Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Here I am in less-than-sunny Jerseyville, Illinois. We came back here for a few days because Pam’s mon in undergoing surgery tomorrow morning. Since her surgeon is a former student of mine while at Washington University, and very good friend over the years, I wanted his opinion on an issue I’m dealing with that involves numb fingers. My primary care physician suggested a neurologist, but since I’m here, it’s a great time to hang with my friend, Ari, and get a first-rate diagnosis. But now, everyone at the Hillen household has gone to bed, so it’s a perfect time for me to start writing.

Not that I want to dwell on the obvious, but every day when I open my eyes, I awaken to a day that seems crazier than the one before. And as I talk to people throughout the day, they willingly share the same opinion, so I know I’m not alone in this observation. But truth be told, we should not be surprised by what we have seen happening, because it has been prophesized for thousands of years. Throughout the Bible, God has spoken through prophets concerning events in the future.  Isaiah, Zachariah, Hosea, Apostle Paul, to mention only a few, have spoken of events to come, so that we would recognize the signs, and not be caught off-guard. Apostle Paul gave this warning to Timothy, his disciple, in 2 Timothy, 3:1-5.

“You should know this, Timothy, 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 hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and will love pleasure rather than God.  They will act religious, but will reject the power that could make them Godly. Timothy, stay away from people like that.”  Remember, those words were written 2000 years ago, but now ask yourself, “how accurately do those words portray today’s culture?

Apostle Paul went on to say, “Evil people and imposters will flourish, and they will deceive others, including many believers who are not strong in faith.” But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught, for you know they are true, because you know you can trust those who taught you the Holy Scriptures.” (vs. 12-14)

Jesus also spoke of the end times in the Olivet Discourse, found in Matthew 24-25: He told His followers, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in My name, claiming ‘I am the Messiah’. They will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. Nations will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world, but all of this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come. These times will be more horrific than any time before, or any time to follow. You will be hated, arrested, persecuted and many will be killed because you are My followers; Many will turn away from Me, and betray and hate each other; Many false prophets will appear and they will perform great signs and wonders designed to deceive God’s Chosen Ones; Sin will be rampant, and the love of many will grow cold. You will see what the prophet Daniel spoke about – the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place. But the ones who endure to the end will be saved.

Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens (and on earth) will be shaken. And then at last, the sign of the Son of Man coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all worldly people. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He will send out His angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather His Chosen Ones from all over the world to join Him in eternal life.”

There are many more examples I could use regarding end times, but what do you see as striking characteristics in just these two examples? For instance, both talk about love growing cold; both talk about idol-worship; both talk about disdain for God; both talk about false prophets and their intent to deceive, and both speak of hatred and persecution. Jesus portrayed this time as “horrific”, more so than any time before, or any time to follow. If you believe these 5 characteristics do define our culture today, can you answer in your own mind “why” or “why not?” I will do the same, and I’ll present my thoughts.

Why would love grow cold? Could it be that we never really understood what love was?  When the term is used in the Bible, it is referring to Agape Love, the deepest form of love. Agape Love is self-sacrificial love, the kind of love Jesus demonstrated when He was on this earth. It is “other” focused, not self-centered. Agape love means we desire to honor the other person, and we want them to know that, and to feel secure in that love. It is the opposite of conditional love (ie I’ll love you if…; I’ll love you when…) Agape Love is also the opposite of fear, anger, hatred and jealousy.

Why would idol worship be preferred? God wants us to submit to His will, but our sin-nature wants to focus on self. Our idol becomes the god we choose to worship, whether it be money, power and prestige, things that bring us pleasure, or things that exalt us. When we choose our own god, we are in control. Therefore, this false god now serves us. That’s more to Man’s liking than submitting to a God who doesn’t always “perform” to our liking, or is not on our time schedule. The truth of Isaiah, 55:8-9 totally eludes the afore mentioned way of thinking: “My ways are not your ways, and My thoughts are not your thoughts. As high as heaven is above the earth, so are My ways not your ways and My thoughts not your thoughts.” A man’s heart is proud; his eyes are haughty, and he is always in search of that next “fix” of self-indulgence. He foolishly depends on his god to fulfill his needs.

Why would there be disdain for God? The truth is, in order to grasp things of the spirit, one has to be of the spirit. Apostle Paul speaks to this truth in 1 Corinthians 18-28: “The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved by this same message know it is the very power of God.  As the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.  Since God in His wisdom saw to it that the world would never know Him through human wisdom, He has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe… To those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans. Few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you.  Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And He chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.” 

All who are in Christ have received the gift, and the power, of the Holy Spirit. This was given to us so we could become the person God created us to be. Here is the take-away: The Holy Spirit empowers us to do things we cannot do through our own effort, and He leads us into all truth, including spiritual truth. As Apostle Paul said above, “Without the Spirit, the world will never know Him through human wisdom.”

What about false prophets and their intent to deceive? A false prophet is anyone who teaches and preaches falsehoods that are contrary to God’s will, but claims that these “new ideas, or enlightenments” are the “real truth” or the “new truth.” There have always been false prophets and there will always continue to be false prophets, because they are promoters of agendas that bring honor and glory to something, or someone, other than God. Worldly teaching, philosophies, and especially political movements that promote secular agendas, will often be willing to deceive in order to further their cause. That ungodly thinking leads them to believe that the ends justify the means.

What about hatred and persecution? God’s Word stands in striking contrast to worldly agendas. In order to establish something new, it is necessary to remove the existing pillars that define the intended target of change. God and His Word has to be at the top of the list, because it represents a major stumbling block to “progress.” By this, I mean it represents a moral compass and a message of freedom that is currently out of favor and under assault. History has shown that silencing the message, and the messengers, has been a favored tactic, and that is precisely why prophecies have been spoken about the future. As Jesus told His disciples when they asked about when these things would take place, His answer was succinct: “Watch and listen.”

I will close by reiterating Jesus’ powerful words. “These times will be more horrific than any time before, or any time to follow. But the ones who endure to the end will be saved.”  Therefore… “watch and listen.”

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

May God Bless You abundantly,

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

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…All through the last series of blogs written to Unbelievers, I was looking forward to writing this blog. God certainly takes some bum-raps, and the root of that problem stems from “speakers not knowing the truth”. So, let me be specific, as I was in the last series. When I am speaking of The Truth, I am not speaking of worldly teaching, or worldly philosophies, or new-age revelations. “The latest” does not necessarily mean “the greatest” when applied to truth.

The Truth I am referencing are the words found in that musty, dusty, old Holy Bible, commonly known as “The Word of God.” Those words alone don’t make that book The Truth, but the author of those words is definitely worthy of such an honor. “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophecy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.” (2 Peter 2:20-21) Matthew 24:35 supports that statement: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but MY words will never pass away.” The same way that God is Alpha and Omega (the beginning and the end), so are His words timeless. They will never change; they will always be “The standard”, “The perfection”, The Truth!

That is a long, but necessary, prelude to the first sentence of my topic. So, here we go… Many times I have heard people say, “Why did God put this on me”, or “Where is God in my time of need”, or “Why is God punishing me”? My first thought is, “That’s probably not the question you should be asking.” I say that because we are no longer living under the Old Covenant. Under that covenant there were numerous examples of God’s wrath: the plagues on Egypt, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, God giving His jewel, Israel, over to Babylon to get its attention, the plague of snakes in the wilderness for disobedience, and David’s military defeat for counting his troops when instructed not to do so.

We must remember that the people living during that time were living under the Law. Therefore, being righteous in God’s eyes was measured by keeping the Law. Fortunately for us, that era came to an end when God implemented His plan for our salvation. The linchpin of that plan was providing a Savior to save us (Mankind) from ourselves.

NOW we are living under the New Covenant!  Therefore, it’s no longer about our “works” that make us worthy and acceptable in His sight. No indeed!  It’s about us accepting Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross as payment for OUR sin debt.  God’s plan is not only that we accept His Gift of Grace, but that we continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:3-4 explains that process as follows: “The more we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, His divine power (the Holy Spirit) gives us EVERYTHING we need for living a Godly life…And by that same mighty power He has given us ALL of His rich and wonderful promises!  Wow!  Just ponder that Truth for a few minutes. When that gets from your head to your heart, you are prepared for ANYTHING!

In the New Testament (ie: new Covenant), the rules have changed, in that there are no religious rules. Now it is not about where we worship or the rituals of worship, because the rules imposed by religious elite have been dismissed. Today our focus should be on the Ten Commands, because that was/is God’s standard, and it is the standard by which Mankind will be judged. Thankfully for us, Jesus fulfilled all of the requirements of the Law. Anyone who is in Christ has inherited His righteousness, and is not subject to punishment. Romans 8:1 makes that very clear: “There is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ.” Jesus took Our punishment on the cross. (But be aware, anyone who is not in Christ IS INDEED subject to punishment!)

Today it is about faith.  As Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “God is looking for those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.” (John 4:24) So, what does that mean? Under the Old Covenant, we worked hard to be worthy and acceptable in God’s eyes. In other words, we worked to get. Under the New Covenant, it’s all about faith. Because we are in Christ, we already ARE worthy and acceptable in God’s eyes because we accepted His Gift of Grace. Now we “do” as our way of saying “Thank You, Jesus, for what YOU DID for me. Another way, a simpler way, of saying that is, “We used to do to get”; Now we’ve gotten, so we do.” It’s all about our motivation.

“Dear Brothers and Sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it come; 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. God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. (James 1:2-4, 12) I would venture to say, that that is not the most popular Scripture in the Bible. Most of us would just as soon skip the testing part of our relationship with Jesus. But truth be told, it is all part of His plan, and a vital part of His plan. In fact, Jesus was very up-front with that message. He told His followers, “In this world you will have trouble, but fear not because I have overcome the world.”  (John 16:34) And again in Matthew 16:24, He said, “If anyone wants to be My follower, let him deny himself, and pick up his cross daily and follow Me.”

Trials and tribulations are an important part of the Christian walk. When we are at life’s cross road, we have one of two choices. We can shake our fist at God and exclaim, “Why God? Why are you doing this to me?” This response is usually accompanied by fear, doubt, anger, frustration, disappointment, guilt or shame, and many times people turn their backs to Him and walk away. Or… we can choose to press into Him as our source of wisdom, courage and strength and stand on the truth of His Word. He prefers the latter. In fact, James 4:10 tells us, “When we come humbly before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him, He WILL lift us up and give us honor.”. That is a promise!

Remember also, that God gave us the gift of free will. Therefore, He allows us to make our choices, even if it means reaping the unintended consequences of whatever it is we sowed. Now add to this mix the genetic predispositions that we inherited from our earthly parents. As you can see, what may look like punishment from God is actually the result of our bad choices, coupled with our unique genetic predispositions.  No doubt, He does allow things to happen in order for us to go through a time of testing and growth, but this is referred to as “discipline” (preparing for the future) rather than punishment (paying for past errors.)

Being in Christ is a process. In fact, it is a life-long process. It is all about transformation, meaning we are being changed, or transformed, from our worldly self into the person God created us to be. That happens as the Holy Spirit brings our soul (our mind, emotions, and will) and our flesh (the center of carnal desires) in line with God’s will. Roman’s 12:2 confirms that statement: “Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know how pleasing and perfect His will is for YOUR life.”

God has given us everything we need to qualify for eternal life, and for claiming victory in this fallen world. Jesus paid the price for our ticket to heaven; the Holy Spirit empowers us to be victorious against the world, our flesh, and the devil! How this plays out for us depends on the choices we make.

Under the New Covenant, God is about disciplining “His children” rather than punishing us. As I stated earlier in this blog, He does allow things to happen in our lives, (but not to punish us), so we can come face to face with our own insufficiency. Through this method, His desire is that we press into Him during our time of darkness, and invite Him into our lives.  As Jesus said in Mathew 11:28-29: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and let me teach you. I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Just a reminder: God IS LOVE. He is the very essence of LOVE; He IS all that LOVE entails. Since He IS LOVE, nothing can emanate from Him other than love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, compassion, goodness, kindness, patience and self-control. On the flip side, when we are facing trials and tribulations, where does that darkness come from? Is it from God? NO! It’s contrary to His very nature. Trials and tribulations are rooted in fear, and produce doubt, anger, hatred, jealousy, guilt, shame, remorse, depression, anxiety, self-loathing and hopelessness. Where does all of that vitriol come from? Our enemy… the father of lies, satan!  No doubt you’ve gotten a bad medical report, or perhaps it was financial ruin, or an affair exposed, or your spouse left you, or you lost a loved one. All of these happenings open the door for satan to fan these traumatic flames. Your choice is either to succumb to his tactics or to press into the love of God.. It’s YOUR choice!. But if you choose option 1, don’t blame God for satan’s heartless schemes.

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

May God Bless You abundantly,

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

Good Day, Meetpastordan Readers…Thanks to all who actively partnered with me to get the message of Truth out to Unbelievers during my last series, “Don’t Miss the Great Feast.  All Are Invited!” It was a very successful endeavor. I did, however, get a few questions regarding the title, so let me clarify that right now. We are told in Luke 22 that when we get to heaven, we will sit down for a “great feast” as we enter into the eternal joy of our Lord. Communion is a reminder of the death and resurrection of Jesus; the “Great Feast” is a future promise to all whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Everyone in the world has the same opportunity to reserve their spot at the table; all that is required is accepting God’s Gift of Grace.

The last series was a weighty series. There was so much Truth to cover and explain that the challenge became keeping it thorough, yet still digestible. I tried my best to do that. Therefore, I want today’s blog to be a lighter read in comparison to the past two months.

I’m sure you probably had to stop and read today’s subject line a few times to be sure you saw it correctly. But…indeed you did! The spot-on prophetic nature of Paul Harvey’s amazing article, “If I Were the Devil” provides the perfect change of pace. It is both entertaining as well as thought provoking. No doubt God equips certain people to give insights into the future, and Paul Harvey certainly fulfilled what I consider to be a calling. The prophecy itself is a gift from God so people will have the opportunity to prepare for what lies ahead. How the people respond to the prophecy, well…that is up to the people. You can draw your own conclusions after you have read this.

If I were the Devil, the Prince of Darkness, what methods of deception would I use to rule the world? What areas of society would I target? What tactics would I employ? In the transcript below, Paul Harvey in 1965 airs one of the most astonishing monologues ever recorded. Now nearly 50 years later, everything that Paul Harvey said the Devil would have to do to rule the world, has come to pass.  How did 100% of what he said in 1965 come true?  Was Paul Harvey a modern-day prophet? Was this glimpse of the future inspired by a supernatural power? No doubt, he was plugged into something particularly special. Ponder that as you will, but enjoy, or rather be appalled with… the rest of the story!

If I were the Devil, if I were the Prince of Darkness, I’d want to engulf the whole world in darkness and I would have a third of its real estate and four-fifths of its population, but I wouldn’t be happy until I had seized the ripest apple on the tree, thee.

So, I would set about, however necessary, to take over the United States. I’d subvert the churches first. I’d begin with a campaign of whispers. With the wisdom of a serpent, I would whisper to you as I whispered to Eve: “Do as you please.”

To the young, I would whisper that the Bible is a myth. I would convince them that man created God instead of the other way around. I would confide that what is bad is good and what is good is “square.” And the old, I would teach to pray after me: “Our Father which art in Washington.”

And then I’d get organized. I’d educate authors in how to make lurid literature exciting so that anything else would appear dull and uninteresting. I’d make TV look worse than movies and then make movies look worse than TV in a vicious cycle that just gets worse and worse. I’d peddle narcotics to whomever I could. I’d sell alcohol to ladies and gentlemen of distinction. I’d tranquilize the rest with pills.

If I were the Devil, I’d soon have families at war with themselves, churches at war with themselves, and nations at war with themselves, until each in its turn was consumed. And with promises of higher ratings, I’d have mesmerizing media fanning the flames.

If I were the Devil, I would encourage schools to refine young intellects but neglect to discipline emotions; just let those run wild until, before you knew it, you’d have to have drug-sniffing dogs and metal detectors at every schoolhouse door. Within a decade, I’d have prisons overflowing. I’d have judges promoting pornography. Soon I could evict God from the courthouse, and then from the schoolhouse, and then from the houses of Congress. And in His own churches I would substitute psychology for religion and deify science. I would lure priests and pastors into misusing boys and girls and church money.

If I were the Devil, I’d make the symbol of Easter an egg and the symbol of Christmas a bottle.

If I were the Devil, I would take from those who have and give to those who wanted, until I had killed the incentive of the ambitious. And what will you bet I couldn’t get whole states to promote gambling as the way to get rich. I would caution against extremes in hard work, in patriotism, in moral conduct. I would convince the young that marriage is old-fashioned, that swinging is more fun, that what you see on TV is the way to be and thus I could undress you in public and I could lure you into bed with diseases for which there is no cure.

In other words, if I were the Devil, I’d just keep on doing what he is so successfully doing.

Paul Harvey…. Good Day!

To those who are familiar with “Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis, I’m sure you saw a similar insightful sense of humor. 😊 Next week I will be back with a new juicy topic: “God Certainly Gets a Bum Rap”

May God Bless You abundantly,

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

(Because of the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)

Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in God, but not Jesus? You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion? You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.

So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com , or you can call me at 314-799-7075. What have you got to lose?

(The new material for this lesson starts here.) For the past two weeks we have talked about, and contrasted, the stark difference between satan (the devil, the accuser, the father of lies) and Jesus (also the Holy Spirit – remember the Trinity?), who is The Truth, the Living Word, and the Savior for anyone who chooses to accept God’s Gift of Grace. Satan came to steal, kill and destroy; Jesus came to give us life, and life to the fullest, including ETERNAL LIFE! (Yes, that’s right…life forever!) “And why would He do that” you ask? Because that was His plan even before He created the world (and Man(kind)! He created us not only for a here and now relationship, but for an eternal relationship. The only stumbling block in that loving desire for relationship was Man’s propensity to sin, meaning we choose to honor and exalt self rather than God. (In other words, we were living contrary to the First and Second Commandments!) God is perfect; unfortunately, we have to be perfect too if we are going to come into His presence. (ouch!) I don’t know about you, but I AIN’T perfect!  But, now breathe a sigh of relief, because neither were Apostle Paul, Mother Teresa, or Billy Graham! The truth is, we ALL fall short of God’s glorious standard – EVERYDAY!

Ephseians 1:4-5, and 10 presents this Truth. “Long ago, even before He created the world (and Man(kind), 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 unto Himself through Jesus Christ, and this gave Him great pleasure! And THIS is His plan: “At just the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – every thing in heaven and on earth. This was/IS God’s plan for our Salvation, even before He created us.

Now let’s look at why that plan needed to be in place from the beginning. Romans 5:6 is the succinct answer. “When we were utterly  helpless, Christ came, at just the right time, and died for us sinners! So, what was “just the right time?” When we (Man(kind) proved, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that we could not overcome the dilemma of Sin through our own effort. As you can see, without a Redeemer, Man(kind) could not have qualified to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. “Why” you ask? Because Man(kind) was/IS stained with sin. The only answer to our sin-dilemma is Jesus Christ. The only way we can get into heaven is to have our sins washed away by the blood of Jesus. Remember God’s plan above? “He found us holy and without fault in His eyes because we were in Christ,” meaning we ARE covered with the blood of Jesus.

This whole plan of Man(kind) being created in His (God’s) image, then having to be saved from himself, IS the ultimate show of His love for us. He knew we were going to be problem children, but He created us anyway. Grasping the reality of that unconditional, unfailing, and unending love, is the beginning of that all-important relationship, and the reality that nothing –absolutely nothing can even come close to comparing to that fulfillment.

I would now like to end this series of presentations by just focusing in on who God is, and who Jesus is. If these Truths get rooted in your heart, everything else will fall into place; the insatiability of the world, the lure of the flesh, and even satans best effort to lure you back into your old way of life. These enticements will pale by comparison to what a relationship with Jesus Christ offers. Since Jesus is God in human form (and also the Holy Spirit), He too, just like God, is defined by one word, and that word is LOVE!  Notice it doesn’t say God and Jesus are loving; it says their very essence is LOVE! They embody ALL that LOVE is. So which characteristics emanate from love; List A?: love, forgiveness, mercy, grace, compassion, kindness, honor, integrity and joy. Or, List B? hatred, anger, fear, anxiety, jealousy, depression, doubt, guilt, shame, remorse, hostility, lying, cheating, stealing, and violence. You don’t have to answer to me, but ask yourself, ”which list defines my character?” List A are characteristics that are prompted by God; List B are characteristics that are prompted by your enemy, satan. Remember the eternal morality play I spoke about earlier? If you’re defined by List A, you’re serving God; if you’re defined by list B, you’re serving satan.

Since God’s plan was always to pay your sin debt for you, Jesus Christ was the “sacrificial lamb” who shed His blood to pay for your sins. Under the Old Covenant, blood was always required as proof of sacrifice. Jesus fulfilled that commitment on the cross. In order to accept that Gift of Grace, all you have to do is believe that Jesus was the Son of God who came to be sacrificed in YOUR place. John 3:16 expresses it this way: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only “begotten Son” (meaning of the same substance as God.)  Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life.”  The minute you make this commitment, you are immediately in Christ, meaning you inherit all of these blessings: forgiveness of sins, eternal life, the indwelling Holy Spirit, you are grafted into His family as His Child, you are now a Saint (a follower of Jesus Christ) and no longer a sinner (Romans 8:1 confirms this: “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ.). You also inherit all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realms, and you inherit ALL of the promises in the Bible (both the Old and New Testament promises).

Jesus confirmed all of this when He told His disciples, “I am the way, the Truth, and the life. NO ONE comes to the Father except through ME! This is probably the most controversial Scripture in the Bible, but it is also the very heart and soul of the Christian belief.

This is your invitation to join our Family of Christ followers. This choice has eternal consequences, but if you connected the dots throughout the past nine blogs, how can you come to any other decision.?  It’s as simple as saying, “Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, but I want to accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I want to surrender my will to His will, and live a life that is characterized by LOVE, peace, serenity, and joy! Thank you, Jesus, for what You did for me! 

Thank you, Believers, for partnering with me in this endeavor to share the Gift of Grace with unbelievers. I know our efforts have saved many lost souls from eternal damnation. “Thank you, Jesus”, and “Thank you, God!

May God Bless You All,

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

(Because of the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)

Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in God, but not Jesus? You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion? You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.

So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com , or you can call me at 314-799-7075. What have you got to lose?

(The new material for this lesson starts here.) I ended last week’s message with the stark comparison between the work of satan and the work of Jesus. It is important to remember that what you put into mind, whether through reading, viewing, talking or thinking, produces mental images which set up expectations. Most often, the actions that follow these expectations grow out of the seeds that have been planted. For instance, satan’s sole purpose is to “steal, kill and destroy YOU!.” His method of shipwrecking your best effort at becoming a Christ-follower is through lies, accusations, and deception of every kind. His evil schemes are intended to produce fear, doubt, anger, hatred, depression, anxiety, guilt, shame, remorse, jealousy, and a sense of hopelessness, and unworthiness. When these poison darts define your behavior, nothing good is ever the outcome. Now, let’s compare this to Jesus’ purpose and message.

Jesus said, “Satan came to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life, and life to the fullest.”  (John 10:10) Because God is Love, so also is Jesus Love. His very essence IS Love.  He told His disciples, “If you follow My teaching, you will know THE TRUTH, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32) So the next logical question should be, “What did Jesus teach?”  I’m glad you asked that question. His message was about love, mercy, grace, forgiveness, kindness, faithfulness, Kingdom principles, service to God, service to your fellow man, and joy. When your mind (and your heart) is filled with these qualities, your behavior displays honor and integrity. Therefore, the more you grow in these virtues, the less lying, cheating, stealing, gossiping, finger-pointing and aggression shape your character. Now you are being prepared to be the person He created you to be. You are, in fact, becoming more Christ-like.

Living Life to the Fullest (or the Abundant Life)

In the paragraph above, Jesus said He came to “give us life, and life to the fullest” (some translations say, “life more abundantly.”) So, what does that mean to you? Does it mean you get the desires of your heart; does it mean you will accumulate more wealth, or does it mean you will climb the ladder of success? Unfortunately, that is most likely the world’s translation of that statement. In fact, there are even some church doctrines built around that erroneous teaching. The next Scripture should illuminate the flaw in that way of thinking.

We are told in Matthew 6:33, “If you seek FIRST the Kingdom of Heaven and His righteousness, all these things will be added unto you.” If you are wondering, “what things will be added unto me?”, the two paragraphs above that statement list the things you have been trying to get through your own effort, such as food, clothes, shelter, security, and purpose. But If your focus is on serving God and achieving His purpose, those things that you have tried so hard to get, many times in vain, will be added to you as blessings.  You don’t have to work for them; they are given to you as gifts. God blesses those who are in line with His will.

You might be thinking, “That sounds wonderful, but how do I live my life to the fullest? How will I recognize it? Again, I’m glad you brought that up. Let me start with two Truths. First: Today we are no longer living under the Old Covenant. Under that covenant, it was about our performance; it was about us trying to achieve God’s forgiveness, thus, His acceptance. Second: Today, we live under the New Covenant; it is no longer about our works or our effort. Jesus did the work for us. He paid OUR sin debt at the cross. All that is asked of us in return, is that we believe He IS the Son of God, and that He came to carry out that very purpose. Yesterday, I was explaining this to a man with whom I am discipling, and he asked me the all-important question: “How do I know if I am truly believing?” Wow! In that question is the key to living life to the fullest.

2 Peter 1:3-4 tells us: “The more we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, His divine nature gives us EVERYTHING we need for living a Godly life. We received all of this by growing in our relationship with Him. He has also given us great and precious promises that enable us to share in His divine nature, and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” (divine nature means “supernatural power” manifested through the Holy Spirit.”) As we learned earlier, the Holy Spirit empowers us with His supernatural power so we can be victorious over the world, our flesh and satan. As Apostle Paul stated in Ephesians 6:12-13, we need this power so that after our engagement with satan and his minions (spiritual warfare), we will still be standing firm. The more we shift our focus from “my effort” to “His effort”, the stronger our faith becomes. Ephesians 2: 14 tells us, “The Spirit is God’s guarantee that He WILL give us the inheritance He promised, and that He purchased us to be His own people.”  All of this is because we are in Christ.

This, My Friends, is how we achieve the fulness (or abundance) of life. We become more and more aware of the supernatural power afforded us by God’s gift (the Holy Spirit). As a result, we minimize our natural desire to “go it alone.” The more we abide in the process of calling the Spirit into action, the more that action becomes our new way of life. (This is explained in detail in pt. 7 of this series.)

The result of this transformation is a deeper wisdom, courage, strength, patience, compassion and love , which in itself produces in us a confident assurance and a peace and serenity that we would have never thought possible.  “And why is that?” you might ask. Because we are in the process of becoming more Christ-like ourselves! Two Scriptures substantiate that statement: “When we come humbly before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him, He WILL lift us up and give us honor.” And again, Jesus told His disciples, “The world will know you are my disciples by your love for one another.” (John 13:35)

OK, Believers… it is time for us to partner in this effort of sharing The Truth with unbelievers. All I ask of you is to either copy, or send via email, these messages week by week to any unbelievers you know. It will be most impactful if you send them in sequence, 1,2,3 etc. With this partnership, we can save souls that will otherwise be condemned. Thank you for supporting this endeavor.

May God Bless You abundantly,

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

(Because of the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)

Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in God, but not Jesus? You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion? You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.

So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com , or you can call me at 314-799-7075. What have you got to lose?

(The new material for this lesson starts here). For the past two weeks we have learned about the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the evil schemes of satan (the devil) The Spirit is not only our source of courage, strength, wisdom, patience and perseverance, but He is also our promise of “victory” over the dark domain.  Satan, on the other hand, is a liar, an accuser, a destroyer, a thief and a cheat. His sole purpose is to shipwreck our best effort at breaking free from Sin (living to please “self” rather than honoring God), and experiencing the joy and freedom that comes from being in Christ. His methods include lies, deception, and trickery of every sort that entice our vulnerabilities. Unfortunately for us, he knows ALL of our weaknesses. But here’s the good news! This week we will learn how to stand against our enemy. (Just a reminder: I am talking about the spiritual realm, not the natural realm. Both the Holy Spirit and satan exist in the spiritual realm, but their activities manifest themselves in the natural realm, as you will see as you read on..

Let’s look at the Holy Spirit’s (God’s) realm. His realm is LOVE; everything emanates from His LOVE for us (mercy, grace faithfulness, self-control, patience, goodness, gentleness, joy, kindness, and peace). If what we are experiencing, or facing, doesn’t emanate from those qualities, the author is “the father of lies”, satan himself! Now let’s compare the spirit of LOVE with the spirit of EVIL.

Since satan’s role is to lure us back to the dark domain, or to take us out, his means of spiritual warfare includes, fear, pride, unforgiveness, doubt, anger, hatred, jealousy, depression, anxiety, doubt, fear, remorse, and convincing us that we are unloved or unlovable. No joy or freedom exists when our minds and our hearts are filled with this kind of vitriol. Here is the truth! When our minds and hearts are polluted with such condemnation, our thoughts, and eventually our actions, mirror those feelings. Make no mistake, satan and his minions ARE fanning the flames of destruction: doubt becomes unbelief, fear becomes lying, cheating and stealing, jealousy or hatred become physical action, pride or unforgiveness prevents relationships from healing or flourishing, and depression or unworthiness becomes suicide. What you have just read in this paragraph is hell on earth.

Remember, we are living in a fallen world.  As I wrote before in pt.6 of this series, we are living in an eternal morality play entitled, “Good vs Evil.” (If you’re new, I suggest you go to my website (meetpastordan.com) and read pt 6 so this will make more sense.). Ephesians 1 tells us that even before God created the world, He had a plan. That plan was for Jesus Christ to come in a human body to pay the penalty for the sins of Mankind. Throughout the New Testament, we are told that anyone who accepts this “Gift of Grace”, meaning those who are in Christ, will experience eternal life. Revelation 21:27 makes this perfectly clear: “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter (The New Jerusalem – God’s New Kingdom). Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” (meaning, those who are in Christ.)

In other words, our life in this world is an audition for eternal life.  As I said in last week’s blog, unbeknownst to us, we are all actors in this morality play. The choices we make along this journey will determine our fate. Our natural inclination is to yield to the teaching and philosophies of the world. Why? Because before we made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, satan had us right in the palm of his hand. He was actually the puppeteer pulling our strings, and we didn’t even know it. So, when we yield to satan and his evil ways, we are known as “sinners.” Now look at the previous paragraph and what it says about evil (synonymous with sinner) and eternal life.  “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter.” In other words, anyone stained with sin will not qualify for eternal life. (Not my words, but God’s words.)

As I have written in previous blogs, when you decide to leave the dark domain and transfer to the domain of light, you now have a target on your back. Satan has you in his cross-hairs, and he will be relentless in his pursuit of your destruction. But here’s the good news; you have the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit in you. This is your gift from God so you can be victorious against satan and his evil minions. When Jesus was sending His disciples out to carry His message, to cast out demons, and to heal the sick, He said: “I have given you authority over all the evil schemes of the devil…no harm will come to you.” (Luke 10:19) That promise to His disciples 2021 years ago is still applicable to all Christ-followers today. So, the next logical question should be, “How do I take authority over satan and his minions?  I’m glad you asked.

James 4:7 tells us: “Submit to the will of God. Resist the devil, and He will flee from you.”  I know what you’re thinking: “That can’t be it. That’s too simple.” Well, that is it, and it is simple…but definitely not easy. Notice there are three parts to that all important key to victory.  First: We have to submit to God’s will. In other words, we have to be in Christ. If we’re in Christ, we have already accepted His Gift of Grace. God paid a hefty price for our salvation, and all He asks from us is to believe and accept His gift of Love, and to continue growing in that gift.

Second: Satan is the father of lies. His sole purpose is to deceive and to fill our minds and hearts with lies. But Jesus has given us authority over the dark domain. The only way to confront satan’s lies, is with the truth of God’s Word (Scripture), just like Jesus did in the wilderness. “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I am a Child of God”, “My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given me authority over you”, The Spirit in Me (Holy Spirit) is greater than you, satan” “Jesus said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you.”

Third: When you take your stand against satan and his minions, he knows you’re armed and dangerous because you’re standing on Biblical Truth.  The truth is, you have seen him for who he is, a liar!  But you, on the other hand, are standing tall on the Truth of God’s Word, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. (The following is a sample of the process.)

(First, call the Holy Spirit into action; “Holy Spirit, give me your courage, your strength, etc. I am relying on your divine power to win this battle in the name of Jesus.”  Now you’re ready to rebuke satan.)

So here is what a confrontation might look like: Speak out loud; be FORCEFUL, be CONFIDENT!

“In the NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, I REBUKE you, satan. You were defeated 2021 years ago AT THE CROSS. Jesus is my LORD AND SAVIOR; I AM A CHILD OF GOD. You have NO AUTHORITY over ME; JESUS GAVE ME AUTHORITY OVER YOU!  GET BEHIND ME SATAN!!

OK, Believers… it is time for us to partner in this effort of sharing The Truth with unbelievers. All I ask of you is to either copy, or send via email, these messages week by week to any unbelievers you know. It will be most impactful if you send them in sequence, 1,2,3 etc. With our partnership, we can save souls that will otherwise be condemned. Thank you for supporting this endeavor.

May God Bless You abundantly,

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

(Because of the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)

Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in God, but not Jesus? You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion? You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.

So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com , or you can call me at 314-799-7075. What have you got to lose?

(The new material for this lesson starts here). Last week, we learned about the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This gift was given to us by the Lord God Almighty so we can rise above our circumstances, and our feelings, to become the person He created us to be. This is explained clearly in Ephesians 2:10: “We are God’s masterpiece (now that we are in Christ). He has created us anew in Christ Jesus so we can (NOW) do the good things He planned for us long ago” Prior to our rebirth, we lived to exalt, please, and promote ourselves. But now we have options: we can make choices that bring honor and glory to God; we can (now) become the person He created us to be. So, you may be asking yourself, “why is that so important?” I would respond, “It’s important because your life depends on it!”

As a Christian, we are constantly bombarded by the teachings of this world, enticed by the lustful desires of the flesh, or tormented by satan and his minions. (As an unbeliever, you are not even aware this is happening.) But when you make a decision to leave the dark domain and take up residence in the domain of light, you NOW have a target on your back. Whether you want to be involved or not, you are in the midst of spiritual warfare. How that works out for YOU depends on the choices you make. Let me explain.

When you are born into this world, you are born into an eternal morality play called, “Good vs. Evil.” Unbeknownst to you, you are an actor in this play, and the part you play depends on the choices you make. Here is a brief Biblical History that will help clarify that statement.

Long before the creation of the world, God (Jesus and the Holy Spirit) existed in the heavenly realms with created beings known as the heavenly host. They existed in numbers too great to count, but the highest-ranking archangel was Lucifer. He eventually became envious of God, so he used his position to amass about 1/3 of the heavenly host to challenge God’s authority. When the battle was over, Lucifer and his evil minions were “cast down to earth.” (Revelation 12:9) Notice that it doesn’t say they “were cast out of heaven”; it very specifically says they were “cast down to earth.” That is very important, because it tells us that before Adam and Eve, “evil” existed in the world. When you choose to move into the domain of light, you immediately have an enemy, and that enemy is the same evil that enticed Eve and Adam to sin. His name was Lucifer, but it is now satan, (meaning adversary, but it can also mean “the devil”).

The reason we were given the gift of the Holy Spirit is so we can be victorious over our battles with satan. Regardless of the source of torment, tribulation or temptation, satan is the one pulling the strings. He is the source of ALL evil. His sole purpose is to shipwreck our best effort at experiencing the joy and freedom that comes from being in Christ. Satan is already condemned! In fact, He knows that is his fate, and he also knows that his time is drawing nigh. His only way to get back at God is through His children, and he is relentless in his pursuit of our demise.

When speaking to unbelievers, Jesus had this to say about satan: “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold The Truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.”  Later, Jesus contrasted satan’s role with His role: “The thief (meaning satan) comes only to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give YOU life, and life to the fullest.” (John 8:44)

Tactics and Schemes of satan (or, how he does his dirty work)

You must remember, before you were in the domain of light, you belonged to satan. He has had his eye on you since birth. Therefore, he knows you intimately; he knows your every wish and desire, your weaknesses, and your vulnerabilities. The truth is, he can play you like a fiddle. So, you might want to ask, “What does he do?” Here are some of his weapons.

1. He is a liar, and the best there is. He can plant thoughts in your mind that you think are your own. In fact, he sounds just like your voice: “You’ll never be…”, “you’re less than…”, “you’re unlovable.” Or, “You might as well give up.” “You’ll never be…”, OR, “you can’t…be.” Yielding to these accusations results in fear, doubt, shame, depression, jealousy, hatred, anger, etc. He knows your weaknesses, so you can count on him fanning the flames of destruction..
2. Once you’ve bought into these lies, he returns as your accuser: “Did you really think you could do that? You are such a looser.”; “You’ll never be able to live this Christian life! You? Give it up and go back to pleasuring yourself.” Or, “You’re so pathetic! Look at the mess you’ve made; no one will want to have anything to do with you! You should be ashamed of yourself.” And finally, “Go for it! No one will know. After all, you deserve it…”
3. When people and relationships are involved, you can count on him fanning the flames of discord. “You can’t trust him/her”; “Look at how she’s looking at him. I think she’s attracted to him. You had better set her straight!” Or, “If I don’t get this promotion, I’m going to make their lives miserable!”  Or, “Why should I apologize. If she didn’t act like that, I wouldn’t have to respond like this!”

How do we know these are satan’s lies and tactics? Because they are contrary to the nature of God. God IS love. Therefore, none of these thoughts or accusations are rooted in love. Instead, these lies and accusations are rooted in one of the five triggers used by satan to plant seeds of destruction: fear, pride, unforgiveness, rejection and trauma. But when our lives are led by the Holy Spirit, the fruit is: mercy, grace,faithfulness, self-control, patience, goodness, gentleness, joy, kindness, peace, and LOVE. Be honest with yourself; isn’t that what everyone is looking for? Isn’t there already enough darkness in the world?  Next week we will talk about putting this knowledge into action.

OK, Believers… it is time for us to partner in this effort of sharing The Truth with unbelievers. All I ask of you is to either copy, or send via email, these messages week by week to any unbelievers you know. It will be most impactful if you send them in sequence, 1,2,3 etc. With our partnership, we can save souls that will otherwise be condemned. Thank you for supporting this endeavor.

May God Bless you abundantly,

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

(Because of the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)

Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in god, but not Jesus? You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion? You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.

So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com , or you can call me at 314-799-7075. What have you got to lose?

(The new material for this lesson starts here).  Last week we talked about God’s incredible love for us, and how He equipped us for a victorious life in this fallen world. For those of you who are unbelievers, if this sounds crazy to you, I get that!  It makes no logical sense, and that stumbling block was one of my reasons for remaining an unbeliever for 55 years. But as you will see, the power that a Christian has is supernatural power (please don’t stop reading; the best is yet to come, and it’s nothing like Casper the Friendly Ghost, Superman or Batman). Simply put, the Holy Spirit is the essence of Jesus Christ (God) living in us.

Last week, I used Scripture from John 15:17 that was Jesus’ own words defining the Holy Spirit. “I will ask the Father, and He will give YOU another Advocate who will never leave YOU. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him, and doesn’t recognize Him. But YOU know Him, because He lives with YOU now (meaning it is ME, Jesus!), and later will be IN YOU!  So, the logical question at this point should be, “What does it mean when it says, “later will be IN YOU?”

The pivotal point in our life comes when we make the decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes this process: “We are a new creation in Christ: the old is gone; the new has come.”  What that means in plain English is this: When we choose to follow Jesus, we are immediately “justified” in God’s eyes, meaning we are now worthy and acceptable in His eyes because we are covered with the blood of Jesus.  “The old is gone” means we are no longer slaves to our sin-nature (or as our culture calls it, our “human nature”). Prior to being in Christ, we made choices that pleasured us, or exalted us, rather than choices that honored God. “The new has come” means that prior to being in Christ, we were spiritually separated from God. In a previous blog, I explained that when sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, the original spiritual connection between Mankind and God was severed. Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior reinstates that connection, and the Holy Spirit takes residence in the very core of our existence, our heart. (Not the physical heart that pumps our blood, but the spiritual center that processes the interaction between our new spirit (Holy Spirit), our soul (mind, emotions, and will) and our flesh, referring to carnal activity.

As an unbeliever, I’m sure you guided your life in a way that allowed you to do what you wanted to do, completely oblivious to the fact that you were residing in the domain of darkness, satan’s territory. Therefore, when you heard Christians talking about satan, you were convinced they were nuts. I certainly thought that!  But then I learned this truth: When you are a resident in the dark domain, satan already has you right where he wants you. You don’t experience the “father of lies” and his schemes until you make the decision to transfer from the domain of darkness into the domain of light. Then you find out very quickly that he, and his minions, are out to steal, kill, or destroy you. Now, think about this truth. He is a master at his craft, and quite frankly, we are no match for him. But thank God, He knew that too!

God gave us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to empower us to rise above our circumstances and our feelings. The Spirit doesn’t change our circumstances or our feelings; He empowers us to deal with both in a way that brings honor and glory to God. 2 Peter 1:3-4 explains the process this way: “The more we grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ, His divine nature gives us EVERYTHING for living a Godly life. And by that same mighty power (the Holy Spirit), He has given us ALL of His rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires, and that you will share in His divine nature.” (Holy Tomolly…does that really say we will be more Christ-like? The answer is yes! The more we grow in the truth of God’s Word, the more Christ-like we will become!)

Let me explain this truth very specifically. The gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit is given to us so we can overcome the world by bringing honor and glory to God through our choices, OR… so we can become the person He created us to be. The Holy Spirit will not participate in any personal desire for self-aggrandizement, self-promotion, or self-pleasure. The Holy Spirit is the supernatural power that allows us to further His Kingdom on this earth right here, right now. That is why Apostle Paul exclaimed in Galatians 5:16-17, 22, “So, I advise you to live a new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict. But when the Holy Spirit directs your life, you will produce a life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”  

So, here is what you have been wondering: “How do I live “in the Spirit?”  It’s actually as simple as getting out of the way, and here’s what I mean. Our old sinful nature (or our human nature) wants to solve life’s conflicts and issues through our own best effort. That is not God’s plan for your life; It never has been. His preference is for you to call on the Holy Spirit so you can tap into His supernatural power. Remember, the Spirit that is in you is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, that helped David slay Goliath, and parted the Red Sea for Moses. That, my Friends, is POWER!

Even though the Holy Spirit resides in your heart, He doesn’t control you. Remember, God gave YOU free will. Therefore, each one of us has to call Him into action. (And remember again, when we say “Holy Spirit”, we have just opened the door to the supernatural) Here is the process: “Holy Spirit, give me your wisdom, your courage, your strength, patience, perseverance, eyes to see, ears to hear, words to speak…whatever it is we need to make choices that bring honor and glory to Him. Every promise in the Bible says He Will answer that request. James 4:10 supports that statement: “When we come humbly before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him, He WILL lift us up and give us honor.”  To reiterate, when we begin by saying “Holy Spirit”, we are admitting our dependence on Him, and we  are opening the door to obtain supernatural empowerment.

OK, Believers… it is time for us to partner in this effort of sharing The Truth with unbelievers. All I ask of you is to either copy, or send via email, these messages week by week to any unbelievers you know. It will be most impactful if you send them in sequence, 1,2,3 etc. With our partnership, we can save souls that will otherwise be condemned. Thank you for supporting this endeavor.

May God Bless you abundantly,

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

(Because of the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)

Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in god, but not Jesus. You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion. You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.

So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com, or you can call me at 314-799-7075. What have you got to lose?

(The new material for this lesson begins here). Last week we learned that being in Christ secures our eternal destiny. Our sins are forgiven, therefore we qualify for eternal life. That statement is substantiated by this Scripture found in Revelation 21:27: “Nothing evil will be allowed to enter (the New Jerusalem – our eternal paradise), only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.” This refers to all of us who are washed clean by the sacrificial blood of Jesus Christ. (That is another way of saying, “for those of us who are in Christ.”) No doubt that is Great News, but you may be asking yourself, what about those of us who are still living in this fallen and perverse world? How are we supposed to make it? Does God have a plan for us? Well, here is some more Great News!

Because God IS LOVE, He doesn’t want to lose even one of His proudest creation to eternal damnation. Remember, He gave us His Gift of Grace, when we (Mankind) proved ourselves “utterly helpless” to rise above the dilemma of Sin through our own best effort. By giving us His Gift of Grace, He was willing to pay our sin-debt with the blood of His Son. (To put this in human terms, “can you imagine being convicted of a crime, but when you went to pay your fine, you were told that the judge paid the fine for you?) That is exactly what John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life.” And what is required of YOU in order to inherit this gift? Only that YOU believe that He IS who God said He is (His only begotten Son, meaning of the same substance), and that He died on the cross to pay the blood penalty for YOUR sins!.

Another part of our inheritance from being in Christ is the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. This is our power source for rising above our own limitations to bring honor and glory to God, even though we have to contend with this fallen world, our flesh, and our formidable enemy, satan!  Don’t forget, God knows what we have to deal with as long as we are living in this world; He saw what the world did to His Son! He also knows that we are NO match for the sinful temptations that will continue to come our way. Therefore, He has given us everything we need for being victorious in the upcoming battles.

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is the essence of Jesus Christ living in us. Jesus defined this when He shared this information with His disciples. “If YOU love Me, obey My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give YOU another Advocate who will never leave YOU. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him, and doesn’t recognize Him. But YOU know Him, because He lives with YOU now (meaning, it’s ME!), and later will be IN YOU!  (John 15:17) This is substantiated by Ephesians 1:14: “The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised, and that He has purchased us to be His own people.”

Apostle Paul explains in Galatians 5:16-21 why “living in the Spirit” is so vitally important to maturing in our relationship with God. “Now that you have the Holy Spirit in you, let the Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of 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 Spirit, you are no longer slaves to your sinful nature.” (YOU HAVE THE FREEDOM NOW TO MAKE CHOICES BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL.)  But, when you do give into the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissention, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before: anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

Now contrast that with the fruit of the Holy Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross, and crucified them there! AMEN!

If this sounds like a fairy tale, or smoke and mirrors to you, you could not be more wrong. Remember, God revealed Himself to us by speaking to us through prophets. He chose this method because He wanted us to come to know Him, to know His loving nature, and His character. Numbers 23:19 tells us: “It is impossible for God to lie” Why? Because it is absolutely contrary to His nature. He IS TRUTH. As we saw earlier, He has made, and challenged us, with many hundreds of promises in the Bible. (Remember, two paragraphs above in Ephesians 1:14, it stated that, “The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us the inheritance He promised…” If He were ever found to be untrustworthy, there would be no hope for our future, no truth in this world, and no possible way we could expect eternal life. Death would be the victor. But again, the Good News IS…satan, the power of darkness, was defeated 2021 years ago at the cross. The Truth is, we are already victorious because we are in Christ. We just have to know that truth, then we have to choose to live in the power of our victory!  Thank You, God!

In an earlier blog in this series, I used the term: “We are in Christ, and Christ is in us.” I said I would come back to that. Being in Christ is our identity: our hope, our confident assurance, our patience, our peace and serenity. Christ in us is our power and our strength. Colossians 1:27 tells us: “Christ in us, our hope of glory.” Christ in us (The Holy Spirit with his power and strength) is our ONLY hope of glory.

Next week we will discuss how to use the Holy Spirit, and how we can expect to achieve the abundant life Jesus promised us. I’ll look forward to meeting with you then.  Believers, please share part 4 with unbelievers that you know.  If we continue to partner in this endeavor, we can save lost souls together.

May God Bless You,

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

(Because to the targeting nature of the next few blogs, the first two paragraphs will be a copy of those in Pt. 1. The new material will begin in the third paragraph for the next few weeks.)

Good Morning, Unbelievers (and faithful Readers): Welcome! Let me introduce myself: My name is Dan. You might not know me, but I know you. “How do you know me”, you might be wondering? Because I was an unbeliever myself for most of my life. I was a very proud Atheist; I was an intellectual. In fact, I even had the title, Professor, to prove it. Therefore, I could not possibly accept that trivial drivel the church is selling. I mean, “Come on…smart people like me and you can’t fall for gibberish that makes no rational sense.” That was my excuse. What is your excuse? You don’t believe in God, or you believe in god, but not Jesus? You don’t believe in organized religion, or you’ve been scared by organized religion? You don’t believe there is only one way to an after-life; you don’t believe in heaven or hell; you don’t believe the Bible can be true; you’ve seen church leaders that you once followed fall from their pedestals; you know hypocrites who claim to be Christians, but who continue to live as heathens; you see no way you could have fun if you’re expected to follow all of those confining “dos” and “don’ts”, or… you believe you are a “good person”, in fact, better than most, and you know that God, because He is a good God, will welcome you into heaven. Those are many of the classic reasons for remaining an unbeliever. I get that! The truth is, all of those thoughts were stumbling blocks for me as I continued to live in bondage to my arrogance.

So, you may be asking yourself, “What is Dan’s deal? Why does he care about what I believe, or what happens to me? My honest answer to that question is this: There was certainly a time when I could not have cared less about you, your belief or your destiny. But during that period of my life, I was totally consumed with “me”, my agenda and my career. As smart as I thought I was, in reality…I was totally ignorant of The Truth. I had a lot of knowledge and common sense, but I was ignorant of what I now know to be THE TRUTH. (I want to be perfectly clear here; I am not referring to worldly truth, worldly philosophy, or situational truth. I am referring to God’s Word (or God’s Truth, which is collected and codified in the Holy Bible). Today, it breaks my heart to know that people will perish just because they do not know THE TRUTH. I want to do everything possible to give unbelievers the same opportunity I had for redemption. I hope you will take five minutes to read each of these blogs. If you have questions, or criticisms, please respond to me at drpresgr@gmail.com. What have you got to lose?

(The new material for this lesson starts here). Today I will introduce the very essence of Christianity: The Gospel of Grace. I will begin this opening section with the definition of terms. I want to be absolutely sure that what I am speaking about is clear. “Gospel”, broadly speaking, refers to the whole of Scripture; it is God’s Word; it is His TRUTH. But when you add the term “Grace”, it narrows the definition; it means what God did through Jesus Christ to restore the original “God/Man (“Man” meaning Mankind) relationship.

Let’s review for a moment. God created Man in His image. Both Adam and Eve were spiritually connected to God. They were placed in the Garden of Eden (Paradise), where God provided for all of their needs. It was perfect, both physically and spiritually, until Eve, and then Adam, became disobedient to God’s directions. This is referred to as “The Fall”, and at that moment, the original spiritual connection between God and Man was severed. From that point forward, Man had to deal with the dilemma of Sin (living separated from God) through his own best effort. God gave Man from Creation until “just the right time” before He implemented His plan that was in place even before the world was created. (Ephesians 1:3-14 explains this whole scenario.) So, the obvious question here should be: “What was “just the right time?”

Romans 5:6 is the grade card on Man’s best effort at overcoming the dilemma of Sin. “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time, and died for us sinners.” So, what was “just the right time”? When we proved ourselves to be “utterly helpless”. Wow! Utterly helpless is quite an inditement. Notice that God didn’t wait for us to clean-up our act before He implemented His plan, most often referred to as the “Gift of Grace” (meaning, we weren’t deserving of this Gift, and we certainly didn’t earn it.) No indeed! He gave us this gift while we were still sinners (Apostle Paul also referred to us as God’s enemies.; we lived to please ourselves, and not Him!

The Gospel of Grace (or the Gift of Grace) was/is God’s plan to reconcile the world to Himself through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, the blood of sacrificial animals was used to cover people’s sins. (Notice this blood only covered their sins; it did not forgive their sins.) Every year – on the Day of Atonement – the Israelites would go to the Temple to participate in this purification ceremony, because blood was the proof of sacrifice, and sacrificial blood was required for the covering of Sin. This system was the forerunner of the New Covenant, but this “new way” was always God’s plan for sacrifice, forgiveness and salvation.

John the Baptist revealed Jesus’ identity as He approached the Jordan River for His baptism. John announced to the multitude, “There He is! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” (John 1:29) God sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world to be the final sacrifice for the sins of Mankind. “Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save the world.” (John 3:17) Therefore, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the blood He shed on the cross paid the penalty for all of our sins, past, present and future. God said of us, “I will be merciful toward their evil deeds, and I will remember their sins no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)

So, you may be asking yourself, “Why would God do this?” The answer is simple: God created us not only for a here and now relationship, but for an eternal relationship. Unfortunately, we proved we were incapable of overcoming the malaise of sin through our own best effort. Therefore, when we got to the point of being “utterly helpless”, God implemented His plan to save us from ourselves. We were undeniably stained with Sin, therefore we could not qualify to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. God sacrificed His only begotten Son, Jesus, so His blood would wash away the sins of all who would accept Him as their Lord and Savior.  How is that for unconditional, unending and unfailing LOVE from God, our Father, toward His prodigal children?

What It Means to Be “In Christ”: When we accept God’s Gift of Grace, we are immediately grafted into His family. We are now “In Christ”, and Christ is in us. (More on that subject a bit later) And because we are in God’s family, we are heirs to many spiritual blessings from God’s vast treasure trove of blessings: our sins were/are immediately forgiven, past present and future; we inherit (it’s a gift) eternal life; we inherit the indwelling Holy Spirit. (This will be the topic of the next section.) We are now worthy and acceptable in His eyes, not because of anything we did, but because of what Jesus did on our behalf. We are now Saints (followers of Jesus Christ) and no longer sinners, and we are now heirs to all the promises in the Bible, and there are hundreds of them. Being “in Christ” IS our new identity. Apostle Paul describes our new identity this way: “We are now God’s masterpiece. He created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can NOW do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10) Prior to being in Christ, our focus was on pleasuring and exalting ourselves. But now we can choose to honor Him by becoming the people He created us to be. We are a new creation; at this point we have everything we need for living a life that is happy, joyous and free!

Next week’s topic will be, “The Power of the Holy Spirit.” Being in Christ secures our eternal destiny because our sins are forgiven. Now we qualify for eternal life. (We are told in Revelation that no one stained with sin will be allowed to enter the Kingdom; only those who’s names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.) But what about those of us who are still living in this fallen and perverse world? How are we supposed to make it? The good news is…God has a plan for us too.  See you next week.

Ok, Believers…It’s time to partner in this endeavor. Please feel free to copy these blogs and share them with unbelievers. All are on line and can be copied. Please hand them (or send them) out in order (pt 1, pt 2, pt 3) etc. I believe the impact will be strongest if done in order. May God Bless You abundantly, as we further His Kingdom together.

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