Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…What a beautiful St. Louis weekend!  We picnicked; we visited the wineries; we enjoyed the hot-rod for what is sure to be one of its last excursions before winter sets in, and I topped it off by attending an intercessory prayer meeting at Grace Church-St. Louis last night.  What a powerful experience!  The purpose of that meeting was to lift up our country and our culture in prayer, and to pray for hope in the face of a multitude of uncertainties.  But the unshakable truth is…for those of us in Christ, there is nothing to fear if we stand on the truth of 2 Timothy 1:7: “God didn’t give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but one of power, love and a sound mind.”  And with our sound mind, we can stand on our platform of faith, and know without a shadow of a doubt we are standing on His Truth!  And that truth is…He is a Sovereign God who tells us to be “strong and courageous, for I will never leave you or forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)  Romans 8:31 reinforces that: “If God is with me, who can be against me!”

I want to use the moniker of my webpage as a springboard to what I want to write about today.  Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  And the hope I am referencing is the hope found in the truth of Deuteronomy 31:6 listed in the paragraph above.  We have to put our hope in a Sovereign God who told us in Ephesians 1 that he had a plan even before the creation of the world (or man), and that plan was revealed in verse 1:10: “at just the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.”

We can never forget that we are living in a fallen world that is under the authority of satan.  That is explained in no uncertain terms in Ephesians 2:1-3 when Apostle Paul was explaining the reality of the world to new believers in Ephesus: “Once you were dead, doomed forever because of your many sins.  You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air.  He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.  “All of us used to live that way (note: this is past tense), following the passions and desires of our evil nature.”  This is the reality of the world and our relation to it before being in Christ.

But here is the hope and truth about who we are today. “But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, He gave us life when He raised Christ from the dead.  And He raised us from the dead along with Christ, because we are one with Him.”  As His followers, we are called to be “in” this world, but not “of” this world”, and we have been given the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to ensure we can rise to that calling.  This gift is from a loving God who wants us to succeed at becoming the person He created us to be.

The reality is, we do live in a fallen world, and we are affected by this fallen world whether we want to be or not.  “And how did this become a fallen world”, you might ask?  Well…it became a fallen world when “sin” entered the world. And that “sin” was Man turning his back to God and putting the focus on himself.  For all of those who are not in Christ, they are still their own god, therefore still “living in sin.”

So what do I and other Christ-followers see when we look at the world around us?  We see a culture that is spiritually and morally bankrupt.  We see a culture that has sold out the fundamental principles that made our country great: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, the traditional family structure, the sanctity of life, the values of honor and integrity, mutual respect and racial equality, and a healthy respect for law and order.

“But how could this happen”, you might ask?  “Those values seem fundamental to a free society”.  And I would have to say, “how right you are!”  But the truth is…the problems we are facing right now as a country, and as a culture, are really not unique to us. If you lay an ancient history book and a Bible side by side, you can trace the same rise and fall of previous cultures, but one explains them in secular terms (greed and the desire for wealth, power and control) and the other explains them in Biblical terms (sin-nature).  Regardless of the nature of the explanation, the common denominator is…God was expunged from the culture by those in control. The Word of God shines way too much light on evil agendas. Can you see evidence of that happening in our culture today?

At this time in our history, we have the opportunity to exercise one of our rights as a (still) free nation.  We have the right to vote for what WE believe to be in the best interest of our country.  Many devoted soldiers fought and died so we could exercise this privilege. Right now the very direction of our country is being challenged by a political party that wants to point us in the direction of Socialism.  This is the exact opposite of the Republic our forefathers handed to us in our founding documents. Even Benjamin Franklin saw the challenge that lay ahead when he responded to a question from a reporter: “Well, Dr. Franklin, do we have a democracy?”  His response was, “No, you have a republic…if you can keep it.”

No doubt the media will keep this mid-term election a personality contest, but I implore you…please do not chose to “sit this one out”. We all have the responsibility to voice our opinion concerning the future of our country, and the stakes could not be higher, and the agendas could not be more different. Our current President, even though he has his faults (just like us 🙂 was elected because he was not “just another politician”, but because he was bold enough and committed enough to tackle what he called “The Swamp” in Washington, DC.” (If you witnessed the Kavanaugh hearings this past week, you saw “The Swamp” in action, and you got a glimpse of their evil agenda!)  We voted for a courageous leader who spoke to our concerns.  Now we have the opportunity to provide for him a congress and a party that will support his efforts rather than resist and subvert his attempts to provide what he promised.

Clearly our country is in the shape it is in because we have exalted the teachings of man over the teachings of God.  The Bible is resplendent with examples of countries that were in line with God’s will, and they were blessed.  When they were out of line with God’s will, these things dominated the culture: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions – the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your group, envy, hatred, lying, cheating, stealing, despair and hopelessness. (Galatians 5:19-21) Do you see any evidence of this in our culture today?

I learned this principle in my recovery group: a problem cannot be solved by the same mind-set that created the problem.  Therefore, I want to close with two truths taken from Jonathan Cahn’s, “The Harbinger”

 “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.”

“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.” 

And here is our hope.

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

This IS the time for every Christ-follower and every Church to pray for the future of our country!

Feel free to respond to this post, and please “like” and share it with other social media friends.

May God Bless You abundantly,

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers… Isn’t it interesting that in the New Testament we don’t find the words “punish or punishment” used unless it is a reference from the Old Testament, or in reference to God’s wrath and final judgement of the wicked. “They will be punished with everlasting destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from His glorious power when He comes to receive glory and praise from His holy people.” (2 Thessalonians 1:9) For those of us who are in Christ, that is very good news, especially when we look back and see God’s punishment of the pagan nations in the Old Testament. But today, God doesn’t punish people because He has given everybody the opportunity to be saved. If in the end people find themselves experiencing His wrath and judgement leading to eternal separation, that is because they refused to accept His Gift of Grace. SALVATION!

In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people, the Israelites, had crossed the Jordan River and were positioned to take the Promised Land, which God had already promised to deliver to them. However, the Promised Land, Canaan, was inhabited by pagan nations of giants (Nephilim – fallen angels who had taken human wives and produced a hybrid offspring). These nations, the Hittites, Amorites, the “Thistites” and “Thattites” were abhorrently evil in God’s eyes because they portrayed evil and worshiped other gods. Consequently, His plan was to wipe out these bloodlines from the face of the earth as the Israelites took the land of Canaan for themselves. Therefore, His directive was particularly harsh: “In the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them…otherwise they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 20:16-18)

Clearly, God was protecting His chosen people from the evil that existed in their Promised Land, but can you see a parallel between that decision and the promise we find in Revelation concerning our future promised land, the New Jerusalem: “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega – the Beginning and the End.  To all who are thirsty I will give the springs of water of life without charge! All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter – no one who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty – but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Revelation: 21:6-7,27)  The same way God eliminated evil from the Old Testament Promised Land, He has promised us there will be no evil in our New Jerusalem to come. (Nothing evil will be allowed to enter.)

Punishment, by its very nature, is payment for something we already have done or are in the process of doing. Since God’s plan from the beginning was to provide a Redeemer to do for us what He knew we would prove ourselves incapable of doing through our best effort, Christ’s death on the cross paid the sin ransom (penalty) for ALL humanity.  All we have to do to receive this free gift is believe that Jesus was/is the Son of God and that He came to die for OUR sins. Romans 10:9 spells this out: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved!  For those of us who have accepted this free gift, we now have the privilege of being in Christ. This means that we do NOT have to worry about His wrath or judgement because we are now sin-free, covered by the blood of Jesus.

In the New Testament we find a new word introduced that is relative to our new relationship with Jesus Christ. That word is “Discipline.” It differs from punishment in that it isn’t exacting payment for something we have done; instead, it is preparing us for a reward in the future.  Quite simply, punishment is bad; discipline is designed for good.  Let me explain.

If an athlete has his eye on the prize at the end of a race, he prepares himself for that race by disciplining his thoughts and his behavior. He strives to see himself as the winner; he envisions running the race; he hears the cheers and applause as he’s approaching the finish line; he’s eating a healthy diet; he’s working out and training daily; he gets plenty of sleep; he avoids negativity and focuses on positive thinking.

It’s interesting that Apostle Paul equates growing in Christ with running a race in two different places.  “Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You must run in such a way you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-26) And again in Philippians 3:12-16: “But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be.  No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.”

Growing in Christ requires tremendous discipline. We have to make decisions that bring honor and glory to God; we have to decide to become the person He created us to be; we have to stay in The Word; we have to fellowship with other Christians; we have to make the decision to “die to self” daily and exercise our authority in Christ to overcome this fallen world, our flesh, and our enemy, satan. But “Thank God” we don’t have to do it alone.

In God’s perfect salvation plan, there was a specific provision for us who are still contending with life and all of its trials and tribulations. Jesus was up-front about this. He said in John 16:33: “In this world you will have trouble, but fear not, for I have overcome the world.”  Because we are in Christ, we inherit everything Christ did for us.  If He has overcome the world, SO HAVE WE, just as it says in 1 John 4:4: “He that is in me (Holy Spirit) is greater than he (satan) that is in this world.”

The secret weapon of every Christ-follower is the Holy Spirit. This is a gift given to us so we too can overcome this fallen world, our flesh, and all the evil wiles of satan. But as I stated last week, the Holy Spirit does not take control of our lives.  We have to make the choice to call Him into action. For instance, “Holy Spirit, give me Your wisdom, strength, courage, patience, words to speak, ears to hear” – whatever it is we need to bring honor and glory to God, and His promise to us is… HE WILL DO IT! It’s all about bringing honor and glory to God in our thoughts, words, and deeds.

Growing in our relationship with Jesus and living in the Spirit (getting “self” out of the way so the Holy Spirit can work through us) is all about making different choices. As it says in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by changing the way you think.  Then you will know how good and pleasing and perfect God’s will is for your life.”  The more you call on the Holy Spirit to empower you to be victorious, the more you attain this supernatural way of living and thinking that surpasses all human understanding. This is our prize at the end of our race. Amen!

Feel free to respond to this posting, and please “like” and share it with other social media friends.

May God Bless Ya,

Dan Presgrave

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers… As I stated at the end of last week’s posting, this week I will write about what it means to be in Christ, and what it means to live “in the Spirit”. God’s plan for our salvation is absolutely perfect.  Not only did He provide for, and seal, our eternal destiny, He also made it possible for us to become the person He created us to be…right here, right now. This gift-package is from a loving, compassionate, and merciful God, because He didn’t/doesn’t want to lose even one of His proudest creation to eternal damnation.

He created us not only for a here-and-now relationship, but for an eternal relationship. Unfortunately, we proved ourselves to be “utterly helpless” (Ref. Romans 5:6) to overcome the issue of Sin!  Left to our own best effort, none of us could qualify to enter His kingdom because His standard revealed that “we must be holy (sin-free; set aside for a sacred purpose) because He is holy.” (1 Peter 1:16) In other words, if we’re stained with Sin, we won’t get in!  And just in case you’re wondering, “Why?”, the answer would be, “because Sin contaminates, spreads, kills and destroys.”  (Ref. 1 Corinthians 5:1-13)

Because God is God, one of His majestic qualities is omniscience, which means He has the ability to look into the future to see what will happen. So when His proudest creation made the choice to become disobedient, God was not taken by surprise. He knew, even before He created us, that we were going to take the focus off of Him and put it on “self”. (In fact, that is the very definition of Sin: Taking the focus off of God and living for “self”.) But truth be told, Ephesians 1:4 tells us that “long ago, even before He created the world (and Man), He had a plan to find us holy and without fault in His eyes because we were in Christ. His plan was always to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ, and this gave Him great pleasure.”

Because God knew we could never overcome the dilemma of Sin through our own effort, His plan was always to provide a Redeemer to save us from ourselves. By providing Jesus Christ as our sacrificial lamb, His shed blood paid the penalty for the sins of all Mankind. (Remember, under the Old Covenant sin could only be covered if blood were shed, thus confirming a sacrifice.)  If we believe that Jesus was the Son of God, and that His purpose in coming was to pay the ransom for our Sin, we will be saved. John 3:16 states this very clearly and succinctly: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life.” Notice that the only requirement for receiving this Gift of Grace is believing (faith), but the content of God’s Gift continues to be transformational, as you will see.

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are immediately “justified” with God. This means that we are reconciled, or made “right” in His eyes. 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains what happens: “We are (immediately) a new creation in Christ. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.” Prior to being in Christ, we were slaves to our “sin nature.” We didn’t realize that was our condition; we just did what came naturally. After all, everyone else was doing it so it must be all right!  Right? The answer would be a resounding NO!

When we’re yielding to our sin-nature, we are living to exalt or pleasure “self”. Galatians 5:19-21 explains why this is problematic. “When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, out-bursts of anger, selfish ambition, feeling that you’re right and everyone else is wrong, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.  Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God!”

I mentioned in the first paragraph that God’s plan for our salvation is perfect.  This is why I stated that so emphatically. When we accept His Gift of Grace, we immediately inherit a treasure trove of gifts. First and foremost, our sins are forgiven because we are covered with the blood of Jesus. Now we qualify to inherit eternal life because we are sin-free. These two gifts secure out eternal destiny.  Now we can look forward to spending eternity in Paradise with God, Jesus and all other Christians.

But what about those of us who are still living in this fallen world, in these fleshly bodies, who have to deal with a formidable Enemy that is a master liar, deceiver, accuser, and schemer? Didn’t Man prove himself to be incapable of overcoming satan’s wiles through his own effort? While it’s good that our eternal destiny is solidified, what about those of us who are still on the front lines in the midst of an ongoing battle against the Domain of Darkness?

Well, here’s more Good News! God has already planned for our success because part of His Gift of Grace is the indwelling Holy Spirit. Jesus explained this in John 14:16-18: “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor who will never leave you.  He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.  The world at large cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him.  But you do, because He lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans – I will come to you.”  This is a gift from God so we can become the people He created us to be. Ephesians 1:14 tells us: “The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He promised and that He has purchased us to be His own people.  This is just one more reason for us to praise our glorious God.”  And 2 Peter 1:3 reaffirms that statement: “The more we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, His divine nature gives us everything we need for living a Godly life.”  And what is that “everything” we need for living a Godly life? Our secret weapon, the indwelling Holy Spirit.  As 1 John 4:4 tells us, “He that is in me (Holy Spirit) is greater than he that is in this world.” (satan)

Let me be very clear about the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit does not change our lives in any way unless we call Him into action.  We have to say, “Holy Spirit, give me your wisdom, courage, strength, understanding, patience, perseverance, eyes to see, ears to hear”, whatever it is we need to empower us in our time of battle. If our motivation for doing this is to become the person He created us to be, or to bring honor and glory to Him through our choices, His promise to us is…I will fight your battle through you! This is what it means to live in the Spirit.  It’s about us getting “self” out of the way so the Holy Spirit can live through us.

Since this is part 2 of a message about the Good News being the best news ever, I would like to close with Apostle Paul’s statement to the people in Colosse. “This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world.  It is changing lives everywhere, just as it changed yours that very first day you heard and understood the truth about God’s great kindness to sinners.”  (Colossians 1:6) Now it’s 2000 years later and that same Good News is still transforming lives around the world. In Africa, China and in the Middle East, this same message of love, forgiveness and hope is drawing millions of new Believers to the Christian faith every week. No other message satisfies the human need like the Good News! My prayer now is that our own country will respond as the early colonies did when they experienced their Great Awakening.  Rest assured…our Great Awakening is coming soon!  Amen.

Feel free to respond to this posting, and please “like” and share with other social media friends.

May God Bless Ya…

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…As you know, I have written many times about these “crazy times” in which we are now living, but it always serves as the perfect set-up for my subject matter. Each day it becomes more and more obvious that we are living out the prophecy found in Isaiah 5:20: “Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” During the past quarter of a century, it seems that the values and morals of America have been turned upside down.  What used to be honored, valued, respected, and worshiped is now mocked, vilified, and even blasphemed. And what used to be shameful, disgusting, disgraceful and downright sinful is today’s moniker of the latest, greatest liberal thinking. It would appear that Isaiah’s prophecy was/is spot on.

I have pointed out more that once that I believe our culture is morally and spiritually bankrupt. While I have shared what I think is the solution to this dilemma, my idea was reinforced when I heard Jan Markell, host of the radio program, “Understanding the Times” answer a similar question about the state of our culture.  Her answer was, “Godly people are good citizens. For the most part they are trustworthy, law abiding, and uphold the time-honored code of morals and ethics.” (I’m glad she prefaced her answer with “for the most part” because I’m sure neither she, nor I, would make a claim that all people who claim to be Godly are, in fact, Godly people.)

