Good morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Here’s hoping you had a grrrrreat Christmas season and a joyous and hopeful New Year celebration.  We certainly did.  This was the first Christmas day that Pam and I have been free since we’ve been married (we celebrated Christmas Eve with a wonderful service at Grace Church St. Louis, then with family), so on Christmas day we headed to Kansas City to watch the Chiefs play the Patriots…then we took in Monday night football there as well.  We were home for three days, then we spent New Year’s Eve and day at Lake Ozark with dear friends, so this was a very festive, hopeful, and joyous holiday season for us.

But today is the beginning of a New Year, and what I hope and anticipate will be the beginning of a new era as well, so we are on page one of a “new beginning”.  This is the time when we make our New Year’s resolutions and decide how we are going to improve our life and live it to the fullest!  Unfortunately, the success rate of this undertaking is not particularly positive.  The statistics I looked up tells us that by January 15^th, 73% are still committed to the resolutions;  but by January 22^nd, 51%; by January 29^th, 26%, and by February 15^th, only 8% are still committed. So what does that tell us about us?  Does it tell us that when the going gets rough, we “get going”… or do we “keep going”?

You might be asking yourself, “What does this have to do with the title of this posting?”  And I would reply, “Everything.”  It is a statistically proven picture of human nature.  We start off wanting “something” to improve our lives (and according to the same source, the top five are; 1.to Lose weight 2. Get organized   3. Spend less (save more)   4. Take time to “smell the roses”   5. Stay fit and healthy), but once we realize we have to be engaged in the process to reap the benefits, history has proven that most people aren’t willing to do what it takes!

If you think that’s an exaggeration, look at the first example of taking a short-cut (falling for a lie to get the prize): Eve in the Garden of Eden.  “You won’t die!” the serpent  hissed.  “God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it.  You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil” The woman was convinced.  The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise.”  (Genesis 3:4-6)  And what was the lie? “You will become just like God”.  In other words, YOU can become your own God.  That same lie is as irresistible today as it was in the Garden.

Most people are willing to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior because they want the “fire insurance”. And who can blame them for that; it certainly beats the alternative, right?  But what about Jesus Christ as “Lord” of your life.  Wow! That ‘s a whole different matter, isn’t it?

David sums-up this idea of Lordship in the first two verses of Psalm 2.  “Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.  I said to the Lord, ‘You are my Master!  All good things I have are from you.”  In other words, for Jesus to be Lord of your life, he has to be Number One; your Master; your All!

Most people find that terribly frightening.  Their first thought is, “What about ME?”  I can’t give up control; I have my own plans and goals; and I love to have fun, and I’m sure that following Jesus can’t be that much fun.  In fact…I know I can’t do it!!  Well, truth be told, your first three excuses are totally erroneous.  But your last thought…well, that is totally true.  But the realization of that truth is the doorway to the “abundant” life Jesus promised us. Do you remember Jesus answer to Jarius after the servants had come to tell him his daughter had died?  Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid.  Just trust me.” (Luke 8:50)  That’s still his answer to all Christ-followers today.

We occasionally entertain idea of changing our life. But according to Neil Anderson, one of my favorite Christian authors, “you can’t experience a changed life until you have experienced an “exchanged life”.  So what does that mean?  It means that Jesus came to sacrifice his life for us so that he can live his life through us.  That’s the whole concept of “rebirth.”  That’s what it means in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when it says, “We are a new creation (in Christ). The old has gone (our sin nature); the new has come (the indwelling Holy Spirit.)  And that’s what Jesus meant in John 15:5 when he said, “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.”

Human error has always aligned with the belief that “my way is the best way.  No one knows me better than me; therefore, who better than me to accomplish my purpose.”  Unfortunately, to live independent of God while trying to find meaning and purpose in this life inevitably produces feelings of inferiority, insecurity, inadequacy, guilt, worry, doubt and shame.  These feelings lead us down a path characterized by various forms of idolatry, immorality, jealousy, strife, outbursts of anger, hatred, lying, cheating, stealing, drunkenness, carousing and addiction.  If you’re in doubt, just remember that God let man have charge of his own destiny regarding the issue of “SIN” (living with the focus on “self” rather than on God) from Creation until 2016 years ago.  And how did Man fare?  Romans 5:6 reveals our pathetic state: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time, and died for us sinners.”  And what was “just the right time”?  “When we were utterly helpless.” 

When man proved without a shadow of a doubt his inability to overcome the dilemma of sin, God implemented his plan that was in place “even before the world was created.” (Ephesians 1:4)  And that plan is definitively outlined  in Romans 3:25: “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.”

God’s” Gift of Grace” to us is not only forgiveness of sin and eternal life -, which certainly seals our eternal destiny – but it also includes the indwelling Holy Spirit which allows us to become the person God created us to be right here, right now.  That is the part of the exchanged life that empowers us to overcome our flesh, this fallen world in which we live, and the powerful schemes of the devil, so that we can now bring honor and glory to God by our choices.

Prior to rebirth we were slaves to our sin nature, meaning we lived to serve our self rather than God. (Coincidently, that same nature is what our culture refers to as “human nature.”)  I’ll let Apostle Paul contrast our sin-nature (human nature) to our new Spirit after rebirth (the indwelling Holy Spirit).  This is found in Galatians 5:16-23.  “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.”

What I have written about today in the answer to achieving the abundant life Jesus promised, a life that is characterized by joy, contentment, fulfillment, kindness, goodness, peace and serenity.  It is what everyone is searching for, but as the song goes…”we were searching for “this” in all the wrong places.”   Next week I will write about the process for achieving this incredibly wonderful life.  Simply put, it is about being in a process and staying in the process until you begin living and walking in the spirit.  The blessings that come from that way of life are far beyond our dreams and expectations.  To quote from Neil Anderson’s, “Victory Over  the Darkness”, “Being filled and led by the Spirit may take you places you never planned to go, but the will of God will never take you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”  We can all take solace in that.

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

I wish y’all a very happy, prosperous and joyful New Year!

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers: Since it is December 24th , it seems only appropriate to turn our attention to the Christmas story…but not the story about Santa Claus, or the latest gadget developed by Apple, or the sale “to end all sales” at your favorite store, and not even the story about the opening of the latest version of “Star Wars”.  No!  This is the Christmas story that demonstrates God’s unconditional, unending, and unfailing love for us.  It is a story that had it beginning even before the world was created, as stated in Ephesians 1:4, 9. “Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God’s plan (for mankind) centered on Christ, and was designed long ago according to his good pleasure.”  But even before Christ entered the picture, God’s plan began to unfold.

God knew at the outset (at Creation) that giving his “proudest creation” (us) “free- will” would be a double edged sword, because we could use it for unintended purposes. But He gave us “free-will” anyhow, because more than anything else, he wanted us to love him back by entering into a “relationship” with him.  Since He is the author of “love” and “relationships” (ie. the unconditional, unending, unfailing love that exists in the Trinity), he knew that a “relationship” can only exist when two people “choose” to enter into such a bond. And  as God’s world continued to reveal itself, we can certainly see the abuse of “free-will” and the unintended consequences as forthrightly expressed 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, out-bursts of anger, selfish ambition, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other kinds of sin.”  Do you see any of this in the world around you?

And Apostle Paul was absolutely right, because that was the state of Man when God chose to step in and do for us what we had proven from Creation to two-thousand years ago we could not do for ourselves.  And to clarify the stumbling block…we could not triumph over our sin-nature.  Romans 5:6 summed up our pathetic state: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”  We can only assume that “just the right time” was when we reached, not only the state of being helpless, but being utterly helpless.  Clearly, we were knee-deep in a quagmire of our own making!

The implementation of God’s plan – His solution for our problem  – began two-thousand years ago in a little town called Bethlehem in a dirty stable.  It certainly doesn’t sound like the perfect setting for the greatest event in human history, but that’s the way God works.  He “mocks the proud but exalts the humble” (Proverbs 3:34), and this was certainly a humble beginning.  The Jews had been looking for, and expecting, a “Savior” to set them free from the oppression of the Roman Empire, but never would they have thought to look in a stable for their Messiah.

So in keeping with the “mocking the proud, exalting the humble” theme, His choice for the honor of delivering the King, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, the Son of God was not the Royal family, but rather an unknown peasant teenage girl named Mary. This is recorded in the Gospel of Luke, 1:26-38.  “The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Greetings, favored woman.  The Lord is with you.  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 God 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 upon 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.”  

This was the humble beginning of God’s unfathomable plan, conceived before the world was created, and set in motion two-thousand years ago to bring Mankind to himself through Jesus Christ.  Jesus lived among us for thirty-three years, modeling the Word of God and fulfilling the purposes for which he came: “to call sinners to repentance” (Mark 2:17); “to seek and save the lost” (Luke 19-10); “to destroy the works of the Devil” (1John 3:8); “and to give my life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

“This is real love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1John 4:10)  Remember, God created us for a relationship; not just a here and now relationship, but for an eternal relationship.  But here is the rub.  We cannot come into the presence of God if we are stained with sin.  1 Peter 1;16 tell us, “You must be holy (set aside for sacred use; free of sin) because I am holy.”  Jesus provided the solution to this dilemma when he stated, “I am the way, the truth and life. No one comes to the father except through me.” (John 14:6)  Therefore, we rejoice in the truth of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life.” 

Now that we have come to believe the truth of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin, and have accepted him as our Lord and Savior, we are grafted into God’s family.  Now we are in Christ, and have assumed a new identity.  We are holy because our sin is forgiven; we have inherited eternal life; we are worthy and acceptable in God’s eyes; we are the righteousness of Christ, not because of anything we did, but because of what He did for us; we are heir to all the Spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm; and we are heir to all the promises in the Bible.

1Peter 2:9-10 tells us, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.  Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”   God spoke to his chosen people in Deuteronomy 7:6-8: “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God.  The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession…the Lord set His Love on you and chose you, because the Lord loves you…   That scripture applies to us today because we are in Christ.   Today, we are his chosen people because we are covered with the blood of Jesus!

Thank you, God, for you beautiful plan to save us from our self-will.  Thank you, Jesus, for taking on the lowly role of humanity that, through your sacrifice, we can look forward to eternity with you, God, and all other Christ-followers.  This IS the reason for the season, and Jesus IS the greatest Christmas gift we could ever  receive.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2016 TO ONE AND ALL!  Please feel free to “like” and share this posting with other social media friends.  Next posting will be 1/2/2017

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…First, I want to apologize for missing last week.  I had intended to give notice that I would be off schedule because of  the incredible opportunity to once again (for the 24^th year) conduct  the Saint Louis Symphony Holiday Brass Concert for the IWBC.  We had two concerts last Monday and two on Tuesday, with a rehearsal last Sunday evening. I was totally booked-up the week before that event, and I also knew my time was again limited this past week.  But I still intended to give notice to that effect.  But, as sometimes happens, intending to do it never got it done.  Sorry about that, but I’m happy to say, I’m back in my regular groove.

Earlier this morning I was asking the Holy Spirit for guidance concerning today’s blog, and I was prompted to look at 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; it is a plan centered on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure.  And this is his plan; At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.”    What a perfect set-up for why we celebrate the Christmas season.

Think about this.  Long ago, even before he created the world – and man, God had a secret plan, and that plan was centered on Jesus Christ.  So why do you think God needed a secret plan even before he created the world and man?  I think the answer to that question is an incredible testimony to His omniscience.  God created us for a relationship, therefore he knew that he had to give us free-will so we could choose to enter into that relationship.  After all…that is the very essence of a relationship; two people choosing to enter into a union that is rooted in mutual love and respect.  But because God is all-knowing and can see into the future, he knew that man would use his free-will for a purpose other than for which it was intended.  You see…God knew that evil was also in the Garden and that the first two inhabitants would not be able to resist his deceit.

Pssssst, hissed the serpent.  “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?’       ‘Of course we may eat it’, the woman said. ‘It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat.  God says we must not eat it, or even touch it, or we will die.’  ‘You won’t die’, the serpent  hissed. ‘God knows that your eyes will e opened when you eat it.  You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil.  The woman was convinced.  The fruit looked so fresh and delicious, and it would make her so wise.”  (Genesis 3:1-6) That is the same deception satan uses today to lure man away from God; “you can be your own god”, and notice how he always “wraps it” in a most enticing way.  (So what is the “tree of the knowledge and good and evil” today that man thinks “will make him soooo wise?”  I would like to suggest it is exalting the teachings of man over the truth of God’s Word.)

From the Garden of Eden until 2016 years ago, God let Man reign over his own destiny when it came to dealing with the issue of SIN.  Romans 1:18-25,28-30,32  tells us how man was faring: “But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves.  For the truth about God is known to them instinctively.  God has put the knowledge in their hearts.  From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made.  They can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature.  So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God.

Yes they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks.  And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused.  Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead.  And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes.  So God let them go ahead and do whatever shameful things their hearts desired.  As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.  Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies.  So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen!

When they refused to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their evil minds and let them do things that should never be done. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior and gossip.  They were backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud and boastful.  They were forever inventing new ways of sinning…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 worse yet, they encourage others to do them too”

Remember, God created us for a relationship…not  just a here-and-now relationship, but for an eternal relationship.  His intent was (is) for Man to join him, Jesus, and all Christ-followers in Paradise forever.  However, God saw, (is seeing), what SIN has done (is doing) to his Creation.  Without a doubt, SIN spreads, contaminates, kills and destroys. (If you doubt that, just look around.  Does this look like Paradise to you??) Therefore, no sin is going to enter the new Paradise that we, as Christ-followers, are promised.  We have to be Holy (sin free, set aside for a sacred purpose) to enter into the presence of God. (1Peter 1:16)  Since man has proven himself incapable of being sin-free from Creation until now, how is that going to happen?

Well…because God is loving, merciful and full of grace, his plan, even before the world (and man) was created, was to give us  His Gift of Grace.  Notice in Ephesians 1:10 it tells us that “at the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ.”  Romans 5:6 tells us about “the right time”: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”  You see, God’s plan was always to do for us what he knew we would never be able to do for ourselves; overcome the issue of SIN. Instead of overcoming the issue, we, through our own effort, became “utterly helpless.”

Roman’s 3: 21-25 tells us the truth about his Gift of Grace.  “But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight – not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the 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.” 

The reason for this wonderful Holiday season is to celebrate God’s Gift of Grace.  Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb so that we, who are covered with his blood, can look forward to eternity in Paradise with God, Jesus and all other Christ-followers.  Notice that Ephesians 1: 4 it tells us that we are holy and without fault in his sight because we are in Christ.  That is the only Christmas present that really counts, and is also why we can’t take Christ out of Christmas. He IS the reason for the season.

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

May God Bless Ya…and Merry Christmas!

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I don’t think there is any doubt that all of us breathed a sigh of relief when the most contentious election in modern-day history was finally over.  Some of us are happy with the results; some of us are shocked and dismayed with the results.  But I think what has been a surprise to almost all of us is how the energized emotions of anger, frustration and downright hatred have manifested themselves in the weeks after the election.  Unfortunately I don’t look for a quick end to this emotional rampage, because for months, volatile, ugly, and hateful rhetoric numbed in some cases, and turbocharged in other cases, our sensibilities.

But I think that as Christ-followers we have an important role to play at this time.  If we claim the title, Christ-follower or Christian, we are called to rise above the circumstances around us and to be a true representative of what our title designates.  Colossians 3:17 sums this up beautifully: “And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.”  And Jesus himself drove this point home when he told his Disciples, “Love one another, just as I have loved you.  Your love for each other will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

I know that to read this sounds rather Pollyannaish. I mean with all the frayed nerve endings, many of us are just looking for an opportunity to unload our own “righteous indignation” on someone in a big way.  After all, they deserve it!  But that’s not what we are called to do.  The Shepherd of our flock set the bar VERY high when he told us to “love our neighbor as our self” (Matthew 19:19), and “to make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3: 13)

Let us not forget, God has never been shy about setting standards that are beyond our capabilities.  He demonstrated that on Mt. Sinai when he revealed the Ten Commandments; Jesus did the same thing in his famous “Sermon on the Mount”; and Apostle Paul did the same thing when he defined Agape Love in 1Corinthians 13:4-7. “Why”, you might ask, “would God do that?”  Well… the answer is simple – to bring us face to face with our own insufficiency.  He wants us to turn to him in our time of need.  The sooner we learn that truth, the easier it is to get on with the process of becoming more Christ-like. And make no mistake, it is a process, and it does require our participation!

The Bible is resplendent with examples of forgiveness, mercy and grace.  Just for clarity sake, let me define “mercy”: not giving someone what they deserve (Jesus and the thief on the cross); now I’ll define “grace”: giving someone something they don’t deserve (God giving us the Gift of Grace while we were still sinners). Sometimes we are totally perplexed by these happenings and we spend way too much time trying to fit them into “our” paradigm of thinking.  God knew that we would sometimes struggle with the “why” of his decision making, and for that reason he spoke through the Prophet Isaiah and said, “My ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts.  As high as the heavens are above the earth, as far as the east is from the west, my ways are not your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55: 8)  And again in Psalm 46:10, He said: “Just be still and know that I am God.” I believe He is telling us not to sit around trying to figure him out, because we will never be able to do it with our limited finite thinking.

These verses should be a bastion of hope.  “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” (Psalm 118:1): “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering (patient), and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands…” (Exodus 34:6,7): “The Lord longs to be gracious to you; and therefore He will rise up to show you compassion.” (Isaiah 30:18): “Who is God like You, who pardons sin…You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.” (Micah 7:18): “Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sin.” (Ephesians 2:4): and “Let us approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

These verses tell us about God, who he is and how much he loves us.  And because we are in Christ, we are called to become more Christ-like, therefore exuding the same character.  “Imitate God in everything you do, because you are His dear children.  Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ…” (Ephesians 5:1)

While many others are turning to social media to spew forth their venom, we, as Christ-followers, are called to a different standard. Words can be incendiary.  James talks about this in Chapter 3:6,8: “The tongue is a fire…it can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself…it is an uncontrollable evil, full of deadly poison.”  Proverbs 17:28 speaks to the same issue: “Even fools are thought to be wise when they…keep their mouths shut!” I don’t think anyone can dispute the damage the ugly rhetoric has caused, so perhaps our most meaningful message right now is to say nothing.

So the question becomes…how do we do that?  No doubt we have to decide on our course of action before we are in the midst of a confrontation.  But as Christ-followers, we have been given an incredible gift as part of our salvation plan that allows rise to our calling.  God knows we are only dust, and he also knows that of our own volition we have a track record of yielding to temptation.  (Remember, He gave us from Creation until 2016 years ago to deal with mankind’s dilemma with SIN, and Romans 5:6 is the definitive report on how we fared: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners!”  And what was just the right time?  When we were utterly helpless!  Yikes!  That’s quite an indictment.

Therefore, God did for us what we proved without a doubt we were incapable of doing for ourselves. He gave us his Gift of Grace to eradicate the sin issue once and for all so that we might partake of eternal life with Him, Jesus and all Christ-followers in Paradise.  Yea!  That solidified our eternal destiny. But what about those of us who will still live another thirty, forty, or even fifty years in this fallen world?

Well, God’s perfect salvation plan also provided for this situation.  To enable us to live successfully in this dark world, he provided the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower us to become the person he created us to be and to bring honor and glory to him through our choices.  That’s why Ephesians 2:10 refers to us as God’s masterpiece “because he has created us anew in Christ so that we can NOW do the good things planned for us long ago.”

That’s why we can be called to love those who seem to us to be unlovable; or asked to forgive those who seem to us to be unforgiveable.  NO…we can’t do it ourselves.  But we can ask the Holy Spirit to empower us with wisdom, insight, or eyes to see this person the way God sees them.  When we do this, we’re admitting our dependence on Him, and we’re getting out of his way so that his will may be accomplished through us.  That’s how we let Jesus’ light shine brightly in this dark world, and that’s how we become His Kingdom’s ambassadors during these crazy times.  We get out of the way and let the Holy Spirit work through us.  The more we do this, the more Christ-like we become, and the more we fulfill the Scripture found in James 4:10: “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.”

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)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Wow!  Wow!  Wow!  I’m still reeling and filled with joy as a result of last week’s election victory.  According to the statistics I reviewed, in 2012 when Romney ran against Obama, twenty-four million (24,000,000 for the visual impact) Evangelicals decided to sit- out that election because they didn’t like the candidate.   This time around, 81% (I also saw 85% and 86%, but just taking the smallest number), Evangelicals increased the voting power by 19,440,000.  Don’t ever think we have a voice that doesn’t count or can’t be heard!

I want to thank Franklin Graham for his nation-wide tour to make Christians aware of the importance of voting in this election.  Then I want to thank Kirk Cameron for his outstanding effort in “Revive Us”, a live Revival in Chicago that was telecast to one thousand theaters across the nation, with two encore performances.  This also centered on the importance of the election.  Then I want to thank Dr. Ben Carson for his tireless effort through “My Faith Votes” and their live-stream broadcast, also calling on Christians to make their pilgrimage to the ballot box. And at the local level I want to thank all the churches – thousands of them – that provided intercessory prayer for our country.  I know Grace Church-St. Louis participated in that endeavor, and I had the privilege of being part of those Spirit-filled events.

And what resulted from that effort was the truth found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 coming to life right before our very eyes:¹⁴ “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will heal their land.”  We, His people, did humble ourselves and pray, and we did seek his intervention in this election.  And God showed his faithfulness by showing up and fulfilling his promise to us.  Now we have the opportunity to begin healing our land.  And make no mistake about this reality, my Friends; the election is over, but the battle is just beginning.

Throughout the Old Testament there is a constant restatement of the same theme.  Israel has fallen from God’s favor, and He is angry with them.  They have drifted away from his law and are bowing down to false idols and participating in pagan revelry. God speaks to them through a Prophet and tells them quite graphically what they can expect if they don’t return to him; wars, bondage, pestilence, floods, droughts, famine, and plagues. Yet…if His chosen people will repent and turn from their wicked ways, he promises to forgive their sins and to bless them abundantly.  That is the loving, merciful, and grace-filled God we serve, and that same offer is still on the table for our country today.  We are to learn from the stories in the Old Testament and apply those truths to our circumstances.

I would hope our first endeavor would be to impact our culture in a positive way, because I don’t think any of us would deny that our culture is morally and spiritually bankrupt.  I am going to provide two links that highlight that statement and emphasizes our challenge.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/1586071ca0662552 (you may need to copy this to your browser)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyYBtqj7Yks

One reason our culture is in the shape it is in is because of efforts of the ACLU to assault the very foundation of Christianity, as so clearly stated in the first link above.  Besides what you saw in that link, they never miss a chance to confiscate Bibles (from the military or from hotel rooms), or to call for the removal of religious symbols (crosses from national cemeteries) or Christmas decorations from public squares.

The second link reveals the negative impact of rap music on our culture when every other word is F*** this or that, and when the words demean women and glorify violence and the killing of cops. This clip is at a Hillary rally in Cleveland, Ohio.  The hypocrisy of the Liberal Progressive Agenda is nothing short of mind-boggling!  (Sorry…I couldn’t help myself.  🙂

But, I don’t want to drift too far from the original intent of today’s blog, which is basking in the glory of the election result.  Therefore, I’ll move back to the power of the voice that had such a tremendous impact on the election.  A lady at church said to me yesterday, “I think God is giving our country a second chance”, and I certainly agreed with her.  No doubt our country has not yet repented for drifting away from God’s will, but now that the voice of God-fearing Christians has been heard, I am praying that we boldly keep it resounding against the likes of the efforts above.  I believe we (the Church) have to be even more committed to promoting the glory of Christianity then the opposition is to demeaning our belief.

I can foresee in the near future the end of political correctness and the desire to once again stand on truth.  I think history has shown us that whenever God’s Word and His principles are compromised, there is social chaos.  No doubt we are witnessing that effect right now, but very soon we will have the opportunity to point our country in a new direction.  I believe the voice of the Christian community can be instrumental in shaping that new direction IF we don’t become complacent and recede into what had become our comfort zone.  To that end I would suggest that we keep praying for wisdom, strength and courage!  A new era is awaiting our input.

I would like to close with this thought-provoking quote for your personal meditation.

“On 9/11 people were asking, ‘Where was God?’” “Where was God?” I said, surprised by the question. “We drove Him out of our schools, out of our government, out of our media, out of our culture, out of our public square. We drove Him out of our national life, and then we ask, ‘Where is God?
― Jonathan Cahn, The Harbinger: The ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future

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

May God bless Ya…

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

November 9th, 2016, 1:35 a.m.

To My Fellow Americans:

I want to give a shout out to “all of those who are called by His name”...Thank You!  You faithfully did your job; He faithfully did his job.

The darkness has been swallowed up by the Light.  Let us rejoice and be glad that America is once again” the land of the free, and the home of the brave.”

Thank you, God.

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

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Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…but even more importantly, Good Morning, My Fellow Americans:

We have the privilege and responsibility to participate in what will undoubtedly be the most important event in modern-day history.  That is not hyperbola…that is a fact.  Tomorrow’s election promises to change the direction of our country in a most dramatic way.  One result will take us down the road to full-blown socialism and a continuation of the failed policies that have defamed and disgraced our great country; the other offers hope for the restoration of the “Land of the Free, the Home of the Brave!”  YOU have the right to voice your opinion concerning the outcome, and don’t think for a moment that every vote doesn’t count.  According to the statistics that are available now, in the last election, 25 million Evangelicals sit it out because they didn’t like the candidate.  That election was won by 5 million votes.  Just do the math!  Our country will not survive a repeat of that error.

Unfortunately, the media has kept this political race a personality contest. And since neither candidate seems like the person you would invite over to meet your children, it is easy to conclude that neither candidate is Presidential material.  But that’s what the media wants us to believe.  They have kept the issues that are plaguing our country in the background because the candidate and agenda they are biasly supporting doesn’t have a track record of success.  Therefore their intent has been to numb us (“we the People”) down to the point that we JUST WANT IT TO BE OVER!  I DON’T EVEN CARE WHO WINS…JUST MAKE IT STOP!  If that intent has been successful, then “we the People” and our country lose, and an insidious agenda wins.  My suggestion: vote the platform, not the personality.

I want to list below sixteen categories of concern for conservative voters, and each Presidential candidate’s stance on each issue.  But before I jump into that, I want to take a moment and review how the policies, both political as well as moral and ethical, have led to our country’s current malaise.

The current administration, from its inception, has been wrapped in a cloak of lying, cheating and stealing. And when that lack of honor and integrity exists at the highest levels, it trickles down and throughout the culture the same despicable way a cancer spreads.  Before long the moral fabric of the victim, just like the physical body of the victim, is ravaged.

The policies of this administration have been cloaked in lies, and they have been sold to us as “being in the best interest of everyone?” – for example, Obamacare, Common Core, and the Iran Nuclear Deal. This administration has turned the justice department into a non-justice department, consequently the higher crime rates, the current drug epidemic, destruction of private property, the influx of illegal aliens, and most recently… the lack of equal application of justice in the face of criminal activity. This administration has used the IRS as a hammer against those who speak out or support policies that are contrary to the current agenda, for instance the targeting of conservative groups, or Dinesh D’Souza.  This administration has chip, chip, chipped away at the fundamental principles that have been the foundation of our great country, such as the Constitution; Judeo/Christian beliefs; the traditional family structure, and the “sanctity of life”.  This is wrapped in a Liberal Progressive Agenda to weaken our current society and begin restructuring it according to a new blueprint called socialism.  This administration’s foreign policy – or lack of it – has put our country at risk in the face of a nuclear North Korea and a rogue Iran.  While we used to be that shining light on the hill with a capacity to promote peace through strength, we have become “a puppy with its tail between its legs”. Our allies don’t trust us anymore, and our enemies don’t fear us anymore.  What a slap in the face to all  who have fought and died for our freedom!

This is by no means a complete list of the current administration’s shortcomings, but it highlights enough that is objectionable to most conservatives that hopefully you will feel compelled to do what you can tomorrow to restore our country to its former greatness. Please, please, please, I implore you… VOTE TOMORROW.

Below are the sixteen categories and the Presidential candidate’s stance on each.  Y means they support this plank; N means they do not support this plank

………………………………………………………………….Clinton / Trump

1. Appoint/Confirm Pro-life Supreme Court Judges                      N               Y
2. Support Iran Nuclear Deal that threatens Israel                         Y                N
3. Protect Second Amendment                                                            N                Y
4. Supports uni-sex bathrooms and locker rooms                           Y                N
5. Defund Planned Parenthood                                                           N                Y
6. Repeal Tax on Family Inheritances                                                N                Y
7. Protect Biblical Religious Conscience                                            N                Y
8. Reduce EPA Regulations on Coal and Oil                                     N                Y
9. Support Federally Mandated Healthcare                                      Y                 N
10. Protect Traditional Family Values                                                  N                Y
11. Support School Choice including Private Schools                       N                Y
12. Place a hold on Syrian Refugees to U.S.                                        N                Y
13. Repeal IRS Restrictions on Church Speech                           unknown         Y
14. Support American Energy Independence                                     N                Y
15. Restore our Military Superiority                                                     N                Y
16. Support our ally Israel                                                                       N                Y

Tomorrow we decide our country’s fate for generations to come.  I encourage you to pray for wisdom and guidance and make your pilgrimage to the ballot box.  Let me close with a quote and a Scripture that seems totally appropriate for our time in our history

“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, the blessings of God, will be withdrawn-its prosperity, its protection, and its powers would be taken away. He’s giving a warning to the nation: The day America turns away from God will be the day that begins the removing of its blessings.”  Jonathan Cahn, “The Harbinger”

“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.” 2Chronicles 7:14

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…The good news is…we are FINALLY coming to the end of a thoroughly despicable period of time in our country’s history known as the 2016 Presidential race.  We have been bombarded for the last six, seven, eight months (?) with the most vile, hateful, disgusting rhetoric imaginable.  But at last, thankfully, we can see light at the end of this dark episode.  That in itself is reason for celebration, because regardless of the outcome of this election, as Christ-followers will continue to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is sitting at the right hand of a Sovereign God who is STILL large and in charge!  As David said in Psalm 16:11; “In Your presence is the fullness of joy”; and again in Psalm 9:2; “I will come before You with joy, I will rejoice in You and be glad”; and again in Psalm 18:1; “I will love you, O Lord, my strength.”

Let’s take solace in the words of Psalm 2 and rejoice in the Lord.  “Why do the nations rage?  Why do the people waste their time with futile plans? The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one.  ‘Let us break their chains,’ they cry, ‘and free ourselves from this slavery.’ But the one who rules in heaven laughs.  The Lord scoffs at them…But what joy for ALL who find protection in him!”

The challenge for all Christ-followers is to not only remember who we are in Christ, but to remember who’s we are. God created us to crave joy, and that joy can only be found in Him.  Therefore, because God knows the struggles we will face while still living in this fallen world (remember, he witnessed the way the world treated his Son), he has prepared us to rise above our circumstances to become the person he created us to be.  He gave us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to do for us what we (mankind) proved from Creation to 2016 years ago that we were totally incapable of doing for ourselves.   This is beautifully referenced in Ephesians 2:10.  “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we NOW can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  (“Long ago” is defined in Ephesians 1:4 as “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.”  How’s that for a plan from a loving Father?

Romans 5:17 tells us, “I have received the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. I reign in life through Jesus Christ.”  So how do we accomplish that in this fallen world?  Well…we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us to be Jesus’ light in this darkness.  “Holy Spirit, give me wisdom, patience, strength, courage, perseverance (etc.), whatever it is I need to bring honor and glory to YOU through my choices.   That can be as simple as a smile; holding a door for someone; or asking how you can be of service.  Those are very simple ways we can show our love for our fellow man, but believe me… to those who are not in Christ, these actions, simple as they are, will stand out.  Jesus told his followers, “they will know you are my disciples because of your love for one another.” (John 13:35)

Most people in this world are looking for things to make them happy…to fill that hole in their soul.  That need can take the form of substance abuse; the latest I-phone; a new car; a new job; a vacation; a new relationship, etc.  But we were created for a relationship with our God, and without that, everything else is a counterfeit.  It may do the trick for awhile, but we have to keep refilling that hole again and again to get the fulfillment we’re longing for, but it is never enough.  Remember, it is a God-shaped hole and only one thing can fill it!

I understand that dilemma because I was enslaved in that rat-race for half a century.  But in 2000 I came face to face with my own insufficiency, and with nowhere else to turn, I cried out with fear and trembling, “God – if you’re there, please help me.  I can’t do this anymore.”  He heard my plea, and he led me to an encounter with Jesus Christ. My life has not been the same since. In Him I have found the purpose, fulfillment, joy, peace and serenity that I always wanted, but previously had been looking in all the wrong places.

I can point to one Scripture that defines the transformation that took place within me.  In fact, it is the same message that Jesus share with his Disciples.   He told them, “if you follow my teachings you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  Notice he was very specific about what teachings he was referencing.  He said “MY” teachings, which is quite different from worldly teaching.  So what did Jesus teach? He taught about love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy, grace, and being of service to our fellow man.  He taught about “loving God with all our heart, soul and mind”. (Luke 10:27) He told us to “Repent!  The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)  He told us “I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6)

Proverbs 4:23 tells us: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life”  If your heart is filled with the teachings above, your life reflects the love of Jesus.  If your heart is filled with hatred, anger, jealousy, fear, envy, deceit, pride, insecurity or hopelessness, your life will never experience the joy God has planned for you.

So why settle for anything less than all God has in store for you.  His Word tells us that “he delights in blessing us.”  (Psalm 149:4)  And in this fallen world with all the uncertainty and turmoil, wouldn’t you like to experience the joy peace and serenity that can only come from Him?  It’s available to anyone who will ask.  His Word tells us, “If we seek him with all of our heart and soul, we will find him.” (Deuteronomy 4:29)  So what are you waiting for?

I will close with Psalm 100.  “Shout with joy to the Lord, O earth!  Worship the Lord with gladness.  Come before him, singing with joy.  Acknowledge that the Lord is God!  He made us, and we are his.  We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.  Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise.  Give thanks to him and bless his name.  For the Lord is good.  His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”   What more could we ask for?

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

May God Bless Ya…

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

First of all, that is nonsense.  America was not founded on the power of prayer.  Only enlightened thinking.  Read your history book!

Thank you, Justus, for taking time to respond to my posting.  I appreciate you taking time to do that, and it gives me an opportunity to respond to two of your statements.

First: concerning taking time to read my history book, I will respond with the following facts concerning our nation and prayer.

1. In the room where our Founding Fathers were deliberating concerning the content of the Declaration of Independence, there was dissension between the parties. Benjamin Franklin, not a religious man by any stretch, reminded the parties involved that in that very same room – during our conflict with Great Britain -, many Christians came together to pray to God for Devine protection. He also noted that he believed those prayers were answered.  He then suggested that each morning, before their deliberations began, they should open with prayer and ask for wisdom and guidance.
2. April 30^th, 1789 in St. Paul’s Chapel in the Federal Building in New York City, our first President, Geo. Washington, the Senate and the House of Representatives, bowed together in prayer to consecrate the new nation’s future into the hands of God.
3. From 1795-1860s, Christian Church services were held in the Capitol Building in Washington DC. These services were attended by Presidents and elected representatives. No doubt there was a belief in Divine Providence amongst our early leadership.

Concerning your statement about “enlightened thinking”,  I assume you’re talking about exalting the wisdom of man. Who can speak against the wisdom of man in its proper place.  But that wisdom is the modern-day “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”, and man has shown his vulnerability to the same lie satan used at Creation: “You won’t need God; you can be your own god.”  Nothing is more appealing to man that that offer.  In fact, man has shown from Creation until today his inability to resist.   Let me site an example of that thinking that is alive and pervasive in our society today.  The Liberal Progressive Agenda. (LPA)

As I see the LPA, it is an insidious agenda wrapped in wealth, power and control. If  “it” can chip, chip, chip, away at fundamental principles that are the foundation of our society, such as the Constitution; Judeo/Christian beliefs; the traditional family structure; religious freedom,; and the “sanctity of life”,  “it” can weaken our current society and begin restructuring it according to a new blueprint.

1. The LPA seems to be under the umbrella of a huge, bureaucratic government that believes the more “it” can make the populace dependent on government for its sustenance, the more “it” can ultimately control the populace.
2. “It” believes in the distribution of wealth. Those who have earned wealth and status should be mandated to share it with those who are deemed “less fortunate” (ie. those who are recipients of the government’s “social programs”). No one is against giving a “hand up” to those in need, but unfortunately a whole new sub-culture has developed and is thriving at “beating and raping the system.” That, in fact, is encouraged by the current administration!
3. “It” believes in high taxation to keep the “gravy train” coming. To use one of my mother’s favorite sayings, “If you are going to rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the support of Paul.” So if you are a recipient of the social programs (Paul), you will vote to keep that program in place, and poor Peter (YOU), who is working hard to better yourself and your family, will be paying the bill.
4. “It” professes freedom of speech, yet vilifies anyone who expresses a different opinion than the one espoused by the LPA, hence…political correctness.
5. “It” professes a disdain for “Wall Street”, yet allows those who further the LPA to become billionaires at taxpayer expense, for example the “green energy industry”, the “abortion industry”, and certain members of the banking industry.
6. “It” keeps people divided rather than unified, (ie. today’s racial tension fanned by such radical groups as “Black Lives Matter” and the new Black Panthers).
7. “It” professes religious tolerance, yet there is an all-out war against Christianity while accommodating the requirements of Islam, such as the removal of the Bible and religious symbols from the military while providing Korans upon requested.
8. And last, but not least on my list…”it” never lets a crisis go by without making political gain. Rather than me substantiating that statement, I will let Obama’s rhetoric in virtually every crisis speak for itself.

This by no means encompasses all of the LPA. In fact, it is just the tip of the iceberg. What drives the LPA is the same mindset that has contributed to the fall of every individual, civilization or nation throughout history. And that mindset has been, and is, the exaltation of human wisdom  above God’s wisdom.  The Bible, as well as all ancient history books, can trace this process, although one explains it in spiritual terms (ie. sin-nature or human nature vs. “in the spirit”) and the other in secular terms (greed and desire for wealth, power and control.)

In my estimation, the state of our country and our culture right now is the result of expunging God from our midst and exalting human wisdom.  When that happens, here is what results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions – the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your group, envy, hatred, lying, cheating, stealing, despair and hopelessness.  Does this sound like our culture?? (Gal. 5: 12-15)

In my opinion, the best human thinking (enlightenment?) got us in this mess, while I believe those musty old principles found in the outdated Constitution led us to a position of prominence in the world. We were, when we adhered to those principles, that shining light on a hill.  I can’t help but wonder, “What would our Founding Fathers think if they could see what we have done to their dream?”

I don’t believe any D, R, or I insignia is the answer to the spiritual and moral bankruptcy of our once great country. God revealed through prophets that his Word (truth) will not change.  It is  timeless…hence, fundamental principles.  Therefore, I’ll keep praying for God to have mercy on America.

Best wishes to you, Justus, and I’m looking forward to the STLWS concert next weekend.  See ya then.

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Only sixteen more days before we exercise one of our most valuable rights as a free nation, and that is a trip to the local polling place to cast our vote.  What a privilege this is. “I finally have a chance to tell ‘them’ what I think!”  Many of our country’s finest have sacrificed their life to maintain this privilege for us, so the “right”,” responsibility”, “obligation”…however you see it, should not be taken lightly.  Therefore, I whole-heartedly encourage you to show up and cast your vote for the political platform on which you stand.  I am stating our voting responsibility in this manner, because I know from the many conversations I have had concerning this election,  neither candidate seems to be the first choice of most people.  When you add to that the fact the media has kept this election a personality contest (and I sympathetically agree that neither personality is particularly desirable candidate), we have to rise above that circumstance and vote for the platform and not the personality.

To assist with this endeavor, I am enclosing a link to the Billy Graham Ministries website where they have simplified both political party’s platform and have made it easy to read and compare.  I am also enclosing a statement by Franklin Graham, Billy’s son, to explain why they did this.  The difference between the two party platforms could not be more striking.  One is leading to more of the same; one is offering hope for a new direction.  Please read and heed.

https://billygraham.org/story/2016-party-platforms/

“As Franklin Graham travels to all 50 states on the Decision America Tour, he’s urging Christians to boldly live out their faith—at home, in public and at the ballot box.  Many decisions are made at the president’s desk, but the major political party to which he or she belongs wields significant power over which domestic and international policies are advanced and what becomes law. Here is a summary of theDemocratic and Republican party positions on some of the vital issues facing the country. As Franklin Graham has stated clearly many times, we are not endorsing any candidate or party.”

It’s easy to let the numbing circumstances of this election, our culture,  and world events cloud our thinking and lead us into a funk. But we must not forget that we can make a conscious choice to shift our focus from the domain of darkness – this world – to the domain of Light, Jesus, who said, “come unto me all that are heavy laden, and i will give you rest.” (John 11:28)  And again in  John 8:32 , Jesus directs us to “follow my teachings, then you’ ll know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  Notice Jesus was very specific about what teaching he was talking about; “MY teaching.”  So what did Jesus teach?  He taught about love, forgiveness, compassion, mercy, grace, and being of service to our fellow man.  He taught about “loving God with all our heart, soul and mind”. (Luke 10:27) He told us to “Repent!  The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)  He told us “I am the way the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me.”  (John 14:6)

Proverbs 23:7 tells us, “As he (a man) thinks within his heart, so he is.”  In other words, what you have in your heart determines what you say and what you do.  If your heart is filled with hatred, anger, disgust, jealousy, envy, the result will be evil actions. And who is the author of evil?  The prince and power of this world…satan!  So whether we are witnessing  the indiscriminate killing of innocent people by an ideology that hates any way of life that does not bow down to its belief, or protests such as those seen in Ferguson or Dallas that resulted in violence and killing, the motivation comes from the same source…satan!

I am constantly amazed at how many people – especially the professed intelligentsia – seem to have learned so little from history. Both the Bible and secular ancient history books reveal the same information, albeit one from a spiritual perspective and one from a secular perspective. But if one were to take time to trace the rise and fall of civilizations in either book, it is easy to see patterns.  The Bible is clear that when people, countries or civilizations are in line with God’s will, they are blessed and they prosper.  When out of line with God’s will, there is calamity, such as fire and brimstone, floods, wars, famines, pestilence, earthquakes, etc.  The ancient history books attribute the fall of the same civilizations to such human flaws as greed and the desire for power, control, and wealth.  Again these human traits are out of line with God’s will because they are motivated by “self will”, the author of which is satan.  So let me point out the obvious…self-will is the root of all evil.

So how does that basic history lesson apply to our culture today?  Well…whenever a culture exalts the wisdom and teachings of man over the wisdom and teachings of God, that culture is on the pathway to collapse. Can you see that happening in our country today?  No doubt the teachings of Jesus are marginalized, minimized, mocked, ridiculed, and even condemned in many cases.  The fundamental Judeo-Christian principles on which this country was founded are under assault by an agenda that wants to redefine America.  The “traditional family” and “traditional moral values” are also under assault by a liberal progressive agenda that wants to redefine “normal”.  Instead of seeking to promote commonality and unity among the populace, there is an attempt to divide and promote anger, distrust, and even hatred.  And what could be the reason for all of this?  Could it be for wealth, power and control??

No doubt, satan’s lies are always appealing!  2 Corinthians 4:4 explains this perfectly: “Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”

Well…by all appearances, satan is winning.  It would appear that the saying, “the world is going to hell in a handbasket” is true…unless, of course, WE remember who we are and who’s we are.  We are followers of Jesus Christ and we have a secret weapon that allows us to rise above the world to become the person God created us to be. We ARE already victorious.  Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (and so have we because we are in Christ!) He also told us in Luke 10:19, “I have given you authority over all the powerful schemes of the enemy…”, and again in 1 John 4:4. “He that is in you (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he (satan) that is in this world.”

If there was ever a time for intercessory prayer, it is now!  The moral and spiritual bankruptcy of our culture and our country presents and opportunity for the Church to shine at its brightest. We, as followers of Jesus Christ, have the power to change the world.  And the truth in the Scriptures above tell us we are already victorious. So let’s proclaim the Truth of Jesus’ teachings with a MIGHTY VOICE to this dark world that wants to keep the focus on evil!  It is our time to shine.

Let me close with the answer that was proclaimed many centuries ago.  “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

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May God Bless Ya…

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