Synergetic Service-Get On His Bandwagon

I always get very discouraged when someone shares their heart about something that is a problem, but they never give any solutions.  It's like they dumped on me and really challenged me, and then......nothing.  God opens our eyes to the things going on around us and when we seek and knock He will open some doors to a greater understanding of how to "fix" things with His wisdom.  His wisdom is not short term, it is eternal.  That's why we must get back to the place of asking Him for His wisdom and His direction.  Today I want to try to give a glimpse of what happens when we get on His "bandwagon."

God has equipped each of us in very unique ways to follow His plan in reaching our world.  In that plan He has some basic or foundational things that must be added to our daily life to get on a synergetic path to a whole new level of serving. Here is a good definition of the synergy I am talking about.

The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is 

greater than the sum of their individual effects. 

God has made us able to work with Him and each other in accomplishing His purpose for us and for His church.  If we stop at US,  then we are not allowing His wisdom to be complete.  He takes the unique qualities of His people and fits them together as a catalyst to cause a spark that ignites His church to function in a very forward moving and forward thinking way.  This is what I call Synergetic Service.  Here is a cool verse that makes helps come into focus.

1 Corinthians 12:14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ¹⁵If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁶And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. ¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

When all the pieces are in place a great "happening" takes place in your life and in the body.  Everyone suddenly realizes where they are in this great plan and they have a desire to follow that plan wherever it goes.  I believe the plan or vision doesn't come from a small group of paid staff members.  I don't even believe this plan comes from a group of elders or deacons.  I believe this plan comes from the church.  Yes, the church.  The leaders will be a significant "guiding" force in the discovery of the plan and the implementation of the plan, but they won't devise the plan on their own.  What happens if one of them leaves?  The plan goes with them and the next guy will have his own plan, which has a good chance of  stopping the synergy if His life purpose is different.  No, everyone bows to plan, which in this case, is actually bowing to God and His Word.  Doesn't that sound familiar?  You probably read about this overall encompassing act of giving God glory, reverence, praise, and honor in the Bible.  You probably sang some worship songs last week in church that talked about it also.  You probably had to bow before God in your prayer time at some point and just honor Him.  Giving Him all this trust is not something we just sing about or talk about.  We put it into practice through this Synergetic Service.

If we are going to follow His commands and as individuals be "the church."  If we are going to invest our lives and our times into helping the church be "the church."  Then the segmented attitudes and selfish desires of our hearts are going to have to bend to conform to His overall plan.  Any other way of living or serving will not work!!!   We have seen evidence of trying to fix it and continue to devise new plans that are short termed at best to "make it better."  It won't work!

What works is each of us digging into the individual purpose God has for our lives and combining that with a servant heart that wants to join hands with other believers in following God. When we join hands in that way we no longer have an agenda. Our agenda is God's agenda.  How do we start this synergy?

Pray for a servant's heart. A heart that is all about God and others.

Lifestyle that is Bible focused and world impacting.  More God, less World.

Humility replaces selfishness.  We bow to the overall purpose and God is in charge.

Belief in the fact that we can do more together than apart.

Living for the long haul.  This isn't a fad or a trend.  It is WHO I AM!

You say, "I'm not in a church that is planning or ministering in this way."  Go to your leadership and say, "I want to be a part of something great and it starts today." If they look at you funny and don't give you some ways to serve out your burden, then you may need to search for a church that is following The Great Commission and not the great omission, because you may be wasting time.

If we are the body, why aren't his arms reaching?  This is more than a Casting Crowns song.  This is where the "rubber meets the road."  It will never begin if you don't start driving.  Synergetic Service is each of us coming alive and the Body fitting it all together to be "The Church."

The pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Fly By Night Faith

Have you ever heard the phrase "Fly By Night?"  The phrase itself means something of a shaky or impermanent nature. A fly-by-nighter is an unscrupulous or undependable person.  The phrase denotes a person who is unreliable and not a good finisher.  This in some ways is the type of faith we have been teaching over the past years in many "modern day" churches.  It feels good because it takes little or no sacrifice or commitment and you can take it or leave it.  In our desire to make serving Christ as easy as possible we have polluted the purity found in a passionate heart that loves Chirst.  We have asked for no buy in and thus the amount of Christians who are available to serve Christ through the church has diminished over the years.  In most churches 100% of the serving is done by 20% of the people and those people are overworked and many times burned out.  What should be something that is very enjoyable and encouraging becomes something very taxing and draining.  So....we've got a major problem because of the lack of leadership getting all people involved in serving in some capacity.  We've also got a group of people who have been empowered to do nothing and have no remorse about it.  Is it their fault?  To some extent, but the real fault lies in our lack of understanding God's Vision for His church in today's world.  I remember a few years back it was the "in" thing to develop a vision statement and then rally your church around this one statement and make everything evolve from it.  I personally thought it was the weakest attempt ever to try to get the church to come alive in the area of service.  So I wasn't surprised when it became another failed action that started as only an idea on a piece of paper with no real proof of success.   Now the big thing is to get people to come to a worship service once a week to hear a "super preacher" either live or on a screen and hope in some way he can mobilize people through this distant, at best, contact.  In reality all we are trying to do is get people to do more with less forethought, prayer, or direction.  They get involved in something that sounds good but has no good foundation and after a period of 4 weeks to 2 months they get disenchanted and quit.  I say all of this to say, "This faith is fly by night faith."  All of this sounds bad doesn't it?  That's because it has taken years to promote this agenda that is counterproductive to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ.  Now we are reaping what we have sown and this fly by night faith is failing miserably at a time when the world is more ready to hear and see real faith.  What are some causes of this fly by night faith?  Not spending quality time planning and praying when developing a ministry plan for long term.  Not finding and developing the gifts and talents of believers in your church.  Not taking quality time to develop character and Biblical Foundational Skills in each person.  Not mentoring new believers and showing them the possibilities of what Christ can do in their life.  There are many other things we have done to "dumb down" those who have the capacity to change their world forever but now it is time to change.  No more fly by night faith.  No more trying to be relative to our society weakness.  No more excuses.  Change......NOW.

I sometimes need to hear the TRUTH, just the truth.  I maybe don't want to hear the truth. I need to hear the truth..  Today''s blog is the bad and the ugly, and tomorrow I will share the good.  I want to open your eyes to what is going on around you so you can pray for wisdom and change.  I also want to let you know that the church can still rise and that everything we need to share the message with the world is right here and right now.  The difference maker will be God's people and leaders following the wisdom from the Holy Spirit, through God's Word and realizing they must come alive.  You can trust God and His Word.  You can believe Him when He says something.  Here are some encouraging and challenging words from Scripture.  Take it to heart. John 14: 11-14"Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do. 15-17"If you love me, show it by doing what I've told you. I will talk to the Father, and he'll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can't take him in because it doesn't have eyes to see him, doesn't know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!

 ^18-20"I will not leave you orphaned. I'm coming back. In just a little while the world will no longer see me, but you're going to see me because I am alive and you're about to come alive. At that moment you will know absolutely that I'm in my Father, and you're in me, and I'm in you.

We need to be follow Christ and lead the world.  Pray for a heart like that and take the next step of faith toward that foundational belief.  Fly By Night Faith will become Firm Faith.

The pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

Recomputing....

Matthew 7:13-14"Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.  As God's Word says, "Stay on the straight and narrow and don't try your own way." We have this GPS and it is awesome.  You put in an address or location and it takes you right there.  I mean you get every turn, every approaching turn, and it even speaks to you.  It is the coolest thing ever.  Getting used to it was fairly easy and now if there is any question about how to get to a specific place, we use our GPS.  Of course, GPS stands for Global Positioning Satellite and that means it knows where we are and what we need to do to get where we need to go.  That's exactly how the narrow and straight path to God are He knows the way and He IS  the way.  God knows our exact position and He knows the best path for each of us.  The thing we have to do is remember to follow His roadmap, the Bible.  His Mapquest has the best instructions and He shows us step by step how to walk that straight path.  If we listen....If we turn on the instructions......If we really want to follow His way.  I mean, I can play dumb with the best of em.  Act like I didn't read or hear something.  "Oh, is that what He meant", comes out of my mouth way too many times.   Deep inside I know when I'm following His GPS or trying to find my way on my own.  The thing is......He knows what I'm doing and still reaches out to us to get us back on track.  And by the way, we all do get off track.  That's when God reaches out to us like my GPS by saying,"Recomputing."  When my GPS does that it means I have strayed off the best route and I'm on my own.  That is dangerous at best, and tragic at worst.  God's way IS narrow, but it is also straight and He wants the best for each of us, but we must follow His way to experience it.  When I try to make it on my own and take a trail that off the beaten path, He gently calls out, "Follow Me."  When I get back on track it's like He starts recomputing and getting me back in the direction that is best.  His Way.  I guess in Bible Lingo GPS could mean God's Perfect Satellite, in that His power is always on and always guiding.  It is up to each of to allow Him to lead us down the narrow path.  There will be influences that come along and will try and get you to follow them, but don't do it.  His way is the best and we need to give Him our total attention and vigorously follow Him.  Vigorous means to be powerful and active and intent on what you do.  All the diciples were vigorous in their intent and they were intuned with God and His GPS and the lives that were impacted were many.  Tune in to God's GPS and you will see some awesome things as He leads you through the straight and narrow, not the broad and boring.  In Proverbs 16:25 it says, "There's a way that look harmless enough; look again-it leads straight to hell."  That is not the straight that anyone needs to follow.  Follow His straight and lead others by showing them that path and then He can say to them, "Recomputing!"

The pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

E.R. The Last Episode

I was watching TV the other day and happened on an old episode of  the TV show E.R.  You know, it was the show about an emergency room that had about 20 major emergencies on each show.  It became "the show" to watch and I really enjoyed it for the time it was on tv.  Stars like George Clooney and many others found their foothold to movie stardom out of the show E.R.  One thing I noticed about E.R. is they  always had someone just about to die, or explode (weird episode) and people were running around everwhere trying to get the one thing that could save the person they were working.  You didn't see anyone going,"I'll get back with you on that, or give me a few minutes to finish my coffee."  Everything was an emergency.  One episode a hypochrondriac came in they ran a bunch of tests and found out he was imagining the whole thing.  You know what they did?  Kicked him out!  Why?  Because he didn't need help and he was in the way of others getting the emergency help they needed.

In Luke 5:27-32, Jesus approached a tax collector named Levi and Levi believed and became a follower of Jesus.  He invited Jesus to his house and invited his other friends and guess who they were?  Tax Collectors.  The Pharisees heard about it and complained to His disciples and they asked Jesus, "Why do you eat with and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"  This is where Jesus said it all.  He said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."  Jesus was setting up His own E.R. and he was receiving patients.  He knew what illness they had and He had the cure for what ailed them.  What ailed them was SIN.  The cure was forgiveness.  He was offering it to all and those who got cured were so excited they told their friends they could be cured too.

Are we looking at the urgency to see others healed by opening a Doctor's Office for Walk Ins, or maybe a Rest Home for Sleep Ins, or maybe we don't even worry with a Doctor's Office because we hope the sickness will just go away.  It's not going to go away and it is an Emergency, and people are still sick, and they need His healing in their life.  Have we let all the ambulances run out of gas?  Are we not receiving patients anymore?  Is there no more medicine in the Pharmacy because of neglect.   Whatever has lulled us into thinking a lost person going to hell is no emergency needs to be expelled from our thinking. Luke 14:23 "The master said, "Then go to the country roads.  Whoever you find, dram them in.  I want my house full." Sounds like His emergency room is still serving people who need one thing, salvation.  Never get talked into believing there aren't anymore sick people around you.  If you offer them the King of Kings, you never know how many will respond.  But you must offer.  It's an EMERGENCY!!!  In one of th earlier episodes I remember a rich guy that had been saved in the E.R. coming back and offering them an enormous amout of money out of  gratitude.  He was able to walk in the E.R. and help now that he was cured.  If you have been cured, you surely want to do anything you can to make sure the E.R. keeps serving people so others can be like you.  All Jesus wants is your whole heart.  After you give that He will explain the other ways you can serve.  Keep in mind that this show is going to run it's full season and then be over....No reruns!!!  Make this the last episode anyone will ever need to experience.

The pilgrimage continues......

David Warren

Queen for The Day! A Wordless Witness

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I want to speak about a Father's attitude toward His daughter.  I am blessed to have the two most wonderful daughters a Father could have and thank God every day for their love for Christ.  I am blessed beyond measure, not because of their accomplishments to this point, which are many, but because of the Godly heart they exhibit in wanting to serve Christ.  In being a man of God we realize that our stand has to be in word and deed and there will be times when those two will be  challenged.  The challenge for a Godly woman is a very unique challenge and much different than the challenge for a man and this pivotal life of purpose must be handled with care and compassion.  When my daughters were born I looked deep into their little eyes and saw endless possibilities of what they could be for Christ.  I could almost see the impact they would have on their husband, should they marry, and the Godly way they would shape their lives to conform to the image of Christ.  Believe it or not, I really saw that in both of them.  No special effects, but just a glimpse of how they would impact their world.  You see it was different for them because they were woman, not man, and God had placed them in the home and our world with a very special way of ministering to others.  They were made to have a "wordless witness" and the lives they would affect would be by what people saw in them.  Not their outward beauty, which is fleeting, but their inward beauty, which is eternal and lasting. Proverbs 31: 30 says "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting' but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."  A woman who fears the Lord and follows all His Word will be a force in the home and the church that will impact all she comes in contact with.   God is seen in a Godly woman through the inward beauty she shows by her reactions, reflections, and remarks.  The Wordless Witness of a Godly woman is more powerful than we can ever express or understand.  Very few times will beauty in motion be expressed about a man's witness, but it fits for a woman.  They are different...

