Don't Let The Past Define You

“Don’t Let The Past Define You”
By Zach Wood
Mark 14:27-31, 66-72

Life is not void of mistakes and failures.  We are imperfect and we will make mistakes and fail at things sometimes.  We will be lured by temptations in the world to follow a path that takes us into sin.  We will also have things that happen to us that we cannot control, but still make us feel ashamed and unworthy of true love. 

We must remember that our past does not define who we are.  Our past may contain consequences of mistakes we have made or pain from things that have happened to us, but that does not mean that we are failures.  We have made mistakes and we have failed, but we are not considered failures in the eyes of God Who created us so beautifully! 

In this passage, we read about Jesus predicting Peter’s denial.  Peter insists that he will never turn away from Jesus or deny Him.  But then later we read about how Peter moved on.  Peter was human and he messed up.  He was crushed after he heard the rooster crow three times.  I can’t imagine the immediate heartache that hit him when he heard the tragic alarm reminder of what Jesus had predicted.  Peter wept bitterly.  He was heartbroken.  But Jesus forgave him and then in Acts, Peter preaches a powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost to start the early church.  Wow! 

All of us can relate to Peter in some way.  And perhaps maybe someone reading this has made more mistakes in your life that you can count and you think all you have done defines who you are and that you don’t deserve redemption.  It is so easy to let the past failures of our life define who we are, but Christ wants us to know that He gives hope that no one else can give.  We can break through the shackles of shame from our past hurts and mistakes.

Don’t let the past define you, let Christ define you! 

Leaving The Shackles Of Shame

“Leaving The Shackles Of Shame”
By Zach Wood
2 Corinthians 5:17

This week, I have been thinking so much about people who are buried in a past of shame, whatever that shame may be.  There are people hurting from past mistakes and also from past things that happened to them and have not gotten past those hurts and allowed Christ to renew them and restore them. 

As a new pastor, I hear a lot of conversations about people and their past hurts and shame.  It saddens me that so many people live in this shame and never find hope from it.  I am so thankful that Jesus Christ offers hope and restoration that nothing in this world can compare to or offer. 

Paul says in this passage that if we are in Christ, we are a New Creation!  We aren’t shackled anymore by the past that tries to haunt us.  We have a new life in Him.  But many people shy away from letting Christ heal that pain and help them move on.  They’ve done too many things to receive forgiveness and it’s not possible for them to come back and recover.  But that couldn’t be any further from the truth. 

Jesus Christ offers forgiveness and the chance to be restored and renewed.  Whatever your past may be and however you may be hurting, Jesus Christ can and will make you a New Creation!  You don’t have to live in the shackles of shame anymore.  He will remove those shackles, but you must let Him. 

Many people say they don’t deserve to be released or forgiven.  And the truth is no one does.  But Jesus gives us what we don’t deserve and offers that real hope and healing from the shackles of shame.

My prayer is that anyone who reads this will be reminded that God offers a true life of restoration and healing.  Maybe it’s a past addiction or some hurt that you experienced that you cannot move on from or heal from.  Are you willing to receive that healing from the past?

Allow Jesus Christ to break through and remove your shackles of shame.

The Only True Guide

“The Only True Guide”
By Zach Wood
Psalm 119:105

This past Sunday morning, we used the song “Thy Word” in our worship time.  This song holds a very special place in my heart and in my life, from childhood to now.  This was a song we sang at my church camp for many years and in various youth groups I have attended. 

God’s Word should be, without a doubt, the only guide for us in our lives.  It is easy to say that is the way it should be.  However, many times, we end up trying to guide ourselves and break away from the path God wants us on.  It is so easy to become distracted and become lost.  Being lost is no fun at all.  When I am lost, it drives me crazy and I want to find the path I need to be on again. 

When we do not allow God’s Word to guide us and we decide to do our own thing and go our own way, life seems to become derailed.  Somehow, things just don’t work out well.  The great news here is that no matter how far we drift away, God is waiting for us and longing for us to return to Him while His arms are open wide.  He wants us to stay on this true path where He leads. 

We need to ask ourselves if His Word is truly a lamp for our feet and a light for our path?  Do we truly desire to walk with Him?  Are we completely focused each day on staying on the narrow path?  Again, it is easy to say we do, but living that out is a difficult thing to do.

It is my prayer that we strive each day to follow God’s Word and the path He is leading us on.  If we are not in tune to His way and His Word, then we will go our own way and drift.  Let His Word be our only way of life. 

Extreme Church: The Way It Was Meant To Be

“Extreme Church: The Way It Was Meant To Be”
By Zach Wood
Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:42-47

It is very clear that Jesus gave a command for his group of men to go out and make a difference in the lives of all people.  He gave the Great Commission for them to go out and make disciples and to grow the Kingdom.  He also calls us to do the same.

I once heard someone say, Jesus gave The Great Commission, NOT the great suggestion.  Jesus was clear of the mission that needed to be accomplished.  There is nothing more important than going out, meeting people, helping them and showing them the love of God and bringing them to the Kingdom to know Him.  We should be all about building the Kingdom.

There are so many opportunities we have to go out and be the church.  I really started understanding this more the past 8 years that I was working in the secular work environment.  I worked in a warehouse for that time and my whole perspective on people and lives completely changed.  I saw people who were very real and not trying to be what they are not.  I met many hurting and confused people.  Did I take advantage of every opportunity?  No.  I missed many.  Many times, I found myself not really knowing how to relate to those people. 

What I did discover along the way was that people did notice something different in me.  I learned I needed to be that example and God was calling me to be the church to them.  I needed to be real and genuine and not shove religion down their throat, but to be a model of God’s Love to them.

There are so many broken people in this world today.  People who are in need of  Christ’s Love.  I honestly don’t know of any greater command or mission to be part of than to get to know people and to try my best to show them God’s Love.

My philosophy about ministry is simply this in only one word, “Relationships”.  Jesus built relationships with other people.  He was real and genuine and that’s the only way I want to be.  I am not about getting to know people to get them into a church building.  I want to help build the Kingdom by getting to know people and showing them I care about them.  I don’t want to be fake and trick them into anything. 

The church and the world are full of broken people who need Jesus Christ.  We have people come here and need His Love.  God wants to use you and I to bring people to Him.  Will we choose to let Him use us and send us out to show His Love to others?

A Challenging Exercise

“A Challenging Exercise”
By Zach Wood
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

 

For the past few months in our small group bible studies here at church, we’ve been going through Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  It has been amazing to talk about God’s crazy love by sending Jesus Christ to die for us and how, in response to that, our love by to Him should be just as crazy back. 

I remember one week talking about this passage and how we see a wonderful picture of what love should be.  This chapter is a powerful chapter written by Paul to the church in Corinth.  None of us completely understand what love really is, especially the love Jesus Christ had for us when He went to the Cross.

Talking about this passage, it reminds me of one chapel session back at bible college one Friday morning in our small group gathering.  The professor in our group mentioned this passage to us.  He then proceeded to tell us that we should try putting our own name where “love” shows up.  He then asked us to read the passage and see how far we get. 

This was a challenge I have never forgotten about.  Every time I see that passage, I am reminded of his challenge to us.  Needless to say, I didn’t get past the first part of the passage.  When I read, “Zach is patient” to myself, I just stopped.  I was already done!  I have never been a patient person.  It’s one quality about myself that I would do anything to change, even with a magic wand!!!  However, I do not have a magic wand, so I must ask God each day to give me strength and guidance to think through situations and do my best to practice patience.  Patience really shows love. 

As I read through this passage, I truly see qualities I want to have.  I want to be patient and kind.  I don’t want to be envious, boastful, or proud.  I don’t want to be rude, self-seeking, or easily angered.  I don’t want to be known for keeping a record of wrongs.  I don’t want to delight in evil, but in truth. 

So, how do I do these things?  How do we accomplish these qualities?  It’s a simple answer, but requires a lot of work.  These things come from a daily, close relationship with God.  Reading His Word and being devoted and committed to being a disciple.  It is a daily journey for all of us. 

I ask you to try going through that passage and putting your name in and see how far you get and then ask God for strength, guidance and wisdom to attain these qualities.  It is a challenging exercise and only possible with God’s work daily through you and I. 

To Start The Day

“To Start The Day”
By Zach Wood
Psalm 63:1

There are four words that stand out to me from this passage more than the others.  They are “earnestly I seek You”.  First of all, when I think of these words, I strongly believe this is what God desires of my heart each day that I live.  Second, I strongly believe that this should be my prayer each day as I wake up and go into my day.

I really do like to start each day by having quiet time with God.  I just don’t like starting my day any other way.  It doesn’t seem to go well when I don’t.  However, I do find myself going through the motions many days just praying the same prayer and not really thinking about what I’m praying. 

If I am really serious and earnest about following God and doing what He says, I will strive to think about Him all through my day.  He is my God and I want to earnestly seek Him and follow Him.  In every single thing I do and say, I want God’s love to show through.  I want people to feel Him when they are around me and to know He is Lord and Savior of my life.  There are some days, though, when He does not show through me very well because I am so unfocused and not earnestly seeking Him because I’m distracted by so many other things.

I hope and pray that this passage will be a sincere prayer from your heart to God each day that you wake up and get going.  If you do not have a personal quiet time with God to start your day, I highly recommend it.  It seems like such a great way to start the day and getting focused on Him and asking Him to guide and direct the day.  This is just a very conscious way to start the day and it can really help us focus on Him throughout the day. 

I encourage all of us to start our day asking God to help us focus on Him and go through our day earnestly seeking Him.      

Be Bold & Confident

“Be Bold & Confident”
By: Zach Wood
Acts 7:54-56

Not only does God tell us not to worry, but He wants us to be bold and confident.  That is downright hard for many of us.  When we initially think of being bold and confident for God it can frighten us many times.  Depending on our personalities and where we are in our journey and faith in God, we react differently. 

In the book of Acts, we see a man named Stephen who was full of the Holy Spirit and filled with God’s power and stood before the Sanhedrin giving them a powerful speech.  At the end of that, not too many people were thrilled and they dragged him out of the city and stoned him. 

When I read this passage, I often wonder if I could be so bold?  What is sometimes keeping me from the willingness to do anything for God?  By sharing this passage, I’m not trying to say God is going to call you to lose your life for Him in this kind of situation, but if the situation presented itself, would you be bold and confident and proud to lose your life for Him? 

Often, when I get into situations where I am encountering people with questions, I fear and worry that I won’t know the answers to their questions.  I’m scared many times that I won’t know the right words to share.  Maybe some of you deal with the same problem. 

There are many times that sins we have in our life keep us from following God, but also times when it’s our lack of confidence and boldness.  We become afraid of the unknown and don’t want to step forward in complete faith. 

So I want to ask you these important questions.  What keeps you from following God?  What is holding you back?  What keeps you from being completely and totally devoted?