Journey to the Center of the Earth

In the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth, it depicts the Jules Verne science fiction novel and brings to light his impression of what might happen.  The story involves German professor Otto Lidenbrock who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth.  He, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans descend into the Icelandic volcano Sanaefellsjokull, and encounter many adventures in the unknown.  In the story it tells of them encountering prehistoric animals and many other natural hazards of "below the surface" exploring.  The whole story is science fiction, but it brings to light many different approaches in exploration that were never thought of before.  In other words, they were exploring new territory with new techniques.

In Acts 13: 1-3 the gospel is being shared everywhere and the explosion of Holy Spirit filled individuals giving their lives for the message of Christ is being felt in many areas.   A group of those early believers, some who were prophets and some who were teachers, including Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius and Manaen were worshipping the Lord and fasting.  While they were doing this the Holy Spirit told them to set aside some men for the work of taking the gospel to areas never before reached.  So they set apart Saul and Barnabas for the work to which God had called them.  After praying and fasting, they placed their hands on them and sent them off.  This was to be their Journey to the Center of the Earth!!  Oh, they stayed on the surface, but they were going to be taking a fresh new message of hope to a world they had not seen before and could only imagine.  In their imagination their thoughts of what they might experience started out as fiction, but soon became reality when they began moving one foot in front of the other.  In the next few blogs I will attempt to chronicle what scripture says about their travels and hopefully you will get on board with a realization of what kind of faith these men had in God.

Which brings to mind where we are today in our walk with the Lord.  Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit compelling you to do something you have never done before or attempt something you have never attempted before?  What is your Journey to the Center of the Earth and are you willing to step out and do something and go somewhere you haver never gone?  I love adventure and exploring new things, new people, and new cultures.  Years ago I went on a trip to Holland to lead worship at a camp just outside of Amsterdam and it opened my eyes to the realization that there is more to this earth than what I am seeing.  That trip set me on fire to see more and more and I am always looking for a chance to go to other countries and experience those people and share the gospel.   Not everyone in my family have that same desire, but we all have our Journey to the Center of the Earth thoughts and those thoughts don't have to be accompanied with world travel.  It may be a stretching of our lives to the point of sharing the gospel in a different area of town we aren't familiar with.  It could be getting involved in a local ministry that impacts a whole different group of people that we don't know much about. Whatever it is, be open enough to allow the Holy Spirit to instruct you in what to do and allow the fiction to become the reality and your adventures await you.  Another word for those adventures is the Christian Walk!!

In the upcoming days you will see the adventures of Saul and Barnabas and it will hopefully get your spirit of adventure perking.  Now is the time for each of us to step out to a whole new way of thinking and get involved in the Journey.  Not the  Journey to the Center of the Earth, but the Journey to the Center of God's Will.  You will find your adventure located right there and ready for you to take flight.

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling, Rawhide!!

An old TV show from the 60's starred Clint Eastwood and gave him his big start in "da business."  The title of the show was Rawhide.   The main theme was "driving cattle" from one location to the other.  The show  featured cowhands  who rode horses all day and herded cattle over the lower part of the United States. They would sometimes be out on the trail for six months at a time and the constant "driving" was always interrupted by some unseen problem along the way.  Most of the time the distraction they encountered would cause something called a "stampede."  Then the otherwise calm and peaceful cattle would become a wild unruly herd of runaways and as a force they would overturn wagons, knock over riders on horses, and become a rolling force of chaos, until the cowboys could get them back under control and made them peaceful again.  The best way to move the cattle to their location in the fastest time without losing any was to push them to go a little bit faster than they wanted but slow enough to keep them all moving in the same direction.  it was quite a feat to get it done and extra special care was  needed to make it happen all along the drive.  The TV show had a song and the chorus went like this  "Move em on, head em up, head em up, move em on, move em on, head em up Rawhide!"  Here are some characteristics of those leading a cattle drive.  

1.  They knew where they were going

2.  They knew what they were taking there

3.  They knew what  it would take to finish the drive

4.  They knew they would have to push the cattle, but also keep them under control

5.  They were uniquely talented to control the cattle and put in leadership

6.  They were constantly moving forward

Cattle drives resemble the movement of the early church and how it grew.  Those in the early church knew their home was in glory with Jesus and they wanted to share the message so others could go there too.  They also realized that whosoever could go there if they accepted Jesus.   They realized it was going to be a struggle and they might have to give their lives, but it was worth it.  They knew they would have to work with disobedient people who tried to put their own agendas into what was being done, and move those people from where they were to where they needed to be.  They were "called" and "anointed" believers whom God had chosen to do his work and who God had uniquely gifted to do it.  They knew they had to go somewhere, and sitting in one place wouldn't do. These believers were the early foundation of what we have today and call the church.  It is important that we learn from their lives and how God used them to spread the message of Christ and follow their examples to keep it ROLLIN, ROLLIN, ROLLIN!!  We, like them, need to keep drivin and movin forward to gain more disciples, more believers.  Why?  So they can experience the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is important that we keep adding to our numbers so we can fulfill the Great Commission given to us by Jesus Christ.

There are always obstacles that pop up along the way when we are driving forward.  Some of these obstacles, no, many of these obstacles are people.  Much like cattle, they have a way in their head that seems right to them, but we must direct them into the right path.  How is that done?  Whatever way that works.  It may be an old, dead church coming back  to life after years.  It may be a new church plant that works best.   It may be a house church that reaches their neighborhood and develops those believers.  It may be any different kind of arrangement, but the main thing is to be obedient to "just do it!"  You will know you are tied to traditions, which are very dangerous, when you are only willing to only do it one way.  The end result of that kind of attitude will surely end in spiritual stagnation, which is probably what you are experiencing already to be so tied to those traditions so strongly.  In Acts. 12:24-25  the end result of all of the obstacles the early church had to deal with  was "the word of God continued to increase and spread!"  When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John also called Mark.  The Word of God continued to spread!  Hmm.  Very interesting.  The religious leaders had done everything they could to keep the message from spreading and keep their traditions in control, but the Word of God continued to spread, despite their efforts.  The cattle were on the move and it was time to pick up the pace and "get with it."  This point in church history is very important because in Acts 13, the very next chapter, we see the First Missionary Journey of Paul beginning, and there was no holding it back any more. ROLLIN, ROLLIN, ROLLIN, RAWHIDE!  Heeeee Haw!  That's when it started to get exciting.  God was on the loose!!  No traditions, or dead spirited religious people in their path.  Just lost people, ready to hear the gospel, and lives ready to be changed, and spread the message even more.  

It is time to get this whole thing rolling again.  Time to gather the cattle and get them moving faster than they planned on.  Oh, by the way, we are now dealing with a stampede that took place where the cattle started going in their own direction and chaos ensued.  It is now time to get the cattle back and moving in the same direction again.  If a cow won't be driven back to the herd, then you have to rope them and drag them there.  Time to drive the cattle forward toward our heavenly home.  Time to push the limits and not look back.  How are we gonna do it?  Whatever way works!!  What is waking us up to drive the cattle?  The Word of God.  Who's plan are we gonna follow?  God's plan.  Proverbs 14:12 " There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."  God's way is the way to life!!  So.....let's go.  When?  NOW!  Now is the time for our missionary journey, so let's let the Word of God spread again and again and see lives changed and leave the dead to bury their dead and us serve the living God!  Remember, if we are not with Jesus, then we are against Jesus.  Who's side are you on?

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Ultimate Tape Worm

Food for praise was in the works for King Herod in Acts 12:20-23.  King Herod had been fighting with the  people of Tyre and Sidon and they were about to be in a tough state food wise.  So the people of Tyre and Sidon got Blastus, a trusted personal servant of Herod, to go on their behalf and get them an audience with the king.  Why?  They depended on Herod's country for their food supply and it was running low.  

So Herod, in his royal robes, comes out on the appointed day and delivers a stirring message to those people.  To which they shouted, "This is the voice of a god, not a man."  This is where Herod messed up.  He did not deny that he was a god to the people and in turn didn't give praise to God.  So, an angel of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten alive by worms from the inside out and died.  What a painful death that must have been!  They would be considered the Ultimate Tape Worm wouldn't they?  When the angel of the Lord struck him down the worms took over and the unworthy Herod died a very painful, strange death.

When was the last time you heard a leader take praise for all that had been done and given no credit to God.  I heard one about eight years ago act like he could move the oceans and do anything he wanted.  Well, he didn't move the oceans, but he did do anything he wanted.  Anything HE wanted.

Suffice to say, we don't need to be taking credit for things God does.  That goes against our human intellect, and our pride.  We want to be puffed up to feed the ego inside of us and that ego just forgets that the very air we breathe is supplied by Almighty God.  Our bodies function every day because we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) by Almighty God.   We have a brain that can figure out complex things and help us become more knowledgable and that is given to us by Almighty God.  But for some reason we still believe it is us doing all this stuff.  Why can't we just give credit to the One who is Creator and King?  Why turn our back on His majesty and give praise to anyone else but Him?  We, like Herod, must feel empowered!!  You may say, "Like Herod?"   Yes, we are just like Herod when we try to build ourselves up and elevate ourselves to heights we don't deserve.  If we are put in those high places by God, then we must give praise to God.  In Proverb 16:18 it says it well, "Pride goes before destruction.  And a haughty spirit before stumbling."  Yes, pride is a spiritual killer that causes many a believer to be humbled and eaten up from the inside out by their prideful condition.  Oh, we may not have physical worms, but the worms of a prideful spirit also lead to spiritual death and it is also very painful.  The pride road leads to that destruction every time because God is the only one who is to be praised and lifted up.

For you and me, our road to elevation leads through the humble valley of service.  James 4:10 says "Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."  We have the ultimate example of humility found in Jesus who Paul wrote about in Philippians 2:6  "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God and thing to be grasped."  So the best example of humility is found in the Son of God, Jesus Christ.

So, Herod did mess up and the worms ate him up and he died.  How is your pride eating you up?  How is pride rolling in your life?  Do you always feel the need to be RIGHT?  You have a pride problem.  Do you always want to have praise given to you?  You have a pride problem.  It goes on and on and the continued desire to feed those pride worms will one day eat you up spiritually and you will experience a deadness in your spirit that you do not want there.  Herod's death by worms was immediate, ours because of pride, may take a little longer but the worms are there.... waiting.  Only God deserves all praise and glory. He is the only King of Kings and He is the only one worthy of our praise.  All we have is from Him and nothing of ourselves. James 1:17 says it more clearly "Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow."

So praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord.  For all that He has done and all that He is going to do and sit back and let God be God and we will be the humble followers He has called to serve Him!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Wake Up Believers! We Have Been Blessed!!

Acts 12:11-19  What causes someone to fall asleep and get caught up in the dream?  You just don't want it to end.  When you wake up it is like you wish you could fall back asleep and finish receiving the $100,000 check for your book sales. Or that big 12 point buck walks just one step closer, clearing the tree that is keeping you from shooting him.  Or in my case,  sometimes you really want to wake up immediately because the cliff is approaching and you can't stop.  So, there are bad dreams and good dreams.  The good ones we tend to want to keep going to see what is going to happen, but yet, reality.  We wake up!  Peter had just been led out of prison by an angel and taken down the street, clear of being seen by others, and then the angel left him.  Angel job complete!  Verse 11 says Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angels and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.  God came through, but  up to that point it had all seemed like a dream to Peter, but there he was standing in the middle of a street, far from the prison.  In verse 12 he immediately went to the house of Mary, the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.  In verse 13 it tells that Peter knocked on the outer entrance. A servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door. She recognized Pete's voice and left him at the door without opening it, overjoyed to hear his voice outside.  Of course, the prayer warriors inside didn't believe Rhoda when she said "Peter is at the door." They told her she was out of her mind, but she kept insisting "He is out there."  They said that it must be Peter's angel.  All the while, Peter is still knocking at the door and when they finally went to the door, there was Peter!  Peter told them the whole story and told them to tell James and the brothers about what had happened.  This was an incredible miracle that those praying almost missed because they doubted Rhoda's report of him being at the door.

Believers of TODAY!  The world has done everything it can do to imprison the message of the gospel in our day.  It has tried to reduce it to just another religious belief.  The world's message has tried to shut down churches who are proclaiming the truth by scaring us into thinking our tax free status will be taken away.  The world has tried to threaten our ministers in pulpits all over our country.  The World has tried to take the failings of the past in believers lives and keep them silent through guilt.  The World has tried to put chains on the message of hope in Jesus Christ, and Him alone, and water down the effectiveness of the purity of the Word.  We may at times feel like we are in a prison, chained up between evil and indifference, but we aren't!!  I believe God is taking us on a little walk, that may seem like a dream. It's a walk to freedom in our spirits.  Opening doors before us and leading us into the clear to free our message as never before.  We have, through the years, in our country, seen a freedom to proclaim our message as never before.  The only problem is, in the past  we thought it was just a dream and not a reality.  It's time for us to wake up to the fact that Jesus is still working and setting captives free through the current, fresh message of the gospel.  The message is this" Jesus Saves!"  As Peter came to himself after being led out of that prison, we must come to ourselves and realize that God's power is starting to be seen everywhere.  That believers are still praying and serving.  In other words, we need to wake up and get on with it.  When Peter came to himself, he immediately went to the house of those where were praying for his freedom and they doubted he was freed.  The gospel being seen as free and growing all around us, yet we are missing the truth that God is still working and powerful.  It's time to get on board and go to the door and believe that God is answering prayer. We might be missing the evidence because  we are in prison in our thoughts and attitudes.  Please read the story below and see what can happen if we listen to the wrong people and follow the wrong advise.

G. Campbell Morgan had already enjoyed some success as a preacher by the time he was 19 years old. But then he was attacked by doubts about the Bible. The writings of various scientists and agnostics disturbed him (e.g., Charles Darwin, John Tyndall, Thomas Huxley, and Herbert Spencer). As he read their books and listened to debates, Morgan became more and more perplexed. What did he do? He cancelled all preaching engagements, put all the books in a cupboard and locked the door, and went to the bookstore and bought a new Bible. He said to himself, "I am no longer sure that this is what my father claims it to be--the Word of God. But of this I am sure. If it be the Word of God, and if I come to it with an unprejudiced and open mind, it will bring assurance to my soul of itself." The result? "That Bible found me!" said Morgan. The new assurance in 1883 gave him the motivation for his preaching and teaching ministry. He devoted himself to the study and preaching of God's Word.

Do you still believe God can awaken our hearts and do a great and mighty work?  If so, you are ready to be freed from the prison of doubt and indifference and God will lead you out to freedom.  If you are still believing in the old ways of "doing church" and leaving the message of Jesus out of what you are doing, then you will find yourself still in  prison. 

Time to awaken and walk to freedom.  Time to lift up the name  of Jesus and time to wake up!!

Maybe I'm like Rhoda.  I believe I am hearing the voice of the Lord at the gate and I know He is free and His message is still alive and working!  I hope you aren't like the "prayer warriors" who doubted it could  be Peter, actually freed.   I hope you will hear this and respond immediately to the truth that the message of Christ is still alive and still applicable to change lives in our world today.  Time to wake up believers.  We are blessed with an incredible message of hope and power.  Believe me.  There are no chains holding back this  wonderful message of hope.

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Chains, Chains, Chains..

Acts 12:1-11  tells of the killing of James, the brother of John.  King Herod saw that these actions of persecution pleased the Jews and continued the persecution by seizing Peter and putting him in prison.  He was being guarded by four soldiers round the clock and King Herod intended to bring  him out for a public trial after the Passover.  I pick it up in verse 5 "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly PRAYING to God for him.  The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.  Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell.  he struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!"  he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrist.  Did you get what I just wrote word for word from scripture? The circumstances mentioned in these verses put Peter in a world of hurt, except for one thing.  The church was earnestly praying!!  Does the prayer being more in earnest cause God to do things quicker?  It could, but I don't think the earnest part was for God, but for those praying.  Earnest (def) - resulting from or showing sincere and intense conviction.  The earnest part of their attitude in praying is a great example of a strong conviction that God will answer.  Do you believe in miracles?  I hope you do.  If you have received Jesus Christ as your Savior by faith, that is one miracle you better believe will happen.  By the way,  that miracle did happen.  You are saved and sealed.  But, why believe one miracle and not another?  Because it makes our human reasoning work so much easier.  I have been a Christian many years and I have heard miracles from the Word of God explained away hundreds of times.  Hundreds!!  No exaggeration.  Why  do we do that?  It could be we are chained to our human reasoning so much, we can't have a full released faith that God can do the things He has promised.  So sad.  We should never put chains on our belief in what God can do and never put chains on God in any situation.  The earnest prayer for Peter was a reflection of the believers, get this, believers.... faith.  They believed in God and believed FOR God to move, and He did.

Here are the facts.  An angel of the Lord  came into that prison cell and woke up Peter and led him out to freedom.  MIRACLE.  Peter was in the midst of the miracle happening and didn't fully realize that what was happening was actually happening!!  But in the next few verses it says the angel told him to put on his sandals and his robe and follow him.  He came to a gate and it opened for him.  When they got safely away from the prison the angel left him. He was free!!  It then says that Peter came to himself and said, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."  Even Peter had to come to grips with the realization that he was in the middle of a miracle happening.  What would you have done if this happened to you? Would your first phone call have been to Fox News or CNN?

Tomorrow we will see exactly what Peter's first move was after his miracle escape from those chains, chains, chains.....

Now, a few questions to ponder.

1.  Do you believe in God for your salvation?

2.  Do you believe in God for miracles?

3.  Do you at times feel like your faith is in chains?

4.  Do you believe God still does miracles?

5.  Do you want to be released from the chains of human reasoning?

Then, if you have a wiling heart of faith.  God will release you from the prison of unbelief you have surrendered yourself to.  The chains of unbelief will fall off and God will lead you to a new place of actually believing God is active and powerful and able to do whatever He wants.  This will change how you look at prayer, witnessing, church, and many other things in your life.  Time to believe in "all" miracles that God can perform and believe in  "earnest" about the ability of God to do them.  Miracles still happen.  We just miss them because of our unbelief and our worldliness.  Time to give up worldliness for Godliness!!  No more chains on your life anymore.  Only faith in the One who saves, Jesus Christ.

Keep in mind this C.S. Lewis quote  God seems to do nothing of Himself which He can possibly delegate to His creatures. He commands us to do slowly and blunderingly what He could do perfectly and in the twinkling of an eye. 

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

The Teacher

teach - (def)  show or explain to someone how to do something.  A teacher is one who teaches.  I was a fairly good student in school.  I had pretty good grades for a person who did not like going to school.  I was at times not very teachable.  Sorry to say that, but it was true.  I'm the guy who opens up the Christmas present, sees the gas propelled plane on a string and proceeds to try to figure it out myself without looking at the directions.  The end result:  I never even got to enjoy the plane because I ruined the engine trying to start it the wrong way. If I had read the instructions or had somebody who had flown one of those little planes show me, I would have had a great time flying a very expensive Christmas toy that I had hoped to get for about a year.  You see, I didn't have the whole thing figured out like I thought.  I needed instruction because I didn't have all the information just appear in my head.  So I ruined my Christmas gift.  So sad.  So immature.  So prideful and so wrong.

All along the journey of Jesus he had people calling him teacher and asking him stupid questions about life and traditions and trying to catch him in a wrong answer.  Jesus didn't need someone to teach Him anything because He is the teacher.  He is the one who has the knowhow to live life because He is the life-giver.  My teachers in school taught things they learned from other teachers they got instruction from.  They went to school to learn things so they could know more than their students and bring their students up to the next level of learning.  Jesus is truth, and knowledge, and understanding, and all those things that we fallen people have to learn.  So when they called Him teacher, they were responding to the pure source of learning for all mankind.  It was a huge thing to call Jesus teacher in light of the understanding that he was God and created all understanding.  He didn't just know where stuff came from  He created it.  He is the author, not the book.  If I was back in the 60's I might say something like, "Wow. That is deep."  That IS deep.  But, it is one thing to know just who He is as our teacher and another thing to learn from Him.  Jesus is THE TEACHER.  

The leaders of the day did not know who they were messing with and tried to trap Jesus with His owns words.  They were speaking out of human assumptions from their pious stand on scripture, reasoned with human reasoning.  Jesus is the Word and is the essence of spiritual truth for all wisdom.  Let's just say they didn't have a good time trapping him.

In Matthew 22:15-17 (The Message) 15-17 That’s when the Pharisees plotted a way to trap him into saying something damaging. They sent their disciples, with a few of Herod’s followers mixed in, to ask, “Teacher, we know you have integrity, teach the way of God accurately, are indifferent to popular opinion, and don’t pander to your students. So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

It would have been such a plus to their argument against Jesus if they could have caught Him not paying His taxes.  So their weak attempt to call him Teacher at that time was at best, an insult.  Of course, Jesus taught them a life lesson about the subject and THE TEACHER schooled the students with pure truth and reasoning.  His reply is as follows  18-19 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.20 “This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?”21 They said, “Caesar.” “Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.”22 The Pharisees were speechless. They went off shaking their heads.  You may have heard,  "Don't bring a knife to a gun fight?"  Well, they did and THE TEACHER gave them some solid instruction to answer their question.  Simple, yet pure.  That is  why they left shaking their heads.  

I bring all of this up to help us see how Jesus helps us today in reasoning and learning and growing in our Christian walk.  We NEED His instruction and we get that instruction from The Bible.  Sometimes we don't want to be taught, like how I was in school.  But this instruction doesn't come from someone who learned this stuff from another teacher.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that is it!  He is the ultimate teacher, because He is the source of all understanding.  That is why it is critical for us to learn from Him through His Word and let Him speak truth into our lives in every situation.  Like the Pharisees, our pride can get in the way of accepting that truth and we may try to edit the information to please our own wants and desires.  To accept the truth at it's core value will give us the very best learning we can get.  Remember, God is God and He knows all.  In Psalm 94:8-11 it says, "Well, think again, you idiots, fools—how long before you get smart? Do you think Ear-Maker doesn’t hear, Eye-Shaper doesn’t see? Do you think the trainer of nations doesn’t correct, the teacher of Adam doesn’t know? God knows, all right— knows your stupidity, sees your shallowness."  God knows our tendency to doubt Him and God knows our tendency to not learn, and still He loves us!!  Wow!  If we will absorb the lessons from THE TEACHER then we will become teachers ourselves and share that wisdom with others, but only the wisdom of God, THE TEACHER.  See what it says in Psalm 119:97 Oh, how I love all you’ve revealed; I reverently ponder it all the day long. Your commands give me an edge on my enemies; they never become obsolete. I’ve even become smarter than my teachers since I’ve pondered and absorbed your counsel. I’ve become wiser than the wise old sages simply by doing what you tell me. I watch my step, avoiding the ditches and ruts of evil so I can spend all my time keeping your Word. I never make detours from the route you laid out; you gave me such good directions. Your words are so choice, so tasty; I prefer them to the best home cooking. With your instruction, I understand life; that’s why I hate false propaganda.  

We live in a day when the world seems to be coming apart at the seams, but our God gives us insight into how to handle these days properly.  Please get into His Word and see all of the wisdom He will pour into your life.  This wisdom will show you how to make it through your day and be the one who knows the answers because you are learning from THE TEACHER!!

The Pilgrimage  continues....

David Warren

Selective Vision - Progressive Lens

I wear glasses.  My glasses have Progressive Lenses. (Progressive Lens - They are characterized by a gradient or increasing lens power, added to the wearer's correction for the other refractive errors.)  I have a near sighted vision problem, plus I am 61 years old and my up close vision is fairly weak, so I have progressive lenses.  When I take off my glasses I can still see pretty clear at a distance, but up close is a no go.  I can take a pair of reading glasses and see very clearly for reading up close material, and even thread a needle. Yay!!  If I want to have selective vision I can just stay away from glasses at all and I will go through my life seeing blurry and unfocused and miss many things I should be seeing.  There is a scenario where I can choose to see things in the distance fairly good and not see things right in front of me at all.  I could just get a pair of glasses that helped my far away vision be clear, but not my up close vision.  As long as I only wanted to see things at a distance that would be the ideal situation for those glasses.  My up close vision would be compromised though and I would have to live with the realization that anything close would not be seen.  In 1 Samuel 16:7b scripture says, "For man looks a the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  This scripture is centered around the time when Samuel was coming to anoint the next king of Israel and God chose David.  You can't get any closer than the heart when looking at a person and God knew David's heart was a heart that wanted the "heart of God."  In other words, David wanted to line up with God's heart when living his life and that kind of man could lead God's people in the best way possible.  This all begs the question, "Where is your heart?"  

If you are trying to see where your heart really is keep in mind, God is already there in the Holy Spirit!  So, if you want to really SEE clearly where your heart is you need to seek God's counsel on that matter and He will show you where your heart really is.  There is a barrier we can put into place when thinking about this whole heart thing though.  We can try to keep God at a distance and feel good about it because our distance vision seems to be acceptable and looking at our life from a distance shows I am kind of ok.  Kind of?   Are we going to settle for that kind of spiritual condition with the Lord living in our heart? I hope not!!

Every once in a while, we will have a time with God in a church service, a quiet time, or a tough circumstance in life where we put on the reading glasses and let Him magnify the true identity of our heart for us to see.  The effect is life-changing when we truly see ourselves up close and personal and see the deficiencies of our heart.  Mostly we don't like that and that is why we keep those glasses on the shelf.  Many times when that happens we may make a true heart commitment, we think.  But really when we take off those reading glasses we go back to looking at our heart from a distance and that seems to suffice to make it through a day.  So, what is the answer?  We all need to wear progressive lenses!!  Lenses that adjust to the needs of our vision, whether far or close, will be the necessary cure for keeping our vision and commitment to the Lord current and growing.

I hope all of this eyeglass speculation hasn't been too cryptic to understand the meaning of it all.

Please note:  When we accept Jesus, He comes in to our heart and changes our life.  That change gives us good "close up" vision to see things in our life that need to be changed to be more like Jesus.  When our close up vision improves, our distance vision improves and the things of the future come more alive because it is all centered around the plans God has for our life.  The enemy wants to put a cramp in these plans by having us not allow God to help us see our heart and the needs of that heart to grow in the Lord, so he becomes the accuser the Bible speaks about and he talks us into looking at everything else in the distance so we don't look at the needs of our heart "up close."  Progressive lens faith is the faith that is constantly growing in the Lord because he shows us up close our needs for change and then we are able to see the world at a distance with a whole new light.  These Jesus' lenses really work well because they constantly work through daily quiet times, meaningful times of worship with other believers, in depth study of God's Word, and rubbing shoulders and comparing notes with others wearing the same type of glasses. The end result is freshfully clean Christians, who serve Jesus in a very current, clear way.....Progressively!!

I read a devotion this morning that brought in the scripture in 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 where it says, "17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

This scripture pretty much sums up what I am saying.  If we will just allow God to show us who we are and who He is, He will constantly improve our vision of who we should be and how that all fits together.  By the way,  we will take on a new "look" that will appear much more like Jesus in everything we say and do.  That alone should lead us to focus intently on the Word of God.  In Mark 8:22-25 Jesus meets a blind man at the pool of Bethsaida.  He takes the man outside of town and spits in the man's eyes and put his hand on him.  Jesus asked him "Do you see anything?"  The  man looked up and said "I see people; they look like trees walking around."  Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes again and then his eyes were opened, his vision was restored, and he could see everything clearly.  It's time to ask Jesus to heal the blindness in our eyes to help us just not see people walking around like nothings, but to give us vision to see "everything" clearly.  Those things up close and those things at a distance.  I hope this makes sense to you. It makes perfect sense to me, but then again, "I've got on my progressive lenses."

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

It's a Breakout!!!

Acts 11:19-30 is a great scripture that shows just how awesome the good news of Jesus is and how it cannot be contained.  In verses 19-20 it says "Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus."

You may notice in these verse that they were still just telling the message of Jesus to the Jews and not to the Greeks.  But a great thing happened.  Those Jews in Cyprus and Cyrene could not keep it to themselves and went ahead and shared the message and Greeks starting receiving Jesus and then the whole thing broke loose.  Wow.  It's a Breakout!!  The gospel that was imprisoned by those who thought it only for the Jews could not be held back anymore and like a wildfire, it starting spreading everywhere.....EVERYWHERE!!!

What would happen, even in the south, if we started spreading the message of Christ again wherever we went?  All indications are people would be saved!!  I say, even in the south, because we assume most people are saved in the Bible belt, but are they?  NO!!  To assume that is no different than the original Jewish disciples believing the gospel was to be shared with Jews only!!  The gospel cannot be imprisoned.  God is going to force it to break out of the chains we have put on it.  Chains that should not be there and will not hold against the power of God.  Scripture in verse 22 says "News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch."  The great encourager, Barnabas, went to Antioch and saw that the grace of God was being experienced by non Jews, and it said he was glad and encouraged them to keep it going.  Good ole Barnabas.  He would never try to put out the fire of the Lord by throwing traditional water on it.  He actually threw  more fuel on it by encouraging them.  This was very important in the overall ministry of the gospel, because Antioch became the hub for worldwide mission work from there on.  Antioch was the pivotal location for the birth of Paul's missionary journeys and the leaders in the church at Antioch supported that work by prayer and finances.  It was at this time that Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul and he found him and brought  him to Antioch.  They met with the church at Antioch for a year and taught great numbers of people.  Get this!  It was in Antioch when believers were first called Christians!  I have heard it said that being called a Christian in those days was a bad thing or an insult, but not so at Antioch.  They were called Christians or Christ Ones because of the mix of Jews and Gentiles serving side by side in that church.  Being a Christian labeled you as a person who would accept anyone to come to Christ.  They were one in Christ.  With their varied backgrounds the unifying part of the whole church was being one in Christ.  So I warn you not to think in a bad way about the name Christian, but be careful to guard the true meaning of it, which is people from varied backgrounds and families serving the Lord together as one.

One of the prophets from Jerusalem named Agabus, stood up and predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world.  The disciples didn't sit around and wonder if it was going to happen.  They rallied together and provided help for the brothers living in Judea and they sent their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.   When was the last time you saw a church respond to a word of warning from the Lord and respond in faith to meet that need?  Not lately!  When the Holy Spirit breaks out many miraculous things start to happen and God's people need to be wise, but trusting, to respond to God's message, even through a prophet.  The fall of Rome was at hand in the Judean region and it was going to impact the gospel being spread, but God was going to protect that message through speaking to Godly men and showing them what to do.  When God pours out His Holy Spirit in a situation and the chains are cast off, then God begins to do great and mighty things.  It's a Breakout!!

Time to ask ourselves.

1. What chains am I putting on God?

2. What chains am I putting on the message of God?

3. What chains are controlling my words and actions?

4. What chains are  keeping me from believing God to do great and mighty things?

Time to throw off those chains and start thinking like people who are filled with the Holy Spirit and let Him use your life for His glory.  Time to be free from the chains of indifference and apathy and stand up and proclaim the gospel as never before.  It is time..

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Eyewitness Account

Eye witness accounts of something happening are so much better than someone giving their impressions of what is happening without experiencing it themselves.  It's one thing to hear about something or guess that something happened, but altogether different to experience it.  The people at the house of Cornelius knew that God was God, but they had only believed in it in a second hand way.  When Peter shared the gospel with them the Holy Spirit filled their lives and the change was first hand.  After this great encounter with God Peter went back to Jerusalem and he was immediately questioned about the event, because the disciples in Jerusalem had heard a story but they wanted to hear it from Peter.  He was there!!!  All of this explanation is found in Acts 11:1-18 and Peter explains to them "precisely" as it had happened.  A very important word "precisely."  He didn't add big, magical, blown up details about what happened. He just told the truth as he knew it.  In his explanation he shares how God came to him in a vision and the part about the men coming to the house where he was staying.  How they showed up just at the time his vision ended and how he went with them.  He shared about the part where when he started speaking the Holy Spirit came on them just like it had come on Peter and the others at the beginning.  Then he capped the whole thing off with this statement. "So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"  

This is when the truth of Peter's message takes on a whole new life.  That life is the realization that God was still powerful and moving and he was doing something in other places besides Jerusalem.  The message was undeniable.  God was doing a new thing and he was doing it in the midst of the Gentiles. The gospel could longer be kept to a certain people anymore.  I believe this part of the whole scripture is critical to the Christian faith in our country and worldwide.  In America we have morphed the message of Christ into whatever is palatable for us.  Thus different denominations were formed to take these differing opinions and convictions about the message and segment it.  I have served in the Southern Baptist Denomination for many years, but my heart is first and foremost the gospel message.  Not the Southern Baptist impression of what the gospel is, but what God has given to me personally.  I didn't receive this salvation by letting someone else believe for me.  I didn't believe from the rumors of salvation.  I didn't even believe because I had been raised in church.  The message and the truth of  it and the conviction of the Holy Spirit changed my life!!  It was a personal belief in the truth of God's Word and the power of the Holy Spirit that changed a willing heart that repented and believed.  I didn't receive my salvation through my parents or my preacher.  It was between God and me.  So, who was there at my time of salvation?  God and me.  Oh, a man shared with me how to receive Christ, but I had to experience it and do it myself.  I repented of my sins and believed in Jesus and asked Him to come into my life and He did.  Did I understand what was happening as an eleven year old child? You bet I did.  I realized I was a horrible sinner and that my only hope was in Jesus and made the decision to follow Him. At that moment I received the Holy Spirit and received everything I needed to grow in my faith.  I received freedom from the penalty of sin,  the realization of what God's Word means to me, and the desire to share this with others.  My experience is very common for those who received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Whether you are a child or an adult, the Lord is the same and He wants the life change that happens to be an undeniable truth.  I have heard preachers preach about receiving Christ and they make a bigger thing about becoming a member of the church than  the life giving salvation that happens to the person in a very personal way.  So what happens when a person joins a church, but doesn't have life change?  No Holy Spirit.  No good fruit.  No understanding of God's Word.  No worshipful heart.  No joy!!!  That is a lot of nos.  These people have no eye witness account of God doing anything life changing in their life, but they are members of a church.  That experience will not get them to heaven, nor use their life for Jesus Christ.  But when a person really receives Jesus and the Holy Spirit takes over.....WOW!!  Fireworks!! Power!!

Here is what happened after Peter told the eyewitness account from the house of Cornelius.  Verse 18  "When they heard this, they had no future objections and praised God, saying, So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."  It was Undeniable Power from God and Peter witnessed it and shared it and they accepted it as truth and realized God was going to do a worldwide thing.  I want to give kudos here to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.  They had in the past been known to be very selfish with the gospel but their reaction to Peter's testimony shows there is hope for those who are so steeped in their traditions.  The only way to get those people to believe God is still doing something awesome is to give them eyewitness accounts of it happening, but we must be out there preaching it so it can happen.  Romans 10:14  "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?  And how will they hear without a preacher??  Time to start preaching with our lives and our testimony and then the church will either rise up or crash down.  Whatever happens the truth will be undeniable.  By the way, this is really the testimony of Peter wherever he went and preached the gospel.  Acts. 4:13  "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus."  Do you want to astonish people?  Share you eyewitness account of what Jesus did in your life and then let God do the rest.  People WILL be saved.  They will know you have been with Jesus!!  It's undeniable. You are the Eyewitness.

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

Home Hunters - Heart Hunters

A very popular DYI TV show is House Hunters.  It features people who are looking for that "just right" house.  Just right look, just right feel, and just right price.  As these, usually married couples, go through the motions of looking at houses shown to them by caring realtors, they all seem to want the same thing.  They want a house that supplies all their needs and some wants.  Those needs vary from Open Floor Plans, to Big Kitchens (as if people cook) and a big back yard for the kids or the dogs.  Expectations are so high when they go to a house and their reaction to the outside is an indication as to whether they will buy it or not.  When I first hear their first impression of the outside I start to think "They ain't gonna buy that one. Sometimes they wind up buying the one they had a bad first impression about.

Which brings us to our Bible lesson today.  Peter has been dispatched by some men from Cornelius to come to his house.  We pick up the scripture in Acts 10:24-48 where it says that Peter went back to the house of Cornelius with the men he sent and becomes the realtor character.  He shares about the new revelation God has just given him and a new word that includes the gospel being given to those from other nations than Israel and he proceeds to tell them about Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse 38  "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power."  Peter is telling all the benefits of giving themselves to Jesus and their hearts are receptive.  They don't really even know what they want, but they believe God is speaking to them through Peter.  Earlier in the chapter  in verse 33 Cornelius says, "Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."  Much like the house hunters, they are God hunters and trust that Peter's message to them is what they are looking for, and by the way, it is.  Peter continues on telling all that Jesus did by dying on the cross, being buried in the grave, and then the glorious resurrection.  As they are listening to Peter speaking, even before he gets done, they all get saved!!!  Wow.  Now that is a divine appointment for sure!  Some circumcised believers had come with Peter and they were blown away that these Gentiles were also able to receive the Holy Spirit.  Then Peter said, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water?"  The answer was no!!  These Gentile people who were hunting for the answers to their longing, much like house hunters looking for the right house, found what they were looking for and accepted Jesus and were baptized.  Peter presented the story of salvation to them and they accepted and were changed forever. This was a precursor to the gospel being presented to all peoples everywhere, and it all started here.  Peter was faithful to take the message where God wanted him to take it and the rest is history.  

That historical moment is a moment in time that sends a message to each of us who know Jesus.  Are we willing to step out of the box we have been so easily put in to take the message of Christ to all who want to hear of the hope of Christ.  Or are we afraid these new people will take away our place or position in an organization?  Believe it or not, the Jews of the day were totally willing for those Gentiles to go to hell because they didn't want to get out of their comfort zone to share it with them.  Why?  Because they didn't think it was for anyone else but themselves.  Which prompts the question.  Do we really want new people,  who aren't steeped in our religious  garb, to come in to our churches and change how we think?  Do we really?  And are we willing to think and minister "out of the box" to reach these people?  It really comes back to where our hearts are.  How many other Cornelius type families are out there ready and willing to hear the gospel and accept Life Change?  I don't think it is by coincidence that we cannot get any believers to go out and witness to the lost from the local church.  We may be a little more possessive and selfish with this great hope we have than we realize and that mindset has to change.  Time to open up our doors and open up our hearts to  God doing "A New Thang!"  I want to be a part of that "New Thang."  Don't you??  @ Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behind, new things have come.

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

The Loyalty Hinge Pin

Loyalty - a strong feeling of support or allegiance.  Hinge - a jointed or flexible device that allows the turning or pivoting of a part, such as a door or lid, on a stationary frame. Hinge pin - The pin that connects the two individual parts together and allows the hinge to work properly.  

Another word associated with loyalty is faithfulness, but that doesn't fully show the meaning.  So many things hinge on the word or result of loyalty.  Trust hinges heavily on loyalty and that is best seen in the lack of loyalty by Peter when Jesus was arrested and he was asked and accused of being a follower of Jesus and he denied Christ.  He was not loyal to the Lord and it crushed him....But what about Jesus? Read the account in John 15-27 and see if Peter didn't deny Christ at the time when Jesus needed him to stand with Him.  Peter's denial didn't stop the Son of God from going ahead with what He had to do to save us from our sins, but the denial was still there.  Their relationship changed then and loyalty was the hinge pin that failed and affected their future, if....Jesus had not restored it in John 21:15-17.  We make a lot out of the fact that Peter denied Christ three times and then Jesus asked Peter three times "Do you love me?"  Jesus was showing a restorative love and in restoring that love restored the loyalty He needed from Peter.  At the end of the restoration he says three words,"Tend my sheep."  Jesus needed to see Peter's loyalty because God had great plans for Peter and Peter needed to acknowledge Christ in all situations, not just in the easy ones.  Today's blog is a precursor to important steps Peter would take after going to Cornelius's house and then taking the gospel to the Gentiles.  All of this is tied together and everything hinges on the word loyalty.   

If you think about it, loyalty is the hinge pin for many relationships.  In marriage, loyalty is the hinge pin to making it successful and lasting.  In sports, loyalty is what keeps fans in the stands and cheering for their team.  In ministry, loyalty is the hinge pin to keeping people following the direction of their pastor as he serves God.  In a job, loyalty is what keeps employees from stealing from their company and working extra hours to make sure the work is completed.  In government, loyalty is what rallies people behind our president, senator, or governor and causes them to step up and go the extra mile to serve.  Loyalty for all things comes back to our loyalty to Christ.  Much the same as the questioning of Peter's loyalty is the questioning of our loyalty to Christ as well.

In government, we saw an example of loyalty when Mike Pence stood by Donald Trump after an embarrassing video surfaced that showed him compromised in his witness.  I heard comments from people saying Mike Pence should now be the presidential candidate and I said it and thought it.  Why did I think that?  I saw him show loyalty and it inspired me and made me trust him more.  Loyalty is the hinge pin for trust and without loyalty trust is compromised in every form.  In order for people to learn to trust, truly trust, they must experience loyalty.

In church ministry, loyalty to a pastor is a must.  When loyalty is not evident, then the church ministry is compromised.  I was in a church as a new staff member and the pastor came in to my office and told me about the former staff who had held my position of leadership.  The pastor explained that he made a decision and that the staff member disagreed with him, but not to his face.  So when he got in front of the group he was responsible for he presented the pastor's direction by saying, "Now I don't agree with this direction, but this is where our pastor wants to go."  The pastor realized through that staff member's words that he wasn't loyal and that he didn't trust the pastor.  The pastor wrote him off and the relationship with that staff member ended not long after that occurrence.  I know this may sound crazy, but when you are loyal to a person you say "I trust you.  So if you go down, we are going down together." if You can't show that kind of loyalty then you need to quit that position because you are of no good to that pastor.  That is loyalty and it is the hinge pin to trust.  Churches are dying today because of a lack of loyalty and trust, in their "called" mnisterial staff.  More loyalty means more trust and more trust means more blessings from God, but it all hinges on loyalty.  Sometimes "blind loyalty."  We have to learn to believe!!!

In marriage, loyalty is the hinge pin to ongoing love and faithfulness.  Scripture says it better than I could in Genesis 2:24  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined (hinge Pin) to his wife; and they shall become one flesh."  At the core of a  marriage relationship there has to be loyalty.   I bristle when I hear a wife putting down a husband and a husband putting down his wife, but I bristle even more when I see a spouse not support their other half.   Many marriages today just "exist" and that is because the hinge pin of loyalty is not holding them together like they need to.  There cannot be a more intimate relationship than the joining of two people to make one.  The marriage relationship exists on the hinge pin of loyalty.  The end result of loyalty in marriage is real trust.  The crushing blow to trust in a marriage relationship is lack of loyalty.  If a man is more loyal to his parents or siblings that to his wife, the trust his spouse has will be compromised.  If a woman doesn't cut the apron strings with her family the man will never believe in her loyalty and thus not have the trust he needs to have to make the marriage all it should be.  Even more than ministry, a marriage relationship loyalty should have the characteristic statement, "I'm with them and no on else."  How can a wife be loyal if she is off doing her own thing without regard for the marriage.  How can a husband be loyal if he is just thinking of making the next  big score in his business.  Loyalty has to be at a premium for a marriage to be all Christ intended for it to be.  So loyalty is the hinge pin for trust in a marriage.  It is a bad move when someone goes against your spouse and you join with them in putting your spouse down.  Trust is gone after that and that trust has to be restored just like the trust had to be restored by Jesus for Peter carrying on the message of the gospel.  We never mention that Peter probably found out something about himself when he denied Christ.  He probably discovered "I say I am loyal to Christ, but am I really?"  Maybe that is the question that we need to be asking ourselves "I say I am loyal to Christ, but am I really?"  Can Jesus trust your loyalty?  It is the hinge pin that joins everything together in all relationships, so we better get this one right.  I remember just before going out to the marriage ceremony to marry my wife.  I was standing in the back room off the stage area and a huge feeling of responsibility  came over me and really shook me at my core.  The question came to mind before going out to make one of the biggest commitments in my life.  "David, do you really believe Andra is the one God wants you to spend the rest of your life with?"  Even though the pressure was on I am glad I was able to say to the Lord and to myself, "She is the one!"  My loyalty to her is the hinge pin to her trust in me and I keep that loyalty in all things if at all possible.  Many times I have disagreed with her in a situation, but I didn't deny my loyalty for her by doubting her or undercutting her with friends or my family or anyone.  She can trust my loyalty.  It is my prayer that the loyalty that is the hinge pin of my relationship with Christ is always true and real.  I hope Jesus can always trust me to stand with Him in every situation.  That thought really brings this scripture into focus for me.  Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me."   Here is the kicker to the hinge pin of loyalty.  If you find  yourself not being loyal to anyone, then you probably don't have a true loyalty to Christ and it is time to be restored, so you can live that life of loyalty.  Tomorrow I will continue sharing the scripture that speaks to the loyalty of Peter coming to life for the Gentiles in the world.  The restorative work of Christ was made complete in the ministry of Peter after Jesus left this world.  The hinge pin held strong and Peter was a better man for his loyalty being reestablished.   Remember, without the hinge pin all you have is two hinges that are not joined together.

This story tells of true loyalty and the strong representation it is of full trust and honor.

One of the all-time greats in baseball was Babe Ruth. His bat had the power of a cannon, and his record of 714 home runs remained unbroken until Hank Aaron came along. The Babe was the idol of sports fans, but in time age took its toll, and his popularity began to wane. Finally the Yankees traded him to the Braves. In one of his last games in Cincinnati, Babe Ruth began to falter. He struck out and made several misplays that allowed the Reds to score five runs in one inning. As the Babe walked toward the dugout, chin down and dejected, there rose from the stands an enormous storm of boos and catcalls. Some fans actually shook their fists. Then a wonderful thing happened. A little boy jumped over the railing, and with tears streaming down his cheeks he ran out to the great athlete. Unashamedly, he flung his arms around the Babe's legs and held on tightly. Babe Ruth scooped him up, hugged him, and set him down again. Patting him gently on the head, he took his hand and the two of them walked off the field together.

I think about a weakened impression people have of Jesus in our world today and I hope I continue to acknowledge that He is the "only" hope for mankind.  America may be denying Christ is our only hope, but I will not agree with that stand.  Christ is the only way to salvation.   Not a political candidate, not money, not position, not anything else, but Jesus.  Where is your loyalty?

The Pilgrimage continues...

David Warren