Dale Cresap's blog

Are you familiar with the Biblical passages about picking up your cross and following me? And having a thorn in your flesh? Do you understand them to be universal spiritual principles and are you eager to take part in them? Paul was not. He asked me repeatedly to take his thorn from him but I would not. Yet he came to understand the sufficiency of my grace at a higher level so he reached a point where he no longer reacted against it. These things are available for you too. I do not pretend that they are not painful, and I do not expect you to ask for them.

When you go to the movies you see an image projected on a screen. You know that the image has no substance. You use the same terminology about people, that they project an image. Are you aware that this image doesn’t have any substance either? Yet people cling to their crafted presentations as if they were their true identity. In some cases there is deliberate deception involved and in others people fool themselves as well or better than they do others. I promised that if you would abide in me then you would know the truth and be free. What does this consist of?

Do you consider evangelism to be a burden and a task unique to Christians? Everyone is an evangelist for something. Consider your friends who collect stamps. They are enthusiastic about their hobby and would love to recruit you to join them. The same is true of cyclists, pilots, and every other activity that people pursue. They don’t consider it a burden to communicate their enthusiasm to anyone who will listen. Evangelism doesn’t have to be a structured program with an agenda to a desired outcome.

Are you familiar with the concept of ‘buying into’ an idea? This means embracing it and making it your own. You live in a society that has established cultural values. In some cases materialism is more firmly embedded than is beneficial to your spiritual life. Even if you live in a materialistic culture you don’t have to buy into materialism, either literally or figuratively, but it requires deliberate intention to go against the current that carries everyone else along. Come out from among them and be separate.

Have you ever heard of the confession of wrongdoings referred to as ‘coming clean’? This is not Biblical terminology, but it is a Biblical concept. For my word teaches you to confess your faults to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. Facing reality is the first step in the process of healing and restoration. You do this first within yourself and with me, but the process is not complete without the involvement of other people. You can’t confide in everyone, but you must confide in someone.

I declared that all men would know that you were my disciples by the way you loved one another. This leaves open the question of who is ‘one another’. Do you read this and assume that it refers to love between fellow believers? But a similar question was posed to me about who is my neighbor? My response indicated that you should be more rather than less inclusive regarding the type of people you should help. In like manner I suggested that there would be no reward in heaven for helping those who could help you in return. Don’t sinners help those within their own group?

By what name do you address me? My followers refer to me by more than one name, and each one thinks that theirs is correct, but I answer to more than one name. There are many names for me in scripture. Some of these names, such as providence, imply a distant and impersonal force. Such names have an element of transcendence, but they lack imminence. My followers were shocked when I told them it was acceptable to address deity as ‘Abba’, but I wanted to drive home the point that imminence was as important as transcendence. Does your name for me include both concepts?

I told you to love one another, and you understand correctly that love is the central feature of your faith. What do you think love consists of? Do you see it as warm fuzzy feelings of affection and goodwill? But my word tells you that if you tell your hungry brother to be filled and blessed, how does that help him if you don’t do something about it? And so you are instructed to love not in word only, but also in deed. If words are an inadequate expression of love, then how much less mere thoughts? So love is not demonstrated in your thoughts, but in how you spend your time.

Is there an author or teacher that you particularly admire? Do you accept everything they say? If you encounter a statement by anyone that you strongly disagree with, are you prone to reject everything they say? These positions attach too much importance to the individual. They are based on the standard of infallibility which is too high a standard to expect of anyone and following it will cause you to reject things that would benefit you. The standard that I have given you is to prove all things and hold fast that which is good.

Have you ever had anyone else make you feel small? People can act in a way to inflate themselves at the expense of others, and you know how this feels if you have been on the receiving end. Are there any other experiences that make you feel small? What about going to the mountains or canyons or coastline? The vastness of my creation can give you a true perspective and make you feel small, but here it is affirmation rather than rejection. The Psalmist looked to the hills and knew his help came from me.