Keep It Going

“Keep It Going”
By Zach Wood
Galatians 6:9-10

 

When I read this passage on my YouVersion Bible app yesterday morning, it really hit home with me.  I don’t think there is any one of us who has not been affected by what this passage talks about.  We try to be consistent in our efforts to do our best to be good and Godly servants to others.  I think most of us would nod and agree there.  However, it can become frustrating and discouraging, after a period of time, when things don’t seem to change or progress at all in our opportunities of trying to help others and do good things to improve the life around us.

 

Being consistent can be very hard, especially when you feel worn out from doing good and you don’t see any progress.  This is our human perspective and thinking.  In these times, which most of us regularly have, we must put our faith in God and leave these situations in His hands and trust that He is working, even when we cannot see.  Paul says here that at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 

 

When we feel like giving up, it’s those times that we really must put our trust and faith in God and be strengthened through Him to continue on.  Our perspective is so limited, but He sees the whole picture.  Let us not become weary in doing good.

Is He Your True Desire?

“Is He Your True Desire?”
By Zach Wood
Psalm 73:25-26

Every one of us would agree about how our desire should be for God and not for the things of this world.  However, if we honestly took a daily look at our lives from a distance, we would most likely see a difference from what we desire and how we really live. 

It is truly my desire each day to make God number one and to serve Him with all my heart in whatever the day may bring.  Even though my honest desire is to seek Him, there are many different distractions that seem to catch my attention as I go about my day.  I find it difficult to keep my attention often on growing with God.  It is easy for me to get caught up in daily preparations that I completely miss out on just stopping for a while to see something God wants me to focus on and meditate on. 

We all experience challenges all through our day.  I hope and pray that this passage will encourage you to be strong in your daily desire to seek God with all your heart.  We are bombarded with needs and demands at work, at home and other various things we are involved with.  We must remember that our number one desire, above all other things, should be to make God priority and our heart’s desire to serve.  If anything else is more important than desiring Him, then a priority check is in order.

From the time we get up in the morning to the time we lay our head on the pillow at night, Satan is working hard to pull you away from your desire and focus in serving God in any possible way he can.  He will not stop or rest in getting you to forsake that desire.  He wants to put anything possible in your way to lure you and entice you to fall from walking with God.  However, the more we desire Him and the stronger we become in our relationship with Him, the less impact Satan has on us. 

Honestly ask yourself the question again, "Is He your true desire?"

From Desire To Intentional

“From Desire To Intentional”
By Zach Wood
Proverbs 2:1-5

I try to be intentional about a lot of things.  I want to be intentional about being a positive role model to my kids.  I want to be intentional about being a supportive and loving husband for my wife.  I want to be intentional about connecting with my family and staying in contact with them.  I also desire to be intentional about my ministry job as a pastor in that I help guide and encourage people in their walk with the Lord.  I desire to be intentional.  It is something I’m working harder and harder to be better about.

When I read this passage in Proverbs, I am encouraged and reminded that if I want to be strong in my walk with God, then I need to be intentional about spending time in His Word and gaining knowledge.  My desire is to grow in wisdom from His Word and to follow Him by being a fully, committed follower of Jesus Christ.  I desire to call out to Him for insight and to search for that as for hidden treasure. 

My desire should drive me to be intentional in my effort of growth.  Many times, that does not happen.  I have the desire, but something distracts me and I lose focus completely.  With all that is going on in my daily life, it is often very easy to forget that I need to be intentional about a lot of things, but first and foremost, I need to be strong in my walk with God. 

Do you want to be intentional about your walk with God?  Do you really and truly desire to grow in Him and to search for wisdom in His Word as you would search for hidden treasure? I hope that to be true of your heart.  I do have the desire, but it’s often tripped up by some distraction or one more thing I want to complete before I actually sit down and take the time to read.  I need to be stronger.  I am sure you feel the same as I do.  I hope you feel the desire to be more intentional in your desire and effort to be in the Word and to grow with Him. 

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?