Calling all Patriots...

Patriot – someone who practices Patriotism. Patriotism is love of and/or devotion to one's country. The word comes from the Greek patris.

I was watching the Mel Gibson movie, The Patriot, the other night and I was amazed by the struggle of early Americans for independence from the British. It was such a seemingly small and ineffective group of people seeking freedom that led the battle cry for many who came after them. Small in numbers, but great in heart. Ineffective in the type of weapons they used, but just enough to allow them to gain ground with every battle. It drove home the point of what it takes to acquire and keep true freedom. It is sometimes too easy to start a battle but not finish a battle.

1. We must first of all be committed to the task. When the going got rough, many fell to the side and could not keep up the continuing fight. Their commitment level was easily seen by how much they were willing to give.
2. We must be pure in heart. The enemy would pick out those who were less than noble in their fight and lure them into giving out information on their own people. The end result of their lack of integrity resulted in many freedom fighters’ deaths.
3. We must be one in purpose. The weakest part of a chain is found when the weak link shows that it is not strong enough in its union to the other links to hold when the pressure is applied.
4. We must be willing to continue when all others fall away. True patriots believe in what they are fighting for and that belief is not centered on others and their commitment. The commitment of a true patriot is from deep inside their heart and that flame cannot be extinguished.

We are called to be Patriots. Not just for our country, but for our Lord. Our love and devotion for Jesus drives the vehicle of our life to the point of sacrifice -- sacrifice for our Savior and sacrifice for our fellow man. The sacrifices made by many for our freedom show us the depth of patriotism and we flourish because of those sacrifices. The sacrifice of one, Jesus Christ, for our eternal freedom shows us the depth of God’s love for us and gives us the manual for being a true patriot. May we take up the mantle of true freedom and fight while there is still time for the one who gives us true freedom. Calling all Patriots! Today is our Independence Day Celebration. Today we fight the good fight!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

dawn of the walking dead?

If you have ever watched any of the old or new zombie movies you will quickly see that most of them have a recurring story line. A stupid story line, but a line! There is either a meteor or out of control government experiment, aliens or terrible air born virus that has infected a group of people. Those people in turn bite and infect others until almost all you see is a group of zombies, or half-dead people, walking around looking for who they will infect. They are breathing, their eyes work, they can definitely eat and for whatever reason, they are attracted to those who aren’t infected yet. Those who are aren’t infected run for their lives and try to keep from becoming “the walking dead”!

Sounds like some of my friends in the ministry. Walking through life in a daze with no direction. Just hoping to share their apathy infection with others to add to their numbers. This malady is infecting believers all over and the walking dead are growing in numbers, in a time when we need more life than ever before. Romans 12:1 says that we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, and that this is our spiritual act of worship. We are to no longer be the Zombies who walk around in a daze. The commission is the same as before. Reach the world, wherever OUR world is.

Paul goes on in verse 2 to tell us to no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In other words, resist the infection of just living. The world will always give us easy outs and try to lure us into the snare of apathy. Don’t fall asleep and let it happen. Stay awake and not only resist, but also advance. Now is the time, and we have the tools to do it. May we all be found serving with all our hearts, and that when others see us they see a group of believers who are fanning the flame and growing in numbers. The only thing we are to be dead to is sin, as Paul says in Romans 6:1-2.

My prayer is that in the days ahead we will see a new way of looking at the Christian life. The “dawn of the walking living” is what we need to see. May we be found faithful in walking with that vibrant group of people who will rise from the sea of apathy in a ship that is on a course set with the compass given by God -- the Bible. Get on course now and wake up. This a new dawn and there are no dead people in it!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Camp Focus...

This past week I had the great privilege of leading worship at Camp Focus in Panama City, FL. It was a great time of rejuvenation for me, Andra, Jessica and Seth as we experienced God in a very refreshing way. The speaker was Dean Folks from Columbus, OH and he nailed down the need to put on the armor of God. His preaching was very relevant and his heart for God was evident to all. He explained God’s Word in a very clear and concise manner and challenged us all to live a real life of true commitment to the Lord. Our times of worship got better as the week continued and by Thursday we were worshipping as friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ.

A great plus from the week is I got to spend time with dear friends from Nettleton Baptist Church in Jonesboro, AK. The youth pastor, Craig Miller, was in our youth ministry when we served at Nettleton Baptist and he had everything very organized and well thought out. His heart for enabling and empowering youth to live for Christ is the driving force behind everything he does and the camp showed that kind of heart. I appreciate the fellowship with them and pray that God will use the decisions for salvation, rededication and Christian service to impact the world for Christ.

Camp Focus was also fun for me as I got to use my keyboard and guitar to lead worship. I started out a little rusty, but felt better as the week went on. There is nothing like leading people to worship God in Spirit and Truth and see lives changed for eternity. I appreciate Tommy and Allison filling the gap here on Wednesday and Sunday, and it was good to be back at Scotts Hill this past Sunday.

The words Camp Focus say a lot. We need to stay focused on God this summer and keep our eyes looking to Him for power and direction. I’m thankful God never takes a summer vacation, even though He rested on the seventh day. Of course, it was after creating the heavens and the earth! May our times of rest be offensive as we refresh to serve even more effectively in the days ahead. Until He comes, lets find ourselves focused on serving the Lord.

So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it. Philippians 3:15-16

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

buried the treasure? (part II)

The last point that jumped out at me from last week’s story is that true wealth is not something that is acquired by stealing or cheating. The measure of our wealth is always found in who we are, not what we have. If those people who were saved from their homeless condition could have seen all that took place to get to the point of helping them, the whole thing could have really taught them a good lesson about their wealth. History is a good teacher, and great new visions many times come from clear sighted people who look and learn from their past mistakes and successes. The following story illustrates how we sometimes are not willing to learn from those mistakes…and thus our attitude is soured.

A man and his ten-year-old son were on a fishing trip miles from home. At the boy's insistence, they decided to attend the Sunday worship service at a small rural church. As they walked back to their car after the service, the father was filled with complaints. "The service was too long," he lamented. "The sermon was boring and the singing was off key." Finally the boy said, "Daddy, I thought it was pretty good for a dime."

Last week’s story helps us realize that true wealth from God is not something we can keep to ourselves, if we truly realize what Christ did for us in acquiring that wealth. If we are always just dipping our toes in the pool of service, we will always think the water is just too cold. The end result will be a life that is giving God our leftovers. So the treasure remains buried and the wealth is not shared. Sounds selfish, doesn’t it? It is! When we live in this misery of having everything to give, but yet giving nothing we almost explode and we can’t understand why. So we complain, critique, and check out! We think, “Wow, I’m just not getting anything out of church.” When the reality is, we are not giving anything back either. Fatal formula! Doomed for failure. Now the treasure has almost no worth to us or anyone else because we have begun to qualify it, instead of just sharing it. Big mistake. Just give it away. Serve God and trust Him, the keeper of the treasure. He will bless you for it!

We need to remember we didn’t do anything to get our eternal inheritance. We received Christ and He gave us new life. New attitudes. New priorities. The power and the inheritance come through God’s power. We are the weakest part of this whole equation and the numbers will never add up for us to receive anything except what is given by God through Jesus Christ. We are the homeless and God has the home. He gives us this wealth called salvation freely. Not free for Him, but free for us. We must realize that we carry Him around in us. His life changing salvation starts a process that causes us to become more like Him, thus seeing the world as He sees it. We want to give because so much has been given to us. That attitude of wanting to give haunts us until we dig up the treasure and put it to good use. His use.

We know that this salvation is not something we should ever cover up or hide. It is something given to us so we can give it to others. That way they can experience it and live a life changed because of it. You have a treasure. If you have buried it, dig it up and share the wealth. The wealth of the world is eroding as I write this, but the wealth of Christ in your life is renewing every day and getting more and more powerful. Let the discovery of this treasure be something all can experience and receive. Don’t give God your leftovers. Give Him the first fruits of everything you are.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

buried the treasure? (part I)

When I was a little boy I saw a TV show about a guy who had a bank. He was just about to be arrested by the police, so he went out and buried the money in a field. The police arrested him and took him to prison, and after twenty years, he got a parole. The first thing he did was travel back to the location he had buried the money. To his dismay, a large building had been built on it and his money was gone. Or so he thought. He started asking around town about the history of the building and found out that a homeless man had been sleeping in the very field he had buried the money. The man apparently had dug a trench to get out of the wind and discovered the buried money. He took it to the authorities and they said if no one claimed the money, it was his. No one claimed it. He built a great business with the money he had found and became very successful. The shining moment for him was when he bought the field and built a beautiful new building that hired homeless people and helped them get back on their feet. Wow. What a story.

Three things jump out at me when I think about the irony of this story. I will talk about the first 2 this week. First of all, the thief cared about the possession of something that is fleeting at best. Money. He cared about and craved it so much that he reduced himself to stealing. When he got caught he had buried the money, and was willing to spend the twenty years wishing for the day he would be free to go dig it up. He was willing to be imprisoned to get the money. But to his dismay, the money was gone. Bad move, after bad move, and the end result is a whole lot of nothing. Second of all, someone else discovered the money buried in the ground. A total stranger happened upon the buried wealth. This was a person who would put it to good use because of his deep appreciation for his life circumstances. Being a homeless man, he never forgot those who were like him. He wanted to share the wealth, not just give away the money. He made a way for people to grow from the money, not just receive it.

I will talk about the last point and continue the rest of this encouraging word next week -- you don’t want to miss it!

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body, For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you...Therefore we do not lose heart. Thought outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  2 Corinthians 4:7-12, 16

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren