Magnetic Faith

I was always amazed in science class when our teacher would show us different examples of electricity, chemical reactions, and many other things.  My ninth grade science teacher was like Bill Nye the Science guy and his experiments made our class time go quick!  One time he brought in a crank type generator and one person held on to one side of the output diode and another held onto the one on the other side.  He started cranking that thing and before long both those guys were shaking from the electrical charge they were receiving.  We all died laughing....Oh, that was a simple time when you could electrocute a student and not get in trouble.  ha ha..  Anyway, one day he brought in two powerful magnets and I was looking forward to getting my hands on those babies.  He asked for volunteers and my hand shot up so quick that he immediately took me and one other class member.  We went to the front of the class and I grabbed the handles of one of the magnets and immediately realized this was not your regular magnet.  It was heavy, and it was plugged in.  I had never seen an electromagnet and I came to understand how intense an electromagnet's current can be when you increase the electrical current.  I mean, these are the magnets that you see on the end of a crane picking up some heavy metal object, like a car!!  So now it was time for the experiment.  Our teacher had me hold one magnet and the other student held the other one about three feet apart.  He had us hold it one way so that it was in the attract mode.  When he hit the switch, wham!!  It pulled us together so fast, and the magnets were stuck so tight we couldn't get them apart.  Everyone in the class was laughing and then the teacher turned off the current and the magnets separated.  What a great experiment.  We sat the magnets down and he called two more students to the front and turned the magnets around and hit the power and it was the opposite.  The magnets could not be pushed together with all their might, so they finally gave up and set them down.  I walked out of class that day amazed by how much more powerful the magnets were when power is added.  If they are lined up right, they attract and bond.  If they are lined up the opposite, then they reject each other.

In James 4, James is addressing a basic problem for those early believers and the result of the problem is bad.   The problem is worldliness and it apparently was prevalent in the early church much like it is today.  Worldliness is something we have to deal with on a daily basis, what with all the bad stuff we see and hear.  When we let worldliness get in it causes a reaction in our lives that separates us from God.  Not God from us.  Us from God.  Pride becomes an animal in our worldliness and before long we start to stray from those basic convictions that God established in our life.  Why?  Because worldliness in believer's lives causes great distress and hurt and the usual thing we do is stay away from the one who knows us best.  When we do that our pride has taken over and humility is far from the scene.  We have God's power, but because of a lack of attraction to God's Ways, we drift or reject God.  That drifting allows things in our lives that shouldn't be there and we have a choice; humble yourself before God and repent, or continue on the same road and distance yourself from God.  For those who don't read God's Word much, it really catches them off guard and instead of being attracted to God and His grace, they run.  NOT GOOD-NOT GOOD AT AL!!

Here's what's supposed to happen.  We fail -We turn to God and humble ourselves- He forgives and restores-We learn from it and commit to life change-The power attraction to God is strong again and nothing can get in there between us and God.  In fact, in verse 8 James says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.  Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." Turn the magnet to attraction mode. He goes on in verse 10 to say we must humble ourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.  When God's power is turned on through His grace and we turn to God His magnet is so strong He immediately pulls us back to Him.  What we thought was bad in humbling ourselves, actually became the way to get back in a right relationship with God. But, we must have a willing heart and that change lies with us.  Which brings to mind a question.  Are you drawn to God with how you are living your life, or are you constantly drawn away?  Are the things you have allowed in your life making you closer to God, or are they moving you away from God?  If they aren't drawing you closer then you are already rejecting Him and you don't even know it.  James says in verse 7 to SUBMIT!  Submit means to yield to a superior force or to the will or authority of another person.  If you are drifting, now is the time to submit and let go and let God!  He always has His electromagnet on and the only way we can get back right again is to be turned the right way.  Toward Him!! That will make the attraction back to Him stronger than ever and the end result will be restoration.  That is what I call a Magnetic Faith.  Just turn.....NOW!

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

It's Raining Somewhere....

I was in a meeting a few years ago and we were talking about future ministry efforts and what God could do with just a few people getting on board.  We were all dreaming and believing God could do a great work when all of a sudden one person in the room started doubting the whole thing.  Right out of left field this person had made themselves the self-appointed rainmaker on our parade.  If it was a brief shower we could have kept on going, but it turned into a constant downpour and the whole group went into "faith shock."  You know what Faith Shock is don't you?  It's where Christians kind of start believing this Bible stuff about God being all powerful, and answering prayer, and being alive and active, and blah, blah.  Then they start to hear every reason God can't do anything and they go into "Faith Shock!"  The group started showing signs of faith shock, but then it happened.  A smart, warrior of God stood up in the midst of the meeting and said, "Well, I'm going to go with this plan 100% and if it fails, it won't fail because I didn't give it my all."  That smart, warrior of God was a friend of mine (you thought it was me?) and after he sat down I turned to him and whispered, "If this thing starts to gain momentum, I'm with you."  Did his stand for God stop the rain?  Nope!  You know what would have stopped the rain?  Me standing with him!  With my support (where two or more are gathered in my name I am in the midst of them) we could have defeated the evil faithless rainmaker.  But no!!!  Why didn't I stand up when he did?  First of all, because I was a chicken and wanted to reserve the right to say, "I told you so."  If I stood with him, I would not be able to say those passive aggressive words of safety and denial.   Secondly, I wasn't in it to win it.  I was in it to score it!  If I'm in something to win it, I will be so busy serving, I won't even look at the score.   My life will be so totally immersed in following the plan, that I won't let the rain even start to sprinkle.  But, If I'm in it to score it, then that's a different story.  From the git go I will start to nitpick every detail and my half-hearted efforts will turn into no effort and thus the rain will start to fall.  Then before long, we will have a rain out on another great plan God had showed us to just believe in.  You know what happens when it rains.  You get sleepy and sleeping becomes the only thing you want to do.  So.....we sleep.

Well,  WAKE UP!!! It's time to get busy....(let's get it started ha...ala Toby Mac)  It's time to kick the rainmakers out of our path and stay away from Faith Shock and start believing again.  When we start believing, everything changes, and the rain stops falling, and the parade goes on.  Here are some of the float entries in the parade.  Float #1 - This float is a depiction of Christians uniting together for one central goal of reaching the world for Christ.  The characters on the float are children, youth, and adults serving together and moving toward a central goal.  Float #2 - This float has many working parts that are all powered by a motor in the middle of the float.  This motor makes it possible for all the parts of the float to do their part, work together.  Float #3 - This float is probably the most grand of all.  Those riding on it are all the lives that have been touched by those who planned the parade.  They are not just watching the parade.  Now they are in the parade.  Float #4 - Is the last, but the best float and it carries the Grand Marshall of the parade.  He is the one the parade is honoring and He is lifted above all other floats to show his position.  Do you get the parade illustration?  Float 1 is Christians uniting together to be the church as God supplies the power.  Float 2 is all Christians using their God given gifts to serve in some part of the church and they are focused on God moving them.  Float 3 is all the people who come to know Christ and join hands with us and serve in His church.  Float 4 is the church gathered to lift up the name of Jesus and honor Him who sets us into motion as we live the abundant life. Cool huh?  Only cool if these words and illustrations become actions.  Only then.  James 2:17 says, "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself."  If we only live a faith of words, then Faith Shock will scare us off every time.  If we live a faith of action, then Faith Shock is a thing of the past and our Faith becomes Actions.  Don't let the rainmakers in your life keep you from standing up to the rain.  Even if they can't be specific, they will say, "It's raining somewhere!"  They will try every flimsy excuse they can to keep you from dreaming and dreaming big.  Your reply to them will need to be, "Yeah, it's raining somewhere, but it's not going to rain here anymore!"  Now that's the Spirit!!

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

I Have Never Known a Love Like This....

It's amazing how much we search through life for the purity of things.  Things like pure water, pure gold, pure knowledge, and many other things we would deem "pure."  The definition of the word pure is something that is free of any contamination.   That definition for purity is really hard to deal with in that anything with a hint of "human" in it will be impure.  Our very nature is rooted in the impurity of a sinful world.  We know that.....But, there are those things we have happen in our lives that we feel come close.  They probably don't, but we are so impacted by them that in our minds they have to be close to pure.  Things like pure joy over something totally unexpected and good.  Pure hope when you get a glimpse of something good happening when you've gone through so much bad.  Pure peace when you totally put yourself in the hands of God.  Pure direction when you know  exactly where you are going and exactly what you are doing.  The one I want to address today is Pure Love.  Pure love is an amazing thing that finds it's roots in the DNA of Jesus Christ.  When we continue to develop our relationship with our Lord it causes some changes in our life practices, and love purifies those practices over a period of time.  The Biblical word is sanctification, and the offensive movement forward in our lifestyle is toward purity.  That purity in all we do is found most prevalent in the way love is generated as we live our daily lives as believers.  In 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul wrote to the them concerning the afflictions of the church there and shared a result of facing those afflictions with God's power.  In verse 3 he said, "We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged,, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater."  If you read on you will see that the church had to put up with a lot of things against them, but instead of it defeating them, it made them stronger than ever.  Also, the result of all that was a love that was pure and real.  Get this.....Believers will go through almost insurmountable things together and the end result is purity, especially in the area of love.  That almost doesn't compute for me, but I'm starting to get it.  Pure gold (our faith) comes out pure gold (pure faith) when tested by fire (life) and proves to be genuine (pure).  I get it, I really get it now.

Today is an anniversary that means so much to me I almost can't explain it.  But the above mentioned examples of pure faith and pure love will hopefully put into context what I am trying to say.  Thirty six years ago I made a commitment to love, honor, and cherish my wife Andra.  I remember sitting in the back room of that church before we came out to say our vows and thinking about the heartfelt commitment that was about to take place.  I was nervous, not because I was apprehensive.  I was nervous because in all the things I had ever done, I wanted this one to be pure and genuine.  I was such a fruitcake in my younger years and even though I still am, that day the bad tasting fruitcake in my life left and a new fruitcake took it's place.  It was all because of one thing; I was hopelessly in love with Andra.  From that moment on everything else paled to my love for her.  Oh we've had our ups and downs and with our fiery personalities we have had some major mood swings through the years.  But one thing has stood.  Our pure love for each other.  I believe it is more pure today because of all the tough things life has thrown our way, and because Christ has been right there with us through it all.  That pure gold in our lives made possible through salvation, continues to stay pure gold when the fire hits it.  So in this journey of love and life, I need to say, "I have never known a love like this.  Our  love has not wained, but grown over these many years and even though we didn't like it at times, much of that growth has been because of the struggles along the way.  Those struggles continue today because we continue to step out in faith to do what God wants and let the cards fall where they may.  Since the two became one, I also believe that the individual sanctification of our lives is followed by a sanctification of our relationship as husband and wife.  That process must be protected by us both so that we can impact the world and make the greater impact as a couple.  I believe that is what we fight for most of all, this thing called "the sanctity of marriage."  Pure love has been lost in the shuffle of us all claiming our rights as human beings, but the pure love I feel for my wife is not about my rights, but about a relationship that surpasses all other relationship save one.  The relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.  The love He gave enables me to give the love Andra needs to make every day, and even every moment, an anniversary.  I love you Andra.  There is truly no one else like you.  We have been on a great journey and the best is yet to come.  Happy Anniversary.  

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

I've Told You a Million Times, Don't Exaggerate!!

Exaggerate - to represent something as being larger, greater, better, or worse than it really is...It also means to "heap up!"  If you listen to any news commentators in the past five years you will notice that our down to earth news is full of exaggerations and the news has become "heaped up" information that is mostly over blown.  Our politicians and those who represent them use words like unprecedented, unmatched, unequaled, etc. and the un's definitely have it.  Everybody is wanting to blow up the truth to make it more sensational and appealing, and in doing so even the truth becomes a lie.  This change in our society is unprecedented. (ha ha caught you didn't I?) That last statement may actually be true!!  Who knows?  The purity of truth is compromised more and more every day and we have to sit there and listen to one exaggeration after another.  It's kind of sickening.   If the top leaders of our country can't totally tell the truth, then what or who can we trust?  You may wonder why we are so dulled to common, basic, truth.  It's because things are so exaggerated beyond the point of reality, that it makes the foundational truths suffer because of a lack of pizzazz or exaggerations.  Ok, I admit it.  We are not just eating candy now, we have jumped into Willy Wonka's giant candy jar and we are eating ourselves into obscurity.  Why?  Because it's sweet to our ears and our eyes.  Do you remember in the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when one of the children, Augustus Gloop, was so gluttonous that he started drinking straight from the chocolate river?   Or course, in his present mental condition at the time, you can't blame him.  He downed chocolate bars as a hobby, so his desire for the sweetest things he could find had been developed over time.  The only problem was he fell in the chocolate river and then was wisked out through the chocolate tube and thus stopped him from finishing his opportunity to inherit the whole factory.  His desire for MORE MORE MORE was the thing that kept him from getting MORE!!!  Per his example it shouldn't be surprising that gluttony and exaggerated truth go hand in hand.  In our desire to see and hear the latest, greatest, and best we soon hit the wall.  That wall is our imperfect humanity.  Bummmmer.  Back to earth Peter Pan.  Back to the real world.  Wake up America!!  Time to tell the real truth about things.  Of course, the world and all it's habits will never totally wake up and that is prophetic truth from God's Word.  But, we as believers can wake up and set into motion a lifestyle that deals with God's Pure Truth and not need exaggerations.  If we start this process the gluttonous attitudes of a worldly perspective will not even interest us and over a period of time we will start to believe a new truth, GOD IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME!!  We will see that we are missing the joy of the inheritance Jesus Christ made possible for those who believe because we are drinking from the sweet river of the world's exaggerations.  We will also realize that the river of exaggerations will get us headed in a totally different direction than the best direction.  God's Direction

The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 111:7, "He manufactures truth and justice; All His products are guaranteed to last."  Also, in Psalm 119:90 "Your truth never goes out of fashion; it's as up-to-date as the earth when the sun comes up."  

God's truth is awesome with no exaggerations added.  It is what it is, and that's enough. News Flash - He is all we need.  You can present that on the evening news as being unmatched if you want.  You can even say it is unequaled.  Or better yet, you can just report it is God, I Am, and that will be enough.  He is beyond our words and our world's perspective.  You don't have to exaggerate who He is at all, because He is THE ALL!!

Psalms 119:91 - Your Word and Truth are dependable as ever; that's what You ordered-you set the earth going.  I'm liking that News.  Aren't you?

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

A Non-hypocritical Love - The Sting of the Bees

In Romans 12: 9-13, Paul writes a laundry list of what love is to BEE.   Shakespeare wrote in the play Hamlet,  "To be or not to be."  Paul wrote the same thing by saying you either have love or you don't.  He starts off in verse nine with a huge statement that shares what love is to BE.  He says, "don't let love be FAKE or hypocritical."  If we think about it, if we don't get this first one right the others are dead.  In other words, you don't just love as an exercise, but it is who you are.  It's not what you do, but who you are or "who you be!"  We throw the love word around like a hot potato game and eventually it loses it's true reality in our impressions.  Since impressions change with circumstance and time, so does that kind of love.  That kind of love is a result of something much deeper and troubled on the inside.  If that kind of love comes from a fake or weak love expression, then it will not last.  But......if it comes from who you are, then that is a whole different story.  You may say, "Woh, David, you are starting to get that starry, deep look in your eyes.  Don't make it too difficult to understand."  Just in case I'm being too cryptic, let me explain.  We are in a constant changing world and our individual pursuits are geared and affected by the things around us.  If we aren't anchored in pure truth and action, then we will get adrift and lose our way.  That drifting also gets us off the course Christ intends for us.  Realize, the basic premise for all Christ did in reaching out to each of us is one thing, LOVE!  He didn't only show love.  He is love!!  Get it?  When we receive Christ there is one main foundational thing He equips each of us to do, LOVE.  Guess how we can do that?  Well, when we receive the Holy Spirit He changes us at the core of who we are, and the first injection we get is LOVE!  Yes, love is no longer something we do, but who we are.  Have you ever had a bee sting you?  When a bee stings you it injects you with it's venom and guess what?  It leaves the stinger in there.  To treat it you need to remove the stinger and then put antiseptic and medicine on it, but the poison is still inside.  Your body will quickly go to work to deny the poison hurting you anymore than possible and then you will get over the sting and move on.  The body fights the poison from the injection.  Are you starting to get it?  Christ's injection of love at salvation (among other things) invades who we are and we will either give in to it's affect or start fighting it in order to subdue it and make it palatable.  Point of fact:  If you totally surrender to Christ, then His injected characteristics will take over your whole being and you will BE a Christ like person at your core.  If you fight it with your present circumstances, past personality quirks, and weak commitment at the core (take out the stinger) you will have a tough transition from lost to saved.  It will be immediately tough to transition to this new life.  It's what we have for years called "making Jesus Lord."  By the way, He is Lord.  Because of our lack of total surrender beyond "getting saved" we lose that moment of total surrender and we proceed to DO Christian things and not BEE a Christ like person at our core.  Whew!! That was deep, but not really.  To cut to the chase on the love thing is basically to say, "Realize how important your initial salvation experience is and know what you are BEcoming and continue to let it happen.  Just realize it all starts with LOVE!!!

The rest of the verses line up behind this whole love thing and become life characteristics of us at our core.  Here's the laundry list:

1. Run for dear life from evil

2. Hold on for dear life to good

3. Be good friends who love dearly

4. Practice playing second fiddle

5. Don't burn out.

6. Be alert servants of the Master

7. Be cheerfully expectant

8. Don't quit in hard time; pray harder

9. Help needy Christians

10. Be inventive in hospitality

You've figured it out haven't you?   If you BEE love at your core, these other things will happen and keep happening and keep happening.  By the way, if our churches would get stung with this kind of pure truth and realize the strength of it, the gates of hell would not be able to prevail against it.  But in our present condition we are ripe for the picking.  Read these four verses and really study them and see how they stack up in your life and then allow God to do some real changing at your core.  Let Him sting you again and this time let go and let God, and the process will be much more fulfilling.  Just be prepared; you will look different after the experience.  Different goooood.  Not different bad........  Come on BEE, sting me now and let God make some sweet honey in my life.  It's much sweeter than my taste right now...

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren

Lights, Camera, Reality!!

I was getting ready to shave this morning and I was so sleepy I didn't even turn on the bathroom light.  We have one of those foggy, can't see through, windows in our bathroom and there was just enough light to go ahead and shave, so I did.   About halfway through the shave I thought, "Man I'm looking younger every day!"  I didn't see near the wrinkles I had before and thought there was some fountain of youth going on in my body when I remembered.  "I don't have the light on!"  You know the end to this story.  I turned on the light and walked back over to the mirror and there it was....reality!  The wrinkles were still there.  My hair was still thinning.  The rest you can guess.  So I did what any full blooded 

American male would do.  I turned the light back off!  I'm no dummy...

It's amazing what light can do when it is introduced into a situation.  All of the hidden things that poor lighting can hide are all of a sudden exposed.  Those things you thought were gone, are not gone at all.

I remember when HD TV first came out and quite a few of the movie stars were concerned because the image was so clear that it showed all the good and bad things about their faces.  With the right lighting, the real truth came out about their looks. For the ones who were natural beauties it only enhanced their looks.  But the ones who were marginal and used makeup to make them look better, it was tough.  

Adding light to anything has a way of taking away the shadows and helps us and others see the real me more clearly.  Jesus addressed this light issue by saying in John 8:12, "I am the world's light.  No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness.  I provide plenty of light to live in."  So the same light that shows us our real selves is also the light that shows us the way to live a victorious life.  What a great light He is!!  Conclusion: Allowing that light to show us our imperfections will change our attitude and outlook about His light leading us to a better way of living.  That's just the way it is (ala Bruce Hornsby).    Jesus went on to say in John 12:36, "As you have the light, believe in the light.  Then the light will be within you, and shining through your lives.  You'll be children of light."  Sometimes we can get lured into an alter reality, where we think everything is great when it isn't.  His light shows us the true reality and His truth sparks more of the same thing.  In John 3:21 Jesus said, "But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is."  Light begins a synergetic process that starts to positively affect every area of a believer's life and our thoughts and impressions start to change us internally.  Then the light begins to shine through each of us and others can see it is God!!

So, if you are getting used to looking at yourself in bad lighting, then it's time to change.  Turn on the God-light and see just how much more good stuff is in the room with you and how much more God wants to show you.  If you will do that, then you are living in God's reality and that reality is driven by His light.  In John 9:39 Jesus said, "I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind."  If you know Christ, you are not blind.  So......don't live like it.   Live in His light and see the world for what it really is.  Lights, Camera, Reality!!

The Pilgrimage continues.....

David Warren

The Tide is Changing - Rip it...Rip it good!!

We lived near Wilmington, North Carolina for three years and during those years we came to know a little more about tides and currents.  We even lived on Topsail Island for about a year and came to love the ocean and the beach.  Living on the ocean gives you a deep appreciation for the sheer power of the water and it's tides. We learned many lessons, by experience, and became what you might call "novice" ocean dwellers.  One of those lessons came when we went swimming and boating with some friends near a place called Figure 8 Island.  We would board a boat in the waterway and make our way out to the island through different channels and end up at the place where we were going to have some great water fun.  It was always a great time for my family to spend time together in a totally different environment than we were used to.  You see, our water fun was always on the lake or on a small river and lake water is much different than ocean water.  One thing we noticed about where we swam on the island was that when the tide was in, the water was deep and the distance between Figure 8 Island and the other island across the way was wide and very tough to swim across.  When the tide went out, it became so low that you could walk across it with ease and reach the other island.  Tides are that way.  They come and go with regular timing, but due to the motion of water, they change a little every time they go through their cycle.  There are two different definitions for the word Tide.  One is  - a powerful surge of feeling or trend of events.  The other is - a rising and falling of the sea twice a lunar day due to the attraction of the moon and the sun.  Both well represent the word tide and help me illustrate a Biblical Truth from 2 Timothy 3:1-5.  Why?  Because our world is changing every day and those changes cause us to ask why and how.  These changes do not catch Christians unaware and if we think about and see what is happening,   then we will know how to understand and react to it.  In the mentioned scripture Paul is writing to Timothy about how the world will be changing and how those changes need to be handled.  He points to the "last days" and that refers to the time period from his writing until the Lord's return.  You may hear some talk about the "last days" and that we are in those last days right now.  This is true.....just to settle a point!  Paul points to some things that are going to take place in those last day.  People will be self absorbed, money hungry, self promoting, stuck up, profane, crude, disobedient to parents, dog eat dog, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated wind bags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God.  That's just the first four verses!!!   So you may say, "That's in our government, in our schools, in our homes, and even in our churches."  It's a way of life that we have come to realize is just HERE!  That is true.  Which brings us to verse 5.  Oh verse 5...The Message version of the Bible says it like this, "They'll make a show of religion, but behind the scenes they're animals.  Stay clear of those people."  Woh!  I say, WOH!!!  Here's the result of "religion" in America.  Wow, it's makes me want to throw up.  Think how it makes God feel!  Things are changing for the bad so quickly it makes me realize that our faith, refined by fire, will actually be the only thing we can rely on.  But that's the way it should be and will be for those who truly know Christ.  A word for what is happening right now where we live is Apostasy.  Apostasy is the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief.  So don't be surprised when you see the tide turning before your very eyes.  Like the guy said, "We're making history here!"  Oh, we're making history alright!  The things that used to be so far apart between Christianity and the World are now becoming more and more alike.  The width and depth of the sea of conviction is growing more shallow and more narrow every day and the tide of concern to stop it is going out making the distance way too short between good and evil.  Now the water is so shallow that both easily coexist together and not much difference is seen between the two.  But what about verse 5?  Verse 5 is the difference maker for us and those who are drinking the world's koolaid.  Why?  Verse 5 says to recognize it and stay away from it!  In other words, CLEAR THE AREA!  We know the Apostasy exists and we know that it is wrong, but our acceptance of it also exits.  Fighting it with worldly weapons will only making it stronger and stronger.  In other words, evil begets evil.  One of the only ways we can change the regular tide is with a Ripe Tide.  A rip tide "rips" through the regular water and creates a division in the water that causes a synergetic force that actually catches the other tide by surprise and shakes up everything.  I was caught in a rip tide twice while in NC and the first time I fought it and almost drowned.  The second time I just let go and it shifted me to a safer place.  I gave in to the force.  We need a rip tide.  We need God's power to fall so strong on us, that we can't resist it. How does that happen?  By believers being truly consistent in prayer, ministry, Biblical understanding, true fellowship, and courage under pressure.  The tide can turn!  But only God can turn it.  Oh yeah, down in verse 14 Paul tells Timothy, "You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them." In other words, know who you are serving and what He wants you to do.  Don't just assume!  KNOW!!

Things are crazy right now and if you take a stand for Christ in our world, you will be pummelled.  God's says, "So!"  Lambs to wolves......look it up.  Keep in mind, they will never be able to defeat our Lord or us who live for Him.  His promises, not mine!!  The world should never  affect how we live our lives for Christ, but we MUST live our lives for Christ first of all.  Then you will see the tide change for the better.  Have you been letting the changing tides get you off your game?  Scrap that for a better plan.  Find the Rip Tide and let er rip!  When it happens we will ride that tide to victory for Christ.  Christ is on the hillside looking ahead to the battle and looking back at you.  When His eyes meet yours, will yours say, "let's go?"

That's what needs to happen.  Make it happen!!

The Pilgrimage continues....

David Warren