In last week’s post, I mentioned George Whitefield’s answer to our early colonies moral decline. “When the early American colonies had drifted away from their earlier religious training and were exhibiting moral and spiritual decline, the renowned British evangelist, George Whitefield, came to America and served as an itinerate preacher, traveling throughout the colonies preaching the message of Jesus Christ and our need for salvation. That message of love and hope transformed the colonies”. And that very transformation led our forefathers to pattern our Founding Documents some forty years later on Judeo-Christian principles. (This is just a mental exercise for all readers. If the Founding Documents were re-written today, what moral and ethical principles do you think would guide them?) OK. That’s enough set-up. Now on to the subject matter at hand.

I’m sure to no one’s surprise, I personally think George Whitefield’s method of transforming our nation three-hundred years ago is THE answer for our culture today. There is no message of love, hope, and freedom comparable to the Gospel of Grace. Our culture is lost! It is searching for that love, hope and freedom, but it’s looking in all the wrong places.  Each of us has a God-shaped hole in our soul because that original connection was severed at the Fall, but to our detriment we try to fill it with drugs or alcohol, fleeting lustful pleasures, money, status, a bigger home, a new spouse, or more gadgets that we just can’t live without. All of that may work for a while, but then we’re ready to move on to the next shiny object in order to satisfy our never-ending need for fulfillment.

Here’s the Good News! The Gospel of Grace offers a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. This is THE answer that never fails to fulfill. That’s why His plan for our salvation was to provide a Redeemer to save us from ourselves. In His omniscience, He knew we were going to go astray. (Ref. Ephesians 1:3-10) After the Fall, He let Man be in charge of his own destiny in order to prove that following our human nature (sin nature) would not produce love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control. Instead, Man found himself mired in sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, envy, psychosomatic illnesses, depression, anxiety, hatred, anger and fear.  Romans 5:6 describes our pathetic state: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time to die for us sinners.” And what was “just the right time?”  When we proved ourselves to be utterly helpless without God in our lives.

2018 years ago God implemented His plan as outlined in Ephesians 1:10: “At just the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” Jesus Christ came in the form of a man to be our sacrificial lamb, to die for the sins of the world. He shed his blood on the cross to pay the sin-ransom for all Mankind. All we have to do to be saved is to accept what He did for us on the cross!

So you might be asking yourself, “How do I accept this? How can I know for sure?” I applaud those questions, because without those answers, how can you accept this?

I’m going to connect some dots for you through a series of bullet points.

• God IS Love. (1John 4:16) He created us for a relationship with Himself…an eternal relationship. He gave us free will so we chose that relationship.
• Because God is holy (sin-free), in order for us to spend eternity with Him in paradise, we too have to be holy. (1Peter:1-16)
• Man proved his inability to be sin-free through his own effort. (Romans 5:6)
• Under the Old Covenant (before Christ), blood was required from sacrificial animals to cover the sins of man. Blood was the proof of sacrifice. Without blood, there is no forgiveness of sin. (Hebrews 9:22)
• The Law (10 Commandments) is God’s standard for sin-free living. We can try our best to live that way, but if we break one of the laws, we’re guilty of breaking them all. (James 2:10)
• God knew we could not live a sin-free life. But because He wants an eternal relationship with us, He provided THE Sacrificial Lamb to pay the penalty for our sins. Otherwise, we would have to pay that penalty ourselves through eternal damnation. (Romans 6:23)
• When we come to realize that Jesus was the Son of God who came from heaven to earth to pay our sin-ransom (that was always God’s plan), we can accept what He did for us. In God’s eyes, we’re covered with the blood of Jesus. He proclaims us sin-free; He will remember our sins no more. (Hebrews 8:12)
• Three days after Jesus’ crucifixion, He was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit and is seated at the right hand of God. Because we are now in Christ, we too inherit eternal life…all because of what Jesus did for us on the cross!

All we have to do is accept God’s Gift of Grace. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”  Once we do this, the rest is supernatural. 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains what happens the moment we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior: “You are a new creation in Christ. The old has gone (your sin nature); the new has come.” (Holy Spirit).

Next week I will write about what it means to be in Christ, and what it means to live by the Spirit. This is THE answer to everything our lost culture is searching for; they just have to be exposed to The Truth and learn how to tap into this treasure trove of blessings. The Ah-ha moments are inexhaustible!

Please feel free to respond to this posting, and please “like” and share it with other social media friends.

May God Bless Ya…

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…For those of you who have been reading my blogs for a period of time, you know that I have enjoyed bringing a Biblical perspective into politics and into the shenanigans of this crazy world.  Needless to say, there is not a day that goes by that I don’t get a magazine full of ammunition…should I decide to use it. It’s so easy to pin-point the problems that define today’s culture because the media plays them over and over again until we become desensitized to the most horrific, shocking, never-thought-possible events and agendas.  Whether it’s a new act of violence, or someone new is being exposed for wrong-doing, or the latest, greatest thing being a Democratic Socialist disguised as a savior, or the latest conversation I heard a few days ago about the gender-neutral bathrooms in two North Kansas City elementary schools, followed by the commentators editorializing how important it is for us to understand that there is really no difference between boys and girls!  Yikies!! Will we as a nation ever wake up from this delusional existence and plant both feet firmly in reality?

Today’s problems are plentiful and obvious!  But what is not so obvious is the solution. Not that I profess to have any prophetic ability, but If we don’t do something particularly radical, our country will certainly cease to exist. Politics as usual certainly hasn’t worked; the exaltation of human wisdom most certainly hasn’t worked; throwing money at the problem hasn’t worked. So here is my humble, yet radical, solution. As a country we must TURN FROM OUR SIN AND TURN TO GOD!  That’s the same proclamation Jonah offered to the city Nineveh almost 3,000 years ago, a pagan nation much like our country today. When they responded, God’s mercy trumped (no pun intended) His judgement.

Apostle Paul felt the same shock as he wrote to the Galatians about falling away from the truth they had once embraced: “Oh, foolish Galatians! What magician has cast an evil spell on you? For you used to see the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death as clearly as though I had shown you a signboard with a picture of Christ dying on the cross. Have you lost your senses? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Surely it was not in vain, was it? Are you now going to throw it all away?” (Galatians 3: 1,3-4) That same question could just as easily be asked of Americans today.

Since this has become such a spiritually and morally bankrupt culture, the radical Liberal Progressive Agenda has been able to gain ground because of their tactics of lying, screaming, finger pointing, accusations, and assault (physical and/or vulgar) when necessary. For those who have tried to maintain a sense of civility and decency, many have been intimidated by our culture’s luke-warm response to such abhorrent behavior. They tend to remain silent because if someone disagrees with their thoughts and practices, they too could experience an onslaught of gross negativity, much like Sarah Huckabee Sanders experienced at the Red Hen Restaurant in Lexington, VA. (Thanks, Maxine)

Political correctness has spawned much of our culture’s acceptance of what was once considered distasteful, disgusting, shameful, or sinful. Consequently, we’ve hidden our heads in the sand rather than standing on principles of right or wrong and acceptable or unacceptable. With this chink in our country’s moral and spiritual fiber, there are always those who want to push the envelope in order to redefine truth and morality. To the liberal thinker, God’s laws are way too confining for our enlightened society. We have evolved; today one truth most definitely does not fit all. As a result of that worldly thinking, we find ourselves in this behavioral and ideological free-for-all.

Throughout the ages, our churches (I’m referring to Christian churches) and religious organizations have been the moniker of spiritual truth and consequent moral behavior. But unfortunately, the church has also yielded to political correctness. Rather than standing stead-fast on the Truth of God’s Word, many have been more than willing to compromise by not addressing truths that run contrary to the culture’s newest fads and pleasures. “Feel good” messages and prosperity messages have become plentiful. But it’s an easy sell, and it keeps the flock coming back…for more milk.

In the Old Testament, the pagan nations were afraid of the Israelites because they knew God was with them. Joshua 24:11,13 shares this conversation between God and Joshua. “When you crossed the Jordan river and came to Jericho, the men of Jericho fought against you.  There were also many others who fought you, including the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  But I gave you victory over them. I gave you land you have not worked for, and I gave you cities you did not build – the cities in which you are now living.  I gave you vineyards and olive groves for food, though you did not plant them.”   When the Gibeonites heard that the Lord had promised their land to the Israelites, they sent a “good will “team ahead to make a treaty with Joshua because the news of their previous victories put fear in them. They knew God was with the Israelites. (Ref. Joshua 9)

The previous paragraph is my inspiration for the solution I am about to propose. One of God’s majestic qualities is His immutability, meaning He never changes.  “He is the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) If that is true, then He will certainly offer today’s warriors the same shield and protection He offered to the God-fearing men of the Old Testament. The same promise that was made to Joshua, Moses, Jonah, and David is true for us today if we remain obedient to His calling: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

The first word in Jesus’ Great Commission is “GO!” As His disciples, we too are called to GO, to carry His message of Love and Truth into the world. That very message has changed minds and hearts of individuals as well as nations. In fact, when the early American colonies had drifted away from their earlier religious training and were exhibiting moral decline, the renowned British evangelist, George Whitefield, came to America and served as an itinerate preacher, traveling throughout the colonies and preaching the message of Jesus Christ and our need for salvation. That message of love and hope transformed the colonies, and is referred to as the First Great Awakening.

As Jesus proclaimed, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Luke 10:2) This is a watershed moment for the Church. Indeed the harvest is plentiful, because the enemy (satan) is having his way with the minds and hearts of unbelievers. Therefore, this is no time for the Church to be cowering in fear of offending someone; this is no time for Christ-followers to be silent. This is OUR time to be “strong and courageous!”

The Gospel of Grace is THE message our culture is longing for, but they’re unaware of that. They keep looking for answers in all the wrong places. George Whitefield had the courage to profess the truth of Jesus’ love, mercy and grace, and he transformed the early colonies. I believe it’s time for the Church and for Believers to shout that same message from the rooftops, because our culture (like Nineveh) desperately needs to be snatched from the hand of judgement!  America…it’s time for another Great Awakening.! (And truth be told, one is brewing nationwide!)

Feel free to respond to this message, and please “like” and share with other social media friends.

May God Bless Ya…

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Happy Labor day to Y’all.  I know today represents different things to many people.  For the students it is one less day in the school week; for some people it is a time of celebration with parades, speeches and athletic events; and for many it is a time of family activities, especially the traditional BBQ; but for all of us, it marks the end of summer.  If you look at the history of Labor Day, it was created by “the labor movement” in the late 19^th century and became a federal holiday in 1894.  Observed on the first Monday in September, Labor Day pays tribute to the contributions and achievements of the American worker, and celebrates with a day “free from labor”.

History from a different perspective tells us that “Labor Day”, a day of rest, was part of Creation and was observed on the seventh day “when God rested from his work of creation.” (Genesis 2:3)  No doubt that is an example that was given to us to follow.  Jesus gave us yet another perspective on “rest” when he said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”  That perspective is not about parades, BBQ’s, speeches, or even family events.  It is about finding peace and serenity from the toils and stresses of life, and using that time to draw closer to God.

In the spirit of Labor Day, I am going to use this time to rest and enjoy my peace and serenity.  Therefore, I am going to stop writing at this point and repost my very first blog from 2013. Enjoy your “day of rest”, and I’ll be back next week.

Today Is a New Beginning

Well, My Friends….today is already a glorious day, and its only 6:00 am!  I just walked in the house from my morning walk(s); first through beautiful Laurel Park with Glenn (a handsome golden retriever/chow mix) and Cliff (an adorable, ornery sheltie); then a longer excursion through our neighborhood with the love and joy of my life, Miss Pam (my wife).  That is the entire Presgrave family and I thank God each day for blessing me so richly.  But today is uniquely different in another way; it is 69 degrees right now IN ST. LOUIS on JULY 29, 2013.  Wow!  That indeed is a treat!!

But as I sit down in front of my computer with a fresh cup of hot coffee, I am well aware that the new activity that really makes this a special day for me is preparing to write my first blog.  I am looking forward to these postings each Monday, because I love sharing messages that are positive, up-lifting and encouraging.  Today I am able to share messages of that nature, but that was not always the case (as you will see if you peruse my website, www.meetpastordan.com).

Because of the journey I have been on for the past thirteen years and my willingness  to embrace change,  I  have  been blessed today with a life that is happy, joyous and free.  Since I have been given a “second chance at life”, I cannot help but share that good news with anyone who will listen. Through this journey, I have learned  a lot about me and about life. But today instead of trying to hide it, I take responsibility for who I was, but now proudly proclaim who I am in Christ.  That’s the way it works…. “we believe that a power greater than our selves can restore us to sanity” (Step II of the 12 Step Recovery Program), then we reach out to share our experience, strength and hope with others.

The focus of my website is about enhancing the quality of people’s lives.  I am both thrilled and privileged to be a “hope dealer” today.  As the psalmist David proclaimed in Psalm 92, vs.4 “you thrill me Lord, with all you have done for me!  I sing for joy because of what you have done for me”   The truth is….that freedom and joy is available to anyone who has the courage to “go for it”!

Is there anything that is keeping you from living life to the fullest?   If yes…Take the plunge! 

I’m already looking forward to next Monday’s posting!!

May God bless ya,

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

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)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers… For the last few days I have been humming and muttering one of the oldies but goodies from the traditional hymn collection.  As I lay in bed last night asking the Holy Spirit for a prompting concerning today’s message, this line popped into my head and made itself right at home. You might recognize it as the second phrase of the traditional hymn entitled, “What A Friend We Have in Jesus”. The whole stanza goes like this: “What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer. Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear.  All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer.” Wow! What power; what truth in those few words.

Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we are to “pray unceasingly.” This can be a bit confusing. Obviously he did not mean that we should go around with our heads bowed all day.  I believe that Paul is not referring to non-stop talking, but rather an attitude of God-consciousness and God-surrender that we carry with us all the time. Every waking moment is to be lived in an awareness that God is with us and that He is actively involved and engaged in our thoughts and actions.

My definition of prayer is simply “a conversation with God.” Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “Believe me, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here (at Mount Gerizim in Samaria) or in Jerusalem. But the time is coming, and is already here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for anyone who will worship Him that way.” (John 4: 21,23)

This is also a good time to reference the meaning of the torn curtain in the Temple at Jesus’ crucifixion. Matthew 27:50-51 tells us, “Then Jesus shouted out again, and He gave up His spirit.  At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom…” This massive curtain separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place in the Temple, and only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place as the people’s representative to offer sacrificial blood and to burn incense. But that rending of the curtain symbolizes the removal of any obstacle between man and God. No longer must man appeal to a Priest to access God; Jesus IS our High Priest!  If we are in Christ, we can come boldly into God’s presence, sit on His knee, and call Him “Abba Father.”

We were created for a relationship with God, and nothing does He like more than when we are engaged with Him. The first Commandment makes that abundantly clear; “Thou shall have no other gods before me.”  The fact is, we all have a god of one sort or another in our lives; God Jehovah makes it perfectly clear that He is not sharing that number one spot with anyone or anything else. He told us in Hosea 6:6-8: “I don’t want your sacrifices; I want your love!  I don’t want your offerings; I want your heart!. In other words, He wants us to know Him personally and intimately.

When we turn our attention to Jesus and begin a conversation, we have entered into the spiritual realm. Nothing gets His attention more than our attention. The fact we turned to Him to ask for wisdom, insight, courage, strength, patience, whatever it is that concerns us, this is an act of obedience. He delights in this! This action brings James 4:10 to life: “When we come humbly before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him, He will lift us up and give us honor.  God loves to bless us, and this behavior certainly opens that door.

The third verse of the hymn tells us, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear.”  Our human nature tells us that we can fix our problems; we don’t need any help.  But the truth is, we’re no match for the evil schemes of the devil.  Thankfully, God knew that too. That’s why He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit, the essence of Jesus Christ living in us, so we can be victorious in this world right here, right now. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, and the Holy Spirit working through us is His plan for our victory.

I have said time and time again, “I don’t know how people who don’t know Jesus make it in this crazy world today.”  When we come to know Him and truly understand what it means to be in Christ, there is a sense of confidence, security, peace, serenity and joy that comes from knowing that we are empowered to do greater things than we could ever do through our own effort.  All of a sudden there is hope, especially when we realize that we ARE being transformed into the person God created us to be. And here is the super-naturalness of all of this: we realize it is happening because we are getting “self” out of the way and allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our path, to give us the right words, to give us His wisdom, to give us His courage and strength.  Proverbs 3:5-6 nails this principle: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your steps.”

The more we do this, the more we are maturing as Christ-followers. This is what is referred to as walking (or living) in the Spirit.  It’s about us realizing our own insufficiency, then getting out of the way and using the gift (the power of the Holy Spirit) to be victorious in this world.  Remember, Jesus told us in no uncertain terms that “in this world you will have trouble, but fear not for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) When Jesus said this, He knew that as Christ-followers we were going to have the Holy Spirit residing in us. Therefore, we are already victorious; we just have to know that (not only in our heads, also but in our hearts) and let His supernatural power to do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. 

Prayer is the key that sets that process in motion.  First, we call on God (Jesus or the Holy Spirit. They’re one in the same); we praise His name, then we thank Him for His many blessings. Then we tell Him what we need: “Holy Spirit, give me Your wisdom, insight, patience, courage, strength, the right words”, whatever it is you need, because you want your choice to bring honor and glory to God. Then we thank Him in Jesus’ name. Our motivation should always be to honor Him, or to help us become the person He created us to be. When we do this, we are bringing James 4:10 to life.  When our request is in line with His will, His Word says He will hear and honor that request.

What a privilege we have to come before the Throne of God and talk to Him as our Abba Father.  There is no reason to forfeit any peace or bear any guilt or shame. Honor Him by calling the Holy Spirit into action. That is every Christian’s secret weapon in our war against satan’s evil schemes and deceptions. That is precisely why God blessed us with this gift.

Feel free to respond to this posting, and please “like” it and share it with other social media friends.

May God Bless you abundantly,

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers… One of the first prayers that children learn in church is the Lord’s Prayer.  This is the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray in response to their question, “Lord, teach us to pray.” (Luke 11:1) At that stage in the child’s life, memorization is more important that actually understanding the depth of the words.  The iambic-pentameter lilt to the phrasing lends itself to memorization, so being able to repeat it seems to satisfy the intent at that point in our young lives. But as we get older, hopefully each one of us will feel an urge to examine the true meaning of those sing-songy lyrics.  The second phrase, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) had always been a bit mysterious to me. But today I find that phrase to be filled with hope and joy as our culture drifts deeper and deeper into moral and spiritual decay.

There has always been evil in the world, from creation right up to today.  In fact, I believe that was part of God’s plan, even though it is not specifically mentioned in Ephesians 1. But since evil appeared in heaven when satan and his army of rogue angels challenged God’s authority, the result of their defeat was not only being cast out of heaven, but being cast down to earth. Therefore, this world provided the perfect stage for an eternal morality play of Good vs. Evil, and we are all born as actors in this play. Our part in the play is determined by the choices we make.  As we grow and mature in this lifetime, we can redefine our roles if we choose to do so. That means we can move from evil to good, or from good to evil. The choice is ours, and that choice will determine our eternal destiny.

When we look at the world in which we live today, it sometimes appears that evil is overtaking good. But there is good news for those of us who have read and are familiar with God’s Word; we already know how this play ends. But our concern right now is focused on those who are not familiar with this Truth.

I am part of an intercessory prayer team at Grace Church St. Louis, and we pray continually for enlightenment in the minds and hearts of those who have not found a relationship with Jesus Christ.  After all, it is through Him that the Kingdom will come to anyone who wants it and is willing to believe this Truth. As He proclaimed in Mark 1:15: “At last the time has come! The Kingdom of God is near! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News!”  And again in Luke 4: 18-19 when Jesus was reading the scroll containing this message from the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, for He has appointed Me to preach Good News to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim that captives will be set free, that the blind will see, and that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors. And that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” After this reading, Jesus identified Himself as the subject of the prophecy (the Messiah) when He stated in verse 21: “This Scripture has come true today before your very eyes!”  In other words, the Kingdom had come in Him.

Jesus also proclaimed Himself as our Savior when He stated in John 14:6: “I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  “But the world tells us there are many ways to God. How can I know the truth?” you ask.

Man’s eternal dilemma has been the issue of SIN, defined here as being self-centered rather than God-centered. When we are focused on self, our sinful choices produce these evil results: “sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, out-bursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your small group, gossip, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.”  (Galatians 5:19-21) All major religions look at these activities as evil, but the difference is how those issues are made right.  In all religions other than Christianity, good works and/or sacrifice is the answer.  If we accumulate more good works rather than evil activities, the scales tip in our favor. But that doesn’t remove the stain of sin, although it may relieve our conscience.

In Christianity, we believe that Sin must be eradicated. “Why?” you ask. Because the God Jehovah spoke through the prophet Hosea in 6:6 stating: “I don’t want your sacrifices, I want your love.  I don’t want your burnt offerings, I want you to know me.”  God created us for a relationship with Himself, an eternal relationship, but he also requires perfection if we’re going to pass through the proverbial “Pearly Gates.” He declared, “You must be holy (sin-free, set aside for a sacred purpose) because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15) “Why?” you might ask again. Because sin contaminates, spreads, kills, and destroys.  If you doubt that, look at the world in which we live today!

God, even before He created us, knew we were going to use our free-will for reasons other than for which it was originally intended. Remember, its original intent was so we could choose to enter into a relationship with Him. But we (His proudest creation) found that we could also use it to exalt ourselves and become our own god!  That latter choice is the only reason there is a sin-issue. The world was perfect before sin entered the world. Consequently, God is making certain that the New Jerusalem will be perfect.  Revelation 21:27 attests to that: “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter – no one who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty – but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (Those who are in Christ)

Since God requires perfection and we proved that we were “utterly helpless” to overcome the issue of sin (Ref. Romans 5:6) through our own effort, His plan was always to provide a Savior to do for us what we proved we were incapable of doing ourselves. Jesus Christ’s shed blood on the cross paid our sin ransom.  When we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, God’s promise to us is, “I will forgive their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 8:12) As a new creation in Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven is now in us. This is our hope of glory…our only hope of glory!

As I mentioned earlier, this world is not our home, we’re just passing through on our way to our eternal destiny. This life, unbeknownst to many, is just an audition.  The darker and crazier this world becomes, the closer we come to fulfilling the prophecies concerning the “time of the end”. I feel confident we are in the Tribulation period right now, approaching rapidly the Great Tribulation period. But in the end, the Paradise promised to all who are in Christ will be the New Jerusalem on earth. In Revelation 21:2-4, John gives us this preview: “And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, “Look, the home of God is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them.  He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”

There should be no wonder that the crazier this world gets, the more appealing the New Jerusalem becomes to those who are in Christ.  As Jesus stated in Matthew 24:14: “And this Gospel of the Kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”  With the technological advances in communication, the Good News is now being proclaimed around the world in ways and at speeds never before imagined. Christianity is exploding in China, Africa, and the Middle East bringing millions and millions of people to Christ. The Good News is certainly welcomed news in parts of the world that have been blighted with hopelessness.

Unfortunately, that same Good News is not so welcomed in America today.  The sad truth is…God has all but been expunged from our culture.  Jonathan Cahn, Messianic Rabbi and author of “The Harbinger”, hit the nail right on the head with this statement: “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.”

In answer to that statement, there is an intercessory prayer movement taking place in our country right now that is gaining great momentum.  The goal of that collective effort is another Great Awakening.  The state of our culture right now is the result of man’s best effort at playing god. Consequently, our culture is ready for a healthy dose of the Good News.  As it says in the frequently banned Book, “the harvest is indeed plentiful.”  (Matthew 9:37)

Feel free to respond to this posting, and please “like” it and share it with other social media friends.

May God bless you abundantly,

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I woke up last night with the recollection of this question being asked when I was still leading a men’s spirituality class at Saint Patrick Center here in St. Louis. It seemed like such an innocent question, but in fact it was an extremely profound question because the answer has eternal ramifications. I remember that a certain young man talked about growing up in a church environment, but he still didn’t know if he was saved or not. Then I started wondering if others might be facing that same quandary?  That kept me awake until it was dog-walking time, so I’ll continue my thoughts with you right now.

The obvious question to clarify the question in the subject line is, “What are we being saved from?”  And I would answer, “We’re being saved from ourselves.” And here is why I say that.

When a baby is born, what is the first thing it does?  He or She cries.  No doubt the pat on the butt by the physician prompted that cry, but it doesn’t take the baby long to figure out that if it wants something, whether it is to be held or to be nursed, it cries. So at this point, the first thing the baby has become aware of is “self”. From this point forward, our natural instinct is to focus on self. If something feels good or tastes good, we want more; if something exalts us, we want more; if something makes us happy or gives us a “zingggg”, we want more. The point is, unless we make a choice along the way to change that focus, we can go from the cradle to the grave living in our own self-fulfilling capacity.

When God created us, we were created to be in relationship with Him…just like Adam and Eve. They lived in Paradise; God was their provider; they wanted for nothing. But all of that ended when SIN entered the world. Eve and Adam took the focus off of God and put in on themselves when they yielded to satan’s temptation and deception: “The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise!”  (Genesis 3: 6) That act of disobedience led to them being banished from Paradise.  But not only were they banished from Paradise, so were all future generations. Therefore, unless each one of us decides to restore that original connection that existed between “self” and our Creator, each one of us will also be banished from Paradise.

But because God is a loving, merciful and gracious God, not to mention omniscient, He knew this was going to happen even before He created the world (and Man). Ephesians 1:4-5,10 tells this story: “Long ago, even before He created the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.  His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and this gave Him great pleasure.  And this is His plan: At the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.”

That original act of disobedience in the Garden delivered this message from the creation to the Creator: “We can be our own god; we don’t need you.” To that, God replied, “Go for it.” Romans 1:28-32 describes God’s attitude about that matter: “When they refused to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done.  Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception malicious behavior and gossip.  They were backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud and boastful.  They were forever inventing new ways of sinning and were disobedient to their parents.  They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless and unforgiving…And worse yet, they encourage others to do the same;”

After “The Fall” (when sin entered the world), God let Man choose his own destiny until we proved without a shadow of a doubt that we were “utterly helpless” (Ref. Romans 5:6) to overcome the issue of SIN (being self-reliant rather than God-reliant) through our own effort. In our utterly helpless state, He implemented the plan referenced above in Ephesians 10. His plan was always to provide a Redeemer (Savior) to do for us what He knew we could never do for ourselves.  In other words, His plan was always to save us from ourselves, because He wanted His “Masterpiece” (Ref. Ephesians 2:10) to spend eternity with Him in Paradise.

Unfortunately for Man, God’s standard for entering Paradise is pretty high. In fact, it calls for perfection. “You must be holy because I am holy” (1 Peter, 1:16) In other words, if we are stained with sin, we can’t even get through the “pearly gates.” But the good news is, God’s plan takes care of that obstacle. It’s called The Gift of Grace, meaning we didn’t earn it, nor do we deserve it. But God was still willing to provide a Savior (Jesus Christ) to pay the penalty for OUR sins.  When we believe and accept what Jesus did for us on the cross, in God’s eyes we are now covered with the blood of Jesus and we are SIN-FREE!  We are a new creation in Christ!  Now we are worthy and acceptable to enter Paradise to be with God, Jesus and all Christ-followers forever.

As it says in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son (to pay the penalty for OUR sins), that whoever believes in Him, will not perish, but will have eternal life.”  When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we inherit what Jesus did in our place on the cross. This is what it means to be saved!

Feel free to respond to this post, and please “like” and share it with other media friends.

May God Bless Ya abundantly…

Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)