Where is the Precedent?

If you watch tv much or cruise on Facebook you will see people from our top leader to the lowest newscaster use huge words like unprecedented, never before, unheard of, and many other words that are meant to push their point with the most effectiveness.  The one I hear our top leaders say the most is unprecedented and it is used so much I don't even believe it anymore.  (As if I believed it in the first place?)  These are "power words" and the intent is to garnish the most power in making a point, but when used as much as they are now, actually weakens the words themselves.  We have very few unprecedented things to mention anymore, so the words themselves have no bite, because they are mostly untrue.  Pure truth is something people cannot seem to handle and when it is brought up intimidates most to the point of causing a riot.  Pure truth actually gives substance to the word unprecedented and the many other power words.  God's Word is that pure truth and the sooner our world realizes and acknowledges that, the sooner these words will have more depth and meaning.  You may say, "David, what's your point?"  Here's the point.  God's Word speaks to many different issues in one area or another, but the base core issue of eternity is the one that should cause anyone who has an ear or a brain to listen to very closely.   Here is some precedented truth from God's Word.

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  What is the precedent?  Man is a sinner and that sin originated in the garden of eden.  That's the precedent.

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love toward us, kin that while we were yet sinners, Christ dies for us.  What is the precedent?  God sent Jesus to be born of a virgin and live on this earth and then go to the cross giving the ultimate sacrifice for our sinful condition and Jesus defeated death, hell, and the grave to give us hope of eternal life in glory.  God's demonstration of His love for us by giving His Son is the precedent.

Romans 10:9,10 - That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness,  and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  The precedent is "we must believe and confess" for life change and eternal life in heaven.  That it the precedent for eternal life in heaven.

Romans 10:13 For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.  The precedent for the lost person is we have to call upon God for our new life in Christ.  That is the precedent.

Do you get it?  In reality, we must all adhere to the teachings of God's Word as our precedent to truly receive all of God's promises.  Eternal life, abundant living, vibrant witness, etc..  GOD IS THE PRECEDENT!!!  God in His great love has been reaching out to us since the beginning of time and He set His pure truth as the precedent.  A pure truth that must be followed and confirmed by action on our part.  That action is realizing we are sinners, realizing that God loves us, realizing that Jesus died for the penalty of our sins, realizing that we must believe by faith and confess our sins to the Lord for our salvation, believing that God's plan for our life is better than ours by following the Bible, and then living that life.  Our faith is not unprecedented.  Our faith is VERY PRECEDENTED!!

Prophets foretold it and it happened and is still happening as God's Word is revealed in the reckless world we live in.  There is nothing new under the Son.  God created this world, He created us, and now He reaches out to us with pure truth.  His Word is new and fresh every day, but His Pure Truth isn't anything that hasn't already been in place since the beginning of time.  A thinking person would start to realize that God really is all in all and the I Am.  A thinking person would start to evaluate who they are following and what is pulling their chain.  A thinking person might consider that this world and the great thinkers of this world are truly ignorant when compared to God's wisdom.  That great thinker would suddenly realize that without God there is no hope, but with God there is freedom and pure hope.  The only thing really in life that is unprecedented is man's ignorance to the pure truth of God.  We see that lived out daily in the news and it should be no surprise that the world's temporal attempt at living life to the fullest is most miserable when built on our own weak reasoning from brains that are tainted at best.  So, if you are coming from a human reasoning on a worldly foundation, your continued lack of wisdom in choosing Christ over the world IS unprecedented and it is now time to change your thinking.  There is power in God's Word only....Not mans' words.  Read it and weep, and after weeping turn your life over to the only hope we all have for peace.  Turn it over to God....

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

What is your water temp? The Blessings Of An Aggressive Faith

What is an aggressive faith?  It is a faith that runs to good works and affects the kingdom with a good offense and not just a good defense.  Living a life of defense only, is living a life that just deals with what comes your way as you wait on it.   Revelation 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot more cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

What causes us to get into a "defensive" mode, or get lukewarm? 

1. Getting your heart beat on when you stepped out from the crowd and tried something God-sized.  Something that reminded critics that they are supposed to be living that kind of life and they don't like the reminder.

2. Trusting God for something and he came through in a different way than you were planning.  This is a tough one for me because I like to map out everything in my sight lines and proceed knowing what I am facing.  Remember, trusting God means we trust Him to do things His way and accepting that result.  This should build our faith and not cause us to fall back from being aggressive in our faith.

3. Hiding safely in a group of non-aggressive believers and using their lack of faith to mask our lack of action.  It feels nice and comfortable, but we are actually moving backward and not forward in faith.  This the trend of the new "relevant church movement" and it is dangerous!!

Whatever causes it for you, God wants more, and He wants to guide us to a whole new level of belief that involves really trusting Him for the results.  All of that sounds great, but in order to move to that level of belief we are going to have to get out of the water we are in (and it is not hot water, more like lukewarm)  You may say, "Why is that going to be so difficult?  Well, our world is spirally downward in an apathetic coma and our Christian faith has been caught in that spiral and the constant indoctrination of an apathetic, fallen world, is taking it's toll on what should be a vibrant Christian group of people.  In 2 Kings 19, the Word of the Lord says that Hezekiah was king of a people who had lost their zeal for serving the Lord, but Hezekiah came to his senses and called out to God through the prophet Isaiah to help them because the Assyrians were mighty and all around them, ready to defeat them. God spoke to Hezekiah through Isaiah and assured him that He was still in control and that he would use a remnant to reestablish a people who will follow God.  In verse 30 he said a surviving remnant of Judah shall take root downward and bear fruit upward.  In other words, the depth of their commitment to God the Father will be very deep and the fruit they will bear will be offered up and given to God.  Now that's what I call WORSHIP!!  Right after that promise God goes into the camp of the Assyrians and strikes 185,000 of their soldiers with death as they slept.  God used the remnant and God came through.  I can't imagine the shock of the Assyrian leaders waking in the morning to find 185,000 of their men dead in their beds.  At this new development Sennacherib, King of Assyria, departed and headed back to Nineveh, AND STAYED THERE!!  Hezekiah made the right move. He pleaded with God to help them, and believed that God would not allow the Assyrians to defeat His army and take his people captive.  He saw what was happening all around him, but he saw the lack of any movement of the house of Judah to do anything about it  In verse 3, He said, "children have come to birth and there is no strength to deliver."  Now that's pretty bad.   It sounds like what we hear all the time in our lost and defeated world view.  Christians saying, "I don't want to birth any children into this crazy world", when God wants more children to be born to Godly parents who will raise them to take hold of the fight of the faith.  You guessed it.  An aggressive faith means having children and raising them to take up their armor and live for God also.  We live in a world where we are having to talk people into not killing their children before birth, much less raise them in the ways of God.  Just like Pharaoh's desire to kill the Hebrew children in the time of Exodus because they were having more and more children and growing faster than he could control.  Our world today is led by the ambition to snuff out any children before they even get out of the womb.  The parallels are uncanny.  When Isaiah brought the word of God to Hezekiah, it was not only a warning, but a plan of attack, with God leading the way.  The Word of God through Isaiah showed Hezekiah the best way, and then God acted and their enemy was defeated.  How does that translate into an active faith today?

First off, we need to believe in God.  Yes, truly believe in God, and believe that His power is just as real today as it was in the Bible.  Secondly, we need to see our condition, and respond to how God's Word addresses that condition.  Thirdly, we need to act, believing God is going before us, and then watch the God-sized miracles that follow.   Yes, don't freak out.  I did say "miracles." They still happen you know.  The miracle of God killing 185,000 of Hezekiah's enemies in their sleep was a huge miracle of God and the remnant that looked on saw God's hand moving for them.  In our world today, we would have the tendency to explain away any miracles God performs.  We would call it an over emotional response by holy rollers, or a money making scheme by televangelists, or just an unexplained phenomenon.  All of those would be an insult to God in any form, and the end result would be lukewarm faith at best.  Hezekiah messed up by limiting God and when he  realized his only hope was in the Lord he did the right thing by calling out to His God, even when many did not trust God anymore.  Sound familiar?

So, what is the temperature of the water you are swimming in right now in your faith.  Is it hot, cold, or lukewarm.  Just remember, lukewarm water has just enough of a hot feel to make you think you are in hot water, but you aren't!  Lukewarm has to have some cold to make it lukewarm, so the cold is in there.  What is the cold water in your life that is stopping you from having total faith in God doing a mighty work?  Remember, at the same time we are learning to walk with God, the world is indoctrinating us.  The world!! You know ...satan!  You won't find this reasoning at any Catalyst conference in the future, because we have tasted the kool-aid and reasoned that it doesn't taste that bad.  But, our life after drinking the kool-aid of the world is lukewarm and doesn't taste very good to our heavenly Father, to which He replies, "I will spit you out!!"  We must come back to God and believe again that He is who He says He is, I AM!!  Just like the children of Israel facing the waves of the Red Sea, we are facing a huge wave of worldly reasoning, but God has called us to a new life of freedom from the world and a life eternal promised for those who persevere.  In the same way God parted the Red Sea for the children of Israel to walk on dry land and escape the Egyptian army, He is ready to part the waves of unbelief for us to step out of a world that hates Him and live a life of freedom in the "promised land" he has prepared for us in heaven.   As Moses led the children of Israel, Jesus leads us and goes before us showing us the way to live an aggressive faith that changes lives. What a blessing!! The lukewarm water doesn't feel so good now does it?  Then turn up the heat and get serving in your daily life, and through your church, and make a difference as the remnant of the faith.  We don't have to have any more plagues to know that God is calling us NOW to leave the land we are now living in.  Move and quit serving the world and getting leftovers! Live an aggressive faith and make a difference today.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Storm Warning

Recently we had some high winds in our area of the country and those high winds turned into tornados in some areas.  We drove all around our community to the sight of trees laid over and limbs broken and scattered all over the roads.  It was a scary time for many in our area and we were very fortunate there weren't more injuries, but thank God for His protection.  Outside our picture window I noticed a tree in our yard that for a month has been showing signs of dying.  You know the signs, leaves dying and falling off during the green season,  and holes in the limbs where squirrels had played havoc on the weakened tree condition.  The first thing I looked for after the storm was how many of those dead limbs, or the whole tree, would be able to weather the strong winds of the storm.  To my amazement, the limbs were still intact and the tree had dodged being torn apart, even in it's weakened state.  It got me thinking about how that tree got into this weakened, dead condition.  Here are some things to think about when analyzing a dead tree and also analyzing a dying or dead Christian Faith.  First off, the tree dies from the inside out.  I didn't even know the tree was dying until I started seeing signs of it all over the yard around it.  Signs like dead leaves falling off, and limbs breaking and falling off without me doing anything to help them.   Those signs started to increase with one of the large limbs falling to the ground during one of the storms.  When the limbs fell off I could see down into the tree and see it was hollow and eaten out, without much strength to support the limb that was attached to the tree.  So the limb fell off and I was surprised it had held on as long as it had, after looking at the interior of the tree.  If there were no winds or storms that limb might have held on for a much longer time before falling off the tree.  But with the increased wind resistance, the limb went ahead and fell off into the yard.

That is how our spiritual death begins also, on the inside.  What begins that death is varied and it may begin with a thought of doubt about our faith, brought on by a bad experience in a church or with another believer.  Our Christian faith has been beat up by one storm after another, as even strong believers have had their faith attacked externally and, of course, internally.  It's hard to say when it begins and how fast the death march is, but you can be sure it affects the inside first.  We put on a facade that is driven by pride to keep others from knowing how hurt and weakened we are, but you can be sure that something is wrong and satan is using it against you.  Daily you start to feel like "what's the use?" and the eating away at your faith has begun.  In Psalm 51, King David laments over his life and the inside death that had haunted him for so long.  In verse 12 he says, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit."  Of course, we know that salvation is the Lord's and the joy of that salvation is what drives who we are and what we do.  But before David ever got to the restoration statement he said something very important in verse 10, "Create in me a clean heart, and renew....."   The word renew is very important in this whole process.  For new testament believers we know that renewal comes from God through Jesus Christ and our whole life is built around the constant renewal that only God can give through Jesus.  King David had failed miserably as a person and as a king and his sin was right before him.  Spiritual death was eating away at his soul and what had once been a vibrant relationship between David, a man after God's own heart, and the Lord was not so good anymore.  His cry for restoration and renewal did not hit deaf ears and ours doesn't either.  David's sin was right before him and he knew his only hope for renewal was found in coming clean before the Lord. Thus the words, "create in me a clean heart.."  David's lack of continuing to go to battle for God started this whole process and his wandering eye led to sin with Bathsheba.  One thing led to another and a dead tree was on the horizon.

What causes us to start to die on the inside?  It could be a sermon we didn't like, or a song that convicted us.  It could be the stark reality of a Christian leader falling that hurt our faith, but it could also be a lack of active faith.  James writes in chapter 2 verse 14 "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works?  Can that faith save him?"  In other words, is that a true, active faith that shows a true commitment that shows salvation is real and possible?  It is a question we must all deal with, but I want to submit that inactivity for believers is just another way that satan starts to kill the inside of our faith, and like the tree,  kills us from the inside out.  What happens when a Christian gets a little tired or disillusioned?  They stop serving.  Why does that happen?  It's all part of the process to eat away at us from the inside out.  When that spiritual death march begins, it is masked in a form that stops us from having an active faith that involves serving the Lord.  Before long we are like David and we are distracted, and the end result is putting our eyes and our interests on other things that are not of God.  A commitment to serve becomes a half-hearted interest. A life that is vibrant and growing in the Lord becomes a "daily quiet time" exercise in futility.  We doubt and criticize everything and what once was a strong and growing, lively faith has started to die.  Then when a storm comes in our life we see the truth.  We are dead on the inside, and we are falling apart, and we are falling over during those storms.  If you have seen this happen in your life, perhaps it is time to fall on your face before God, and like King David, ask God to restore the joy of your salvation, and experience renewal.  Renewal will put the drive back in your Christian life and God will fill your tank with plenty of fuel for the journey ahead and you will experience vitality as never before.  You will be RENEWED!! Praise God that He still renews.  Your faith will come alive and the branches of your life (the effect you have on all around you) will start to strengthen and once again have a Godly impact.  Your tree (life) will once again be healthy and ready to stand no matter how strong the wind flows.  That is the kind of faith that causes revival in churches and restoration in homes.  That is the kind of faith James told  us we must have to make an impact.  He wrote in James 2:20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?   I believe that is God's question to each of us.  He who has ears, let him hear.  I know I'm listening.  Are you?  What do the storms of life do to your faith?  If your walk is fresh and your inside life is renewed, the storms of life cannot deter you from God's purpose in your life.  Meet the storms head on and meet them with a renewed inside.  No deadness.  Only life!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Legend of Big Ears

This story is about a young man who had the biggest ears in town, but couldn't hear a thing.  His outside ear was like a satellite dish, but his inner ear was clogged.   People would see this young man and say,"Man, with those ears he must be able to hear good."   Ole Big Ears would notice people admiring and even marvelling at his huge ears, but he couldn't hear what they were saying, so he tried to learn to read lips.  He started realizing that his ear size was a big topic for everyone who saw him and he also realized he sould be able to hear people talk, but he couldn't.   The old phrase "in one ear and out the other" didn't even apply, because both ears were equally deaf.  So he went to an ear specialist to see about getting his problem fixed.  The ear specialist looked at the inside of his ears and exclaimed "you've got a big blockage inside your ears keeping you from hearing properly." To which the young man replied, "Take it out!"  The ear specialist started working on the blockage and after about two hours he had removed a massive amount of cotton from the young man's ears.  The ear specialist couldn't believe how much cotton was in the young man's ears and asked him, "How did you come to have so much cotton in your ears?" The young man told him that early in his life he didn't like what he was hearing and he put some cotton in his ears because he was hearing truthful things so clearly that it made him feel guilty. To get rid of the guilt meant he didn't need to hear it, so he plugged cotton in his ears.  But he found out he could still hear and trying to shut out anything that made him feel guilty, he plugged in more cotton until he was totally deaf.  But this is the strange thing.  He forgot he had plugged his ears and went through life totally uninformed and deaf.  Not until the ear specialist looked deep down in his ear did he find the cotton that he himself had actually put in there years before.  Now he could hear like everyone else, and now he could receive wisdom from those who would speak into his life.  Now his inner ear's senstivity matched the size of his outer ear (which was huge!)  Now everything was back in proportion and he was ready to receive instruction and learn how to live his life accordingly.

This story illustrates how we as believers have ears that are enlarged to hear God's truth and the volume is loud and clear.  But the first time we hear something we don't like or agree with, we put cotton in our ears to block it out. But or ears are so big, it takes more and more cotton to finally shut it all out. Then we think we feel good, but we have actually stopped all growth in our Christian life and are now deaf to the one we must listen to.  To onlookers things like church attendance, Bible Study, and prayer are a big part of our life, but in reality our ears are closed off and we are not actually listening anymore, we just have the appearance that we are because our ears are so big.   When people need to hear something from us that pertains to God's truths they come to us and we can't even hear them because our inner ear has a massive blockage.  So we go around with big looking ears that cannot hear at all. 

Sometimes I find myself sharing a truth from God's Word and I can tell those who are listening cannot hear the truth.  Their outside ears are huge, giving me the perception that they have to be hearing the truth from God's Word , but they don't hear a thing.  Frustrated at times, I find myself not even wanting to share the truth because it is hitting deaf ears, and what's the use?  The sad part of the whole thing is they have ears that God has given them that can hear and understand God's truths, but their inner ear is resisting and that resistance is not controlled by God.

In Revelation 2:1 John writes this to Ephesus, to the Angel of the church. The One with Seven Stars in his right-fist grip, striding through the golden seven-lights' circle, speaks: 2 "I see what you've done, your hard, hard work, your refusal to quit. I know you can't stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. 3 I know your persistence, your courage in my cause, that you never wear out. 4 "But you walked away from your first love - why? What's going on with you, anyway? 5 Do you have any idea how far you've fallen? A Lucifer fall! "Turn back! Recover your dear early love. No time to waste, for I'm well on my way to removing your light from the golden circle. 6 "You do have this to your credit: You hate the Nicolaitan business. I hate it, too. 7 "Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'm about to call each conqueror to dinner. I'm spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God's orchard."

In John's Revelation he was writing to the church at Ephesus and their ears had become blocked to God's truths and their hearing was impaired because their hearts were impaired.  He told them they had fallen away from God and compared it to a  Lucifer Fall.  That's a stong word that is a warning to all who put cotton in their ears and shut God out.  If anything we should be praying for our ears to be wide open and seeking God's Word in the world we live in today, but still we try to shut God out.  When will we realize that we need to go to our ear specialist, our Heavenly Father, and beg Him to take the cotton, given to us by the enemy, out of our ears and start listening again.  There is also the point that God becomes very tired of our lack of hearing and He shuts our ears.   Paul wrote to the church in Rome about Israel turning a deaf ear to God in Chapter11:7, And then what happened? Well, when Israel tried to be right with God on her own, pursuing her own self-interest, she didn't succeed. The chosen ones of God were those who let God pursue his interest in them, and as a result received his stamp of legitimacy. The "self-interest Israel" became thick-skinned toward God. 8 Moses and Isaiah both commented on this: Fed up with their quarrelsome, self-centered ways, God blurred their eyes and dulled their ears, Shut them in on themselves in a hall of mirrors, and they're there to this day.   We do not want to get to that point, so we better listen, cause God is speaking!!!  It's time to listen.

Don' t have a legend about your life called "The Legend of Big Ears!"  Start a new legend today that will one day be known as "The Legend of Listening Ears!"

Jesus had to deal with these kind of people when He walked on this earth, Matthew 13:15 The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won't have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won't have to look, so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them.  Luke 8:10 He said, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom - you know how it works. There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren't going to get it: Their eyes are open but don't see a thing, Their ears are open but don't hear a thing.  God is speaking.  It is now time for us to listen!!

What will your legend be?

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Emperors New Groove

New clothes have a very positive effect on us don't they?  I mean, you can be having a pretty bad day and find a sale at some clothing store and get inspired by a new pair of jeans or that cool shirt that makes you look good.  New clothes have a way of giving us a "new groove" that makes life a little more enjoyable.  Some may say it's a "chick thing", but us guys know we like it too, so quit denying.  There is also a "new groove" for those who know Christ and we are to be clothed with Jesus Christ and His way of living.  In other words, the old saying "No Jesus, No change, Know Jesus, Know change" is very true.  When we accept Christ and He becomes "LORD" of our life, a radical change does take place.  Paul, as only Paul can do, illustrates this change and the new way we are to be clothed in our lifestyle and our faith.  In Colossians 3:9-11 says.  "9Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. 10 Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete.11 Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. 

The world's way of weighing people's worth is a very cruel thing and the social status of a person is judged by those who wish to put themselves in a position of God-like proportions.  These "judges" tend to be very biased at best, and their bias always leans toward themselves.  Sadly, this happens in Christian Life, as well as, secular, and it's something we as Christians should never allow to be a standard in our faith.  Like certain sins that some allow as OK, but in reality they are not OK, that bias allows nominal followers to live a double life; some of the world and some of the Lord.  The Apostle Paul says, "this cannot be anymore." Why?  We are different when the Holy Spirit is in our life!!  Paul addresses this same subject in 2 Corinthians 5:17, where he says, "Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!  Look at it!! The word burgeons means "to flourish!"  So, the old groove is dead and the new groove has taken hold and is growing.  Our old clothes don't fit anymore and a new set of clothes are being seen on our life.  In fact, the old clothes are obsolete, or not in the picture anymore.  That's why a person who accepts Christ is radically changed in lifestyle and direction, they aren't the same person anymore, and the old person is dead.  DEAD!!!

I would be considered rather dumb to go to a store and get new clothes and then take them home and never wear them.  It would be considered a wasted expense for nothing.  The expense of Christ dying on the cross for my new groove should never be wasted by me trying to wear the old garments of my past life.  I should be living large with my new groovy Christlike life.  Things that snare other people, don't snare me.   Where there is worry and heartache in others, you only find peace and faith in me.  Do you have Christ in your life?  Then you have a new groove!  Read God's Word and find out what that groove looks like and start living large in those clothes and see how radical the change is for you and others who know you. Living for Christ is very appealing when people see real life  change.  They are drawn to it!!  If you continue to live out of the past life, you are only stopping the true Gospel from being seen by a lost and dying world.  Time to change clothes and put on a new groove.  This groove is given to us by God, who is over all.  It is our Master's Groove, and it is eternal.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Keep Moving Forward

A few years ago at a church I was serving at a group from our church went on a mission tour to Montana.  We had a relax day and decided to go to the Continental Divide.  We proceeded in a rickety half bus up the hill, at times doubting our decision, but we made it to what we thought was the top. It wasn't the top, but a place we could get out and "hike" to the top.  The altitude at the top was somewhere around 11,500 feet, and we were approximately a quarter of a mile from the top when we got out of the bus and started our hike up to the top.  I could tell the air was thin, but as we starting making our way up the trail I started passing some others who had run (for a short distance) and were now bent over gasping for more air to be able to breathe.  As we got closer to the top I could really feel the lack of oxygen starting to take its toll on me and I stopped a few times to gather myself so I could go on.  It was just about 50 steps from the top when it happened.  A guy came up the trail on a pretty good walking pace and he was saying, "one step after the other,  keep moving forward!"  He said that phrase about ten times as he proceeded to the top without stopping.  I thought, "sounds like good advice to me" and I started walking thinking "one step after the other,  keep moving forward!"  My concentration on moving forward started to overrule my body's desire to just quit!  I looked up and to my surprise, I was there, and I wasn't even winded!  I made it to the top.  Oh what a view. There was a clear water lake below us about a half a mile away and it was beautiful.  Had I turned around and headed back down, I would have missed seeing the beauty of God's Creation.  It was worth the effort and the advice from the stranger hiker helped me make it to the top.  Here is a good definition of what the Continental Divide is the main series of mountain ridges in North America, chiefly the crests of the Rocky Mountains that form a watershed that separates the rivers flowing east into the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico from those flowing west into the Pacific Ocean.  So, water off one side goes to the Pacific Ocean and water off the other side goes to the Atlantic Ocean.  The Continental Divide is a defining formation of mountains that is a division in our country.  One side goes Pacific and the other side goes Atlantic.  The trail I was on was at the dividing point.  If I fell off that trail to the west I would roll into the Pacific Ocean and into the Atlantic if I fell the other way. (The trees at the bottom would have something to say about me going all the way to the ocean)  The point is there is a division, a mighty division that has been there and will continue to be there for a long time.  I believe the modern day church is on a path up a great divide as well.  As we travel up this path, looking to the left and looking to the right seem just about the same, but they aren't.  One side takes our faith, our very belief foundation, and lets it roll into obscurity and the effect of that roll in the wrong direction weakens the effectiveness of the church and wastes the precious efforts of Holy Spirit filled believers.  That side lives out an era of church life that was built around a building and not a group of believers sold out to Christ.  Their traditions were formed from self interest and human wisdom and that wisdom is dated and lifeless.  The other side takes the faith we know and allows it to be led by a very active and radical impression left by God's Word and His Holy Spirit.  It is fueled by God's Spirit and is very up to date and active in an ever changing world.  This faith is guided by God's Word and held as precious by all who follow it and live it out.  Paul wrote to the Colossians about such a faith in Colossians 2: 6-10 "My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given.  You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live in Him.  You're deeply rooted in Him. You're well constructed upon Him. You know your way around the faith.  Now do what you've been taught.  School's out: quit studying the subject and start living it!  And let your living spill over into thanksgiving.  Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk.   They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything.  They spread their ideas through empty traditions of human beings and the empty supersition of spirit beings.   But that's not the way of Christ.  Everything of God gets expressed in Him, so you can see and hear him clearly.  You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without Him.  When you come to Him, that fullness comes together for  you, too.  His power extends over everything."  Pretty long scripture there, but an endless amount of truth for us to live by.  Perhaps you have traveled in your Christian faith to this place where the air is thin and you are a little scared where to stand and worried you can't make it to the top.  I'm going back to the hikers words and to the Spiritual Hiker, Paul's words to the Colossians.  "One step after the other, keep moving forward!" It is important to keep moving, strengthened and guided by what you know and what you have learned from God's Word and your faith in it.  Don't let misguided, lifeless teachings filled with man's traditions deter you from reaching the top of your faith, where the view is awesome!  Keep on the path, and know that your faithfulness to the truth will make every difference to those who come behind you. Whatever you do, Keep Moving Forward!!

Acts 17:24 "The God who made the world and everything in it, this Master of sky and land, doesn't live in custom-made shrines 25 or need the human race to run errands for him, as if he couldn't take care of himself. He makes the creatures; the creatures don't make him. 26 Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living 27 so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. 28We live and move in him, can't get away from him! One of your poets said it well: 'We're the God-created.' 29 Well, if we are the God-created, it doesn't make a lot of sense to think we could hire a sculptor to chisel a god out of stone for us, does it? 30 "God overlooks it as long as you don't know any better - but that time is past. The unknown is now known, and he's calling for a radical life-change. 

How Radical will this life change be for you?

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

Just Flip the Switch!!

So many Christians are walking around with a non-serving attitude and the effect it has on the modern day church is being felt all over the world.  Serving is something that is really difficult for most to get a handle on and the modern conveniences of technology have contributed to the problem.  We have come a long way from the introduction of the tv remote that made it possible to change tv channels without having to actually get up from your chair.  I love my remote and the way it makes watching tv so much easier.  When my remote breaks down, I suddenlly realize how dependent I have become on it and find myself not even wanting to watch tv if I can't channel surf from my easy chair.  We have made almost everything so user friendly that it has caused us to lose our drive for actually doing something physical.  Why get up to change the tv when you can just push a button and access numerous channels, or bring up the channel guide and zip through them ten at a time.  Apple tv makes it possible to change and view tv off the internet with your smart phone, even bypassng the remote.  I guess the next step will be a micro chip that is inserted in your brain so you can change what you are watching with the blink of an eye.  Are we making things better or just easier. Believe it or not, the two do not coexist. It's either one or the other.  And the competition among people to outdo the other guys easy mode by coming up with something that makes what we are doing even easier is amazing. The commerical that shows a guy getting the latest 3D tv unloaded at his house and looks across the street as his neighbor is getting a 4d (not real) unloaded, thus outdoing him.  His frustration is the frustration of not having the lastest, greatest is hilarious, but also indicting on our society.  So how do we change the tide?  First off we need to look at the problem itself.  No one  wants to be responsible for anything anymore.  This is the ultimate apathy.  I won't commit to something that ties me down and keeps me from being able to choose whether I want  to make a sacrifice or not.  Oh my goodness, never sacrifice.  Jesus did that on the cross so I wouldn't have to.  Let me reference a verse here that applies.  Mark 10:21 Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.  You know what this is.  It is the dialogue Jesus has with the man who had great possessions.  He came wanting to know what it would take for Him to have eternal life and Jesus said give up your possessions, but the man wasn't willing and walked away without.   So many times we think that when we accept Christ we get that "fire insurance" and that's just about it from there on.  So we find a church to "attend", but not serve in and we think everything is all right.  For a home in heaven, everything is all right.  For a home on earth, it is just the beginning.  The life of a disciple is so much more than just heaven.  It is living a life of purpose and passion here on earth, while we are living.  I'm not talking a remote control life.  I'm talking about a "get up and change the channel" life.  Oh, we can use modern technology to help us do this service, but when it becomes our source to keep us from serving, it has gone too far.  What happens is before long we just start existing and the ease of not serving the  Lord with our "effort" takes over our mind and then our heart and then we feel an emptiness that should not be there.

II remember a few years back a church that built a new building and they wanted to solve the problem of people not turning off the lights when they leave a room.  They had hired a janitor to become a "light turner offer" to fix it, but soon realized the lack of genius in that decision when they had to pay him.  So in the new building they put in light switches that turn on when you go in the room and turn off when you leave.  In reality they had become so lazy, they wouldn't even take the initiative to turn off a light switch. C'mon!  The argument was, "we want to be good stewards of the Lord's money, so we don't want to waste electricity."  In reality they just wanted to make it easier for people to keep a distance in the area of investing in their church by not being responsible and turning off the lights.  How hard can that be?  Can you give me a remote for that?  Just Flip the Switch!!!  Oh no, that is so below me and my talents....(sarcasm)  Like the man with great possessions we must approach this salvation thing with the realization that Jesus compels us to roll up our sleeves and serve.  By which some may answer, "Can you text me those instructions, so I don't forget?"  Keep serving in the front of your mind and be a life poured out to continue what Christ has started in our lives.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:13  "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again?  It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men."  I don't think there is an app for that, so don't try searching.  The only app here is "apply God's Word to your life."  Now  you have heard the truth.  Just flip the switch and see what is waiting for you when you have a willing  heart.

Just flip the switch!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

A Soldier for Christ

My son Seth, is just about to ship out overseas as a member of the United States Army

and Lindsey, his wife, just gave birth to their new daughter, Charlie Mae about two weeks ago.  We have so many mixed emotions about his deployment and the nine months he won't be with us, but such is life for a soldier.  He has basicallly signed his time and life over to defend our freedom in America.  I'm sure he has many fears about his time away and our prayers go with him as he takes on this new venture in life.  We pray for safety for him as he travels and as he does his duty on site. We pray for his wife and child to be safe and that his time there will go quickly without incident.  It's actually no different for any of us though as we take our marching orders from our Heavenly Father and step out into a very unfamiliar time of service for our Lord.  Our time and our lives are surrendered to Him and His will and His orders are to be followed by each of us in sometimes very stressful areas of service.  This is the life of a Soldier of Christ and our unity as soldiers is vital to the success of the mission.  Our mission is a Great Commission, and the orders are from the one who controls the universe.  He goes before us with power and purpose and sets our feet on the path that is best for us.  The path may have a few roadside bombs that have been positioned to hurt us, but God knows where the best route is through these traps and He even shares that roadmap with His soldiers.  God protects those who serve Him as Soldiers of Christ and he protects those who fight for the freedom of our country as well.  Psalm 91 gives me great peace and hope for our son, and I have total confidence in the protection that God gives.  Psalam 91:1 You who sit down in the High God's presence, spend the night in Shaddai's shadow, 2 Say this: "God, you're my refuge. I trust in you and I'm safe!" 3 That's right - he rescues you from hidden traps, shields you from deadly hazards. 4 His huge outstretched arms protect you - under them you're perfectly safe; his arms fend off all harm. 5 Fear nothing - not wild wolves in the night, not flying arrows in the day, 6 Not disease that prowls through the darkness, not disaster that erupts at high noon. 7 Even though others succumb all around, drop like flies right and left, no harm will even graze you. 8 You'll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance, watch the wicked turn into corpses. 9 Yes, because God's your refuge, the High God your very own home, 10 Evil can't get close to you, harm can't get through the door. 11 He ordered his angels to guard you wherever you go. 12 If you stumble, they'll catch you; their job is to keep you from falling. 13 You'll walk unharmed among lions and snakes, and kick young lions and serpents from the path. 14 "If you'll hold on to me for dear life," says God, "I'll get you out of any trouble. I'll give you the best of care if you'll only get to know and trust me. 15 Call me and I'll answer, be at your side in bad times; I'll rescue you, then throw you a party. 16 I'll give you a long life, give you a long drink of salvation!"

We will always have to deal with snares that are set for us along the way, but God is faithful to protect us and I believe, protect my son, Seth.  At the end of his time overseas you can bet we will throw that party as it says in verse 15 and we will rejoice for the great power of  God and His great protection.  My praise goes to our God, who is more powerful than anything that may come the way for a Soldier for Christ.

Seth is not only a soldier, but a soldier for Christ, and I am so proud of him for his service and look forward to the many stories he will tell of his time away from us.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Source of Oneness

My wife and I will celebrate, yes celebrate, 38 years of marriage tomorrow, August 6.  It will be a great benchmark that includes a love God put in each of us for the other in 1976.  I remember the wedding ceremony pretty well, but I remember the Life commitment real well!  That life commitment was a commitment to love, honor, and cherish each other until death and that has been our long standing commitment through good and bad times.  When we married Andra didn't know that God was going to call her husband into full time Christian service and the effects of that alone are tough, but rewarding.   God has led us from coast to coast in this time of ministry and we have been able to see lives impacted for the kingdom in fantastic, inspiring ways, and continue to serve the Lord who knit our hearts together in Oneness.  In Genesis 2:24 it says, "for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."  Not only one flesh, but one heart is the case for us.  When I surrendered to the ministry I didn't know that at times my only support was going to be from the Lord and my helpmate, Andra.  I thought the ministry would be like scripture stated it would be, but the human factor of dealing with people has at times made the ministry a major source of worry and confusion in our marriage.  But, through all of the horror stories Andra has remained hopeful and helpful, and for that she is to be commended in the best possible way.  Even in my failings, she has been patient and kind and always Godly in her approach to whatever happens in our lives.  All of this is, of course, from God, and the power of the Holy Spirit is real and present in our marriage and that is where we draw our closeness from.  The last 38 years has developed a Oneness that I can't explain and rely on to this very day.  This oneness causes us to sometimes finish each other's sentences or thoughts, to stand in battle against evil together, to pour ourselves into our children's and now grandchildren's lives, and to look each other in the eye and see our love for each other is ever-increasing.  I marvel at the marriage God has developed in our lives and I am humbled by God's love that makes this marriage a marriage of Oneness.  I fully anticipate and look forward to many more years together, God willing, and praise the Lord for the woman He put in my life.   Andra, I love you with all my heart and look forward to fighting many more battles together and seeing God use our marriage for His Glory.  It is wonderful to grow older with you my sister in Christ.

Love,

David

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren 

The Benefits of Short Term Mission Work

Two blogs ago I wrote a blog that brought out the negative effect of mission tours over local missions in our neighborhoods and towns.  I want to clarify that those who go on such trips get to see many helpful effects on the ministry area they live in. I went to Honduras a few years back and that mission trip allowed me to be one on one with some of our church members and the training they gained in preparation for that trip translated into a bigger desire to do local ministry where they lived.  It helped me see where our mission dollars were going and effectively minister hands on where it had just been long distance before.  I was on what I feel is the best trip for hands on help to hurting people because I went on one where medical and dental assistance was given to people who would not get it otherwise.  I saw doctors and dentists give of their vacation time because they cared.  My oldest son was in pre-med and his life was impacted in a very positive way by being able to help as never before.   Those who do this type of mission work usually put a pastor in service and help support his reaching out to others in that area.  That ongoing connection with those in that country insure that people groups are not only reached out to, but given ongoing guidance through a pastor and the local church.  From that connection we can "almost be there" because of the strong tie through the local pastor on site.  You can be there without having to "be there."

I didn't want to leave the impression that I didn't know about these mission trips and didn't agree with them because that is just not the truth.   I have been on such trips and the positive I got out of it was beneficial to my life and the life of those we helped.  My earlier blog brought up a scenario that shows how the heart of reaching out can get out of kelter when not done right and that can impact the local church in our location in a negative way. This blog hopefully shows the positive impact when going on trips done with the right heart and the great help it is to the local church who sends these people out.   I apologize for not clarifying about the good of these trips and hope this helps us see the whole picture.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

What is Your Why?

So many times we do things with actually no purpose, or it is so clouded and blurry, we can't even make it out.  Clarity is an amazing thing when doing ministry and it must be the thing that shows us the way in our Christian walk.  Through the years I have seen a lot of things change that should have stayed the same, and many things stay the same that should have changed.  All of this comes down to the why of our purpose.  Why sing this song?  Because one person said they like it.  Why start this group?  Because one person said we needed to.  Why build this building?  Because we wanted to dedicate it to a someone.  There are so many different reasons we do things that might not pass the God inspired test, and of those things, many of them get in the way of doing the right thing.  The prayed for, God inspired action, that takes so much patience and tossing and turning.  It's easier to weigh things on the scales of human wants instead of following God's why!  God's why means we have to speak to Him and then listen to Him and that is so scetchy for some who don 't really have that kind of relationship with the Father.  That seems too mystical for them, so they decide to use human judgment and rationalize with human wisdom.  Why?  It's easier and more within reach.  Plus it doesn't stretch us so much.

Just like Sunday school in Baptist life.  Do we ditch it or call it something else, or just keep it and struggle along.  Churches are doing away with Sunday school faster than church choirs nowadays and we use the lack of participation of those in those classes as a reason to do something different or do nothing at all.   In the 70's Baptist churches were glad to have 50% of enrolled in Sunday school actually attending regularly.  In the 80's we refired "visitation" up again and that salvaged Sunday school for the next decade.  In the 90's everyone kind of said "who cares?"  And that brings us to today.  So many churches are still doing Sunday school, but in homes and not necessarily on Sunday.   Some are doing it at the church and trudge on.   Some have totally gone away from it.  I want to address these three and hopefully we can get a little clarity out of the Why Sunday school?

First off, those who have ditched it completely are missing the point of what Sunday school is all about, and probably still have it but they don't call it that.  Sunday school originated out of a need in church life to get people into small groups so they could discuss the Bible and build closer relationships with other Christians.  When a Sunday school class fulfills the why, it will be a growing, thriving, group of growing Christians that strengthen the foundation of the local church and provide energy to reach out to their community.  Any Bible Study group that meets with intent of having less than 20 people in it is a Sunday school class.  Years ago Pastor's saw the strength of those classes and formed Pastor's Classes so they could interact with God's People in that way.  Those classes usually met in the sanctuary of a church and really became everything but a Sunday school class, because  they didn't meet the why of Sunday school.  Just so you know.  Classes like those probably weakened the intent of Sunday school over the years and contributed to the demise of the Sunday school organization.  Why?  Sunday school was intended to remain a smaller discussion group than a non-discussion worship service.  Many of these flawed models led to churches just "giving up" on the Sunday school ministry.  It lost it's purpose and thus lost it's value to churches that are striving to be current.  Bad Move!!!

Secondly, I want to speak to the churches that do Sunday school off campus and not at the same time.  I actually have no problem with that approach as long as those doing it are completely trustworthy in their love for building up the local church they are serving.   Today's church needs a bunch of little churches meeting away from it like a hole in the head.  Those who do this "at home" approach must know and adhere to the purpose of the church they are attached to and know why they are having these groups and what their purpose is.  Their why has to be very strong and very resolved.  Small groups for Bible Discussion has to continue to be the mantra of those classes and a heavy accountability model has to be in place to continue to make sure they are functioning properly.   In the Christian life accountability is sorely needed and small groups off campus must be very aware of that need and follow the churches guidelines for that accountability.  Other factors, like insurance needs, food and drink needs, and good room space is something that also must be addressed when going to that approach.  In reality, that too becomes old hand, so the cool thing wears off quickly and we are back to square one.

Lastly, I must address the churches that keep their Sunday school in the schedule and in the church building.  This might be called the traditional way to do Sunday school and some boomers might freak at the mention of that word.  Settle down and listen up.  We must go back to the purpose of Sunday school.  Remember, small groups with Bible DISCUSSION!!  Some larger churches are still knocking it out of the park with Sunday school in this format and some are just barely hanging on and giving away prizes to  keep people attending.  The development of relationships in the Sunday school class is the only thing that will keep Sunday school intact!!!  We live in a society where people would rather type their words to others, than talk to them one on one.  We are a fearful, intimidated group of Americans and the only strength we have is when we don't have to look into the face of someone we don't agree with.  We call that strength.  We have allowed ourselves to become third person in almost everything we do and that has bled over to the Bible Study discussion group and how we minister in that group.  If we would reclaim what Jesus was like by looking a person in the eye, getting involved in their stuff, and allowing ourselves to be real to them, our Sunday school classes would be full and overflowing.  We would have to beat people off with a stick!! (not literally)   So you can see why Sunday school is not growing anymore.  We have lost the caring heart of Jesus that is in each of us through the Holy Spirit.  We have found a way to minimize the Holy Spiri in our life and thus keep guilt from motivating us anymore.  We have become detached and so has everyone around us.  Detached from God and detached from others.  This radical lack of fellowship can be turned around with a simple magical wand called friendship.  That wand when activated will take our spotlight off of ourselves and put it on others and they will want to be around us because we CARE!!

Sunday school will grow as never before when we once again recapture the ability to care.  Care about a person's week.  Care whether a person is in class or not.  Care about a person's family needs.  Care. When we care for someone, we are caring for Jesus.  Jesus sais, "if you have done this to the least of these, you have done it to me."

Here's the question.  Do you love Jesus?  Do you care about Jesus?  Do you know your life purpose for Jesus?  If you said no to any of those, you got problems!!  Come back to CARING and marvel at the impact it has on those around  you.  If you are a person who believes in the Sunday school ministry, then allow it to come to life by CARING!!  You don't even have to have a group at your house.  Just meet them at the church house.  What is your why?  My why is.....because God's word says to do it.  Nothing more, nothing less.

The Pilgrimage continues......

David Warren