Zach Zehnder's Blog, page 19

The Most Shocking Aspect of God’s Forgiveness

In just two days, my new book Forgiving Challenge and its companion written by my wife Forgiving Challenge Kids will officially be released. The book is organized through an acronym SCARS (Sin, Confession, Absolution, Restoration, Sanctification) that helps us on our journey to freedom. In anticipation of this launch, we’ll drop a blog each day around each of these concepts.

Today’s blog helps us understand how God’s absolution and restoration work in our lives.

Pretty much anyone agrees that forgiveness is healthy in our lives. But what does it mean to truly be forgiven? To forgive others? How does God forgive us?
What does it truly mean to be forgiven?

The definition of forgiveness is twofold:

To Cancel a DebtTo Stop Feeling Anger or Hatred Toward Someone for an Offense, Flaw, or Mistake

When we receive the total forgiveness of God, our debt is cancelled, and the Lord’s righteous anger is gone. God’s forgiveness is not either/or. It is both/and.

Let’s look at both aspects, starting with the first—canceling a debt.

Absolution

Human beings love justice and law stories. Just look at how many CSI, NCIS, and Law and Order shows there have been. It doesn’t take too much creativity to add one of these shows to network television. Slap a new city on it (LA, New Orleans, Miami), and you’ve got viewers ready to eat popcorn and binge. If Netflix is your jam, look at the “Top 10 Trending,” and you’re likely to find at least a couple of trial or crime documentaries. Why? Because we are ruled by law and justice in this world.

In God’s economy, according to Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23, we are sinful; therefore, we are all guilty. Every one of us. And yet, directly after this verse that declares our guilt, we read this passage from Romans 3:24:

“…and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” Romans 3:24

Justification is to be made right before God. If sin separates us from being in a right relationship with God, His justification, offered to us in a gift of grace, brings us back into right relationship with Him.

But how is this possible? Because, again, we’re not righteous. If God is truly all-knowing (omniscient), and He is everywhere at once (omnipresent), then how can we be righteous? Did we somehow get into His blind spot? Is God just busy with other stuff going on in the world that as long as He sees us in church every now and then, we’re okay? No, it’s bigger than this.

To explain, let me share a metaphor that I heard in one of Pastor Matt Chandler’s sermons. He tells us to picture a courtroom, where you and I are the defendants. We know that we are, in fact, guilty. When it is our time to speak, we even stand up and declare our guilt. And yet somehow, when it’s decision time, the judge bangs the gavel down and declares us innocent. All charges dropped.

Absolution is the declaration that you have been forgiven. You have been formally released from any guilt, obligation, or punishment. It is the announcement that your sins have been paid for. The debt has been cancelled.
In this world, we face a choice. We can receive that declaration of innocence or reject it and receive punishment for our sins. Even worse, we can reject the offer of forgiveness and then try to work our way out of the punishment.
The apostle Paul warns us against this foolishness in Galatians 2:16a: We “know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.”

We are not justified by works of the law, which means at our best we’re still lawbreakers. We will not be made right, we will not be declared innocent, simply by behaving in a way that’s acceptable before God. The good news is that the banging of the gavel and the declaration of our innocence and forgiveness, is not based on whether or not we have been obedient to the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

You will not be able to save yourself. You will not be good enough. You will never perfectly fulfill the requirements of the Law. You can’t be perfect.

But there is a person who lived a perfect life. He lived a life full of good works and full adherence to the Law. His name is Jesus. Because Jesus was perfect, He was the only one capable of bringing forgiveness of sins to all people. Jesus came into this world on a mission to save sinners by bringing forgiveness to all of those who call on His name.

Without God’s forgiveness in our lives, we would never experience freedom in this world. It’s impossible. Some people may behave like they are free and look like they are free, but it’s a lie. You cannot be free without God declaring you innocent. Jesus came to set all of the oppressed free. He, and He alone, had this special call on His life. And He knew it.

The apostle Paul tells us this so clearly: “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15a (ESV)

Sin is costly. There are consequences to our bad actions, thoughts, and deeds. And God is not going to let sin go unpunished.

In the Bible, God the Father is often referred to as a judge. We also encounter “judges” all the time in the form of friends, coworkers, and acquaintances who evaluate our actions. But the only judge who matters knows everything about your story. To solve the “sin problem,” His answer was to send His Son Jesus into the world on a rescue mission. Amazingly, Jesus took all of the consequences of our sin upon Himself. A sinless man carried the weight of all of your sin, all of my sin, all of humanity’s sin—past, present, and future—with Him when He willingly, sacrificially, gave His entire life for us on the cross.

Jesus suffered a brutal death for you. In fact, at the time they didn’t have a word to describe the horror and brutality of those who were tortured on a cross, so they came up with a new word: “excruciating.” In Latin, this means “out of the cross.” Jesus was whipped, beaten, and suffered greatly. Not only this, but He was betrayed by His closest friends. As He was hanging on the cross, struggling to breathe, nearing the end, the Gospel of John says the very last phrase Jesus uttered was one Greek word—tetelestai. In English, it is translated: “It is finished.”

After this, Jesus bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. Interestingly, “the word tetelestai was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to indicate that a bill had been paid in full.”

Tetelestai = Paid in Full

The devil thought that Jesus was finished. But the only thing that was finished was the payment for our sins.
We owed a debt we could never pay. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe!

The same Spirit that Jesus gave up on Friday would bring resurrection power on Sunday. The resurrection is the objective evidence that the bill has been paid in full.

It has been well said that Christ’s resurrection is the Father’s “Amen” to His Son’s declaration, “It is finished.” His empty tomb and His resurrection are indisputable testimony that the Father accepted His Son’s payment for sin on our behalf.

When Greek readers saw the word tetelestai, they would know that what Christ accomplished at the cross was the full payment of all of mankind’s sins.

Including yours.

Your sins are no more special than mine. Your sins are not in a different category than mine. Your sins are no greater than mine. And like mine, your sins have been paid in full by the blood of Jesus.

Will you reject this or will you receive this?

You are forgiven in the name of the Father, by the blood of Jesus Christ, and through the power of the Holy Spirit. You are forgiven.

Restoration

But, it’s the second piece of forgiveness that is even more shocking to me than the first.

