Overcoming the Pain of the Past.

By Earl G. Presley, A Voice for Today Ministries

Galatians 1:11-24
For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days; but I did not see any other apostle except James the Lord's brother. In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!

Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only heard it said, "The one who formerly was persecuting us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy." And they glorified God because of me.

Paul experienced a revelation of Jesus Christ while traveling on the road to Damascus. Paul's conversion is described in greater detail in Acts 9:1-31. Although Paul was highly trained in Judaism, he embraced a call to ministry to the Gentiles (Galatians 1:16).

It is important to note that Paul was, in many ways, isolated. He did not spend a great deal of time in the company of the apostles; in fact, he was practically unknown in the churches in Judea. What Paul learned was revealed to him by the Lord. This was due, in part, to the fact that he had a terrible reputation for persecuting Christians before his conversion (Galatians 1:23).

What's Your Story?

Paul's testimony appears repeatedly in the New Testament. Through it, we learn that testimony is an important part of Christian community.

Where have you come from;
Where are you going?
Who has accompanied you on the journey?
What is your call?
To whom are you called?

These were just a few of the questions answered by Paul's testimony.

What's your testimony? (And have you had an opportunity to share it?)


Overcoming the Pain of the Past.

Paul was haunted by his past. The Jews persecuted him as one who had wandered from the faith. At other times, the Christians shunned him because he once persecuted them. The records of Paul's conversion mentioned his checkered past frequently. The good news of Paul's story is not hard to find: Paul was not imprisoned by his past. He made no attempt to hide the evil things he had done in ignorance and unbelief. He always made sure that his audience knew that it was only the grace of God working in him, and not his own giftedness, that caused him to become one of the most influential men in the church of his era. He never took credit for the work of God.
Paul's ability to overcome is good news both for those who sin in secret as well as for those whose sins have been made public.

The way that Paul overcame his past is good news for all of us who have be deluded by “Religion” to persecute God. Paul was so convinced that his relationship with God through Christ had changed him that he was able to pen these words: "So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NRSV)
Our testimony is as necessary as Paul’s.


I grew up in the Church.

My Mother was a devout Christian. My Father was a Baptist Minister. I went to church, sang in Sunbeams and Youth Choir and made a profession of faith at 9 and was baptized.

I saw a side of the “Church” that not everyone sees.

In the name of Justice and Christian Compassion my family suffered. At the hand of “Christian People” in our first Pastorate, the KKK burned a cross in the front yard of the Manse because the Church voted to seat African American visitors.

In St. Joseph, MO I learned that it was unacceptable for the Union people to teach Sunday School and be leaders in the Church. My Father was fired while away at Convention in Miami by a packed house of people who we had never met, but were “Members”.

I saw passive aggressive behavior first hand.

I watched my mother cry when we had to move and heirlooms were broken. I watched my father become broken both physically and mentally from a collapsed lung and Duodenal Ulcer caused by stress. My father told me once as we reminisced “It never occurred to me that me and Jesus couldn’t do anything”

When I was a teenager, my music skills gave me the opportunity to join my father in Full-time Evangelism. I learned how to share my testimony about Jesus without the inconsistency of the Church. I learned to not share the dissention, the backbiting, the bigotry, the exclusivity, the guilt and the negativity. I learned that Jesus’ Gospel and what I saw in the Church People I knew had very little to do with each other.

I met Dr. S.M.Lockeridge Pastor of 1st Bapt. Church, LA. He was an African-American educated in Fort Worth at Southwestern Seminary in the Basement, taught by professors on their own time. He said, “You can’t expect regenerate behavior from unregenerate People.”

When I was 22 I left the Church.

I didn’t set foot in a church for almost 5 years. But the Holy Spirit came to me and said “you can’t change it from the outside”. I returned and changed denominations to the Disciples of Christ because of their stated non-creed “No Creed but Jesus”.
I worked as a bi-vocational minister for 22 years, never allowing myself to be dependent upon a congregation for my livelihood. I was disobedient to my calling. I was deluded by “religion”. I still didn’t understand that it was about Jesus and me, not the “church”.

I now serve as Pastor of First Christian Church of Rockdale, TX. I try to hold up Jesus as the source of ministry, compassion, love, and justice. I have probably fallen short of my Lord’s expectations once again, but I know that my relationship with Christ is stronger, more vibrant and real than ever before.
My obedience has been reward enough for me. I see clearly the prize before me and the reasons why I haven’t attained it. I see even more clearly, like Paul, my shortcomings and my past baggage.

I see the miracles God has done in our congregation. I see a deacon, who came to know the Lord with a broken body from a car accident, who is now a spiritual leader of his family and this congregation. I see an elder that thought cancer would disfigure his face only to go to pre-op and the cancer was gone. I see a family who ask for prayer for one with cancer. She fought through Chemo and Radiation for months and then went to the Dr. and the Cancer was gone.

As the old hymn says, “This is my story, this is my song; Praising my Savior, all the daylong”

What is your testimony?
Can you tell it outside the context the Church?
Can you share it with a total stranger?
Can you show someone how to have a living, breathing relationship with the Son of God by the validity of your own relationship with Him?
Can you demonstrate how the love of God can forgive you and also give you the power to forgive those who offend you.
Can you share how the love of Christ can change all the struggles of life into the Beauty of Holiness?
Most importantly, do you have a Testimony? Are you Born Again, a new creation? Have you repented of the delusions of your religion that led you to persecute the Lord Jesus Christ by your actions and in-action, your keeping control of your life and possessions?

If you don’t have a testimony; If you don’t know this King of Glory; and you want to repent of the sin in your life and dedicate yourself to Jesus in such a way that He will be the most important relationship in your life; then I invite you to present yourself to him in prayer. Find a congregation of believers and present yourself as a new creature, repentant for the decisions you have made that grieved God. Begin a new life in Christ, a new creation in a new relationship.

A Pentecost Church

I am praying for Pentecost! Pentecost is not simply the church’s birthday; it is the church’s day of power. On Pentecost God came to a frightened and discouraged group of believers and delivered the power to live up to what Jesus did. God’s power is now the church’s power. God’s power to liberate, heal, and redeem is given to us so that we can faithfully fulfill the great commission. Pentecost delivers to the church what it needs to engage in the radical reign of God. Pentecost empowers God’s agenda.

It would appear that the church in the twenty-first century has lost its power to proclaim the reign of God. What has happened to our power? If Pentecost is the power source for faithful action and witness, why does the church seem so powerless when it comes to the poor, the captive, the dispossessed, and the imprisoned?

The loss of power has something to do with our tendency to “identify up” rather than to “reach down”? So much emphasis in contemporary religion is on success and prosperity. According to the leaders of the church growth movement, the faithful church is a growing church. A small church is a sign of an unfaithful church. The television preachers call us to prosperity and material gain, so that even being poor is a sign of God’s disfavor. To be faithful, one must be growing in prosperity, the signs of which have to do with consumption and ownership. Somehow the gospel in the United States has come to be identified with those who have rather than those who have not?

We have lost our power because we are identifying with “haves” and we turn our backs on the poor, the outcast, and the dispossessed? Pentecost power calls the church to difficult action and then gives power to proclaim the message of liberation. It provides the power to stay at the task and to develop communities of faith in the midst of the despair, inequity, injustice and of global terror.

I am praying for Pentecost! It is not so much about people speaking in “a strange tongue” as it is about believers getting power to be faithful. We don’t need power to identify with the rich and privileged. We don’t really need power unless we are standing at odds with the world as it is. If we were to put the “Have Nots” first, would we once again receive Pentecostal power?

I am praying for Pentecost! Maybe we do not desire such power or the consequences of Jesus’ teaching. I cannot help hoping that such power comes and we experience the power of God’s intervention in this congregation.

I am praying for Pentecost! What is a Pentecost Church?
* A Pentecost church will reach out to people of every language and tongue.
* A Pentecost church will call young and old, women and men to prophesy and proclaim Jesus as Lord.
* A Pentecost church will preach and baptize, but the story always ends too soon if a Pentecost church isn't concerned about economics, justice, and the downtrodden.

Derived from sources at http://www.gbod.org/site/c.nhLRJ2PMKsG/b.3784805/k.D1A1/Worship.htm

Eternal Surprise

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How did all these sinners get up here?
God must have made a mistake.
'And why is everyone so quiet,
So somber - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said,'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

JUDGE NOT!!

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.

Every saint has a PAST...
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

Anonymous Source

God Is Love

God is love; We must love
God is Peace; We must be peaceful
God is caring; We must care
God loves the world He created; We must love the world
God loves us; We must love God and ourselves
God is present with us; We must be his presence in the world.

What is Success in Ministry?

Luke 4:25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;

4:26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

4:27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

Ever consider how many failures there are in scripture. Just like today, we only remember the winners. Not many can tell you who lost the past 3 Superbowls, or which horse came in second in the Derby. Jesus calls attention in his home town of Nazareth to those who are not saved in the famous stories. They were very upset that they might be the ones who would refuse to hear God's message or see that he was the Messiah. It begs the question, how many are lost due to the lack of a prophet and how many prophets preach without response. How many Moses refused to go back to Egypt? How many Hoseas just got a divorce. How many Ninivehs didn't respond to their Jonah. Consider Sodom and Lot! The scripture is full of success stories and only John the Baptist and Stephen's martyrdom are well recorded. The Romans destroyed the Essene Community which was the birthplace of the Christian and Rabbinical movements.

Jesus Gospel of Love and Peace is not always accepted. Look what the Temple powers did to him! A true commitment ot the God of Love and total submission to the Lordship of Christ is not a guaranty of success as we imagine it from the stories recorded throughout history. You are more likely to suffer for the Gospel than to prosper from it. It is not a free ride to prosperity. Total submission to Christ does have the promise of "the peace that passes all understanding" which, as my father the evangelist used to say - "enables one to sing 'Amazing Grace' while the lion eats your leg off". It is enough for me.

Continuing in Christ's Service - Even when no one will listen,
Earl G. Presley, A Voice For Today

Faith Without Works is Dead

Faith Without Works is Dead
By Earl G. Presley – Pastor, First Christian Church, Rockdale, TX
James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17

My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?

For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, "Have a seat here, please," while to the one who is poor you say, "Stand there," or, "Sit at my feet," have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into court? Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you?

You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

For the one who said, "You shall not commit adultery," also said, "You shall not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery but if you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
James begins with commentary on the church's tendency to court the favor of moneyed converts while making poorer converts feel less welcome. James said that such partiality is sin!
I.Relationship between faith and works.
A. Care for the poor (found in verses such as Deuteronomy 15:11 or Proverbs 22:9).
1.Blessed are the Poor
2.“As you have done to the least of these my brethren”
B.By their fruits ye shall know them
II."Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?"-
(The familiar "faith without works is dead" in The Message reads)
A. Look at James 2:17.
1.Commentary in the New Interpreter's Study Bible refutes the notion that James wrote to challenge Paul's teachings on faith and righteousness.
III. What do our actions say about our faith?
A.Have we unintentionally said: "Be warmed; be filled; be gone?"-limiting words of welcome to fellowship hall or the basement?
1.Black Ministers at Southwestern Baptist Seminary Educated in the Basement.
B.Are we cuddled with the moneyed, while the poorest of the poor feel welcome only on the church steps in the middle of the night?
1.Does the world hear our words when we don’t show them our compassion?
C.What do our actions say about our faith?
1.How do we act in public?
2.How do we speak in public?
3.How do we live in public?
IV."Do we, with our acts of favoritism, really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ?"
A.The question raised in James 2:1 is timeless
B.Hate and Bigotry are the antithesis of Christianity
1.You cannot hate and be Christian.
2.You cannot be apathetic and Christian
3.You cannot be intentionally immoral and Christian
4.You cannot live in ignorance without compassion and be Christian.

Hold On

Dan Hill has captured the frustration of those of us who remember how we used to be when we cared about the plight of the impoverished, the refugees of war, those disenfranchised by race, gender, socio-economic status, and stereotypical stigma. I have added some images to convey my feelings that the song brings out. I hope you enjoy it and you can find it on YouTube as well. Feel free to comment or share your stories and feelings about the issues that the song raises. Feel free to fling your fist high in the air again. My father, Evangelist Greg Presley said it well, "It never occurred to me that me and Jesus couldn't change the world".

Hold On (By Dan Hill)

So you flung your fist high in the air
But the world remained the same
And all the demonstrations filtered out through graduation
And the times that were a changeing never changed.

Freedom takes on new meaning
When you have a family of five
Peace and revolution dissolved in its own solution
When your fighting for your life just to survive

It's then you gotta Hold On,
For what you believe in
Hold On, don't let it fade

Still you gotta Be Strong;
Find yourself a reason
You'll never change the world but just the same
You gotta hold on stronger each and every day.

When the night creeps in so hollow
When the silence makes you scream
When you're so damned scared of failure
When the world's burned out of saviors
When you're feeling too vulnerable to dream

It's then you gotta Hold On,
For what you believe in
Hold On, don't let it fade
Still you gotta Be Strong;
Find yourself a reason

No one changed the world
But just the same
you gotta hold on to yourself or else you'll fade.