PART 3: "Pursuit"

In light of PART 1 and PART 2 of this blog, I want to hit on the pursuit of both "Love" and "God calling us." In 1 Corinthians 13, we see how important love is. Verse 13:1 "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." When we love, we open up doors. The opportunity for healing, restoration, and new beginnings all come with the pursuit of love. When we love, we give no reason for hate or disconnect. You see, when we love, the world has no reason to push it away. One thing we can count on is that the world will always accept your love. In the pursuit of following God's calling, I think we can get wrapped up in our own happiness. We choose temporary "fulfillment" over long-term investment. When God calls us, it's because He has an eternal plan in mind. When we put off following God's plan, it does the exact oppostite of what you're trying to achieve with temporary pleasure. It leaves you feeling empty, because it's not what we're intened to do. Pursue Christ's will and pursue love because this is where true meaning and joy comes from.

Part 1: "Love"

When I really think about this word "love", I think about how many times I have failed to live up to the meaning of it. All throughout the book of Matthew, Jesus asks us to love. You hear Him say, "Love your neighbor as yourself"..."Love your enemy." Last night was a perfect example of me NOT doing this. In fact, if the opposite of love is hate, then I guess you could say that I succeeded greatly at hating someone. I guess what makes the situation even more bothersome is that the guy was even a follower of Christ, a brother. He and I did not see eye to eye on a lot of issues, and I left pretty angry with this man. But as much as I try to not want to love him, God not only calls me to love him, but to be unified with him. In John 17, Jesus is praying for His disciples to "Be one as We are One." (referring to the Trinity) When I look at it in this light, I see how foolish I was last night in acting the way I did. Not only did I not love my brother, but I was not in unity with him. I think this breaks God's heart. Maybe instead of arguing and bickering over pointless things with our brothers (and enemies for that matter), let us first remember that this completely goes against everything we're called to do as followers of Christ. We're called not just to "deal with" that person, but to love them , regardless of the situation. Be love.

PART 2: "Negotiation"

This thought crossed my mind at about 3 AM this morning when I was having a coversation with Murry about life. In Matthew 8:21, one of the disciples says to Jesus, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father." Jesus responds with this answer..."Follow me now! Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead." In Matthew 4:19, Jesus sees Peter and Andrew fishing and says to them "Come, be my disciples, and I will show you how to fish for people!" Then it says, "And they left their nets at once and went with Him." My thought was this...Sometimes we hear God calling us to do something, and it's almost as if we negotiate with God. We justify not dropping everything to follow His call with the excuse of "Well, I'm going to pray about it for 2 weeks and see what God says." If Jesus, God, and the Holy Spirit are One, don't you think their answer will be unified? If Jesus called the disciples to follow Him at that very instant, don't you think that when God calls us to do something that He intends for us to act immediately? The very thought of "praying about it" seems ridiculous when you look at it in this sense, doesn't it? Why is there a need to "pray about it" when you've already heard God say what He wants you to do? I'm not saying prayer isn't important. (1 Thessalonians 5:16) But maybe in this instance we should pray about what steps to take in order to accomplish what He's already called us to do. When God asks for something, He doesn't want excuses and negotiations...He wants action. Will you be like Peter and Andrew and drop everything at once, or like the other disciple who wants to get some other things taken care of "before we take off on our journey"?

Nourishment.

As I'm sitting here writing this, I'm eating a meatball hot pocket. These things never get old to me. You can ask anyone in my family...I've been eating them since I was probably 12. I was reading in John chapter 4 today, and there is a part that really stood out to me. The disciples were urging Jesus to eat, and He tells them, "No, I have food you don't know about." (verse 31.) The disciples were confused about where He got this food, and then Jesus says: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing His work." The disciples were so worried about Jesus not eating. Now, any of the guys in my band can testify to this...If I don't get food, I get cranky and eventually start whining about it. What if we were so concerned about doing God's will rather than filling our lives with all of this stuff that has no value? I know food is important, but it's not just food we do this with. Sometimes for me, it's music, playing Wii, my iPod touch, etc. What if we really valued doing the will of God over all of these things? What would this look like in your own life? I think it has to be a moment by moment conscious effort to really do this. We have so busied ourselves with other things (other nourishment), that we forget why we're really here (and where our real nourishment comes from).

Be Intentional.

Every day we have a choice. In fact, every second we have a choice. Now, sometimes, we let our wills determine our choices. For instance, apart from being in a band, I also work at a bookstore. Occasionally, (especially in the morning!) we have some difficult customers come in. By difficult, I mean completely rude and just simply uncalled for...(it's either that, or I am just not a morning person. ha) When this happens, everything in me (my will) wants to just rip into these people and just let them have a piece of my mind. Honestly, I do let my will get the best of me sometimes. I blow it. Lose my cool. And most of all, I potentially hurt my integrity, the integrity of those I work with, the corporate name that I work for, and I can skew the way people think of God by the way I act. Lately, I have been trying to be intentional with my choices. Not just in the bookstore, but in my thoughts, my speech, my marriage, my songwriting, etc. You see, we have a choice. A choice in every aspect of life, to make what could possibly have a tragic outcome, into a holy (set apart) outcome. Rather than making poor choices, turn them into choices that glorify God. Even when we're angry we have a choice whether or not to let it control our actions that follow. You never know how God will use the choices you make to play a part in someone's life. Sure, we're going to fail...we're human. Sin is our condition. We have to battle against our will sometimes. Be intentional.

Over the Sun

Today I was driving in my car listening to a Shane and Shane song called "Over the Sun." This song challenges me everytime I listen to it! Here are the lyrics, and then I will continue my thought:

Sitting around the fireplace
With a friend who's been through it all
Solomon, wisest one,
Tell me what you have found under the sun.
Under the sun, he answered...

Get over, Get over, Get over the sun where life is hidden.

Then he put on a somber face.
Talked about how the rich man would waste
Away in the ground where the poor man is found
Painted up like a clown under the sun.
Under the sun he answered...
Son, soon you'll be done.
A life spent on some shiny god who leaves you empty.

Every time I hear that song, I can't help but notice the world around me ...turning so fast that we forget to chase after what's meaningful in life. I'm completely guilty of lusting after things that are fleeting. If we're all honest with ourselves, I think you would find that you are too. I'm challenging myself and you to stop putting things that give you temporary pleasure in front the ultimate prize...God! I love the entire 2nd verse of this song, especially the part that says "Talked about how the rich man would waste
Away in the ground where the poor man is found
Painted up like a clown under the sun." I think these words sum up how we view life. We paint the dead to make them look good when their bodies are going into the ground.??? Does that make sense at all? If we could just get over the sun to find where true, meaningful life is found, we would find our purpose for this life.

God and Emperor's New Groove??

So I know I've posted a blog very similar to this before, but God will not quit reminding me! The other day, I was running sound at my church and God brought an illustration into my head. Do you remember the movie "Emperor's New Groove"? If you haven't seen it, it's a classic and a must see! In that movie there is a peasant named Pacha who lives on a mountain with his family. Well, the emperor (Kuzco) wants to tear down Pacha's house to build a summer getaway for himself. (Forgive me if I butcher the story line, but I believe this is somewhat how it goes!) The first time that Pacha hears of this, he runs to the Emperor's kingdom, and kindly asks the emperor to reconsider. Well, Kuzco says no. The next time you see Pacha in front of the emperor, Pacha barges into the emperor's courts demanding that he change his mind...needless to say, Pacha is furious! I wrote a blog about a year ago on approaching God with reverence. (refer to blog entitled "What I'm Learning.") I began to think today...Have I lived up to what I wrote in that blog a year ago? The answer was a huge NO. Let me ask you a question...When you enter the presence of God, whether it be at home alone, with your church, etc....Do you approach Him as if you're before him in His courts right before His very throne? Let me ask you another question. Whenever you sing songs to God, do you ask God if you may sing praises to Him? It's as if we've got this mindset that we can barge into the Creator of all of the Universe's throne room and start telling Him how we want things just like Pacha did to Kuzco. Have you considered that maybe God may want you to be silent in His presence and just absorb His holiness? Lay all political views aside for a moment, and picture this with me. Lets say you have a deep conviction of something president Obama is doing wrong, and you just HAVE to talk to him. You go to the white house and just barge into the oval office and start laying out your convictions in a harsh (non-loving) way right there in front of the president...(We all know that you would probably not even make it in the front door, but just humor me!) Do you think this would anger the president? Do you think it angers God when we come to church with our agendas and our routines without consulting Him about any of it? I'm really bothered by the fact that we as Christians think we can use God as our doormat, and be finished with Him. What if every time we worshipped God, we asked Him how He wanted to be worshipped instead of assuming things and "worshipping" Him out of routine and maybe going through a whole "worship" service not even thinking of God the entire time. What if we even changed the way we pray? Not just a "dear God" prayer...A prayer that is reverent...as if you were before our King's throne. What would this look like? Do you even think you could stand? Read Isaiah 6 to get a glimpse of what Isaiah did before our King in worship.

