all read the first chapter of Mark. From verses 21 to 34, we read about Jesus’ actions one Sabbath.  He preaches at the synagogue, casts out a demon, goes to a friend’s house, heals a mother, then spends all night healing people and casting out more demons. Wow, what a day!  Jesus was a pretty busy guy.  What really kicked me in the pants though, was verse 35, which says: “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”  So Jesus had all spent the entire day ministering to people, and was probably exhausted from being crowded by hundreds and perhaps thousands of people who wanted his attention.  I’d say he had every right to sleep in – I probably would.  But I’m not Jesus (thankfully).  Jesus got up early to spend time with God, because he knew that once everyone else woke up, he could kiss his time good-bye.

Jesus was God, yet he modeled prayer to us.  He fought for times alone with God so we would know that’s what we should do.  Over the next few months of Xmin (only three left) I want to fight for time with God.  I don’t ever want to get to the end of the day and realize that I didn’t pray, or that I never wrote down what God spoke to me.  I want to have the same hunger and drive the Jesus had.  That’s my goal. I’ve spoken it, now I just have to fight for it.  When I want to sleep in, when my body wants to be lazy, I have to keep going.  Yeah, there should be times to rest, but as Pastor Chilly says: “It’s hard to surrender to rest when you’re driven.”  I’m fighting myself on this one.

This is war,

Zack

Jump, Jump.

I has this friend for a while.  Actually he was a friend of a friend.  Anyway, he was really energetic and always all over the place.  Some of our friends would complain about him being so jumpy all the time; but I’m pretty sure, when we hung out, he had the most fun out of all of us.

Colossians 4:5 says:  ”Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.”

This verse has two main commands, both in the context of being, “Among those who are not believers.”  The first is, as you may have guessed, to ‘live wisely.’  Yeah, this one is pretty self explanatory - at least it should be.  Yet, it seems like it took me a long time to learn this as a kid, and sometimes I still wonder if I’ve ever fully learned it.

The second command in this verse is really what hit me the other day: “. . .and make the most of every opportunity [among those who are not believers].”  Journaling about this, I heard God say, “JUMP at opportunities.”  Well, what’s stopping me?  The biggest obstacle when it comes to seizing opportunity for greatness is myself.  I think some of us (at least I) need to be a little more JUMPY; which requires Jumping Up and Moving Past Yourself.  Yep, that’s right.  I have to get off my butt (the middle-schooler in me loves that I just said ‘butt’) and get over me so that people can see God.  For those of us who can be shy, this might sound a little scary. But just remember that friend – being jumpy is way more fun.

Ready to jump,

Zachary.

Talk about an opportunity that you had to jump. Did you take it?

 

A Roller-Coaster called Faith

“It’s the little things that keep us going.”

Those were the words that a man I met at the gas station the other night said as he walked away.  I had only given him maybe 47 cents, but I also cared – and he was thankful.

I have been seeing so many opportunities to love on people lately – it’s ridiculous.  How many I’ve let go unnoticed because of my busy day? – Probably even more ridiculous.  As a disciple of Christ, I want to have his heart for people, see them through his eyes, and let him touch their lives with my hands.  He’s not going to force me to let him work through me, and he’s not going to want to if I have a bad attitude about it.  Instead I want to see that as a privilege.

I was talking to Pastor Chilly the other day, and he said something along the lines of: “[If we've already given it all to God, then it's not up to us how much he uses us.]”  Telling God ‘no,’ (which is essentially what we’re doing, even when we’re just not listening) is taking back some of ourself from him – which, in my mind, is a scary thought.

I want to be ‘all in.’  I want to face the fact that God doesn’t have to consult me about what he wants to do with my life (I mean, it’s his life, isn’t it?).  I want my love to show the world that I’m his disciple.  I want to be: Obedient, willing, and usable.  The thought can be frightening,  but it’s also exciting.  It’s my faith as a roller-coaster ride.

I’m all in,

Zachary

Secret Surprises

The other day work was pretty slow, so a co-worker and I were trying to get some extra cleaning projects done.  We were moving things, and sweeping things and rearranging things.  We were doing a lot, to a lot of things.  At work, we have a back room, where there is a list that has all kinds of fun cleaning activities.  Bouncing all over the place, trying to do the most preferable ones first, we finally got to it. Yes. The next item on the list was the espresso bar – a place where terms like ‘soap’ and ‘scrub’ are a foreign language.

Now, from the outside, the espresso bar looks like, well, an average espresso bar.  And it is.  But underneath it, and behind it, that’s a completely different story.  Being an optimist, (or a sarcastic cynic) I was saying how I felt like a pirate looking for hidden treasure.  My co-worker explained that we were finding what they called ‘secret surprises.’

Sometimes, we have all kinds of ‘secret surprises’ in our lives.  We neglect going deep into our problems, and only clean the visible, surface area.  I mean, it’s the places people can see that matter, right?  Not exactly.  See, just as my co-worker and I dreaded the idea of cleaning around the espresso machine, people who are often around us will start to avoid certain aspect of who we are.  It takes a dedicated friend, or co-worker to start moving things around and ask the questions that’ll help us to sweep out those areas.

“Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need” – Phil 2:25 (emphasis added).

What are the secret surprises that you’ve been avoiding in your life?

Is there someone you count on to be a faithful co-worker?

 

Zachary