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

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

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

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

The reality is, we do live in a fallen world and we are affected by this fallen world whether we want to be or not.  “And how did this become a fallen world”, you might ask?  Well…it became a fallen world when “sin” entered the world. And that “sin” was man turning his back on God and putting the focus on himself.  For everyone who is not in Christ, they are still their own god with the focus on “self”, and  therefore are still “living in sin.”  So if you want to see what that looks like, just look around you at the cesspool in which we live.  There’s no denying it…this is not paradise!  But it was at creation…before sin reared its ugly head!  What you see today is the result of fallen man’s best effort.

So what do I and other Christ-followers see when we look at the world around us?  We see a culture that is spiritually and morally bankrupt.  We see a culture that has sold out the fundamental principles that made our country great: freedom of speech, freedom of religion; the traditional family structure; the sanctity of life; the values of honor and integrity; mutual respect and racial equality; respect for law and order; and the belief that one can be all they are capable of becoming if they commit themselves to this dream and work hard to achieve it.

“But how could this happen”, you might ask?  “Those values seem fundamental to a free society”.  And I would have to say, “how right you are!”  But the truth is…the problems we are facing right now as a country and as a culture are nothing new historically speaking.  If you lay an ancient history book and a Bible side by side, you can trace the same rise and fall of cultures, but one explains them in secular terms (greed and the desire for wealth, power and control) and the other explains them in Biblical terms (sin-nature).  In both instances, God is expunged by those in control.

At this time in our history, we have the opportunity to exercise one of our rights as a (still) free nation.  We have the right to vote for what we believe in because many devoted soldiers fought and died so we could maintain that privilege.  And no doubt this is a critical time in our voting history, because just the power to replace as many as four supreme justices in the next four years alone can shape our country for decades to come.

No doubt the media has kept this political race a personality contest, and I’m sure we all would agree that probably neither candidate would be our first choice.  But I implore you, please do not chose to” sit this one out”, because we all have the responsibility to voice our opinion concerning  the direction of our country, and the platform of the two parties could not be more different.   Don’t vote for the personality; vote for the platform.  I am re-posting both parties platform from last week’s blog.  I got this from the Billy Graham Ministries website and I’m including a statement from Franklin Graham, Billy’s son.

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.”

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

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

 “America was founded on prayer. Therefore the removal of prayer from its public life was a central part of its fall from God. A nation that turns away from prayer will ultimately find itself in desperate need of it.”

“As God was expunged from American life, idols came in to fill the void; idols of sensuality, idols of greed, of money, of success, comfort, materialism, pleasure, sexual immorality, self-worship, self-obsession. The sacred increasingly disappeared, and the profane took its place.” 

And here is our hope.

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

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

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

May God Bless Ya…

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…We are about a month away from what most likely is the biggest decision our country has ever been called to make, and that is the selection of the 45^th President of our great country.  And the scary part is…never has there been such division, such hateful rhetoric, or such uneasiness in the country as there is right now.  People are afraid to post signs or put stickers on their cars this time around because they fear retaliation from over-zealous opponents.  Then if you add to that the news media’s intent on “making the news” rather than “objectively reporting the news”, the pot of deception, exaggeration, omission, and half-truths continues to be stirred, and more confusion abounds.

I’m afraid people are being numbed down by the onslaught of “he said”, “she said”, “he said”, “she said”, “yes you did”, “no I didn’t”, “you’re a liar”, “I never said that”, “you’re responsible for this, “no, you’re responsible for this”…YIKES!  JUST MAKE IT STOP!  MAKE IT GO AWAY!  WHEN WILL IT END!!  Unfortunately, in my personal opinion, I don’t think this is an accident.  I think it is all part of a larger agenda that is using the current state of affairs to keep our attention off of the real issues facing our country such as the threat to our personal freedoms, religious freedoms, the traditional family unit, the sanctity of life, our right to bear arms, the appointment of Supreme Court judges, etc. etc.

I can’t think of a time in my life when the state of our culture, our country and the world has been so tenuous, yet so far this race to the White House has been nothing short of a personality contest.  And unfortunately, neither personality seems to be the first choice of most people.  I can’t help but think back to the Kennedy years when leaders were referred to as the “best and the brightest”, then I look at today’s circus and ask myself, “Where are the best and the brightest right now.”  The obvious answer is, they’re out there, but who in their right mind would want to risk their reputation, their family’s reputation, everything they own and everything they hold dear to step into this cesspool called politics.

My fear is that the numbness mentioned above will result in “apathy concerning the ballot box”, and as a result, some people will decide to sit this one out because they don’t like the faces and personalities representing either party.  Believe me, I get that.  I can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind too.  But too much is at stake for the future of our country, and it requires that each of us take time to find out what is really the issue, and what each party stands for what.   Therefore, I have tried to make this “information gathering” as easy as possible, and am providing a link to the Billy Graham Ministries website that list both party’s platform. This presentation is as clear and straightforward as you will ever find, and the contrast between the parties could not be greater.  Don’t let the fact it is “Billy Graham Ministries” scare you. I am going to list the opening statement by Franklin Graham, Billy’s son, in the next paragraph, that explains the “why” for this offering.  There is NO endorsement of either party or candidate; just the facts so we all can make an informed decision about the real issues without the personality influence.

“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.”

The link to the website is:  https://billygraham.org/story/2016-party-platforms/

As I mentioned above, I believe there is a greater agenda behind the scenes than the candidates themselves.  One candidate represents what I have written about many times before called The Liberal Progressive Agenda (LPA), and the other candidate represents “the unknown” because they are new to the political arena.  While they point to many successful accomplishments in the business arena, still many questions abound.  Therefore, I can’t write about what I don’t know about yet (the production of the “unknown”), but I can write again about the LPA.

As I see the LPA, it is an insidious agenda wrapped in wealth, power and control. If they 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; and the “sanctity of life” (and make no mistake…I am intentionally shinning the “light” on the darkness of the multi-billion dollar abortion industry), they 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 (the current “tree of knowledge of good and evil”) above God’s wisdom.

Does the culture reflect the political climate, or does the political climate reflect the culture?  I guess that’s a lot like asking the question about the chicken and the egg.  But what I’m sure you can see is that the two are certainly intertwined.  I don’t think there would be a lot of argument if one were to make the statement that our culture, and our country, is experiencing moral and spiritual bankruptcy.  I believe that goes hand in hand with the assault on Judeo-Christian principles and the desire to settle for “relativism” as the norm.  Unfortunately, whenever fundamental truths or principles are cast away for the latest and greatest “cultural fad” – which is always wrapped in titillating garb and sold under the banner that “it will be better for everyone”, the culture has historically been on the road to destruction.  (humm…Obama Care and Common Core come to my mind.)

Within just two generations, what used to be valued, respected and worshiped is now mocked, ridiculed and vilified. And what used to be shameful, despicable and sinful is now basking in the spotlight and being championed as the “new norm.” Isaiah 5:20 tells us: “Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.”  2 Timothy 3:1-5 gives us a more specific and ominous message:  “…that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed-up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act as if they are religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. You must stay away from people like that!   Do you see any of this in our culture today?  Just think about this: in two generations we’ve made a 180 degree shift in our values…darkness is light; bitter is sweet, and evil is now good.  WOW!

Let me end with this note of encouragement.  2 Chronicles 7:14-15, “If the 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.  I will listen to every prayer…”  The message could not be clearer!  Politician’s rhetoric is not the answer.  The answer is prayer from a humble heart asking God to heal our land.  HE is the answer.

PLEASE do not sit on the sidelines for this election.  TOO much is at stake.  Pray and vote for the platform; not the personality.

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

May God Bless Ya…

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers:  As the title implies, this is the second installment of a two-part series appropriately titled, “What Is This Thing Called Love?”  If you haven’t read last week’s posting, I would encourage you to do so by clicking on, http://meetpastordan.com/what-is-this-thing-called-love/.  It is the “why” part of the question, and this week is the “how” to part of the question.  I felt compelled to write this because in our culture today, the term “love” has gotten so watered down that it is virtually meaningless. That statement is explained in detail in last week’s blog, and there are ample divorce statistics, even among Christians, to substantiate that claim.  The “love” perpetuated by our morally bankrupt culture could not be further from the original source of “Love”.

In The Bible, the essence of God is described with one word: “God is Love”. (1 John: 4:8) We are told later in the same Book that “we love because God first loved us.”  (1 John:4:19) This love extends back to before the creation of the World and “Man”, as so beautifully explained in Ephesians 1:4: “Long ago, even before the creation of the World, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”  God’s omniscience and his unconditional, unending, unfailing love is displayed right here.  Even before he created “Man”, he knew we were going to use our “free will” for purposes other than for which it was intended.  He knew we were going to put the focus on “self” rather than on Him (the definition of “Sin”), and that we would become “utterly helpless” to “save” ourselves. His plan was always to send Jesus Christ to pay the penalty (ransom) for OUR sins so we could have an eternal relationship with him in Paradise.

This self-sacrificial “love”, a love that focuses on the happiness and welfare of the other person, is “Agape Love, the kind of love demonstrated by God in his “Gift of Grace”, and the love demonstrated by Jesus when he walked on this earth.  This IS “that thing called love.”  Every time the term “love” is used in the Bible, this is what is being referenced.  In last week’s posting I referred to 1 Corinthians 13:1-3,13, when describing the importance of “Love”. Today I am referencing 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 as the definition of Agape Love.  This Scripture is often used in wedding ceremonies, but let’s listen to it today with “new” ears and an “open” heart.  I will add some of my thoughts in parentheses.

“Love is patient, love is kind” (creates an atmosphere of safety)  “Love is not jealous, or boastful or proud or rude” (demonstrates willingness to change, ie. humility)  “Love does not demand its own way, nor is it self-seeking” (shows respect and honor for the other person)  “Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged” (shows compassion and willingness to forgive)  “Love takes no joy in injustice, but rejoices in the truth” (shows a willingness to be honest, to “productively communicate”, ie.connect)  “Love never gives up, never loses faith and is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.”  (shows a willingness to do whatever necessary to restore the relationship).

When we compare the above definition of love to what we see in movies, on the latest TV “soaps”, or read about in the latest “People” magazine, it is not hard to see the chasm that exist between man’s definition of “love”, usually defined by feelings and emotions, and God’s definition of “love”, defined as a state of being.  In other words, just like the Ten Commandments or the Beatitudes, Agape Love is impossible to achieve through our own volition.

But fear not because God’s salvation plan is perfect, and includes the “secret weapon” that empowers all Christ-followers to become the person He created us to be.  This is clearly and beautifully stated in Ephesians 2:10. “We are (now) God’s Mastepiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”  Remember…prior to being in Christ we were consumed with doing the things we planned for our self, and the last thing on our mind was God’s plan for our life.  Unfortunately, those who are of this world (unbelievers) still have their focus on “self”, and are missing out on God’s glorious plan that he has made available to anyone who will receive it.  Roman’s 12:2 sums-up this condition: “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”

So…you might be asking yourself at this point, “What is this ‘secret weapon’ that will empower me to become the person God created me to be?”  Let me refer you to a passage of Scripture that makes this perfectly clear, and let me set-up that passage.  Jesus was telling his Apostles about his impending, arrest, trial and crucifixion and he knew how terrifying this message was to his audience.  And he also knew these men in front of him were the ones who were going to have to carry his teachings into the world after He was gone, and that whatever strength, power and authority they had, they got from him. (And equally important, the Apostles knew that to be the case too!)  So he wanted to give them a sense of security by sharing these words: “I will not abandon you like orphans – No, I will come to you. 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.” (John 14:18,16-17)  In other words, Jesus is telling his Apostles that I AM the Holy Spirit. That “I will come to you…and will be in you.”  You will still be able to draw your strength, courage, wisdom, etc. from me.

The good news for us is…because we are in Christ, we too are his Apostles. Therefore we have the Holy Spirit in us to empower us to be the person God created us to be.  We are now his Masterpiece, “capable of doing the good things he planned for us long ago.”  This is part of God’s Salvation Plan for us, and is our gift so we can become the person he created us to be.  This is how we rise above our circumstances and the world around us to bring honor and glory to Him.  This is how we can live according to the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and this is how we can achieve Agape Love.

I just finished teaching a marriage class based on the book by Danny Silk entitled, “Keep Your Love On”.  After the third week we established a “group goal” and a “group mantra” that I would like to share with you, because nothing in this life is more challenging than maintaining a healthy, vibrant relationship. The premise of KYLO is that in relationships, we are either moving toward connection or moving away to disconnection.

The goal of our group is “connection” with our spouses.  And how do we achieve that: “We ask the Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see, ears to hear, wisdom to understand and a willingness to love our spouse with the same unconditional love God imparts to us.  (That can only be done through the Holy Spirit, because Agape Love is the unquenchable desire to care more about the happiness and welfare of your spouse than yourself.”)

Our group mantra:  “I will ask the Holy Spirit to give me wisdom, courage, strength, patience, perseverance – whatever it is I need – so I can treat my spouse like the most important person in my life, and I will show it through my words and my actions.  (When we call on the Holy Spirit, He empowers us with our request so we can rise above our circumstances or the world around us to bring honor and glory to Him through our choices.)

The truth is…Jesus has already overcome the world, and so have we because we’re in Christ!

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…this is one of those mornings when I went to bed thinking I was going to write about one subject, but when I opened my eyes (way before dawn), I was immediately drawn to this subject.  It was so strong I even had the title and the outline right before me – and the immediate realization this would be a two-part blog. But with a calling like this, how can I refuse? 🙂

In our culture today, the term “love” has gotten so watered-down to the point of being almost meaningless.  I mean, we love our pets, we love our jobs, our cars, chocolate, this movie, that music… Let’s face it, Dear Readers, sometimes we even loved the Rams! Right?..which goes to show ya, we all need something that gives us that giddy-feeling or those goose-bumps which pretty-much describes modern-day “love”. To most people, love is a feeling; it’s an emotional rush.  Ask someone how they know they are in love, and the number one answer is, “because I feel it”…or if they are particularly demonstrative, “because I feel it at the very depths of my soul, blah, blah, blah” The problem with that definition is…feelings change and emotional-rushes subside, then what’s left?

In the original Greek language of the New Testament, there were four separate words to describe four different levels, or depths, of love.  The first level (or lowest level) was “eros”, from which comes the word “erotic” in our language.  It simply means physical attraction.  The next higher-level of love was referred to as “philio” love, meaning we invested time to get to know the person.  Now we realize that “attractive” person has a brain that challenges us; a spirit that brings out the best in us, and we realize he/she is as beautiful on the inside as he/she is on the outside. (FYI: from this term comes the name “Philadelphia”, meaning city of Brotherly Love.) The next higher-level of love was referred to as “storge” love, which is familial love, or the love parents have for their children or siblings have for one another.  But the highest form of love, “agape love”, is self-sacrificial love. It is the love Jesus demonstrated when he was here on earth, and is what the Bible refers to when the term “love” is used.  Agape love cares more about the health, well-being and safety of the other person than “self”.

In the New Testament, “love” is the theme.  When asked by the Pharisees which commandment was the greatest, Jesus’ response was, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40)  In other words, if you obey these two commandments, you will conform to the others by your actions, meaning you won’t lie, steal, kill, engage in adultery, dishonor your parents, forget the Sabbath, or take the Lord’s name in vain.

Apostle Paul addresses the importance of love in 1Corinthians 13:1-3,13: “If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth, but didn’t love others, I would only be making a meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? If I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody.  If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever. There are three things that will endure – faith, hope and love – and the greatest of these is love.”

God created man for a relationship with himself.  We were created in his image; we were his proudest creation.  Even when we turned our back on Him and put the focus on our self and lived for our self, God didn’t stop loving us.  In fact, he let us take charge of our own destiny from Creation to 2016 years ago until we got to the pathetic state of being “utterly helpless.”  Then he restored us to a relationship with himself by implementing his plan for our salvation (His Gift of Grace).  Romans 5:6 boldly describes this action: “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 became utterly helpless!  That is God’s unconditional, unending and unfailing love for us manifested in his plan for our salvation.

Notice He didn’t wait for us to clean-up our act so we could become worthy of his Gift of Grace; nor did we do anything to earn His Gift.  No…it was indeed a gift from a loving Father who wants us to spend eternity with him in Paradise. But in order for that to happen, we cannot be stained with SIN, because sin spreads, contaminates, kills and destroys.  If you doubt that, just look at the world we live in.  Does this look like Paradise?  Well, it was at Creation until SIN entered the world.  That’s why we must be sin-free to enter God’s Kingdom.

Jesus demonstrated this same love when he was on earth.  He came for the purpose of being the sacrificial lamb, and even when the world was mocking, ridiculing and spitting in his face, he submitted to God’s plan and went to a shameful, painful death on the cross, paying the ransom for our sins.  But even as he hung there, he cried out, “Father, forgive these people because they don’t know what they are doing”, thus demonstrating the same unconditional, unending, unfailing love the Father showed us.

At this point you might be saying to yourself, “This agape-love stuff is impossible”, and you would be right, especially when you add to the above scenario Jesus’ charge to us at the famous Sermon on the Mount. Here we were told not to seek revenge; to forgive those who have harmed us; and to love our enemies.  How can we do that?  It is totally contrary to worldly thinking and our human nature.

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to live to a higher standard than the world around us; to be Jesus’ light in this dark world.  And most challenging of all is the call to “love” others, especially when many times the “others” are down-right unlovable!  But fear not! God’s salvation plan for us is perfect.  He knows we’re weak…that we’re only dust. And he also knows the challenges we face in this fallen world because he witnessed its treatment of his Son.  And…he knows we have a formidable Foe who is hell-bent on shipwrecking our efforts to become the person He created us to be.  So let’s stand on the truth found in 2Peter 1:3, “As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us EVERYTHING we need for living a godly live.  He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness.”

Next week I will talk about the “secret weapon” God gave us so we can become the person he created us to be, and how our choices can bring honor and glory to him.  I will focus mostly on relationships – especially on the marriage relationship.  Don’t miss it.  I promise it will be awesome!

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 Day, Meetpastordan Readers… sorry this is a bit late today, but I had some minor surgery this morning at St. Luke’s Hospital at 9:00. At an annual visit to my dermatologist a month ago, he discovered a mole that looked suspicious, so he removed it and sent it to the lab for testing.  It came back as pre-cancerous, so I met with a plastic surgeon this morning and he cut away the surrounding tissue to be sure there were no cancerous cells left behind.  It was about a half-hour procedure and I’m home now feeling absolutely great…and ready to get on with my blog.

I want to share this story with you that happened at a recent dinner party.  I was talking to a life-long friend about a mutual friend who was terminally ill, and I made the comment that we could both take solace in the fact that he was born again and knew Jesus Christ.  I went on to say that thankfully we didn’t have to worry about his eternal destiny.  His next comment was a complete surprise to me, especially since he is knee-deep into his religion and is extremely active as a teacher in his church.  He said, “Well…I certainly am worried about my eternal destiny!  I know I still sin, so I probably won’t get into heaven.”

Unfortunately I didn’t have with me a copy of the book “How Good is Good Enough” by Andy Stanley. I usually carry a supply in my car to give to people who have the same misconception, so consequently what followed was a long discussion about the Gospel of Grace.  I gave it my best effort. We talked at length about 2 Corinthians 5:17, “You are a new creation in Christ.  The old is gone; the new has come”; we talked about God’s love for us, even when we are still sinners, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners” (Romans 5:6); and we even talked about “justification” and our new identity in Christ.  But he kept saying, “Yes I’ve heard all of that, but I still can’t believe I will qualify for eternal life.”  It was exasperating, until I finally came to the conclusion that he was more comfortable being an unworthy victim than a Child of God who has been set free by the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

I know most Christians have heard the “churchy” terms, “justification” and “sanctification”, but what I’ve discovered is their understanding of those terms is sketchy and incomplete at best.  And it’s easy to see how that could happen since each word involves multiple concepts.  But a clear understanding of these concepts is imperative if one is to successfully grow in their Christian walk.  So my intent now is to shed some light on this subject in what, I hope, is a very simple way.

The moment we make a decision to accept God’s Gift of Grace – Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior – a transformation takes place within us, and it happens instantaneously. 2 Corinthians 5:17 now describes us. “We are a new creation in Christ.” We now have a new identity in Christ: we are grafted into God’s family and are now a Child of God; our sins are forgiven; we inherit eternal life; we are worthy and acceptable in God’s sight, not because of anything we did to earn that status, but because Christ paid our “sin ransom” on the cross; we are Saints, meaning because we are in Christ, we are declared by God to be sin-free.  (That is why when we fall short in our process of “sanctification” – and we will, God doesn’t count it against us as a “sin”. Why? Because we are covered with the blood of Jesus. The sin issue ceased to exist when our new identity became, “in Christ”); we are heir to all the covenants and promises in the Bible; and we are heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm.

And 2 Corinthians 5:17 also tells us, “the old is gone”, meaning our “sin nature” that we inherited at birth is taken away; and “the new has come” meaning we now have the indwelling “Holy Spirit” to empower us to be the person God created us to be.  In other words, we are no longer in bondage to our “sin nature”.  Wow!  How awesome is that.  Now what you must to grasp from this description of “Justification” in this paragraph and the paragraph above, is that this transformation takes place in us instantaneously and gives us our new identity in Christ.  At this moment we “have everything we need for living a Godly life.” (2 Peter 1:3)  However… this is just the first step in the life-long process of “Sanctification”.

God’s Will for our life is two-fold.  First and foremost he wants us to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  That is the only way we can be “justified” (made right with God), and equipped with everything we need to succeed in this journey of Sanctification (the second part of God’s two-fold plan for our life). And what does this journey entail?  It is the process of becoming more Christ-like, and this is a journey that never ends.

First we must grow, not only in wisdom and knowledge of God’s Word and in Jesus’ love for us, but in our relationship with him.  We are called to be His light in this dark world.  In other words, Sanctification about growing as a Christ-follower and making intentional choices in our daily life that bring honor and glory to God. That doesn’t sound too hard, right? Well, if it weren’t for the fact we live in a fallen world; and if it weren’t for the fact we still live in these fleshly bodies with all the mental strongholds that were created to serve our own pleasure before we became a Christ-follower; and if it weren’t for the fact we have a formidable foe in satan who is hell-bent of ship-wrecking our best efforts, it probably wouldn’t be toooo hard.  But as it is…it’s virtually impossible!

But we are given hope when we read 2 Peter 1:3: “As we know Jesus better, 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 Ephesians 2:10 speaks to us in the same spirit: “For we are now God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Jesus Christ, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”   God’s salvation plan for us is perfect.  Not only has he called us to live to a different standard than the world around us, but he has equipped us to do it by “Justification”.  Our new identity in Christ is our weapon against all evil because it includes the indwelling Holy Spirit to be our guide, our comforter, and to lead us into all truth.  1John 4:4 tells us, “But you belong to God, my dear Children.  You have already won your fight with evil, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit lives in this world.” (satan)  Do you get that?  We ARE ALREADY VICTORIOUS…we just have to know that and stand on that truth!

So to return to the opening scenario with my friend at dinner. Had he actually understood his identity in Christ and the power that identity afforded him, he would have understood that the sin issue he was so worried about is a non-issue for those in-Christ.  The sin issue was settled once and for all 2000 years ago at the cross.  But because we are covered with the blood of Jesus, even when we fall short of God’s glorious standard, God sees us as a Saint who has stumbled, not as a sinner.  All he wants us to do is get up and continue the journey down the path of Sanctification and to be molded into the image of his Son.

Our God is an Awesome God!

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

May God bless ya…

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…a few weeks ago I started the second session of “Steps to Freedom” class (now called “Freedom in Christ”) at Grace Church, and I’m still smiling from the great spirited input from the men as we began to tackle Neil Anderson’s, “The Bondage Breaker”.  What a powerful book.  I opened the class with this quote from the author: “I believe one of the greatest disservices of the modern-day church is not plainly teaching about the reality of – and the threat to us by – the Kingdom of Darkness.  Being unaware of that truth makes us all vulnerable to being overpowered by evil forces.”  The Bible certainly contains enough information regarding evil forces, yet many churches don’t like to venture into this arena because many people are frightened by this message; some people sneer at the existence of the devil; and feedback from the congregation is usually less than enthusiastic.

1 Peter 5: 8-9 is quite specific: “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.  Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian Brothers and Sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.”  And Apostle Paul tells us about the nature of our battle in Ephesians 6:10-12: “ A final word:  Put on all of God’s armor (the Truth; the Word of God) so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil.  For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms.”  And he closes this section with a warning: “Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm.”  Believe me, the term “battle” is quite appropriate here.  This indeed is a battle for your soul and your eternal destiny!

For non-believers, this message is foolishness.  I know that because in my proud atheist days, I was quick to challenge, mock and ridicule anyone’s statement of faith. But if the subject of satan ever came up, I was even more belligerent.  “Are you serious?  How can a smart person like you (and me, of course) fall for such outrageous gobbledygook?  That is nothing more than an empty threat by religion to keep it’s flock in line. Surely you don’t believe in ghosts and spirits!” I’ve never encountered any…have you?”

In retrospect, I have come to realize that nonbelievers are not particularly bothered by satan because he already has them in the palm of his hand.  They are just doing what comes naturally because they are motivated by their sin-nature (or as our culture call’s it, our “human nature).  They are living to satisfy themselves, and the thought of pleasing God is nowhere to be found on their radar screen.  They are already an active part of the kingdom of darkness.

If you really want to find out if satan is real, make a decision to break free from his grip.  Whether it is joining a recovery program, seeking counseling, or making a decision to follow Jesus Christ, satan and his minions will attack you at warp-speed to try to shipwreck your efforts. He has honed his skill, and he is relentless!

But as a Christ-follower, we already have “everything we need for living a godly life.” (2 Peter 1:3)  God’s salvation plan for us not only seals our eternal destiny, but He gave us a gift to empower us to become the person He created us to be right here, right now in this fallen world.  After all, He knows we’re weak.  He gave us from Creation to 2018 years ago (the coming of Christ) to overcome the dilemma of sin. But instead of overcoming, we continued a downward spiral that is “poetically” described  in Roman’s 5:6: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”  That’s pretty clear…don’t you think?  Christ set us free from the bondage of sin at the cross, but that doesn’t stop satan. Even though he is a defeated foe, he doesn’t want us to know that.  He will do anything and everything in his power to keep us from experiencing the “abundant life” Jesus promised all Christ-followers. He just keeps turning up the heat in his lies, deceptions, and accusations.

The following is a quote from Neil Anderson’s “Victory Over The Darkness.”  “Satan is a defeated foe; therefore, his power is limited, but he still has the ability to deceive “the whole world.” (Revelation 12:9)  Jesus said, “The devil…does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar, and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)  But the truth is…satan has no authority or power over us except what we yield to him.   It’s time to put on the Armor of God.

Because satan’s primary weapon is the lie, your defense against him is the truth.  Dealing with satan is not as much a power encounter as it is a truth encounter.  When you expose satan’s lie with God’s truth, his power is broken.  That is why Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32) Satan’s lie cannot withstand The Truth any more than the darkness of night can withstand the light of the rising sun.  We are not called to dispel the darkness; we are called to turn on the light.”

So how do I dispel satan’s lies with the truth? The same way Jesus did in the wilderness.  Jesus spoke The Truth to satan after three temptations, and satan left himThe Truth of God’s Word.

We are called to live by faith, so that is why we must put together a platform of faith on which to stand.  Each plank in that platform of faith is a Scripture that we can quote back to satan just as Jesus did.  For instance, Jesus said… “I have given you authority over all the powerful schemes of the devil.  Nothing will harm you.” (Luke 10:19)  He also said…“In this world you will have trouble.  But fear not!  I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)  (And the truth here is… because we are in Christ, we, too, have overcome the world.)  And finally, 1John 4:4, “The Spirit that is in me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than the spirit of this world.” (Satan)  The truth is…we are already victorious.  The challenge is…we have to know that and live that truth.  That is the key to living the abundant life Jesus promised all Christ-followers.

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

May God Bless Ya,

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

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

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

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

Today Is A New Beginning

Well, my friends….today is already a glorious day and its only 6:30 am!  I just walked into the house from my morning walk(s); first through beautiful Laurel Park with Glenn (a handsome golden retriever/chow mix) and Cliff (an adorable, ornery sheltie); then a longer excursion through our neighborhood with the love and joy of my life, Miss Pam (my wife).  That is the entire Presgrave family and I thank God each day for blessing me so richly.  But today is uniquely different in another way; it is 69 degrees right now IN ST. LOUIS on JULY 29, 2013.  Wow!  That indeed is a treat!!

But as I sit down in front of my computer with a fresh cup of hot coffee, I am well aware that the new activity that really makes this a special day is me preparing to write my first blog.  I am really looking forward to these postings each Monday because I love sharing messages that are positive, up-lifting and encouraging.  Today I am able to share messages of that nature, but that was not always the case (as you will see if you peruse my website, www.meetpastordan.com).  Because of the journey I have been on for the past decade and my willingness  to embrace change,  I  have  been blessed today with a life that is happy, joyous and free.  Since I have been given a “second chance at life”, I CANNOT help but share the good news  I have learned about me and about life with anyone who wants to hear it.  That’s the way it works….we get fixed then we reach out to help others.

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

If there is anything that is keeping you from living life to the fullest….take the plunge! 

I’m already looking forward to next Monday when I can post my next blog!!

God bless ya,

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I have mentioned in previous postings my process for coming up with topics each week.  Sometimes a topic pops into my head based on what is happening in my life; or what is happening in the news or the political arena; or a desire to stress certain Biblical principles.  In these cases, by the time I am ready to sit down and write, I generally have a format in my mind of how I want to approach the subject, and I’m ready to roll.  Then there are other times when I sit down in front of the computer that I haven’t got that “idea” in my head yet, and I feel like I am floundering around in a vast wasteland.

I used to panic, but now I know the answer. I smile and say, “Holy Spirit, I’m counting on you.  I want to write something that brings honor and glory to God, but right now I my inspirational-well is dry.  Help me get out of the way so you can work through me.  Today was one of those days; and true to my past experiences, He never fails to show-up. 🙂  I began my prayer by saying, “Heavenly Father…I stand in awe of who you are”, and Bingo… I had my topic.

Just saying that opening phrase out-loud brings a smile to my face. And with that smile comes a feeling of total love, acceptance and confidence.  When I think that God – Creator of the universe; Godhead of the Trinity, a Sovereign God; the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent One; the Alpha and Omega (the timeless One), I try my best to wrap my mind around these majestic qualities. But in all honesty, they are so far beyond my finite level of thinking; I can only accept them by what I have experienced on a daily basis from all of the other personal qualities of God. 1John 4:8 tells me that “God is Love.”  Therefore, if God is Love he can only beget goodness, kindness, mercy, compassion and Grace, and his love can only be unconditional, unending, unfailing and uncompromising. Not only does the Bible reiterate those truths over and over, but I have experienced all of that to be true in my life.

So let me run interference here for a moment, because I know there is someone reading this who is saying…“Oh Yea…what about in the Old Testament.  There are numerous examples of God being a mean, angry, blood-thirsty God.  In fact he even flooded the earth in order to kill every living creature.”  Yes, that is all true.  But now let’s look at two fundamental principles from which springs everything else that is written in the Bible: God is Love; and God wants a relationship with us…not only a here-and-now relationship, but an eternal relationship. In fact, God created us in his image, and he gave us the capacity to think rationally so we could choose to enter into that relationship with Him.

Now let’s look at Ephesians 1:3-10.  We are told that, “Long ago, even before God created the world, he 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. He is so rich in kindness that he purchased our freedom through the blood of his dearly loved Son, and our sins are forgiven.  God’s plan always centered on Jesus Christ, and this is his plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on the earth.”

So back to God of the Old Testament.  Notice that the example from Ephesians begins with, “Long ago, even before God created the world (and man), he loved us and chose us in Christ… So why did God need a plan centered on Jesus Christ even before he created the world… but even more important to us, before he created Man?  Could it be that because God is omniscient, he knew he would have to give us “free-will” so we could choose to enter into that relationship with him; but he also knew that we would use our “free will” to take the focus off of Him and put it on our self.  That is the definition of  “Sin” – living separated from God.  While God is Love, God abhors Sin. Why?  Because it is the antithesis of his nature.  God is Holy, “there is no darkness in him.” (1John 1:5)

In the Old Testament, God’s chosen people were the Israelites.  They were his chosen people because they were the smallest and weakest people-group, therefore his power and might would be manifested through them.  And it was also from this lineage that the Messiah was to come, so God’s intent in the Old Testament was to protect “his people” from the stronger pagan nations that were a threat to their existence.  Remember… at the time of the flood there were only eight righteous people on the earth…Noah and his Clan. God’s wrath in the Old Testament was against nations that were idol worshipers and in other ways disobedient to his Holy nature.  All of that changed when God implemented his plan that was revealed even before the world and man were created; the coming of the promised and much anticipated Messiah, Jesus Christ, who would do for Mankind what we clearly were unable to do for ourselves!

Remember, God gave Man from Creation to 2016 years ago to overcome the dilemma of SIN.  That IS the chasm that separated Man from God.  As long as Man is stained with sin, we are unworthy of coming into His presence.  Why?  “Because the wages of Sin is death”! (Romans 6:23), and because Sin “steals, kills and destroys.” (John 10:10) If you doubt that, just look at the world around you.  Does this look like Paradise?  Remember, it was at Creation…but the ravages of sin are quite evident; hatred, jealousy, anger, lying, cheating, stealing, addictions and compulsions, murder, slander, dishonor, pain, suffering, and death. NONE of this was in God’s plan.

But the Good News is…God is Love, and God always had a plan for the redemption of Mankind.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Romans 5:6, because it tells so clearly and succinctly the state of Mankind when God gave us his Gift of Grace.  “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.”  Remember, God gave us from Creation to 2016 ago,  and what was the best we could do…“utterly helpless”!

Note that God didn’t insist that we clean up our act first before he gave us his Gift of Grace.  No…he gave us this gift while we were still “sinners” (his enemy – Romans 5:10) This is the perfect example of his unconditional, unending, unfailing and uncompromising love for us. (Notice Apostle Paul included himself in that phrase “us sinners.”) 

Romans 3:22-25 clearly and succinctly explains the Gosple of Grace: “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 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.”

Today Mankind still faces the dilemma of SIN.  But under the New Covenant, God has shown us a new way of being made right in his sight. Not by the way of the Old Testament – the Law, which required our best effort to adhere to it so we could be acceptable to God- but by accepting his Gift of Grace. (FYI…just in case you were wondering, all of those who were declared righteous by God in the Old Testament were redeemed by Christ when he descended into Hades between his Crucifixion and Resurrection.  The Saints rose with Him to Glory on that Easter Sunday morning.  (Matthew 27:52-53)  This also shows God as a Just God.)

When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, not only are our sins forgiven so we can spend eternity with God, Jesus and all other Christ-followers, “but we are identified as his own by the indwelling Holy Spirit, which is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised, and that he has purchased us to be his own people.”  (Ephesians 1:14) This is the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. I already used part of this verse above, but now I will use the complete Scripture: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord!”  (Romans 6:23) Wow!  Is there any wonder why I stand in awe of who God is?  He is truly unconditional, unfailing, unending, uncompromising Love!

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

May God Bless y’all,

Dan  Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…after a fun weekend in Chicago to attend our new niece’s baptism ceremony – and to be away from the news for three days – I am back, charged-up, and ready to go.  Chicago is one of my favorite cities to visit, and we were blessed with an air show on the lake-front while we were there.  The acrobatics of the biplanes and the speed and maneuverability of the military jets is something to behold. If you haven’t seen an air show before, I highly recommend it… especially since we all have probably fantasized about being a “top gun.”

One of my favorite scriptures – and in fact, the story of my life – can be found in John 8:32: “Jesus told his disciples, ‘if you follow my teachings you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  Notice Jesus was very specific about the teachings he was referencing…“my teachings”.  And what did Jesus teach?  He taught about love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, compassion, acceptance, and being of service to our fellow man.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we lived in a world where that teaching was predominate?

But all we have to do is turn on the local news or look at the daily news headlines, and we are brought back to the reality that “evil” is alive and well.  In fact, it appears it is winning out in the eternal morality play of “Good vs. Evil”. But thank God, as Christ-followers we already know how this play turns out.  In John 16:33, Jesus addressed our situation.  He said, “In this world you will have trouble. But fear not! I have overcome the world.”  And again in Philippians 2:10-11 it states, “…that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,  and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”  Thank God again that we have The Truth – His Truth, the same Truth Jesus was referencing above, to cling to.

I remember not too long ago, in fact the day after the first massacre in Paris that claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent men, women and children, our President addressed an audience and claimed that the greatest threat to the world was not terrorism or ISIS, nor nuclear weapons or the rogue states that are developing them, but the greatest threat to the world is global warming.  I couldn’t help but wonder how his assessment was received by the families of the victims slaughtered by the JV team of ISIS the day before.  Call me crazy, but I think hated and brutal killings = EVIL = THREAT!

While our current government leadership refuses to lead the charge against the evil that is ISIS, the ACLJ (American Center for Law and Justice) does have the courage to do just that.  They have stood against the evil trappings of the Liberal Progressive Agenda (characterized by this administration – and heaven forbid- perhaps even a next administration) on many issues and have won many cases.  On the way home yesterday, I found this article in one of their recent newsletters.  I thought I would let this article share with you the truth that you will never hear in the mainstream media. Unfortunately evil is alive and well, and is among us.  May God bless you and keep you safe.

ACLJ NEWSLETTER:

It is mind-boggling, heart-rendering and alarming!  Yet genocide—the intentional action to systematically eliminate an ethnic, national, racial or religious group—accelerates despite the rising demands to stop this horror. Although, Secretary of State John Kerry has declared that Christians as well as Yazidis and Shi’a Muslims are suffering genocide at the hands of the terrorist group known as the Islamic State, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, in a recent interview with Genocide Watch, confirms that ISIS continues its genocidal quest to “purify” the Mideast so Islam can reign supreme.

Consider the following: Christians numbered about 1.4 million members in Iraq before 2003, but today Iraqi Christians amount to only 250,000 or less. That’s a staggering 82% drop in the Christian population. In Syria, two-thirds of its Christian population, which numbered 2 million in 2011, is now displaced or slaughtered. Despite the fact that Christian communities of Iraq and Syria are ancient ones with ties to the earliest Church, and while some of these Christians still pray in the Aramaic language of Jesus of Nazareth and trace their religion to Thomas (one of the twelve apostles), they now face a situation that Pope Frances calls an “ecumenism of blood.”

After intense public pressure (led by the ACLJ), the Obama Administration finally recognized the “genocide against . . . Christians.” Nevertheless, the Administration refuses to make the admission of Christian refugees from Syria a top priority.

In 1946, the first session of the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution that affirmed that genocide was a crime under international law. In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. More recently the United Nations Security Council determined that genocide is a crime under international law regardless of whether committed in time of peace or time of war. Five months ago, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution by a vote of 393 to 0 declaring ISIS beheadings, enslavement, mass rape, and other atrocities against Christians as genocide.

As we’ve previously reported, the resolution provides:

Whereas Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities have been murdered, subjugated, forced to emigrate and suffered grievous bodily and psychological harm, including sexual enslavement and abuse, inflicted in a deliberate and calculated manner in violation of the laws and treaties forbidding crimes against humanity, . . . the atrocities committed against Christians and other ethnic and religious minorities targeted specifically for religious reasons, are, and are hereby declared to be, “crimes against humanity”, and “genocide.”  And yet the slaughter continues because the Obama Administration refuses to take action.

For instance, only a few sick or elderly Christians remain in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, Syria, placing Christians and Christianity on the edge of extinction. For centuries, Syria was a melting pot that included Sunni Muslim, Alawites, Christians, Armenians and others. Today, the sand runs red with the blood of Christians and others. Now the vicious ISIS ideology that sustains genocide has spread to parts of Asia and North and Central Africa. Regrettably again, despite this spreading virus, the Obama Administration refuses to clearly identify the party responsible for this terror or take aggressive action to end the slaughter.

The Obama Administration’s refusal becomes all the more poignant by noticing that the Islamic State, in its July 31st issue of Dabiq, titled “Break the Cross,” the Islamic State maintains that its genocidal terror campaign is motivated by the pursuit of radical Islamic superiority. The Islamic State supplies unmistakable evidence that its reign of terror and barbarity—a campaign that has placed the lives of so many Christians and Yazidis at risk—is driven by its connection with radical Islamist ideology and its desire to purify the “caliphate” of infidels.

Current reports indicate that ISIS, along with its predecessors and affiliates, have carried out more than 4,900 attacks since 2002, killing more than 33,000 people, injuring tens of thousands, and displacing millions more. Evidently ISIS carries out more than 100 attacks per month and its thirst for blood remains unabated. It is time to take ISIS’s genocidal campaign seriously and it is time to take them at their word.

The ACLJ has continued to advocate to protect persecuted Christians and other religious minorities being targeted by ISIS’ genocide.  We are preparing our next series of critical legal actions, including a letter to the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and letters to every U.S. presidential candidate, laying out the gruesome facts and the legal obligations to protect the victims.

We must continue acting and speaking out until the genocide is stopped. Please help our effort by sharing this truth with others.

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

May God continue to bless all my Brothers and Sisters in Christ…

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers… I have always felt there are two fundamental principles from which the rest of the words in the Bible emanate, and those two principles are 1. God is Love and 2. God wants a relationship with us…each and every one of us; and not just a here and now relationship, but an eternal relationship.  If those two principles are not stated that clearly and succinctly on every page of the Bible, they are certainly interwoven in the Scripture.  Since we were created for a relationship with our Creator, that makes the inter-working of these two principles particularly special. In other words, without love there can be no relationship.  And to view this on a worldly level,  since the divorce rate is so astronomically high in our culture, it bears examining the requirements of a successful relationship.

In the original Greek language of the New Testament, there were four different words that indicated four different levels of love.  Eros, meaning physical attraction; Phileo, means beyond physical attraction, and a deeper feeling (friendship) is developing; Storge, refers to “family”-type love such as siblings have for one another, or parents have for their children; and Agape love is the highest form of love; it is self-sacrificial love.  That is the love Jesus demonstrated while he was on earth, so every time the word “love” is used in the Bible, it refers to Agape love.

I believe we also have three different words in our language that indicates different levels of personal interaction between people.  One is “acquaintance”, meaning we recognize one another, we wave,and  we make idle conversation.  Next is “friend”, meaning we have invested enough time developing a friendship that we know what makes the other person “tick”…and we truly “like” them.  And finally we have a “relationship”, meaning we have progressed beyond the friendship level and there is a feeling of mutual trust and safety that allows each of us to express what’s really going on in our heart.  If you look at your own life, you can probably pick out those who fall into these three catagories.

Now let’s look and see how all of this applies to our life.  God is simply described by one word in 1John, 4:8:  “God is Love”, and again in 1John 4:19 we are told, “We love because God first loved us.”  And in Ephesians 1:4-5 we are told, “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 perhaps my favorite verse in the Bible, Romans 5:6 tells us in crystal-clear terms when God implemented his unchanging plan: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”  Wow!  Now let’s look carefully at the lessons for our life contained in Ephesians and Romans above.

Long ago, even before God created the world – and even before he created Man – he had a plan for us.  So why do you think he had an alternative plan even before he did the creating?  Well…because God is Love, Omniscient and Omnipotent, he knew we were going to use the free-will he had to give us so we could choose to enter into a relationship with him, for a purpose other than for which it was intended. And sure enough, right out of the gate Man was disobedient by taking the focus off God and putting it on himself by exercising his free will for his own pleasure. Now bear in mind, that didn’t surprise God because he knows we are only dust.  That is why he always had a plan for our salvation in Jesus Christ.  He knew that he would have to do for us what we would prove from Creation to 2016 years ago that we could not do for ourselves.

Romans tells us when the time was right to implement His plan: when we were utterly helpless.  From Creation to 2016 years ago, Mankind was never able to overcome the SIN issue that separated us from God.  In fact, we continued to spiral downward and downward until we were utterly helpless! As I see this, I suspect God looked at his proudest creation and said, “I have to do this now if I want if I want anyone to be worthy and without fault in my eyes to spend eternity with me in Paradise.”  Notice his unconditional love in this matter. He didn’t wait until we cleaned up our act or we got it all together. He paid our sin ransom WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS!  Not only is God’s love unconditional, but it is unfailing and unending because it is still available to anyone who wants it today.

No doubt our number one relationship commitment is intended to be with God.  That is clearly stated in the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me”.  But no doubt the next most important relationship is the one with your spouse, in fact God ordained that relationship right after he created man.  Genesis 2:18; 1:28  tells us, “And the Lord said, ‘it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a companion to help him. God blessed them and told them ‘be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth.”  Genesis 2: 24  expresses God’s design for marriage, “This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two become one.”

No doubt, relationships – and I am using the term generically now to mean the interaction between people – are the most challenging encounters of our life. And that should be no surprise, because we are each one a unique specimen.  Our souls (mind, emotions, and will) are shaped by our life experiences from early childhood into adulthood, and we all have learned coping methods to survive in this fallen world. (You realize this isn’t paradise…right?) But the relationship I want to talk about right now is the marriage relationship.  It is the most challenging because it is intended to be a life-long commitment through sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse…Wowzzzzer! Notice the above paragraph where I underlined and highlighted the last five words.  That is referred to as the “mystery of marriage”, and for most people it remains a mystery and accounts for the high divorce rate.

Most people can relate to “two becoming one” on a physical level, but what does it mean on a spiritual level?  Once you figure that out, you have the keys to a successful marriage.

I have the privilege of facilitating a marriage class. We are using a book called, “Keep Your Love On” by Danny Silk. (I highly recommend the book to anyone who wants to delve deeper into this subject.) The author refers to the goal of marriage as  “connection”, and he states that in any relationship we are either moving toward connection or disconnection.  Connection results from wanting to love our spouse, and showing it by our words and deeds. And secondly it requires that we know our spouses’ “love language” (needs and desires) and purposely speak to those needs through our actions.

When Jesus was on this earth, his relationship with people was always expressed in Agape love.  In other words, his focus was about sharing his love with the other person (ie.putting them first, meeting their needs, exalting them.)  In a marriage, we want our spouse to feel loved in the same way; we want them to know they are the most important person in our world, and that we are willing to do whatever necessary to achieve that connection!

But the most important aspect of a successful marriage is inviting God to be at the center.  As the married couple, you make up two strands of the marriage cord, but when you ask God to be the third strand – just like what the sailors learned years ago when they were transporting goods across the ocean, when they moved from a two-stranded rope to a three-stranded rope to tie down the cargo – it was virtually unbreakable against high winds and rough seas.  The same is true of a marriage relationship.  You will be much better prepared to face the trials and tribulations that will surely come your way when God is the third strand of your marriage.

Apostle Paul defines agape love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.  To anyone who reads this, without even trying it, will immediately realize this is impossible to accomplish by our own will.  But the good news is…as a Christ-follower we have the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in us to give us wisdom, insight, revelation, courage, strength, patience, perseverance, whatever it is we need to bring honor and glory to God through our choices to accomplish his purpose in our marriage.  This gift is given to us as part of his salvation package so we can rise above our circumstances, or life’s challenges, to become the person he created us to be.  This is substantiated in James 4:10, “When we bow down (not a religious gesture, but a state of humility) before the Lord and admit our dependence on him, he will lift us up and give us honor.”  I have found this Scripture to be an unfailing plank in my platform of faith.  A-men!

Our class goal: To achieve and maintain “connection” with my spouse.  I will ask the Holy Spirit to give me eyes to see, ears to hear, wisdom to understand, and a willingness to love my spouse with the same unconditional love He imparts to me.”

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

May God Bless Ya…

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