The Lone Ranger and Tonto - Partners

Partner - a person who takes on an undertaking with another person with shared risks and profits. In Acts 13 in the city of Antioch in verse 1 it says that a group of prophets, including Barnabas, were there and while they were ministering the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."  Then they laid hands on them after fasting and praying and they sent them away.  Partners in the faith and in the work of the Lord.  Paul and Barnabas equally called, equally equipped in their own way to take the message of Christ to a lost and dying world.  As we read more in the book of Acts, we see God using Paul and Barnabas in a powerful way for His glory.  He called them....Partners.  In the Christian life we sometimes develop a called relationship with another person and that relationship is something God uses for His glory by combining the gifts of two or more people to do more than one person could do.  In the marriage relationship, when the two become one, there is a partnership of lives and hearts that God can use in an awesome way.  Husband and wife, and partners in the faith.  That is the kind of relationship God allowed when my wife and I committed our lives to each other.  Through the years that partnership has seen great successes and yes, even some defeats, but the strength of the relationship is strong at the core and is vital to both of our lives and the development of our faith in God.  My wife keeps me on track, especially on my blind sides.  Those areas I don't see that could hurt my faith and ministry.  She looks out  for my well-being as a partner in my walk with Jesus.  I do the same for her as her husband, and the head of my household, and protect the relationship that I have with her.  We are husband and wife in life, but  partners in ministry. I can't make it without her and she can't make it without me.  We are both called!!  In ministry there are those people that God joins us with to bring out the best in us as we bring out the best in them and God uses those "partners" in a mightier way than He could as individuals.  Both called, both important.  The partnership that is formed by God is an amazing thing, and to realize  what it is, and how important it is will cause us to nurture it as we step forward in our walk with God.  Paul and Barnabas were at their strongest when they were both doing what God had gifted them to do.  Those gifts were at a heightened state as they complimented in each other.  That is a good example for Christians when serving in a local church.  We must be partners in our efforts to serve God and that partnership, called being likeminded, causes the gospel to flourish and come alive in our fellowship.   Paul and Barnabas came into cities and immediately saw fantastic results in the midst of much persecution and hatred toward them as followers of The Way.  They relied on each other to get the work done and their partnership made both of them more effective in the ministry.  Their heart for serving together was interrupted by a disagreement over the consideration of someone else who was not a part of that partnership and they parted ways.  Which shows, even in the best of partnerships, we must guard that partnership and protect the importance of it by being open to the other person's needs and opinions.

The Lone Ranger was awesome, but he needed Tonto.  Tonto was a great indian scout, but he needed the Lone Ranger.  Each had their own strengths, but together they had super strength.  Never underestimate the importance of our working together!  That's why in Paul's letter to the church at Phillipi in chapter 2 verse 2 Paul wrote "complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking of one thing."  PARTNERS

Proverbs 27:17 SAYS, Iron is sharpened  by iron; one person sharpens another.  If you are  a pretty sharp person in your own thinking, think how sharp you would be if you partnered with another Spirit-filled person to serve God.  The results would be incredible and the effect would be tremendous.  Of course, satan does not want this partnership to happen, so he sows dissension, mistrust, jealousy, and hatred wherever he can to insure this partnership never happens. That is why each of us need to partner together to pool our gifts and resources for serving the Lord.  A church full of these partnerships is a church that is "on the move."  As the famous worldly philosopher, Larry the Cable Guy says, "Get er done!"  Viktor Frankl, a concentration camp survivor said, "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing:  To choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's way."  No matter what your attitude is today it can be changed and as Paul said in Romans 12:21 "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will."  The god of this world wants "every man for himself" but our God wants PARTNERS!  Join hands with another believer and see what God will do with a true partnership.   You will be pleasantly surprised...

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Along for The Journey

Being from the awesome state of Missouri and the most excellent town of West Plains, I had the great privilege of traveling down asphalt highways and dirt roads while growing up. During my early driving years I would treat both road surfaces the same, until one fateful day when I was speeding down a very loose, dirt road, just outside of town.  I was fishtailing down that dirt road, and not giving away any speed as I drove down a straightaway that was about a mile in length and then it happened.  I encountered a curve....  This is where the asphalt road and the dirt road's differences took shape.  On an asphalt highway I would just brake slightly and power steer around the curve without slowing down.  The dirt road demanded a much different way of doing things.  As I approached the curve, I pumped my brakes to get my speed down to a more controllable speed and negotiated the curve, sliding a little as I went around it.  As I came out of the curve I floored it and spun around one time and landed in a ditch.  If I had just kept the same control I had going into the curve while coming out of the curve, everything would have been fine, but I didn't and it caused a wreck.  Fortunately there was minimal damage to my 1968 Mustang.  I learned a good lesson that day about making choices in different situations.  As I look back now I can see that my journey was the same, but the roads were different.  I was still moving in the same direction, but the surface of the road was much more slippery and loose than the asphalt I had become accustomed to.

Jesus gave his disciples some great instructions about handling the journey He was sending them on.  In those instructions He seemed to take away all the comforts of home like no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic, etc.  In Luke 9:1-3 you will find his instructions for his disciples and it is pretty amazing how He forced them to be dependent on Him and His power.  In fact, in verse 1 he says it all.. "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases." In verse 2 he had two reasons for them going and they were "preach the kingdom of God and heal the sick."  It doesn't mention the disciples looking at each other saying "Is he kidding?" because it didn't happen.  In verse 6 it tells what they did. "They set out..."  Oh to have that kind of faith for our journey!!  You can bet they had some good roads and some bad  roads on their journey.  When I say road, I mean the experiences that met them as they traveled forward for Christ.  I'm sure there were some very easy roads they traveled, but I'm sure  there were some very difficult roads as well.  The thing that really made the difference for them was "they had the power of God!!"  In fact, they were so bold and directional in their attempts at ministry he also told them whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."  So they were very sure of their direction and message going into the town and when they left, they didn't spin out and crash because people rejected their message.  They kept moving forward on their journey.

Our lives are much like their's in that we have the great commission to go...go...go and we have been given the power through the Holy Spirit to go in God's Spirit.  Part of the going is believing God will take care of the details when you go and your mind and focus will be on the journey and not the side issues.

In Hebrews 11:6  the writer says, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he will reward those who earnestly seek him."  When we step out on this journey God has sent us on He is on the journey with us.  His power and his direction are there all along the way to help us.  Our faith in Him is  rewarded with His  supply of everything we need.  No spinouts because no matter what surface the road may be made of, he is there.  Remember Phillip meeting the Ethiopian eunuch, and the conversation that followed?  The eunuch became a believer and Phillip was at just the right place at just the right time.  That is full testimony of God being there through the journey.  A big part of Phillip being there was the Holy Spirit sent him there and then he continued on his journey.  (Acts 8:36)  We are all on a journey and God is on that  journey with us, so our faith in Him being there to help us is vital.  We must trust God and have faith that He is guiding us and empowering us on that journey.  

Have you accepted your marching orders?  Then now is the time to listen up and let God lead you on the journey he has planned for your life.  Have faith and follow God and he will  be there with you because he also is Along for the Journey.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

DisneyChurch

In a time when churches are losing members by the hundreds, the chosen way to keep them coming is by creating an attraction.  I remember going to an amusement park that was split up into two parts, the rides and the petting zoo.  The sign at the fork in the amusement park road on one side said Zoo, on the other side it said "This way to the attractions."  You know what attractions are don't you?  They are the rides that shuttle people in through winding walking trails and cause us to want to almost tempt death itself by riding them.  But, we still want to ride them for the thrill.  Sometimes people will wait for 2 hours just to get on a 20 second ride, and if the line isn't too long they will go again and again.  They even offer "fast track" to get back on the attraction faster because we think it is so cool.  Those attractions will lure us into spending $50-$100.00 for tickets to walk around in the heat in a mass of people just to get a chance to ride something that is heart stirring and exciting.  Oh everything is real good until somebody gets hurt.  I remember going to Silver Dollar City as an eighth grader (yes, they had electricity back then) and riding the "Runaway Mine Train."  It was so good about half way through the ride I would think "Is this thing really going to run away?"  I would ride that ride probably 20 times every time we went to the park and could have ridden it more if they would  have stayed open a little longer.  Word got back to us a couple of years later that the "Runaway Mine Train" had malfunctioned and went to a holding area for the cars when there were people on the ride.  The only problem with it going to the holding area was there was low hanging pipe that was not designed for people to be able to clear it.  You guessed it.  A guy on the back train car got  his head cut off with that pipe.  The news was disastrous for me.  I never rode the "Runaway Mine Train" again. Why?  Because I thought it could malfunction when I was on it and I didn't want to take any chances.  The attraction became a distraction for me and anyone else wanting to ride the ride.  In visiting people for the Lord I will come upon a person every now and then that voices their opinion about certain things going on in most churches and I listen and try to offer up some kind of explanation that will help soothe their hurt feelings.  One such man I visited shared about a certain church that he called the Las Vegas Church.   He went on to tell me that in that church he felt like he was watching a
"floor show" and that the pastor's message was more of a massage for those who were wanting to hear words that would make his members feel better.  He used the words "pretty weak."  Of course, his observation was from a very slanted perspective, so I brushed off what he said as pure conjecture.  But was it?  The attraction that made that church who they were became a distraction.  No heads cut off, but hearts not stirred by God's Word.  He said he would never go back.  Somewhere along the line the church leadership decided that preaching user friendly messages and putting on a floor show, complete with dancers, was a better approach to reaching people than lifting up the name of the Lord and preaching His Word as it is.  The result was a larger number of people attending, but not much  spiritual depth or life change in those attendees.  A rule of thumb is this "What you use to get people there is what you will have to continue to use to keep them there!"  The writer of Proverbs said it this way in Proverbs 14:12  "There's way that looks harmless enough; look again- it leads straight to hell.  Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak (The Message)"  I guess that last statement is the pipe in the holding area that no one can escape because they are locked in to the attraction itself.  Disney is a nice place to visit, but I don't want to put any roots there.  It is an attraction and very shallow at best.  That's why we go for the children because it is for the immature and childish.  Paul spoke about growing to maturity this way in 1 Corinthians 13:11, "When I was a child, I used to talk as a  child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things."  It's time to think in a much more mature way when it comes to church and all we should be as the church.  Be real, but be Biblical.

Sadly enough churches have taken on this "attractions" mentality to do whatever they can to  attract people to come and visit.  I will say that even the best of attraction churches don't have people lined up at the door waiting to get in (except maybe Hillsong NYC).  The thrill of those wanting to see an attraction isn't enough to get the masses to come and try it out, so we try to give things away....Wow.  That was a big step in the wrong direction.  We end up feeding the very thing we preach and teach against in our attempt to get the people in the door.   Oh I believe in creativity when reaching people and I also believe we should use tools that are available to be current and relevant.  Sometimes it can get just a little out of hand though.  I love Disney World and would go there often if the funds were available.  I would walk through the park built around make believe characters and make believe stories that capture our kids imagination.  I have done that by the way.  They are the marketing capitals of the world and I bet their upper management planning meetings are laced with all kinds of ways to get us hooked on the latest, greatest thing.  They are experts in marketing and controlling the masses through manipulation and that marketing surely works as we go back again and again. So, is that what it takes to get people in to church.  I heard one guy say, "I will do whatever it takes to get people in the church doors!!"  It sounds noble, but maybe very lacking when it comes to the reality of what people need in their lives.  To compromise the message means something has to give somewhere.  
When I was a kid my brother in law introduced me to "trolling."  You know, fishing from the back of the boat as it moves forward and takes your lure at slow speed past unsuspecting fish in the lake.  I remember Ralph telling me, "Don't troll too deep or you will get hung up on the bottom."  That was a good lesson for all of us in church life today.  Don't dip our ways of reaching people too deep in the pool of mediocrity and worldliness because we may get hung up on something that will break our line and stop the fishing altogether.  Jesus said in Matthew 4:19 "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men."  He wasn't talking about getting them to come to a "kickin floor show."  He was talking about sharing the message one on one with everyone they met because the message was from God and it had all the attraction one would need.
So, what is our greatest attraction.  How bout the Holy Spirit in our lives?  When you accept Jesus Christ you receive the Holy Spirit and that is your greatest attraction to a lost and dying world.  John 14: 25 "I have told you this while I am with you  The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name- he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you."  In our attempt to be relevant and reach the masses may we never forget Jesus and His power.  Without that power we are nothing anyway, so we should use the pure source and not a borrowed one to attract people to Him.  Because contrary to the Disney Song  "It's a BIG world after all...."


The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

Is Your Life Leaning?

Perhaps one of the most recognizable wonders in the world is the leaning tower of Pisa.  Here is some tower information.The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre pendente di Pisa) or simply the Tower of Pisa (Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa, known worldwide for its unintended tilt.

It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo) after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. The tower's tilt began during construction, caused by an inadequate foundation on ground too soft on one side to properly support the structure's weight. The tilt increased in the decades before the structure was completed, and gradually increased until the structure was stabilized (and the tilt partially corrected) by efforts in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

The height of the tower is 55.86 metres (183.27 feet) from the ground on the low side and 56.67 metres (185.93 feet) on the high side. The width of the walls at the base is 2.44 m (8 ft 0.06 in). Its weight is estimated at 14,500metric tons (16,000 short tons).^[1] The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees,^[2][3][4] but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees.^[5] This means that the top of the tower is displaced horizontally 3.9 metres (12 ft 10 in) from the centre.^{[6]  The word pisa means marshy lands, so it is  no wonder the tower is leaning.  The tower will eventually fall, but for now it just leans.}

^{Our life, like any building, needs to be built on the solid foundation of the Word of God. Hebrews 4:12 says, "The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitude of the heart."  The Word of God is vital, so we must make it the foundation for our lives, or we start to lean.  Guess where we lean?  Toward the world or, as the Bible says, the flesh.  If our foundation is shaky at best, and we have built our lives on marshy land, our foundation will be weak and the lure of the world will start to make us lean in it's direction.  Paul warned Timothy about the leaning starting by what we put in our minds, 2 Timothy 4:3 -"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."  Mr. Rogers, Can you spell church hopper?  We are in the days when we must base what we do and say on the Word of God or what we say has no depth!!  If we do this the leaning will stop and even go the other way to upright.  The only way to fight the draw of the world is the truth of the Word of God and that must be our foundation.  Anything less will not stop us from leaning the wrong way.  We will choose to follow the Word of God if our foundation is the Lord.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:24  "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock."  Get the truth here from the Savior of the World?  Hear the word, put it into practice, good foundation.  Almost Nuff said!!  Jesus goes on to say in verse 25, "The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall because it had its foundation on the rock."  Boo ya!  We are in a time in history where we have nothing but storms and we will always weather those storms if we have put our trust in God and His Word.}  

^{So....if you are leaning and it is not toward God, then get into the Word of God and come to the understanding of what victorious living is all about.  GOD!  Remember, the tower of Pisa is leaning and eventually it will fall.  Your life may be leaning, but you can straighten it up right now by committing to follow God by following His Word.  You already have the Holy Spirit, so now all it takes is a surrendered heart.  Just do it!!}

^{The Pilgrimage continues.....}

^{David Warren}

The Unpainted House

My wife and I love to get out in the evenings and drive around our area.  We kind of take the same path about every time.  In fact, we do take the same path every time.   Some people take long walks on the beach, and without a beach, we take a car.  On our travels we notice the same houses and how they change or stay the same.  It's really kind of fun, since it doesn't take a lot to amuse us....

Going by one particular house a few months ago we noticed they were out there scraping and preparing the wood for painting.  You could just tell it was going to make a huge difference in the look of the house, and we were anticipating the new look as we noticed their progress in scraping the old paint off the house.  But, we went by the house this week and I told my wife, I wonder why they haven't painted that house yet?  They did such a good job scraping it, but they didn't complete the job.  Now, don't get the idea we are going around critiquing every one's house, and we are coming to an area near you.  Cause that is not what it happening.  We just notice and get encouraged by the effort of trying to improve their property.

But the question remains, "Why take all the time to scrape and prepare the wood for repainting and then not paint it?"  It could be many different things like lack of funds for paint, can't pick a color, some more damage they haven't repaired yet, or other various things that would delay the process from being completed.  But the end result is this; the house is not painted!!  

In our life as a believer we have those moments too, don't we?  We start something and the future looks so good and bright and then we bog down and put off the next move and it goes uncompleted.  Soon the effort loses ground to procrastination and the putting off becomes a curse to the whole thing because we didn't finish strong.  So, the great plans are stopped in the process and what seemed so good and exciting dies...What a terrible death.  I have seen things that needed changing and said the words, "We ought to..."  Then we look at all that is involved and we let our lack of faith and followthrough kill the great and mighty plans for improvement.  Paul in writing to the church at Ephesus was very pointed in making sure they were going to follow the process of growing and reaching others for Christ.  In Ephesians 2:20-22 he says,"Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit."  God, of course, is really good at finishing things, including the forming of the earth, death, burial, resurrection of Jesus, rebuilding the temple, and, of course, finishing the life changing process of growing us into who He wants us to be.  Paul speaks also to this process in Philippians 1:6  "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work  in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  How could Paul have such confidence in knowing that the process of growing us to completion would be done?  Because he had seen the house finished in all it's glory in his life and the life of others who came to follow The Way.  In his travels he saw the unfinished part of the process and then he also saw the painted part of the process of those who were walking with God.  House completed!!  In 1 Corinthians 3:9 Paul wrote, "For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."  

So, how's the work going?  Have you scraped off the old and are you allowing God to repaint your life with the new.  If not, you are keeping Him from doing all He wants to do in your life and it just doesn't look right!!  Time to get into God's Word and let the process move on to completion.  If you will bend, God will finish the process and you will show a great progress in your walk with God.  The results will be fantastic and inspiring to yourself and others.  Wow!!!  Now that's the kind of life that makes an impact.  Keep on looking ahead, God has some great things he is doing in the rebuilding of your life in Christ.  He has His heavenly paint brush in His hand and His brush strokes really make things look awesome!!

The Pilgrimage continues..

David Warren

I Propose a Purpose for a Porpoise

Porpoises are fully aquatic marine mammals.  They are under the suborder of Odontoceti or toothed whales.  Basically they are small toothed whales that are closely related to oceanic dolphins.  The also have the ability to produce Biosonar, and it is their primary method for  movement.  So if you see a porpoise, he or she is moving with purpose.  In other words they know where they are going and their Biosonar has given them the information they need to move forward, wherever forward may be.  As believers we pray and pray for God to bless and then just move around, aimlessly at times, hoping God will do something with our aimlessness.  Paul knew this was a problem and he preached again and again to the churches he wrote to about having a purpose and a plan.  The definition of the word purpose is the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.  We were created to praise God with our lives and in that creation is the need for the tools to pursue that purpose.  We praise God with our worship, our service, our dedication to His Word, and how we treat others.  We don't go about this willy-nilly, but we go about it with great purpose and with God's leadership and direction.  God is our Biosonar and following His direction gives our purpose direction like the porpoise.  It is no coincidence that Paul couples his Words about purpose with the coming of Jesus as he did in 2 Thessalonians where he said to those early believers in 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 "because we know this extraordinary day is just ahead, we pray for you all the time- pray that our God will make you fit for what He's called you to be, pray that He'll fill your good ideas and acts of faith with His own energy so that it all amounts to something.  If you life honors the name of Jesus, he will honor you."  Just in the same way God equipped the porpoise with Biosonar to fulfill his daily purpose, He equips us with the ability to know and follow His will and way with purpose.  We were created for this and our Biosonar is the Holy Spirit and God's Word, and the direction we get from those two give us our direction on a daily basis.  So I Propose a Purpose for a Porpoise...actually for a believer who is walking with God.  Here is what I propose.. 1.  Begin each day spending time in God's Word and be very purposeful in reading it, to the point of absorbing it.  2.  Pray for the Holy Spirit to give you His direction for the day.  ( it may be an impression that you need to fast in a certain area of your life, or you need to make a wrong relationship right with someone, or that you need to share your testimony of your faith, or something else)  3. Go and make the most of the day you are living  Ephesians 5:16 says "making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil."  4. Evaluate your day at the end of the day and pray that God will give you a good rest and that  you will wake up with a new direction the next day.  He will do it too!!  God is faithful and during these perilous end days He wants to give us direction to live our days to the fullest.  No more wandering around, but  living each day with a fervancy (def. intensity) Romans 12:11 says "not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.  James 5:16 says "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."  What is an effective prayer.  One that is directional...in other words praying for God's direction.

So, like the porpoise God has equipped believers with everything we need to get the direction we need to serve Him and it's up to us to seek that direction and then move!!  I Propose a Purpose for all who follow Jesus and then I believe we will see Matthew 6:33 start to come alive in our lives.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you.  When does it begin?  It begins NOW!!!

You may say, "What!  Am I a porpoise?"   No, you are child of the King and He wants to show you great and mighty things you never thought possible.  Time to use your SpiritSonor and start serving Him with purpose, cause you are no porpoise....

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

No More Dark Alleys

I was watching a show the other night on TV and one of the characters was being chased by some bad guys and his escape was through the back of a shop into an alley.  He turned right and sprinted to the end of that alley and then turned left.  All the while, these bad guys are right behind him and closing... He goes a little further and then realizes that the last alley he had turned down is a dead end and it is very dark and ominous.  Rats!!  He turns around and just at the time when he thinks it is all over he notices a fire escape ladder to his left.  He jumps up and brings down the ladder and starts climbing up, higher and higher, until he gets to the roof of the building where the fire escape is attached.  The next camera angle shows him looking down on the dead end alley and the bad guys who are following him.  They realize he  has escaped their grasp and retreat to hassle someone else.  He is FREE!!  What seemed like a dead end alley had a way out that was  UP!  For believers there is always a way out because of the freedom we have in Christ.  Not just freedom, but escape from the dead end alleys of life.  Paul wrote to the Colossians in Chapter 1: 13-14 13 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, 14 the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

That is good news for believers who live in a world that at every turn we have to flee the evil one who is out to ruin our lives by ruining our faith.   Our God is faithful to give us a way out of those situations by giving a new way to live, totally free in God's grace.  Our freedom not only helps us out of tough situations, but also gives us wisdom, through the Spirit, that helps us not get into those situations.  Earlier in the chapter of Colossians Paul says this in verse 

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 

10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 

11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 

12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
I'm the kind of arm chair quarterback that talks to those characters who start down dead alley by saying, "That's dumb, don't go in there!!"  But of course, they go down the alley almost every time and get caught.  I need to apply that wisdom to my life and it will make me more capable of handling the attacks by satan.  No more dead end alleys only clear sailing, looking at life from a loftier vantage point, the roof of God's grace and power.  Paul knows this is an ongoing battle because he has been there and offers some more advise about how to live through it in 1 Corinthians 10:13 by giving us this ladder attached to the strong building of His deliverance.  13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
When going through the stuggles in life, God is there with you all the way.  Allow Him to show you how to live the Spirit-filled life through His Word by spending time in the playbook of life, the Bible.  No more armchair quarterbacking, living and playing in the game.  God is generous with wisdom and will give us much more than we need to handle any situation in life and help us also "in the moment."  
So.... no more dark dead end alleys, only life from the vantage point of freedom, leaving the evil things behind and below us as we live in true Spirit-filled freedom.  Oh, what a great life to live.


The Pilgrimage continues......


David Warren

Who is the Governor of your State of Mind?

Our state has a governor, not unlike any other state in the Unite States.  He is like the president of our state and at the state level makes decisions that specifically impact the people of his state.  We have heard a lot of news about federal government overriding state government in an effort to take control of the specific state's rights.  This takeover has been met with the state's fighting back for their individual rights to make decisions.  The states want to be united with the other states to keep our federal system strong, but must also keep in mind the residents needs and wants at the state level.  In Romans 8:5-8 Paul is explaining the state of mind we need to have as believers.  That state of mind deals with whether we are going to allow the flesh or the Spirit to have control of our lives.  He says in verse 6 "the mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace."  Who is the governor of your life or your state of mind?  In other words, are you following and being governed by the flesh or by the Spirit?

Two choices are shown and you need to look closely at each candidate before voting.   Here is the flesh campaign stand - DEATH

Here is the Spirit's campaign stand - LIFE AND PEACE

If you are voting on who to elect to lead your life, who will it be?  It had better be the Spirit or you will have a very short life span.  You may say, "But I'm a Christian.  Of course, I will choose the Spirit!"  Then what is the effect that choice is having on your life.  Are you living as though the Spirit were guiding you?  If not, you may have unconsciously, or consciously voted for the flesh.  Bad choice.... In verse 13 Paul says, "if we have chosen the Spirit, then we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh."  So,  you say Spirit?  Your life should show that you are putting away the ways of the flesh.  Walk away from the ways of the flesh and start walking "in the Spirit."  Here is a very important thing to remember.  If you are allowing the Spirit to govern your life then your state of mind directly affects the overall country of Christians.  You setting a standard of Spirit-led living will cause conflict at times and affect the whole community of believers and keep them on track as well.  The country represents the evangelical community (country) at large, or the church.  On the other hand, if  you continue to choose the flesh state of mind that will also affect the church as well.  You can see the trickle down effect  your decision has on the whole picture.  Paul knew this well, so his word to the church at Rome actually was a word to us all.  Here's the word.  Live by the Spirit, not by the flesh!!

So I have to ask you this question.  Who is the governor of your state of mind, the Spirit or the flesh?  Your answer should be the Spirit.  If that is not your answer then you will be sorely disappointed by the one you have elected to control your life.  

The Greeks had a race in their Olympic games that was unique.  The winner was not the runner who finished first.  It was the runner who finished with his torch still lit.  I want to run all the way with the flame of my torch still lit for Him.

We can only finish the race with our torch still lit by allowing the Spirit to govern our life.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Deep Calling Deep

Psalm 42 is a great source of strength for those who are hurting or just need a bit of encouragement.  I know it has been that for me and continues to be that for me.  In verse 6 the psalmist says, "my soul is downcast within me, therefore I will remember you from the land of Jordan, the heights of hermon-from Mount Mizzar"  This Psalm is a cry from the remnant of Israel to God in their time of need.  It also echoes the cries of Jonah when he was in the depths of the sea in a fish.  His heartcries for God to save him came from the deep and God is the God of the deep.  Verse 7 - Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers, have swept over me. It may seem at times that you are sinking deeper and deeper, and you cry out to God in desperation from that depth and in the deepest part of who you are He answers.  The Psalmist asked the question to God, "Why have you forgotten me?"  But then in the deep He hears God's call to let him know that God is still with Him.  

Of course, now you know this is not stuff that is just below the surface.  This is deep stuff. Deep in our soul, the part that changes our lives from the inside out.  This could have easily been the cry of David as his enemies surrounded him hoping to kill him.  David wondering where God is and pleading for God to come through.   David's heart yearned for God to answer and work and God always did, but it is not David.  It is you and me and it is now. When have you been so utterly confounded in your life that you cried out to God from the depth of your soul?  God is there and He hears your cry.  It seems like so many of the psalms were written from a deep place in the writers soul and God heard the cry.  His love and interest in our individual lives matters deep in our souls.  You may ask, "I'm one in a billion people.  How can God ever care for me individually?"  He does care and He sees and hears our cries as the wonderful creation He made.   God cares!!!  That alone is a strength point for any believer when dealing with the struggles of life. God is listening and He wants us to turn to Him.  If you have been trying to bear your own problems by yourself and you are drowning, then call out from the depths of your soul and He will hear you and respond because He cares.  Here's what Jude wrote to the early church in their time of trouble. Jude 1,2  I, Jude, am a slave to Jesus Christ and brother to James, writing to those loved by God the Father, called and kept safe by Jesus Christ.  Relax, everything's going to be all right; rest, everything's coming together; open your hearts, love is on the way!  What a great encouragement from one believer to another.  

So, in the depth of your struggle God is there, and praise God others are there to lift you up at just the right time.  It may seem like you are all alone, but you aren't.  God is there and other believers are there too.  Walk on out of that deep water and get on the dry ground of service for God and be ready to encourage someone else who might be in the depths of their struggles.  Cause as Jude says, "Love is on the way!"

The pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

The Pure Heart of our Calling

What is this thing we do called ministry?  For me it was a LIFELONG desire put in me by God to be set aside for service for His wishes and His wishes alone.  The blessings of that call are the foundation that He puts in each of us who are called.  Whether it be Charles Stanley, Billy Graham, or whoever, the core of the call is the same.  It is almost unexplainable at times as day after day God continues to use you in a way that is specific for the talents He has given you combined with a desire to use them for Him.  With the Holy Spirit in your life He makes it a very natural, not forced, way of doing His bidding as a minister of the gospel.  Since it is a very personal and specific thing for the one being called we cannot explain fully what God is doing when He calls us or how He will use us, but we just learn to trust Him fully.  For me the calling was one that is sprinkled with dedicated people who believed in me during my younger years after I accepted Christ. They believed that God wanted to use me in a most exceptional way and shared that with me.  At that time I just looked at them with a blank stare, but inside my mind was bubbling over with excitement as to what the God of the universe would want me to do with the life He had given me.  During High school my aspirations were centered around music and the many avenues I felt it would give me to follow God's call on my life.  I used my talents, but not really for God, and those years did not fulfill the burning in my heart.  I graduated from high school and went to college as a music major and fell into a world of intellectuals trying to tell me how to become a better musician.  The training was good, just not great.  During those years God pursued me even more and backed me into a corner where I had to make a LIFELONG decision whether to serve Him and no one else or not.  The pressure to make that decision almost overwhelmed me and led me straight to the Bible, with a great desire to know God more before making that decision.  During this time I got married and started doing what everyone expects a person to do.  You know, Job, wife, money, bills, life....But God started fine tuning that life to the point of decision about whether I would serve Him through my entire life or not.  I accepted the call for that commitment and gave Him my total life for service.  To some it may have seemed like a good ole church boy thing to do, but to those people....they have no clue!!!   I was usually thought of by my older siblings, and parents to be immature and flighty, and from my past I can tell you they were probably right.  But this was different....  To commit to something openly for LIFE, means I put all of my dreams, and desires, and goals out the door and invite God's desires for my life to be my new goal.  It was a very serious commitment, but I made it.  When you make that commitment no one can understand the relationship God establishes with you at that point but you.  You try to help others make sense of it, but it just doesn't happen and the following years of trying are frustrating at best.  I think that is why I relate to the struggles of the Apostle Paul and love his letters so much.  In 2 Corinthians Paul writes  