As great as it is to be freed from the consequences of our sin through the absolution of God, God’s forgiveness extends further than that. Many don’t get to experience complete freedom because they stop at absolution. They know that they have been freed from the punishment of their sins and that they are good eternally with God, but many refuse to enter into the next Freedom Phase of Restoration.

While I was in seminary, I once preached a sermon highlighting freedom. Some of the most daunting, scary sermons I’ve ever preached were at seminary in front of classmates and professors. After this class was over, the professor graded my sermon. He said, “Zach, you really explained freedom from sin well, but as a listener of your message, there’s also freedom ‘to something.’ You failed to bring that out. B-minus.”

B-minus isn’t the worst grade I got at seminary. But I don’t want you to come away with a B-minus when it comes to understanding the freedom God is offering you. So, let me take another crack at my professor’s advice.

Absolution is “freedom from,” but restoration is “freedom to.”

The freedom that God gives you is not only freedom from sin, but freedom to a life of purpose. God’s freedom is greater than simply a pardon and release from punishment. He also wants to release you to be a world-changer working alongside Him.

If we go back to Matt Chandler’s analogy of the courtroom, when the judge declares us innocent, even though we are not, I think all of us breathe a little bit easier. To be declared innocent after our laundry list of sins is shocking. We don’t deserve it.

At the same time that this declaration of innocence is happening, we are also fully restored. The moment you are absolved, you are also restored. It’s not that you get absolved, and then after a few years of “proving yourself” you are restored into the person God has called you to be. Absolution and restoration happen at the same time.

However, the understanding of restoration seems to happen more slowly for some people. It’s hard to wrap our minds around. If I put my own cards on the table, I don’t tend to wrestle with the idea of God paying for my sins. I can see the cross. I know the cross is an aspect of my sin and rebellion. And I know that the sacrifice of Jesus paid for my sins.

Where I struggle is believing that I can still be the person that God has called me to be. I struggle to think that God really enjoys me and could use someone like me because I’ve woefully failed Him in the past. It’s hard not to picture Him angry with me after how good He has been to me, and yet I’m still struggling with the same sin that I’ve told Him over and over I’ll never do again.

Restoration hits at identity, and identity is something the enemy loves to attack.

Absolution takes away the guilt. Restoration takes away the shame.

Just as God has fully absolved you, you need to also see that He has fully restored you.

Pastor Timothy Keller writes, “Jesus’ salvation is not only like receiving a pardon and release from death row and prison. Then we’d be free, but on our own, left to make our own way in the world, thrown back on our own efforts if we’re to make anything of ourselves. But in the Gospel, we discover that Jesus has taken us off death row and then has hung around our neck the Congressional Medal of Honor. We are received and welcomed as heroes, as if we had accomplished extraordinary deeds.”

Your past doesn’t keep God from using your life in a powerful way. In fact, until you walk in the full restoration that God makes available to you, I don’t believe you will fully experience the freedom that God has for you.

You don’t just have a just judge, but you have a loving Father as well.

God delights in you like a good father would delight in his son or daughter.

I remember when each of my two sons began to walk. They took two steps, fell down, and we freaked out like they had just won the Olympics! We took videos and sent them to our close friends and family, and then posted them on social media with the hashtag #NextUsainBolt. In the videos, my sons took a few steps, but they also fell flat on their butts. No one who watched the video, including myself, saw my kids take a few steps and thought they were clumsy clowns for falling. We were celebrating the fact that they were walking, however unsteadily.

That’s a picture of how God sees you. He cheers you on. He encourages your pursuit. He wants you to hear loud and clearly today that two steps forward and one step backward is still a step forward. So keep stepping. You are moving in the right direction.

Having a loving Father in heaven, who is not only a just judge, changes everything. No offense to any judges out there, but hanging out with a judge just doesn’t sound much fun. Judges seem like they would constantly be quoting rules and laws. But hanging out with dad? That sounds fun. I can play golf with my dad. I can watch a ball game with my dad. I can learn from my dad.

God the judge declares you innocent and fully restored into right relationship with Him. Then He bangs the gavel, takes the robes off, and starts hanging out with you.

Your past sins are cast aside, and you are restored into making a difference in this world. This relationship not only means that you are God’s son or daughter, but also that you become a co-worker with Him in this world. You get to work for Him and with Him on an eternal mission.

And it’s when you step into the calling He’s restored to you, the process of sanctification, (read a prior blog that takes a deeper look at sanctification) that you truly experience the freedom that comes from God’s forgiveness in your life.

If absolution declares “I forgive you,” restoration screams, “I love you.

If you believe this go ahead and type in the comments below “God loves ____.” In the blank insert your name.

The post The Most Shocking Aspect of God’s Forgiveness appeared first on Red Letter Living.

View more on Zach Zehnder's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 20, 2021 07:50

Why is Receiving God’s Forgiveness So Hard?

In just three days, my new book Forgiving Challenge and its companion written by my wife Forgiving Challenge Kids will officially be released. The book is organized through an acronym SCARS (Sin, Confession, Absolution, Restoration, Sanctification) that helps us on our journey to freedom. In anticipation of this launch, we’ll drop a blog each day around each of these concepts.

Today’s blog will help us understand what absolution is all about.

According to LifeWay Research, even in a country with the majority of people professing a faith in Jesus Christ, only 22 percent of American men and 33 percent of American women say they depend on Jesus to overcome sin. This means that the majority of us are trying to find other, creative ways to try to put things right.

My wife, Allison, grew up on the mission field in West Africa in a small country called Togo. During her time there, she noticed, among some of the tribes, that if a boy stubbed his toe, a friend or the mother would strike the rock that had hurt the child. If a girl fell out of a tree, then her brother would smack the tree. They were trying to set things right by hitting the tree or rock that hurt the other person. But hitting a rock or a tree doesn’t make anything right, of course. In our society, we may have a similar reaction if we do something like run into the corner of a table in the dark. We might instinctively slap our hand on the table in anger.

Sometimes, we react in the same ineffective way when we’re confronted by sin. When we are hurt by sin, we lash out, sometimes at completely innocent people. Then we brush it off by saying, “I’m having one of those days.”

The only way to conquer sin, and experience freedom, is to depend on Jesus.

So why don’t we depend on Jesus? Most of us don’t want to walk down the painful path that it entails. Let me explain.

The process of finding forgiveness and spiritual healing in Jesus can be compared to the healing process for physical injuries, in which wounds turn into scars. This is not always an easy process, and many times it can even be extremely painful.

One of my scariest moments of parenting was right before the Easter season in 2018. My son Brady was seven at the time, and we were hosting a church staff party at our house. The adults were just about ready to eat, and all of the church staff kids were playing outside. As I was praying a blessing over the food, Brady came charging into the house with a type of cry that I had never heard before. It wasn’t a loud, piercing cry, but a fear-filled cry. He had been climbing a tree in our backyard, and as he had done hundreds of times before, he jumped down from this tree, expecting to land on his feet. But this particular time, he stumbled as he was jumping. On his fall down the tree, an extremely spiky branch dug into and lacerated his armpit, peeling off a large chunk of skin. Not to get too graphic, but the surgeon would later describe what happened to his armpit as similar to peeling a banana. He had a layer of skin about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide literally just hanging like a banana peel.

Although I struggled because of his pain to get a clear look at what was going on in the moment, I knew this was serious. Brady grew up with an incredibly high pain tolerance, so I knew this was different. I rushed him to the hospital and, amazingly, was greeted by a nurse who attended our church. I didn’t need to say anything to her. She knew this was serious just by looking at my face. They took Brady into the emergency room and brought in a surgeon.

Immediately, Brady went into surgery and my wife, Allison, and I were left alone in the lobby of the hospital.
Everything in the couple of hours leading up to this point was a blur to me. Adrenaline had kicked in, and it wasn’t until that moment alone in the lobby that I had a little bit of time to process what was going on. But it all started with me and Allison just sitting there with one another, holding each other and crying. It was so hard for us to see our son go through this.

As we were there, I jotted down these words in my notes on my iPhone:

“Being so close to Easter, the parallels to Jesus on a tree shedding blood for the world have new meaning for me. When I finally got to see just how bad Brady’s wound was, I couldn’t help but cry and wish I instead could have taken Brady’s pain. It gave me a very small but important glimpse of what the Father went through when He watched His Son die on the cross. God is so good to us. Jesus is the greatest champion of them all. He shed His blood for you.”

I then opened my Bible, and the very first verse that I read filled me in a desperate moment with the comfort that I needed. It was Jeremiah 32:27:

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”

A couple of hours later, we saw Brady. The surgeon used more than 60 stitches to essentially put the “banana peel” of skin back where it belonged. Those stitches would turn into a pretty killer scar that tells a pretty killer story. Brady not only made a full recovery, but is now using that very same arm to light it up on the youth flag football fields!
As painful as the healing was for Brady, part of this process was the surgeon entering into the place where Brady got hurt to ultimately bring healing.

The freedom process that we are undergoing requires similar healing. The process of healing will not be without pain for you, but the most painful part of the healing process has already taken place in the crucifixion of Jesus.
Jesus went to the cross to shed His blood to fulfill the requirements and pay for the sins of the world. Yours, mine, and the whole wide world’s. Past, present, and future.

If that’s true, then why do so many of us stop short of receiving God’s grace and ultimately live out of that freedom?

I would argue that the reason many of us stop short is because we don’t want to remember our sin any more. We’d rather move on from it. Stuff it under the cushions. Part of receiving God’s forgiveness, however, is revisiting the sins of our past in order for God to make us whole before we move forward into the future. And to revisit our sins can be painful.

While revisiting these moments, or places, or discretions may be difficult, what we find is a beautiful truth. This same Jesus who went to the cross to pay the price is unafraid and even willing to go back to those painful memories with you. When we miss the mark, Jesus invites us to allow Him into the worst parts of our stories. It is there we will hear His words of forgiveness over our deepest, darkest, and shame-filled places. He will enter into your worst moments with you. Jesus is waiting for you. He’s the surgeon you need to heal. Before you move forward, Jesus wants to you to receive the confidence that can only come from His forgiveness.

So stop trying to find alternatives to battle your sin. Depend on Jesus. Allow Him to enter into even your worst moments and hear these words over your life today.

“ (Your name), You are Forgiven, In the name of the Father, by the blood of the Son, and through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

If you believe go ahead and type your name in the comments below, followed by “You are forgiven, In the name of the Father, by the blood of the Son, and through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

The post Why is Receiving God’s Forgiveness So Hard? appeared first on Red Letter Living.

View more on Zach Zehnder's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 19, 2021 10:51

God Does His Best Work In the Mess

In just five days, my new book Forgiving Challenge and its companion written by my wife Forgiving Challenge Kids will officially be released. The book is organized through an acronym SCARS (Sin, Confession, Absolution, Restoration, Sanctification) that helps us on our journey to freedom. In anticipation of this launch, we’ll drop a blog each day around each of these concepts.

Today, the one that’s no fun. Sin.

My family has lived in Central Florida for just over a decade now. A few times we’ve driven south and one of the places, believe it or not, that has always left an impression with me on the drive down is a place called Monarch Hill Renewable Energy. It’s right off the turnpike. All of a sudden, you see thousands of birds of prey circling in the air protecting a massive landfill. Believe it or not, this landfill has now become one of the highest points of elevation in Florida at 225 feet high. It was just 10 feet high a couple of decades ago.

And these birds of prey which get a bad rep, actually, have been trained and brought in to keep seagulls, other birds and animals away from congregating at the landfill.

Every single day, 20 million pounds of trash gets added to this landfill. When Hurricane Irma blew threw a few years ago, 3 billion pounds of trash was piled on. 5000 homes are powered monthly by the gases coming off this landfill and 3 million gallons of garbage juice comes off this mountain monthly.

They estimate another 17 years until this landfill reaches its full capacity. If hurricanes sweep through, it could be years earlier than that. Once the pile of trash is high enough they put a tarp over it and then they eventually fully cap it off with sand and grass. Over the years that follow, estimates are that it will take 30 years for the trash to settle. And I didn’t realize this until my research but many former landfills end up becoming public parks. Did you know that? And in the last couple of decades, 70 golf courses, some of them ultra-luxurious, have been built on old landfills in our nation.

All of this leads me to this conclusion. Human beings have come up with pretty inventive, creative, and cool ways to deal with our trash. This is a massive heap of garbage. And yet, we’ve learned how to build these things up, dispose of them all, and turn them into world-class golf courses. Garbage to golf? Like, good job, humankind!

