The Heroes of History

by Tyler Zach



Last night, in the coziness of my apartment, I watched Gladiator for third of fourth time. It is such an incredible movie, especially for men. It is hard for any man to hold back the tears in this film. The Gladiator’s family dies, his future crown in taken away, and he is reduced to a slave. Then this underdog comes back to make a triumphant return to the coliseum to fight not only for his life, but truth and honor.

There is something in man’s heart that longs to fight for something noble till death like Russell Crowe in Gladiator or Mel Gibson in Braveheart. We often times look for these courageous heroes in movies or books.

But we need only to look back at the founding fathers of our faith to be inspired and encouraged. The bible does not record most of the deaths of the apostles. In fact, only the death of Judas and James were recorded. Judas hung himself outside Jerusalem after giving up Jesus for his precious money and James was beheaded by Herod Agrippa in Jerusalem.

But we can look back to tradition to find out how the other apostles died.

Peter was crucified upside down in Rome by Nero. Andrew was crucified in Greece. Philip was crucified at Heirapolis. Thomas was run through with a spear in India. Matthew was slain with a halberd (battle-ax and pike mounted on a handle about six feet long) in Ethiopia. Bartholomew was crucified in India. James (the son of Alpheus) was stoned in Jerusalem. Simon was crucified in Britain. Thaddeus was crucified in Edessa.

How much authority tradition can claim is an open question, but one thing in sure.

“They spent the rest of their lives proclaiming the message of the resurrection, as cowards transformed into men of courage. They were willing to face arrest, imprisonment, beating, and horrible deaths, and not one of the ever denied the Lord and recanted of his belief that Christ had risen.” - James Rosscup

Long after Jesus had returned to heaven, his faithful followers, as you can see from the locations above, went to the ends of the earth to proclaim their Jesus as Lord. Each of them faced horrific deaths. Imagine Peter, Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Simon, and Thaddeus bound in chains standing before their executioners. “If you renounce Jesus Christ you will live,” they shouted. “But if you will not, you will surely die, just like your King.” Or imagine Thomas in Ethiopia bound to a pole watching as his executioners ran towards him with a spear. Or imagine James lying on the ground in the middle of a circle - glancing up at dozens of people hurling rocks at his body. Or imagine Matthew looking down at the ground, hearing the swoosh of the wind from the motion of a halberd coming towards his body.

We will never know what was going through their minds before they were executed. But maybe…just maybe…they thought back to a time when Jesus had warned them, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body…after that they can do no more.” (Luke 12:4)

I won’t get to watch a movie of these heroic figures anytime soon. But I wait with increasing anticipation the day when I can listen to them retell their own unique story. A story that will make Gladiator and Braveheart look dull. A story that reflects the beauty and the glory of the greatest story of all – the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

To Him be all the glory forever and ever. Amen.

A Day with Ike the Butcher

by Tyler Zach



I can still see the cow’s cut-off head lying there in the trash can. A pool of blood formed at the bottom of the can while flies started to hover around inside.

I was riding my bike around the small town of Humphrey (about 700 people) when I one day found where “Ike the Butcher” did his business. I would go up to the entrance and watch him take a chain saw and slice a cow in half - as the dead carcass hung from the ceiling. It was truly an amazing sight for a little boy. Ike would proudly pull out the cow’s heart from a pile of “stuff” on the floor and show it to me. My eyes were as wide as they could get!

Does this story have any relevance to something spiritual? Maybe.

Did the ugly description of a dead cow capture your attention? Did it get you to scroll down and read more? I personally love stories or ideas that will capture my attention.

God has used a lot of huge circumstances as well as important attention-capturing people to make a difference in my life. But honestly, He has spoken a lot more to me through the non-dramatic circumstances.

Should I keep dating this girl? What kind of job should I get? What is Your Will for me God? Do I have a purpose in life? Why aren’t You answering me?

These are all questions that we shout out to God from time to time expecting Him to answer us with an audible, earth-rumbling, attention-grabbing answer. The truth is that God does speak to us very clearly – but it is through His Word (the bible). Let me try to put some more skin on this concept.

In the fraternity, when I was President, I had to make some tough decisions. When I would ponder about a tough decision, Carter Ashton Jenkins (one of the founding fathers) would not come to me in a dream and say, “Dearest brother, you shall suspend this activity or this member because of....” It doesn’t work that way. I would think about the ideals of the fraternity (which is exhorted in great power) in the ritual guide that we have and make a decision based on that. That is how our founding fathers wanted their ideas and legacy to be passed down – through a powerful book of powerful words that came from their heart.

So it is with God. The bible is packed with stories, biographies, poems, doctrine, prophesies, and much more – which God fully inspired to make much of Himself and make a radical difference in your life. If we aren’t a people who are reading the bible, belong to a community of friends who read the bible, and belong to a church which exhorts truth from the bible, then you will never know which way to turn.

God may get your attention in big circumstances – but His voice remains steady through the Word. It has been through reading the bible in the early mornings that I have gotten the best grasp on life and my purpose here. Man is subject to fallibility, but the truth of the bible will never fail.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” – 2 Timothy 3:16

(Paul speaking to a church) “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:13

Falsely Active

by Tyler Zach



Being in a fraternity for over three years, I saw a lot of members come and go. As I stood behind an executive board table and looked out into the crowd, I saw mostly freshmen and sophomores. Most of us have learned that a lot of fraternity and sorority members trickle out when they get into their later college years.

I stop and think about the most active members – who they were and what they did. Many years after college has passed, I’m sure that they will tell stories of how they led a community service project or organized a dance or raised money for charity or was the President for a year. They will look back on their experiences and the time they invested into the fraternity and be satisfied.

However, my opinion is that this scenario won’t look too different from a guy who was in the fraternity but never did anything. He is the guy who boasts that he shows up for every chapter meeting but never really joins a committee or takes on any leadership role. He is what I like to say, “falsely active”. On the outside he is a member, but he has never given his heart to the ideals of the fraternity; he is there but at the same time is not there. And down the road, he will still boast of the great things that his fraternity did and how he was involved in the action – and most people will believe him.

Does simply showing up to chapter meetings prove that you are an active heart-embracing Greek? Neither is a Christian who simply shows up for church on Sundays.

Churches are great nametags. We wear our nametags so that when people ask if we are a Christian or a follower of Christ, we just point to our nametag and smile. “I belong to _________,” we say. They reply, “Ohh, that’s wonderful.”

Just as the fraternity man points to his nametag (pin or membership card) so does the Christian point to his nametag (church). These nametags are inclusive evidence that the member has given his whole heart to the cause. Many Christians act like zombies each week flocking to a Sunday Service and then calling it good for the rest of the week.

Jesus points out that our nametags and boasting someday will be stripped away. We may claim big things, but He will simply say, “Did you really know and follow me.”

I've used this quote from Jesus before but I must use it again to drive the point home.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day (judgement day at the end of the world), 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' – Matthew 7:21-23