I’m back!!! My family went on vacation this past week and the week before that I was just lazy. After spending some time thinking and praying about it, I have decided to do a series of blogs on the books 1 and 2 Timothy. I will take portions (in order) and do blog entries that take the different subjects and do two things: 1 – explain the verses, 2 – expose the truth of how they are applied in daily life. I hope this will be helpful and encourage each of you and myself in our Christian Walk. While on vacation I was kayaking on the lake one evening and as I looked across the lake I stopped my mind long enough to think about the subject of living an aggressive life of faith. In a time when any forward thinking activity is considered aggressive (ha) I thought I would practice doubling my “forwardness” in sharing my faith and my beliefs about God’s Word and His Ways. It seems I have let myself be lulled into a world shaped cocoon that is not as vibrant as God intends it to be. It’s not about church. It’s not about fellowship. It’s not about Bible Study with other Christians. It’s about me………me. I guess you could say I am going on a “faith walkabout.” I am going to look back into my early years as a believer and try to rediscover that part of joy that only comes through walking in faith. Here’s the thing. It is not a walk that has anyone going with you, but a walk that is with God alone. It is the ultimate, el-supremo, constant quiet time. This time will be absent of church/world influence, and will not be compromised by other people’s nominal opinions. Some might call it “back to basics” but I won’t call it really anything at all.
I was watching the news the other day and they were warning about the threat of salmonella from tainted cantaloupes. As I watched that newscast I suddenly realized that the news was a warning to keep me, or anyone else, from eating that “forbidden fruit.” The warning was clear: Don’t eat cantaloupes from this farm. My ears perked up and guess what? I made a mental note to watch what kind of cantaloupe I eat. I believe part of my growth in the Lord is centered around warnings from God’s Word about foundational things that must remain strong and fresh. The world on the other hand takes great pleasure in getting me to drift from those foundations. When the foundation is weak, the house will get tilted and almost fall. The sad part is, we kind of accept it as being the norm. It’s kind of like the leaning tower of pisa. It tilted and became a landmark as a tilted building. Instead of straightening it up, it became a novel thing for tourists to flock to every day. I believe the foundations of our Christian Faith have weakened and instead of fixing them by straightening them up, we just look at our tilted faith and think it’s ok. So what happens? Thousands of people who profess Christ step back and admire the tilted faith we call Christian and accept it as being trendy and good. In other words, we have made a tilted faith seem kind of trendy and cool. But, it’s not! But keep this in mind, if I’m going to change anything as a believer, I am going to have to fix myself first, or I will go off half cocked and fizzle out. This special time in my pilgrimage will be very honest and heart felt, and my blog entries will reflect that as I chronicle the words of Paul the Apostile to Timothy. I am also going to do four video blogs that will be posted on Facebook at specific times in the study. I welcome comments from you and hope you will be encouraged to deepen your walk with the Lord and get back to your roots and take a stand with me. The blog’s first entry will be on Monday, August 27 and I will add them in the mornings. Please pray for me and pray for yourself. I need the prayer and you need the practice.
The Pilgrimage takes a new turn…. David Warren