Perilous Times

We seem to be going through perilous times in our world right now with Fiscal Cliffs, Marriages Assaulted, Churches shutting their doors, and growing churches just adding members from other churches who are running from God.  Which causes us to think, "What's happening and why aren't people turning to God anymore?"  Also I hear Christians say, "These are the end times!"  In the midst of all this turmoil we tend to think that since we are Americans this just can't happen to us.  Really?  If you actually read and see God's Hand moving in the midst of His people, you see His great desire, His command, for His children to follow His ways or they are shown the "highway."  I know it seems so negative to even think in these terms, but whether we like it or not, God is going to be true to His Word.  The Word that mentions destruction in the same sentence it mentions God's Faithfulness.  God is faithful and we can experience that faithfulness more and more in a positive way if we will just follow His Word.  A sure proof of selfishness is when we only take out the "good parts" of what His Word says and believe there is no retribution for turning our backs on Him.  I believe that just like we are working hard not to go over our fiscal cliff as a country, we as believers need to keep our eyes on the "spiritual cliff" that looms before each of us if we don't repent.  Uh oh.  I said that word didn't I? REPENT!!  We hate to see this word because it means we have to own up to the fact we may be (are) missing the mark and nothing we can buy or figure out in a computer program will make it right without repentance.  Man, this bit of reality really bites for us American Christians who profess that we have it all together and know all the answers.  Well, news flash.  Sometimes we don't have all the answers and the only way to those answers is by hitting our knees in repentance.  Usually proud hearts don't have much truth fruit, but repentant hearts open up a whole new way of thinking.  That's just the way it is and the way it will always be for those who follow Christ.  We have to be "all out" when it comes to our relationship with God and He will not allow prideful hearts to find any hope or answers in the midst of these tough times.  Sadly enough attending church will not generate any relief in our lives if we don't get honest before God when we are there.  If we think church attendance will make all things right with God, we are more in the Catholic mindset and that one day a week will be the amount of spirituality that is seen in our lives and that is not enough.  Christians used to look at the "lukewarm pond" and say, "That is not for me."  Now we are trying to tread water ourselves in the very same pond we used to avoid.  By the way, the water is fine!  It's just the kind of water that repulses our Lord.  So that's the good news.  What's the better news?

This is the cool thing about God.  With this current, unique, very intimate relationship made possible by Jesus, we can boldly come to God and say, "I'm wrong, I've been wrong, I repent"!  He sees the purity of our heart's cry and restores us like it never happened......with one change.  Our life is totally reloaded and made fresh again.  The past "cliff sliding" is replaced with our feet on solid ground and ready to stand like the day we accepted Christ. 

All because of Repentance.  Jesus said in Mark 1:15, "The time has come, He said, The kingdom of God is near, Repent and believe the good news."  You might say, "That was for those who needed to believe in Jesus." You are right......Getting back to who we are is found in making that relationship right and getting back to who Christ made us to be.  Saved and Serving...  His love is still there and we may not know everything, but we know this one thing, God is in control.  Look at what it says in 1 John 3:1-3  "See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are.  For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.  Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.  We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.  And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure." As you continue to compromise the Gospel, keep this in mind, you aren't on the winning side.  You are sliding and the cliff is very high and destruction is at the bottom of it.  But when we repent, really repent.  All things are made new and life is seen for what it is, and all this stuff we have accumulated becomes secondary and our relationship with the Living God becomes our focus.  Today is the day!  Time to make things right.  I choose Christ!

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

The Balance of Life - Joy

Joy - a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. His mind, wit and work earned him the unofficial title of "the greatest justice since John Marshall." At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of a career by saying: "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers."

That is too many times the look we tend to get when going through trials and struggles.  I know my face starts to prune up pretty quick when things are going tough and I have to reevaluate my position on the joys of life when that happens.  I guess people might think we pastors have a suit of armor that protects us from the wrong tendencies in life, but that is very far from reality.  But, we are held more accountable to God to keep our walk fresh and current and part of that is getting a handle on JOY!  

I remember singing a song in church years ago and someone came up and did the "backhanded" comment thing.  They had a "thing" against me and critiqued every thing I did and proceeded to say, "Great job on your song, but....did you mean to miss that one word on the second verse?"  I wanted to reply, "Of course, I meant to miss it because I wanted you to have something to talk about today."  But I didn't.  The smart remark was replaced with "no, but thanks for letting me know."  I thought to myself, "What right does that person have to come up and ruin something I just gave to my Lord?"  Out of all the beautiful and positive comments on the song, I let that one stick in my crawl.  That was a mistake.  Why?  Because I was using the talent God gave me to lift up that song to Him, not an audience.  He was my audience and I believe He loved it.  That person was not coming in the Name of Jesus Christ, My Savior.  He was trying to benefit someone much different than Christ and had succumbed to his master's wishes and it worked..... for a while.  God's grace kicked in for me and after a self evaluation, I realized that God wanted me to walk away from the "heaviness" that the person had planted on me that day.  And I did.

That's what joy is really all about, happiness and pleasure, and peace, on the inside.  That day God revealed to me that He loves ME, not some other person's impression of me and that brought me great joy.

King David in 1 Chronicles 16 wrote a psalm of praise to the Lord.  To me it is a psalm of joy where David speaks of God's great strength and His glory.  He calls all to look to the Lord and seek His face and gives thanks for the miracles of God.  In verse 27 David says, "Splendor and majesty are before Him; strength and joy in His dwelling place."  These words should make us very joyful.  Why?  Because God, through Jesus Christ, dwells in those who know Him....Christians.  What this means is that we can't conjure up some form of joy to impress God and those around us.  It dwells in each of us who know Christ.  We have the capacity to have great joy in all things and in the Lord who lives in us.  Does that mean it automatically comes out at the right time? No.  But it does mean we have it, and if we will step back and see what's important in life, we will experience it as well.  When the women went to look at the tomb where Jesus was buried in after a great earthquake, they experienced the joy of knowing that He was alive and what he had said was true.  In Matthew 28:8, scripture says they hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy and ran to tell His disciples.  Where did that joy come from?  The confirmation that Jesus was alive and that He was the Messiah.  Further proof that our joy comes from within, when we experience the life of Christ in us.  Here's a reality check moment.  The more we experience Christ in our life, the more satan attacks, but, the more we experience Christ in our life, the more joy we experience as a result.  More attacks.....more joy.  It should not be More attacks.....more depression.  If that is your perspective then that needs to change.  My wife and I have been going through unprecedented bad things as of late and our walk is being challenged by the very people who should be lifting us up, but they aren't.  They are letting us down on a daily basis, but God is faithful (last blog) and our joy is intact.  James wrote to a joyless church in James 1:2, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."  He goes on to say that these trials are building our faith, which means they are not meant to take away a Godly joy that comes from Him.  Oh sure, in our situation disobedient Christians are at fault, but God will take care of them as He takes care of us.  They cannot take away our joy though.  The real joy giver is still healing hearts, encouraging the persecuted, and taking care of His called people.  How could I not have joy, in the light of that encouraging news!!  Knowing God....Now that's Joy!!  Like the old chorus says, "The joy of the Lord is my strength!"  Now that will put a smile on your face.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Balance of Life - Faithfulness

Faithfulness - the act of being loyal, constant, and steadfast.

One of the most tragic events during the Reagan Presidency was the Sunday morning terrorist bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, in which hundreds of Americans were killed or wounded as they slept. Many of us can still recall the terrible scenes as the dazed survivors worked to dig out their trapped brothers from beneath the rubble.

A few days after the tragedy, I recall coming across an extraordinary story. Marine Corps Commandant Paul X Kelly, visited some of the wounded survivors then in a Frankfurt, Germany, hospital. Among them was Corporal Jeffrey Lee Nashton, severely wounded in the incident. Nashton had so many tubes running in and out of his body that a witness said he looked more like a machine than a man; yet he survived.

As Kelly neared him, Nashton, struggling to move and racked with pain, motioned for a piece of paper and a pen. He wrote a brief note and passed it back to the Commandant. On the slip of paper were but two words -- "Semper Fi" the Latin motto of the Marines meaning "forever faithful." With those two simple words Nashton spoke for the millions of Americans who have sacrificed body and limb and their lives for their country -- those who have remained faithful.

Two words that mean so much to those marines who fight with all they have for our country and fellow citizens.  Forever Faithful is also a fitting definition for faithfulness as we look at the walk of the follower of Jesus Christ.  A walk that is promised great persecution, great pain, mixed with great blessings and a great retirement plan.  On this walk we are called to fight the good fight and commissioned to go with the Gospel wherever it may take us.  When my wife and I surrendered to the ministry many years ago we were very committed to go wherever the Lord sent us and tried to follow that call as God spoke to our hearts.  We have had some great times and some not so great times, but in all the travel and moving, God has remained faithful to us.  In calculating our travels we have been over 25,000 miles serving God from shore to shore in America with our hearts set on faithfulness to our Savior.  We have been witnesses of God's amazing grace and the change He makes in people's lives and that has been very rewarding.  We have come to realize that people are basically the same, whether in California, Missouri, Alabama, or North Carolina.  The Gospel still applies to all and the working of the Holy Spirit is a powerful thing that draws men and women to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.  All of this is because of God's faithfulness and His mercy and grace.  The Psalmist wrote in Chapter 36:5, "Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heaven's, your faithfulness to the skies."  In Psalm 89:8 he wrote, "O Lord God Almighty, who is like you?  You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you."  In Psalm 14:22  he said, "Do not those who plot evil go astray?  But those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness."  God is faithful!!  That cannot be denied.  How can faithfulness be more a part of our lives?  How can we tap into the faithfulness of God and move forward in our walk in an area that is slowly deteriorating in Christians today?  The great thing about God is He knows and enables us "individually" to do great things for Him.  He speaks to our heart and knows what is best for us.  Basically, because He knows us.....REALLY knows us.  That's kind of daunting when I think about the ways that I sin from time to time.  But it's also very encouraging to know that He loves me through that sin because of the blood of Jesus and the cancellation He put on the penalty of my sins on the cross.  So, even if others do not break the mold of unfaithfulness, we can and He speaks to each of us prompting us to do so.  In other words, quit drinking the KOOLAID of those who don't preach faithfulness.  Because your witness will surely shrivel up and DIE if you don't.  If you get a "burr in your saddle" and it makes you want to be different than the status quo Christian, respond to it and see what happens.  First off, others will ask you what's wrong and will question to see if you are going through some change in your life. (and you are)  They will see your unhappiness with the way things are going and then proceed to make you feel like you must have some sin in your life or something.  That response from them is intended to take the heat off of their lack of true commitment to the Gospel.  Then if you start to doubt your feelings at all, the lukewarm temperature of the water of apathy will start to call you back into the pool to "rest a while."  Just chill!  God wants us to have peace.......  Well, sorry to say this but there is no peace in us when God is convicting us!!  In fact, the only way we can get to this so called peace is to repent and get back on track.  Oops, that wasn't actually politically correct was it?  Oh yeah, politics have nothing to do with our faith!!!

Now you see it don't you?  Faithfulness is the opposite of "Casual Christianity."  Our faithfulness is derived from a faithfulness that we can only get from God.  In Romans 3:3 Paul wrote, "What if some did not have faith?  Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness?"  Here, I'll give you an easy answer to that one......NO!  Our faithfulness comes from our basic relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  His faithfulness is mirrored through our lives as we live what He has done for us.  He has been faithful and will remain faithful.  Our lives, since they are found in Him, will do the same.  That's why Paul says they are a fruit of those who know God in Galatians 5:22.  It's in our Spiritual DNA to be faithful, so we have to fight unfaithfulness.  As Idigo Montoya said  in The Princess Bride, "Let me splain."  When we become a believer and regeneration has taken place, we have the capacity, the desire, to be more like Christ.  It's not because we have become good, but it is because that which is good is in us.  Christians have proven that we can deny the work of that good in us and fall back into the nature we had before we accepted Christ.  That's a no brainer and I think most of us live out of that type of faith.  The only problem is, God does not want that in our lives.  His Spirit has given us the capacity and the  desire to be like God and follow His ways.  When we learn from His Word and develop our relationship with Him, our lives begin to take on new characteristics and one of those is faithfulness.  It becomes a lifestyle, not a problematic sin problem.  That's what I like to call living on the aggressive.  We take that which God has put in each of us and let it grow and let it go!  That's why the soldier in the opening story gave a Semper Fi, even though he was on the verge of death.  It was more about the life of those fighting than his life or death.  He was committed to the cause at all costs.  That is faithfulness. 

Are you committed to the cause?  Are you willing to say no when all around you say yes to living a status quo life in the faith?  Then you have found out how to tap into that heart of faithfulness that God has put in each of those who know Christ and you are on your way.  If you haven't, then you need to access that part of the Lord through the Holy Spirit and get back on His track so you can truly be going somewhere.

Faithfulness is a must for each of us and it begins when we totally commit our lives to the cause of Christ.  It's worth it and it's needed.  In the balance of your life are you faithful?

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

The Balance of Life - Gentleness

Gentleness - Mild and temperate in behavior.  Tender.  I used to watch a TV show years ago called Kung Fu.  It showed a young boy who had been brought up under the watchful eye of a Kung Fu Master.  This master trained the boy in the movement of Kung Fu, as well as, the temperament of the graceful martial art.  He also showed him the heart of Kung Fu and explained that it wasn't about fighting, but strength from gentleness.  Of course, then someone would provoke him beyond what he could stand, and then he would "clean house."  I liked the last part.  You know the part where he takes all the bad guys can dish out and then he uses his Kung Fu skills to dominate them physically.  I would almost stand up every time and help him fight from in front of my tv.  At the end of the fight I would say, "Good moves Butterfly."  I got the fighting part, but I missed the reason behind the Kung Fu part.    You know, the part where you have to learn to control your mind, actions, and reactions?  That part I missed.  I missed the Gentleness part.

Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit as written in Galatians 5:23 where it says, "gentleness and self-control, Against such things there is no law."  Paul knew all about gentleness, because he was constantly put down, lied about, physically beaten, and falsely accused.  Why?  Because he proclaimed the message of Christ.  Amazing that he would be picked out of a crowd of thieves, adulterers, shysters, and murderers as the one who should be put in jail.  Just because he proclaimed hope, peace, and eternal life with God.  In all the times he was persecuted, he still kept the heart of who he was in tact and came across as one who truly lived and believed the message he spoke.  Paul encouraged all followers of Christ to grow in their relationship to the point that we would mirror the gentleness of Christ.  To his son in the ministry Timothy, he said in 1 Timothy 6:11, "But you , man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love endurance and gentleness." Flee from what?  From acting and reacting like those who don't know Christ and start act and reacting with Godly character.   Boy is that tough!  I still have to deal with the old Kung Fu mentality of my early years and want to see us Christians get a break for a change.  But what does that break we get do?  Not much in the scheme of eternity.  That victory is only temporal and fleeting like wealth and popularity.  It is God's desire for us to acquire much more precious things in our lives and one of them is definitely "gentleness."  We  have the greatest message to proclaim and we know it personally and that message must be shared wherever we go, but it must be done with gentleness and tenderness.  The power of the message itself is so powerful that we don't have to put any bells or whistles to make it "pop" more.  It pops enough on its own.  Peter  wrote in 1 Peter 3:15, "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."  I also remember in the Kung Fu TV show where the student challenged the master, thinking he was weak in his gentleness.  Where upon, the master squelched his attempts with ease and respect.   Then he would say, "you have much to learn" and walk away.  Our Heavenly Father has such wisdom in this area for all of us who would listen and learn, and we should never doubt the strength of not only the message, but the lifestyle derived from the message.  Put your ear to the ground and hear the rumbling of the power of God coming down the tracks.  Put your nose to the air and smell the sweet aroma of the Spirit of God giving hope and peace in a world that is falling apart.  Put your eyes set toward the one who gives us wisdom to see the world as it truly is.  Put your hands up and feel the breeze of the movement of God among His people.  It's time to consult God for the answers of life and allow Him to balance this whole thing out.

In the balance of life there will always be those who want to fight as a means to get their message across.  There will always be those who want to use Christianity as a club to prove their point.   There will always be opportunity for any of us to use aggression and not gentleness, but Christ is gentleness and that is our foundation.  In Philippians 4:5 Paul wrote, "Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near."  Christ is in us and working through us and His gentleness should be one of the things that keeps our lives in balance in a tumultuous world. We don't consult some art form for our answers when that art form is only a facsimile of the true source.  We consult the maker of it all. When you come to know Jesus everything else becomes Kung Phooey.   God! Has your heart become hardened?  Have competitive schemes become the norm for your thinking?  Is your life witness filled with victories at the expense of others?  Time to change.  Time to rearrange.  Time to listen Butterfly.  The Master is speaking.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Balance of Life - Kindness

Kindness - the quality of being generous, friendly, and considerate.

British statesman and financier Cecil Rhodes, whose fortune was used to endow the world-famous Rhodes Scholarships, was a stickler for correct dress--but apparently not at the expense of someone else's feelings. A young man invited to dine with Rhodes arrived by train and had to go directly to Rhodes's home in his travel-stained clothes. Once there he was appalled to find the other guests already assembled, wearing full evening dress. After what seemed a long time Rhodes appeared, in a shabby old blue suit. Later the young man learned that his host had been dressed in evening clothes, but put on the old suit when he heard of his young guest's dilemma.

God always has a reason for everything.  Even the Godly fruit that is seen in our lives.  If we don't allow His Spirit to teach us how to live and then empower us to live it we make that fruit which is in us lay dormant and lifeless.  When we read about the fruit of those who know Christ we sometimes use it as a good and bad list for living our life.  It is so much more than a list that is caught up in rules and regulations.  Fruit is for eating and enjoying.  Bad fruit tastes bad, so we won't want to eat that type of fruit again.  Good fruit not only satisfies us, but makes us want more and more and more.  As a believer, when we experience Godly fruit coming from our walk in the Lord it is totally encouraging and spurs us on to greatness.  That great fruit is not meant for us only though.  Good fruit is an activator for stimulating more and more good things and it results in more people being affected by it.  Just like in the story of Cecil Rhodes, his great heart and consideration of the young man who came to his party settled the young man's nerves, put him at ease about his "standing", and made the party an enjoyable event for the young man.  None of that would have happened had Rhodes not had the fruit of kindness.  I'm sure the young man "paid it forward" after seing the act of kindness from Rhodes. 

In Acts Chapters 3 and 4, Peter and John's healing of a cripple at The Beautiful Gate gave hope and a new life for the man, but it also caused an uproar for those who were against the followers of The Way.  Their kindness had a far-reaching affect from the man who was healed, to those who witnessed it, to the soldiers who put them in jail, and to the officials who questioned them.  In Acts 4:9  Peter says, "If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed."

Wow!  Peter saw the great fruit of healing, the disgust of imprisonment, and the great victory of sharing about Jesus through one act of KINDNESS.  What's the moral of the story?  Never underestimate the importance of all the fruits of a Spirit-filled life, but for sure a life that exhibits KINDNESS.

Kindness is an important element in a Christian's life.  I have seen people who claim to know Christ show meanness instead of kindness as a daily lifestyle.  When you ask someone who knows them well, about why the meanness.  They will say, "oh, it's just the way they are."  You can't have any more of an indictment than that.  What they are saying is the fruit from their "Christian" changed life is meanness?  That will not pass the Christ Like test even at the lowest level.  In Romans 2 Paul speaks about passing judgment on someone else, which is a direct result of meanness.  In verse 4 he says, "Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?"  Which means life change!!!  Those who are most harsh and unkind are usually the ones who have not truly experienced the kindness of God through Christ and that is why they have none to give.  Here's a good rule of thumb to go by.  If you truly have been changed by Jesus Christ, you will not be able to be unkind without great conviction being poured on you by the Holy Spirit.  We have been shown great kindness and now that is a part of who we are and there is no excuse that lessens that one fact.  If you know Christ, you know kindness, and you show kindness.

What will result from the fruit of kindness.

1. You will have true, Godly peace

2.  Others will be drawn to you.

3. You will use your kindness to proclaim the Gospel.

4. Your walk with Christ will grow by leaps and bounds.

5. You will look a lot like Jesus.

I'm liking the result of kindness.  Aren't you?  If you know Christ, it's in you somewhere.  Let it go and let God use it for His glory.  I kindly submit these words to you.

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

The Balance of Life - Selfishness

Selfish - Lacking consideration for other people, concerned chiefly with your own profit and pleasure.

You may have heard the story of two friends who met for dinner in a restaurant. Each requested filet of sole, and after a few minutes the waiter came back with their order. Two pieces of fish, a large and a small, were on the same platter. One of the men proceeded to serve his friend. Placing the small piece on a plate, he handed it across the table. "Well, you certainly do have nerve!" exclaimed his friend.

"What's troubling you?" asked the other. "Look what you've done," he answered. "You've given me the little piece and kept the big one for yourself." "How would you have done it?" the man asked. His friend replied, "If I were serving, I would have given you the big piece." "Well," replied the man, "I've got it, haven't I?" At this, they both laughed.

As you can see selfishness is an acquired taste and it always tastes bad when you are on the wrong end of it.  Selfishness is the opposite of service, because service is generated from a giving attitude and selfishness is generated from a taking attitude.  A selfish person will always work things around to where they get the best, or come out on top in almost every situation.  All of us are a little selfish at times, but a person who is consumed with selfishness began just like that, a little selfish.  Selfishness is a beast just waiting to be fed so it can be fed again and again.  What starts out with us getting our "fair share" can soon ramp up to getting everyone else's share as well.  How does selfishness get out of control? It usually is driven by something out of a person's past where they were the one that was left out and now that they have some control they "will never go hungry again!!!"  In other words, much like most problem areas of our life, our past is weighing us down.  When we accept Christ we are supposed to have a freedom felt in our life like never before, and we do.  But then that freedom is compromised by the need for fairness.  If I have found one thing out about the Christian life, fairness is few and far between.  Oh I can take revenge myself and manipulate my own fairness, but the base level fairness of life is non existent.  So what do we do?   That's why in the Beatitudes in Matthew, Jesus continually says to be happy in all circumstances because of knowing Him.  We know He says that because there are going to be plenty of "downers" for those who follow Christ, so we better draw close to Him to be able to handle them.  Paul in writing to the church at Galatia told them to be happy by living in the Spirit.  In 5:16 he says, "My counsel is this; Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit.  Then you won't feel the compulsions of selfishness."  It looks like it comes down to what motivates you.  If you want to be recognized for something you do for Christ, then your motivation is self promotion.  If you hope to get some personal gain from serving Christ, then your motivation is self profit.  If your main desire for serving someone is to get someone to look at you, then your motivation is self payoff.  Do you notice the key word in each one these sentences? SELF!  Just like in the story at the top of the blog, we don't care what it takes for us to get the biggest or best of anything, we just want to get it.  We are selfish.  Paul in continuing to teach the Christians at Galatia gave them a stern warning about a selfish heart when in Chapter 6:7 he says, "Don't be misled: No one makes a fool of God.  What a person plants, he will harvest.  The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others-ignoring God."  The story A Christmas Carol deals with this very subject with a man by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge.   You don't have to do it just at Christmas time to be a Scrooge though.  If you are out to self promote or self pay, you are a Scrooge.  If you are out to beat others at all costs (including cheating) you are a Scrooge.  If you try to think you will not have consequences for your actions, you are a Scrooge.  Our attitude should be the same as Christ, in that, He humbled Himself, even to the cross, so that we could have true freedom.  NOT SELFISH, BUT SELFLESS!!  Now that's what I call The Real Deal!!  Try to be the real deal and live as a free person, who is free from those things of the world, and live freely in the new life Christ has put in each of us servants.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Balance of Life - Pride

Golf immortal Arnold Palmer recalls a lesson about overconfidence:

It was the final hole of the 1961 Masters tournament, and I had a one-stroke lead and had just hit a very satisfying tee shot. I felt I was in pretty good shape. As I approached my ball, I saw an old friend standing at the edge of the gallery. He motioned me over, stuck out his hand and said, Congratulations." I took his hand and shook it, but as soon as I did, I knew I had lost my focus. On my next two shots, I hit the ball into a sand trap, then put it over the edge of the green. I missed a putt and lost the Masters. You don't forget a mistake like that; you just learn from it and become determined that you will never do that again. I haven't in the 30 years since.

Pride - the quality of having an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's importance.  It's amazing how much we begin to lose when we gain a high opinion of our self.  You can see it again and again where an athlete is highly touted after accomplishing so much and the very next game they fail miserably.  Pride does many things to us and the old adage, "You are in trouble when you start believing the good things people are saying about you" is really true.  It can happen whether you are a great golfer, a great preacher, a great performer, or just a normal person.  Pride has been the rock that happens to get under our feet again and again and trip us up.   Where is God in this word-pride.  Job wrote in 36:7-9, "He never takes His eyes off the righteous; He honors them lavishly, promotes them endlessly.  When things go badly, when affliction and suffering descend, God tells them where they've gone wrong,, shows them how their pride has caused their trouble."  God is the one who is high and lifted up, not us.  He chooses to lift us up when we humble ourselves under His mighty Hand.  (1 Peter 5:5-7)  You can always tell a person who has a problem with pride when they think they can pull themselves up by their boot straps and solve anything on their own.  That person hasn't learned to rely on God and whatever they get will be much less than what God can give.  Our country has always been about pride in good ways and bad.  We call on God for His help and then plunder the very things He sends our way by thinking it was acquired by us.  Our pride as a country has caused us to think  we can go on without God and that we don't need Him anymore.  We have turned our hearts and allegiance to Government and not God.   That is a huge mistake and the fallout from that kind of pride will be the downfall of our great country, if we don't repent and turn back to God today!!  You know things are bad when unions fight to keep workers from having a choice about joining a union or not, and yet they promote choice as to whether to kill a baby or not.  We think we have a financial cliff to worry about, but the real cliff to worry  about is the spiritual cliff our country is now looking at as we drift further and further from God's Word.  His perfect Word.  Proverbs 16:18 says, "First pride, then the crash, the bigger the ego, the harder the fall."  We have learned how to grow the opinion we have about ourselves into a huge monster that is devouring all who come in contact with it.  Just think about it; our opinion about ourselves is so out of whack that every word that could possibly tell someone that they are less than what they think of themselves is a vehicle for lawsuit and derision.  Pride, Pride, Pride...it's out of control and God's judgment is perfect and exact in the way He deals with it.  Why should Christians stay away from pride?  Proverbs 21:4 says, "Arrogance and pride-distinguishing marks of the wicked-are just plain sin."  Pride is wickedness and the world is feeding ours by making us believe all things are possible by us.  When in reality all things are possible through Christ and Him only.  Our churches have become prideful to the point that the political attitude of our world has crept in and destroyed many good and humble servants.  Churches have taken on business models in the name of structure, and the heart and faith has been left outside looking in.   How much longer will God let this go on?  Here is where the Word of God is fulfilled.  God is judging right now and our apathetic hearts and minds are clouded to the fact of that judgment happening.  I remember years ago when we lived in Northern California.  There was a mountain just outside our town and we would go up on the mountain and hike and look at the valley below.  From time to time clouds would block the view of the top of the mountain and it looked like a small plateau from the valley.  If I didn't know there was more to the mountain and the clouds remained, I would have identified it as a plateau.  The point is; it was a mountain, but the clouds kept me from seeing it all and I didn't know any better. That is how we are now.  We think that we are seeing everything from God and as we look up, this is pretty much it.  But our vision is clouded and the part God wants us to see is further up, but the clouds won't leave.  Here's what would happen to the clouds around our mountain in California.  The winds would pick up and pretty soon the clouds would move on and we could clearly see that it was a mountain, not a plateau.  We need the fresh wind of God's Spirit to move the clouds that have too long been keeping us from drawing near to God and His ways.  That wind is not gonna blow if our pride continues to grow.  We must humble ourselves before almighty God and pray for deliverance from the cloud over our lives that is kept there by PRIDE!

