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