But one of the reasons why I love this imagery is because as inventive, creative, and skilled as we may be at getting rid of our physical trash, when we try to do this with our spiritual garbage it leads to devastating consequences. Today, we are looking at that spiritual garbage, what the Bible calls sin.

Sin is a small word that packs a mighty punch.

In a culture where we have become addicted to becoming offended, one of the most offensive things you could say to someone is that they are a “sinner.” We live in a world that likes to accept and affirm all decisions and choices, when in reality, every single one of us is a sinner.

Paul, a follower of Jesus in the first century, declares in Romans 3:10, “There is no one righteous, not even one.” Later, in verse 23, it would elaborate and tell us that “all fall short of the glory of God.”

Without first understanding and accepting that you are a sinner, you will never be free.

What exactly is sin?

Sin is derived from an old archery term meaning “to miss the mark.” If bullseye was the mark intended to hit, then technically, any attempt other than bullseye is considered a sin. Big misses like when your dart doesn’t hit the board and lodges into the drywall of the home. And little misses that are just off.

You will never be free if you cannot admit that you are a sinner. The admission price into freedom begins with an admission of your sin.

Even most Christians I’ve met don’t like admitting fault. Truthfully, I don’t either. But sadly, we are a far cry from the one that we claim to follow. We are not known for the same words as Jesus. Judgmental, hypocritical, old-fashioned, political, out-of-touch, prejudiced, and bigoted are all words that get tossed around to describe Christians by non-Christians.

The first thing you might do when you hear what words describe Christians is refute the feelings of those that label Christians, or your church, in a certain way. You might feel that they are wrong. Perhaps you point them to all of the good deeds that Christians do. Then you might go through your list that Christians are the first in line and most helpful in disaster relief, they’ve brought clean water to so many villages, and have been working on prison reform for decades. You might point to hostile media characterizations and think that that’s why the non-Christians say those ugly things about us. You might even think about all of the great things your church, filled with Christians, has done for your city. But hold on a minute.

Barna Research found that more than half of the respondents that had used those harsh words to describe Christians based it on personal experiences with Christians.

And let’s state the obvious: if 65% of Americans claim to be Christian, then out of the 215 million of us, there are going to be a few crazy ones who twist the Word of God and live a poor representation of Jesus. And there might even be a few of those crazy ones that inhabit the walls of your church! You might even be able to name a few right now!

But in reality, each and everyone of us is sinful, broken, and messy. We have to admit that we don’t always do things right, and we also don’t always do everything that we should do.

It is so sad that we who have received God’s grace struggle to extend grace to those who are hurting. The truth is that God has acted on our behalf while we were still sinners, and very plainly tells us that we are called to act as well. We have a God who stepped down into our stories and made us right and has now given us the ministry of reconciliation.

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

The challenge we face in this world as Christians is that we are called to stand up against injustice and at the same time to stand up for Jesus. We cannot escape this world. The “cancel culture” mindset that has become popular is something that Christians must avoid at all costs. It shows no grace and only judgment. And yet, at the same time, we cannot embrace everything in this world. The world is beautiful, but it is messy, sinful, and broken.

Jesus came to bring both grace and truth, but many Christians skip the grace and go right to the truth.

How do you, then, operate with both grace and truth? It comes by spending time in relationship with God. When you spend time in relationship with God, you recognize how holy He is and how broken you are. But, with God, He doesn’t let you stay in your brokenness. He makes you whole.

God loves you. Deeply. But He cares about who you are becoming too. Deeply.

God loves you for who you are, but His freedom never leaves you just as you are.

A Christian research company found that those who were most likely to spread the Good News had a regular practice of confession in their lives. Those most willing to talk about and spread the Good News of Jesus started with an understanding that they are the one most in need of God’s grace.

I’ve written more on the benefits of daily confession here.

Sadly, I write and speak to a lot of pastors. I have found it true for myself and many other pastors that it is easier for pastors to give grace away to others but not spend time themselves receiving God’s grace. For pastors to properly lead with grace they must regularly receive it themselves. It’s when we come from that place, that we ourselves were broken until Christ made us whole, that we can truly be the light in the darkness that Jesus is asking us to be. Rather than leading with judgment and what we are against, we must lead with grace just like Jesus did for you and for me. This is how we change our reputation.

We are called like Jesus to stand in the middle of the brokenness. The middle is messy. But it’s in the mess that God does His best work. Sin separates us from God. But the amazing piece of our stories is that there is nowhere that we can go that the grace of Jesus cannot reach us. Sin can ruin you, but it doesn’t have to. For as strong as sin is, Jesus is that much stronger. He can reach into slimy pits, climb up mountains, light up shadows, and descend into darkness to come and rescue us.

I love the lyrics of a new song called “Homecoming” by Cory Asbury:

Scarlet sins have a crimson cost,
but you nailed my debt to that old rugged cross.

Stop pretending like you are perfect and let Jesus clean up your mess. How has God cleaned up your mess?

“A New Generation Expresses Its Skepticism and Frustration with Christianity.” https://www.barna.com/research/a-new-generation-expresses-its-skepticism-and-frustration-with-christianity/. 21 September 2017. Web. 6 November 2020.

Im, Daniel. “Input vs. Output Goals for Discipleship. https://www.danielim.com/2017/08/15/input-vs-output-goals-discipleship/. 15 August 2017. Web. 6 November 2020.

The post God Does His Best Work In the Mess appeared first on Red Letter Living.

View more on Zach Zehnder's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 16, 2021 16:44

7 Tips to Help You Write Your First Book

It’s a Friday morning and I got an alert that a package had arrived on our front doorstep. This one, though, isn’t Tide Pods from Amazon or pet food for our bird. No, this is a special package, one that my wife and I couldn’t wait to receive. As we opened the package, feelings of fulfillment and excitement flooded over us as we held the first copies of our brand-new books Forgiving Challenge and Forgiving Challenge Kids. FYI the books will be available for purchase on Wednesday, September 22, in our shop. Even as an author, it’s hard to put into words the feelings of accomplishment that you experience holding the first copy of your own book.

Zach and Allison Zehnder holding the first copies of their new books Forgiving Challenge and Forgiving Challenge Kids.

