Good Day, Meetpastordan Readers…I just got back from my walk with Cliff and Glenn, and had the opportunity to see this incredible sunrise that was spell-binding with its red, gold and purple hues.  Wow!  God is quite the Artiste!  I couldn’t help but think of Psalm 19: “The heavens tell the glory of God. The skies display his marvelous craftsmanship.  Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known.  They speak without a sound or a word; their voice is silent in the skies; yet their message has gone out to all the earth…” When a day starts like this, ya know It’s going to be a great one!  🙂

That being said, I want to kick off this great day by writing about one of my favorite topics…freedom. One of the reasons Jesus came was to “set the captives free”. (Luke 4:18) So if you’re wondering, “What captives was Jesus referring to?”…the answer would be US!  We are the captives, because without him, we are enslaved to our sin-nature (our human nature, as our culture calls it), and we proved without a doubt that we were “utterly helpless” to do anything about it though our own effort. (Romans 4:6)

So I want to address this subject by clarifying a misconception that seems to be prevalent among Christians.  “Justification” and “Sanctification” are not one in the same, and to miss this difference can mire us in our Christian walk.  I mention this because I have ample opportunity to ask people about how being a Christian has enhanced or changed their life, and many times I get, “Well… It’s hard to say” or “Well…I really haven’t experienced what I had expected.” Invariably I find that this dilemma is rooted in the person’s expectation of what was going to happen when they said, “Yes” to accepting Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Theirs is the same story as one I’ve revealed in previous postings about a friend of mine, also in recovery, who has lamented many times in meetings about situations that baffle him, or are beyond his control. His exasperated final statement is always something like this: “Well, I’m just going to turn it all over to God” or “I’m going to let go and let God!” Finally I had the opportunity to ask him, one on one of course, what he expected when he “turned it over to God”, and his answer was exactly what I expected him to say: “Well, I’m just going to let God take care of this for me.”  Therein lays the problem.

So now let’s look at the root of that problem. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, an incredible transformation takes place.  This transformation is often referred to as the “great exchange”, as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new has come.”  What this means is that we are no longer enslaved to our sin nature.  Now we have the indwelling Holy Spirit living in us (the essence of Jesus Christ) empowering us to make different choices. This is perfectly described in Galatians 5:16-: “So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit.  Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.  The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants.  And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires.  These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.  But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to your sin nature.”

Now let’s compare and contrast our old choices (before being in Christ) with what we can expect when we rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us.  Galatians 5:19-23 tells us: “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 activity, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, out-bursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.”  Apostle Paul takes this opportunity to add this reminder for the benefit of the Galatians: “Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Now he contrasts the worldly life to the Spirit-directed life: “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”  One way is the pathway to freedom; the other is the pathway to bondages that lead to spiritual death.

On the front cover of Neil Anderson’s book entitled, “Victory Over the Darkness”, there is a one sentence synopsis of the book: “realizing your new identity in Christ and the power that comes from that identity.”  The moment you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are in Christ. Here’s what happens to you instantaneously: 1. Your sins are forgiven 2. You inherit eternal life  3.You receive the indwelling Holy Spirit  to empower you to become the person God created you to be  4. You are grafted into God’s family as “his Child”  5. You are now worthy and acceptable in God’s eyes, not because of anything you did or didn’t do, but because of what Jesus did for you  6. In God’s eyes, you are a Saint (and not a sinner) because you are covered with the blood of Jesus 7. You are heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm  8. You are heir to all the promises in the Bible. Wow!  How’s that for hitting the spiritual jackpot!!

I want to expand on number 6 above because it is so vitally important that we understand what this means to us.  But first I want to point out, “the sin issue” is over! Christ paid the price for our sins on the cross.  If we are in Christ, God proclaimed through David in Psalm 103:12: “As far as the east is from the west, that far has God removed our transgressions from us.”  And Colossians 2:13-14 tells us: “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away.  Then God made you alive in Christ. He forgave all our sins.  He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ’s cross.”  That is GOOD news!

But now that we are in Christ, will we still fall short of God’s glorious standard?  Absolutely…we all will.  But now, because of our new identity, God does not count this as sin against us.  Remember, we are a Saint, meaning “a believer” in the New Testament. When we slip and fall, God just wants us to get up and keep marching down the path of Sanctification, meaning… we are in the process of becoming (hence the title) more Christ-like.  This path is our training ground for eternity.

The process of Justification is instantaneous. But at that point we haven’t even taken the first step down the path (or the process) of Sanctification.  This is a life-long process where we grow and mature as Christ-followers, picking up our cross daily and facing the trials and tribulations that will inevitably come our way. Our growth and maturity comes from how we handle these challenges.  Keep in mind the truth found in Galatians four paragraphs above.  The more we rely on the Holy Spirit guide and empower us to become the person God created us to be, the more we start experiencing the joy, peace, serenity and freedom that we expected when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  But the fact is, we have to participate in the process.  “Let Go, Let God”, is the right answer, but we have to get out of the way and “let” the Holy Spirit empower us to overcome.

So how do we do that?  We call on Him (“we admit our dependence on Him” – James 4:10) such as  this:  “Holy Spirit…give me your wisdom, courage, strength, power, patience, perseverance, eyes to see, ears to hear…whatever it is we need to handle our situation or challenge in a way that brings honor and glory to God, or allows us to become the person He created us to be, “He will lift us up and give us honor.” (the conclusion of James 4:10)

The indwelling Holy Spirit is a gift from God so we can rise above our circumstances, or overcome our challenges.  Now  we are capable of becoming the person he created us to be. 2 Peter 1:3-4 is a promise to us: “The more we grow in Christ, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a Godly life.  He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!  And by that same mighty power, he has given us all of his rich and wonderful promises.  He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in his divine nature.”  That, my Friends, is “the process of becoming” more Christ-like.

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 Day Meetpastordan Readers…I’ve looked forward to this topic for awhile, because it’s a topic our culture needs to hear and think about.  When I look at today’s world, I see a cesspool that has resulted from man’s best effort at playing god.  I say that because when God created this world, he proclaimed it “good,” and good in God’s terminology means perfect. So, just look around you; does this world look perfect to you?  Remember, it was paradise for a brief moment, but then an event, referred to as “the fall”, occured. After that…everything changed!  And what was “the fall”?  It was when Sin entered the world, meaning… it was when God’s proudest creation (Man) became disobedient and took the focus off of God and put it on “self”. That perspective has been the dilemma of Mankind ever since the downfall.

Because God created us for a relationship with Himself, He knew He would have to give us something no other member of the animal kingdom had, a brain for rational thinking so we could “choose” to enter into that special relationship. But therein lays the rub. Man could also use his free-will for something other than for what God intended, and that is exactly what happened.  But God, being both omniscience and omnipotent, knew what direction Man would choose even before he created us.  Therefore, his plan, as outlined in Ephesians, 1:3-4, tells us, “even before He created the world (and man), He choose 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.”  This is unmistakable!  God’s plan was always to redeem us from ourselves by sending Jesus to pay the ransom for our sins.

Now let’s jump from Creation to the New Covenant (after Christ’s resurrection) to see how Man is faring.   Apostle Paul gives us a clue in 1 Corinthians 1:18-19: “I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. (Those who have not accepted the message of Jesus’ sacrifice for us.)  But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God.  As the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas.”

