Good Day Meetpastordan Readers…This is one of my favorite subjects, and one that I thought I had written about earlier. However, I can’t find any evidence of that, so I’ll assume it exists only in my mind. But here’s the good news…I’m going to transcribe it to paper.
I would like to begin with this scenario. ‘When we are born into this world, we’re born into a morality play entitled “Good vs Evil.” We’re all actors in this play, but we don’t realize we’re actors. We just go about life making choices – some exalting God, some exalting self. But the time spent in this play is only an audition period; the choices we make here will determine whether we pass or fail the audition. If we pass, we move on to the Main Stage, which is just behind the curtain. But on the main stage is a play called “Paradise,” and it lasts forever! If we fail the audition, we’re condemned to eternal darkness. That means we’re forever separated from God.
That, my Dear Friends, is the life cycle, and we’re living it now. These sixty, seventy or even eighty years is our audition period for the Main Stage. So, trust me when I tell you, the choices we make here have eternal consequences. We can either live for self, or we can live a life that is pleasing to God Almighty -our Creator. Romans: 6:23 presents this stark reality: “For the wages of sin (living contrary to God’s Will) is death, but the free Gift from God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
We all have a choice to make, and this is the most important choice we will ever make! Jesus died on the cross to pay OUR sin-ransom; will you accept Him as your Savior? It’s a no-brainer: “Yes“ = eternal life; “No” = eternal separation from God – eternal darkness.
It took me a long time to see the light. I was living according to the gospel of Presgrave, and I saw no reason to change. I was having a good time; I was my own god; I had a successful career that I loved; I was making good money, and I had many admirers. What could be better? What else did I need? To change seemed like an absurd idea. But as the saying goes, ‘Everything that goes up must come down.’ That is my story.
While I was living the façade enumerated in the above paragraph, I had a secret life – a dark side. Without going into sordid details, let me just say, “I had all the “isms” associated with alcoholism, drug addiction, and narcissism.’ That eventually led to my downfall, but “Thank you, God” for meeting me in my weakest moment. You heard my plea: “God help me!”, and you sheltered and rescued me. Unbeknownst to me, that was my surrender to a new life that I would never have believed possible.
That’s how God works. After all, Jesus called the lowest on the social ladder: fishermen, tax collectors, sinners of differing stripes, and even a prostitute! As He told the Pharisees (the religious elite), “I didn’t come to save the righteous, but to call sinners to repentance.” (Matthew 9:13)
Regardless of who you are or what you think you are, God loves you! “You are His masterpiece!” (Ephesians 2:10) “He created you in His image.” (Genesis 1:26); He doesn’t want to lose even one person. (John 6:39) In fact, God has made repentance easy; Roman’s 10:13 tells us His plan: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Therefore, we first have to realize our need for a Savior, then ask for forgiveness; it’s that simple. Simple – yes… but the result is indeed earthshaking! 2 Corinthians 5:17 explains it this way: “Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come.” Wow! It hasn’t cost anything and it didn’t hurt.” This is a no-brainer.
I am one of those who ended up in a place that still surprises me today. The fun part is meeting with those who knew me in my previous life; they usually have questions. I love that, and I’m never shy about sharing my story. Revelation 12:11 tells us “our strength comes from the blood of the Lamb and the power of our testimony”.
I also love sharing the Good News, and I’m thrilled to have that opportunity. I’m here because of God’s love, mercy, grace and forgiveness, and that is how I want to present the Good News to others. I believe the message we have to offer is what everyone is looking for, they just haven’t realized this is what the’re looking for. They’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places. I want to imitate Apostle Peter when he said, “Gold and silver I do not have, but what I do have I give you in the name of Jesus Christ. Rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6) That’s my message to you; rise up to something greater than you can even imagine.
The same way Apostle John admitted he didn’t have words to describe the supernatural realm of heaven, that’s how I feel when I talk about God’s incredible Gift of Grace. But I’m going to try with my most powerful adjective: “It’s Superduperdickitydoc! 😊
Believe me when I say, “You don’t want to miss the play taking place on the MAIN STAGE!
May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan@meetpastordan.com)