81% of Americans think they have what it takes to write a book. Yet, for the even smaller percentage that starts, only 3% actually finish. And of the 3% that finish, only 20% of those publish their book. Pastors and church leaders create a LOT of content. Is it possible to take some of our greatest content and turn it into a book? Have you had a desire, or better yet, a calling to capture some of your content into a book? If so, I want to help you overcome some psychological hurdles and give you some tips and truths that I’ve learned along the way to encourage you.

At the age of 38, I’ve written 9 books. 6 of the books are in print and 3 of them are digital eBooks. 3 of the books, though my name is featured on the cover, I owe way more credit to my co-author Allison Zehnder. Despite never intending to be an author or even excelling in writing classes in school, God has given me a platform to share His Gospel through my writing. I say that with humility, that if I can write books, certainly you can too! I have learned several tips that have helped me not only write several books but navigate through the world of writing and publishing. These are tips and secrets I wished someone would have shared with me before I started!

So welcome to the world of my writing process. I hope it’s helpful for you.

You have a unique God-given voice that is powerful.

When I read the words of other prominent and some not so prominent authors, I often feel underqualified and less than adequate. What I have found, however, is that God has given me a unique voice. Rather than running from it, I try to pursue and jump whole-heartedly into my unique voice. Like me, you have a unique voice.

Revelation 12:11 says that we will overcome the enemy by the blood of Jesus and through the word of our testimony. Our stories, told in our unique voices, connected to the saving work of Jesus is a powerful combination.

Clearly, there are different types of books you could write: Fiction, Non-fiction, Biography, Children’s Stories, and poetry to name a few. There are a select few who can dabble in multiple styles, but when writing your first one, simply choose the one that feels most natural. Over a period of time, you will figure out what your sweet spot is. For me, I’ve found my sweet spot is writing 40-Day Challenges that feature short devotional studies. My devotions are Jesus-centered, simple-to-understand, but challenging in practice. I also have found out that I have a gift for creative one-liners. Knowing who I am and how God has wired me helps me to not overthink what I am doing. It also helps give me a framework that I know is not only attainable but repeatable.

Write in a way that is unique and natural to you and watch and see what God does with it. And over time, you will further shape and discover your unique voice.

Do n’t rush your controlling idea. But you may already have it.

A controlling idea is the main idea that you will develop in your book. The controlling idea absolutely must be compelling. In non-fiction books, likely, the controlling idea solves a real problem or answers a relevant question that people are asking.

This is where pastors or church leaders may specifically have an advantage. Many of you have prepared sermon series in the past. There are some sermons, and some sermon series that I knew were solely for my church at the proper time. But over the course of a year, I always felt like there was always one sermon, or a sermon series, that could be something more. It was a message or series that featured a controlling idea that I knew was compelling and I knew would be solving a relevant problem.

My point with this truth is to remind you that you are already creating a lot of content. If you are preaching, you are already studying, reading, and listening to podcasts and sermons. You are putting a lot of time into your craft and message. One helpful practice that I’m grateful I started with is to write out my sermon manuscripts fully. That way, if and when, it is the right time to turn the content into a book I wouldn’t be starting from scratch. You should never rush your controlling idea, but I’m guessing for many pastors there is an idea or two from your past that you have felt could be a blessing to the world.

Once you have your controlling idea, you can then begin reading, research, and study which will help you develop your outline.

Give yourself multiple rewards along the way. Map it out.

Some people enjoy writing more than others do. My wife is one of those. She loves to write. Me, I love having written. I feel called by God to do it and I want to be a faithful steward. But for me, it’s important that along the way I reward myself. Otherwise, it can feel tough, hard, and like a slog. I learned from author Donald Miller to reward yourself at key points along the journey. But, before I know when to reward myself, I like mapping out my writing project from start to finish.

While all writing projects may differ from mine, here’s what I do.

When I want to create a new 40-Day Challenge I map out from start to finish on a 100-yard football field what needs to happen. If the 0-yard line is where I’m starting, the 100-yard line is the touchdown, that moment when I hold my first copy. A lot needs to take place before I score the touchdown.

The “football field” map that I used to create the newest Forgiving Challenge church-wide challenge.

In my experience, gathering the concept or developing the controlling idea, then doing the reading, research, and study, followed by writing the outline and introduction is moving the ball 25 yards. Getting to a complete rough draft is another 35 yards. Gathering feedback, reviews, and then going through multiple rounds of editing and revising is another 35 yards (and this is the most draining part of the entire process for me). Finally, getting the book print-ready, discussing design elements, is the final 5 yards before I can do my touchdown celebration dance.

Every 20 to 25 yards I reward myself. These rewards are important to give me positive nudges to get to the end-zone. The last book that I wrote ended with a golf trip with friends that I’ll be enjoying this coming week. My wife bought a pair of shoes for herself that she had been wanting for a while. Littler rewards like a gift card to a restaurant or an item for your man (or woman) cave can also be fun along the way. The more specific as to when you will get a reward and what your reward will be will help you along the way. Now, here’s to hoping my golf game excels this week!

Books are filled with words. Set a word count goal.

Every book starts at 0 words. I love using Microsoft Word because it will tell me exactly how many words are in my document. Where a book finishes could depend on the project or type of writing. A book with no graphics and 50000 words will be close to 165 pages while a book with 90000 words will be closer to 300 pages. In writing your first book, set a word count goal. I tend to believe that it’s better to start with a shorter word count goal than a larger word count.

The printed books I end up writing end up being in the 50-60K word count. In writing your first book, set a word count goal. I tend to believe that it’s better to start with a shorter word count goal than a larger word count.

In the past, I have been able, after study and research, to write an entire sermon manuscript of 4000-5000 words in a day. But, when it comes to writing a book, after discovering the controlling idea and developing an outline, I begin writing. A great day of writing might end up with 2000 words. More than likely, a good day is 1000 solid words. If my goal is to write 60000 words and I can write 1000 words in a day, then it should only take 60 days of writing for a rough draft to be ready. Stated that simply, now what seemed impossible is starting to feel attainable.

A rough draft is exactly that. It’s rough. Find some coaches and cheerleaders now.

Just because I may be able to put 1000 solid words on paper in a day doesn’t mean that I’m done. Oh no! Writing a rough draft is a part of the process, an extremely important part of the process. Again, according to my estimation, you may be somewhere in the 50-60% range of completion but it’s not close to print-ready.

