(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?
This is the beginning of new material, and is the continuation of “God…Who is He”
Last week, we learned about God’s nature, His Majestic Qualities, and His personal qualities. Today we’ll see what He says about us; what His plans are for us, what His standard is, and what His promises are and how we achieve those promises. (I encourage you to read the previous blogs)
We are His proudest creation. We were created in His image (Gen. 1:27), therefore we were/are created to bring honor and glory to Him, and to be of service to our fellow man. (You shall love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, strength and mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Luke 10:27) It tells us in Ephesians 1:4 that even before He created the world (and Man), He knew that we were going to follow a different path than the one He originally planned for us. But God created us anyway! Why? Because that is how much He wanted that all-important relationship. He delights in us! (Psalm 27:23) He is our biggest cheerleader. “When we come humbly before the Lord and admit our dependence on Him, He WILL lift us up and give us honor.” (James 4:10) Regardless of who you are, or what you have done, His mercy WILL abound. “All have sinned; all fall short of His glorious standard. Yet God, in His gracious kindness, declares us, NOT GUILTY.” (Romans 3:23) For those who are in His family, “when we come humbly before Him”, (James 4:10), His mercy always trumps His judgement. Everything God does is rooted in love, because His very essence is LOVE!
God’s Plan For Us: When God created Man, He had plans for us. “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.” (Gen.1:28) Not only did He have plans for us, but He also made himself available to develop that sought-after relationship. He communed with Adam and Eve in the Garden, and He provided for ALL of their needs. God reinforced that statement when He spoke through the prophet, Jeremiah: “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (29:11) Nothing more does God want than for us to invite Him into our lives. When we open that door to Him, we are on the cusp of a new existence. Just like it said in the previous paragraph, “He WILL lift YOU up and give YOU honor! (James 4:10) To have that opportunity to give us a 2nd chance at life gives Him “great pleasure!” (Ephesians 1:5)
God’s Standard: When the Israelites were freed from 400 years of bondage to Egypt, Moses led them (totaling about half a million people) through the Red Sea and into the wilderness. They were on their way to the Promised Land, a trip that should have taken about two weeks…if all had gone well. But the Israelites were a rather rambunctious lot, and this problem was exasperated by their sheer numbers. They became unruly, disrespectful, and eventually they fell into debauchery, paganism and idol worship. When they decided to camp at the foot of Mt. Sinai, the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and presented him with 10 Commandments. If the people would agree to follow these laws, order could be restored to the utter chaos. Notice that God’s apparent reason for giving these commandments was to restore civil law, but there were two other subtle reasons for these words. First, it was also His moral standard; second, it was to show man, without a doubt, that he was incapable of keeping these laws through his own best effort.
Now ask yourself, “What was God’s motivation for giving the 10 Commandments?” Was He trying to be a kill-joy, or was He protecting the people from the unwanted consequences that would result from disobeying those directives? (Homework: Look up the 10 Commandments, then superimpose the previous question. You be the judge.) The 10 Commandments are still God’s standard today, but the good news is…we now live under the New Covenant. Today it is NOT about us trying to live up to His standard through our own effort. Now God has provided a new way for us to be declared NOT GUILTY. (More on that when I write about the Gospel of Grace and our inheritance.)
God’s Promises to Us: Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God made many hundreds of promises to His faithful followers. These promises, should we decide to accept them, teach us God’s Truth, and keep us in line with His will. Some promises are statements of Truth, such as, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). Other promises require a response from us, such as, “If you follow My teaching, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” How do you reap the blessing of knowing the truth and being set free? By following His teaching. (Notice, He was very specific about what teaching He was/is referencing; it was MY teaching, not worldly teaching, worldly philosophy, or the latest, greatest religious revelations.” God made this promise to us long ago. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will NEVER pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
Remember, since God is a spirit and we are finite human beings, speaking through prophets (and scribes transcribing those words) was His way of revealing His character to us. He gave us His promises so we could experience His truth and His faithfulness coming alive in our lives. For instance, Matthew 6:33 reveals this truth: “If you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all of these things will be added.” The “things” referenced here are all the things in the previous two paragraphs that we strive so hard to get through our own effort. His promise to us is, “If we seek Him first, (this is one of those promises that requires an action on our part) those “things” will be bestowed on us as blessings. The wisdom of Solomon recorded this attribute of God: “He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4) That’s a promise, but first we have to be in line with His will; we have to seek Him first. (Again, more will be revealed when I write about the Gospel of Grace and our inheritance.)
Next week I will introduce the Gospel of Grace. This is the essence of Christianity. Hopefully, I’ll meet with you again next week. Believers, please partner with me and copy this blog to give to unbelievers. Together we can save lost souls.
May God Bless You Abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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