Lethargy - The Devil's Weapon of Mass Destruction

Lethargic - affected with lethargy; drowsy, sluggish, apathetic

What is affecting the masses of Jesus' Disciples in our world today?  The word lethargy comes to mind and in it's true meaning hits the nail squarely on the head.  The apathetic condition of the church in our world is just a pathetic mess.  If Jeremiah or Isaiah would come back to life and offer one of God's Prophecies we would cut them up and put them in a suitcase and ship them off.  Why?  Because to whom the offense hits the most the most hurt and offense it will land.  You might say, "Oh David you are overreacting to situations around you in our world and you just need to chill and let it take it's course."  You might be right....but I doubt it!!  Go out on a job and do your work and at the end of the work's day volunteer to do more work to help out for no pay.  You will be  put in a mental institution for being crazy.  Here's how apathy or lethargy works.  We react to the situations around by looking at how they will directly affect us.  If they will cause us to have to change and do more we will set our standard to the level it will affect us the least.  This has a tumbling affect that over time will set a standard that affects the masses.  Look at the way our country has reacted to a lack of "quality" jobs in the work place.  Our leaders think that giving people money for no work will fix the problem, but in the end it makes the problem worse!!!  This is not a new problem by the way.  The writer of Proverbs wrote to this very subject by saying in Proverbs 26:16  "The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer discreetly."  We have numerous people that know that the best way to fix our economic situation is to work and earn, but the one person who receives this help and doesn't really want to work anyway will trump them with "But I can't work" and their desire to be a sluggard sets a standard in their life for everything in their future plans.  In other words, excuses!!!  Of course, we know how to make excuses and excuses are the make up of the lethargic lifestyle.  Excuses come from a craving to get without giving.  In Proverbs 21:25 the writer says, "The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work."  Wow, the death of him?   Yes!!  I hear Pro athletes say, "I play for the love of the game."  I say, take away their salary and see how much they love the game!!  

The devil's weapon of mass destruction is a lethargic mind and lifestyle.  I say mass destruction because that kind of attitude is synergetic at it's roots and the tumbling affect it has builds and builds until it has become the norm.  As Disciples our attitude should be the opposite of lethargic.  We should be active!!  Not to get in better with God, that will never be the end result.  But to live out a sincere love for God and in that love find a heart that wants to serve like Jesus did.  The writer of Proverbs also says in 6:9  "How long will  you lie there, you sluggard?  When will you get up from your sleep?"  When is the time to get working and serving in this great kingdom work?  NOW!!  Don't pray about it, but go about doing it in an attitude of prayer, asking God to empower you and equip you for service.  Paul wanted to visit Rome and in Romans 1:8-10 he told them they were in his prayers all the time.  Paul didn't sit around and do nothing until God answered his prayer.  He was serving all the time as he waited for God to answer his prayers.  He was active!!!

The best cure for the lethargy we see all around us is to get active.  This will give a shot of cure to all who come in contact with you and your life of activity will spread even faster than the lethargy we see in our world today.  Jesus is the cure for the lethargy today and the words of Paul in his letter to Philemon in chapter 1 verse 6 still ring true. "I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."  Take the cure with  you wherever you go by being active in  your faith.  It's in your blood!!  Make that Jesus' blood!!

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

The Elitist vs. The Humble

Elitist - of a person considered superior by other or by themselves, as in intellect, talent, power, wealth, or position in society

Humble - not proud or arrogant; modest

The attraction to "be" somebody special and superior is the new humble today.  Even those wanting to be known as humble are doing humble things to win the "humble competition."  It seems that life is a competition where if we are on the top we win.  Bigger house=WIn.  Bigger bank account=Win.  Bigger office=Win.  Bigger team=Win. And of course, it is better to win than to lose.....right?   The old adage "the bigger the victory, the harder they fall" just seems to be wrong doesn't it?  Ours would be "the bigger the victory, the bigger the pride (Christian Pride of course) In what we have accomplished.  If that were right then Jesus would have taken His Godly power and rounded up all the wrongdoers and struck them down with one fatal swoop.  He would have been the omnipotent Thor to their wickedness and the good guys would have taken a victory lap.  I can see Simon Peter doing backflips now as he taunts the Pharisees with the taste of the Messiah's victory.  It would have been like this; no humiliation, no whipping, no carrying a cross through the city, surely no death, and no grave.  The Son of God would have knocked some heads and taken some of the gold He made and built a beautiful castle on a hill overlooking his domain.  We would have been saying, "Wow, did you see that hit!"  Jesus would have been the ultimate warrior King and we would have been riding in on his coat tails in victory.  Whoop Whoop!!  Talk about The Whip and The Nae Nae.  It would have been "off the charts!"  Whoa...  That would only work in today's world.  We want to take how we have molded and shaped our faith and put Jesus in those terms to be able to do what we think He needs to do.  A new, modernized version of the Messiah would be needed today to make the impact we believe He should make.  The only thing we would need to leave out would be God's Word and it would so work for us.  Hmmm, God's Word.  The writer of Hebrews spoke this way about the Word of God.  Hebrews 4:12 - "For 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."  Oh now that really throws a wrench into our plans for a new, updated version of what humble means.  If it weren't for the Word of God, we could keep on getting more and more elitist in our attitude and lifestyle.  If it weren't for the Word of God, we could morph this Christian Faith into something that would really elevate us into a group of elite individuals in our society.  It it weren't for that Word...........  So the plan must be to get rid of or edit the Word of God to make it fit our circumstances to make what "we think" be like what God thinks, but in reverse.  Now that plan surely will work and make us more highly thought of in our social circles.  We can even put in some fake righteousness that will make the wrong look less wrong.   Compromise is good!!  Of course, I am being rather silly in this "crazy scenario", but as crazy as it seems, we have done this.  We have somehow been able to morph our faith into something that is palatable and justifiable to make us fit into our society without much trouble at all.   It seems that everybody is almost a Christian in this very apathetic scenario and that almost anything is acceptable if it meets the elitist way of thinking.  Remember the definition of elitist at the beginning of this blog?  If we think we are superior, I guess we are superior.  When others start saying we are superior, then we are REALLY superior.  Put down the cup and stay away from the cherry Kool aid.  The Word of God is still the Word of God and Christ has won the battle, but only by the terms decided by God and His Word.  So where does the elitist attitude come from?  The devil!!  In Luke 3:1-13 Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert where he was tempted for forty days by the devil.  Part of that temptation had to do with Jesus elevating himself to rule the earth at that time. Jesus, being God, knew what was awaiting Him.  Jesus knew about the humiliation, the pain, the death that was awaiting Him , and still he refused to be persuaded by the devil offering him something he couldn't supply to keep Him from completing His course.  The temptation was real, but the humility was real too.  Jesus was not an elitist, even though He had that very power at His disposal.  Here is the attitude of Jesus.  In John 13 He washes His disciples feet and teaches them and us, a lesson in true greatness.  In verse 17 Jesus says, "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."  Try this on for size!!  A humble heart=ministry mindedness  A humble heart=receives the blessing from God.  A humble heart=bowing to God's Word.  A humble heart=denying the world's offers for a better offer from God!!  So...Do we still want to be elitist?  Those who will trade what God offers through humility for temporary position?  Or do you want to experience the source of true wealth?  I choose God's Word and His ways, because anyone with good sense and the Spirit of God in their life will see the end result of that choice.  Are you in that wilderness now?  Is the devil offering you power and position in exchange for not following God's Word (His plan) for your life's purpose?  Time to follow the direction of the Holy Spirit, deny the devil, and leave that wilderness for the next step in your journey.  You can be sure that humility will be a part of that journey, but in that humility you will find the riches that only God can offer through a peace that passes all understanding.

Wakefield tells the story of the famous inventor Samuel Morse who was once asked if he ever encountered situations where he didn't know what to do.  Morse responded, "More than once, and whenever I could not see my way clearly, I knelt down and prayed to God for light and understanding."  Morse received many honors from his invention of the telegraph but felt undeserving.  "I have made a valuable application of electricity not because I was superior to other men but solely because God, who meant it for mankind, must reveal it to someone and He was pleased to reveal it to me."

The gospel has been revealed to us and it is now our humble position that causes us to be glad to give it to the world.  We don't reveal that gospel because we are superior to other men, but because God decided to use us to share it with the world.    May the light be seen through our humble attitudes and may Jesus be glorified through our humble lives.  God's blessing is found in that kind of life.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The No-Loss Diet

John 4:31-35 In the meantime, the disciples pressed him, "Rabbi, eat. Aren't you going to eat?" He

told them, I have food to eat you know nothing about. The disciples were puzzled. Who could have brought Him food? Jesus said, The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me, finishing the work He started. As you look around now, wouldn't you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest?   Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time! (The Message)

How would you like to be on the No-loss Diet? Some of you may feel like that is the diet you are on. You cut back on your eating and weigh after a few days and you don't weigh any less. If I was talking about physical weight loss it would definitely be a bummer. But, what I am talking about is our spiritual appetite. Jesus' disciples were concerned that Jesus needed to stop and eat, and he took this time to drive home a very important point for them, and for us. His hunger was being satisfied by doing the will of the Father and finishing the work He had started. By the way, Jesus was the best "finisher" of all time!!!

So, if you want to be a good finisher you need to eat the right foods. These are foods where you don't lose spiritual weight but gain weight spiritually. Doing the will of the Father should be the battle cry of every believer. Doing that will means the "weight" of our testimony changes for the good. We don't lose weight, we gain it!! Let's see what gaining weight by doing the will of the Father does in our life.

Gaining weight in our words - Matthew 5:37 But let your statement be Yes or No, anything beyond these is of evil. A person who is light in their spiritual britches will have a tendency to say yes, when they know they aren't going to follow through on something. When that happens those who depend on them will not depend on them anymore because they know they aren't dependable. Their words have no weight because their commitment won't back them up. Weak, weaker, weakest....

Gaining weight in our actions - James 1:22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. (The word delude means impose a misleading belief upon someone, deceive, fool.)This scripture covers a lot of people, including pew sitters, TV watchers, fans in the bleachers, etc.... I have heard messages at times that impact me so much I immediately start doing what God told me to do from His Word. I mean immediately. Some people listen to a message from God and even say Amen, then turn around and do nothing. So sad to see that kind of deluded person. More weight in our actions will cause a huge awakening in the Lord's church and revival WILL take place!!

You might call this the "key" to the whole thing and that's because it is just that, the key!!

Gaining Weight in our Convictions - 1 Thessalonians 1:5 "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Hoy Spirit and with full conviction." Hardly anyone has their own convictions anymore. Usually they are the convictions of some other person, usually a pastor or priest, or Bible Study teacher, or friend. Those convictions are most generally second hand and light. What the world needs now is someone with some strong, weighty convictions that are original with the Word of God. A person who is dedicated to the cause of Christ with no thought to position or power. Just following what God tells them to do. Anything less than that is leaning toward cultism and that is not good. Any conviction we have should come from the Holy Spirit and as Jesus said in John 14:25 25 “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

So the No-Loss Diet is the best diet and it begins by committing to do the will of our heavenly Father. It's actually a Weight Gain Live It that consists of living and feeding on the Word of God and His ways for nutrition. In Matthew 4:4 Jesus said "It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

That's good enough for me. I hope it is for you. Now pass me the Spiritual Big Macs and eat up!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Christian Life is a Pressure Cooker

James 1:2-4 (The Message Bible) - "Consider it a sheer gift, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way."  Do you feel like your life is in a pressure cooker sometimes?  How does that pressure cooker work anyway?  A pressure cooker works on a simple principle: steam pressure.  A sealed pot, with a lot of steam inside, builds up high pressure, which helps food cook faster.  So how do you get that steam?  You turn the heat up!  The Christian life is a life of pressure and the heat being turned up.  Who is controlling the thermostat is what we need to look at today.

Some people believe they should never have to be put under any pressure as Christians and that means don't get yourself involved in anything that takes great prayer and great practice.  But, that doesn't line up with scripture. In James 1:3 he writes "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance."  When the pressure is put on you what happens?  Do you fall away from the faith or does it cause you to bear down and endure even more so?  I have at times asked God why I having to deal with a certain problem and been shown through His word that there is a reason.  In that reason I learn to trust God more and expect greatness to be seen in my life and that usually happens.  So why would I back away from the challenges of the Christian life just because of a little pressure?  Possibly because I don't see how it helps me.  But just like in the function of the real pressure cooker, when the heat is turned up it makes steam, and steam cooks the food faster without burning it up.  Food that is cooked that way is very good and pleasing to the palate.   Our lives are much better and the "cooking" process of pressure cooking makes us more pure in our approach to what we are doing.  In other words, more like Jesus.  Another thing the heat does is burn the impurities of our life away to make us look more like Jesus in every area of our life.  Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1:7  "So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  Our lives are precious to God and Him turning up the heat on our lives is His way of making that life look more like His son, Jesus.   Remember though, apart from God you cannot handle the heat.  Only with God does the heat make us more like Him.  Which is why it is important to be current in your walk with God so that when the heat is turned up and we are cooked, the end result is a glorious success in making us look more like our Savior.  You may be thinking at times when someone says it is important to have a daily quiet time, why?  Here is the reason.  Your current life is being prepared by spending time with God in His word to handle God's temperature hike in the future to grow you closer to Him.  We are not supposed to remain the same and get stagnant in our walk.  We are to grow closer to Him and His ways and thus see a radical change in how we view life.  That will only happen when God starts cooking our lives by turning up the pressure and developing us quickly into who He wants us to be.  When I see someone who is very carnal in the way they live their life and how they react to things, I think "They are not receiving the cooking process from God in the right way."  

It's time to immerse yourself in living for God and realize that the pressure is good for us, but we must handle that pressure with God's Spirit and God's Word.  James goes on to say this in verse 5-8  "If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father.  He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.  People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves.  Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

So you get the point don't you?  It's all God and God alone.  No substitutes.  Only Him. Remember who was in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?  GOD!

When He turns up the heat on you and pressure cooks your faith, He will  be right there with you through it all and you will be a much better disciple.  God is our only option......

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren