Not of this World

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire." 

 2 Peter 1:3-4

There is real hope for those who believe in Jesus Christ.  As the passage indicates above, he "has granted to us his precious and very great promises."  Not only does God give us promises, but the purpose of those promises is that we would be partakers of the divine nature.  In other words, we will become more and more like Jesus, and we will reign with Jesus for eternity.  There is no greater treasure, no greater reality, no greater hope.  

Peter expounds upon this in his earlier letter, saying, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you." (I Peter 1:3-4)  

Imperishable

Undefiled

Unfading

And it is kept in heaven.  Our treasure, our great reward is unlike anything or anyone we've ever seen, and it's found in the person of Jesus Christ.  He is enough.  

That's why it's so aggravating to me when I forget this truth.  It's aggravating when I slowly forget that the life I'm living for is LATER.  Because as I easily forget, I start longing for things that are perishable, able to be defiled, and fade.  They constantly fail me.  

It's so easy to get caught up in a culture, wondering why is this thing so messed up?!  Why can't I just have an easy life and have the things that I want, be surrounded by the people that I love without challenges or struggles?!  Why is there injustice, pain, and suffering?  Why does it seem like things are getting worse, and not getting better?!  

I think it's a reminder that if we got all that we wanted, but we were without God, we would be eternally miserable.  Just imagine if you actually got everything you wanted.  Would you actually be satisfied?  I know that I wouldn't.  I know because there have been times where I have said, "if only I could have had..." and I got it!  

"If only could get a part in the play!"

"If only I could get a solo!" 

"If only I could make more friends!"

"If only I could have a girlfriend!"

"If only I could get married!"

"If only I had a little bit more money!"  

"If only I got the promotion!"

I'm sure there are things I'm unaware of that I still want.  But, even if I had them, I could still find a way to be discontent.  It's a reminder that I'm in need of the living God of all!  That He is the only one who can satisfy!  


"As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?" -- Psalm 42:1-2

When the psalmist is desperate, he begs for God.  He's what our souls, our hearts were truly meant to be satisfied by.  And we will fully see Him and His glory in the life to come, not in this world.  It's a reminder that we aren't here to live it up.  As Peter says, we are exiles and aliens in a foreign land.  This is NOT our home.  Heaven is our home.  It's our citizenship.  It's the true land of freedom and opportunity, one where sin and death is vanquished, and the only just King is firmly established as our Leader and God.  

This is an exciting reality.  If we really are citizens of an eternal home, and this is merely for a time, it changes everything.  It re-orients our life's mission, because it changes our perspective that the good life isn't found here, but that the best is yet to come.  So I don't need a "bucket list," I don't need to freak out about all the things I haven't done before I'm 30, and I don't need to worry about the future.  Instead, I can invest myself in learning more about Jesus, I can give generously to building His Kingdom, I can give generously to those in need, and I can pour my life into others without wondering what's in it for me.  

If you're in Christ, take heart.  Life isn't found here, but in Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  Run to Him, knowing that He has secured true life for eternity.  

In His Grace,
Zack

The Audition that Saved my Life

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,  for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

 (Romans 8:28-29)

This is the first post I'm making in "a series of remembrance."  Although I hope that this is an encouragement to you all, this is probably more for me than anyone else.  Walking with Christ is hard, particularly when our hearts are hard-wired to run away from Him.  It's so easy to forget His faithfulness and goodness, so my hope is to make much of Jesus as I look back at key events in my life.  Some of these will be mountain-top experiences, some of these will look at God's sovereign hand working in my life during hard times, some of them will just be mundane life.  This story was key in my conversion to Christ: it was the audition that saved my life.  

It was my Sophomore Year at Muhlenberg College, and I was excited to go back and prove myself even further as an actor in their now top-ranked theater program.  I had all ready gotten some big breaks, I was in an a capella group called the Acafellas, I had gotten into a show my freshman year, and was being trained by our choir director in voice, one of the best vocal teachers I had ever had.  