At this stage of the game, it’s important to invite both coaches and cheerleaders into your journey. For my purposes, I invite about 8-12 people into my feedback journey and ask them for their feedback. What I have found is that some of them tend to be more like coaches and others tend to be more like cheerleaders.

Coaches will give you really honest, constructive feedback. They may rank or rate your work lower than others. You need their feedback, because as much as you may want to be, and think you should be, done with your project, can I just be blunt with you? It’s not ready. It needs to be better. Coaches do a great job of showing where you can improve. Coaches may also give some words of encouragement or affirmation. If they do this, make a particular note of that and realize you may be onto something really special when this feedback comes.

Cheerleaders are those who primarily give words of affirmation and encouragement. In the middle of a big project, especially for someone whose love language is words of affirmation, this is incredibly important to hear! Cheerleaders remind you that you do have what it takes. In the middle of the encouragement, a cheerleader may also give a few bits of constructive feedback. Because of how limited their constructive feedback may be, you definitely want to take their advice as much as possible.

I think coaches and cheerleaders are equally important as you begin as an author. As you grow and gain confidence in your writing, I’d lean more on coaches but still have a couple of cheerleaders on your team. Coaches will truly push to help you become your best.

The most uncelebrated skill in writing a book is calendar management. Schedule it.

It takes time to write a book. If you have a desire and feel called to write a book, but are not intentional about scheduling the time to do it, it will never happen. Every part of a writing project requires time to complete it. You need time to research, develop your idea, outline, write, revise, and edit.

In my experience, if I have a goal to write 60000 words, and I know that I can effectively write 1000 words a day, then I need 60 days of writing to complete a rough draft. Knowing this is a great discovery, but scheduling it is where the magic starts to happen. All of us have different schedules in life. Some of us have full-time jobs. Some of us have kids at home. If you have 60 days of writing to do, then you need to schedule 60 days of writing to do it. Duh!

A friend and author Carey Nieuwhof says it’s important to do what you are best at when you are at your best. I have found for myself that my morning hours are the best times for me to be creative and write. I likely have a 2-3-hour creative window where I am at my best. Therefore, for me to get a rough draft written I need to schedule 60 2-3-hour time blocks on my calendar in the mornings. Because I have other responsibilities, and also, kids still at home, this is not 60 consecutive days for me. There may be a week or two where I can schedule 4-5 days, but there may be a week where I only get 1 or 2 blocks.

If you do not schedule the time needed, others will hijack your calendar with their needs. If the goal is for you to do what you are best at when you are at your best, then give yourself permission to put it on your calendar and don’t let other things, outside of emergencies, infringe upon this time.

The enemy will try to stop you the entire writing process. Put the reps in.

If you have a desire or feel God calling you to write a book, you better believe the enemy will be prowling around telling you that you don’t have what it takes. Writing a book can seem like a monumental task but I have found it to not only be attainable, but incredibly fulfilling. Before I begin a writing project the lies of the enemy are really loud telling me it’s impossible, that I don’t have what it takes, that no one would want to read what I write, I’m not qualified, this is way too big of a project, etc.

Even after writing as many books as I have, every time I begin a new writing project, it always starts with a wrestling match where I have to remind myself of God’s power living in me. I have to remind myself of the truth that I have done this before. I can do it now. And if God calls me to write again in the future, I can do it then too. God has given me what I need to accomplish this task. And He’ll give you what you need along the way too. Stop listening to the lies of the enemy and believe in the power that God put inside of you.

As much as I still wrestle with the process, here’s the truth I’ve found. When it comes to writing, the more you put the reps in, the stronger you will be. Those who help review my works continue to comment about how I’m growing as a writer. My newest works are stronger than my older works. And, truthfully, I can feel it. The more I write, the better I become. That’s the truth. The more I lean into this truth the less of a foothold the enemy has on me.

So I’m going to keep on writing.

The 6 completed books in the Red Letter Living Series.

And if God puts the desire or calling in you, you should too.

Tell the world about Jesus! He is the author and finisher of our stories, and He is also the hero of our stories. Tell His story in your unique way!

If I can be a help to you further to help you bring your writing project to completion, please email at hello@redletterchallenge.com.

If you are an author or a content creator, what other tips would you include?

The post 7 Tips to Help You Write Your First Book appeared first on Red Letter Living.

View more on Zach Zehnder's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 16, 2021 08:56

Is it okay to forgive and not forget?

One of the most shocking displays of modern-day forgiveness is told in the book Amish Grace. Tragically, on October 2, 2006, Charles Carl Roberts IV “carried his guns and his rage into an Amish schoolhouse near Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Five schoolgirls died that day, and five others were seriously wounded.” Directly following the shooting, the gunman turned his pistol on himself to take his own life. This horrific injustice came crashing into a community that oftentimes feels isolated from the world around it. Even determined efforts to avoid injustices and remain separated from the world are not foolproof.

Unfortunately, school shootings are becoming less shocking and more normal in our world today. In a nation where school shootings have piled up, however, this one is memorable. Not only because of who was on the brutal receiving end, but because of how the Amish responded. As the authors of Amish Grace point out, “the biggest surprise at Nickel Mines was not the intrusion of evil but the Amish response. The biggest surprise was Amish grace.”

The Amish realized quickly that the killer left behind a family, including a wife and three children. Only hours after the killing, the Amish community sought to find Amy Roberts, the killer’s wife, to comfort her. That night, they went to the killer’s father’s house to hold and comfort him. And in the days following, the Amish community would continue to go above and beyond. The Amish children befriended the killer’s daughters. More than half of those in attendance at the killer’s funeral were the Amish community. Not only were they there to show support to the family, but a wall of 30 Amish men and women, some of whom were parents of the victims, formed a wall to block the media cameras. The Amish community would even encourage the family not to move away, but to stay near their community. A relative of one of the victims told the Associated Press, “I hope they [Roberts’s widow and children] stay around here. They’ll have lots of friends and a lot of support.”

Ten days after the shooting, the Roberts family released a public statement thanking the local Amish community: “Your compassion has reached beyond our family, beyond our community, and is changing our world, and for this we sincerely thank you.”

In the aftermath of the shooting, news reporters and satellite dishes filled this once-quiet community. This particular shooting struck a unique chord with the nation and world. As the eyes of millions were looking in on this story, the news stories began documenting the horrific tragedy. But over time, the news began shifting away from the tragedy and focused more on the Amish’s response of forgiveness.

As onlookers surveyed the situation many were inspired. The Amish Community were named the Most Inspiring People of 2006 by BeliefNet. This story allowed people to see that there is a different response than vengeance, anger, and hatred. It became an incredible modern-day witness of what forgiveness in the face of tragedy looks like. The parents of one of the girls who died were reported saying this, “It is only through our faith in Jesus Christ that forgiveness is possible. He is the one who deserves all praise and glory, not us Amish.”

Others were confused. How could they forgive something so tragic so easily? This is where onlookers missed it. Forgiveness is never easy. It’s hard. Even though the action of the Amish community from the outside makes it appear simple, cut-and-dry, it wasn’t then, and it still isn’t today. It’s impossible to forget this tragedy for the Nickel Mines community.

The Amish, more than a decade later, are still choosing to consciously forgive. They are still looking after the killer’s family despite having to deal with the pain from the event. The Washington Post details more than a decade later how one of the victims of the school shooting is now “a 16-year-old girl who sits immobile in her wheelchair, unable to speak or feed herself.” Another victim, the oldest boy in the classroom that day is now “a 23-year-old man who sits at his kitchen table, also struggling to speak, though for him it’s not because he isn’t physically able. He just can’t find the words to express the emotional pain he’s felt every day for the past 10 years.

The Amish community will never forget this injustice that came into their community. The Amish have decided to forgive. They have chosen to cancel the debt of the consequence to the best of their ability. But just like anyone else, they have to wrestle with the consequences, the emotions, and the acceptance of the tragedy still every day.

There seems to be much confusion, even amongst those who profess a faith in Jesus with the connection between forgiving and forgetting. If I have forgiven someone, but I still can remember what they have done, have I truly forgiven them?

We forget a lot of things in this world: where our keys are, what our password is for a particular site, an important anniversary, or the birthday of a loved one. But what about the sins of others?

Let’s explore what God’s Word declares about this topic.

One of the most-often quoted Bible verses to justify this position is found in Isaiah 43:25, when God says: “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers our sins no more.”

A key teaching of the Christian faith, however, is that God is omniscient (all-knowing). If God truly remembers our sin no more, if He has erased that memory, then wouldn’t that put into question our doctrine that God is omniscient? Either He remembers no more or He is omniscient, but He can’t be both. Uh-oh. Did we find a mistake, or an error, in the Bible? Did the Bible contradict itself?

Of course not.

When the Bible is referencing God remembering our sin no more, what it is referencing is that despite God knowing our sin, He has chosen to act as if it no longer occurred.

My first name is Zachary, and it comes from the Hebrew word “Zakar,” which is often translated as “remember.” My name literally means “God has remembered.” A fuller definition, however, of the Hebrew word includes “to be mindful, to recall, to bring to remembrance, to still think on, etc.” There’s a difference between forgetting something and choosing not to be mindful of that particular something.

As Forgiving Challenge Kids says, “When the Bible says that God will remember your sins no more, that does not mean He has one of His angels use a memory eraser thingy and POOF! God’s memory is wiped clean. God can recall every little detail in history. He has a far greater memory than you and I do.” What this means is that when God forgives you, He is choosing to not treat you the way you deserve. He won’t hold a grudge against you. He won’t dwell on your sin or cause it to come to His mind again.

“God is sheer mercy and grace;

not easily angered, he’s rich in love.

He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold,

nor hold grudges forever.

He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve,

nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.”

Psalm 103:8-9 (The Message)

Rather than forgetting, forgiveness remembers the wrong and still chooses not to act in a way that would bring harm to the other person. Remember, in both aspects of forgiveness, there is a “releasing” or “letting go of.” Many times, the canceling of the debt is settled with an outside activity, but the elimination of anger and hatred towards the offender is a release on the inside. While God may be permanently able to “let go” of His anger towards the past sins that have been paid for at the cross, for us, it’s a lifelong process.

I don’t want anyone thinking that you aren’t a forgiving person because you still remember an action done against you in the past. That is a lie from the devil that too many are listening to and believing. The truth is the very fact that you remember and continue to choose not to treat the actions of others as they deserved is an even stronger testament to your faith. If it is humanly possible to forget something, then, there would be no need for forgiveness. You can’t forgive something you have forgotten. My friend Kent once told me, “It takes more grace to forgive and remember than it ever does to forgive and forget.”

Brian Zahnd, in his book Unchristian, says, “Christian forgiveness does not call us to forget. Christian forgiveness allows us to remember but calls us to end the cycle of revenge…Jesus’s vision is to end the ugliness of revenge and make the world beautiful through grace.”

Even in our own lives, when we miss the mark, God calls us to come to Him and receive forgiveness. He grants it to us every time. But, it would be foolish for me to completely forget my sin. No, I should remember my sin. I should learn from my sin. I should learn how I can position myself better in the future to not repeat my sin.

For instance, If I know I have struggled with alcohol addiction then it would be wise to remember this. That would encourage me to find a sponsor to help me in the times where I may be tempted. Not only do I set myself up better to be a greater representation of Christ in the future, but when I remember my mistakes of the past, it allows me to remember the grace of God all the more. The last thing I would ever want for your own life is to forget how good God has been to you.

When we remember the grace of God, we not only ensure that we are living out of the right motivation, but it allows us, then, to be gracious towards others.

Forgiveness is not about keeping score but losing count.

When we see how much God has forgiven us, we then become forgiving of others. But we should be careful not to fully forget the sins of others. Especially in cases where the sins of others were intentionally harmful to us and where those sins have been repeatedly done against us. While we can forgive those sins, it is wise to learn from them and not place ourselves in intentional danger. Sometimes the sins of others against us require us to put up healthy boundaries to guard us in the future. This is not only for our benefit but for theirs as well.

Instead of memory-erasing, God remembered our sin and placed it on Jesus. The Apostle Paul says that Christ erased “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.” Colossians 2:14 (ESV) King David says “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12

Through God erasing our sin, He has allowed our names to stand forever written in eternity. He gives us the power to forgive what we remember. Don’t forget that.

