(Sorry this is late. I had my first physical therapy scheduled for this morning after last week’s surgery. Feeling like a champ!)
Good Day, Meetpastordan Readers…Last week I wrote about the moral and spiritual decline of our culture and the challenges that confront us as Christ-followers. Challenges such as disrespectful behavior, fowl language, defiance, deceit, and acting out in inappropriate ways plague our culture today. All of these behaviors reveal the state of one’s heart, and when a heart is filled with anger, hatred, fear, envy, and jealousy, these actions naturally result. Proverbs 4:23-26 tells us: “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” When Solomon referred to guarding “the heart”, he meant the inner core of a person, one’s thoughts, feelings, desires, and will.
In the by-gone era of even a half-century ago, the fundamental education of children, such as instilling moral values and providing a foundation for successful social behavior, was the very definition of family. In fact, it usually took place around the fireplace or maybe at the dinner table. But unfortunately, today’s culture does not reflect that by-gone era. The demands of keeping up with the Kardashians or keeping up with the ever changing evolution of the electronic and communication industry can keep one totally occupied and distracted. Having the latest, greatest cell-phone, computer, TV or video game fulfills the media hype that we are defined by what we have, what we drink or what we wear. Consequently we’ve been dooped into believing that it’s all about me, me, me and getting more, more, and more. Unfortunately, that’s one of satan’s favorite deceptions.
In last week’s blog I wrote about the hopeless state of our culture, reflecting the truth found in the above paragraph’s last two sentences. But now I want to write about the incredible hope that is available to anyone who has the guts to reach out and take it. In my opinion, it is our culture’s only hope of redemption, and. it is a gift! It’s a gift from a loving God that loves us beyond our wildest imagination, and it’s a gift from a God that wants to save us from ourselves so we can spend eternity with Him in Paradise.
When God created Man, He created us for two purposes. First, He wanted us to enter into a loving relationship with Him so we could spend eternity with Him in Paradise. And second, He wanted us to be of service to our fellow man. But unfortunately the spiritual connection that originally existed between God and Man was severed when sin entered the world through the disobedience of Eve and Adam. In fact, that first act of disobedience became the very definition of sin: Living with the focus on self rather than on God. Therefore, since Man severed that original spiritual connection which existed with God, it is up to Man to restore once again that connection.
Ephesians 1:4-6,10 tells us about God’s plan even before Creation. “Long ago, even before He created the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and this gave Him great pleasure. And this is His plan: At just the right time He will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.”
So the obvious question here is, “What was “just the right time?” The answer can be found in Roman’s 5:6: “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” You see, God gave Man from Creation until 2018 years ago (the coming of Christ) to wrestle with the dilemma of sin, but instead of getting better, we kept spiraling downward until we reached the pathetic state of “utter helplessness.” In order for us to spend eternity with God, Jesus and all other Christ-followers, we cannot be stained with sin because “sin spreads, contaminates, kills and destroys.” (John 10:10) If you doubt that, just look at the world around you now. Does this look like Paradise? It was at Creation…at least until sin entered the world. That is why it was always God’s plan, even before the world was created, to provide a Redeemer to do for us what He knew we could not do for ourselves. That, my Friends, is unconditional love!
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, came for the very purpose of paying the penalty for our sin and restoring that spiritual connection with God. When we accept His sacrifice on the cross as restitution for our sins, we are immediately in Christ, and as such are grafted into God’s family. Now our sins are forgiven; we inherit eternal life, and we receive the indwelling Holy Spirit. Forgiveness of sin and eternal life seals our eternal destiny, but God’s perfect plan also provides for those of us who are still living in this fallen world. “The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He promised, and that He has purchased us to be His own people.” (Ephesians 1:14)
The Holy Spirit empowers all who are in Christ to rise above their circumstances to become the people God created them to be. Here’s how the Holy Spirit works. When we know we are going to confront contentious situations, we call on Him: “Holy Spirit, give us your wisdom, courage, strength, patience, perseverance, eyes to see, ears to hear, whatever it is we need to handle any situation in a way that brings honor and glory to God. When we do that, James 4:10 tells us He will respond: “When you come humbly before the Lord and admit your dependence on Him, He will lift you up and give you honor.” Every time we call on the Holy Spirit to empower us in this manner, we bring that promise to life. Even when we mess up by defaulting to old habits or reactions, we can say, “Holy Spirit, that is not who I want to be. Give me your courage, wisdom, etc. not to continue making this response because I want to honor God with my choices.” The Holy Spirit is every Christ-followers source of strength. It is our gift from God so we can become His Masterpiece. “We are now his Masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ so we can now do the good things He planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10)
So now you might be asking yourself, “What about those who are not in Christ?” The answer to that question and the remedy are found in the same Scripture. Romans 6:23 tells us the blatant truth: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free Gift from God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” If anyone is stained with sin, they can not enter into God’s presence. 1 Peter 1:16 proclaims God’s standard: “For you must be holy (sin-free, set aside for a sacred purpose) because I am holy.” Paradise, by its very definition, must, and will be, sin-free.
Man has proven his inability to overcome the issue of sin through his own effort; that is why Jesus had to come as our Redeemer. As such, He boldly proclaimed, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”(John 14:6) This is God’s Gift of Grace. John 3:16 tell us: “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, so that who ever believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life.” The choice is ours to make. Will you choose Life, or will you settle for Death?
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May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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