Here is the unfortunate truth.  Even though God’s plan is available to anyone, not everyone wants to hear that message. This situation was nailed in John 3:18-20: “But those who do not trust him (Jesus) have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.  Their judgment is based on this fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness.  They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished.”  Romans 6:23 explicitly explains our choices: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

When we trace the rise and fall of civilizations in the Bible, or in ancient history books, we can clearly see that when a culture is in line with God’s will, or returns to God’s will, that culture would be blessed, for instance, Nineveh, or Israel after Malachi delivered God’s proclamation.  But if a culture turns its back on God, for instance Sodom and Gomorrah or Canaan, there would be fire and brimstone, floods, plagues, pestilence, wars, famines, etc. The Bible defines to the collapse of a culture as turning away from God, exalting the teachings of Man, and the prevalence of sin. Ancient History books refer to the collapse of the same cultures as being the result of greed, manifesting itself in a desire for more power, wealth, and control. Notice that in both cases, the fall of a culture begins by being out of line with God’s Will, His Wisdom, and His Teaching, which obviously means we are in line with Man’s will, his wisdom and his teaching.  In both cases, the end result is yielding to “self” and not to God.

So let’s return to Apostle Paul’s presentation in 1 Corinthians 1: 20-25: “So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters?  God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense.  Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never find Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save all who believe.  God’s way seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven to prove it is true.  And it is foolish to the Greeks because they believe only what agrees with their own wisdom.  So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended, and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.  But to those called by God to salvation, both the Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the mighty power of God and the wonderful wisdom of God.  This “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisdom of human plans.”

We don’t have to delve very deep into the nature of today’s culture to see why the message of Jesus is so threatening.  It is the same story as relayed above in John 3: 18-20. Our culture is a self-absorbed culture that doesn’t want to yield to anything greater than “self”. In fact, its battle cry is: “Who are YOU to tell me what is right or wrong?  I have my own truth!”   

Now let’s superimpose what we have just read over the culture in which we live today.  Let’s look first in terms of being out of line with God’s will? Since our country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and was dedicated to God by our first President and the congress on April 30^th, 1789, do you think God might be angered with what He sees?  Think about all of this; it has to be an affront in His eyes: the removal of the 10 Commandments from our schools and public buildings, the assault on religious celebrations and traditions, the ascent of a more secular governing body that has already become so mired in political agendas that it can no longer function in the best interest of its constituents, a blatant refusal by sanctuary cities to uphold the rule of law, an abortion industry that has profited from murdering millions of unborn babies since Roe vs Wade in 1973, a country that is the largest exporter and promoter of pornography in the world today, an entertainment industry that is hell-bent on “numbing down” and “dumbing down” our collective sense of reality and morality by championing the latest “social  enlightenments”, such as redefining the” traditional family structure” as the “new norm”, or the acceptance of lying, cheating and stealing as “just the way it is today”? Wow! It appears we now have just exposed the answer to the question in the first line of the next paragrah.

How, you might ask, did we sink to such a deplorable state? And I would answer that whenever a culture chooses to exalted the teachings of Man over the teachings of God, calamity is not far behind.  Let me interject two messages from Jonathan Cahn, author of “The Harbinger”, who worded these principles so beautifully: “If America upholds God’s eternal standards and follows His unchanging ways, then it will be blessed with His favor…His protection…His prosperity. But if America should depart from the ways of God, if it should disregard His eternal standards, then the smiles of heaven will subside, the blessings of God will be withdrawn, and its prosperity, and its protection  will be taken away. 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.”

I’ll close with what I believe to be the answer: “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)  May God continue to bless America…and may Americans have eyes to see and ears to hear.

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

May God Bless ya…

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

I thoroughly enjoyed writing last week’s blog entitled,” How Good is Good Enough and How Bad is Too Bad?”  My point of departure was the Gospel of Grace, which was God’s plan even before the world was created. (ref. Ephesians 1:4)  Today’s posting is a variation on that same theme of hope, but today I will use two encounters with Jesus that reveal his compassionate heart and his equal love for the “best” and the “worst.”

The Gospel of John (3:1-19) introduces us to Nicodemus, a high-ranking Pharisee who was also a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court. To have such a lofty position meant you were considered to be among the “best of the best”. But obviously Nicodemus was impressed by Jesus’ teachings, and certainly by his miracles which he most likely witnessed first-hand.  He was curious, and he wanted to know more. So under the cloak of darkness, undoubtedly not wanting to be seen by his fellow Pharisees, he came to have an up-close and personal visit with Jesus.  “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us.  Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.”

But Jesus, not being one to beat around the bushes, jumped right to the truth he knew Nicodemus didn’t know, but might be open to hearing.  “I assure you, unless you are born again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.”  “What do you mean?’ exclaimed Nicodemus.  ‘How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”  Jesus replied, “The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.  So don’t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again. Just as you can hear wind but can’t tell where it is coming from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”

 “What do you mean?’ Nicodemus asked.  Jesus replied, ‘You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things.  I assure you, I am telling you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe us. But if you don’t even believe me when I tell you about these things that happen on earth, how can you possibly believe me if I tell you what is going on in heaven.  For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again.  And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man must be lifted up on a pole, so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life.  (This is a reference to Numbers 21:4-9 when Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole so the people who kept their sight on the bronze snake would not be killed when bitten by the poisonous snakes surrounding them.  This is a fore-shadow of Jesus being lifted up on the cross.  All who keep their focus on him through faith will also be saved.)

Jesus continued, “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.  God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.  There is no judgment for those who trust in him.  But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.  Their judgment is based on fact: The light from heaven came into the world, but they loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil,” and they chose not to turn away from their sinful ways.”

Wow! Nicodemus got more than he had expected.  The truth is…regardless of who you are or what you think you are; regardless of your credentials, accomplishments, or the adulation other people have for you, none of that matters when you are standing before God accounting for your life.  The only way to achieve eternal life is to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus. And the only way for that to happen is to accept him as your Lord and Savior.

And now to the opposite end of the spectrum, “How bad is too bad?” I don’t think it is a coincidence that Apostle John chose to put these two stories so close together in his Gospel.  Again, it shows that regardless of who you are or what you have done, in Jesus’ eyes, it doesn’t matter.  All that matters is that you allow yourself to be transformed by Him.

The woman of this story remains nameless.  She is referred to only as the Samaritan Woman, but she was known throughout Samaria as a fallen, despicable, harlot who had slept around with many other women’s husbands.  When she met Jesus, it was about noon and she had made her trip to the well at that time because the other women would have nothing to do with her. They either went in the morning or in the evening to avoid any contact with this wanton woman.

Jesus and his disciples learned that the Pharisees’ resentment toward him was increasing, but since it was early in his ministry, he didn’t want to confront them yet. So he decided to leave Judea and return to Galilee.  The usual “Jewish route” would have taken then around Samaria because in the eyes of the Jews, the Samaritans, because of their intermarriage, were considered “unclean”. But Jesus  -being Jesus – decided to break with tradition and travel straight through Samaria until they came to a town called Sychar, the home of Jacob’s well.  But this was only the beginning of breaking with tradition.  No self-respecting Jewish man would talk to a Samaritan woman, especially not a notorious, immoral woman, and especially not alone.  But Jesus sent his disciples to the village to buy food, then sat down to wait for his anticipated appointment.

As the woman approached the well to draw water, Jesus said to her (4:1-26), “Please give me a drink.” Startled, she said to Jesus, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman.  Why are you asking me for a drink?’ Jesus replied, ‘If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.’ ‘But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, ‘and this is a very deep well.  Where would you get this living water? And besides, are you greater than our ancestor Jacob who gave us this well?’ Jesus replied, ‘People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water.  But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether.  It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.’ ‘Please, sir’, the woman said, ‘give me some of that water!  Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to haul water.”

Now Jesus shifts gears because he really wanted to get her attention.  “Go get your husband,” Jesus told her. ‘I don’t have a husband,’ the woman replied.  Jesus said, ‘You’re right! You don’t have a husband – for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now”

Obviously startled at Jesus’ truth about her, she too tries to shift gears.  “Sir’, the woman said, ‘you must be a prophet. So tell me why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place to worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at mount Gerzim where our ancestors worshiped.’ Jesus replied, ‘Believe me the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father here or in Jerusalem.  You Samaritans know so little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 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.  For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.’ The woman said, ‘I know the Messiah will come – the one who is called Christ.  When he comes, he will explain everything to us.’ Then Jesus told her, ‘I am the Messiah!”

As good as Nicodemus was, this woman was equally as bad, yet none of that mattered to Jesus.  He loved them both equally, and he wanted them both to know the truth so they too could believe and be his witness in this world.  After the Samaritan woman returned to her village and shared her experience with Jesus, many came out to the well to see him, then they begged him to come back and stay in their village. Jesus complied and stayed in the village for two days, just long enough for many Samaritans to hear, to believe, and to be saved.

Regardless of what we have done or who we have been, the only thing that matters in the end is Jesus Christ, and  if he is our Lord and Savior.  Paul reaffirms this in Colossians 4:11: In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free.  Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us” (who are saved.)  Amen!

Please 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… First I want to thank all of you who took time to read and to respond to the series, “Who Is This Jesus?” from the perspective of the four Gospel writers. I enjoyed presenting that series and doing the research that accompanied such an endeavor, but having said that, it was a lengthy and tedious presentation, so I am ready to shift gears now and turn my attention to other topics. During that series, quite a few new topics took shape in my mind, so I’m armed, ready, and looking forward to getting started today.

I love the counseling and discipleship work that I am privileged to do because it gives me the opportunity to ask probing questions to get to the core issues.  This gives me perspective on where he/she is coming from, and it also gives me the opportunity to prepare what I believe are appropriate responses.  I love asking questions like: “Tell me about your God?”; “Tell me what you believe, and why you believe it?” or “What keeps you from accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior”? That last question is usually more quickly answered than the first two, because the subject might feel it doesn’t necessarily have to be rooted in factual or intellectual data, but can be explained by feelings.

Invariably, the two most common answers to that question are: “I’m a good person. I try to do what is right; I like to help people; I volunteer for worthy causes, or I contribute to worthy causes.”  The second most common answer is: “You don’t know me and what I’ve done.  Believe me… God has no use for me; I’m way beyond forgiveness. I don’t even like myself, so how could I expect God to love me?”   No doubt the person answering this question is committed to those feelings about self, but unfortunately both answers are based on a misunderstanding, or ignorance, of God’s truth.  John 8:32 addresses this problem: “Jesus told his disciples, ‘If you follow my teachings, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  Both of these answers indicate bondage to “self” and a thorough misunderstanding of the Gospel of Grace.

Since I boldly proclaimed these answers were based on a faulty grasp of God’s truth, let’s look at the misunderstanding compared to the truth. The first answer, “I’m a good person; I do “this”, and I do “this, and I do “this” indicates a belief that is rooted in the Old Covenant, or the erroneous thought that I am sufficient to save myself.  But then the subject might continue: Surly this is pleasing to God. Surly I won’t be condemned to hell if I’m doing all of these Godly things. After all, the Bible tells us to treat others as we want to be treated…Right?”  “Right” I would say, “but we’re living under the New Covenant – the Gospel of Grace.  Christ has done it all! Today it’s not about “what we do” but “why we do what we do. Are we doing it to score points with God, to gain accolades for our effort, or are we doing it to say, “Thank you, God, for what you’ve done for me.”

Galatians 2:21 addresses this misunderstanding head-on.  “If keeping the law could have made people right with God (could have saved people), there would have been no reason for Christ to come and die for us.”  Under the Old Covenant, people tried to get right with God by keeping his commandments.  In other words, they “did something” to try to prove themselves worthy in his eyes. They looked at God as a vending machine who dispensed blessings because of what they did.  God doesn’t want our works, he wants our heart.

God spoke through the prophet Hosea when he revealed in 6:6: “I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your sacrifices.  I want you to know God.  That’s more important than burnt offerings.” The Old Covenant was put in place as a guide for us until the coming of Christ.  Jesus Christ was always God’s plan, even before the world was created, as explained in Ephesians 1: 4-5,9-10.

“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.  God’s secret plan has now been revealed to us, and this is his plan: At just the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.”  And what was “just the right time?”  Romans 5:6 answers this question: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”  

God gave mankind from Creation to 2018 years ago to wrestle with the dilemma of sin through our own effort.  And how did we fare?  Well, when we proved ourselves “utterly helpless” to achieve worthiness and acceptance in his eyes through our own effort, Christ came at “just the right time” and died for us sinners. Notice how this lines up with God’s plan even before the creation of the world and man: “God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”

Let’s take a minute and review the fundamental principle of what it means to be “in Christ”. What incredible love God displayed for his proudest creation!  This omniscience, omnipotent Creator knew, even before he created us, that we were going to turn away from his plan to follow our own plan.  And the problem with our plan was that it was characterized by our sin-nature, as so poignantly described by Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:19-21: “ 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, anger, selfish ambition, 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.”

God’s plan for our salvation was a one-time sacrifice that would pay the ransom for our sins – past, present and future, and Jesus Christ was that sacrificial lamb.  Nothing other than the blood of Jesus can wash away our sin, and that is THE requirement for entering the Paradise God has promised all Christ-followers.  God himself proclaimed, “You must be holy (sin-free, set aside for a sacred purpose) because I am holy.”  (Leviticus 20:26)  Unlike this world, which is contaminated with sin, God’s eternal Paradise will be sin-free.

So now let’s tie all of this in with the two answers that I referenced above concerning accepting Christ as our personal Lord and Savior. No one can be good enough through his or her own effort to meet God’s standard, which is absolute perfection.  To be Holy means to be sin free!  If we are stained with sin, we do not qualify for eternal life with God in Paradise.  Why, because sin spreads, contaminates, destroys and kills.  If you doubt that, look at this world.  Remember, it was Paradise for a brief moment, but what we see today is a world contaminated by man’s sin-nature. (human nature)

Now let’s look briefly at the 2nd reason listed above for not accepting Christ as a personal Lord and Savior. Because of God’s unconditional, unending, and unfailing love for us, his salvation plan was designed specifically to save sinners. To repeat Romans 5:6 from above, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time to die for us sinners.”  Romans 3:21-25 explains  clearly and succinctly what Christ’s sacrifice means to each one of us: “But now God has shown us a different way of being made right in his sight – not by obeying the law, but by the way promised in Scriptures long ago.  We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins.  And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done.  For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us NOT GUILTY!  He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins.  For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us.  We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us.” 

What you just read is the Gospel of Grace.  This is God’s plan for your salvation, and it is called the Gospel of “Grace” because you didn’t earn it, nor do you deserve it.  So here is the truth that was missed in the answers referenced above .  This is a gift from God so we can qualify to  enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We cannot accomplish this through our own effort because God’s standard is perfection (to be sin-free) and we are incapable of becoming sin-free.  Conversely, there is no one too bad to enter the Kingdom of Heaven if he or she will accept God’s Gift of Grace.  When we are covered with the blood of Jesus, we face no condemnation.  Romans 8:1-2 tells us, “There is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ. For the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you through Jesus Christ from the power of sin that leads to death.”  It’s not about good or bad; it’s about whether we are in Christ, or not in Christ.  According to God’s plan, only the blood of Jesus can save us. Amen!

Please feel free to respond to this post, and please like and share with other social media friends.

May God Bless Ya,

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

This is the last and the most profound section of this series, because in it is displayed the intensity of Jesus’ love for his disciples. We can hear him preparing them for his death and resurrection, and for future events that will change their lives forever. He also unveils the unique gift his followers will receive (the indwelling Holy Spirit) to empower them to accomplish His purpose.

In this section we clearly see the three parts of God’s salvation plan for Mankind.  First is forgiveness of sin.  We cannot be stained with sin if we are hoping to get into the Paradise God has promised all Christ-followers. Why? Because sin contaminates, spreads, destroys and kills. When we accept Jesus’ finished work on the cross, we become sin-free. Secondly, Jesus rose to eternal life, and because we are in Christ, we too will rise to eternal life. That seals our eternal destiny.  But what about those of us who are still living in this fallen world?  God has also made provision for us to rise above the temptations of this world and our circumstances so we can become the person he created us to be. (referred to in Ephesians 2:10 as his “Masterpiece”.) He has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit so we can make choices that honor Him.  This is God’s salvation plan for the world.

THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD. (13:1-21:25) 3A Jesus Washes the Disciples Feet: “It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. The evening meal was in progress, so he got up from the meal, removed his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.  After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciple’s feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.  When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for that is what I am.  Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.  Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” (13:1-5, 12-17)

3B Jesus Predicts his Death: “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now.  Where I am going you cannot come. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.   Simon Peter asked him, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ’Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later. Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father.  From now on, you do know him and have seen him. Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”. (13:33-36, 14:1-7, 9)  “The truth is, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.  You can ask for anything in my name and I will do it because the work of the Son brings glory to the Father.  Yes, ask anything in my name and I will do it. (14:12-14) (clarification: anything that is in line with God’s will.)

3C  Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit: “If you love me, obey my commandments. And 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.  For I will live again, and you will too. (14:15-17, 19)  But when the Father sends the Counselor as my representative – and when I say Counselor, I mean the Holy Spirit – he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I myself have told you. I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.  And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives.  So don’t be troubled or afraid.  Remember, what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again.”  (14:26-28) “The truth is, you can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will grant your request because you use my name.  You haven’t done this before. Ask using my name and you will receive, and you will  have abundant joy.” (16:23-24) (implied again: if it is in line with God’s will.)

3D  Jesus is the True Vine:  “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me, you can do nothing. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted.  My true disciples produce much fruit, and this brings great glory to my Father.” (15:5-8) “When you obey me, you remain in my love just as I remain in the Father’s love.  I have told you this so that you will be filled with joy. Yes, your joy will overflow.” (15:10-11)

3E  The World’s Hatred: “When the world hates you, remember it hated me before it hated you.  The world would love you if you belonged to it, but you don’t.  I chose you to come out of the world, and so the people hate you because they don’t know God.” (15:18-21) “I have told you these things so that you won’t fall away.  For you will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time is coming when those who kill you will think they are doing God a service.  This is because they have never known the Father or me.  Yes, I’m telling you these things now, so that when they happen, you will remember I warned you.  I didn’t tell you earlier because I was going to be with you for a while longer.” (16:1-4) “I have told you all of this so that you may have peace in me. Here in this world you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (16:33) And the good news is…we who are in Christ have also overcome the world.

3F Jesus Sentenced to Death: “Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head, and they put a royal purple robe on him. ‘Hail! King of the Jews!’ they mocked, and they hit him with their fists.  Pilate went outside again and said to the people, ‘I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.’ Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe.  Pilate said, ‘Here is the man!’  When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, ‘Crucify! Crucify!’ Pilate gave Jesus over to them to be crucified.”

3G The Resurrection: “Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.  She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved.  She said, ‘They have taken our Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!’  When Peter arrived at the tomb, he went inside.  He noticed the linen wrappings laying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and laying to the side. (According to Jewish custom, when someone got up to leave the table, if they were going to return, they folded the napkin and set it aside) Mary was standing outside the tomb crying when she heard a noise. She looked over her shoulder and saw someone standing behind her.  It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him.  ‘Why are you crying’, Jesus asked her.  ‘Who are you looking for?’  She turned to him and exclaimed, ‘Teacher!’  ‘Don’t cling to me’ Jesus said, ‘for I have not yet ascended to the Father.  But go and find my brothers and tell them that I am ascending to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.” (20:1-2, 6-7, 11,14-15, 16-17)

John’s stated purpose for writing this Gospel. “Jesus’ disciples saw him do many other miraculous signs besides the ones recorded in this book.  But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life. This is the disciple who saw these events and recorded them here.  I suppose that if all the other things Jesus did were written down, the whole world could not contain the books.” (20:30-31, 22:24-25)

This is the last posting in this series.  Next week’s blog is entitled, “How Good is Good Enough, and How Bad is Too Bad?

Please feel free to respond to this post, and the whole series.  And please “like” it and share it with other social media friends.

May God Bless ya,

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

(Good Day, Meetpastordan Readers: Last week’s 4th of July post interrupted this series that was started in June entitled, “Who Is This Jesus?” from the perspective of the four Gospel writters.  Today and next week will end this series, but the Gospel of John has so much in it, it had to have two weeks.  After this is complete, I will continue on with a blog entitled, “How Good is Good Enough, and How Bad is Too Bad?  Thanks for being loyal supporters.)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (1:1) (Word = Truth=God=Jesus= Holy Spirit= Truth = God etc.) “He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (1:2-3) As He spoke, the power of his words brought galaxies into existence. Stars and a moon lit the sky at night; the sun lit his Creation during the day. Water and land were separated and were filled with plants and creatures, all growing, multiplying, swimming and running. But God’s creative display was not yet complete. Still to come would be his proudest creation that would have the ability to think, speak and love…Man!

God…eternal, infinite, unlimited was, is, and always will be the Creator and Lord of all that exists.  But “at just the right time” (Romans 5:6), the most amazing event in the history of the universe occurred. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (1:16) Think about that! The Creator of the universe gave up his Majesty to become part of his creation, limited by time and space, and susceptible to aging, sickness, pain, suffering, and death.  But because he IS Love, he was willing to face those limitations to save his proudest creation from his own sinfulness. He was therefore proclaimed by John the Baptist to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”(1:29) “In him is life, and that life is the light to all mankind. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome it.” (1:4-5) The Word – Jesus Christ the God-man – had arrived!

John wrote his Gospel (85-90 A.D.) after the destruction of Jerusalem and before his exile to the island of Patmos.  He was writing to both new Christians and non-Christians, and his purpose was to prove conclusively that Jesus IS the Son of God, and that all who believe in him will have eternal life.  John uses the “I Am” statements to underscore Jesus’ deity: I Am the bread of life (6:35); I Am the light of the world (8:12, 9:5); I Am the good shepherd (10:11); I Am the resurrection and the life (11:25); I Am the way, and the truth and the life (14:16); I Am the true vine. (15:1) Over 90 percent of John’s Gospel is unique and won’t be found in the other three Gospels. (As you read this, I would encourage you to follow along in your own Bible.  This is only a structural outline, and is intended to peak your interest as I highlight the three sections by using selected Scriptures to accentuate each subsection.  I plan to let the Scriptures speak for themselves, meaning my editorial comments will be minimal.)  🙂

This Gospel, like the other three, is divided into three parts. The first is Birth and Preparation of Jesus, the Son of God (1;1-2:12)  1A: “The true light that gives light to everyone has come into the world.  He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (1:9-13) 1B: “The next day Jesus decided to leave Galilee.  Finding Philip, he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ Philip found Nathanael and told him, ‘We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote – Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.’ ‘Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?’ Nathanael asked.  ‘Come and see,’ said Philip.  When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’ ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.  Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel.” Jesus replied, “…You will see greater things than that.  Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (1:43-51) (This was a reference to Jacob’s dream recorded in Genesis, but here Jesus is indicating that he would be the latter between heaven and earth.)

MESSAGE AND MINISTRY OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD (2:13-12:50) 2A “After dark one evening, a Pharisee named Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus. ‘Teacher, we all know that God has sent you to teach us.  Your miraculous signs are proof enough that God is with you.’ Jesus replied, ‘I assure you, unless you are reborn again, you can never see the Kingdom of God.’ ‘What do you mean?’ exclaimed Nicodemus. ‘How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb to be born again?’ Jesus replied, ‘The truth is, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. For only I, the Son of Man, have come to earth and will return to heaven again.  And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so I, the Son of Man, must be lifted up on a pole so that everyone who believes in me will have eternal life. 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. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save it.  There is no judgement awaiting those who trust him” (3:1-6, 13-18) “The Jewish leaders began harassing Jesus for breaking the Sabbath rules. But Jesus replied, ‘My Father never stops working, so why should I?’ I assure you, the Son can do nothing by himself.  He does only what he sees the Father doing. You will be astonished at what he does.  He will even raise from the dead anyone he wants to, just as the Father does.  And the Father leaves all judgment to his Son, so that everyone will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father.  But if you refuse to honor the Son, then you are certainly not honoring the Father who sent him.’  The Jewish leaders plotted all the more to kill him.  In addition to disobeying the Sabbath rules, he had spoken of God as his Father, thereby making himself equal with God.” (5:16, 19-23, 17-18)

2B  “A crowd followed Jesus across the lake to Capernaum.  When they found him, he told them: ‘The truth is, you want to be with me because I fed you, not because you saw a miraculous sign.  But you shouldn’t be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that I, the Son of Man, can give you.  For God the Father has sent me for that very purpose.’ They replied, ‘What does God want us to do?’ Jesus told them, ‘This is what God wants you to do.  Believe in the one he has sent.” (6:26-29) During Passover, Jesus was teaching in the Temple: “I’m not teaching my own ideas, but those of God who sent me.  Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. Those who present their own ideas are looking for praise for themselves, but those who seek to honor the one who sent them are good and genuine.  None of you obeys the Law of Moses!  In fact, you are trying to kill me.” The crowd replied, ‘You’re demon possessed!  Who’s trying to kill you?”  The crowd was confused and divided: “Isn’t this the man they’re trying to kill.  Yet here he is speaking in public, and they do nothing.  Can it be that our leaders know he is the Messiah? But how can that be? For we know where this man comes from.  When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.” (7:16-20, 25-27)

2C Trying to trick Jesus into saying something they could use against him, the Pharisees brought a woman before him and his crowd: “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?’ Jesus replied, ‘All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stones!’ When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman.  Then Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?’  ‘No, Lord,’ the woman answered.  Then Jesus said, ‘Neither do I.  Go and sin no more.”  (8:3-11) “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you obey my teachings; then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.’ ‘But we are descendants of Abraham’, they said. ‘We have never been slaves to anyone on earth.  What do you mean, “set free?”  Jesus replied, ‘I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. But if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free! (8:31-36) Jesus many times taught using parables: “I assure you, anyone who sneaks over the wall of a sheepfold, rather than going through the gate, must surely be a thief and a robber. For a shepherd enters through the gate and the sheep hear his voice and come to him. They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t recognize his voice.’ Many who heard this illustration didn’t understand it, so Jesus explained: ‘I assure you, I Am the gate for the sheep.  All others who came before me were thieves and robbers.  But the true sheep did not listen to them.  Yes, I Am the gate.  Those who come in through me will be saved.”  (10:1-9)

2D “A man named Lazarus was sick.  He lived in Bethany with his sisters, Martha and Mary. The two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling him, ‘Lord, the one you love is very sick.’ But when Jesus heard about it, he said, ‘Lazarus’s sickness will not end in death.  No, it is for the glory of God.  I, the Son of God, will receive glory from this. Let’s go to Judea again!’ But his disciples objected. ‘Teacher,’ they said, ‘only a few days ago the Jewish leaders were trying to kill you.  Are you going there again?’ (Thomas said to his fellow disciples, ‘Let’s go too – and be killed with Jesus??) When Martha got word Jesus was coming, she went to meet him.  Mary stayed at home. ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.’ Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise again. I Am the resurrection and the life.  Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again.  They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish.  Do you believe that, Martha?’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ she said.  I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God who has come into the world from God.’ Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. Jesus looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, thank you for hearing me. You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so they will believe you sent me.’ Then he said, ‘LAZARUS, COME OUT!’ Lazarus came out, bound in grave-clothes, his face wrapped in a head cloth.  Jesus told them, ‘Unwrap him and let him go!”  (11: 1-8, 20-27, 41-44)

Next week’s part 2 will begin with THE DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THE SON OF GOD (13:1-21-25) This final part will contain the profound mystery and essence of Christianity.

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

May God Bless Ya…

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

Once again I will interrupt our series, Who is this Jesus? (from the perspective of John)  for this Independence Day presentation.  We will resume that series next week.  I hope you enjoy today’s presentation.

As we enter our 241st Independence Day celebration, I hope it is a time when we all reflected on the true meaning of this day, and take time to thank God and a Veteran for the privilege of living in a country that is free. As we partake of various parades, concerts, festivals, family BBQs,  perhaps even a memorial service or a patriotic speech,  I hope the truth of this statement, “freedom isn’t free” becomes ablaze in your heart and inspires you to embrace it as a “gift” rather than  a bumper-sticker slogan.

Unfortunately these are perilous times in which we are living, and freedom itself seems to be in jeopardy. Contributing culprits include today’s hostile political climate; A Liberal-Progressive agenda that will stop at nothing to achieve its end; a world news that tells us we are facing a formidable foe that hates us and wants to destroy us;  our country’s economic uncertainty; and the sense of despair that sets in when we are not sure what to believe or who  to trust.  Now couple that with the downward spiral of our culture’s moral values and it’s easy to see how all of these factors can contribute to a sense of uneasiness…even hopelessness.

But the good news is…we don’t have to look at the world through that lens.  Oh yes, those issues are today’s reality, but I believe if we look up for a solution rather than down at the cesspool in which we are standing, we can  find hope.  I’m still an optimist, so when we stand on the only truth that will never forsake us, I believe we can become energized once again as individuals and as a nation.

I love America.  I believe in America.  I was proud to serve my country, and I still believe that with all our faults and shortcomings, America is the greatest country the world has ever seen.  It was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and the founding fathers even bowed in prayer on April 30, 1789 at St. Paul’s Chapel to consecrate this new nation’s future to God.  No other nation in modern times has been so blessed, but to whom much is given, much is expected.

Throughout the Bible, God has spoken through prophets and delivered a Proclamation to both man and nations.  That Proclamation was always the same:  “Repent!  Turn from your sin and turn to God.” (ie. Ezekiel 18:21-23)  I believe the psalmist David not only captured the heart of God in Psalm 37, but when superimposed over our present day malaise, it should give us nothing but hope for our future. It tells us not to worry about the evil we see around us, but to patiently trust the Lord.  He is sovereign, and we who believe in Him will prosper and the wicked will stand in judgment for their evil ways.  Let’s enjoy verses 1-11:

“Don’t worry about the wicked.  Don’t envy those who do wrong.  For like grass, they soon fade away.  Like springtime flowers, they soon wither.

Trust in the Lord and do good.  Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Commit everything you do to the Lord.  Trust him, and he will help you. 

He will make your innocence as clear as the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

Stop your anger!  Turn from your rage!  Do not envy others – it only leads to harm. 

For the wicked will be destroyed, but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

In a little while, the wicked will disappear.  Though you look for them, they will be gone.

Those who are gentle and lowly will possess the land; they will live in prosperous security.

The wicked plot against the godly; they snarl at them in defiance. 

But the Lord just laughs, for he sees their day of judgment coming. 

I know it’s easy to look around and see the dramatic changes that define America today and ask yourself, “how did we ever get in this mess?”  Truth be told…there are as many opinions and answers to that question as there are people asking the question.  But let’s look at just one Biblical principle that can provide one answer on many levels.

Throughout the Bible when God’s chosen people (the Israelites) were in line with his will, he blessed them.  When they were not following His will for their lives, there was calamity in many forms: famines, floods, earthquakes, pestilence, wars etc.  There are two sets of scripture that specifically address the above situation. Romans 1:25, 28, 32: “ Instead  of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies…When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done.  They were fully aware of God’s death penalty for those who do these things, yet they go right ahead and do them anyway.”   And concerning his covenant with a nation, we are told in  Jeremiah 18: 9-10: “But if I announce that I will build up and plant a certain nation or kingdom, making it strong and great, but then the nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless that nation as I had said I would.” 

Do you get any clue from those scriptures concerning America’s standing in terms of fulfilling God’s purpose?  To me the scripture from Jeremiah could not be clearer.  America was founded on Judeo-Christian  principles.  Therefore the removal of prayer and the Ten Commandments from its public life would most certainly be out of line with God’s will.  Add to that the 55 million aborted babies since Roe vs Wade in 1973; our acceptance of sexual immorality as the new norm; and our tolerance for lying, cheating and stealing as “just the way it is today”, and it isn’t difficult to see why God would be grieved by our disobedience.   All one has to do is backtrack through the Bible and look at the history of nations that have ignored God’s Proclamation. That little excursion can give us ample reason to be concerned about the direction of our country.

But the good news can be found in  2Chronicles, 7:14: “then 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.”   James 2:10 also gives us reason to be hopeful: “If you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.”   In my mind our calling is clear.

1John 4:4 reminds all Christ-followers of our identity in Christ. “He (the Holy Spirit) that is in me is greater than he (satan) that is in this world.  When addressing the holy people in Ephesus who were struggling  with their culture,  Apostle Paul clearly points out satan’s activities in Ephesians 2:2, 4: “You used to live 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.  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…through Jesus Christ.”

As Christ-followers we are called to carry His message of truth into the world and to be his shining light in on the hill.  When we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us with his wisdom, strength, courage and patience, we can fulfill that calling and resist the enemy in these evil times.  His Word says He will bless our effort as we continue to stand up for the same freedom that was endowed by the Creator himself!  Therefore, if there was ever a time for intercessory prayer, it is now.  

I believe our role is to pray for revelation and enlightenment in the mind and hearts of those who want to steer us away from the Judeo-Christian principles on which our great country was founded.  I don’t believe the answer will  be found in a  Republican, Democrat, or Independent, but rather through the miracle of enlightenment and repentance.  My hope is that all Christ-followers will stand on that truth and answer His call, because in my opinion, our country needs to hear His Proclamation every bit as much today as Nineveh did a few thousand years ago…  and we all know what happened at Nineveh,  right?   I believe our great country  too can be transformed and restored to its former greatness.  Why?  Because “nothing is impossible with God!”  (Luke 1:37),  and because God  DID bless America.

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

May God bless you,  and Happy July 4^th, 2017!.

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

Every birth is a miracle, and every child is a gift from God.  But 2017 years ago, the miracle of miracles occurred. A baby was born through Immaculate Conception, and he was the Son of God (fulfilling the Old Testament prophecy found in Isaiah 7:14: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel.” (written 700 years B.C.).  Dr. Luke, as though he were the attending physician, provides the details of this blessed event, featuring a virgin mother, a divine Father, and a begotten Son who was destined to change the world forever.

Luke affirms Jesus as the Son of God, but his emphasis is on Jesus the Son of Man. He is writing to Theophilus  and to the Gentiles.  (Theophilus was probably a Roman officer or official who loved God, and most likely supported the early Church.)  As a doctor, Luke was a man of science; as a Greek, he was a man of detail.  In fact, he is the only Gentile author in the New Testament, authoring not only his Gospel, but also the Book of Acts. (Both writings are respected historical documents.)  Luke was a friend, traveling companion and personal physician of Apostle Paul. This unique position gave him ample opportunity to interview the disciples, to access other historical documents, and to be an eyewitness to the birth and growth of the early Church. Luke’s intent was to present an accurate account of Jesus’ life (including a glimpse of his middle years) and to present him as the perfect human and Savior.

Luke’s Gospel, like Matthew’s and Mark’s, is also divided into three sections. The first is BIRTH AND PREPARATION OF JESUS, THE SAVIOR. (1:1-4:13) As you read this, I encourage you to follow along in your own Bible.  This is only a structural outline, and is intended to peak your interest as I highlight the three sections by using selected Scriptures to accentuate each subsection.   1A:  “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, ‘Greetings, favored woman. The Lord is with you!’ Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  ‘Don’t be frightened, Mary, for God has decided to bless you! You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord will give him the throne of his ancestor David.  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!’ Mary asked the angel, ‘But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin.’ The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come over you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the baby born to you will be holy and he will be called the Son of God.  For nothing is impossible with God.”  Mary responded, ‘I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.” (1: 26-35; 37-38) Because it was time for the census, Joseph, a descendent of King David, and his pregnant wife, Mary, had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem in Judea.  “While they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.  She gave birth to her first child, a son, and she wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger because there was no room in the village inn. That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village guarding their flocks of sheep.  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them.  They were terribly frightened, but the angel reassured them.  ‘Don’t be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!  The Savior – yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!  And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!’ Suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of others – the armies of heaven – praising God: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.’ Then the shepherds ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph and the baby.  Then they told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.  All who heard this story were astonished.” (1:6-18)

1B: Jesus is Presented in the Temple:  According to Jewish tradition, eight days after the birth of a son, he is to be circumcised and dedicated to the Lord. “A prophet named Simeon was at the temple. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying: “Lord, now I can die in peace! As you promised me, I have seen the Savior you have given to all people.  He is a light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your people Israel!” (2:28-32)

1C: Jesus Speaks with the Teachers: When Jesus was twelve years old, his family attended the Passover festival as usual, and when the celebration was over, they returned home. But unbeknown to his parents, Jesus stayed behind.  When this was discovered, his family returned to Jerusalem to search for their boy. “Three days later they found him in the Temple, sitting among the religious teachers, discussing deep questions with them.  And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. His parents didn’t know what to think. ‘Son!’ his mother said to him. “Why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been frantic, searching for you everywhere.’ Jesus answered, ‘But why did you need to search? You should have known that I would be in my Father’s house.’ But they didn’t understand what he meant.” (2:46-50)

Second section: MESSAGE AND MINISTRY OF JESUS, THE SAVIOR (4:14-21:38) 2A: Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee:  “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.  He was teaching in their synagogues and everyone praised him.  However, Jesus returned to Nazareth where he had been brought up. On the Sabbath day he went into their synagogue, as was the custom.  He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.  The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (4:14-21)  After Jesus had chosen Levi (Matthew) to be one of his followers, “Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus knew their thoughts and answered them: ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  (5: 29-31)  When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases. Then he sent them out to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. He told them: ‘Take nothing for the journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, and no extra shirt.  Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.  If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”  (9:1-5)

2B  Jesus’ Ministry on the way to Jerusalem:  “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ ‘Martha, Martha’, the Lord replied, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed – or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (10:38-41) “Now tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’ Then Jesus told this parable: ‘Suppose a shepherd had a hundred sheep and lost one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it.  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.” I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” (15:1-7)

1C Jesus’ Ministry in Jerusalem:  As Jesus rode triumphantly into Jerusalem, through adoring crowds and their palm branches , “some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’  Jesus replied, ‘I tell you, if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.!” (19:39-40)  In order to trick Jesus, the religious leaders sent spies to question him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.  Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’ Jesus saw through their duplicity and said, ‘Show me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription are on it?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied.  He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s’ They were unable to trap him.  Astonished by his answer, they became silent” (20:20-26)

DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THE SAVIOR (22:1-24:53) Jesus was extremely anxious about the upcoming events.  He knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’  An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.  And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (22:41-44) Jesus was executed outside of Jerusalem on a hill called Skull, or Golgotha.  “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” as the soldiers divided up his clothes by casting lots. (23:33-34) After his crucifixion and buriel, Jesus appeared to his Disciples while they were in hiding.  “They were talking about what had happened when Jesus appeared among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’ They were startled and frightened, thinking they were seeing a ghost.  He said to them, ‘Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet.  It is I, myself!  Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”  At a later time when Jesus met with his disciples, he said to them, ‘This is what I told you while I was still with you.  Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.’ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.  He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  You are witnesses to these things.  I am going to send to you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. (the indwelling Holy Spirit)  Then he led them out to the vicinity of Bethany and lifted up his hands and blessed them.  While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven.” (24:36-51)

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)

We’re the champions!  We’re the greatest…the strongest…the prettiest! In our culture such daily proclamations boldly assert claims of supremacy. Everyone wants to be a winner; it’s definitely not cool to be a “looser”. But the fact is…such pompous claims are the exact opposite of Jesus’ teachings: “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.  For even I, the Son of Man, came not to be served, but to serve others and give my life as a ransom for many.” (10:43-45)

The Gospel of Mark was written by John Mark, a follower of Jesus Christ, and Apostle Peter’s scribe and right-hand man.  It was written to Christians in Rome (approximately 65-55 AD), and was intended to show Jesus as both a servant and the prophesied Messiah. And because Rome was a pagan city where many gods were worshiped, Mark boldly opened his Gospel by presenting the good news of Jesus, the Messiah.  The Son of God was not the son of just any god, but the God Jehovah!  Even though this is the shortest Gospel, it is action packed! Mark presented Jesus as an Evangelist on the move!  Much more than dwelling on what Jesus said,  Mark emphasized more what he did, such as casting out demons, healing the sick, and raising the dead. As you read this, I encourage you to follow along in your own Bible.  This is only a structural outline, and is intended to peak your interest as I highlight the three sections of Mark’s Gospel by using selected Scriptures to accentuate each subsection.

Mark’s Gospel is in three parts. The first is THE PREPARATION OF JESUS, THE SERVANT, (1:1-12) but omits the birth of Jesus and begins with John the Baptist preparing the way. He refers to the proclamation of Isaiah to substantiate this fulfillment of an Old Testament prophecy. 1A “Look, I am sending my messenger before you, and he will prepare your way. He is a voice shouting in the wilderness: ‘Prepare a pathway for the Lord’s coming! Make a straight road for him.”  (Isaiah 40:3, written 700 years before the birth of Jesus)  For the past 400 years the Jews had been praying for and looking for a God-sent Prophet – or maybe even the anticipated Messiah.  Could this be him?  1A   “The whole Judean countryside and people from Jerusalem went out to see and hear John.  When they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.  But he also announced: ‘Someone is coming who is far greater than I am – so much greater that I am not even worthy to be his slave.  I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”(1:5-8)

2A   After Jesus’ temptation in the desert, and “after John was arrested by Herod Antipas, Jesus went to Galilee to preach God’s Good News.  ‘At last the time has come! Turn from your sins and believe this Good News. (1:14-15) One day as Jesus was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he called out to four fishermen, ‘Come, be my disciples, and I will make you fishers of men. They left their nets and went with him.” (1:16-18)

THE MESSAGE AND MINISTRY OF JESUS, THE SERVANT (1:14-13:37) 1B Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee: “Jesus and his companions went to the town of Capernaum, and every Sabbath he went into the synagogue and taught the people.  They were amazed at his teaching, for he taught as one who had real authority – quite unlike the teachers of religious law. A man possessed by an evil spirit was in the synagogue, and began shouting, ‘Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One sent from God!’  Jesus cut him short, ‘Be silent! Come out of the man.’  At that, the evil spirit screamed and threw the man into a convulsion, but then left him.  Amazement gripped the audience, and they began to discuss what had happened.  ‘He has such authority. Even evil spirits obey him.’  The news of what he had done spread quickly through that entire area of Galilee.” (1:21-28)  “Jesus went into the synagogue again and noticed a man with a deformed hand.  Since it was the Sabbath, Jesus’ enemies watched him closely.  Would he heal the man’s hand on the Sabbath?  If he did, they planned to condemn him.  Jesus said to the man, ‘Come and stand in front of everyone.’ Then he turned to his critics and asked, ‘Is it legal to do good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing harm? Is this a day to save a life or destroy it?’  But they wouldn’t answer him.  He looked around at them angrily, because he was deeply disturbed by their hard hearts.  Then he said to the man, ‘Reach out your hand.’ The man reached out his hand and immediately it became normal again.  At once the Pharisees went away and met with the supporters of Herod to discuss plans for killing Jesus.” (3:1-6) “A leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jarius, came and fell down before him (Jesus), pleading with him to heal his little daughter, ‘She is about to die,’ he said in desperation.  ‘Please come and place your hands on her; heal her so she can live.’ But messengers from Jarius’s home arrived; ‘Your daughter is dead.  There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.’ But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jarius, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.’ When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw commotion and weeping and wailing.  He went inside and spoke to the people: ‘Why all this weeping and commotion? The child isn’t dead; she is only asleep.’ The crowd laughed at him, but he told them all to go outside.  Then he took the father and mother and his three disciples and went into the room where the girl was lying.  Holding her hand, he said, ‘Get up, little girl!’ Immediately the girl, who was twelve years old, stood up and walked around.  Everyone was overwhelmed.” (5:21-23, 35-36, 38-42)

2B  Jesus’ teaching outside Galilee:  When Jesus left Galilee, he went into the region of Phoenicia to the large towns of Tyre and Sidon.  By this time Jesus’ teaching was beginning to arouse the interest of the Gentiles, and a large crowd of 4000 followed him out to a remote area where he ministered to them for three days. Since they were out of food, Jesus called his disciples and said, “I have compassion for these people… If I send them away hungry, some will collapse on the way, because they have not eaten.’  His disciples answered, ‘But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them?’ ‘How many loves do we have’, Jesus asked?  ‘Seven’, they replied. He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.  When he had taken the seven loves and given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people, and they did so. They had a few small fish as well; he gave thanks for them also and told the disciples to distribute them. The people ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketsful of broken pieces that were left over.”  (8:1-8) That Jesus would compassionately minister to non-Jews was very reassuring to Mark’s primary Roman audience.   “Six day later, Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone.  There he was transfigured before their very eyes.  His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.  And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice from the cloud proclaimed: ‘This is my Son, whom I love.  Listen to him!”   (9:1-4, 7)   Peter, James and John, because they were Jesus’ closest apostles, were allowed to see him in his Glory; to witness his Divine nature, which was affirmed by the voice of God. (Notice God’s last directive: “Listen to him!”, again exalting Jesus)   “When in Jericho, Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city when a man alongside the road cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.  Jesus stopped and asked, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’  The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see.’ ‘Go’, Jesus said, ‘your faith has healed you.’  Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.” (10:46-48, 51-52)

3B Jesus Ministry in Jerusalem: “As they approached Jerusalem and came to the Mount of Olives, Jesus called two disciples, saying to them: “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden.  Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, ‘why are you doing this’, say ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here shortly.”  Jesus mounted the colt and rode triumphantly into Jerusalem while crowds shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” (11:1-3,9-10)  The next day Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling.  He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.  He said, ‘Is it not written that My House will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of thieves.” (11:15-16) Jesus warns his followers of future persecution: “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say.  Just say whatever will be given to you at that time because it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit speaking for you.”  (13:11) Jesus tells about his return: “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  And he will send his angels to gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth and to the ends of the heavens. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (13:26-27, 31)

DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THE SERVANT (14-1-16:20)   Here is an interesting verse for you to ponder.  It appears only in this Gospel and can be found after the scene in the Garden when Jesus is betrayed by Judas and taken away. 14: 51: “A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus.  When they seized him, he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.”  “It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.  The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two rebels with him.  Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘So, you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days; come down from the cross and save yourself.’  In the same way the Pharisees and chief priests mocked him among themselves.  ‘Let the Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross that we may see and believe.’  Those who crucified him also heaped insults on him.” (15:25-32) “Some women were watching from a distance.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and Joseph, and Salome.” (15:40-41) These women followed Jesus and helped support his ministry and cared for his needs.

The earliest manuscript of Mark ends at 16:8.  Later manuscripts include vs. 9-20. Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene, and appeared (in a different form) to two men who were walking.  He also appeared to his disciples,  and he gave The Great Commission before he ascended into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of God.  (These will be covered in more detail in the Gospels of Luke and John)

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…when we left off last week, we had just completed 2C of the second section of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ Message and His Ministry.  If you have not read Part 1, I would encourage you to do so, especially for the history pertaining to the Gospel itself.  In Pt. 2, I will let the Scriptures speak for themselves, with a minimum of editorial comment from me.  🙂

2D. Jesus Encounters Differing Reactions to His Ministry.  13:54-58 tells us:  “Jesus returned to Nazareth, his hometown.  When he taught in the synagogue, everyone was astonished and said, ‘where does he get his wisdom and his miracles? He’s just a carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers – James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.  All his sisters live right here among us.  So what makes him so great?’  And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, ‘A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”   16:13-19 tells us:  “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, ‘’Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ ‘Well’, they replied, ‘some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.’ Then He asked them, ‘Who do you say I am?’  Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.  You did not learn this from any human being.  Now upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it.  And I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven.  Whatever you lock on earth will be locked in heaven, and whatever you open on earth will be opened in heaven.” (The rock on which the church is built is the revelation of who Jesus is; the Messiah, the Son of God.)

2E Jesus Faces Conflict With the Religious Leaders.  23:1-5,13-16, 25-26:  “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures.  So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example, for they don’t practice what they teach.  They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden. (The Pharisees had added an additional 600 rules and regulations to God’s 10 Commandments to “help the people” live according to God’s Law.) ‘How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites! For you won’t let others enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and you won’t go in yourselves.  Yes, how terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn him into twice the son of hell as you yourselves are.  Blind guides!  How terrible it will be for you. How terrible it will be for you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees.  Hypocrites!  You are careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy – full of greed and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisees!  First wash the inside of the cup, and then the outside will become clean too.”  (The “teachers of religious law” were Scribes, students so to speak, of the rabbi). Note:  Jesus did not subscribe to “political correctness”. 🙂

2F Jesus Teaches on the Mount of Olives, Revealing the End Times and His Second Coming.  24:4-8, 10-13, 21-25: “Jesus told them, ‘Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name saying “I am the Messiah.” ‘They will lead many astray; wars will break out near and far, but don’t panic.  Yes, these things must come, but the end won’t follow immediately.  The nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other and there will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world, but all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come. Many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.  And many false prophets will appear and lead many astray. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.  But those who endure to the end will be saved. For that will be a time of greater horror than anything the world has ever seen, or will ever see again.  In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, the entire human race will be destroyed.  But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones” (Chosen ones = in Christ)

The third section of Matthew tells about The Death and Resurrection of Jesus (26:1-28:20)

3A  26:1-5: “…Jesus said to his disciples, ‘As you know, the Passover celebration begins in two days, and I, the Son of Man, will be betrayed and crucified’. At that same time the leading priests and other leaders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, to discuss how to capture Jesus secretly and put him to death. ‘But not during the Passover’, they agreed, ‘or there will be a riot.”

3B  Last  Supper: 26-27: “As they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God’s blessing on it.  Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples saying, “Take it and eat it, for this is my body.’ Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it.  He gave it to them and said, ‘Each of you drink from it for this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people.  It is poured out to forgive the sins of many.”

3C   Jesus Agonizes in the Garden  26:38-39: …’My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. My Father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will, not mine.”

BD   Jesus Before Caiaphas  26:63-64: “Then the high priest said to him, ‘I demand in the name of the living God that you tell us whether you are the Messiah, the Son of God.’  Jesus replied, ‘Yes, it is as you say.”

3E Jesus is Transferred to Pilate, Roman governor:  27:11, 26: “…Are you the King of the Jews?’ the governor asked.  Jesus replied, ‘Yes, it is as you say”. Pilate ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify.’

3F Jesus Died on the Cross:  27.50-54: “Then Jesus shouted out again (It is Finished!). At that moment the curtain in the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom; the earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened.  The bodies of many godly men and women who had died were raised from the dead after Jesus’ resurrection.  They left the cemetery, then went into the Holy City and appeared to many people.  (The last two sentences will be a future blog topic)

3G Jesus is Buried  27:57-60  “As evening approached, Joseph, a rich man from Arimathea, who was one of Jesus’ (secret) followers (and also a Jewish leader), went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.  Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a long linen cloth and placed it in his own new tomb.  Then he rolled a stone across the entrance as he left.”  (Roman soldiers guarded the tomb)

3H  The Resurrection of Jesus Christ  28:1,5,6  “Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (not Jesus mother; perhaps the wife of Clopas, or the mother of James and John)  went out to see the tomb. An angel spoke to the women.  ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said.  ‘I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He isn’t here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said he would. Come see where his body was lying.         

3I The Great Commission 28:18-20 “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth.  Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

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May God Bless Ya…

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