The first couple weeks of the Fall Semester was always the big audition week, there were four or five shows I would audition for the entire semester.  So I prepared, got ready, and auditioned.  The callbacks were posted, and I was called back for three shows.  I was amazed!  I could only get one (I think that was a department rule.), but I knew I had a huge shot to land a big time role.  The one I really wanted, however, was to be an understudy in the Fall Musical, Caberet.  The reason: the role was going to be played by a professional actor.  I had an opportunity to learn from an equity actor!  

I went to the first auditions (for the other two shows), and as luck would have it, I started suffering from a migraine as we started.  There was no way I was able to give it my all in those auditions. 

It was ok, though, I still had one more audition.  It was for caberet, and it was a singing audition.  Dancing was suspect, I was a decent actor, so if I had a strong quality, vocals would have been it.  I went in feeling fully healthy, and the music started.  If I called it a train wreck, that would be unfair to the phrase.  Out of 16 (or 32) measures, I hit maybe 3 notes right.  It was the worst audition I had ever given.  What was worse, was that it was in front of the head of the department.  I couldn't believe it, I had just blown my opportunity. 

I remember sitting in my friends room (Amy and Danielle, both of whom I owe a deep thank you for their patience in caring for me as I sat broken and frustrated), feeling like I had this opportunity to prove myself and how great I could be, and instead I had failed again.  I was a nothing, a nobody, and all the value I thought I could win by making a show was now gone.  

Yet, it was the audition that was the proverbial "straw" that broke the camel's back.  I had friends, I was still in a music group, and yet not getting the thing I wanted proved something to me:  I was deeply discontent.  I was in college, pursuing a degree that I wanted, with friends that I cared about, why was I so discontent?  

God answered that question later, but the thing that He did was He removed any excuse for me to not go to the Muhlenberg Chapter of DiscipleMakers Christian Fellowship (DCF).  Many of my friends had been inviting me to DCF for a couple of weeks, and I realized I wouldn't be able to go with show rehearsals going on.  Suddenly, that excuse was no longer viable.  So, I went.  And God used it to change the course of my life forever.  

I had always heard the adage that if I didn't get a part, just to try harder, to show that I was good enough.  But what God did was He removed my need to be valuable by showing me that I was all ready valuable, all I needed was to trust in Christ.  Because God gave up His only Son not only to forgive my sins, but to be adopted as a Son (Romans 8:15).  Years later, I lost my passion to be a great actor because it was fueled only by my idolatry of pride and self-centeredness, wanting to be seen as valuable.  

Now, I sing because I love to sing (not that I don't struggle with these things still).  I'm freed to be far more joyful in singing to sing and worship Christ with it.  I look back on this moment and wonder, "what if I hadn't bombed the audition?"  Maybe I wouldn't have gotten the part anyway.  Or maybe I would have and never gotten to attend DCF, where I would have understood the Gospel for the first time.  

Either way, God used this awful audition for my good, and I praise Him that while I hated it (and Him) for a little while, He truly did use it for my good.  In fact, it redirected the course of my life.  

A series of remembrance

"My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,  

when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 

 for you have been my help, 
 and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy." -- Psalm 63:5-7

As I've been thinking about my relationship with God, one thing I'm realizing is how I just don't take time to remember Him, who He is, His marvelous deeds, and His unparalleled wisdom, and how that has particularly intersected into my life.  Because of that, it's been easy for me to forget both His goodness to me, as well as easy to forget what He has brought me through and what He has saved me from.  

As I did a simple search on the verb "remember," bible gateway turned up 234 individual verses in which the verb was used.  Multiple verses had the word in it more than once.  Sometimes it had to do with God "remembering" His people, but even more so it had to do with His people remembering Him, God commanding His people to remember Him and His deeds, and the consequences of not remembering Him.    

As it turns out, it seems like the theme of remembrance is a key one in the scriptures.  So, my hope as I think through this blog, is to remember some key moments in my life to reflect on who God is, what He has done personally in my life, and how it could apply to the here and now. 