This devotion comes from Forgiving Others Challenge, which will be released in November 2021.

The post Is it okay to forgive and not forget? appeared first on Red Letter Living.

View more on Zach Zehnder's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 02, 2021 08:58

5 Reasons Why Fall 2021 is Perfect for a 40-Day Church Discipleship Challenge

Summer is just about wrapped up. Kids are heading back to school again. Fall is a natural time in the annual calendar for families to form or reform habits and rhythms in their life. After 18 months of leading through a global pandemic that we are still not through, churches looking to grow are being proactive about how they offer the Good News of Jesus both in-person and online. With the fallout of Covid forcing a reshuffling of people’s lives and priorities, I believe this Fall may be the single greatest opportunity in my lifetime to welcome new or returning people into our churches.

Our team at Red Letter Living wants to help!

As we’ve been leading 40-Day Challenges for nearly 4 years now, Fall is one of the most popular times to launch and implement a 40-Day Challenge. And this Fall is no different. Rather than staying seated on the sidelines or simply waiting for this pandemic to end sometime soon, choose to go all-in, in-person and online, with your church by launching a 40-Day Challenge.

Here are 5 reasons why this Fall is the right time:

40-Day Challenges Create Momentum In-Person and Online (In the Room and in the Zoom)

Church has gotten more complicated with many pastors learning the art of creating a great atmosphere to worship God in their buildings and creating some form of a powerful online worship experience. Our 40-Day Challenges are meant to not only make your Sunday services great but also will tie your physically divided churches together during the week with ready-made small group materials. In addition, each day your church family will be reading the same devotions and attempting to complete the same challenges. Forward-thinking churches will be looking for resources to not only help them have a great experience on a Sunday, but that can live with their people Monday-Saturday as well. Churches regularly see more than 400% growth on their social media platforms during the 40 days of the Challenge.

Nothing brings unity like Jesus!

2020 was ripe with racial tension, deep oppression, and political battles. On top of that, we’ve all had to learn how to cope and live in the midst of a global pandemic. It’s easy to say that 2020 was the most divisive, polarizing year that many of us have ever had to lead through. And sadly, against all of our wishes, 2021 has simply been an extension of 2020. The answer for how to cut through division is, and will always be, Jesus.

Culture divides. Christ unites.

The number one word we’ve heard from well over 100 churches that have completed a 40-Day Challenge in Covid times is “unity.” As we study the life of Jesus, people will find themselves immersed into not only a great model and teacher, but a great Savior and Lord. The more people experience Jesus, the more unified our community, nation, and the world will be. The more unified your church will be.

A Turnkey Resource for the Whole Church

That’s right! At my core, I am a pastor and I understand pastors. The resources I create are meant to be as turnkey as possible so that pastors can continue to give their all in other matters. Planning and leading (in-person and online) can be exhausting, yet Fall remains a “high” attendance season where you want full participation. What if you could have 40 compelling, exciting, and challenging “done-for-you” days of ministry that you could implement?

Included with our 40-Day Challenges are FREE sermon manuscripts and videos, small group materials, kids’ curriculum, graphics package, etc. In addition, there are kid’s workbooks available to help challenge kids to follow Jesus! We’ve even created training videos for FREE for you to help you learn how to implement a 40-day challenge in your setting at this website.

Grow Your Small Groups by 40% in Just 40 Days!

Through our proven track record and system, along with our materials, the average church of all sizes, sees 40% growth in their small groups. While discussions, debates, and questions will remain about the in-person church, masks, socially distancing, and when/how we can gather, growing churches of all sizes understand that true depth and spiritual growth happens in small groups. When times shift dramatically, it’s important to anchor and go all-in on a few things you know that will matter in the future. Small groups will always matter. Kickstart, restart or give your small groups a boost by offering a 40-Day Challenge at your church.

Life-Changing Impact Results in Action Well Beyond the 40 Days

When you put the words of Jesus into practice:

your church grows (in number and depth)your community flourishesand people experience fulfillment they never thought possible.

Many Christians know that faith lived out by following Jesus is important. Simply put, though, many don’t know practically how to follow Jesus. At our core, this is what we do best: We teach people very simple targets to implement from the life, words, and habits of Jesus. We then give people really practical but challenging ways to accomplish what Jesus asks. We’ve not only heard how transformative our 40-Day Challenges are during the 40 Days, but hear many stories of people who are still practicing and living by the targets that Jesus teaches us through His red letters.

For the first time ever, we have three 40-Day Challenges to offer:

Red Letter Challenge: Help your church get in a rhythm of reading and doing the words of Jesus as they learn 5 discipleship targets: Be, Forgive, Serve, Give and Go.

Being Challenge: Only one person ever existed in perfect relationship with God. His name is Jesus. Discover the 5 keystone habits that Jesus practiced to help Him connect with God so that we can be more like Him.

Forgiving Challenge: The deeper we dive into God’s forgiveness, the freer we become. Learn about how God’s forgiveness is the key to unlocking freedom in our lives. A forgiven person is a forgiving person. *Available 10/10/21 (There are only a select number of churches involved in the launch of Forgiving Challenge. Email if you’d like to be included in this launch).

We are encouraging churches to join the Next Wave of churches, launching on September 12th or shortly thereafter. If you’d like to discover more about how a church challenge can be implemented at a church, check out this link.

Church Pack Discounts Ready!

In addition, for churches that order 50 or more copies, we have church packs already discounted (15-40% off) ready to go at this link.

FREE Book for Pastors!

Pastors, if you’d like a FREE copy of one of our workbooks you can go to this link and we’ll mail you a copy FREE of charge that will show up at your doorstep in about a week.

Following Jesus is the single greatest opportunity of our lifetime. Imagine if your entire church truly followed Jesus!

Our team would be honored to work with you. Please email us at hello@redletterchallenge.com if you have any questions!

The post 5 Reasons Why Fall 2021 is Perfect for a 40-Day Church Discipleship Challenge appeared first on Red Letter Living.

View more on Zach Zehnder's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 09, 2021 08:29

Why is Receiving God’s Forgiveness So Hard?

In anticipation of my new book Forgiving Challenge coming out in the Fall, I’m dropping several blogs to help us understand how to receive God’s forgiveness, and ultimately, be free. If you missed any of them, I’ve included links and titles at the bottom of this blog.