PROPHECY – THE BAD NEWS AND THE GOOD NEWS

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Yesterday was a great day at Grace Church-St. Louis.  Pastor Ron Tucker and Wes Martin shared the stage in a round table discussion to set-up the upcoming message series entitled, “Faith for the New Year”.  One thing I admire so much about our church is the Pastoral Staff does not shy away from tackling social issues, or the depraved state of our culture and how it all fits into the Biblical prophecies regarding end-times.  Since I have written numerous blogs regarding the moral and spiritual bankruptcy of our culture, I would like to pick up on that topic again and add enlightening information I took away from yesterday’s message at Grace Church.

The Bible is a one- of -a- kind book.  Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Timothy:3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right.  It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.”  In other words, it is our “owner’s manual” for life. But the Bible is also a book of world history – history that is supported in secular writing.  However,  the most unique aspect of the Bible is its prophetic content and the proven accuracy of such prophecies.  There are prophecies that have predicted events with pin-point accuracy hundreds, even thousands of years before they happened.

Psalm 2 was penned by David about 1000 BC.  It predicted the coming of Jesus Christ, but it also reinforced the proclamation that has been sounded since the earliest Prophets: “Repent. Turn from your sin and turn to God.”  The psalm talks about the depravity of mankind, but it also shows God’s abundant mercy when we repent.  As you read this, ask yourself, “Does the spiritual darkness of our culture sound like the one described in the opening paragraph?

Psalm 2:  “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.”  Man has turned against God. (Worldly thinking and human wisdom has been elevated above God’s ways.  Man wants to free himself to become his own god.)

“But the one who rules in heaven laughs.  The Lord scoffs at them, terrifying them with his fierce fury. For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king on the throne in Jerusalem, my holy city.” The King proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my son.  Today I have become your Father’. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession.  You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.”  (God laughs at Man’s attempt to elevate himself above His way, and he proclaims the answer to be Jesus Christ.)

“Now then, you kings, act wisely!  Be warned you rulers of the earth!  Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Submit to God’s royal son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of your pursuits – for his anger can flare up in an instant.”   (A warning is given, and this warning is applicable to any Spiritually bankrupt culture; continued rebellion will result in the wrath of God.)

“But what joy for all who find protection in him!”  (There is good news in the face of imminent destruction. Our God is a merciful God; He wants to save us from ourselves. The answer is repentance; a willingness to turn from our sinful ways and turn to Jesus Christ.)

An appropriate writing to accompany Psalm 2 can be found in the Book of Joel, written around 700BC.  The first part of Joel tells us about God’s wrath on a people who, like today’s culture, turned their backs on Him.  Chapter 1 is about the army of locust that destroyed all the crops and vegetation.   But chapter 2:12-14 is a call to repentance.  “That is why the Lord says, ‘Turn to me now, while there is time!  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief; instead, tear your hearts.  Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful.  He is not easily angered.  He is filled with kindness and is eager not to punish you.  Who knows? Perhaps even yet he will give you a reprieve, sending you a blessing instead of this terrible curse…” 

In this latter part of Chapter 2:30-32, Joel is definitely referencing the second coming of Jesus when he writes: “I will cause wonders in the heavens and on the earth – blood and fire and pillars of smoke.  The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn bloodred before that great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.  And anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

When we read these words, is the handwriting not on the wall for any person or culture that turns away from God? And history confirms these prophecies. The Bible is resplendent with accounts of blessings that come to those who faithfully follow God’s ways, but it also contains accounts of people and civilizations that have fallen because of their refusal to accept his Sovereignty. Let’s look at the fall of the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires, or the Third Reich or Imperial Japan?  While there are many worldly contributors to those events, such as desire for wealth, more power, and more control, the root cause was turning away from God.  When a person or nation expunges God from his rightful place and exalts human thinking and human wisdom, he withdraws both his blessings and his protection.

Historically speaking, I believe our country is way beyond a political solution to its myriad of problems.  No doubt new leadership and new policies will definitely be a welcomed change, but the crux of the problem is still wrapped in moral decay and a prevalence of lying, cheating, stealing, corruption and especially, the concerted effort on the part of the Liberal Progressive Agenda to stamp out Jesus. (To learn more about the Liberal Progressive Agenda –LPA, visit my blog entitled “The Unmentioned Enemy” 12-7-2015.) This was predicted in 2Peter 3:3, “I want to remind you that in the last days there will be scoffers who will laugh at the truth and do every evil thing they desire.” Unfortunately our culture has become both numbed down and dumbed down by policies and biased information that makes such behavior seem almost natural.

But the good news is…the Prophet Joel also gives us the solution to our situation in chapter 2:15. “Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem. (America) Announce a time of fasting; call the people together for a solemn meeting.  Bring everyone – the elders, the children and even babies.  The priests, who minister in the Lord’s presence, will stand between the people and the alter weeping.  Let them pray, ‘Spare your people, Lord!  They belong to you.  Don’t let them become an object of mockery.”  I believe our hope is in a concerted effort by the Church to come together and pray unceasingly for mercy on our countryThe time is now to experience the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit.  Church…it’s OUR time.

Please 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)

 

 

HOW TO LIVE A JOY-FILLED LIFE

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I love mornings like this. The first thought on my mind  when I opened my eyes today was this song I sang as a child: “Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, Oh how I love Jesus, Because He first loved me!”

But as you know from my story, there were many years I didn’t sing that song because I drifted away from my early childhood teachings and pursued my own path – which took me to a very dark place. But here’s the Good News at work..Jesus was still there to pick up the pieces and put this “humpty dumpty” back together again. So today when I sing, “Oh how I love Jesus”, it is because I have experienced his unconditional, unending, unfailing love for me. Consequently, today I live a joy-filled life knowing that I am a new creation in Christ and will spend eternity with Jesus and all Christ-followers in Paradise.

But unfortunately, I lost many years of joy by being “too smart” and “too full of myself”. In my mind I had all the answers and everything fit into “my paradigm of wisdom”. So when I would hear someone profess their faith, I would snicker and ridicule them saying, “How can any reasonably intelligent person be expected to believe such a fairy-tale. This is just religion trying to keep you in bondage to its self-promoting agenda.” Unfortunately I really believed that for thirty-plus years. In fact, if someone would have told me I would someday make the last statement in the paragraph above, it would have sent me into a tirade!

But today when I look back at that time, I realize I was the one held in bondage by my own ignorance. Not ignorance in terms of stupidity, but ignorance from not knowing the truth. Jesus tells us in John 8:32: “If you follow my teachings you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” The fact is…I was unaware of the truth!

Notice that promise begins with the responsibility being on the listener, “if you”. The onus is on us to be willing to make the effort to find the truth. Today I believe that any anyone who is “willing” to open the Bible and connect the unmistakable dots cannot help but find the Truth. But alas…most people don’t do that. And why is that? Because most people have bought into worldly thinking and satan’s lies and deception.

Bob George, author of “Classic Christianity” tells us that the truth will set us free, but error keeps us in bondage. Below are some of the errors I believed about God that kept me from the truth  Each error is followed by the true statement.1. God is: distant and uncaring; truth: intimate, kind and compassionate. 2. God is: never satisfied with me, is impatient or angry with me; truth: eager to spend time with me, patient, slow to anger, loving, gentle and kind. 3. God takes the fun out of life; truth: his will is good, pleasing and perfect to me. He wants to give me life to the fullest. 4 God is: controlling or manipulative; truth: is full of grace and mercy. 5 God is: condemning and unforgiving; truth: tenderhearted and forgiving. His arms are always open to us. It was becoming aware of God’s true nature that brought me out of the darkness and into the light.

Then my mind was open to learn from the Book of Ephesians. I learned that God always had a plan for mankind, even before the world was created, and even before the fall of man. And that plan centered on Jesus Christ. God knew man would fall away from his intended purpose, so his plan was always to provide a Savior to do for us what we would prove without a shadow of a doubt we could not do for ourselves. Apostle Paul stated this emphatically in Romans 5:6: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” Because of our pathetic state of being, the time was right to step in and provide the answer for the dilemma of mankind; SIN! (Sin in this case means we lived with the focus on our self rather than on God.)

Romans 3: 21-25 tells of the implementation of God’s plan. “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 sin. And we all can be saved in the 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.”  Once I got my erroneous thinking straightened out, the truth began to take root in me.

But notice that Jesus was very specific about what truth he was talking about. He said, “when you follow my teaching”. He was very specific. Not worldly teaching, but His teaching. His teaching IS what sets us free. And what did Jesus teach? Love, mercy, kindness, grace, forgiveness, humility, tolerance and service to our fellow man.  Now I know that the teaching of Jesus did provide many qualities  that had been missing in my life.

Today I know who I am in Christ. I’m a Child of God; I’m grafted into His family; my sins are forgiven; I am guaranteed eternal life; I am worthy and acceptable in His eyes because I am covered with the blood of Jesus; I am heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm; and I am heir to all the promises in the Bible.

Because of this reality, today when I sing, “Oh how I love Jesus”, it is because Jesus was willing to pay the redemptive price for me that makes all the above blessings possible. Because I am in Christ, I live a joy-filled life that I believe is unobtainable from any other source. Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the Real Deal!

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

Happy New Year to Y’all and May God Bless you in 2016

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

INTENTIONAL LIVING ALLOWS US TO RISE ABOVE THIS WORLD

Good Morning, meetpastordan readers…I was recently talking with a friend who is relatively new in the AA program, and he was telling me how difficult it is to make the changes that he knows he has to make in order to get – and stay – sober.  He was in a treatment center for thirty days, and then he moved into a sober living house for another two months. According to him, he thought he was really getting the 12 step program.  But unfortunately, he is now out of treatment and on his own, and has moved back into his old neighborhood.  The old environment; the old friends; the old temptations are making it very difficult for him to stay the course, so he wanted to talk with me about his situation (and about a solution).

I’d had similar opportunities for this conversation before, so I knew exactly the approach I intended to take.  There is a weekend radio show that is broadcast in our area called, “Intentional Living.” As the name implies, it is about engaging in the process of change.  “Change” is the result of us being intentional about the way we do things. For instance, Phillippa Lally is a health psychology researcher at University College in London. In a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, Lally and her research team decided that on average, it takes about two months for a new habit to become automatic. In other words, we have to participate in the process of change and be intentional about our choices. 

Whether we are talking about a successful walk in a recovery program or the Christian walk of sanctification, the process is exactly the same.  And that should come as no surprise since the 12 steps are based on Christian principles.  Both endeavors require us to establish a solid spiritual foundation (Steps 1,2, and 3); to repent (Steps 4 and 5);  to ask God to help us to change (Steps 6 and 7); then we begin cleaning up the messes we have made (Steps 8 and 9); and lastly, we continue to take a moral inventory of ourselves; maintain a conscious contact with God; and carry the message of hope to others who are suffering (Steps 10,11 and 12).  In my opinion, if there were a 13th and 14th Apostle, it would have been Bill Wilson and Bob Smith, the co-founders of AA, because like the prophets before them, they were undoubtedly inspired by the Holy Spirit to put this program together.  And the fruit is plentiful. Millions of lives have been changed by this process.

The intentional part of change begins by feeding the right information into our mind.  Apostle Paul had this right when he wrote in Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the patterns 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.”  Modern day psychology also follows this principle (although they may not be aware of it): “Whatever a person puts into their head shapes their expectations and their actions follow.”

So when I was talking with my friend about his dilemma, I stressed the importance of being intentional about his actions.  It is important we believe in (or have faith in) the process; are committed to the process; and are willing to take the appropriate actions.  For instance, in 2 Corinthians 10:5, Apostle Paul tells us: “…to demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  In other words, when old thoughts come into our head that are rooted in evil, don’t let them take root.  Take them captive (immediately), and replace them with thoughts that are pleasing to God.  As stated earlier in this paragraph, if we dwell on ungodly thoughts and give them the opportunity to entice us, ungodly actions are likely to follow.

Galatians 5:17-18 explains the constant conflict between complacency and change: 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 conflictBut when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to your sin nature.

Because change always requires that we rise above our circumstances to become the person God wants us to be, the “right choice” of a “higher power” is essential.  Unfortunately traditional AA leaves a gray area when it comes to selecting a “higher power”, therefore, it is often left up to the “sponsor” to explain this concept to his “sponsee”. But the truth is…the extent of his effectiveness depends on his own conception and understanding of “higher power.”  In a Christian 12 step recovery program, that problem is eradicated because Jesus Christ IS our higher power. In fact, Jesus Christ is the ONLY higher power! Lucky for me, my friend in this discussion is a Christ-follower (therefore in Christ), but his misunderstanding of the indwelling Holy Spirit was the root of his issues.

[This paragraph is totally parenthetic because there has been 18 hours between the last paragraph and the next paragraph. In that interim time we have been dealing with a water problem in our lower level.  It has been raining hard in St. Louis for the past three days and our sump pump stopped working.  Luckily we became aware of the problem because I get up in the wee hours of the morning to write – or in this case to finish writing – my blog, and I went to check out our storage area.  I could start over now and write in one setting about God’s faithfulness; or the truth of the scripture, “I’ll never leave you or forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5); or “God works for the good in all things for those who love him and are called to his good purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Those will be future subjects, but suffice it to say, we escaped any serious damage and we now have a pump working on our behalf.  So…back to the original message] (18 hours and ten minutes later).

My friend’s misunderstanding is not a unique problem.  Many people hear about the Holy Spirit as part of the Trinity, but the concept of the indwelling Spirit was either neglected or not clearly explained.  My friend’s explanation to me was, “I kept asking God to change my life, but it was as though he never heard my prayers.”  I suspect that is the same scenario for many people who say, “Well, I’m just going to turn it over to God” or “I’m just going to let go and let God.”  I believe their expectation is that God will sprinkle some “God dust” over their lives and their problems will miraculously vanish.  But the truth is…it doesn’t work that way.

That is a total misconception of God’s marvelous gift to us.  We receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so we can rise above the world around us; or resist the carnal desires of our flesh; or stand strong against satan’s lies and deception.  God doesn’t fix our problems for us; he empowers us to fix our own problems.  James tells us in 1:2-4, “…whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy.  For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”

That is how we grow in our walk as Christ-followers.  We call on the Holy Spirit to empower us with wisdom, patience, courage, strength, and perseverance…whatever it is we need to rise above the problem(s) we are facingThis brings into our lives the truth of James 4:10: “When you bow down (humble yourself) and admit your dependence on him (in this case the Holy Spirit), he will lift you up and give you honor.”

We must never lose sight of the truth of the Trinity.  They are Three-in-One, not three separate entities.  In other words, God is Jesus; Jesus is the God; Jesus is the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is Jesus; God is the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit is God!  Make sense?

We received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who Jesus explains is himself in John 14:15-17. Just as his Apostles drew their strength and courage from him, we too can draw our strength and courage (or wisdom, patience, etc.) when we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us.  The Word tells us when our motivation for calling on the Spirit is to “become the person God created us to be” (Ref. Ephesians 2:10 where we are referred to as his “masterpiece”) or “to bring honor and glory to God”, our prayers will be heard (and answered in God’s time).

Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is only the first step in a life-long process of growing to become more like Him.  But our loving God knew the struggle we would have in this fallen world as we pursued that goal, because he saw the way this world treated his Son.  Therefore not only do we inherit forgiveness of sin and eternal life when we accept His Gift of Grace, but we also inherited the power to rise above the temptations we will surely face in this world.

God’s salvation plan for us is perfect because it not only takes care of our eternal destiny, but it allows us to start experiencing his Kingdom of Heaven right here and now as we become Christ’s light in this world’s darkness.  This process is not only the answer to our Christian walk, but it is also the answer to my friend achieving sobriety.

Our God is an awesome God, and he is available to ALL of us!!

May God bless you, and I hope you have a happy and prosperous New Year.

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers: Since it is December 21th , 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. But 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.”

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 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, and 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.”  The truth of God’s plan from Creation to today certainly validates angel Gabriel’s last statement. 

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); “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.

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2015 TO ONE AND ALL!  Please feel free to “like” and share this posting with other social media friends.

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

 

 

 

IN GOD WE TRUST

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers.  What a dreary morning in St. Louis.  Glenn, Cliff and I were out for a very early morning walk, and halfway through it started raining. Yuck!  The wind and the rain made home a very welcome sight – and the coffee all the more pleasing.  But we’re all dried off and nestled down now; me to start writing, and Cliff and Glenn are snuggled up, snoozing beside me.

To those reading this posting, it will not come as a surprise to hear that there has been a continuing conversation about removing the national motto – “In God We Trust” – from our currency. That proclamation has adorned our money since Eisenhower signed it into law in 1956.  When America proudly viewed itself as a Judeo/Christian nation, it seemed like adding this motto was the right thing to do.  No doubt there were other religions and religious beliefs practiced throughout our land, but the first amendment to our Constitution granted us freedom to worship however we should choose. The point is…differing religious beliefs seem to have been more tolerated a few decades ago. But unfortunately, today religious freedom has come under assault…especially Christianity and Judaism.  So before I wrote the first sentence this morning, I checked myself by looking at a one dollar bill. And there it was… “In God We Trust”, still proclaiming the hope of Americans.

Since our country was founded on Judeo/Christian principles, trusting in God was the norm rather than the exception.  In fact, our founding fathers spent many hours on their knees praying for guidance as they put together a brilliant document to govern our great country.  But as I wrote last week, there is a pervasive “liberal progressive agenda” (LPA) that is doing its best to chip, chip, chip away at the fundamental principles on which our country was founded, including the Constitution, Judeo-Christian beliefs, the sanctity of life and the traditional family structure.  Human wisdom has been elevated over Godly wisdom. (I would invite you to read my blog from last week (12/6) to get a more in-depth look at the LPA.)

We are told 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.”  Bowing down is the key, and it does not refer to a religious gesture.  It refers to the humble state of our heart, like the humility our founding fathers displayed when they turned to their source of strength and courage for guidance.  Humility, unfortunately, is totally lacking in the LPA, which, unfortunately again, is reflected in our leadership.

Let’s examine the motto, “In God We Trust”.  To put this motto into action, it calls on us to obey God’s first two Commandments: 1. I am the Lord, your God, and 2. Thou shall bring no false idols before me.  But the truth is, before someone can trust someone or something, they have to have had some positive experience with the object of trust.  Just because someone says they are trustworthy, do you believe them?  To accept something on face value or because someone told you it was so is “blind faith”.  And that faith often time will not stand up to life’s challenges.

Using myself as an example, I was a non-believer for half a century.  I fell for Satan’s lie and was my own god.  I was self-sufficient; successful by worldly standards; too smart to buy into the Gospel of Grace, and I had no use for God, religion, or that musty old book called the Bible!  Today I look back on that part of my life and can state categorically, my life then was based on ignorance.  Not ignorance in terms of stupidity, but ignorance of the Truth.

And how did I discover the Truth?  On April 21, 2000, I was at the end of my proverbial rope, and I offered up something like this non-ceremonial, rather pathetic plea: “God I don’t know if you’re there or not.  But if you are, I have to stop drinking alcohol.  I know I can’t do it on my own…please help me.”  That was it…nothing more. But this time my heart was different.  In the past I had occasionally called on God to help me “not get caught tonight”, “to help me to get ____”, to help me do ____”.  It was always about getting what I wanted.  (FYI…I got no answers to those prayers.)  But this time it was different.  This time it was a humble heart that was ready to change!   Although I didn’t know it at the time, I was experiencing the Truth of James 4:10 referenced four paragraphs above.

This is an example of God meeting us “where we are”, because I was “nowhere”.  But His Word tells us in numerous passages: “if you seek me you will find me”, (Jeremiah 29:13; Deuteronomy 4:29; Proverbs 8:17, etc.), and “if you abide in Me, my words will abide in you”. (John 15:7)  Notice those two promises, like so many of the others, begin with the first two words, “if you”.  Remember God gave us “free will”, so the initiation of this relationship has to begin with us.  But let me enthusiastically tell you that the loving God I found following my feeble prayer is like the loving father in the story of the Prodigal Son. (Luke 15:11-32)  He is waiting with open arms, hoping for us to return from the pigsty we created for ourselves, so he can welcome us home (or…lift us up and give us honor, as stated in James 4:10).  The more we abide in God and experience the truth of His Word come alive in our hearts, the easier it is to “trust Him.”  But we have to experience Him our self.  I don’t believe solid trust can develop through “blind faith”.

I’ve had the opportunity to ask people on numerous occasions this very important question: “Tell me about your God.”  More often than not, I get something like this.  “Wow. That’s really hard to put into words.  I mean God is everything to me.  I know he’s out there somewhere.  I just try to “let go let God”. While that might seem to be an all-encompassing answer, I doubt it will ever withstand life’s trials and tribulations.

As I have written on numerous occasions, two fundamental principles from which I believe everything else springs that is written in the Bible are: 1. “God is Love” and “God wants a relationship with us…an eternal relationship.”  If these two principles are not stated that clearly and succinctly, they are interwoven in the scriptures.  It’s impossible to read the Bible without encountering these truths on each page, so this is a great place to start when talking about YOUR God.

While we will never be able to wrap our head around the enormity of God’s being, it is important we realize there are two aspects to God’s nature (my feeble words right there.  This is when I wish I were a poet).  Every other religion in the world is about mankind reaching up to God to earn his acceptance through our works. (Unfortunately, even some Christian churches continue to highlight that endeavor.) But Christianity is founded on the belief that God reached down to save mankind from himself by offering a Savior to do for us what we proved from Creation to 2000 years ago we could not do for ourselves.

For those of us who are in Christ, we look at God as our “Abba Father”, or our daddy. (Romans 8:15)  Because we have accepted God’s Gift of Grace, we are grafted into his family.  We are a Child of God who is totally forgiven of our sin; who has inherited eternal life; who is now worthy and acceptable to God; who has inherited the righteousness of Christ; who is heir to all the promises in the Bible.  We can relate to God on a personal level by referring to him as loving, forgiving, good, kind, faithful and full of grace.  Why?  Because we have experienced these qualities in our own lives.

The other aspect of God’s nature are his majestic qualities; qualities that are way outside our finite paradigm of thinking.  These qualities present a huge stumbling block for the LPA.  They laugh and mock them because they cannot comprehend them. But that’s no wonder, because “spiritual things can only be spiritually discerned.” (1Corinthians 2:14)  Without the Holy Spirit, the human mind is incapable of grasping what we know to be the Truth.  When we speak of God being Creator of the Universe; omnipotent; omniscience; omnipresent; Alpha and Omega (timeless) or Godhead of the Trinity, those truths have been revealed to us through revelation.  But that revelation creates in us a healthy fear (reverence) of God and his glorious majesty.  There is absolutely nothing like God!  In him, through Jesus Christ, is revealed ALL wisdom, knowledge and understanding. (Colossians 2:3)

I believe the revelation of the truth in the last two paragraphs is absolutely indispensable in telling someone about YOUR God.  I also believe that being able to verbalize what you believe helps create a faith and trust on which you can stand.  When looking at the direction of the world and our culture today, it makes me realize how important it is to have that solid platform of faith on which we can stake our life.  Our motto is – and will continue to be – “In God We Trust!”   Amen.

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

May God Bless Ya…

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

THE UNMENTIONED ENEMY!

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers: as I have mentioned in previous postings… like so many other evenings when I went to bed thinking I was going to write about one topic, when I awaken I had an entirely different message laid out in my mind.  Well…today is one of those days.  Needless to say, with our world and our culture spiraling into the morass of moral and spiritual decay at “breakneck” speed, it seems that each passing hour presents a new “low” that leaves followers of Jesus Christ shaking their head and exclaiming, “I can’t believe this is happening!”  But it is…

So let me begin by stating some obvious facts.  If one holds to the fundamental principles of: 1. The Constitution; 2. Judeo/Christian beliefs; 3. the traditional family structure; 4. the sanctity of “life” – and make no mistake, I am intentionally shinning the  “light”  on the darkness of the multi-billion dollar abortion industry – you can expect to be mocked and vilified by the prevailing “liberal-progressive agenda.”  And what is the liberal-progressive agenda? (LPA)  Well…I will give my interpretation of how I see that agenda playing out, knowing full-well that someone else might define it differently.

As I see the LPA, it is an agenda wrapped in wealth, power and control.  It seems to be under the umbrella of a huge, bureaucratic government that believes the more “it” can make the populace dependent on government, the more “it” can control the populace.  “It” believe in the distribution of wealth, ie. those who have earned wealth and status should be mandated to share it with those who have not; “it” believes in high taxation to keep the “gravy train” coming; “it” believes in chip, chip, chipping away at traditional values on which this country was founded, ie. the Constitution, traditional family values, religious freedom; “it” professes freedom of speech, yet vilifys anyone who expresses a different opinion, hence…political correctness; “it” professes a disdain for “wallstreet”, yet allows those who further the LPA to become billionaires at taxpayer expense, ie. the “green energy industry”, the “abortion industry”; “it” keeps people divided rather than unified, ie. today’s racial tension, fanned by such radical groups as “Black Lives Matter: and last, but not least on my list…”it” never lets a crisis go by without making political gain.  (This list is by no means complete, but it serves my purpose for this article.)

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 is resplendent with examples to substantiate that statement, starting in Genesis.  The fall happened in the “Garden” when man was seduced by Satan’s lie.  “You won’t die, the serpent hissed. God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. (the forbidden fruit)  You will become just like God, knowing everything both good and evil.”  In other words, you won’t need God. You can be your own god!  That is the same lie Satan uses today to entice people to turn away from God.

Let me refer to two quotes from Jonathan Cahn’s, “The Harbinger”. “A nation that turns away from prayer will ultimately find itself in desperate need of it.”  And, “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.”  Do those two statements ring true of America today?

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.  The 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!

Last week there was, yet again, another tragedy involving the slaughter of innocent victims at the hands of “EVIL”.  Within hours of this tragedy, the LPA was positioning itself to make political gain from this tragedy, and our faith was being mocked by the liberal New York Daily News with a headline that proclaimed: GOD ISN’T FIXING THIS!  As the latest batch of innocent Americans are left lying in pools of blood, cowards who could truly end gun scourge, continue to hide behind meaningless platitudes.  The cowards and meaningless platitudes they were referencing were: Ted Cruz’s statement: “our prayers are with the victims, their families, and first responders”; Dr. Rand Paul’s statement: “my thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, and brave first responders”; Paul Ryan’s statement: “please keep the victims of San Bernardino, California in your prayers”; and Lindsey Graham’s statement: “my thoughts and prayers are with Sam Bernardino”.  (As a sidebar, let me point out that while such mockery against our faith is permitted – and protected by law –  Obama’s justice department just reinforced what it had made clear earlier this year: that anyone who speaks despairingly against Muslims and Islam can be prosecuted.  Hummm??)

Is this still America?  What happened to freedom of religion?  What happened to freedom of speech?  Does tolerance even exist today?  What has happened to justice?

So what is it about Christianity that has drawn us into the cross-hair of the LPA?  When the Pharisees asked Jesus to tell them which was the greatest of the 10 Commandment, his response is recorded in Matthew 22:37-40: “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 just like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.  All the other commandments and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.

As Christi-followers, our faith – which the natural mind cannot comprehend (1Corinthians 2:14): – rests entirely on the sovereignty of God, and is therefore elevated above human wisdom. Consequently, in terms of human thinking, no doctrine is more despised than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees. Most of all, the flesh hates the notion that salvation rests entirely on God’s plan, as stated in Ephesians 1: 3-14.  Since the very essence of the LPA is in conflict with God’s first commandment, their resort is to minimize its impact and value, or stamp it out completely.

So what do we do to further our own cause in this face of adversity? I believe we take Apostle Paul’s words to heart as stated in 1Corinthians1:18:  “I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction.  But we who are being (or have been) saved recognize this message as the very power of God.”   Obviously we are faced with a formidable task as Christ-followers.  But we have been given the authority to pray in Jesus’ name.  James tells us in 5:16, “that the prayers of a righteous man avails much.”  Luke 1:37 tells us, “Nothing is impossible with God.”  

So I encourage everyone reading this to become active in prayer, praying for revelation of God’s truth in the hearts and minds of our leaders; praying for an anointed presidential candidate who will have the courage to take this country back to the founding Judeo/Christian principles on which it was founded and that made this country great; to pray for protection of Christians around the world; to pray for revelation of God’s truth in the hearts and minds of world leaders and in ISIS.  And I pray that everyone reading this will take the responsibility of becoming informed about political candidates before the next election.  And I pray that all Christ-followers reading this will unabashedly carry the Good News of Jesus Christ to a culture that desperately needs it.

When God spoke to Joshua, he told him three times in chapter 1: “to be strong and courageous” and he also reminded him that, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”  Remember…that message was/is for us today.

May God Bless you as you become involved.  I believe prayer is our most powerful weapon.

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OUR SECRET WEAPON AS CHRIST-FOLLOWERS

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I hope you all had the opportunity to engage with your family and friends during the Thanksgiving holiday.  And if you were brave enough to venture out into the Black Friday shopping fiasco, I hope you survived that experience too…all the time remembering, of course, that we are called to “love our neighbor.”  That charge – many times – is a challenge, but Black Friday has to magnify that challenge at least ten-fold.  I know that first-hand because on the way home from spending Thanksgiving Day with Pam’s family in Jerseyville, Illinois, we stopped at a store.  Wow!   We both vowed that would be our first and last time to engage in such mayhem.  I know some people love it, so if you fall into that category, my prayer for you is…please say a prayer before you venture out again next year.

I recently met a young man who was directed my way by a mutual friend.  He was struggling with some life issues, so after talking for a while he set-up the right time for me to ask this question: “Have you ever accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”  His answer brought a smile to my face, because it is really not an uncommon answer.  He said, “Yes I have, but nothing seemed to happen.  I am basically living the same life I lived before.”

There is a week-end radio show that is broadcast in our area called, “Intentional Living.” As the name implies, it is about engaging in the process of change.  “Change” is the result of us being intentional about the way we do things. For instance, Phillippa Lally is a health psychology researcher at University College in London. In a study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, Lally and her research team decided that on average, it takes about two months for a new habit to become automatic. In other words, we have to participate in the process of change.

Like so many Christians who give their life to Jesus Christ, once the euphoria of the moment subsides, life still happens.  In other words, everything that plagued us the day before our conversion still exist the day after our conversion, rather it be relationships issues, financial issues, health issues, job issues or a myriad of temptations that took us down before.  2Corinthians 5:17 tells us about the “great exchange” that takes place at our conversion: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here”. That verse is talking the empowerment that we receive.  “The old is gone” tells us we are no longer slaves to our sin-nature.  “The new is here” tells us now we have been set free because of the indwelling Holy Spirit.  But here’s the key. We have to participate in the process.  We have to call on the Holy Spirit to do for us what we have here-to-fore been powerless to do: to resist our sin-nature and to rise above the world around us.    

This is part of God’s loving salvation plan for his people, (“those chosen by him long ago…even before the world was created”. Ephesians 1:4)    But, he knows how weak we are.  Psalm 103:14-16 explains this beautifully: “For he understands how weak we are; he knows we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.  The wind blows, and we are gone…”  But His gift of the Holy Spirit empowers us to do the work; to rise above the world around us to become the “masterpiece” referenced in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are God’s masterpiece.  He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

I believe the misunderstanding of so many Christians – and my friend referenced above in paragraph two – is that something is going to miraculously happen “at conversion” that is going to change their life circumstances.  It’s almost as if they expected some “God dust” to be sprinkled on their problems, and “voila…everything would be fixed.”  Unfortunately, that’s not how it happens.

God’s plan is about transformation.  It’s about transforming us from the inside out.  Indeed our spirit has changed, but the challenge now – and one in which we must intentionally participate – is bringing our soul (mind, emotions and will) and our flesh in line with our new spirit.  Apostle Paul talks about dying to “self”, which includes tackling these attitudes (which can turn into actions) head-on: anger, covetousness, deceit, lying, jealousy, envy, hatred, lust, lack of self-control, ego.  Notice that all of these emotions and/or thoughts are driven by satan, so we are certainly facing a formidable foe.

God wants us to succeed,  so he gave us the Holy Spirit to ensure that would happen.  That statement is confirmed  by 1John 4:4:  “He that is me (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he (satan) that is of this world”, and also by Jesus’ statement in John 16:33, “I have overcome the world.” Because Jesus has overcome the world, we too – because we are in Christ – have overcome the world. Those two statements tell us we are already victorious!

But we have to understand what those two truths mean for us and how we can effectively use that truth.  The Holy Spirit does not act independently of our will. Just as God does not trump our free-will by imposing his will on us, the Holy Spirit springs into action only when we call on him.  That’s why understanding the intentionality of our “new creation” can mean the difference joy, peace and serenity and “nothing seems to have changed.”

