(sorry about the crazy formating in the first paragraph.  I haven’t found a way to correct this.)

Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…Right now I have so many thoughts whirling around in my mind, seemingly unrelated at first, but actually they‘re all related to what I ultimately want to write about…which is this crazy time in which we are living. I guess the best way to get started is to throw a mental dart, and on whichever thought it lands, that will determine my perspective for today. So here goes…

“I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God. As the Scriptures say,‘I will destroy human wisdom and discard its most brilliant ideas.‘ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world‘s most brilliant debaters?“ Apostle Paul wrote that in his first letter to the Corinthians (1:18-20) in the early first century AD. So now you might be asking yourself, “how does that fit into this crazy time theme?“ Well, let‘s get started.

When Moses brought to an end the 400 years of bondage to Egypt and led the Israelites out through the main gate; they were finally free! Their cries and their prayers had been heard, and they were on their way to the Promised Land. What could be better? Well…it was taking a bit longer than they had planned; are we there yet? They got tired of the manna every day; are we there yet? The desert sameness was getting on their nerves; are we there yet? Moses was getting on their nerves; are we there yet? And before long, they began yearning for the good ol‘ days in Egypt. In the midst of their frayed nerves, their anger, and their boredom, disobedience, debauchery and chaos defined their attempt at freedom.

God was not happy with what he was seeing, so he called Moses to the top of Mt. Siani to give him 10 rules that, if obeyed, would bring order out of chaos and harmony, peace and serenity to the masses. These ten simple rules served multiple purposes. First, it was civil law; it was also God‘s standard; and it would prove to Man his inability to live up to this standard through his own effort. Now bear in mind, before Moses went to receive the 10 Commandments from the Lord, he was instructed to give this message to the people: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I brought you to myself and carried you on eagle‘s wings. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the nations of the earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be to me a kingdom of priests, my holy nation. Moses returned from the mountain and called together the leaders of the people and told them what the Lord had said. They all responded together,‘We will certainly do everything the Lord asks of us.“ (Exodus 19:5-8) Moses returned to the Lord with this answer, and was gone for the next forty days and nights. But alas, human nature again prevailed and the people got impatient, restless, irritable and discontent. By the time Moses returned from the mountain with the stone tablets, they had already forged a golden calf to be their new god.

I mention this because it seems to me nothing has changed. We get bored, irritable, restless and discontent. We want what we want, and we want it now! And if what we want exalts us or brings us pleasure, we can‘t get enough of it and many times are willing to go to any length to get it. That‘s human nature, and that, unfortunately, defines our culture today.

But nothing, I mean NOTHING, is more confrontational to our human nature than the 10 Commandments. That‘s why we hear from the intelligensia, “They‘re out of date; they don‘t groove with our enlightened thinking; “they‘re way too confining“; “they keep me from spreading my wings to be all I can be“; “they don‘t take into account my special circumstances“; “they thwart my ingenuity and creativity“. So the first thing the intellectual mind tries to do is find loop-holes in the fabric of the law, or it tries to create as much “grey area“ around the principle so there can be wiggle-room. “Well, he may have told a lie, but everyone does it. That‘s the way of the world today.“ “Well, he probably did have an affair, but if his wife would have done a better job of satisfying his needs…“ “I mean, is that thing really a baby or is it just a blob of cells. After all, it can‘t exist on it‘s own outside the mother‘s womb!“ Get the picture?

Thank goodness we serve a God who is devoid of ego. His defining credentials are “love“, “faithfulness“, “mercy“, and “immutability“ (he doesn’t change.) He is a God who clothes himself in simplicity. The same 10 commandments are as perfect today as they were when they were etched in stone for Moses, but look at how we have “evolved“ today. We had a tax code so complicated and convoluted that it might as well have been written in Swahili to the average person who tried to read it. We have thousands and thousands of rules and regulations in the books of law, and when one doesn‘t work, we just add another, and another, and another. When we sign an agreement with our favorite information provider, we almost need an interpreter with us to explain in simple terms “the truth“ of what we are about to sign. But, what the heck…it‘s evolution or enlightement…right?? No! Things are as complicated and convoluted as they appear to be because simple truth is musty and outdated, and deception is in vogue today. Remember, a lot of words, big words, made-up words, or “in“ words (ie. not an investigation but “a matter“; or not gross negligence but “a lapse in judgement“) can all serve the purpose of deception.

But here‘s the truth about those old musty, out-dated Commandments: They were not given to take the joy out of our lives, nor to keep us from being all we can be. No! They were given to keep us safe from harm, from disease, from disgrace, from guilt, and remorse. The same loving God who gave us these 10 simple rules for living in this world, also gave us this simple plan for living in the world to come. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him, will not perish, but will have eternal life.“ Pretty simple, right? Well…let‘s discuss that.

To “believe“ means to have “faith“, and our faith is only as confident and secure as our knowledge of our object of faith. For instance, to believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior presupposes knowledge of him, and a personal relationship with him. Neil Anderson states in his book, “Victory Over the Darkness“, that God‘s plan for our lives is twofold: first, to accept his Gift of Grace (Jesus as our Savior); and second, to grow in our relationship with him as he becomes our Lord. It is in that growth process that we become the person that God created us to be, and with that process comes wisdom, courage, strength, confidence, joy, peace and serenity. Aren‘t those the qualities that everyone is searching for?

But for the unbelieving, intellectual mind, this plan is a fairy tale. “Certainly something that simple and child-like can‘t possibly work for me. After all…I‘m a multi-facated, complicate Dude who is on the cutting-edge of the greatest scientific discoveries and the world‘s latest philosophical break-throughs. I don‘t have time for such inane drivil.“ But for those of us who have ears to hear and an open mind to the possibility of “what if“ (also referred to as humility), when the veil that has been clouding our senses is drawn back and we get just a glimpse of what God has to offer, in the words of Apostle Paul (Philippians 3:8), we too might consider “everything else as rubbish compared to the priceless gain of knowing Jesus Christ!“

So you might be asking yourself, “what does all of this have to do with the “crazy times“ in which we are living?“ Well, perhaps the term “prophesied time“ is equally appropriate. Way back in the Book of Daniel, written about five hundred years before Christ, the prophet had a third vision regarding “the anguish that will be greater than any time since nations first came into existance“, but the messenger cautioned him not to share it because it pertained to “the time of the end.“ In 2Timothy 3:1-5,8, Apostle Paul also speaks of this time of the end: “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 God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed-up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. Some will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.Their minds are depraved, and their faith is counterfeit.“ Nothing about this paragraph should be surprising. This and much more has been clearly prophesied, but unfortunately God and the Truth of his Word is being expunged from our culture today. Apostle Paul cautioned us (and the Church) again in 2Timothy 4:2-4: “Preach the Word of God! Be persistent, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. For the time is coming (is here) when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths.“

So what is the answer? Well, we can either continue down the “enlightened path“ of human wisdom, which got us right where we are today, or we can pray for a revival in our country and a return to God, who prefers mercy over judgement. I wrote last week about our time of reprieve and repentence, and it begins one person at a time. Remember this truth: “There is salvation in no other name than Jesus Christ.(Acts 4:12), and “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.!“

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May God Bless Ya…

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