My guess is some of these things will be major life events.  Others, probably not as much.  In fact, there have probably been more moments of being stuck in the muck where I've seen Jesus painstakingly walk alongside me, rather than high highs and low lows.  I don't share these to highlight my greatness or the triumphs I've had (and mostly haven't had).  Rather, I hope as I take time to remember the works of our great God, it is an encouragement to me and to all of you who see the God of the universe who takes time to intercede both in the big moments, as well as the little moments of life.  

I hope you enjoy this as I pursue Jesus to escape the false comforts that I so easily become entangled too.  

In His Grace,

Zack

Embracing the Mess

God was gracious to bring my son Shane into the world when He did.  Many of you know that he came nearly 8 weeks early, and that he was in the NICU for 3 of them.  "So how was God gracious?" You might ask.  He was gracious because he caused me to go into parenting by jumping into the deep end, not allowing me to think about it. 

I thought I had two more months.  Two more months of not having to worry about dirty diapers, spit-up, sleepless nights, or other sacrifices that I would have to make to take care of him.   But God didn't let me have the time to think about it.  And He knew exactly what would help me to embrace the mess... to bring him early. 

There's something about messiness that causes you to pause, right?  No one really wants to get in the mud unless they are fully committed to getting dirty.  I knew having a child would result in me being committed to getting dirty in some way, shape or form.  Not that I have decided that dirty diapers are my favorite thing now, but I'm a lot more comfortable with them now than when I was calculating my "supposed" two months left of freedom.

I think the same way when it comes to other relationships.  And, if we're honest with ourselves, I think we all think this way.

I'm not talking about their physical messiness... but emotional messiness, spiritual messiness.  I don't know about you, but I'm often caught off guard by the sin of other believers.  I get angry, and often catch myself asking, "Don't they know that's sin!  They should stop doing that, especially in front of me!"

People are constantly blinded by their heavy emotions (I happen to be one of those people, by the way), and I often ask myself, "why can't they think properly!  Can't they just see how God is working this for good!"  I'm good at pointing out other people's mess... and then trying to avoid having to step into it with them.  I avoid it either by drilling people on their issues until they fix it, or I just don't say anything.

But Jesus runs head first into the mess.

He came from His pristine seat in Heaven to enter the muck and mire that we created.  Think of Philippians 2, where it says "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."  Jesus not only entered the mess, but He was destroyed by it so that we could be made clean.  And now we're called to enter the mess by His power.

What does this even mean?  It means that, when I'm with people who are struggling and hurting, instead of ignoring them by playing games on my iphone, I can engage and share the hurt with them.  It means that I can love someone and remind them of the grace of the Gospel, even if all of their sin is coming out.  It means that I can lovingly rebuke someone, knowing it's for their best interest, rather than hiding by not saying anything, fearing how someone might respond.  It means I can be patient when someone isn't growing or understanding the gospel as quickly as I'd like.  It means I can slow down and take time to understand and listen to someone who is melting down, rather than rushing in to fix a problem.  It takes the focus off of me and what I want, and instead puts the focus on their needs and how I can serve.

The mess is no longer the biggest thing in my mind, as it's now the deep, awesome, powerful love of my savior who reigns above it.

How can you embrace the mess around you, rather than avoid it?

The Three Things I'm Giving Up for Lent (and why)

What are you supposed to do for lent?  If you polled ten bible-believing, evangelical Christians, you might still get ten different answers.  So I write this post knowing there might be some folks who are uncomfortable with engaging in lent at all, and others who are uncomfortable with taking it too lightly. 

However, I want to look at lent from a gospel-centered, biblical view, and how it should apply to me.  To do this, I'm looking at Matthew 4, where Jesus wandered in the desert for 40 days (where we get our lenten tradition).  The context is important, because otherwise we miss the point of lent entirely.  So here's the first three verses:

"Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.  And the tempter came to him, 'If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.'" 

Notice there are two characters in this dramatic story.  One is Jesus, who is hungry after fasting for forty days.  The temptation is to marvel at how He has withheld from eating for 40 days.  But that's not the point of this story.  In verse 1 we see the point was for Jesus not to go hungry, but to be tempted.  And He is tempted by the second character, known as the tempter (revealed to be the devil).  The question in this is: How is he being tempted?  Is it just because of food?  No... he is tempting Him to doubt His diety and identity!  Notice how the devil says "If you are the Son of God."  The Devil is saying prove yourself.  That is the point of the forty day trial, the devil is tempting Jesus to doubt His true diety and identity. 

Jesus' response to this tempting is what we wouldn't expect.  It would be easy for Jesus to prove Himself by doing what the devil said, showing off His immense power.  It would be the natural response.  However, what He does is actually remarkable.  He merely believes in the written Word of God.  We see this in v. 4, "But He answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"  Jesus says that He will depend on God to not only sustain Him, but also to maintain His belief in His diety and identity. 

So how does that impact how we should treat lent?  I think there are a few things that this doesn't mean:

1.  It doesn't mean our worth is in giving something up -- because our value is in Christ dying for us on the cross.

2.  It doesn't mean God will love us more the more we keep lent -- How could we be more loved by a God who is already perfectly pleased with us in Christ.

3.  It doesn't mean God will be mad with you if don't do lent

4.  Lent is not a 40 day retreat from doing sin -- As believers in Christ, we are called to put sin to death, not keep it at bay for 40 days to feel better about ourselves.

5.  Lent is not meant to be used for ulterior motives -- it's ok to give up food, but if the point is just to lose weight or be healthier in life style, that's not the right motivation.

Then what is the right motivation?  I think the key is in Matthew 4.  First off, there is no command in the scriptures to do lent.  So you and I are free to not partake.  However, what we see with Jesus is that He uses the time to draw nearer to His Father.  He trusts His Father's Words over both physical hunger pangs, as well as spiritual questions.  Imagine if your Father sent you out into the desert for 40 days with nothing to eat.  It would be pretty easy to assume your Father isn't trustworthy.  However, Jesus trusts His Father perfectly by trusting His Word over the tempter's pleas.  Therefore, if we do partake of lent, it should be with the intent of increasing our intimacy and trust with Jesus, NOT to earn magical brownie points or to feel good about ourselves.  With that being said, here is what I hope to give up for lent, and why:

1.  Buffalo Wings (any variation) -- A common struggle for me is gluttony, and particularly I can see food as a cheap comfort when I feel discouraged or sad.  Wings are my number 1 go-to (and I will bank my day on an all-you-can-eat wing buffet).  So, while wings aren't sinful, my hope is that as I'm tempted to long for my favorite food, that instead I would turn to Jesus as my source of food, and that I would believe Psalm 81:10, that Jesus would fill my mouth.

2.  Looking at a scale  -- When I go to the gym, it's easy to bank my day on the number I see on the scale.  In fact, I'll step on the scale before and after my workout.  If it's higher than I want, my mood shifts.  If it's lower, I'm excited.  While it's ok to look at the scale (and actually recommended to do), I often see my identity in that number rather than in what Jesus already thinks of me.  So I'm going to practice putting my identity in Christ and not do it by looking at my weight.

3.  YouTube -- When I'm at home, my go-to thing to do is to do nothing.  And I typically do that by watching YouTube.  There's nothing sinful about YouTube itself.  But I'm seeing in my life a routine seeking of comfort in watching the new "Guardians of the Galaxy" trailer for 481st time (that number may or may not be exaggerated), rather than the greatest comforter in the person of Jesus Christ. 

My hope is that I wouldn't put my hope in not doing these things for 40 days, but rather that I would cultivate a heart that seeks to find comfort, and place my identity, in Jesus more fully.  I also hope that as lent ends, I can use all three of these things in a more God-honoring way; escaping my shallow escapes so that I may escape to true refuge.  

In His Grace,
Zack