The Mystery is Our Only Hope

One of my favorite books of the bible is Ecclesiastes. I've read it about 3 or 4 times. (Maybe because it's so short! ha) But I think the main reason is because I relate to Solomon so much in this book. I find myself all of the time asking God, "Why am I here (on this earth)?". Don't get me wrong, I'm not suicidal or depressed... But sometimes I feel like everything is meaningless. What is the meaning in fitting in, being cool, or living up to people's standards and trying to please everyone? I feel like Ecclesiastes is the perfect book for a new believer in Christ. If a new believer can grasp the idea that this world has nothing to offer us, and Jesus is the only reason we live, I believe we could literally change the world. To live as Jesus lived without roaming around "chasing the wind" as Solomon put it all throughout Ecclesiastes. Ecc. 7:13-14 "Accept the way God does things, for who can straighten what he has made crooked?" 14 "Enjoy prosperity while you can, but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God. Remember that nothing is certain in this life." So from that verse we learn that God gives and takes away, and that nothing is certain! So why do we walk through life pretending that we have it all together? Why, if God is in complete control of our lives, do we as Christians waste so much time trying to build the "American Dream"? I'll leave you with one more verse, and it's my favorite verse in the entire bible. In fact, if you have time, please read all of Ecc. 12!! But here's the verse. Ecc. 12:1 "Don't let the excitement of youth cause you to forget your Creator. Honor him in your youth before you grow old and say, "Life is not pleasant anymore."" So, since we know God has every minute pre-ordained, lets quit chasing after things that are fleeting, and let the mystery of God be our hope.

Knowledge to action

For too long now, I've embarrassed myself by not knowing God's word.  So I've set out on a journey to know His word so that I can also live what I'm learning (just as Jesus wanted the disciples to do).  There was (and still is) so much of the bible that I didn't (and still don't) understand.  I just started a study on the book of Acts and I'm learning so much!  I'm stoked!  I'm learning how we as followers of Christ are to carry out Jesus' teachings and actions.  I mean, when the disciples were left with the teachings of Christ, they were completely incapable of living them out.  Peter was the so called leader of the pack, and he had denied even knowing Christ.  Luckily, they had the Holy Spirit to guide and empower them.  John MacArthur quotes "There must be an accurate understanding of the content of Christian truth before any ministry can be effective.  Such knowledge is foundational to spiritual power and to fulfilling the church's mission.  The lack of it is insurmountable and devastating to the evangelistic purpose of God."  How can we as believers possibly think that we can reach the entire world without even knowledge of the bible?  At the same time, even if we have the knowledge, what good is it if we don't share it and build disciples as Jesus did?  I think this is one of the best quotes I've ever heard...It's from Charles Spurgeon..."We might preach 'til our tongue rotted, 'til we exhaust our lungs and die-but never a soul would be converted unless the Holy Spirit uses the word to convert that soul.  So it is blessed to eat into the very heart of the Bible until, at last, you come to talk in scriptural language and your spirit is flavoured with the words of the Lord, so that your blood is Bibline and the very essence of the Bible flows from you."  Paul was also very adamant about knowing God's word so that we could live like Jesus did. (Col. 1:9-11, 2 Tim. 2:15)  I think this is something that the Holy Spirit has strongly layed on my heart.  I feel like there are too many Christians (including myself) that don't know the scriptures, and therefore can't live the way Jesus did because we don't know what it means to do that.  I encourage every believer to dig deep into God's word, so we can live like Jesus did and change the world.  How can we expect to see change if Christians are completely incompetent of carrying out Christ's teachings because we don't know what they are.

What I'm learning

At lifgroup,  we're reading through the book "crazy love" by Francis Chan.  We're doing a chapter a week, and I'm on the first chapter.  Although I think the book is good, I think I've learned more from the scripture that he references in the book.  The whole first chapter is about being in awe of God.  In the book he tells you to take a minute and read Isaiah 6....so I did.  I feel like after reading Isaiah 6 I've just been wacked over the head with a frying pan.  I now (not fully) understand what worshipping God should be like.  Isaiah 6:2 says: "Seraphim stood above him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew."   It goes on to describe what Isaiah saw and felt in the throne room of God.  But this verse stuck out to me the most.  Because when John describes basically the same instance, he never describes seeing the face of God.  And the Israelites hid themselves whenever God passed through their camp because they were to afraid to look at Him...They thought they would die if they saw God.  Isaiah does say that he saw the Lord seated on His throne,  but even Isaiah doesn't describe the face of God.  And later in the 6th chapter it talks about God talking to Isaiah, but it says "Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying Whom shall i send, and whom will go for Us?"  To me this indicates that Isaiah couldn't see God's face because it says he heard the voice of God.  Maybe Isaiah was laying prostrate at this point??  I thought, what if the reason the Seraphim are covering their faces with wings is because they know they can't look at God.  What if the reason they cover their feet, and use the other two wings to fly is because they know that the very ground beneath them is holy ground and they dare not even step on the same ground that God Himself is on.  I feel like whenever I approach God from now on, I will think about worshiping Him in this way...Unworthy to even be talking to Him or standing in His presence....with unclean lips.  God, forgive me for ever coming to you without reverence! Thank you for cleansing my lips with the burning coal, and taking away my sin!

