A Man And His Idols

Hi everyone! So sorry its been so long since I’ve posted anything.

I watched an awesome video the past few days.

Check out youtube.com and search for “A Man And His Idols Jefferson Bethke” to watch the video. Bethke has also done a video on “Why I love Jesus but hate religion”.

“A Man and His Idols” is my favorite video he’s done. Check it out! Hope you like it.

Comments, questions, etc are always welcomed and encouraged.

God bless.

Grace and Peace.

zack.

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Chasing Mavricks: A Story In Mentoring.

Greetings everyone! Sorry once again for the lack of blog posts.

The other day my parents and I watched a movie called Chasing Mavricks. As we were watching it, I had the thought: this movie is a story about ministry and mentoring.

The movie is a true story of a boy who grows to love surfing. He would go out to the beach and timed the waves to when they swelled. Impressive.

This boy comes across a man who surfed for close to twenty years or more. Further down the movie, the boy asks this man (who went by the name Frosty) to coach him. After a while Frosty agrees.

The rest of the movie is about their relationship, through the ups and downs, and all that happens.

It was really good. Now that I’m thinking about it, it reminds me of Paul and Timothy in the Bible. In the book of Acts Paul and Barnabus travel to Durby and Lystra (Timothy’s hometown) and evangelizes those cities. After Paul and Barnabus have a falling out, Paul recruits Silas to be his new traveling partner. On their way back to Lystra they learn more about Timothy and decide to recruit him to join the team. Timothy joins them and no doubt encounters a lot of stuff in all of the traveling they did.

In 2nd Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy of some of those things, and also tells Timothy how much he is loved and reveired.

Great stuff there.

Comments, thoughts, questions, ect are always welcomed and encouraged.

God bless you all.

Grace and Peace.  

zack.

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Ministry in Micah

Greetings everyone!

When I was at Sunset one of the class assignments was to write a paper on ministry themes in the Old Testament book of Micah. I read through the book again just now.

While reading through Micah, a few things stand out. All throughout the book, Jehovah God speaks out against false prophets and His people for acting wickedly. All through chapters one and two God denounces His people. In chapter three, He hammers the prphets.

In chapters four and five, Jehovah God prophesies about His coming to rescue them, and also prophesies about Jesus coming aswell.

In chapter six, Jehovah God again denounces Israel tells of punishment coming.

But in chapter seven, Jehovah God will rescue His people and gives them hope again.

What can we glean from Micah’s message?

Micah preached the message Jehovah God had for him to speak. As Christians, we too must speak the Bible as well. Our country has turned away from her Christian values it was founded upon. If we don’t go back to God, what will happen?

Yes indeed, Micah’s message could be for us too. I pray we all turn back to God.

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The Impossible.

Greetings everyone! I apologize for not writing for so long.

Last week my parents and I watched a movie called The Impossible. It was about a British family who takes a vacation to Thailand during the Christmas holiday season during the year 2004. They seemed to have a lovely time Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

On December 26th the impossible happens. A tsunami strikes and chaos ensues. I have never seen such terrible devastation before or since.

All the family reunites in the end. This is an experience none of them will ever forget. This is a movie I will never forget.

Thailand is part of Asia, the most populated continent on earth. I know people everywhere need Jesus, but how many missionaries do we have going to places like Thailand or Japan? Or elsewhere in Asia?

Praying for the Lord of the harvest to send out workers all over the world to tell the nations about Jesus.

Comments, questions, etc are always welcomed and encouraged.

God bless you all.

Grace and Peace.

zack.

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Exodus 15:11

Greetings everyone! I was looking at the Mission Alive website (missionalive.com) today and read the director’s profile. On it, he had this verse from Exodus 15:11:

“After the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian captivity Moses praised God saying: Who is like You- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”.

This is following Jehovah God’s deliverance of His people Israel from captivity in Egypt. Absolutely awe-inspiring words from a great and gifted man of God.

If you haven’t already, you should check out Mission Alive. They are doing some awesome ministry there planting churches.

Comments, questions, etc are always welcome.

God bless your day. Grace and Peace.

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Book Review: Firsthand: Ditching Second Religion For A Faith Of Your Own.

Greetings everyone! Yesterday I finished reading Firsthand: Ditching Secondhand Religion For A Faith Of Your Own by Ryan Shook and Josh Shook.

I was interested in reading this book as someone who wants to work with students and young adults, this would be a great book to read. It certainly was. I highly recommend this book.

This book is about taking the faith we inherited from our parents, families, and friends (eg secondhand faith) and taking the steps necessary to make that faith your own (eg firsthand faith).

Ultimately a faith we inherit, but isn’t truly our own faith won’t hold us up when life’s storms come or when major testing comes. Only the faith you, yourself, have researched, thought about, tested, and truly own will stand through all the tests of life.

My favorite parts of the book are, first, to avoid the checklist mentality of doing things to gain God’s love. He already loves us beyond comprehension and we can never earn it. We just need to grow in our knowledge and love of God. And second, when God gives us a passion for something we need to do all we can to see that passion come to fruition. If we don’t, we’ll become frustrated and bitter. 

God knows us better then we know ourselves. This book helps its readers to grow in our relationship with God, to grow to know and love Him as He does us.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about the next generation. Please go to www.firsthandbook.com and www.waterbrookmultnomah.com to look at it and purchase it if you would like.

Comments and questions are always welcomed and encouraged.

God bless you all.

Grace and Peace.

zack.

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Protecting

Greetings everyone! I apologize for not blogging for a while. Last week my computer was on the fritz because I downloaded a virus. My brother fixed it for me. This week, I’ve just been busy.

Today I saw a video from about this time last year of a couple who went to a Major League Baseball game. A foul ball was hit toward this couple (who had seats in the outfield section). The boyfriend of the couple moves of the way of the ball, thus allowing his girlfriend to be hit by the ball. To be fair the man probably lost the ball in the lights.

And now today there was another video who attended a baseball game who had seats in centerfield. A player hit a homerun toward this couple. Once again the boyfriend moves out of the way allowing his gril to be struck by the ball.

While these two girls were good sports about getting hit by a baseball, their boyfriends shouldn’t of let them get hit like that.

For me, I like to think of myself as a protective person. One of my spiritual gifts is pastoral. I like to look after my family and friends. I am a very protective person.

In the Apostle Paul’s and Peter’s letters, is a Greek word that is translated shepherd. And it denotes protection.

And I’m certainly trying to be a protective person of my family and friends. I hope you are too.

Comments, questions, and whatever else anyone might say is welcomed and encouraged.

God bless.

Grace and Peace.

zack.

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March Madness and Stories On Redemption.

Greetings everyone!

Everyone who knows me well knows I’m a huge sports fan. Last night was the start of the NCAA Tournament. The majority of the tournament starts tomorrow.

The coolest part of March Madness are all the conference tournaments. The winner of each of those tournaments gets an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Over the years there have been several times where a team losses a player or more to injury for large sections of the season. But then as the regular season ends and the conference tournaments begin, those players get better and able to play. A lot of times the team catches fire once everyone is back healthy. That team can win all their tournament games and win their way into the NCAA Tournament.

The best part of following Jesus is you get the chance to start over. At least four of Jesus’ 12 disciples (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) where fishermen; Matthew was a tax collector; and so on. But Jesus called each of them to follow Him, and they left everything to follow Him.  These men changed the whole world.

Also, look at the apostle Paul. In his early life he killed Christians. But Jesus stopped him along the way and Paul became one of Jesus’ most devoted followers.

Just as college basketball teams get a rebirth in their conference tournaments, so we all can experience real life change when we start following Jesus.

Comments, questions, etc are always welcomed and encouraged.

God bless you all.

Grace and Peace.

zack.

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For Men Only and For Women Only

Greetings everyone! Just wanted to let everyone know Shaunti Fieldhahn’s newly revised and updated books For Men Only and For Women Only are out in bookstores and on the internet for purchase now.

Just go to http://shaunti.com/revised-and-updated-editions to watch videos, read about the books, to buy, or whatever you like.

Both of them look like excellent and eye-opening reads.

God bless you all. Grace and Peace.

zack.

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Shaping Their Future: A Blog Review.

Greetings everyone! Lately I have been reading Shaping Their Future: Mentoring Students Through Their Formative College Years by Guy Chmieleski. Just finished it last night and now am ready to review it.

This book is all about mentoring. The thesis is for mentors to go out and seek college students to befriend them and join them as they walk with Jesus.

Mentors can help students see the need to grow up and take responsibility for themselves in their lives.

Mentors can help students see the need for faith, to have it, and develop it.

Mentors can walk with students while they navigate through life in college.

Mentors can help students learn to deal with money.

Mentors can help students grow to be more responsible in all areas of their life.

Mentors can help students deal with their past as they look to the future.

Mentors can help students find a community of faith and find their place in that community.

Mentors can help students develop emotional intimacy with other people.

Mentors can help students sort through what they had been taught about “others”, those who are different in some way then you.

And the author shares just how important mentors are to the future leaders the church.

This book is an excellent resource for those who work with college students in every way. I highly endorse this work.

To get this book go to the author’s website at http:faithoncampus.com to watch a video about the book, and purchase the book Shaping Their Future.

I love college students and hope to see them grow to become all that God calls them to be.

Comments, questions, ect are always welcomed and encouraged.

God bless you all. 

Grace and Peace.

zack. 

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