The Deal Breaker- Defiance

Defiance (def) - Open resistance, bold disobedience.

We know that in our world there is a strong apathy among followers of Jesus and that affects churches, homes, businesses, and just about everything.  Apathy is an indifference to whatever is happening around you.  Basically it is a disinterest to things happening in your life and world.  Apathy is affecting the presidential race too in a huge way, and Donald Trump, who is the opposite of an apathetic life, is gathering support in an unprecedented way and it is confusing many people. He is just standing up to the weakness in Washington and people are loving it. Apathy is comforting, lazy, and non committal at best and it is the easy way to live life to the half fullest....  The apathy of today has morphed into a whole new thing in many people's lives.  It has changed into "defiance."  Defiance steered in the wrong direction is one of the most dangerous sins that can become a part of a Christ follower's life.  Defiance can be good and it can be bad, but it is definitely a deal breaker.  By deal breaker I mean it can destroy that which is good and right and redefine some basic principles for living that our heavenly Father has put in place.  

The good side of defiance is when we resist the devil at every turn, saying "Get behind me satan. I belong to the King of kings!"  Jesus, God's son, was defiant many times when tempted by satan.  That defiance was modeled by Him for each of us to learn from and pattern our life after.  In Proverbs 28:4 it says, "Those who forsake instruction praise the wicked, but those who heed it resist them."   When the instruction is from a bad source, it should be resisted.  But when the instruction is from a source of position or authority, it must be at least considered, and also followed.  Our police officers are people of authority. And it is their job to "keep the peace."  They have a set of laws that they enforce in order to keep the peace as they need to.  When their authority is compromised by those who are defiant, they must act, and act swiftly, or the whole thing could fall apart.  If the defiant one wins, then the laws from that moment on have been compromised and will continue to be compromised, making their position of authority ineffective and weak.  All of this is because of a defiant heart and mind.  That is the bad side of defiance and the result of that attitude makes everything just a little more weak.  The defiant heart undercuts everything God teaches us about authority and the end result is chaos.  The Apostle Paul in Acts 7:51  said "You stiff-necked people!  Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised.  You are just like your ancestors:  You always resist the Holy Spirit!"  Wow!  What an indictment!!  How can we resist the Holy Spirit?  It appears that finding a way to be defiant against God's Word opens that door.  The door that leads to resisting the Holy Spirit.  We let human reasoning and earthly common sense override what God has commanded us to do in His Word.  Sometimes believers will configure God's Word to make what they are doing seem right.  But it isn't!  In our churches the pastor is the authority, as he follows God's authority.  But in most churches that authority is ignored, questioned, and minimized.  What is the end result?  A weakened church.  There will be all kinds of excuses given for not following that authority.  Examples of pastors using the authority in the wrong way will fuel the fire of defiance again and again.  But the truth still remains.  The pastor is the authority in a very shepherding way.  Of course, we don't live our life in Christ through a pastor, but we do need to have someone who leads the way and in the church it is the pastor.  A basic teaching about submission is found in Ephesians 5:21 "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."  As a pastor that is not  the senior pastor, I must submit to the senior pastor and do everything I can to help him in accomplishing the work of the Lord through that local church.  If I am defiant my resistance will weaken the effectiveness of the ministry of the church and I become a part of the problem, not the solution.  In our homes there is a need for a heart of submission, not defiance, or the home will be going in the wrong direction.  God's word says in Ephesians 5:22- 27  "wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.  For the husband is the head  of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself"  If our homes were built around this truth, our homes would be better equipped to raise children in the Lord, keep marriages together, and grow each individual in their faith.  What keeps this from happening?  A defiant heart and mindset.  Women who have too much pride to submit as to the Lord to their husband and husbands who are too weak and apathetic to take their position of authority.  Of course, there will always be those who say, "What about the husband who abuses that authority?"  There will always be abuses to the living of God's Word, but it is still God's Word isn't it?  Yes!!  Another bad type of defiance that is prevalent today is children being defiant toward their parents.  This defiance is fueled by a very weak, unbiblical, humanistic type of teaching.  We scoff at the Proverb 13:24 scripture where it says "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but he one who loves their children is carful to discipline them."  What it is saying is "if you hate your children don't discipline them!"  You may say, "Oh that can't be right."  But that is what it says....Here are some examples of the right kind of defiance. Acts 16:29 Paul and Silas were jailed for proclaiming the gospel and were put in jail. Their defiance was to sing hymns and pray.  God delivered them.  In John 18 we read of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane and the soldiers coming to arrest him.  Simon Peter cuts off the ear of the high priest's servant and Jesus heals the ear.  Jesus was loving in the worst of situations and gave no regard to striking out.  Here are some examples of bad defiance.  The High Priests rejecting Jesus claim that He was God.(Matthew 16:21)  The Pharisees and Sadducees coming against Jesus and spreading lies about Him.(Matthew 16:6) There are many more examples of those who were defiant against God and His Word.  

So there is a good defiance and a bad defiance.  Which are you?  One lines up with God's Word and the other is contrary to God's Word.  Which side of God's Word do you want to be on?  If you don't want to follow God's Word, do you have a better plan?  How is that working for you?  Right now anything different than God's plan is not working at all in the world we live in.  Morality has taken a huge hit in the past 20 years and we continue to ignore what God's Word says.  How much further from God do you want to get to make  your lifestyle and  your pride acceptable.  Defiance.  We MUST follow God's Word at all costs  Revelation 2:10  "Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.  I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days.  Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as  your victor's crown."  Some may criticize me for sharing the scriptures I have shared today, but it doesn't make it any less the truth. Be moldable so God can use you and don't harden your heart to His Word and He will bless you, your family, and our world.  Isaiah 64:8  "Yes you, Lord, are our Father.  We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand."  

Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." 
"Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out. 
The lookout replied, "Steady, Captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship. 
The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: 'We are on a collision course, advise you change course twenty degrees.'" 
Back came the signal, "Advisable for you to change course twenty degrees." 
The captain said, "Send: "I'm a captain, change course twenty degrees.'" 
"I'm a seaman second-class," came the reply. "You had better change course twenty degrees." 
By that time the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send: 'I'm a battleship. Change course twenty degrees.'" 
Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse." 
We changed course.
Are you willing to change course and allow God's Word to be the authority for your life?  He is the lighthouse and He will stand and guide you in the storms of life, but you must be willing to obey.  If you are defiant to God that will be your deal breaker for life.

The Pilgrimage continues...


David Warren

A Beautiful Cleanse

It is one of the big health habits that has come into the forefront in healthy living in our modern day world.  Cleansing!!  Just mentioning it may gross some of you out, but in reality this cleansing process is a huge help for living a healthy life.  Why?  In the processes of our body the digestive system can sometimes get behind in purging completely the refuse that is left over from our body extracting all the important nutrients from that food.  Poor diets and poor eating habits can cause the cleansing process to slow down and it can even cause health problems over a period of time. Our large intestine, also known as the colon, takes what is left after the small intestine has extracted the nutrients from our food to build new tissue and absorbs water from the waste before moving on in the process.  If we don't eat our meals properly or eat the proper foods our whole system slows and retains elements that it shouldn't and the whole body is affected.  Our health begins to deteriorate and problems occur that otherwise would not be there had we eaten properly.  So the "cleansing" thing is a modern day attempt to help that process be all God intended for it to be.  Good cleansing means Good health!!

Cleansing is something that is very important for us spiritually also.  In 1 John 1:9  scripture says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Another word for cleanse that is used in the same scripture in other versions is the word purify.  Purify means to get rid of all contaminants.  For a long time I have always focused in on the forgiveness element of that verse, but the cleansing part of it actually ministers more to me than the other parts.   Those who have a relationship with Jesus, or are forgiven of their sins, have forgiveness of sins and praise God it is because of what Jesus did on the cross.  The second part of the verse deals with the living part of that experience. He cleanses us!!!  I am going to try to relate the function of the body effectively to this verse, so hang on and don't tune me out and I believe we will all receive an effective word of encouragement and challenge to what it means to live an all out life for Jesus.

In our physical body there are certain problems that will occur when we don't promote a good cleansing from the food we eat.  Some of the possible problems are listed below:

A. pain and discomfort

B. lower energy levels, fatigue, and exhaustion

C. constipation

D. gas

E. bloating

F. skin inflammation

G. weight gain

H. lower back pain

I. headaches

Each of these can be related to spiritual problems that occur when we don't promote the cleansing process for us spiritually.  Let me explain..

A. A person who goes through their life and doesn't keep their confession up to date will start to suffer pain and discomfort in their daily walk.  Things that should be so easy to do cause great pain in their life, like forgiving others, showing mercy, reading God's Word.  The pain comes from the out of date daily lifestyle choices.  Those choices have an effect on the overall walk of that person and can be painful spiritually.  Even reading God's Word is  painful because they feel so convicted by the life they are living.  That is when satan, the accuser, adds his accusations to the mix to bring the believer even further from where God wants them to be.

B. Lower energy levels bein to kick in as well.  The desire to meet with other believers at church is replaced with a TV attitude in life.  I will just sit here and watch life go by and change the channel when it doesn't catch my interest.  Our churches would be filled with people if those who are like this would just quit being so lazy.

C. Soon those who are not experiencing this cleansing will get to where nothing works in their spiritual life anymore and the backlog of unconfessed sins begins to build up and drag them down into depression and unhappiness.  They become hateful and mean and make every excuse possible to keep from getting right with God.

D. If a believer thinks they are ok without admitting their sin and confessing it to God, they try to "act" like everything is ok, but their faith really stinks.  In 2 Corinthians 2:14 Paul wrote, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere."  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 2:15  "For we are to be the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." Enough said!

E. Believe it or not, we can become self righteous and believe we are ok when we really are not ok.  Look no further in scripture than Isaiah 64:6 to get God's perspective on this one where He says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Filthy Rags?  You bet.  We have no righteousness, except what we have through Jesus.  We can become bloated in our attempt to puff ourselves up in the eyes of others and sometimes in the eyes of God.  This is futile!!

F. The result of not getting right and staying right in our daily walk with God can have outward effects as well.  I can tell when a person has an ongoing, fresh walk with God.   You can hear it in their speech, see it in their countenance, and see it in the result of their life choices.  They don't compromise their walk with God by giving into worldly pleasures and worldly desires.  They don't choose "questionable" lifestyles filled with worldly looking choices.  Why?  Because it is an irritant to what God is establishing in their life in the area of spirituality.  No compromise doesn't mean weakness.  It can only mean true inner strength and completeness in Christ.  Anything less doesn't look right on Christians.  We now have Christians calling questionable things of the world good.  This should not be!!

G. If we allow sin to develop a place in our life, then after a while we will gain weight...sin weight.  Unconfessed sin is building a barrier between us and God and that barrier gets higher and higher and unhealthier and unhealthier.  WE start to get FAT in our sin and we don't like what we see in the mirror, but we don't have enough motivation to get rid of it.  Confess...

H. If I want to do heavy lifting as I get older and older I need to do exercise to keep in shape so when I call on those muscles they react and don't slip a disc.  God is always stretching those who serve Him and through time if we don't keep ourselves in proper spiritual shape, when the times comes for the spiritual heavy lifting, we will pull something that wouldn't normally be a problem for us.  The lower back is at the core of our body and our spiritual muscles are at the core of our faith.  How good is your core?  You are in for a lot of pain if you don't keep your spiritual muscles in shape for the heavy lifting times of your faith.

I. Finally, sometimes we get so far from God this whole "Christian" thing is a big headache. I just want to live my life without feeling bad for doing bad things.  At this point a lot of Christians will throw up their hands and say "I'm outta here."  The modern day church has had to deal with a lot of these people and it all goes back to a weak faith that was weakened through the years by a lack of cleansing.  They are Christians who have given up and have found every excuse possible to stay in that condition.  Confession is at the core of who we are as believers.  In Romans 10:9,10  Paul wrote "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation."  The psalmist wrote in 32:5  "I acknowledge my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord", and You forgave the guilt of my sin."  We all need to keep our confession of our sins updated and thus keep at bay the guilt of our sins, so that we will live the free, abundant life Jesus died to give us.  C'mon fess up to it.  You are a sinner and so am I.  Remember the old Dr. Pepper commercial about being a pepper.  We can't live that kind of life and expect the righteousness of God to be seen in our life. (I'm a sinner, he's a sinner, wouldn't you like to be a sinner too?)  It's time to confess our sins to God and continue to experience the cleansing that only He can give.  That's what I call A Beautiful Cleanse!

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

To Eternity and Beyond!!

Our grandson Leeland showed me his toy the other day and of course, it was Buzz Light year.  He loves the way he can take ole Buzz and raise him up like he is flying and then land him on the coffee table.  Buzz's famous line is "To infinity and beyond!"  What a concept....Infinity (which is vast) much like going into space and traveling for years and years and never reaching the end. Infinity!!  When we think about time and space we have to figure in the God part of this whole thing we call life.  Jesus has been here from the beginning as John stated in his gospel.  

John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made the has been made 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

So when we think about Jesus, we are not thinking about someone who just came on the scene and that was it. He is forever!! So God's love for us is not something new. It is ageless. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 103:17 "But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children." Jesus is our yesterday, our today, and our forever. The writer of Hebrews said it like this "Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, and today, and forever." What is the significance of that scripture? He is the past, He is the present, He is our future. To Eternity and Beyond!! When Jesus comes for you and me we will see His great power and majesty and see that He is almighty God, the everlasting. In Mark 14:62 Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then He will take us well beyond infinity to eternity in heaven with Him. What a glorious day that will be and what a space Odyssey that will be. There is more to life than just looking to our future. Jesus is completely everything for our every need and our past, present, and future are all tied up in Him. We not only get to realize forgiveness of our past sins and walking out of the past dead end road we were traveling on. We get strength and direction for today. We can walk in God's strength and wisdom on a daily basis starting....now. There is a huge amount of sayings about living today to the fullest and in that mindset it is prompted by what the Bible says about living each moment to the fullest because days slip away..I saw a post on Facebook today that showed how the years slip away.

Scooby Doo made his first TV appearance 47 years ago....What?

The movie E.T. was released 34 years ago...What?

The first Walkmans were sold 37 years ago...What?

Wow.  It seems like it was yesterday all of these happened, but not yesterday....

There were more listed, but you get the idea.  Time is moooooving fast.  Ephesians 5:16 speaks to this by saying  "Make the most of every  opportunity, because the days are evil." Another translation says, Be redeeming the time.  Today is here and gone in a flash.  Every once in a while Jesus would say "today" this or that is happening and it would freak out the people that what He was saying was "real time."  In Luke 4:21  Jesus said "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."  It was hard for them to relate to Him being the God of the now, but He is the God of the now for all who would follow Him.  How current is God with our todays?  I shared Christ with a guy who heard and believed and accepted Christ.  Up to the point before him hearing the gospel he had been bound for hell.  But after receiving Jesus at that moment he was bound for heaven.  Now that is a current, on time God!!!  Having problems today.  God is on duty, ready to help you..... Today!!

We as believers look to the coming of our Lord don't we?  It's more like  "God get us out of this messed up world!"  The world is messed up and has always been...it's a sin thing.

Our realization as believers that our past, present, and future sins are forgiven and gone as if they never happened has a tremendous impact on our today and our tomorrow.  God has this whole thing worked out and He is very much involved in what is going on.  In fact, it revolves around His great plan and we are part of that plan.  Sometimes I can get so immersed in my daily stuff, and it causes me to miss my future stuff, like heaven.  When in reality my heaven stuff should give me the hope to handle my present stuff with ease.  Why?  Because God is in control of it all.  Philippians 4:65 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present  your requests to God."  Anything? Everything? Those are some power words for sure.  They are power words that actually have power for believers.  God is our hope for tomorrow and in that hope He gives us power for living today.  James 4:14 says, "Why, do you not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."  So, before we start crying out "To Eternity and Beyond!"  We need to have a reality check about today.  Today is a lot better when we get to the point that we don't worry about tomorrow because God is taking  care of that day, so "no worries."  We don't have to worry about the sins of the past because God forgave those through Jesus and we are free to live a life without the sin penalty.  So it brings everything back to TODAY!  What does your today look like?  Not your calendar....your daily life.  Your moment by moment.  Here are some suggestions.  Ask God to reveal Himself to you through His word.  When He does that take the scripture as total truth and do what it says in faith.   That faith will build into a larger belief in God having a perfect will that you must follow.  You will be affirmed by what you see and what you don't see.  You have learned to trust God and He likes that.  Hebrews 11:6  "and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that he exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."  That is the new you.  The faith you.  The one who believes in the eternal one and doesn't live out of past sins, or just the belief that one day Jesus is coming.   You living in the now believes and lives in all of  it...... All of it.  Then you will be able to say as Paul did in  2 Timothy 4:7  "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Augustine said it well, "Understanding is the reward of faith.  Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand."

Do you understand?  If you believe, you will.

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

The Secret Life of David Warren

Rely (def.)- completely depend on or trust. Please read the story below from Tim Hansel from the book Holy Sweat

One day, while my son Zac and I were out in the country, climbing around in some cliffs, I heard a voice from above me yell, "Hey Dad! Catch me!" I turned around to see Zac joyfully jumping off a rock straight at me. He had jumped and then yelled "Hey Dad!" I became an instant circus act, catching him. We both fell to the ground. For a moment after I caught him I could hardly talk.  

When I found my voice again I gasped in exasperation: "Zac! Can you give me one good reason why you did that???" 

He responded with remarkable calmness: "Sure...because you're my Dad." His whole assurance was based in the fact that his father was trustworthy. He could live life to the hilt because I could be trusted. Isn't this even more true for a Christian? 

God is trustworthy.  I just proclaimed that to Him this morning for the over 5000th time in  a row. We can't always see how He is doing what He is doing, but we learn to trust Him and that pleases our Abba Father (daddy).  I'm trying to remember how many times I have taken that leap and relied on my Heavenly Father to catch me, knowing He will be there.  It is with that kind of faith I must live my life.  Must!!!  Sometimes this relying on God goes against all I can see or understand.  That's when I pray for understanding and there He is  again.  Daddy.   My loving Father.  When I surrendered my life to the ministry years ago I never fully anticipated all God would require of me and I most assuredly never thought I would have to have so much blind faith!!  But it came with the territory and it is a constant in my life today.   I currently live in Sheffield Alabama and minister at a wonderful church called York Terrace Baptist Church.  The people are great and the pastor is a good man, full of faith and compassion.  My road to York Terrace has been quite the Walter Mitty path.  It has been The Secret Life of Walter Mitty turned the The Secret Life of David Warren.  It seems my life has been one of trying to get the elusive cover shot the Lord took to complete my life story.  I have gone from coast to coast in search of that cover shot and God has been there all along the way, guiding me from place to place.  Oh, I have looked back at some of the places we have served and said, "Boy that was a  mistake."  But was it?    I was actually at a church where a man threatened my life for leading praise music.  I really cannot get a grasp on how that was a good place to be at, but God used me there and taught me some valuable lessons.  He taught me to rely on Him and Him alone, and even though I fail at that miserably from time to time,  I still want to do that.  Depend on Him completely.  But I will have to admit It kind of shakes your world when you find yourself at a church position  at a declining church right after being in a position of growth at one of the fastest growing churches in the area.  It only shakes you for a moment though when you go back to the one thing that keeps you going.  Relying on God.  This is the same God who put a ministry model for reaching students in my mind and heart and showed me how to do it.  The model that grew to the point of a student ministry having a conference that had over 85 churches and 1500 students attending that conference at one point.  I don't remember any humans telling me to do this, so I just relied on the one who put the vision in my mind.....GOD!  So now I am 61 years of age and what have I learned?  I need to rely on God even more than before.  I was watching Fox and Friends this morning and they had a guy on there talking about building your retirement and I thought, "I don't have any retirement."  I lost my retirement on my home during the financial meltdown of 2008 when we committed to go where I felt God was leading and had to leave our home and finally sell it at a tremendous loss.  What will I do?  Rely on God.

Before I got in the ministry I had a few different jobs.  One of those jobs was a foreman of a construction crew.  When we started the job every morning there was one guy I knew would be there on time, every time.  He was reliable.  After a while I began to abuse that reliable person by not appreciating how reliable they were.  One day God convicted me of that and after work I stopped the guy and told him how much I appreciated him being reliable.  His face turned red and he thanked me and left with a little more pep in this step.  A reliable person is an awesome thing, but a reliable Lord is everything.  So....if you look back through The Secret Life of David Warren you will see a guy who stepped out in faith and trusted a reliable God and how that God was found trustworthy.  In my mind I have always envisioned God using me to do His work in an incredible way.  That vision is still there and even though at times it may seem "out there", it is still a vision.  By the way, in all of my travels I still look for that elusive final shot.  Hopefully time will find me looking and finding it like Walter Mitty did.  Thank you Lord for being reliable all the time.....

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

I hope I will continue to trust God totally and continue to pursue that elusive final shot so that all men may know Him.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Drugs for the Drug Addict

In our consumer mentality way of thinking we as Christians sometimes forget that Jesus required something from the disciples who followed Him along the way.  When we don't teach that to believers the core truth of our faith begins to melt away, leaving a consumer  centered mentality instead of a producing mentality.  A producing mentality is the "fruit" of our life.  The fruit that is seen because Christ has regenerated our heart, mind, and spirit.  The fruit is the "difference" the "difference maker" sets into motion.  The core truths of the Christian Faith are truths that cannot, and should not, ever be compromised by teaching others compromise in their faith walk.  We are reaping the result of "truth erosion" in the modern day church we now see, and if it fits our schedule, serve in.  In Luke 14 Jesus, our Savior, teaches on the core truth of the faith and in verse 25-35 sums the whole thing up. 

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple.  27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. 28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' 31 "Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. 34"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."  You may see that large crowds were following Jesus at that time and that is when He laid the heavy truth on them.  The  truth that modern day Christians would have a definite problem with is still the truth, a core truth.  The truth is at the essence of who we are and all we hold to and it continues to separate the committed from the convenient.  This is the inconvenient truth that shows who is and who isn't.  This is the truth about fruit.  Paul tells of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives in Galatians 5:22 and we always seem to hit love, joy, peace real hard but leave out goodness and faithfulness.  Is that because they are further down the list or is it because we don't want to admit we might not be considering the cost of being a disciple at a ground level commitment.  I think it is the latter.  The desire to make everybody happy has taken over for the base line call to discipleship that Jesus made to "all" who would follow Him and in our zeal to make the faith palatable, we have left out a very important core truth. We have left out  "discipleship."  A disciple is someone who is a learner, and in our faith a participant in living and learning.  We learn to take on the very nature of who Christ is and that is seen in our actions, our attitudes, and our abilities.  As a minister of the gospel, I used to feed the consumer attitude, and then I grew up.  In growing up, I began to see "paying" people to come to church was not necessarily a good thing.  In fact, it is the start of the erosion on the core truth of discipleship.  I knew I could not continue to feed this "heresy" anymore and so I made a life commitment to stop teaching it as a truth.  I quit giving drugs to the drug addict.  The drug is "feed me and please me at all cost" and the result is " I will serve if it is convenient."  A  youth minister associate of mine years ago challenged me on my commitment to build disciples in this way.  He said, "I will do whatever it takes to win people to Jesus!"  Who can argue with that?  I sure couldn't.  I then asked him "Then what?"  You see, he mistakenly confused salvation with discipleship.  You cannot disciple someone who hasn't been regenerated and you can't be regenerated without giving  your all to Jesus.  That is salvation and that is it. Finis'  

What is the solution to the problem of this core erosion?  Like the drug addict who wants to change we must practice "tough  love."  Don't give any more drugs to them and challenge them to choose what they will do whether they like it or not.  It is time for it to stop and if they really want to be free of the drugs, then they must put themselves under the control of a higher power.  In other words, don't try to use drugs to get them off drugs.  They must be weaned off the drugs to conquer their addiction.  Who is going to look the worst to them at this point?  Probably the one who is helping them "kick the habit."  But it must be done.

In a modern day world that is all consumer oriented and in a modern day church age where we almost feel like we have to pay people to come in the doors of the church, much less ask them to give of their time and talents given them by God.  We must look to the core truth of our Savior and give the challenge.  "Take up your cross and follow Christ"and His example and then live that life in complete surrender!  Yes, I said it...surrender!!  Back to the story of my youth minister friend who challenged God's Word and me.  His ministry became so consumer minded that most of his budget was used to buy commitment from students who already knew what was expected of them, but they got on the "gravy train" because he gave them their non-commitment drugs.  He made them drug addicts addicted to living a life of mediocrity and weakness and most of those "disciples" fell away.  Jesus took the students in our ministry to a whole new level of commitment when they committed totally to Him and many of them, I mean many of them, are committed to being a true disciple today in their lifestyles.  The core truth came through for them, so God's word was correct.  Duh....  When we commit as leaders to following the whole Bible, there will things that we are scared of doing, but if they are core truths, then we must.  Anything less is pure sin.  So step up and put on your big boy pants and teach the cost of discipleship and quit giving drugs to drug addicts.  The drug of apathy is out there everywhere and we must resist the devil and all his ways.  Below is a story of real sold out commitment and surrender that was lived by a strong leader who impacted his world by his leadership style.

When Julius Caesar landed on the shores of Britain with his Roman legions, he took a bold and decisive step to ensure the success of his military venture. Ordering his men to march to the edge of the Cliffs of Dover, he commanded them to look down at the water below. To their amazement, they saw every ship in which they had crossed the channel engulfed in flames. Caesar had deliberately cut off any possibility of retreat. Now that his soldiers were unable to return to the continent, there was nothing left for them to do but to advance and conquer! And that is exactly what they did.

Are you all or nothing in your attitude to serve Christ?  Then you need to quit watering down God's Word by offering consumer faith to win the world.  It will NEVER do it!!!

That is the cost of being a disciple..Burn your ships!!!

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

Bi -Polar Bear

The Polar Bear is a huge part of the Arctic Circle eco system and it's ability to adapt to cold conditions is remarkable. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. Their scientific name means "maritime bear", and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present. Because of their dependence on the sea ice, polar bears are classified as marine mammals.  If you have ever seen sea ice you will quickly notice it is floating ice that is pressed together by the large pieces of ice being compressed into a smaller area, thus causing the ice to look like it is attached....but it isn't.  If the sea ice has even the slightest bit of the pressure relieved when you step on one side the ice will tip, throwing you into the icy cold waters below.  We might call this precarious footing for those polar bears who exist from preying on the animals that live below that ice.

Precarious footing is a good example of what it takes to make a stand for anything in these apathetic days of our world.  If you state a truth that is different than a social standing opinion, you will stand the chance of getting chastised by those who don't want to hear the truth.  Jack Nicholson said it well in the movie "A Few Good Men" where he stated "you can't handle the truth."  That really is the truth.  Most people cannot handle the truth, i.e. God's Word in most situations.  It is usually too radical and straightforward for our weakened digestive system to handle, thus causing a problem for the one stating the truth.  

In discussion of truth with friends and family from time to time I will share a very inconvenient truth that most don't want to hear and especially hear from me. To which, I get the old bail out move, where they say, "I think you are bipolar." Now it seems everyone is a psychiatrist!! I don't like what you say and how you say it so you are bipolar. Yep, that's it!! And they think "that should shut you up!" But does it? NOPE! When living as children of light, we shed that light whether it is the acceptable thing to do or not. But then that makes you a bipolar bear in people's minds. Here is what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:22-27
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,
27 and do not give the devil a foothold. Earlier in the letter Paul cautions those in that church to make sure they don't live like those who are of their liberal mindset because their thinking is futile. What does God think about all this? In Psalm 94:11 the Psalmist wrote The Lord know the thoughts of man; he know that they are futile." Just when we think we have this whole thing figured out we see there is a basic core truth that upsets our apple cart. We have to learn to adapt to keep on living. The bear is used to hunting on sea ice, but when there is no sea ice he adapts to be able to keep alive by hunting on dry ground. Part of the bear's adapting is making sure he has enough fat stored to handle the lean months. The key is, he is open to adapting to changing conditions. If you put a north pole bear on the south pole, he will adapt and still do what he was made to do to live. He doesn't avoid the hunting on dry ground and die. He adapts and learns to handle things wherever he may be. He is a bipolar bear!! The problem we have in our pc society, even as Christians, is we cannot speak truth without being labeled as bipolar or strange. I get it all the time because my mouth speaks more than it should. I have closet psychiatrists trying to analyze me all the time, when all I am doing is taking a stand "firmly" for what I believe to be true. I will do it wherever I am making me a bipolar bear, not a bipolar weakling. Early in Chapter 4 of Ephesians Paul designates who he is by saying"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." So the question for you is this. Are you able to adapt and keep speaking the uncomfortable truth in a world that thinks you are crazy or "mental" when you do it? If you are not able to adapt and keep speaking your convictions, then you will eventually die, like those who have given up hunting for the truth who gave up long ago. My admonishment to you is this: "Stand strong and be the bear God has called you to be." Even in the face of being called crazy...G.K. Chesterton writes. There are an infinity of angles at which one falls, only one at which one stands. Make sure you choose the right angle.... God's angle.


The Pilgrimage continues...


David Warren

I Can't Get No Satisfaction

Psalm 104:1 Praise the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great; you are clothed with splendor and majesty. 

2 He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent 

3 and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters. He makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. 

4 He makes winds his messengers,flames of fire his servants. 

5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved. 

6You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. 

7 But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound of your thunder they took to flight; 

8 they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them. 

9You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. 

10 He makes springs pour water into the ravines; it flows between the mountains. 

11 They give water to all the beasts of the field; the wild donkeys quench their thirst. 

12 The birds of the air nest by the waters; they sing among the branches. 

13 He waters the mountains from his upper chambers;the earth is satisfied by the fruit of his work. 

14 He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate-- bringing forth food from the earth:

27 These all look to you to give them their food at the proper time. 

28 When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things. 

satisfied - content, fulfilled, complete

Like the Rolling Stones song we just can't get satisfied. It is a never ending thought that drives us to greatness or ruin...

Here are the lyrics:I can't get no satisfaction  I can't get me no satisfaction And I try and I try and I try t-t-t-t-try try

In the above scripture the Psalmist states where our true satisfaction comes from and it comes from knowing a God who is the all in all or the I Am. God is the almighty, the ever encompassing, the fulfillment of life. He is GOD! In all of His power and His majesty we could be satisfied by knowing Him as Creator King, but God takes it a step further by allowing us access to Him by sending His Son, Jesus to clear out any obstructions between us and Him. Jesus came and dealt with our sin problem and made it so we could approach the throne of grace boldly.  Hebrews 4:16 says Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Just before that verse the scripture says that Jesus can relate to all we are going through...ALL. That is huge!!! It means He is not distant, but very close when we need Him the most. I love my quiet time when it gets real personal between me and Jesus and He ministers to my heart and my mind and fulfills my longing for closeness with God. For years I led different believers to develop a quiet time with God and almost at times would try to get them to make it a habit. But a real time of intimacy with God is much more than any habit or special time of the day. We are speaking to and listening to the God of the ages. The Psalm 104 scripture says all that God is and all that God does and it is an awesome representation of who we are in relationship with and all He controls. When it comes to life, there is nothing more left to fulfill us....nothing. God is enough, whether we realize it or not. He is enough!!! The try, try, try lyric of the song "I Can't No Satisfaction" is a visual of our blindness to what we have in God. We are chasing the wind, when we have a relationship with the one who "makes" the wind. We are looking for replenishing when we have a relationship with the one who makes the waters. I could go on and on, but the point is "God is our satisfaction." Then we go from there and live our life out of that completeness we find in Him. Luther Barnes wrote the song I Am Satisfied and the lyrics go like this: I am so satisfied. I am so satisfied with my Savior. He means more to me than anything, anything that this world Could ever offer. I am so satisfied. I am so satisfied with my Savior He means more to me than anything, Anything that this world could ever offer me. 

When God is the satisfying or fulfilling part of my life, I find satisfaction. When the desires of the world are what I pursue for satisfaction, I am left empty, unfulfilled. Perhaps today would be a great day to spend some close, intimate time with God and find out His perspective on what is real fulfillment and then apply that to everything we do for the rest of the day. The day would have so much more meaning if we did that and our life would take on a whole new look......we would be satisfied!!  Think about it.  The God who holds this whole world together wants to spend time with me.  Now that is satisfying.....

The Pilgrimage continues....


David Warren