That's why it is important for fathers to protect their daughters and hold on to them as long as possible to allow them to bloom into the person God wants.  If that happens your girls will choose a man who will allow her to continue to develop her Wordless Witness for Christ and she will become a true helpmate that grows more every day in her inward beauty.  The hardest thing for me to do is to let my girls go.  People have made fun of me because I hold on so tight to my girls.  I believe it is God's commission to me as a father to do just that.   When they commit to marry and their heart is given to their husband, then that special time sensitive bond is broken and another bond is formed that goes along with the way their husband leads.  It is put upon me as a father to let that bond with their husband become their next strongest bond in their life.  Of course, the strongest bond they have is with their heavenly Father.  When that process is able to get beyond what society has been feeding us and get to God's Truth, then that marriage will be even stronger than the one the girl witnessed in her own home.  Stronger....not weaker.

A big part of this process is the great witness my wife has on our girls and the Godly character she shows in responding to God, me, and those around her.  My wife has been a wonderful model of a Wordless Witness and the light of Christ has been shining through her all the way as our girls matured. Our girls got to see the good, the bad, and the ugly, realizing that in the throes of her humanity one thing stood out.  Their mother knew her role as a woman and she lived it to the fullest.

That's really all God wants.  He wants us all to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.  In that love He will show us exactly how to live our everyday lives as He made us to live them  Totally dependent on Him and thirsty for His instructions.  If you want to check your moral compass in a world that has lost it's way, then look to the example and wordless witness of a Godly Woman. There you will find God.  Proverbs 31:10 says, "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies."  I believe I know where three of them are; my wife and my two daughters.  I hope they always follow their heavenly Father's instructions and continue to allow God to use them to impact their world.  If they do that, then they are like Queen Esther.  A woman who was placed in a very special place for such a time as this.  God chose to make her a person who would impact generations to come through her inward beauty.  He equipped her to be the right person at the right time and never took away from who she was, a woman.  I pray my heart will always be turned toward allowing God to use my girls for His glory.  He made them, He saved them. He loves them. Everything else is just living the life.  Allow your girls to be a Queen for THIS day.  The world needs to see Godly women who are adorned with God's grace and mercy.  That is their Wordless Witness!!

The pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

Dream Makers

Years ago I spent a great amount of time with my two boys as they went up through the different sports and activities molding who they were to become.  It was a great time for Father and Son and the investment of time and money was far surpassed by the timeless memories of me with my boys.  Of course, I love all the great times with my two girls and I will speak about a Father's relationship with his girls tomorrow.  I can count on one hand the times I ever missed a practice with either of my boys and if I wasn't there...I was still there.  Cheering them on to greatness.  Why?  Because I believed in them and what God had enabled them to be and I protected that with all I had to make sure they had every opportunity to excel in their endeavors.  I believed the seed God had planted in their lives needed to be cultivated and nurtured and that was what I was commissioned to do.  I remember the joy of seeing them succeed and fail and learn from both of those vantage points.  I am a very competitive person and you may knock me down, but I will get back up.  I saw them show those same characteristics on the football field, soccer field, basketball court, Medical School, college, job, relationships, and many other areas.  I never wanted to squelch their dreams.  Yes, dreams!!  I saw the movie The Tooth Fairy last night and the main character, "The Rock" would have kids come up to him and say they wanted to be a great athlete or musician and time after time he would give them the statistics of why they couldn't achieve their dreams.  Their hopes dashed, they would walk away sad and lifeless, their dreams crushed.  The Rock ended up being drafted as a Tooth Fairy because of his dream crushing and he learned that life really is about dreams.  He learned to encourage kids to greatness and his whole life changed.

Have you ever been around a dream crusher?  I have and they make your life miserable and seem to always want you to settle for something.  You know what I mean.  Settle for this because you aren't talented enough.  Settle for that because it's beyond the realm of what I can see you doing.  Settle for this because you might become something bigger than me.  We go through life with more negative dream crushers than positive dream makers.  Life is real and those who make a difference believe that God has a special plan just for them and that he has enabled them to be the best they can be.  Dream crushers hate people like that and do everything they can to kill their dreams.  I believe when you have someone come in your life who believes the sky is the limit for what you can become and do, you can make it.  That kind of person has gotten this great belief from God and it is buried deep in them and cannot be killed.  Those are the kind of people who make other people great, not just good.  They are also the people who are with you through the long haul and won't desert you when all the others quit believing.  God is always a big dream maker and His plan is always much better than any we could come up with.  But we must believe.  We must also be dream makers for others by encouraging them to greatness and then seeing it through.

My boys know that Dad is on their side, out in front, in the back, or wherever I need to be to keep their dreams going.  They remember that when the going got tough, I was there to help and encourage or sometimes to chastise.  Whatever it took at the time.  They also know that I'm not a dream crusher, I'm a dream maker. That's how God is to me.  Abba Father is much more than a sweet term to make our heavenly Father a dad.  He really is my dad; my encourager, my dream maker.  He is beside me, in front of me, behind me, or in whatever position it takes to guide.  One thing about a dream maker....you can never get away from what  they have done or what they are doing because they keep you believing.  I can never escape the kind of love my heavenly Father has given to me and I believe as Fathers we should share that same kind of love to our sons and help them dream BIG dreams.  Here's what can happen when we take to heart the power of God in our lives.

Matthew 13:23"The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."

I believe God can do anything.  Do you!  Congratulations, you must be a dream maker too.

The Pilgrimage continues....


David Warren

Oh No! Quicksand!

I wrote about King David yesterday and his openness of heart when crying out to God at the time of his most desperate sin.  His sin affected family, friends, country, battle plans, future events, but most of all his close relationship with God.  When push came to shove David knew who he could rely on and no one else could help him but God Almighty.  He did not rest in his own strength when trying to get through a tough time.  He rested in the only one he could trust.  God!  Andra and I went to the see the movie "Prince of Persia" last night and it was a very enjoyable experience and had a lasting message for many different life situations.  One in particular was what happens when we feel like we are all alone and sinking in the sand. In the movie the main character came up against evil after evil, but he never gave up on the hope of those closest to him.  He used every bit of strength he had to keep going when all odds seemed to be against him.  The end result was good defeating evil.  Evil did have it's day, but good prevailed.  In Psalm 69, one such time where evil was seemingly winning was facing David and his first reaction was to call out to God.  He apparently was facing evil at every turn and it was outside and inside the camp.  All around were doubting him and trying to get to him through negative reinforcement and he felt like he was sinking further and further down.  Here's what he said to God.  "God, God, save me!  I''m in over my head, quicksand under me, swamp water over me; I'm going down for the third time."  He goes on to say that he has more enemies than hairs on his head and he is hoarse from crying for help.  An old song by the group Head East entitled Never Been Any Reason has the lyrics "Save my life, I'm going down for the last time."  Well those were the words David used and he wasn't looking at mud that he could step out of.  He was in quicksand and he would have to be pulled out. He was in dire straits.

I read of a story of a couple on their honeymoon that went to a particular beach.  They didn't know about one stretch of the beach that was considered very dangerous because of it's quicksand type sand.  In fact, if you ever got stuck in that sand it was almost impossible to get out.  Not knowing about that area of the beach they walked right into a part of it and the wife got stuck, but the husband didn't.  He tried and tried to get her out of the suction of the sand, but to no avail.  After tugging at her with winches and four wheelers, they finally thought they would try a helicopter, but all that did was dislocate her shoulders.  She was stuck and the tide had started to come in.  They all watched helplessly as she drowned in the ocean, only stuck up to her knees.  When we get stuck in the mire, we may seem so helpless, but when it comes to getting out we have to realize the limits of our strength and immediately rely on God's strength. When you call out, God answers and He will pull you out of the trap the world and all it's bad stuff has trapped you in.  No matter how strong the sand.  Trials are gonna happen and things are gonna go wrong, but God is faithful.  He will pull you out and keep the tide of evil from drowning you.

Just remember, try to stay on the solid rock and don't get trapped into building your life on the sand, because it just might be quicksand.  If you do fall into it, then react like David and open your life before the Lord and say, "Oh No! Quicksand!"  He will hear.  He will act.  He is God!!

The pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

Herbal Essence - The Natural Shampoo

In a world that is so full of plastics, nylons, meshes, and neoprenes it's amazing to see how many times we want to get to the very essence (natural state) of something.  You see Kashi, Natural Grains, and many other food attempts to get back to the "real thing."  Years ago you were considered a kook if wanted to do the natural approach to anything and then it became a fad and a way of life for many.  Now there is a desire in many to get something with all natural basic ingredients and not let artificial be in anything.  I personally think it is good to get back to the natural ingredients and not stray too far away from those natural things supplied by God.  One thing that really got my attention years ago was when the brand Herbal Essence shampoo first came out.  Herbal Essence shampoo touted that it contained natural ingredients meant to promote a healthy scalp and shiny hair.  The first time I used it I was convinced, "This natural stuff is much better."  It started a short, but good relationship with the shampoo.  Actually I quit using it when the bottle ran out and traded it in for a cool looking bottle of Paul Mitchell after watching them win a corporate volleyball challenge.  You see, I didn't really fall fully in love with the natural thing because in my heart I knew it wasn't totally natural, just naturally looking.  I wanted to experience the essence of shampoo production, but short of using a natural hair cleaner made from wild hickory nuts that didn't even lather, I quit.

Sometimes we are that way with our Christian Faith.  We desire to know more of God and develop that intimate relationship that will draw us closer to God and His ways.  Then we see how counterfeit our faith is at times and it almost makes us cautious to pursue going any deeper because we don't know if it's real or not.  Cautioned is warranted and we need to look for real God Essence and not the fake stuff.  God Essence is all natural and it's basis is found in God's Word and the discernment given by The Holy Spirit.  It's all about cleansing or cleaning.  Allowing God's "shampoo" to clean the dirt out of our spiritual hair and then coat the ongoing "flakyness" that comes up way to often in our life is a step in the right direction.  This cleaning is done in the most natural, intimate way possible by a God who really cares to get us back to basics.   In Psalm 51 King David shares his heart with God in the most natural way possible, by confessing openly his sin.  In his desire to get cleansed completely he admitted everything and asked God to simply shampoo his mistakes and clean him up.  I love the way The Message version of the Bible states it.  "Scrub away my guilt, soak out my sins in your laundry.  I know how bad I've been; my sins are staring me down. You're the One I've violated and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil.  You have all the facts before You; whatever you decide about me is fair. Soak me in your laundry and I will come out clean.  Scrub me and I'll have a snow-white life.. "  Sounds like a good scrubbing with a heavenly shampoo that is all natural and completely thorough.

Since we gave our life to Christ, we always have the Holy Spirit compelling us to draw near to God and be more like Him.  He is an all natural God and when we drop all the plastic in our life, we begin to look more and more like Him.  No substitutes, no additives.  Just God.  He is enough and His forgiveness is life changing.  Get to the essence of everything.......God!

The pilgimage continues.....

David Warren

More Than More-Extreme Makeover

When was the last time you had someone lavish things on you?  You know, just do something big for you with no apparent motive or thought but that they love you and appreciate you.  If it's like me you may be saying....never, or close to it.  We just don't treat each other that way do we.  I had a guy years ago come up to me and say, "I really appreciate you and the way God is using you and I was going to do something awesome for you, but I got worried I might make you conceited, so I didn't do it."  I smiled and said, "thanks...."  Just in the same way I didn't know how to take that statement, I don't know how to see where God was in all that.  Generosity is not something we are naturally going to have in our pychy. It's a God given quality that few experience.  But it is a quality of God.  In Ephesians Paul said a prayer for the church at Ephesus and in Chapter 3:14-21 he voices that beautiful prayer by asking God to supply from His glorious riches all that is involved in loving them.  In other words, he was praying that they would see just how much God loves them.  Not just a little love.  The whole thing.  His prayer was that they would fill up with God's love, and God's power, and God's strength.  The love he was talking about would surpass anything they could think of or experience.  He knew when they experienced it, the overwhelming gift would impact them tremendously.  Does it mean God did stuff for them?  I believe it does.  I believe God supplied needs to their inner being by giving them great power and strength to handle anything that came their way.  I believe God also supplied physical needs that visibly showed them that God is not only at work in things we can't see, but in things we can see.  I also believe God answered Paul's prayer by doing immeasurably more than they were expecting.  It's that "unexpected" part of God's love I want to emphasize today.  In Ephesians 3:20 it says, "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever!" In case you didn't get it. That resource pool is huge.  God has More Than More.  In other words, more cannot accurately define just how much God has.  And the amazing thing is, He wants to give to us.  He started giving it to us when he sacrificed His Son Jesus Christ for our sins and He continues to give and give as we live this physical life.   Paul knew that part of God and wanted the church people at Ephesus, who he loved tremendously, to pick up on it and experience it.  I believe they did and I also believe we should understand the concept of MORE.  The dictionary defines the word more as "an additional quantity, amount, or number." Immeasurably in the dictionary is defined as "limitless."  Are you starting to get the picture?  He gives to us out of a limitless pool of resources and He is always giving MORE......MORE.  Yet we live out of believing for less and also giving less.  It somehow sounds like we are just getting by.  That's because we are...

I was watching the TV Show Extreme Makeover a few nights ago and after they had picked a family they got together a crew of workers, some suppliers, and shipped the family off to relax while they rebuilt or built a new home for them.  The stories are so heartwarming and I marvel at how much MORE  they give than the family expects.  You know what I mean.  They will bring the family back and pay off their debt, send their kids to college for free, and allow them to move into a home that was painstakingly designed for their needs.  They expect nothing in return.  Where does that generosity come from?  In the shape of the human condition can we truly believe this is a MORE concept that erupted from our mind?  I don't think so. I believe it is one of the MORE examples that someone saw in a Christ-filled individual and the concept most definitely caught.  In James 1:17 he says, "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."  If it is good.  Sorry to trump you Extreme Makeover, but it is from God.

Our family from time to time will have something happen that will pay off a bill,  or get a little unexpected gift, or be the recipients of generosity and we will usually celebrate it.  A few years ago we had something unexpectedly good happen to cause us to celebrate at Olive Garden.  We ate and laughed and praised God for the way we had seen Him work and it was a great day.  To cap it off we gave our server an extremely generous tip.  He did serve us well, but not as well as the tip we gave him.  We gave MORE, EXCEEDINGLY MORE.  When I gave him the tip his face lit up and I told him, "That's from God, through us, to you." His eyes teared up and he said the most heartfelt thank you I could have ever heard.  I didn't worry about what he might do with the money.  Was he going to be responsible with it. Would he buy cigs or alcohol?  I just gave it to him and walked off.  Anything less would not have been a GIFT! 

God has MORE than MORE and His immense pool of blessings is something he gives to each of us with grace and mercy.   Our realization of those gifts just further enhances the already growing relationship we have with Him.  His all encompassing love is beyond our understanding and His giving heart is off the chart.  May our hearts be just as generous in the way we minister to those around us.  Want to bless somebody's day?  Do something off the scale for them and then see how it affects them.  It's catching, but it must be caught first.

The pilgrimage continues.....
David Warren

My Life is a Bit Misty, But Good

On Sunday, June 6 a friend named Dana Key passed away and his death brings a lot of things into focus.  These things can become blurred because of the busyness of life, but it is good to STOP every once in a  while (like every day) and keep in mind how precious life is.  James 3: 13-17 speaks to this very subject and James tells us to realize that our life is passing by like a vapor and every moment counts.  That is why everything we do should line up with God's will and His ways.  When we are positioned in the center of His will time will suddenly become more in control by us than itself.  You see, if we take full advantage of every day then every second of every day is at full capacity.  I'm not saying we should run hard all the time and life should become hectic as we try to milk every second out of every minute.  NO!  What should happen is we should allow God to make the most of every second.   We honestly cannot do this on our own because it becomes way to exhaustive.  We have to turn all this time over to the God of the Universe.  He is the controller of time and He equips us to use every day to the fullest.  When we turn it over to Him a realization comes to mind.....He's GOOD.  What used to be us making plans and saying this and that will suddenly start to change from a bunch of plans to His plans.  Plans with purpose.  Plans with Celestial Control.  In the scripture it mentioned his warning is to wealthy merchants who seem to have time to make plans to make more and more money as they move from city to city.  Their focus is on the almighty dollar and not on Almighty God.  A day planned without God will always compromise the true wealth of life.  That wealth is found in a God-centered life.  It doesn't mean we shouldn't try to use our talents to the fullest and make every effort to improve ourselves, but not at the expense of ignoring God.

Our lives are like a mist and when we start feeling a little bit misty by realizing our mortality it causes a crisis of belief.  "Is my life a vessel being used by God?"  "Am I allowing God full control of all of my days?"  Or maybe it will echo the question of an old Private James Francis Ryan in the movie Saving Private Ryan.  He says to his wife as he looks at the tombstones of the men who fought to save his life.  "Have I lived a good life?  Have I been a good man?"  God gives us the opportunity to ask those questions today....TODAY!  Don't run from those questions.  Face them head on and make TODAY count.  Verse 17 brings all this good life stuff out of the mist and into focus when James says, "Anyone, then,  who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

Step out of the mist and with clarity allow God to control every area of your life and time will be defeated from there on because every day will count for Him.  That kind of time counting maximizes every breath we take and every move we make because they are all for Him.

On Thursday Afternoon,June 10 at 1pm many will come and talk about all the good Dana Key did in his life.  It will all be true with much more needing to be added.  Dana now stands with the one who uses the word good in a total different way when Jesus says, "Well done my good and faithful servant. Welcome Home!"

The Pilgrimage continues......

David Warren

The Ghost and The Darkness

Years ago my oldest son, Ty, was recruited to play football for Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.  It was a special time as our first child was going to move about four hours away to attend college.   We let him go, mostly, but from time to time I would make an excuse to go over and watch him practice football and just spend time with him.  On one of my trips there we decided it would be great to go watch a movie together.  The local theatre had the new movie release of The Ghost and The Darkness. It was a movie based on a true story of the British trying to expand their influence in Africa by extending their railway system further into the country to boost trade.   In the movie Val Kilmer played a British Architect who was known for getting things done on time in the jobs he coordinated and his employer put a great amount of stress on him to get his railroad finished on time.  Everything looked very good for Val to be able to accomplish his goals until he arrived on the work site.  There had been a rash of lion attacks and the workers were fearful of the lions and progress was almost stopped.  Val came in and decided he would kill the lions and the problem would be over.  Like clockwork he set a trap.  The lion took it and he killed the lion.  Problem solved.  Not quite!  He didn't know that they were about to meet two of the most ferocious animals ever seen.  They were known as The Ghost and The Darkness.  Multiples lion attacks turned the camp into a place of fear and dread.   The two lions were smarter, quicker, and more cunning than Val could handle and he was at the point of giving up. Every step he took to kill them was a miserable failure and then in walked a man by the name of Remington (like the rifle).  He was the most famous hunter in Africa and his reputation made everyone believe that the lion problem was going to be fixed.  Remington gave them a new energy and he even went on the offensive, taking the hunt to the lions lair.  It was at that point that he realized the lions were much more evil than first anticipated.  He took every precaution and knew how to handle the hunt the best way.  They set a trap and stayed up all night waiting for a chance to kill the lions.  Just before they were about to go out the camp doctor offered his gun to Val Kilmer's character and Val took the gun.   When it came time to shoot the lion that had wandered into his sights, the gun didn't fire and Val missed his chance.  Remington was furious and told Kilmer's character to never depend on an unproven gun.  I will never forget that logic and it continues to be something I adhere to on a regular basis.  Of course, Remington's character got killed and after a big showdown Kilmer killed the lions and the railroad was a success.  That night Ty and I slept close to each other because the movie was so scary.  We have laughed about it since because two grown men were scared silly by the evil portrayed in those lions.  The movie helps us realize some great truths from God's Word.

1.   Evil is ever present - Paul wrote to the church at Ephesus and told them in Chapter 6: 11-12 that our struggle is against the powers of this dark world and the against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  So don't ever think you can let your guard down.

2.  Evil hits us from many directions - verse 18 says, "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  Be alert." Don't be caught napping, because just when you think you have won the last battle with evil it will hit you from another direction.  Be ever vigilent.

3.  Evil is not as powerful as God -  We must allow God to handle evil for us.  In verses 13-17 it talks about putting on the armor of God.  The armor of God cannot be defeated.  It is the weapon that is known by each of us to shoot the straightest.  Don't try some other way of battling evil just because you hear of a quick fix.  Use the weapon you are most sure of.....God's Word.  Anything less than that will result in defeat.

4.  When you face evil be fearless - Don't let the devil beat you down....stand and stand firm.  In fact, start walking forward with God's Armor and He will help you defeat him again and again.  Paul said in verse 20, "Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." 

When you face evil you cannot face it on your own.  You must be prepared and ready with the defense of God and trust Him to fight that battle for you.  If you trust God and follow His precepts, evil will be defeated and you will see more and more victories from there on.  It is a scary thing to try to stand up to evil, but God will be very near as you follow His Word and His Way.  The ghost that seems so scary will be met with the Holy Ghost.  The darkness that is so imposing will be met with the light of His Glory.  And the only lion you will ever hear about is the The Lion of Judah and He's on your side.

Stand firm, resist the devil, live for God...

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren