Dale Cresap's blog

Have you heard of anything that backfired? Weapons can be dangerous to the user as well as the intended target but now this term commonly refers to a plan or action. Have you seen this happen with sarcasm, ridicule and contempt? The one who speaks in this manner intends the blow to land on his victim, but it says nothing about the person it is directed against and everything about the one who speaks it. For the words you speak are a reflection of your own character, not of anyone else’s.

Do you think that my grace is bestowed on a select few of great worthiness? If you understand the concept of grace you realize that this position doesn’t make sense, but you can hold one position as an abstract derivation of theological principles and another as a way you perceive and experience life. Will I not lavish grace on the least of these who represent me in the world?  Consider my statements that I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance, and that I will leave the 99 in the fold to seek the one lost sheep.

When Peter confessed that I was the Christ, I said that he was blessed because flesh and blood had not revealed this to him, but my Father in heaven. Do you think this is a universal enduring principle? How do most people today become convinced that I am the Christ? Is it by instruction from other people, the record of history, and the Bible? Should this be considered more as flesh and blood revealing or my Father? Yet you know from the story and intuitively that the latter is better.

Have you ever visited a foreign land? Did you study in advance to know what to expect and find that it was valuable to know about local currency, language, customs, and gestures? You may not have the opportunity to travel the world that you live in, but one day you will travel to the world to come. You won’t find a tourist’s guide to heaven in your local bookstore, and even my word gives limited descriptions, but if you follow me now you will be ready for your trip.

Do you think you will have a life free from pain if you do the right things and are productive? Consider the Biblical lesson about pruning. Every branch that bears fruit is pruned that it may bring forth more fruit. This is a positive result in comparison to being cut down and cast in the fire, but it is still a painful process that no one looks forward to. Have you ever felt the snip of the pruning shears yourself?

Do you find that people are generally overconfident or underconfident? What about yourself? How would you know? Can you render objective judgment on this question? Perhaps it would help to rephrase the question. Do you normally think you are right? Do you know anyone who thinks they are wrong? Have you ever been certain of something and later found out that you were completely wrong? Could you even now hold equal certainty for something else that is wrong? It is better to hold wrong answers with a reduced degree of certainty. It can serve you to make room for mystery. 

What do you do that makes you better? The first thoughts that come to mind may be activities that you enjoy, but are you a better person after you do them? Studying anything will make you smarter, and this can be helpful, but it doesn’t automatically make you better. Your friends may have a better perspective on this question than you do. Do they see a trajectory of improvement in your life? Deep and enduring changes are difficult to accomplish, but are facilitated by consent. Have you ever seen ‘self-improvement projects’ that had no effect other than solidifying egocentricity?

Are you protective of your children? With your age and stature and strength and experience you are aware of dangers and how to deal with them. Your children do not have these advantages and so you take on the role of their protector and give this task top priority. Do you see the parallel with me? For I am protective of my children as well. I issue strong warnings against anyone who would harm one of my little ones, for their (your) angels always behold the Father. How many times do I say this in different ways?

Do you like riddles? I posed one to my critics concerning an Old Testament passage about David and his Lord and his son, and they could not comprehend it. Do you think of me as the light of the world? But I said that you are the light of the world, like a city on the side of a hill. Can both of these be true? A city has many people, so you don’t have to assume that light resides in one person. If I am right, how should you then live? Don’t put your light under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that it may give light to all who see it.

Have you ever called down fire from heaven on anyone? Have you ever wanted to? Hopefully you know better, but my disciples did not. I declined and used the occasion as an opportunity to teach them. In another passage I talk about heaping coals of fire on the heads of your enemies. These may sound similar but they are not the same thing. This is a matter of loving your enemies; blessing and not cursing. Do you want to destroy your enemies or win them over?