The prophet Jeremiah speaking for God said in Jeremiah 50:31- 34, "Do you get it, Mister Pride? I'm your enemy! Decree of the Master, God of the Angel Armies.  Time's run out on you; That's right; It's Doomsday.  Mister Pride will fall flat on his face.  No one will offer him a hand.  I'll set his towns on fire.  The fire will spread wild through the country.  And here's more from God of the Angel Armies;  The people of Israel are beaten down, the people of Judah along with them. Their oppressors have them in a grip of steel.  They won't let go.  

But the Rescuer is strong"  God of the Angel Armies.  Yes, I will take their side, I'll come to their rescue."  

It's time for pride to be sent to it's rightful place....the back row.  It's time for Jehovah God to be lifted back to His rightful place and honored by His people once again.  It's time for pride to fall.

If you have been relying on yourself, let go and let God.  If you have turned a deaf ear and blind eye to God's ways, let go and let God.  If you are worldly first and God centered second in your thinking, let go and let God.  Just keep in mind this one thing.  If you have a pride problem you probably will find every reason in the world to keep from getting things right.  God is calling out to you and saying, focus on Me.  I'm your Creator.  We are in the final stretch and the victory has been won.  Don't get distracted and because of pride and overconfidence start believing in yourself or you'll miss the putt every time.  Let how God takes pride in you be enough.  Matthew 6:30 "If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers- most of which are never seen-don't you think He'll attend to you, take pride in you, do His best for you?"  Of course, He will.  Trust God and Trust in God for your focus in life. There is still time to change.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Balance of Life - Jealousy

Jealousy is defined as a zealous vigilance.  Wow, that pretty well sums it all up....blog over.  Nope, not yet.  Jealousy has been the story line for our world since the beginning of time.  One of the great apostles, Paul, had to deal with it on a daily basis because of what God was doing in his life.  In both Acts 13:45 and Acts 17:5 scripture tells us that the end result of that jealousy was them hunting down and tearing into Paul and his companions.  God was so evident in his life and his forthright way of proclaiming the mercies of God seared into the hearts and minds of those who were in charge at the time.  Their remedy for the jealousy they felt was to strike out against Paul.  Now hear me on this, cause this is important for us all.  I have served with many ministers who were middle of the road, don't hurt any one's feelings, compromise the sharpness of God's Word type of guys and ladies.  They usually have scores of people who love them and feel much warmth and fuzziness with them.  That warmth and fuzziness will continue until they proclaim something that God's Word says that actually convicts one of their followers, then the trouble begins.  If Paul and his followers would have come into the towns they visited and immediately made the message more palatable and easy, they would have made quick friends and no problems......But, not using the full message of Christ is taking matters into our own hands and when we water it down, so as not to hurt so much, the message loses all the effect it should have had when presented.  In other words, compromise is one of the ways to keep people from getting jealous of you.  Here's what compromise in any form does.  It lessens the conviction of what you are teaching.  It joins you with those who are not of God totally.  It takes the purity of what you are saying and taints the message completely.  In other words, if you don't want to have to deal with people getting jealous of you, then stay one step BEHIND them.  In the Christian world we have scripture that speaks to the right attitude of serving Christ. 1 Peter 5:6 says, to "humble yourselves under God's mighty hand, and at the right time, He will lift you up."  We are to be humble, but truthful.  We are to be humble, but bold.  We are to be humble, but active.  We are to humble ourselves under God's hand, which means we put ourselves on the back burner and God and His truth in the forefront of our speech and our lives.  Just keep in mind that when God lifts you up, others will not understand all of your humility and they will sometimes get jealous and want to be your humbling representative.  They don't realize that when they strike out at someone who is totally immersed in God's power, they strike out at God.

How do we handle jealousy?  Well, look at the root.  Jealousy begins when we aren't happy with what we have or who we are.  The desire to be where someone else is or to be someone else is kind of a natural thing for all of us. In fact, God wants us to channel that desire in the right direction and "be like God."  In Romans Paul shared the truth about being dissatisfied with who we are and what God is doing in our lives by saying in chapter 9: 20-21, But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?  Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?"  Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purpose and some for common use?  The argument in this case is dealing with the Gentiles, but base line it is dealing with how much God made us for His use, not ours.  Defeating jealousy begins when we are sure of ourselves in Christ and know that we are special, as His creation, in His eyes and for His purpose.  The phrase we see again and again is "God don't make no junk."  It's easy to say, but when we feel left out of something we should be left out of, we ask the big "why" and start to let jealousy burn on the stove of our mind.  One word.....AVOID!   It's better to walk away sure of who you are than be jealous of someone God is working a totally different plan in.  Common sense....sense.

Here are some helps for getting out of the jealousy pool:

1. Ask God to show you who you are and your importance in His kingdom.  You do that through study in His Word.  It would come under the topic heading "my value."  Psalm 139 is a great place to start and the rest is gravy.

2. Don't get yourself involved in things God as has not equipped you to do.  If you can't sing well, don't sing solos.  If you can't do carpentry, then don't pick up the hammer.  Be truthful with yourself and those around you and stay out of things that don't apply to you.  No, you are not supposed to be able to do everything you desire.  Wake up call. You are probably just in the way of someone else who God enabled to do it.  That moves into selfishness and we will discuss that in the days ahead.

3.  Don't get too enamored with those who are the "stars" of the faith.  All of us are equally important to the gospel, and God has made some hands, some feet, some nostrils, etc...  Do your thing and don't try to be someone you aren't.

4. If you can do something better than the one who is doing it now, then go somewhere else and do it.  Sometimes we like to hide out under the leadership of someone else and we need to take our gifts elsewhere so they can be better used.  You will only bring a bad spirit if you constantly critique someone else who is in charge of something you can also do.  

5. Have a servant's heart.  A true servant cares about one thing.  Serving.  You are not serving if you are constantly jealous of those you serve with.  You are letting your feelings overtake the whole point of the thing.  Serving Christ.  You will never serve Christ if you are always trying to serve yourself.

Are you vigilant to catch someone else in wrongdoing because of jealousy?  Then you are damaging God's plan.  Are you vigilant to bring someone else down that God has lifted up? Then you are in direct conflict to God's purpose.  Is your jealousy poisoning the pool of peace in people's lives?  Then you are hurting God's people.  Time to change.  Time to step down, so God can step you up.  When you sense Him in your life, you are satisfied and jealousy is gone!!!

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

The Balance of Life-Procrastination

I am going to be writing on different subjects  that we deal with on a daily basis and use God's Word to hopefully give some clarity.  God's Word is really good about dealing with common sense, everyday things and giving us the root wisdom on each one.  As you read these I hope you will see the deeper picture of why God restricts certain things and frees certain things.  In a time when we seem to go off of second and third hand information, it is refreshing to tap into God's Word and see the why of these subjects.

The first one I will be writing about is PROCRASTINATION. Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting off something. It's amazing to me that in the world we live in with the immediate way you can get almost anything, procrastination is at an all time high.  We are on the verge of being just like George Jetson, where we can push a button and we get something.  We no longer have to wait for any information, at the push of a button, it's there.  Why wait for a company to get an item in, we can order it online and get it before the store and probably cheaper.  Need help accessing the Bible?  Just go to the Glo Bible, or any other app and you can get to know the Bible frontwards and backwards.  We have so much available to us, but still we procrastinate.  Why?  It comes back to how much value we put on time itself.  When you are younger you feel like you have all the time in the world and as you get older to the milestone ages of 30,40, 50, and 60 you start to put more value on that time.  My life verse is Ephesians 5:16 and it says, (The Message Bible) "Make the most of every chance you get.  These are desperate times!"  As Christians our perspective about time is really no different than those who don't know Christ, but it should be.  We should have a keen sense that every day, every moment counts, and believe that lives are at stake...but do we?  I know I get into a rut from time to time and just let moments slip by and don't do things I should be doing because I put it off.  For years we preached that no opportunity to share Christ should be ignored or put off, but they are put off and even long forgotten.  It's almost like there is a dull haze over our lives and one day runs into the other through busyness and overcommitments.  Priorities get shifted to adjust for more intrusive calendar planning and then the whole thing falls apart and we put ourselves on a shelf in the area of serving Christ because those priorities have changed.  Christ is no longer Number 1, but just another dial on our activities list.  Oh, He's high and lifted up on our tongue and our thoughts, but not much in our urgency to serve Him.  We no longer have balance and the shifting sands on the beach of our life reveal something deeper, something more problematic.  We don't want to think about it and with an easy going way of living the Christian life we are enabled to ignore it.  But it's there....It's like the buzz you hear when a sound system has a 60 cycle hum going through it showing it has a bad ground.  We also have a bad ground.  We aren't grounded.  Surely in a time when information is so readily available and the Bible and all it's helps are just a Kindle on button away we couldn't have let this one thing slip in our lives.  What thing is that?  We have become God.  Oh not the creator.  Just a facsimile thereof.  We have so much information about Him that we think we ARE Him.  But we're not!  Proverbs 16:18 says, "Pride goes before destruction."  In other words, we are bound for destruction if our pride is out of whack!  Why aren't we grounded?  Why the hum?  Why worry about it?  Because it is the essence of who we are in Christ.  We think our days aren't numbered...We think we have it all figured out....We blame God for our lack of submitting by saying something stupid like, "Oh well, it's in God's Hands, so I will just go ahead and live like I want because He wants me to."  Does that sound as crazy to you as it does to me?  I hope so.  The pinnacle of being our own God is to do something and then blame it on the Sovereignty of God.  When we do that it takes us and our lack of commitment to serve Him with all of our lives out of the picture and then you have....PROCRASTINATION!  Who is guilty of procrastination? Everyone, and especially the Evangelical Church of today.  We put off doing something we need to do and say we will do it next year and guess what?  Next year turns into another and another and so on.  Jesus was dealing with this from the beginning.  In Luke 9:62 He summed it up by saying, "No procrastination, no backward looks.  You can't put God's kingdom off until tomorrow.  Seize the day!"  Jesus himself lived and taught NO PROCRASTINATION!  If you were going to follow Jesus, you were going to let the one who made time be the source or foundation of everything you do.

Ok, so where do we go from here?  Here are some practical helps for dealing with procrastination.

1. Start your day with God and His Word.  Not a daily quiet time!!  A time to organize how this day is going to go with God and make His daily priorities, your priorities. Pray for the Holy Spirit to lead you through that day (moment by moment) and then take off the parking brake, put your spiritual car in drive, and GO!!

2. Be alert!! In Matthew 10:16, 26:41, Luke 17:3, and Romans 12:11 the scriptures all speak to being alert.  Don't be dull-minded!!  In fact, Romans 12:11 says, "Don't burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame.  Be alert servants of the Master."  He's not saying "do more.  He is saying "do what God wants." 

3. Don't put off anything you don't have to.  Make a mental note to follow through on all things.  ALL THINGS!  When you make the most of every day you are honoring God by saying "thanks for today." 

4.Stay away from people who draw you into procrastination by their passive lifestyles of commitment.  We are in a "put off" society and the time wasting of that society will bring us down every time.  Don 't let others affect you, but you affect them with Godly living.

5. Quit making excuses.  Admit fault (not proud of it) when it happens.  Most people I know will tell a lie to get out of the guilty sentence of not doing something they were supposed to do.  Your excuse holds no weight with God and He is watching and listening for some believers who will man up in the area of excuse making.

6. Live life in freedom.  The less things you put off, the more your horizons brighten up.  It's just the way it is.  If you are in a haze right now, it is probably due to procrastination.  Stop procrastinating and your skies will brighten up and so will you.  

Remember, balance is essential to growing in your walk with the Lord.  Quit trying to be your own God and surrender to His time schedule today....A brighter future is waiting just around the bend.  But, you will never see it if you put it off..

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Nuclear Reaction

It seems like every time I turn on a movie there is a story about some terrorist group trying to get a nuclear bomb into the USA and exploding it.  Of course, a terrorist wants to cause as much havoc as possible, thus the name terrorist.  It seems like the nuclear bomb is the cat daddy of attempting to make the most impact.  A nuclear reaction that takes place in the exploding of a nuclear bomb is basically a collision between two particles, and in that explosion the collision causes a massive reaction.  The more these particles react in an explosive way, the more power and the more damage.  Peter was speaking to our reaction to suffering in Chapter 4 of 1 Peter and he gives some helpful hints about how to handle suffering.  In my last blog I discussed others helping us through our suffering and the positive effect of that happening.  Today's blog deals more specifically with the constant suffering and our reaction to it.  He goes on to state that God brings about peace in suffering, but our wrong reaction to suffering can bring on more strife and confusion.  Not to mention, be a bad witness for Christ.   In verse 12 Peters says, "Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing."  In other words, we are going to have suffering, but how we handle it is more the concern of God.  If handled right, a great witness for Christ will be seen.  If handled wrong, a great amount of damage could be the outcome.

Reaction is a huge part of the Christian Walk.  James writes about being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.  All of this shows that our reaction to things has an affect on us and those who watch us.  We should be in such a close walk with God, that our reactions are not nuclear, but peaceful.  Here's something to think about:  If two particles hit each other and one of those particles absorbs the reaction from the aggressive one, then the aggressive one will be minimized.  The blast is stopped because one of the particles was not aggressive, but passive.  Passivity sure gets a bum wrap and the use of the word sometimes can denote weakness or lack of purpose.  Passive in the believers life is more aggressively Godly and filled with purpose and foundation.  Our passive is very active when reacting from God's Truth.  Our active is very destructive when acting from a worldly viewpoint.  Remember Christian, if we are going to suffer we need to realize that we must suffer from time to time but God is faithful to lift us from that suffering with the hope that God is with us and what verse 19 says, "Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right." How we react to the suffering we face is key to making it through that suffering.  

I have noticed in 1 Peter that the suffering issue is huge and that he hits it again and again. The possible reason for him hitting it a lot is that he was writing to those of the dispersion or those who were scattered.  What scattered them?  Persecution!  When they read this letter or heard it's words it had to be encouraging to know that their suffering was not without purpose.  It possibly made them aware that God was going to continue to help them in the suffering and also enable them to make it through it.   Their reaction to suffering was a constant witness to those looking for some good ole pure truth.  The strength they showed in the midst of tough times kept the faith moving forward and effective.  If they had reacted wrongly and without a Godly perspective the work of their ministry would have slowed or even stopped.  But.....they kept on going and going and going.  We have our faith today because of the way they handled suffering and those who come after us will be directly affected by how we handle the suffering we will surely go through.  That's why God's truth is endless and ever increasing and that's why our reaction to things that we face must be met with His truth and His perspective.

We will have reactions to the things we face, just make sure they aren't nuclear reactions...

The Pilgrimage continues..

David Warren

I'm Still Alive!!

I remember a Made for TV Movie a few years back where the story was based on a young girl who had been buried for ransom and then left for dead.  She didn't have a cell phone, or any way of communicating to those who believed her dead, to tell them that she was still alive.  It was heart wrenching to see the camera shots of her in the buried box just lying there crying because no one was coming to the rescue.  I remember thinking, "How sad to be thought dead when you are very much alive."  It also frustrated me when the police and her family were sitting around trying to think of where to look instead of actually looking everywhere they could.  Of course, they were able to get to her to save her, but at that one point she was very dead to them.  Sometimes when we go through suffering and trials, some get to thinking that we have fallen off the map, but we haven't!  If we have breath in our lungs and purpose in our heart we are still alive and ready to serve.  But we also need   others to come alongside us to help us get out of the suffering. Peter in 1 Peter 3:17-22 speaks to the matter of suffering and how to handle it.  In today's world we see so much suffering, and it makes you wonder if God can handle it all....He can.    Suffering is a reality in life because we live in a fallen world, and the effects of suffering can be used to defeat us or make us stronger.  I choose the latter.  Oh, don't get me wrong. I don't want to suffer anymore than anyone else, but I will suffer from time to time.  Just like now.  I am going through a time of suffering that is a little confusing, but understandable.  I understand where it all comes from, but how it keeps going is the confusing part.  This suffering should be over by now, but it lingers on.  So I keep on going in the strength only God can give.  The suffering is still there, but I am learning as I go through it.  Learning valuable lessons about people, and life, and God, and myself.  I am learning these lessons looking at the situation through God's perspective and getting more understanding about how to handle things from God's Word and His wisdom.  Peter said in verse 17 that if you are going to suffer, then suffer for doing something right, not doing something wrong.  Makes sense doesn't it? When you suffer for doing something right the integrity of the whole thing screams out for good, but others don't know how to react to it.  It's kind of like they bury the reality of what you are going through somewhere back in the far recesses of their minds because they don't want to have to go through it with you.  I actually believe this is where the "I'll pray for you" came into being.  Those four words were the replacement for actually helping someone in their suffering and ministering to their needs.  I know those words have come out of my mouth too many times without much action to follow them up.  But over the years I have come to realize a new characteristic that is strengthening in my life.  It is called empathy.  Empathy is much different than sympathy because with empathy you actually "feel" what the other person is going through and you take on the burden with them.  Let me give you an example.  A few years ago when I was a youth pastor we took our group on a mission tour to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.  Jackson Hole is at the base of the Grand Teton Mountains and this lovely part of America has many recreational things to do. Our group decided to hike up to a waterfall in the mountains that amounted to about 2 miles of walking up a pretty steep grade at times.  As we made our way up we realized that the change in altitude and the heat of the day was really starting to impact a few of our group.  One our girls was really starting to struggle and she proceeded to sit down and say, "I can't make it!"  She was suffering from the elements, and she couldn't help it!!  All the people in our group started sympathizing with her and talking about how bad they felt for her.  Pretty soon I had enough.  I leaned over and said, "Get up and I will carry you until you feel like walking on your own."  She said, "You'll carry....me?"  I not only nodded yes, but proceeded to give her a piggy back ride for about 200 yards down the hill.  Was she heavy?  Yes, even though she was very skinny.  Did it hurt me?  Yes, I was really feeling the stress, plus we couldn't rush ahead to the next thing on the agenda because I was helping her.  What was the end result?  I carried her and she rested on my back, but we kept moving and then the last time I rested, she said, "I believe I can make it on my own."  Then she said it, "I'm still alive.!"  Problem solved.  The group feeling bad for her was sympathy.  Me carrying her was empathy.  In verse 18 Peter alludes to a great act of empathy by Christ for each of us as he says, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God."   Jesus didn't talk about dying for our sins.  He physically died for our sins.  EMPATHY!!  We are not dead.  We are alive, because of His sacrifice.  Real Empathy!!   And now, even in the midst of our suffering, our Savior has empathy for us and gives us the strength to go on.  He carries us!  Our strength is not totally gone, but His strength coupled with our strength helps get us over the time of suffering.  I'm Still Alive!!  I have suffered, but don't give up on me, just help me get over this hump and you will be blessed.

Which brings to mind.  Which do you give the most of? Sympathy or Empathy.  If I am going to love like Christ loves, I am going to have empathy.  I will sympathize, but it will be connected with action.  I heard about a young couple who needed help moving out of their apartment.  At the time my back was killing me, but they needed physical help, not just prayer.  I saw their suffering and did what I could to empathize with them, even with a weak back.  We got their furniture moved and that suffering was done.  Action, not just words.  That's the Jesus way!  Are you suffering?  Are you in need?  Hopefully someone will empathize with you and hear your cries of "I'm Still Alive!"  When they hear your cries, they have the great opportunity of carrying you on their back until you get back on your feet.  Then you can do the same for someone else.  Paying it forward....

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

Ready, Set, Go!!!

I have been to numerous Gospel sharing clinics, conferences, and training times.  It's amazing how much you have to learn to share your own personal testimony.  I remember learning certain techniques at an Evangelism Explosion Training Seminar and them sending us out to homes in the area to hone our "skills."  At first it was a little stiff sharing the way they wanted us to, but then I became familiar with the whole thing and it became kind of personal.  I have had the great opportunity to lead hundreds to Christ through my years as a Christian and it never gets old seeing someone bound for hell choosing the grace of Jesus and doing a total turn around.  At times in my life I have even been a zealot. A zealot is a person who is dynamically consumed with whatever they are doing.  I say "at times" because there have been times when just "doing the work" of the ministry has overtaken the real reason for ministry and that is sharing your faith.  Both are important, but both have to be firmly established in who Christ is, who you are, and how that is lived out in a fallen world.  In 1 Peter 3:13-14, Peter continues to push the positive effects of taking a stand for Christ.  In verse 13 he says, "Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?"  He was sharing this knowing that persecution was occurring to him and all disciples who were just sharing the message.  That statement would be more applicable  today in America.  Who's gonna mess with you if you prove to be totally, all out, committed to the faith?  Basically, no one.  And keep in mind, that is how our country is at this very moment, but things....they be a changing.  Which further emphasizes the need for each of us to be more zealous about sharing the message of Christ.....while we can.   In verse 14 Peter throws in a disclaimer by saying, "But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed, and do not fear intimidation."    Why should we be intimidated?  Maybe if we are not too sure about who we are and whose we are.  You can always tell someone who has a nominal faith.   They are the person saying there are many ways to do the one thing Christ has commanded.  In their argument it usually means they aren't going to do anything.  You will notice that the moment you step out of the apathetic crowd into the light to take a stand for Christ, you will have many nominal Christians who set back and read you the rules to the game they aren't even playing.  They are the kind of people who step up to the line at a race and say ready, set, NO!!!  Not gonna do it.  Wouldn't be prudent!  In other words, they talk a good fight, but they never fight.  I call them casual observers.  They pull up their lawn chairs and tell you how to do something they have never done.

Peter is more concerned with those who are runners.  They don't talk about the race.  They basically need to be pointed in the right direction and let go.  Verse 15 speaks to how to prepare these willing participants.  They have set Christ apart as Lord in their hearts and now they just want to RUN!  They just need to be equipped to handle the struggles along the way and turned loose.  Not too many like that today though.  Most Christians have to be talked into sharing the message that burns in their hearts.  Or they have to go overseas once a year to an area where no one knows them and most don't have more than a first grade education in order to be bold.  These are what I call "Observation Experiments."  They observe their neighbor down the street or their coworker and then go somewhere else to experiment on willing people who just want a drop of clean water or a piece of bread.  It is totally part of the Great Commission to go to those "people groups" but the other part of the Great Commission is even more important.  Peter wasn't equipping the followers of the day to go hundreds of miles away to live this vibrant, zealous faith.  He was equipping them to do it right where they were and let it spread from there.  In writing this some might say, "David are you against foreign missions?"  To which I would reply, "I am for missions....period."  Where is our mission?  Right here.  Where do most Christians think missions are....somewhere else.  I had a "real live" missionary who loved me and my family and really believed in and lived Foreign Missions in the country of Jordan.  I hadn't been in the ministry very long and she was home on furlough and I made the statement, "I wish I could get called to missions in a foreign country."  She turned and looked at me and smiled and said, "You already are.!"  She said, "We are all aliens in this world and everywhere we share the gospel is foreign missions."  Wow.  It changed my perspective and I hope it changes yours as we prepare every day through a quiet time with God to see and reach the harvest of Jesus Christ.  He has raised his starter pistol and His Words are Ready, Set, Go!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Road Kill

I had a very sad occurrence  today.  I was driving on a local highway this morning and I came upon a squirrel crossing the road.  He looked up and saw me coming and started his zig zag pattern (serpentine) and I slowed to allow him to move off the road.  Then something happened, he froze!  I kept going....When I felt the bump I thought, "Maybe I hit a large rock or something?"  I looked in my mirror and sure enough, he was road kill. Ugh....What a mess with squirrel guts everywhere and....well, you get the picture.  Probably more picture than you intended.  I sum it up.  He's dead!!!  Then I realized something.  The only way to be road kill is to venture out on something you shouldn't be on if you are a squirrel,  a highway!  If he was in a tree, which is where he should be, he would be alive right now.  But no, he has to try to play chicken with huge, moving automobiles.  Why?  Possibly curiosity, or just dumb luck.  It could be he didn't know where he was because he had strayed.  The problem with this straying thing was, he didn't live through it! 

In 1 Peter 3:8-12 it illustrates a very good point when it comes to where you should be and where you should not be.  Peter also sums it up by telling us to live harmonious lives that are sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit.  What he means is that's where we should be (get it - squirrel...tree) and that should be where we stay.  If evil comes your way, don't go there.  If gossip and lying come your way, don't go there.  If obstinante people want you to hang with them, don't go there.  If any kind of evil tries to lure you on a highway you are not familiar with, don't go there.  If you do you will look like that squirrel.  You will try to go one way, then another, and just when you need to get off of that sin highway, you freeze and  SPLAT!!!  Because of a progression of sin in your life and wrong relationships you become Road Kill.  I know it's hard not to be lured onto that road and I know it seems you are bored and not "with it" if you don't try it out.  But in reality you are better off staying in the tree, or the woods, or possibly a grassy field.  Not the highway!!!  Highways were not made for squirrels and evil was not made for Christians.  It 's a trap

and Peter goes on to tell more truth by quoting Psalm 34 and warning about walking down the "evil highway" that can kill.   Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:10 about the temptation to get on that evil road where he says, "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able,  but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."  Basically, God is at the side of the road with a big sign that says, "DANGER AHEAD, DO NOT CROSS ROAD!"  Now it's up to us.   Will we heed the warning signs or will we try to navigate territory we have no business being on.  It is your choice and it's important that you make a good one.

In the Australian bush country grows a little plant called the "sundew." It has a slender stem and tiny, round leaves fringed with hairs that glisten with bright drops of liquid as delicate as fine dew. Woe to the insect, however, that dares to dance on it. Although its attractive clusters of red, white, and pink blossoms are harmless, the leaves are deadly. The shiny moisture on each leaf is sticky and will imprison any bug that touches it. As an insect struggles to free itself, the vibration causes the leaves to close tightly around it. This innocent-looking plant then feeds on its victim. 

Are you being lured into doing something you should not do?  Are you letting evil and those who promote it lure you onto the highway of evil?  Time to go home to where you are supposed to be and there you will find a satisfaction in knowing that God's ears are listening for our prayers and His eyes are toward the righteous.  Where do you stand right now?  Living on the narrow road of righteous, or ROAD KILL?

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren