Dale Cresap's blog

In the beginning I said that I created them male and female. Do you think there is anything left that is characteristically masculine or feminine? In your culture of equality everyone can do everything and this tends to erase gender differences. Yet people still live their lives in acknowledgment of these real differences even if it is not politically correct to speak them aloud. A weaker vessel is not an inferior vessel. This area provides rich and vivid illustrations of me and my church, but most believers are too easily threatened and heavily defended to learn from it.

What type of people do you prefer to keep company with? If you are a believer, then you probably enjoy the company of fellow believers and call this fellowship. Yet you also prefer the company of people who are kind rather than those who are mean. If your fellow believers are kind then this is an easy choice, but not all believers are. I am willing to take everyone, and you know those who call upon my name in whom my work is not complete. Does this put you in a dilemma? Do you prefer the company of believers who are mean or unbelievers who are not? Who prefers your company?

Who are the best Christians you know? Perhaps I should rephrase the question. Who are the best people you know? For most people someone comes to mind. What criteria do you use to select one instead of another? Did you pick the one who was the most knowledgeable about scripture, or the one most fervent in belief? Or did you pick the one who had the most loving demeanor and generosity of spirit? If you have trouble deciding revisit my stories about the sheep and the goats and the Good Samaritan. It is normal for you to admire such people and want to be like them.

Have you ever made a deal with me? Have you promised that if I answered your prayer and did something of great importance for you that you would make a certain sacrifice in return? How did that work out for you? Whether you liked the way it turned out or not, was it you or me who proposed the terms of the deal? I will meet you are the level of your faith, and you have my promise that I will answer your prayers. Perhaps the thing that you offered in exchange was a good and beneficial thing. But I don’t want you to be confused about the nature of our relationship.

Have you heard of people who have control issues? Have you encountered any? Are you one? What about churches? Some people perceive the church they have experienced as having control issues, and there may be some basis for this perception. What about me? How do you perceive me? You may think that I have control issues if you consider the way I am represented by others, but what has been your firsthand experience? Have I not entreated you with longsuffering patience?

Your culture operates on the premise that more is better. Is this always true? The King in Proverbs asked me to give him the food convenient for him recognizing that too much or too little both resulted in problems, and you see this same principle at work today. The concept of too much also applies to a load you must pick up. You can only lift so much. You may not have to lift all your possessions at one time, but the concept of too much can still be valid because they can be a burden whether you are physically lifting them or not.

Do you have favorite authors and teachers? Nearly everyone does, and that makes you a disciple of them as well as of me. Whether this is a good thing or not depends on the quality of the truth they present. Paul invited his audience to follow him as he followed me. If following them leads you closer to me then all is well, but realize everyone knows in part, even your favorites. You are less likely to be limited by their limitations if you are aware of them. Prove all things, hold fast that which is good. Cast your net upon the waters, and sort it out on the deck.

Have you heard of churches described as liberal or conservative? These are the same terms applied to political ideology and in this case they have approximately the same meanings. You would expect to find liberals in a liberal church and conservatives in a conservative church. Yet I made it clear that my Kingdom was not of this world, and these ideological distinctions are very much of this world. I warned that many would come in my name that I did not send. Have you seen those from opposing viewpoints who both claim my support for their agenda?

Are you familiar with the idea that my word is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart? How do you think this works? Have you ever heard someone with an agenda or a fully developed point of view expound it from the Bible? They can assemble verses that back their position. Yet someone with an opposing point of view can also assemble an argument from different verses to support his position.

How good is your vision? Can you see what is right in front of you? Have you ever observed a scene, and not been aware of some essential part of it until someone else pointed it out to you? Perhaps you have been the one to point things out to others, and it is obvious once you see it, but not until then. And so you have expressions about those who cannot see what is right in front of them. I said to my audiences, he who has ears, let him hear, and he who has eyes, let him see. The Pharisees asked if they were blind also and I answered that they were because they claimed to see.