3 We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited.

4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 

5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 

6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 

7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 

8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 

9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed;

10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.

Everything changed in my life...  EVERYTHING...  I didn't have a Damascus road experience, but God did take the scales off my eyes to see the world in a different way.  I was no longer desiring for anything but Jesus, and Him alone.  The commitment I made to the Gospel Ministry was a HUGE THING and if you don't believe it....try it.   Not just a commitment to your local town where everything is known and well pleasing, like a job.  But a commitment to go wherever He calls.  God sent me and my family after 6 years in Missouri to California for 4 years, back to Arkansas for 4 years, then on to Missouri for 6 more years and then to Florence, Alabama for 2 years, and then to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for 5 years, and then to Huntsville for 2 years, and then to Wilmington, North Carolina for 3 years, and back to Alexandria, Alabama for 3 years, and now in Sheffield, Alabama for 2 years.  We have travelled well over 25,000 miles to follow the call of Jesus and He has not disappointed, even though that is not the point of the whole thing.  The point for me is the purity of the call.  In verse 6 of the scripture above, Paul shared his heart in what he was doing, and having a pure heart was one of those things.  The pure heart of our calling is a huge thing when going through the actual motions of living that calling.  In fact, it is what keeps you going.  Not purity, like being a good person, or trying to live a holy life, even though those things are vital, but purity in the essence of the call.  At your core is your heart pure in following His call?  That's what I believe it requires for each of us who are set aside to follow His call wherever it may take us.  I have been misunderstood, misquoted, miswhatevered, and that is all part of the territory, but never misused by God.  He has been with me every step of the way and I continue to rely on that fact.  Like Paul, I have one thing after the other happen to confuse or restrict me from being all I need to be, but God continues to be faithful.  His faithfulness is real, even when I don't feel it.  

So where does this put you?  How do you respond to what God is calling you to do?  Is your heart pure in your response?  If not, back away and get your heart right with God.  If it is, then step up and step forward for your marching orders.  God can use a pure heart that is intent on following Him and Him alone.  You can do it, but your heart must be right and  your motives pure.  The writer of Hebrews wrote this in Hebrews 13:7 Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.  God is still in the calling business, so keep your ears open and He may speak to your pure heart and give you the calling you know He has for your life.  Whatever that calling may be is not the most important thing, but to have a pure heart in that calling is vital.

After a violent storm one night, a large tree, which over the years had become a stately giant, was found lying across the pathway in a park. Nothing but a splintered stump was left. Closer examination showed that is was rotten at the core because thousands of tiny insects had eaten away at its heart. The weakness of that tree was not brought on by the sudden storm; it began the very moment the first insect nested within its bark. With the Holy Spirit's help, let's be very careful to guard our purity. 

Whatever heart you have when you make the commitment to follow Christ is a heart that must be protected at all costs.  God will put people in your life to encourage and keep that call strong and pure.  Honor and cherish those relationships because they will help you through many a struggle.  I'm thankful for the people who have encouraged me and caused me to soar in my commitment to God.  Thank you to all who have helped protect the purity of my calling to remain that way.  Pure!!!  I pray God's richest blessings  on you and glory in the love you have shown me through the years.

The  Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren