Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I’m recuperating from a short stint in the hospital yesterday after undergoing orthoscopic surgery on my left knee. I had a torn meniscus, a big honkin’ bone spur, and a lot of fluid built up. The hip replacement four months ago, and now this ordeal, is to prepare me to be part of the South Shores Pickleball team when we arrive in Apollo Beach, FL in 2020. I’m hoping to relive my racquetball days with a similar sport that is designed for crazy, not-willing-to-give-in-to the-aging-process, adults.
Since this is a take-it-easy day, I decided to start this blog. But as soon as I sat down, I was drawn to an entirely different subject from what I had intended to write about. I’ve found that when I yield to these promptings, everything goes smoother. Actually, I think I was also influenced by a move I saw this past Sunday, but I’ll come back to that later.
I opened my Bible to Romans 2:4-8,16 for my introduction to this subject. “Don’t you realize how kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? Or don’t you care? Can’t you see how kind He has been in giving you more time to turn from your sin? But no, you won’t listen. So you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin. For there is going to come a day of judgement when God, the just Judge of all the world, will judge all people according to what they have done.” (I am going to break from the Scripture to add a very important comment here. When Apostle Paul is talking about “doing good” in the next sentence, this is not to be confused with the practice of “works” that defined the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was about earning right standing with God through our good deeds (or our good works). Good deeds are still expected in the New Covenant, but not to earn right standing with God. We do good works now as our way of saying, “Thank You, God, for what you have done for me.” Now it’s because of our faith in Jesus Christ as our Redeemer, and our belief that He has paid our sin-ransom. Now we have right standing with God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. It is not because of anything we did or didn’t do.)
“He will give eternal life to those who persist in doing what is good, seeking after the glory and honor and immorality that God offers. But He will pour out His anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey The Truth and practice evil deeds. There will be trouble and calamity and for everyone who keeps on sinning, but there will be glory, honor and peace from God for all who do good.” (Romans 2:16)
This is such a simple message, and it is laid out here in such plain language, yet there are those who just cannot, or will not, grasp this Truth. So what do you think is the underlying reason for this situation? Romans 6:23 again restates this all important message in simple terms : “For the wages of sin is death”, eternal death, eternal separation, eternal punishment, then it continues and gives us the alternative: “but the free gift from God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!” Let me share my thoughts on the question I just asked you!
First, I believe the problem is the result of ignorance. Not ignorance as in stupidity, but just ignorance of The Truth. I have a very simple discipleship program that I put together a few years ago with the intent of exposing near-comers, or new-comers, to The Truth. I call it connecting the dots. As we progress through these passages of Scripture, I encourage asking questions, because unless we get answers to our questions, there will always be room for doubt. (Remember, I was an atheist for twenty-five years, so I had a lot of questions, and I needed a lot of convincing!) At the end, I simply ask, “Now that you’ve connected the dots, what do you conclude from this?” I’ve seen a lot of minds changed and pre-conceived ideas eroded through this simple method. (Oh yes…I spend the first session talking about the authenticity of the Bible and why it is The Truth)
Secondly, I believe the problem is wrapped in arrogance, or pride. The biggest challenge for the intellectual mind is to submit to something greater them self. From birth forward, we make choices that satisfy self. Unless along the way we have been exposed to The Truth, either through our family or through the church, we continue to satisfy self because that is our human (sin) nature. Whatever makes us feel good; whatever makes us happy, whatever exalts us, or gives us that zinnnnng, we want it; we want as much as we can get of it; and we want it now! In many cases we’re willing to go to any length to get it…regardless of the cost. And therein, my Friends, lies the problem. These behaviors usually produce unintended consequences. That statement is substantiated by these facts: a divorce rate that keeps soaring upward; an addiction epidemic that is off the charts; a frightening increase in the suicide rate; an increase in psychosomatic illnesses caused by stress, depression or anxiety, and an increase in frustration, anger, hatred and violence. All of this is the result of man’s best effort at being his own god.
Thirdly, the ongoing assault on Christianity, its symbols and traditions; banishing public prayer from our midst; and the cultural blasphemy of God. I’ll let Jonathan Cahn, author of “The Harbinger”, address this situation with his powerful words. “As God was expunged from American life, idols came in to fill the void; idols of sensuality, idols of greed, of money, of success, comfort, materialism, pleasure, sexual immorality, self-worship, self-obsession. The sacred increasingly disappeared, and the profane took its place. America was founded on prayer. Therefore, the removal of prayer from its public life was a central part of its fall from God. A nation that turns away from prayer will ultimately find itself in desperate need of it.” Do you see the truth in this?
And finally, the secularization of America today. For the past half century there has been an insidious movement, which I have referred to as the Liberal Progressive Agenda (LPA), aimed at fundamentally changing America. The very heart and soul of the movement is the unmitigated desire for power and control, and that is manifested through the decimation of many of the fundamental pillars of our society. Targets of assault are: the traditional family structure; gender identity; religious freedom; challenging the sanctity of life, casting doubt on the stability of our founding documents (the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights); a concerted attempt to divide rather than unite people; challenging and rewriting our country’s history; challenging and diminishing the effect of laws and law enforcement. But the final coup d’etat has been, the exaltation of human thinking and worldly philosophy over God’s wisdom. This is their ultimate goal: a big government that will eventually become our provider and our god. And this should be to no one’s surprise: the driving force behind this silent coup is a media and the entertainment industry that is working in tandem with the LPA to disseminate their propaganda in order to numb down and dumb down our society. A mesmerized society is easier to control.
When we take the four points listed above – ignorance of The Truth, pride, the assault on Christianity, and the secularization of America -, then add to that an evil spiritual force that is the driving force behind our personal and cultural demise, is there any wonder that our simple message sounds so naive? To the worldly mind-set, it’s a fairy-tale. Even Apostle Paul felt the same resistance when he was dealing with the evil Corinthians. “I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved (by that same message) recognize this message as the very power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)
In order to grasp the truth of God’s Word, we have to come to the realization of our own insufficiency. We all have a God-shaped hole in our soul that reminds us that something is missing, but to our own detriment we try to fill it with drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, gambling, etc. But we were designed for a relationship with God, and until we are ready to surrender to that power that is greater than self, we can go from the cradle to the grave and miss this whole panorama God has planned for us.
God is being very patient and kind with us because He doesn’t want to lose even one of His proudest creation. He want’s us to spend eternity with Him, Jesus, and all Christ-followers in Paradise. But before that can happen, we first – each and every one of us – must stand before Him and account for our life. Some will be rewarded with eternal life; some will be condemned to eternal damnation. Whether you believe that or not does not alter the fact that it will happen. But if you do doubt this, I suggest you get with someone who can help you connect the dots. No one can sell you on a relationship with Jesus Christ. You have to connect the dots of truth and come to that conclusion for yourself. But when that message becomes real to you and you have become a new creation in Christ, there is no turning back. Your life will have been changed forever. Please don’t miss out on this free gift from God. He wants you in Paradise with Him, and I want you in Paradise with me!
Last weekend Pam and I saw the movie, “Death of a Nation”. It was written and directed by Dinesh D’Souza. It is a movie that tells us plainly and simply how America has become morally and spiritually blighted. It is particularly powerful, and I’m sure will serve as a wake-up call to many. I highly recommend it for a good dose of the truth!
Please feel free to respond to this message, and please “like” and share it with other social media friends.
May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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