Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…It is Thursday morning, and I am sitting down to write. I waited a few days after the “big event” so I could simmer down. Never did I think that in my lifetime I would see our right to vote compromised the way it is being shamefully manipulated right before our very eyes. Thankfully, I recognized the need to give myself time to come to my senses before I opened my mouth. The old me, the “sinful-nature dominated me”, still occasionally shows up and wants to shout, to curse, to point fingers, and to say what is still in those “mostly-under-control” strongholds in my mind. But today I have a choice. I can give in to my “human-nature” impulses, or I can remember who I am in Christ, and then turn to the Holy Spirit for wisdom, courage, strength and patience to deal with this quagmire in a way that is honoring to God.
The prince of the dark domain is raging right now. In fact, not only is he raging, but he is celebrating what appears to be the straw that will break the back of the first experiment in democracy. America, a government “of the people, by the people and for the people” is being stretched to the breaking point. Thank God, some true patriots have the guts to stand against what appears to be our modern day Golieth.
As I have said in previous postings, nothing ignites fear in our hearts more than change. Having worked with a number of alcoholics, addicts and victims of abuse, I’ve seen people choose to stay in unhealthy situations or relationships rather than face the “unknown” that inevitably comes with change. As Christ-followers, we are called to stand against “fear of the unknown”. We are called to stand on the promises of God. The following story is the perfect example.
Moses had just died, and the Lord was speaking to Joshua. “You must lead my people across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. I promise you what I promised Moses; ‘Everywhere you go, you will be on land that I am giving you. No nation will be able to stand their land against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous, for you will lead my people to possess all the land I swore to give their ancestors. Be strong and very courageous!
Obey all the laws Moses gave you. Do not turn away from them, and you will be successful in everything you do. Study the Book of Law (first five Books of the Bible) continually; Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it. Only then will you succeed. I command you – be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. The Lord, your God, is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1: 2-9) Regardless of how dreary things look, God’s promise is to give us strength and courage to overcome fear (if we ask for it.) He also promises us success if we stay plugged into our source of strength. And most important, He promises not to fail or abandon us. (FYI…the land promised to the Israelites was already occupied by many pagan nations: the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. Not only that, they were giants. Yikes!)
Here is the take-away. Every promise in the Bible, whether in the Old or New Testament, is still 100% applicable to everyone who is in Christ. Everything God said to Joshua, He said to us as well. “Be strong and courageous”; “I will never leave you or abandon you;” “Do not turn away from God’s Word, then you will be successful in all that you do.” Now let’s jump to the New Testament.
Under the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit fell on chosen people to empower them to accomplish God’s purpose. Under the New Covenant (the New Testament), God’s provision for us is different. Jesus revealed these truths to His disciples in the 14th chapter of John. “I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor who will never leave you. By Counselor, I mean the Holy Spirit, who is my representative. He will lead you into all truth and will remind you of everything I Myself have told you. The world at large cannot receive Him, nor do they recognize Him. But you do, because He lives with you now, and later will be in you” Now hold onto your hat, because this IS THE TRUTH! As a Christ-follower, you have that same power living in you that raised Jesus from the grave. Surprised? Well, first you have to know that truth. And secondly, you have to know how to use the Holy Spirit.
God gave us the 10 Commandments (The Law) for three reasons: 1. so we could live in peace and harmony with each other; 2. so we would know what standard of behavior he expected from us, and 3. to keep us safe from unwanted, or unexpected consequences. When Jesus came to earth, He came to model the 10 Commandments. “Why”, you ask? Because we proved ourselves utterly helpless to overcome the plague of sin through our own best effort. He was The Word incarnate; He lived them perfectly. In fact, not only did He model them perfectly, He even raised the bar a few times.
When Jesus was early in His ministry, He explained Kingdom principles to a crowd. This was one of the reasons He came to earth, to show the world how far it had drifted from God’s will. For instance, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven”; Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (All eight of these Beatitudes are listed in Matthew 5:3-10) In the same presentation, Jesus addressed anger. “You have heard that the Law of Moses says, ‘Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgement’. But I say, ‘If you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgement. If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the high council. And if you curse someone, you are subject to the fires of hell.” The Law of Moses also says, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say, ‘Love your enemies.’ Pray for those who persecute you. In that way, you will be acting as children of God.” The Law of Moses also says, “Do not commit adultery’. But I say, ‘Anyone who looks at a woman with lust in his eyes has already committed adultery with her in his heart. So, if your eye causes you to lust, gouge it out.”
The standard which God expects from us is far beyond our ability to achieve. Regardless of how hard we try; regardless of how many times we say we’re “sorry” and commit to change”, our sin-nature yields to self-satisfaction and self-exaltation. We had from the Fall of Man in the Garden until 2020 years ago to wrestle with the dilemma of Sin, and instead of getting better, we continued spiraling downward into the black abyss of sin.
God said, “I am holy, therefore, you too must be holy.” (Leviticus 19:2) Holy means to be sin-free; to be set aside for a sacred purpose. In other words, if we are to come into His presence, we too have to be holy. “Why”, you ask? Because Sin contaminates, spreads, kills and destroys. This should clarify the necessity of the indwelling Holy Spirit. It is only through the Spirit that we can rise above “self” to overcome anger, to love our enemies, to forgive those who have harmed us, and to become the person God created us to be. This is a gift from God, and we inherited this gift when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Thank you, God!
The insanity we are dealing with today calls for a response, and no doubt those who feel victimized by what is happening want to respond. But for those of us who are in Christ, we are called to respond in a different manner. We are called to turn to our source of strength (the Holy Spirit) and pray for wisdom, courage, strength, and patience. We are commanded not to return evil for evil, but to rise above our circumstances and feelings by allowing the Spirit to reveal a path that will bring honor and glory to God. This is how we let our light shine brightly in the darkness. Remember His promise: “Be strong and courageous. I will never leave you or abandon you.” We, too, want to keep our promised land
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May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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Very eye opening and inspiration al!
Thank you!!
Thanks, Craig. I hope all is well in your slice of paradise.