Once we have made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have only taken the first step in our new journey.  From this point on it is imperative that we participate in the process of becoming more Christ-like.  That is the goal of being a Christ-follower, and it is a life-long process.  Remember, prior to our conversion we did what came naturally, meaning we satisfied our own will and conformed to the patterns of this world.  Apostle Paul highlighted that error when he stated in Romans 12:2: “Don’t conform to 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.”

James gives us his perspective on trials and tribulations in 1:12: “God blesses those who patiently endure testing.  Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”  Apostle Paul shares his thoughts on this subject in Romans 5:3-5: “We can rejoice too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us – they help us learn to endure.  And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.  And this expectation will not disappoint us.  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.”

“The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people.” (Ephesians 1:14)  Therefore, when we are facing life’s problems, we can call on the Holy Spirit to empower us to overcome our challenges in a way that brings honor and glory to God,  OR…in a way that helps us  become the “masterpiece” he created us to be.  If our reason for calling on the Holy Spirit is rooted in either of those two motives, His promise to us is that we will overcome.

“So how do we call on the Holy Spirit”, you might ask?  It’s easy.  We ask him in prayer to empower us with the wisdom, courage, strength, humility, patience, or perseverance -whatever it is we need to overcome the issue we are facing in a way that honors God.  Jesus has conquered the world.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, we too will conquer the world and become more Christ-like in the process.

I will close with one of my favorite passages from Galatians 5: 16-18: “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 the 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.”

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

May God Bless Ya…

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I have mentioned in previous postings how privileged I feel to be able to sit under the tutelage of Pastor Ron Tucker at Grace Church St. Louis.  He indeed is an anointed leader who stands firm on the Gospel of Grace, but he also has the courage to uphold the truth of God’s Word when it comes to confronting social trends that have taken our culture deeper into the black-hole of moral and spiritual decay.  His message yesterday echoed the thoughts I had for today’s blog, so I will include examples of his teaching within my presentation.

As we approach the day set aside for “giving thanks”, I’ve already heard people exclaim, “What is there to be thankful for today?  I feel totally depressed when I look at what is happening in our culture and in the world!  I would just like to pull the covers over my head, roll over and go back to sleep and awaken to discover this has all been a terrible nightmare.”

From my perspective, it seems like I just got up from writing last week’s blog where I recounted the horrific action of Isis in Paris, and to everyone’s shock, in just a matter of days we saw it repeated in Belgium and in Mali.   And when we turn to our home front, we are confronted with a political decision to accept refugees from Syria without a process in place to weed-out terrorists who will undoubtedly capitalize this opportunity to infiltrate; our political parties could not be more divided; and the lack of trust in our leaders has never been higher. So if we keep the focus on our circumstances, no doubt things look bleak.  And if we allow fear to overtake us, it becomes easier to overlook the fundamental truth on which our faith is based.  God is a sovereign God.  He is still on the throne!

No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees. Most of all, the flesh hates the notion that salvation rests entirely on God’s plan, as stated in Ephesians 1: 3-14.  But in my opinion, these verses absolutely testify to God’s sovereignty.

They tell us His plan was in place before the world was created, and that plan centered on Jesus Christ. (vs. 9-10)  Therefore, when it says he chose us in Christ, I believe this statement is free from predestination overtones, but rather attests to his loving plan for providing a Gift of Grace to a fallen world.   Man still has the final choice of accepting or rejecting His Gift of Grace, and it is that decision that determines each person’s eternal destiny.  I believe this is confirmed in Revelation 21:3-7, which tells us that his plan is still playing out even after this world has ended and the New Jerusalem is established.  “Look, the home of God is among his people.  He will be with them and they will be his people. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.  For the old world and its evils are gone forever.”(vs.3-4) 

From the earliest pages of the Bible right up to the present time, God’s proclamation to a fallen world has always been the same: Repent! Turn from your sin and turn to God.  And a promise that goes hand in hand with that proclamation is stated in James 4;10:  “When you bow down (humble yourself) before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.”  Both the proclamation and the verse from James offer us a pathway to freedom, but the truth contained therein has proven to be the ultimate challenge for mankind.  Apostle Paul addressed this in Romans 1: 20-22: “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.”

The world we live in today is a result of elevating worldly wisdom and worldly thinking above spiritual truth.  When that happens, we see people’s lives become full of “every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hatred, envy, murder, fighting, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.  They become backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, boastful, and are disobedient to their parents.  They refuse to understand, break their promises, and are heartless, and unforgiving.” (Romans 1:29-31)  Would you say these qualities are plentiful in today’s world?

If we allow ourselves to look at the world today through the lens of fear and despair, no doubt it is hard to think about “giving thanks” this Thursday.  But as Christ-followers, we have something the rest of the world doesn’t have.  We have the blessed assurance that God IS a sovereign God and that he IS in charge.  We ARE the ones chosen long ago – even before Creation -to spend eternity with Him because we accepted his Gift of Grace. When God spoke to Joshua and gave him the charge of leading the Jews across the Jordan River into the Promised Land, included in his directive was “be strong and courageous” – mentioned three times – and a reminder that “I will never leave you or abandon you” –spoken two times.  (Joshua 1:1-9)  We too are heirs to those promises because we are in Christ.

So regardless of how crazy the world is now – or how crazy it will become – we must never forget our source of strength and who we are in Christ.  But equally important to that truth is…what are we going to do to help make this world a better/safer place?  Just as Joshua was charged with a mission, we too are charged with carrying God’s message of truth into the world. That is not only a formidable challenge, but for most it is a scary challenge.

Because we are in Christ, we have been given the authority to pray in His Name.  Nothing does the world or our culture need more right now than an energized prayer movement.  The problems facing the world today are rooted in spiritual and moral decay (refer three paragraphs back) and can only be solved through revelation of spiritual truth. I am convinced that an R, or D, or I behind a political candidate’s name is not the answer.  But we can ALL pray for revelation of the truth to permeate the hearts and minds of our culture, our leaders, the abortion industry, the entertainment industry, Isis, etc.  There is incredible supernatural power in prayers lifted up by those who believe.  James confirms this in 5:16: “The prayers of a righteous man avails much.” 

I would like to close with these scriptural references:

“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.”  Psalm 56:3 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”  Philippians 4:6

“Of Lord, God of our ancestors, You alone are the God who is in heaven.  You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against You!” 2Chronicles 20:6

“God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.  So we will not fear…”  Psalm 46: 1,2,

“Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  Romans 10:17

“In everything give thanks.  For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  1 Thessalonians 5:1

HAPPY THANKSGIVING.  Remember:  God is a sovereign God who’s Word will last forever.

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

 WOULD YOU KNOW THE DEVIL IF YOU SAW HIM (HER/IT)?

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…I meant to write on this topic last week, but I decided to give myself one more week to get these thoughts together.  Last week it would have been a pre-Veterans Day message, so this week it will suffice being a post-Veteran’s Day message.

My father was a veteran of WWII, and I am a veteran of the Vietnam era, so that makes Veterans Day – and this topic – very special to me.   Since we just celebrated this important holiday, which honors the men and women who have stepped up to keep our country free and safe, I wonder what they would have to say if they could come back and see the current state of their beloved country right now?

  • They would see a skyrocketing national debt that just got approval from congress to give the President unimpeded spending privileges through the remainder of his term in office in order to advance his avowed agenda of fundamentally “transforming this America.”
  • They would see the decimated state of our military, even while our enemies have become emboldened and more openly hostile, chanting “death to Israel and death to the ‘Great Satan’ – America.”
  • They would see an abysmal Veterans Administration whose track record of care for our Veterans is lack-luster at best, while at the same time the incompetent administrators are rewarded with 6 figure bonuses.
  • They would see new treaties with countries that have always been our enemies while, at the same time, turning our back on our most trusted alley.
  • They would see heightened racial tensions spilling into the streets, and a new breed of society called “the entitled” who believe that because someone has something bigger and better than “theirs”, they, the  “entitled”, should be “made to share” what they have.
  • They would see a political race that includes presidential candidates which are currently engrossed in such scandals as dereliction of duties while in their previous government office, AND a massive cover-up that includes compromising classified information; and another candidate who is an avowed Socialist.
  • And finally they would see the leader of their country look into the face of this generation’s equivalent of the “The Third Reich” – Isis! – and yet refuse to admit this movement is a threat. Even with the slaughter of Christians, and any others who don’t believe their ideology – first throughout the Middle East, but within this past week the world witnessed this abhorrent ideology expressed in Paris as France experienced its own “9-11”. But our leader recently told the world that he believes the greatest threat that we are collectively facing is “global warming?”  Hmmmm?

So what would our Veterans from past wars think?  Would they ask themselves, “What happened to the America we fought and died for?”

No doubt, books can – and have been, or will be – written on each of the topics listed above, so in my limited blog space, I have no intention of offering anything other than a different perspective from what you will most likely hear in the next Presidential debates, and one you definitely will not hear from your local news media.  I want to clearly delineate the face of evil, which results from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the face of the Goodness, which results from the Tree of Life.

We have heard it said over and over again by the most learned people, “We must learn from history because history repeats itself.”  Is that true?  Well, let me list some examples.  The greatest empires and movements of the world all share a common denominator in their collapse. They all became self-sufficient and turned away from the teachings of God and elevated human wisdom above all else.

“And why would they do that?” you might ask.  Because the teachings of God are specific and exacting and are contrary to our human nature.  Therefore, man’s nature is to create as much “gray area” around God’s Truth as to allow wiggle-room to pursue his own desires.  It’s easier to become focused on power, control, self-indulgence, and in most cases, wealth (i.e. false gods), and that thinking has been proven to motivate ugly actions and ugly results.

For instance, in the ancient world the Israeli people, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire and the Roman Empire all rejected the teachings of God’s appointed Prophets: “Repent! Turn from your sin (take the focus off yourself) and turn to God” The Bible is a treasure trove of the blessings that have come to individuals and nations that yielded to that message, and it also reveals the consequences that have befallen those who refused to listen.  That message could not be clearer, or more consistent.

So now I am going to tie this information into the subject line of today’s blog. I know that everyone reading this posting already has his/her opinion of how or why we got here, but fewer have a solution to this quagmire of insanity.  So I am going to propose something really radical – knowing full-well that some of you will undoubtedly think this is absolutely infantile. But I believe the answer is as old as Creation itself. And I’m equally convinced that electing someone with an R, or D, or I behind their name is NOT the answer.  Why?  Because if their agenda – and most are – based on human thinking, history has proven that human wisdom is flawed and limited by our own finite paradigm of thinking, as well as our focus on self-promotion and aggrandizement. There are numerous Scriptural statements to back this up, but I will turn to Apostle Paul’s perspective as stated in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (NIV)

So your perspective on this answer will depend on your own view and acceptance of “Truth”.  Are the teachings of Jesus too old and musty and out of date for today’s complicated world? (Remember, before you can form an opinion to that question, you first have to know what Jesus taught?  Do you??) Or is today’s world a result of self-indulgent human thinking?  (Remember, the world God created was paradise. The first inhabitants wanted for nothing.)  But after SIN – defined in Genesis 3:5 as disobedience to God’s directive and putting the focus on themselves and their own human desire to be their own god – entered the world, that spiritual connection with God was broken. Therefore, these ugly “human qualities” immediately entered the world too: fear, doubt, anger, frustration, hatred, envy, jealously, lying, pain, sickness, suffering, death...etc.  Do you see any of these qualities in today’s world?

We are told in Ephesians 1:1-13 that God’s plan was in place even before the world was created, and that plan centered on Jesus Christ.  God’s plan was always for Jesus to be our Redeemer (Savior), but he gave us from Creation to 2015 years ago to prove we could not overcome the issue of sin through our own volition.  Romans 5:6, 8-10  define our pathetic state of existence: When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.  God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

Jesus’ stated purpose can be found in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; No! I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.”  And again in John 3:17, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Finally, in John 8:32: “If you follow my teachings, you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.”

So what did Jesus teach?  Notice he was very specific in John 8:32: he spoke of MY teachings…not worldly teachings.  In Jesus first sermon, “The Sermon on the Mount”, he spoke of the Beatitudes, which are eight blessings recounted in the Gospel of Matthew, 5-7.  This contrasted God’s perspective to human perspective. So Jesus’ teachings reflected God’s nature: love, humility, forgiveness, compassion, empathy, tolerance, kindness and being of service to our fellow man.

Do you think more of these qualities would improve the world we live in today?  Hasn’t that been the proclamation to the world from ancient times right up until today… “Repent! (change your mind!) Turn from your sin and turn to God.”  If those we choose to lead us reflect and are driven by “human nature” and human truths (FYI, the Bible refers to this same perspective as our “sin nature”), we will experience a preponderance of the qualities listed four paragraphs back.  If they reflect the teachings of Jesus, they will reflect the qualities listed one paragraph above.  Again, as Apostle Paul stated in Romans 12:2, “do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by changing the way you think”.   Modern day psychology also tells us that what we put in our head sets our expectations and our actions follow. So you believe that’s true?

We are told very succinctly in 1John 4:8 and again in 4:16 that “God IS love!”  We are also told in John 8:44 that “Satan (the Devil) is a liar… he is the father of lies and deception.”  Jesus told his disciples in John 14:9: “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father.”  So where would you look if you want to see the Devil?  Would you recognize him if you saw him (her/it)?

It seems clear to me that when we see someone wrapped in lies and deception, that absolutely reflects the nature of the Devil, who’s only purpose is to keep us separated from God.  After all, Godly teaching is certainly contrary to pursuance of power, control, wealth and self-aggrandizement.  I don’t want to appear totally naive, but wouldn’t just the inclusion of “truth” and “service to your fellow man” be a welcome change from what we hear and see today?

Well, the good news is…we still have the liberty that our Veterans fought and died for that gives us the right to pick and choose. Hopefully this time we have learned from past mistakes and will realize that honor, integrity, a desire to be of service to others, and a love and respect for the fundamental Judeo-Christian principles on which this country was founded and made this country great, are indispensable qualities for changing the current direction of America the Beautiful.  My prayer right now is that everyone reading this will take the time to become informed about each candidate running for political office and what they really represent. Otherwise we are vulnerable to being duped again by empty political rhetoric. I believe the future of America depends on our willingness to do this.  May God Bless America!

I would like to close with a two quotes from Jonathan Cahn’s, The Harbinger: “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.”

“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.”

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

May God Bless Ya…

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

 

THE MYSTERY OF BEING “IN CHRIST”

Being a follower of Jesus Christ is much more than calling ourselves “Christians”. It is a way of life that is demonstrated to the world around us on a daily basis.  And that is only possible through the mystery of Christianity found in the transformation that takes place in us when we make the decision to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  When we become a “new creature” in Christ, it means our old-self – our sin-nature – has been replaced by the Holy Spirit that empowers us to rise above the temptations of our flesh, the world around us, and the lies and deception of satan!   But as I have written in previous postings, this is the process we have to follow in order to live the abundant life promised to us by Jesus Christ.   A life that is characterized by happiness, joy and freedom.  

We know that all human beings inherited Adam and Eve’s sin nature. It was passed down to all future generations because of their disobedience to God’s directive.  All that means is that man’s natural inclination is to live with the focus on himself rather than on God. The only way to remedy the loss of the spiritual connection that originally existed between God and Man, is for man to initiate the process.  When we become willing to repent, meaning that in our hearts we are READY to turn from “our way” and move toward “God’s way”, He is there to welcome us with open arms.

James 4:10 reads, “When we humbly bow down before the Lord and admit our dependence on him, he will lift us up and give us honor.”  As we develop our relationship with God, we quickly learn that his foremost will for our life is that we accept his gift of grace.  That is the only way we can be freed from the yoke of our sin nature.  2 Corinthians states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ the new creation has come: the old has gone; the new is here.” Now we are capable of becoming the person God created us to be.  Ephesians 2:10 reads, “We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.  We are his masterpiece because we are in Christ.

As clearly stated in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish (to be condemned because of our sins), but have eternal life.”  That truth – that scriptural fact, is a gift from God.  We did nothing to earn it, nor do we deserve it.  But Jesus’ atonement for our sins on the cross is God’s ultimate show of his love for us, and when we accept His gift, it is our ultimate show of faith (belief, trust) in Him.  Romans 5:8 tells us, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.”

That is the mystery revealed concerning our salvation.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have an exchange of spirit, or nature.  Our old nature, sin nature, is replaced with the Holy Spirit.  The nature of the Holy Spirit is not to sin, but to empower us to live a life that is pleasing to God; it is a life that reflects the teachings of Jesus.  And what did Jesus teach?  Love, tolerance, humility, forgiveness, and being of service to others. Sound impossible? The only reason it is not impossible is because we have the Holy Spirit in us to empower us to accomplish that purpose.

As Christians we have been set apart for God.  Ephesians 1: 4 reads, “Long ago, even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy (set aside: without sin) and without fault in his eyes.”  Notice that God chose us because we chose to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  It is a result of us exercising our free will.  There are no predestination overtones here.  We are chosen only because we are in Christ.  There is no other reason.

The Holy Spirit is the essence of Jesus Christ living in us.  (Ref. “What is the Holy Spirit” Oct. 7, 2013: paragraph 5).  God knows our human weakness.  He knows that by our very nature we yield to the temptations of the world, the temptations of our flesh; and the lies and deceptions of  satan.  That is why His plan, even before he created the world, was to send “at just the right time” a savior to do for us what we were incapable of doing for ourselves. (Ref. Romans, 5:8)

Because we are in Christ, we inherit three gifts. (1.) We inherit forgiveness of our sin, which means “we can come boldly before God with no fear of condemnation”. (Romans 8:1). (2.) We are promised eternal life with God, Jesus and all other believers.  These two gifts give us an incredible sense of peace about our eternal destiny.

But the next gift, (3.) is about how we are going to live our life here and now in this fallen world.   The Holy Spirit empowers us to rise above the world around us and live a life that is pleasing to God.  When we are faced with the temptations of the world; the temptations of the flesh; or the schemes of the Enemy, we can call on the Holy Spirit to empower us with wisdom, strength, courage, patience, and perseverance…whatever it is we need to make decisions that are in line with His will for our life.  As we continue to mature and live our life in a way that brings honor and glory to Him, the more we will experience joy, peace and serenity.  This is the life Jesus was referencing when he stated in John 10:10: “The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy, but I came that they may have life to the fullest.”   BUT THERE IS MORE!

We are also heir to all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm and all the promises in the Bible…and there are many.  Because we are in Christ, every time we set out to grow in our Christian walk, more truth is revealed.  It is through this revelation that our faith grows and we become more comfortable and confident that our life is built on a solid foundation.  It is on this solid rock of faith that we begin experiencing God’s blessings. He wants us to put our trust in Him.   As stated in Malachi, 3:10, “…I will open the windows of heaven for you.  I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in.  Try it!  Let me prove it to you!” 

My suggestion is that you go to the Bible and open it to Ephesians and read Chapter 1 (only 23 verses). Notice how many times the blessings come because we are in Christ.  We are truly set aside to be God’s ambassadors to the world and to receive all the blessings he promised His children (us).  When the reality of who we are in Christ sets in, we cannot help but be flooded with joy and hope!!

And who are we in Christ?  We are forgiven; now we are acceptable to God. We are worthy to come before Him with no fear of condemnation.  We are loved unconditionally with a love that is unending and unfailing. When God looks at us, he sees us covered with the blood of Jesus.  We are now grafted into His family; now we are his Child.  Regardless of what anyone else thinks of us, this is our new identity in Christ.  Does anything else really matter????

Are you in Christ?  Feel free to respond to this posting.

May God Bless Ya…

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