Women: All is Lost

“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, … For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband?” — 1 Corinthians 7:14,16

Weinsberg, Germany. 1140 AD.

“All is lost,” cried Heinricus. All around them burned. Chaos in the streets.

Heinricus fell through the door of their modest home. Although a captain of the guard, this meant little in the impecunious lifestyle they led. He was injured from an arrow that found it’s way through an arrow loop in the town’s wall. It pierced his thigh and threatened death if the wound festered. He stumbled into the kitchen, which also served as the family room and all other rooms in the one room house separated by curtains. He collapsed into the arms of his wife, Agnes, and exclaimed again, “All is lost! The city is taken.”

Agness immediately tended to his wounds. She pulled the boiling water from the fire. Ripped their marriage sheets to shreds to make bandages. Provided ale for Heinricus and comforted him by the fire as the city burned all around.

Heinricus gathered himself to spell out the destined path before them. King Conrad III had besieged the city in a dispute over the papacy to quell “rebellion”. Weinsburg had held out as long as it could. All food had been consumed. Water was depleting rapidly. Even the horses had been slaughtered to provide for the people. But all was lost. The end was near and the city was destined to capitulate.

Agness listened and provided needed care. Then, the final blow; surrender. The one thing she had never considered. She was prepared to fight, suffer and die, but not surrender. Heinricus explained to her the crux of the impending doom. The city was lost. In a final resolution to the inevitable, the city had surrendered and sought terms. No man would be allowed to leave or live. Only the women would be allowed to leave with whatever they could carry on their backs.

Heinricus begged her to gather what was most valuable and leave…to live. He encouraged her to remember him fondly and to never forget the love he had for her. Agness quietly consoled him, comforted him and then left him to meet with the other women of Weinsburg.

As King Conrad III sat outside the gates of Weinsburg to receive its women before the final assault began, he congratulated himself on a battle well won. Smoke and fire. Bodies all around. All spoke to the cost of the campaign. All added to the sweet smell of the victory at hand.

The great gates of the city slowly began to open. Women appeared. As the king expected, they were burdened with as much as they could carry. He smiled again. Yet, as the women walked through the gates, Agness at the forefront, they passed through the smoke and came into view. The burdens they carried where not gold, silver or anything of value in their houses. They had strapped to their backs their husbands. The men of the city.

The king’s soldiers immediately began to organize to plow down these men. However, King Conrad III simply laughed. He ordered his soldiers to stand down. He valued his word under the terms of surrender more than the death of his enemy. He allowed the women to pass unmolested with the cargo they deemed most valuable—their men.

So goes (my artistically licensed) account of the “Siege of Weinsburg.” In fact, there is little to no corroborating evidence of the legend. However, there is always a grain of truth in every legend. In fact, Germany at this time is filled with similar stories of women saving their men in the midst of total loss.

I’ve never understood the controversy over whether or not women should hold positions in the church. Period. I’ve always been an advocate that men should be who God called them to be…because I am a man. I believe we should be exactly who God called us to be and if we don’t, then God will raise up others (even the rocks themselves) to replace our voice.

I’ve lived overwhelmed by women my whole life. Wife, sisters, daughters and granddaughters; outnumbered at every turn. Yet, I don’t understand women. Nor do I believe women should be anything less than who God called them to be either.

We men (and by this I mean ME) are easily consumed with what we are going to accomplish. We are going to win or lose! Succeed or fail! Live or die! There is nothing acceptable in between. However, the women in my life are much more concerned with life. As detailed in this legend, they are willing to sacrifice, not for conquest or duty, but for life. The life of those they love.

Paul writes in Ephesians, “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the lord. …Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her.” (Ephesians 5:22,25)

Is it not submission to carry your husband out of the clutches of death as in the legend? Or carry your husband out of the clutches of any shortcoming? And men, loving your wife as Christ loved the church is not just being willing to die for her, but for her to represent you in the world? Certainly, Christ’s love allows the church to represent Him in the world today and to speak on His behalf.

What I have been perplexed by in all of this debate is that people in the church utilize these verses to make people less. “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:22) Why do we use this as a means to limit wives instead of challenging husbands. Stand up, man! Be who you were called to be, don’t expect someone else to be less. To limit one sex or the other, rather than seeing this as a call for all to be more is wrong. Rise up to who God called you to be.

The main concern I have is who is speaking. Honestly, I don’t want to hear from the woman, or the man. I want to hear from God. And if God is speaking, who am I to question the vehicle He chooses to speak through.

All I know is God has spoken time and again through the mouth of my wife, and she has carried me through more than one burning gate to safety. Perhaps we should all stop looking to the Bible to find the limits of what God wants to do through certain individuals and start looking for the miraculous work of the Lord in everyone! See what He desires to do through all our lives. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt it is abundantly more than we can ever ask or think. (Ephesians 3:20)

So, let’s stop limiting each other and pushing others down. Let’s reach for the abundance God has in store for each of us! It might just be that the miracle you are waiting for is being carried to safety in humility on the back of another. It also might be that God desires to work through those around you to advance life…eternal life!

© 2025 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

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NOTE: In writing this, my daughter accused me of being “gray” on the issue of women in leadership roles in the church. My honest answer is; I’m very gray! Not black or white. I struggle with this issue when I spend time studying it. And I’m not going to argue for any specific point of view save one: is God speaking?

I know all the verses and arguments. I have seen the theological twists from both sides around the text (which both claim to be simply “what the Bible says”). I’ve read the historical evidence. I’ve heard the antidotal evidence and seen examples of good and ill from both sides. But my conclusion is, I just don’t know! Nor do I honestly care to define a framework in which God can or cannot work!

The only thing I care about is what I told another of my daughters on this issue: “God has spoken through men, nature, floating axe heads, floating fingers on a wall, signs, wonders, etc., and even a donkey! Is a woman the one exception too far removed? I don’t think so, as there are many times God spoke and worked through women in the Bible. Women have been leaders in the Bible, even when it was considered completely impossible (Deborah for one as judge, prophetess and military leader). The question we should be asking is whether or not God is speaking and working? If He is, then we had better listen no matter what vessel He chooses to utilize!”

That is what I choose to focus on: Is God speaking to me in this moment? If so, listen and respond. I’m completely confident if we choose to seek Him in the moment, He is wise enough to guide us. And I know He is much more concerned about the condition of our heart than the anatomy of our body.

I will share only one passage in reference to this issue, Galatians 3:26-29, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for your are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Emphasis added)

So maybe, we should stop looking at the differences and start looking for the one thing that counts: Christ Jesus. This verse by no means answers all the questions, but it does show us what is import, and what we should be most concerned about—Jesus.

You Are God's Masterpiece

“For we are His workmanship [masterpiece], created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” - Ephesians 2:10

You are amazing! You were knit together in your mother’s womb by God. You were made exactly as you are on purpose, and God doesn’t make mistakes. All of the days of your life were laid before the Lord; every step you would take, mistake you would make, the ups, the downs… they were all there in microscopic detail. And yet, His thoughts towards you are precious and unending. You are a marvelous work and wonderfully made! (Psalm 139:13-18)

You are God’s masterpiece! You are truly extraordinary in Christ.

However, the word “masterpiece” (in the modern sense) isn’t applicable in this verse as meaning an “extraordinary” or “exceptional” work of art. It is only applicable in this verse from its original meaning.

From early history through the time of the Renaissance, the idea of “masterpiece” didn’t mean an artist’s best or most famous work. Artists were trained as apprentices. They would work under a master who would school them in the application of techniques to render their art. Once they were deemed to be commendable, the apprentice would produce a piece solely by their own hand to present to the guild as their “master piece.” The guild would then decide whether their work entitled them to be a master artist or not.

This is the meaning of “workmanship” or “masterpiece” in Ephesians 2:10. It does nothing to undermine the unique and extraordinary creation you are in Christ. In fact, it adds depth to it.

God’s masterpiece is the creation of all that exists. The fact that you were created within that masterpiece is amazing. God doesn’t just go with the flow and try to fix things as they happen. He is not subject to happenstance.

As Ephesians 1:3-4 states, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” You were in God’s thoughts and plans before the Word of creation was spoken into being.

You didn’t just happen. You didn’t just filter out of the muck of history. God planned on you being born and living in this moment of time for His purpose. You were part of the plan from the very beginning. You were included in His masterpiece; His initial and final work.

God’s plan is not to find a way to include you. He deemed from the very beginning that you would be born at this moment in history, for this time. The only question that remains is whether we will walk through this moment as the child of God He created us to be, or in the flesh. Make no mistake, we were “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Yet, we still have the choice as to how we walk.

Every stroke in a masterpiece is essential! Every step you take is critical. How will you take the next step? On your own, or will you walk in Christ? It is a stroke by stroke, step by step decision. But do not be fooled. You were always a part of God’s masterpiece from before the creation of the world. Every step is vital. While they were all seen before the world began, that changes nothing about the choice we have in this moment. So, choose Christ and take a step.

© 2025 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

The Bridge to Nowhere and Everywhere

“Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.” — Ecclesiastes 5:18

This weekend, Wendy and I went on one last “hooray” before school begins. We traveled to a remote cabin on the banks of the Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. We rented a boat and asked what we needed to see. The marina staff gave us several sights to check out, but the first was the “Bridge to Nowhere”. They even told us the history of the bridge…and they were completely wrong!

We did go out to see the impressive camel-back, steel truss-style bridge on concrete risers. If you do a little digging, you will find numerous stories about how it came to be. Most of them, including what we were told at the marina, are wrong.

The best I can do on a novice glance at the history is: The bridge was constructed around 1905 at another location to connect Grove and Echo. In the 1930s, under the WPA (Works Progress Administration) and the building of the dam to make Grand Lake, the bridge was moved to it’s current location. Only three sections of the bridge were erected before World War II broke out and all efforts were geared to supporting the troops. Work ceased on the bridge and after the war no funds were available to build the approaches to connect the bridge to land.

This very bland history of the bridge contradicts local lore which includes water levels in the lake rising to fast to complete it, or politicians building it to create a shortcut to their home before they were forced out of office. But it is, to the best of my knowledge, the true story. And it is an unfinished bridge; a Bridge to Nowhere!

It is also a staple of touring Grand Lake. I wouldn’t have photographed it unless it hadn’t been completed (okay, I would have because I’m weird). The people of the area point you to it. It is noticed because it is unfinished.

That weekend, I was also reading Ecclesiastes. “‘Meaningless! Meaningless’ says the Teacher. ‘Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.’” (Ecclesiastes 1:2) It would be easy to throw this bridge into that camp and talk about how the “best laid plans of mice and men often go awry”. But that is not what I saw at the lake or read in Ecclesiastes.

We have a habit of glorifying fruit production in the faith. As a result we have become “fruit inspectors” to judge how we and others are doing in their walk. God’s call was never focused on the fruit. He brings that into being Himself. His focus was on us abiding.

Yet, we see an unfinished bridge and dub it a bridge to nowhere. How short sighted we are. Our unfinished bridge might be the very landmark that draws people to Christ. It might be whatever we thought we were building is meant to be a catalyst, not a completion.

This was a powerful thought to me as I read through Ecclesiastes and thought about the meaninglessness of man’s efforts; the vanity, pride and false sense of accomplishment. However, there is one theme throughout the book that is driven home, “It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage.” (Ecclesiastes 5:18)

In other words, God is going to do the work He is going to do. You can’t add anything to it. You can’t take anything away from it. All you can do is join Him, or not. If the bridge is never completed, your business or ministry goes bankrupt, if you have to take another job, if you lose everything and have to start over…it doesn’t change God’s will for your life. Stop looking at the fruit, and focus on abiding in Him.

The message I took away from Ecclesiastes this time through was simple. Stop being a fruit inspector of my own life and others. Focus on abiding, because I can’t add nor take away anything from God’s plan. To think so is meaningless. Focus on abiding. Focus on the what He has for me today. “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” (Colossians 3:23)

What a challenge that is! To stop gawking at the unfinished things in my life, and to focus on what the Lord has for me today! I might be building a bridge to nowhere, but as long as I am focused on abiding in the Lord it will undoubtedly be a bridge to everywhere I need to go! What He does with the works of my hands is His prerogative. My job is to simply do everything I do unto the Lord.

Who wants to build a bridge today? Home, work, friends, neighbors and strangers. They all need a bridge. Let’s give them something to gawk at. Not by WHAT we do, but HOW we do it—as unto the Lord.

© 2025 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

I'm So Punny!

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each other.” — Colossians 4:6

I promise there will be no puns in this devotion. I know you don’t trust me. You think I’m like stairs, always up to something. Okay, no more. There will be zero puns from this point forward, and in the end you will thank me for nothing. (Insert groan here.)

Recently, Wendy and I flew to Tampa Bay to spend the weekend with some longtime friends. We worked together in ministry about 30 years ago. At that time, we were all young and full of excitement. We started a weekly Bible study. We quickly became fast friends and spent most nights hanging out at our house (since we had kids that had to go to bed). Over the years, we drifted apart. Each following their own path to different parts of the country. It had been 17 years since we had all been together. So, we got together and spent 4 days in the same house to reconnect and catch up.

It was a wonderful time! We shared each others’ joys, tears, faith and lives for a few days. But, I’m me. I don’t have an off switch. What you see is what you get; all the time. It never stops.

Sitting around the table, I threw out my millionth pun on the third day. Chad sat next to me and cocked his head to side-eye me with a quizzical look. I could read his mind. I looked at him, smiled and said, “You forgot how exhausting it is to be around me didn’t you?” He just started laughing because that was, if not exactly, pretty close to what he was thinking.

I can throw out puns like… okay, I won’t finish that one. I think I’m punny. But others often find it exhausting. I can use sarcasm like a surgeon uses a scalpel. I can argue with a fence post until it rots away at the ground. I can be relentless.

That’s who I am. Right?

James warns us that we should be careful in how we use our words. He writes in James 3:8,10, “But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. …Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”

As a speaker, I spend more time than most thinking about how to say things. I “test” phrases on my friends to see how they land. I work to make sure I use the right words in the right way to make an impact. Yet, I also struggle more than most in casual conversations. I don’t take time to think about what I’m saying. I default to my fleshly tendencies. I try to be funny or emphatic using puns, sarcasm and arguments to carry the conversation. Not only is it exhausting, it often belittles those around me. This is much to my shame.

I am constantly challenged to bridle my tongue. To be more careful with what I say. It is an area in my life where I need to grow in God’s grace. As our verse today states, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each other.”

I tend to be salty! Too salty. And too much salt makes for a bitter drink. Today, I pray that God would work through my life to teach me to speak with grace. I don’t know where you are? Maybe you are too salty like me. Or maybe you need to add a little salt of truth and honesty to your speech. What I do know is that there is not a person alive whose speech is perfect. We can all grow in God’s grace in this regard.

There is a good reason to grow: its about the people we love. The challenge for me today is to grow in my conversation. That God would speak through me to lift others up rather than tear them down. To support to others rather than standout. To encourage, uplift and grow deeper in my relationships. It’s not a guilt trip. It’s a challenge to grow in grace!

The challenge is: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11, NIV)

© 2025 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.

Cairn-age: The god of this age

“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:4

What is the god of this age?

From generation to generation the god of this age has morphed from one thing to another. It sidetracks humanity from pursuing Christ by offering a poor substitute with the emotional appeal of fulfillment. It blinds people and hides their true identity, which can only be found in Christ, by offering up a socially acceptable temporal identity in the world in which they live.

A cairn is a human-made pile of stones. They are traditionally raised as boundary markers, for memorial markers or (in more modern applications) markers for people trekking through the wilderness to guide the way.

Cairns are featured in the Bible several times. Most notable is the cairn erected by Joshua at the command of the Lord after the children of Israel crossed the Jordan. Joshua commanded the tribes to each gather a stone from the river bed God had stopped from flowing and set them up in Gilgal. Joshua 4:21-22 tells us why, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying ‘What are these stones?’ Then you shall let your children know saying, ‘Israel crossed over this Jordan on dry land;…”

Today, cairns are appearing all over our National Parks much to the chagrin of the US National Park Service. Within the parks they are used to guide visitors along the trail. However, people are erecting unauthorized cairns. They are not being erected as memorials of a significant event, boundary markers or guide points for a trail. But as graffiti. They are efforts by visitors to make the statement, “I was here!”

The US National Park Service (USNPS) is warning people against this practice. It leads to “habitat destruction, soil erosion, and confusion for other hikers” who may rely on cairns for navigation. The USNPS is actively working to remove all unauthorized cairns to address the problem.

But what does this have to do with anything? Everything. Why are they being built? They are being built in a effort to establish a simple fact, “I was here.” They have been featured on social posts across platforms. It is an extension of the “selfie” world in which we live. They attempt to proclaim simply this spot matters because I was here.

The god of this age is self-promotion. We curate our image on social media and in life. We are addicted to “views”, “likes” and “comments". Our era has established personal experience as an idol of worship. I had a thought. I had this or that experience. I was here. I… I… I… and it is important because I was there.

We have greatly deviated from the usage of cairns in times past. Cairns that guided the way. Ones serving as memorials for God’s work on earth; crossing the Jordan, Jacob wrestling with God, alters to God, and many more. Cairns that established boundaries between the tribes of Israel. In other words, miraculous singular moments in history, or things that communicated a shared message for the benefit of all.

The question I am faced with today is simple. Are the cairns in my life (not literal, but figuratively) built to honor God and the work He is doing in my life? Or are they monuments to myself and my experiences?

It is vital we memorialize all that God has done. For those moments serve as guide posts to how He will work in our lives in the future. They serve as a witness to what is to come. As Hebrews 12:1-2 states, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,…”

Cairns become carnage (or cairn-age) when they point people to us instead of our Lord. May the memorials and markers we build and share guide people to Christ. He is the only ROCK worth worshiping in our lives. No others stack up. All others lead to destruction, erosion, and confusion.

The challenge for me today: what do people see when they look at the life I’ve stacked up? May it only point people to Christ! And if not, may it be knocked down and built again by Christ for His purpose.

© 2025 Warren Martin. All rights Reserved.