My ulcer's name is keith

So a few months ago I went to the E.R. because my stomach was killing me and I had a bit of chest pain.  The dr's took ex-rays and couldn't find anything.  The said i most likely had a stomach ulcer.  They told me to go do a follow up visit at a dr. here in town just to get it checked on.  I've put it off for a while now,  and the past two nights I've really been in pain.  I also have some kind of sleeping disorder that i need to get checked out.  I've scheduled an appointment on the 27th.  All this to say,  please pray that I can get some rest!!  I haven't had a good nights sleep in probably a month.  An depending on what your view of a good nights sleep is, maybe a couple of years!  The sleeping disorder (whatever it is) has been going on for about 3 years now. So, just be praying I can get it figured out. In the meantime if you have any suggestions to make ulcers feel better, let me know!

Death Threat??

So yesterday (Saturday), I was at work.  It was a normal day of me receiving boxes in the stockroom (for a while).  My boss was telling me how there was a lady and her autistic son who had come in.  Well, the mother works at Target which is in the same shopping center as where I work.  Basically, while she works, she lets her son wander around all of the  stores in the shopping center.  Keep in mind that he is 24 yrs. old.  My boss had told me that it had gotten to the point to where he was scaring off customers and not letting the employees get their jobs done.  By the time I had gotten to work, the kid had already come in the store 5 times.  Well, I had finished my receiving in the back, so I went to go help out on the sales floor.  He (we never got his name by the way..haha) comes in for a 6th time.  He knows everyone else's names, and naturally, he asks for mine.  I give him my name and he starts asking a dozen other questions such as: "Do you have a wife?".  I told him my wife's name.  Well, I go over to help a woman customer, and he follows me and keeps asking me questions as I'm helping this customer.  Then the customer checks out and leaves.  He starts telling me that I cheat on my wife (very loudy i might add) in front of customers because I was talking to another woman (The customer).  This went on for about 5 minutes.  Then a customer called our store so I was helping the customer find a book. I put the customer on hold for a minute and went to check to see if we had the book on the shelf.  The kid followed me and started kicking my feet trying to trip me.  Then I was headed back to the phone, and he grabbed me by the throat and told me he was going to body slam me.  I told him he was going to have to stop or he would have to leave. He kept calling me mean and started cussing at me in front of customers still saying that I'm cheating on my wife.  Two other employees and I had asked him to leave about five times.  He went and stood by the entrance door saying "I don't have to leave, your boss isn't here!".  Then he said "Zach, I'm gonna blow your head off!!", at which point I went to find the security guy that patrols the shopping center.  I couldn't find him so I came back, and the kid had left.  I start taking the trash to the back, and he walks back in.  I headed back to the stockroom so he wouldn't make another scene.  One of the other employees called the police.  The police came and they caught him down by Target.  The police interviewed me, asked if I wanted to press charges...I said no, and that was pretty much the end of it.  He was told not to come back or he would be put in jail.  The saddest part of this whole story for me is that his mom just lets him roam around while she works.  I felt bad because I know she's probably a single mother and has nothing else to do with him.  Anywho, I thought I'd share this with you since it was one of the most bizarre things that I've ever seen. haha

Can You Guess What the Pictures Are?

By the way, I copied my mom's blog!

My Top 20 albums to date (OLD AND NEW!!)

1. All American Rejects  -  "When the World Comes Down"

2. Coldplay  -  "Viva La Vida or Death and all of his friends"

3. Switchfoot  - "The beautiful letdown,"  "Nothing is Sound," and "Oh! Gravity" I love switchfoot!

4. The Classic Crime -  "The Silver Cord"

5. John Mayer  -  "Continuum"

6. Jon Foreman (Lead singer of Switchfoot has a 4 cd compilation entitled "Summer," "Spring," "Winter," and "Fall."  Love them all!)

7. Skillet  -  "Comatose"

8. Disciple  -  "Scars Remain," and "Southern Hospitality"

9. Brian "Head" Welch (Former guitarist of Korn)  -  "Save Me From Myself"

10. Red  -  "End of Silence"  (and I have a feeling that I'm gonna like their new one!)

11. Lifehouse  -  "Who We Are"

12. DC Talk  -  "Supernatural"

13. Falling Up  -  "Captiva" & "Dawn Escapes"

14. Three Days Grace -  "One-X"

15. The Almost  -  "Southern Weather"

16. Linkin Park  -  "Minutes to Midnight"

17. Angels and Airwaves  -  "We Don't need to Whisper"

18. Fireflight  -  "Unbreakable"

19. Paramore  -  "Riot!"

20. And Last and probably most Controversial     Marilyn Manson  -  "Eat Me, Drink Me" 

 (What can I say... the guy is a genius when it comes to making creative music! Listen to the song "Heart-shaped glasses" to hear what I'm talking about!  Not the lyrics, but the mix of creepy with pop music!)

There you go!  In some way or another, these albums have inspired me.  There are a lot more that I could name including Frank Sinatra "Classic Sinatra,"  Demon Hunter "Summer of Darkness" & "Storm the gates of Hell."  This list started as my top 10, but I realized I love music way too much to narrow it down that much!

More than ourselves

So ever since last Wed. night my brain has been running !!  Every wed. night my band, our wives/girlfriends, and the youth pastor at our church and his wife meet for "Life group."  We've been doing a study on the book of James.  In James 2:14 it says "My brothers and sisters, if people say they have faith, but do nothing, their faith is worth nothing.  Can faith like that save them?"  There's a lot more after that verse, but that's where I want to stop for now.  Jason (The youth pastor of our church) asked us a question that really made me think. He asked us if people have faith, but do nothing to demonstrate it, are they saved?  Well, he didn't even have to ask us because the bible asks us pretty clearly, and i didn't even see it.  Now, I'm not going to say that people who believe in Christ and have confessed that He is Lord are not one of his children.  I guess it makes you think that if they truly do have a faith in Christ and a love for Him, that you'd see a product of that according to this verse.  So then....I thought, well....am I showing this faith?  I'm surrounded by a BUNCH of people who are great at giving. My wife is one of them!  Personally, I'm horrible at it!  I think the thought of giving is awesome!  But when it comes down to it, I'm very selfish, and when I do give, usually it's because I get some kind of pleasure out of it.  When we give it shouldn't be to get a good feeling for ourselves, it should be a product of your faith and obedience.  Jason also told a story of how God convicted him to give in obedience.  When a homeless man asks for money, is it our responsibility what he does with it if God tells you to give it to him?  Someone in life group pointed out how we as Christians tend to just throw money at needs instead of helping the situation ourselves simply because we don't want to deal with it.  I also thought that maybe if Christians were to tithe biblically we wouldn't have the financial crisis that we're in, because we could be helping others in need in stead of worrying about our 4 walls.  I'm not writing to step on toes, just to trigger your thought process.  I want God to change my heart to see people the way He sees them.

A Song I'm working on

Typically when I write song lyrics, something inspires me to write them.  Most of the time it's extremely random (hence the theme of my blog..ha).  In this case, I was reading a book by a man from the "Beat Generation" by the name of Jack Kerouac.  The book is titled "On the Road."  I haven't finished the book yet because it takes me forever to get through books.  The title fits the book perfect, because it's a true story of this man living life on the road.  Basically he lives a "no rules" type of life and chases whatever seems to be the right decision at the time.  As I read about this man I began to think what if he would have chased life with his dreams and passions inspired by God.  He chased after life, and had a blast doing it, but when you have no ultimate purpose to live for, everything is meaningless.  I also read books by Erwin McManus, and in his book "Wide Awake," he gives this quote: "sometimes the limitations you are willing to accept establish the boundaries of your existence."  God has no boundaries, and when our relationship with God is intimate, we can trust our passions.  Both of these books have inspired some lyrics for a song I'm writing.  I haven't finished the words to this song yet, but here's what i have so far.

"I'm hiding out in this old cell

And I hear their voices as they yell

In the street that's just outside my window.

I long to see a mountain range

But my eyes depict "Papier-mache" 

And the boundaries that I accept will 

Proudly show that I neglect you.

(CHORUS)

I'm not ready, but I'll be ready tonight

Things aren't steady, but if you'll let me

I might, I might leave it all and 

Chase the fire in Your eyes.

The part of this song that says "And I hear their voices as they yell" describes everyone around me who I see is chasing life at full speed or "living loud" so to speak.  The chorus talks about how my faith is sometimes so weak that I think God isn't big enough to give me the happiness I see in these people.  So I want everyone to know that I'm now going to chase the dreams that God has instilled in my heart at full speed!  I'm excited to know that I'm chasing God's dreams for my life and not my own.