singleness of heart...

One of the greatest things Jesus ever taught was the singleness of heart. He brought it up time and time again by asking His followers to have one single goal: Serve God. To the rich, He said to put your money in God’s economic system. To those who would cling to family inheritance, He said to leave it all behind for His inheritance. To the weak, He said, “Let me be your strength but admit you are weak first.” To the poor, He offered riches in heaven. To the downtrodden, He offered hope. To the desperate, He offered peace. To those closest to Him, He called for them to give their lives for Him. To all who followed with a singleness of heart, He used them in miraculous ways and the salvation story we present today is a direct reflection of those who had a singleness of heart. The one single thing He asked: Serve God.

Today a singleness of heart in anything seems almost impossible. Instead of having musicians and singers who have given themselves to their talent and use it in an extraordinary way, we have many who can play fairly well, or sing fairly well, but don’t get to excel because they are so stretched and busy doing everything else. Writers don’t have time to sit down and put on paper the many thoughts and stories that come to their mind because they can’t uncloud all the other stuff that is up there due to a hectic schedule. Bible study leaders prepare for leading a class and at the last minute pull together a good lesson but sometimes not a great lesson because they had something come up in another area they probably shouldn’t have volunteered for. A parent can’t be as good as they should because they are trying to juggle one thing after another and the plates are just about to fall. No singleness of heart. Multiplicity is our battle cry!

Maybe this year Christmas could be the time when we refresh our minds and our hearts and explore what God wants to do with our lives through serious prayer and soul searching. It would probably mean prioritizing and saying NO at times when we want to say YES. I believe if we would take a deep breath and pursue those things God impressed on us at the time of our salvation, we would begin to see a quality of living come into our lives that would radically change our attitude about life. Singleness of heart. Serve God. Focus on what HE wants and everything else will come into, or out of, focus quickly. Then you will discover a new world that is focused and purposeful.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

who am I?

As we think about the upcoming pageant, I look back and I am very thankful for your commitment to this great task. Of course you have shown over and over the heart of a servant in all you have done in preparing for weekly worship and the Christmas Pageant. I say of course because that is how I feel about you as a choir. If I am questioned by anyone who asks the following questions to me about you as a choir, it is easy to answer the same thing every time.

Will they be there? Of course! Will they be working on these songs at home and as they drive down the road? Of course! Will their worship be heartfelt? Of course! Can you depend on them? Of course! Are they selfless in their attitude? Of course! Are they doing it for you as their director? NO WAY! It’s all for God!

Praise God for His great mercy and direction for His people. He gives us direction in how to live our life. That direction is real and we will follow it. Who am I that I would try to take a separate path than what He wants? He guides my steps, but I must open my heart, mind and life to Him. Galatians 5:25 says, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Verse 26 puts the “who am I?” in the mix: “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” We are not to think less of ourselves because we are children of the King. But we are to keep ourselves and our wants in the proper perspective when it comes to who we are in His service. It is all about Him; all praise is due His name.

Who am I? I am a servant of the Most High and a significant part of His plan. Who are you? You are servants, people who are making a difference. Never discount how important you are to God. Keep in the middle of His mix and He will show you more and more each day just how much He loves you and wants to use you. Remember, your faithfulness generates far more than just doing a task. It shows who you are.

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

worship with a capital W...

A few years ago we went to my daughter’s home and I noticed on her car a W sticker and of course, this meant George W. Bush. You’ve seen them all over and it’s amazing to be able to identify a person with one letter. The highest office in the land has been filled by a man with a full name like anyone else, but is easily recognized by that one letter, W. Oliver Stone even named his movie about George W. Bush, W., and when I looked at the title on the movie list, I knew who it was probably about. W. Of course, there have been times when the W was highly touted and highly thought of my many. And times, like now, when those accolades and accomplishments are mired in controversy and almost hatred. As we now know, the praises come and go like the rain. The love can turn to disgust and malice. The following can turn to folly. Sad, or so it seems. W, once highly thought of as a letter, is now viewed by many as failure. Of course, we don’t know all the truth behind the change, but there was a change about that letter W.

There is another word that is so strong and so purposeful in a believer’s life that it, too, could become a powerful letter, highly thought of and highly respected to the point of making a sticker that just says W. It is the word worship. What is worship in a believer’s life? It IS a believer’s life. We can’t run from it, package it to make it easy, keep it off our car or even out of our home. It is something so strong that it defines who we are and who we are associated with and all who see us see a huge sticker that says W. In this case, we know we are sinners and we will fail even though we strive to follow God’s Word completely. We also know that we will know more about worship today than we did yesterday so our knowledge bank will fill up more and more each day.

What we will be sharing by worshipping our Lord is that worship is a lifestyle, and that lifestyle is centered on growing more and more like Him every day. When we sing, we sing differently because we are singing out of the all-surpassing understanding of growing in a relationship with the Creator of the universe. That relationship is not a passing fancy that diminishes when things aren’t going too good for us and grows when things are going good for us. That relationship, that worship is constantly directed toward God because we love Him, no holds barred, with all our heart. That love is what generates a life of worship so we always trust Him, always hold on to Him and always follow Him no matter what happens. He is our all in all...that is the life of a true worshipper.

In John 4, Jesus meets the Samaritan woman at the well and drives this point home. 21-24 “Believe me, woman, the time is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither here at this mountain nor there in Jerusalem. You worship guessing in the dark; we Jews worship in the clear light of day. God’s way of salvation is made available through the Jews. But the time is coming — it has, in fact, come — when what you’re called will not matter and where you to go to worship will not matter. It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before Him in their worship. God is sheer being itself — Spirit. Those who worship Him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration.” 25 The woman said, “I don’t know about that. I do know that the Messiah is coming. When he arrives, we’ll get the whole story.” 26 “I am He,” said Jesus. “You don’t have to wait any longer or look any further.”

So! No need to wait any longer. Worship Him! We many times talk about the mark of the beast and what that will mean during the end times. I want to promote the Mark of the Savior for the present. That mark is W. That W won’t let you down. Live a life that is real so that your worship will be real. Are you God’s bumper sticker for worship? You don’t have to wait any longer. He’s here.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

broken but repairable...

The beauty of brokenness is a beauty very few see today because of a prideful and self-glorifying heart. Our culture continues to believe we can do anything we want at any time and that cry of self-sufficiency plagues our world and intimidates the lives of believers. We are many times scared of being broken because it will show us to be weak and needy. That kind of posture goes against the very grain of who we are as Americans and American Christians. The truth is God is all about breaking our prideful hearts and messing everything that is us up so He can put things back in order — His order. What does it take to be broken?

We would think circumstances drive us to brokenness and even though circumstances will bring the need for brokenness to the forefront of our minds, that doesn’t CAUSE brokenness. If circumstances were the cause, we would get broken during the bad times and forget God during the good. That is the present condition of many Christians today and it causes us to live in the world of temporal repentance that is weak and definitely not lasting. What drives us to true, lasting brokenness is a heart of faith. Faith that God is our Savior and Lord. Faith that His way is the best way. Faith that we are weak and He is our strength. Faith that I can’t make it one step without Him. To try and make it on our own makes us a spiritual quadriplegic. That’s because we must allow Him to once again fill our life with the strength to walk and feel His presence fresh and anew. If we are numb to His commands we can’t function. Everything will be out of place and we will be virtually unable to do anything, paralyzed as a child of God. This should not be.

How can we get out of the paralysis we are experiencing? We must allow God to revive the four elements of our life and make them “feel” again. You know them: heart, soul, mind and strength. This is the part where we can actually do something. Love God with all you are and allow Him to breathe life back into the parched or numb areas of your life. Remember the day of your salvation and how He gave you new life and what changes took place when that happened. When you do that, God will say, “Get up and walk.” Oh, the joy to rise out of the wheelchair of apathy and live a life where we have all feeling in our spiritual limbs once again! I knew an evangelist who was a quadriplegic and a few years ago I asked him, “Do you have any regrets or wishes now that you are confined to a wheelchair?” He said, “I only wish I would have done more with my arms and legs when they were working.”

Don’t delay! Turn to God with a broken heart and allow Him to mend it and fill it with His love. That love will give you the capability to love Him more and be able to walk the walk like He commanded us to do. In Joel 2:12-13, the Lord says, “even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning...for He is gracious and compassionate.” Now is the time for all of us to return. We are broken... but repairable.

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

wise beyond ourselves...

All around us people are saying, “I have the answer for this problem and if you will just follow my advice, you will come out okay.” Then reality hits: bad answer, bad decision, bad advice, bad results. It seems like in our temporal world of wanting to please ourselves, we would just go to the source of all wisdom about the very foundational things in life. That person would be… Jesus. But no, we worry and fret and somehow forget (that rhymes, cool!) the great supply of wisdom that comes from our Lord. James 3:13 says, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.” Verse 17 goes on to say, “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” In other words, wisdom carries some good baggage with it as listed in the above-mentioned scripture.

Our wisdom many times carries the other baggage, filled with our personal impressions, or personal wants, our personal hurts, etc. All of those things are good to learn from but not the basis for handling tough times with a clear mind. In other words, we are to be wise beyond ourselves. Wise, but with God’s wisdom from His Word. As we approach leading worship and living our daily lives this week, ask God to show you true wisdom from His Word to help you handle the things going on in our world right now. His wisdom never disappoints and is always lasting. It’s really awesome to see that the maker of the world’s wisdom is made open and clear to us, sinners saved by grace. We must choose to access that wisdom at every trun and find out how to walk our daily walk in the abundant life.

Also, think about singing beyond yourself as well. I believe God’s Word shows how true worshippers worship, in spirit and in truth. That kind of worship is way beyond what we can conjure up. We’re good...we’re just not THAT good. Keep singing. He’s worth it!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

hear us from heaven...

As we think about how faithful God is to us and how much we need Him, I can’t help but marvel at how little many mainstream Americans acknowledge our need for Him. As worship leaders, we know we cannot do anything with God’s power and that translates into every are of our lives. Whether things seem to be going great or things are at disaster level, we need to continually be lifting up our praises to Him with a thankful heart. Twice as much trouble, twice as much praise. 2 Chronicles says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

As God’s people, may it be the cry of our heart to call out to God to come and visit us and move in our midst as we offer up our sacrifices of praise. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise — the fruit of lips that confess his name.” Let’s continue to trust God and His word and make every effort to lift up His holy name. Listen to Psalm 115 and how much it applies right now:

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. Why do the nations say, "Where is their God?" Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. But their idols are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but they cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear, noses, but they cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel, feet, but they cannot walk; nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them. O house of Israel, trust in the LORD—He is their help and shield.

We cannot let down in anything, so keep your feet to the task at hand. Get to know your music and be ready in and out of season.


The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

genius vs. ingenious...

I went to an Apple store a while back while I was in TN. I went to see about getting my computer worked on. When I walked up to the counter I was met by a man with an Apple shirt that said “Genius” on the pocket area where names are displayed. When I went to the counter, a sign at the front said, “Genius in.” I was immediately intimidated by the way they pushed their “experts”. Not really, but I did think they must be really smart to have that name on their shirt. To my amazement, they quickly answered every question with a very pleasant attitude and made me feel like I was in the hands of a “genius”. They really weren’t geniuses, though. They just really knew their product and they knew how to help people in every situation when it came to a Mac computer. Sadly enough, it is a rare thing for someone to actually know all there is to know about something in a certain area or field. So, I guess as low as the curve is, they really are geniuses. By the way, the definition for a genius is someone who has an exceptional natural capacity of intellect, especially as shown in creative and original work in science, art, music, etc. In other words, naturally SMART!

Then there is the other word: ingenious. The definition for ingenious is a person who is cleverly inventive or resourceful. A person who thinks well on their feet is a person who can make something good and workable out of almost anything. This is the person who takes something already made or constructed and makes it work even better because of their creative way of enhancing something. They are smart, too, but usually take something a genius already did and make it their own by adding their creative, personal touch to it. They are creatively SMART also.

Here’s the point: there is a Genius in and His name is Jesus. He put an intelligent, original plan into place and saw it fulfilled when He died on the cross and rose on the third day. That plan was the result of God’s perfect intelligence. We call that wisdom. So when we need help with our life and we approach God in prayer we are coming to the Genius of Geniuses, or as the Word says, the King of Kings. He is the perfect source for all wisdom and let me assure you, the Genius is in!

Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock, His works are perfect and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.”

The ingenious part of the whole thing is where we fit in. Since the Holy Spirit is in all who know Jesus, we take on that great wisdom and learn how to live our lives as God directs. We live our lives IN the Genius and He gives us the capacity to take our individual personalities and see Him work a creative work through each of us. We are all unique and different, but we all adhere to the teachings of God and He works his great will through each our lives in a very unique and creative way. No matter what comes our way, we are empowered to creatively handle it through the wisdom that comes from God’s Word. That’s what we call “walking the walk”. You are capable to live an ingenious Christian life because of one fact: the Genius is in! Get to know His ways, His Word and His witness and you will not only have the answers to life’s questions; you will lead others to our great and mighty God.

1 Peter 3:15 says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."

That is what He wants!

The Genius is in! Are you ingenious in how you follow His ways?

The Pilgrimage continues..

David Warren

unparalleled service...

Many times in my life I have heard mature and not-so-mature Christians state that they want to follow Jesus by living a life parallel to Him and following His way from afar. They have stated that living a godly life of total commitment is unrealistic, so the desire is to "do the best we can" and make our best effort to follow Christ. That seems to be a very relevant way for a fallen people to live for a Holy God. The only problem is that it doesn't line up with scripture when it comes to a transforming life. The difference is this:

We don't try to live up to what Christ wants to do
through our life; we allow Christ to live through
our lives by giving Him our all.

All our wants, desires, direction, purpose and many other characteristics that make up a Christ-like person are all Christ-generated, not self-generated. We can't do anything on our own that will ever measure up to Christ. We begin making strides for transformation by allowing Him to totally control our life -- not following alongside Him or parallel with Christ, but directly in line with Christ and following His footsteps.

You say, "What is the difference?" One is keeping some cards in our hand to allow us to keep a part of our commitment to the world and pick and choose how much we want to give to Christ. The other is totally giving 100% to Christ and allowing Him to totally transform us into someone who is "sold out" to Him. The first is living a life that is parallel to Christ and the second is living a life that is joined with Christ. Total transformation and renewal only comes when we give it all to Him. Unparalleled service.

What are the benefits? Godly power, godly purpose, godly passion and godly provision. Trust God with all your life. The rest is just details...

Keep on leading worship like we had last Sunday. Lives are being changed and our church is being revived. You are a significant part of what God is doing. Keep doing it!

You are a precious people and God is powerful in your lives. Thanks for your great commitment to unparalleled service to our Lord.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

line up...

Years ago a little boy went to a very strict military school and every day he would leave his dorm room and get in a line of boys who went out to report for early morning instructions. As he would file out every morning he started thinking, “Why am I doing this and what does it help?” Finally, the question bugged him so much that he went to their commander and shared his heart. The seasoned soldier looked at him with a grin and said, “Son, you are one of few who have ever openly questioned why we do what we do here. I appreciate your individuality, and the answer is clear when you look at it from my perspective. When I send my soldiers to the battle line I know the enemy has one thing in mind: divide and conquer. The strength of our fighting force is that we never break ranks, we never think of ourselves first, and we always hold strong to our unity. That is our strength, and that is our purpose. It is proven and foundational to the success of our mission in every way. We just can’t improve on it. Does that answer your question?”

The little boy looked at the commander with a tear in his eye and said, “Sir, what you have explained is what I’ve been looking for. I will do everything I can to make my line strong, unified, and purposeful. Now I know what it means to be a soldier.” As He turned to leave the room, the commander called out, “Soldier. You are wise beyond your years and I commend you for that. Now get back in line and get ready to fight!” The little soldier turned and saluted and said, “Sir, yes sir.” He walked out of the office a different person. He had purpose in his position and his willingness to line up was an act of obedience that would strengthen all who lined up with him for years to come.

2 Timothy 2:1-4 is a call to follow our commander and get “lined up” with His instructions. Paul compels Timothy and us to be strong in the grace that we have in Christ Jesus. He also calls us to take what we know and share it with others through our words and our example. The call to line up is a challenge to endure hardship with each other, to lift one another up in good and bad times and to never break ranks. His last challenge is the most important. Paul says we must not get involved in thinking like civilians. Civilians are not trained, not tested, and they haven’t signed up to fight, so they don’t have the concept of the requirements of being a soldier. We are soldiers fighting the good fight. The battle’s already been won and our commander goes before us as we claim more and more territory for our King. The enemy’s plan hasn’t changed, by the way. Satan’s plan is still to divide and conquer. As I came to God this morning for explanations about certain things, He answered through His word very clearly and then He said, “Get back in line.” My reply is “Yes, Daddy!"

What is your reply? The battle is raging. Line up . . .

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

Moving Forward...

Synergy - a combined action or operation that is mutually joined by different parties that has a greater effect than the effect of one.
Getting everyone moving in the same direction in anything is very difficult because everyone has their own opinion and thus a lack of what the Bible calls being like-minded.  But when we all get moving together, one thing builds on another and another, and so on, and the end result is incredible progress.  That progress cannot be measured before the synergetic movement.  The movement is so "on the spot" that it surpasses any measurement we might make.  In Christian terms, we call it revival!!  It's where a group of believers put themselves in the background and serve with others unselfishly.  Anything less than that movement in church life is actually moving backward.  It takes true worshippers of Jesus Christ to start this movement, and when they commit their all to Jesus they can move forward.  You may ask, "When does this need to start?"  Well, NOW of course!!  Didn't you  know???
In John 4:23-24 Jesus said, “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

I believe we are in that time and today is the day we move forward together into a new way of thinking:

· a way that is humble, heartfelt and Holy Spirit-led

· a way that is different than the world’s way

· a way that is extraordinarily unique and fresh

· a way that challenges us to step up and be Christ-like in every area

Remember, this is all for God. The rest is just details. Keep your great heart for service open and receptive to Him and His ways, and the world will never be the same.


 The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren