Dale Cresap's blog

I criticized the Pharisees for hypocrisy and gave many direct examples. The Bible contains another example that was not related by me. Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver to betray me. This money was paid from the temple treasury. When the deed was done Judas changed his mind and attempted to return the money. His offer was rejected on the basis that it was blood money and could not be accepted. But it only became blood money when it was paid out of the temple treasury for that purpose. Those who are hypocrites about other things will be about money as well. Let your approach to money be an integrated expression of your love for me.

Do you like getting a tax deduction for the money you donate to my work? This is possible in some places and not others, and even where it is possible there are guidelines to follow. You may be able to get a tax deduction for money given to churches and to organizations dedicated to helping the poor, but not for money you give to the poor directly. Does this make you reluctant to give directly to the poor? Yet my word is clear about helping the poor whether directly or indirectly. Even if this is a valid distinction for your tax collector you can be sure there is a record of it in heaven.

Are you distraught when your team loses a game? What about when your candidate loses an election? You can make a stronger case that this is a more important concern, but to what extent will this be a dominant influence on your future? Is your life determined by circumstances and external influences, or by your inner state of spiritual awareness? I said that my Kingdom was within you. Do you understand this? Haven’t you seen people with great inner strength who are able to endure and overcome any circumstances they encounter? They understand this and you can too.

Would you agree that redemption is the central subject of the Bible? You know that I am at the center of the story and fulfilled a role that only I could in the redemption of humanity. Do you want to take part in the story? You can do so first of all by receiving the redemption I offer. But your involvement doesn’t have to end there, and it shouldn’t. Every act of obedience and virtue has a component of redemption. Those who believed in me I called to follow me. Don’t complain that you can’t do everything because you can do something. In every situation ask me what you can do to advance my redemptive purpose and listen for my response.

Does the Bible shock you? Or have you become so familiar with it that it has lost some impact? Consider the story of the prodigal son and the impact it would have had on the original audience. They would have been aghast at the request of the younger son, not surprised that things ended badly for him in the big city, and totally astounded that the father would take him back, and even more so that he would throw a celebration at his return. Has this story ever had this effect on you? My word is living and powerful. Open yourself to let it speak to you anew, to have the same impact it did on those who heard it first.

Do you take evangelism seriously? The Great Commission is one of the few commandments I gave my followers. When you encounter people, do you see yourself as having their eternal destiny in your hands? This is too strong a position to take, and too great a burden for you to bear. I ask you to do your part, even as a part of a team, or as a garden raised by joint effort. One plants and one waters and one pulls weeds. The one who gathers the harvest should not think that he did it all. Let your light shine, and be obedient in the moment to do your part, and trust the Holy Spirit to coordinate the effort.

Do you like riddles? How can a father not be a man? You think of a father as a male parent who must first be a man. Yet my word makes clear that I am not a man, but still describes me as a Father. Many people, and particularly women, find the masculine emphasis in the Bible to be disturbing. In the case of presenting me as a Father they are missing the point. In this case it is about relationship rather than gender. It is only in having a son or daughter that makes a father. Your faith makes special reference to the Father and the Son and rightly so. In a larger sense I am a Father to every man, woman, and child, for all are my children.

Do you like the passages in the Bible that promise that you can have anything you ask for in prayer? The appeal of this concept for a self-indulgent person is obvious. Yet when it comes time to make your requests do you feel restrained to seek those things that are more noble-minded; the greater good rather than your selfish interests? What would be the purpose of a prayer not according to my will? In parliamentary procedure a motion requires a second. You may think of your prayers as providing a second for the motions I make. Don’t think of this as being unimportant. Do you want my motions to die for the want of a second?

Have you ever heard people criticize me, wondering how I can be loving and just when there is pain and suffering in the world? This is a valid question, but you should be careful in how you approach it. A critic who says that Shakespeare couldn’t write and Beethoven couldn’t compose music is really criticizing himself in offering a low opinion on these whose creativity is well recognized. Will a man judge God? Who is qualified to do this? Do you refrain from judging me because you think I cannot stand up under scrutiny? The real reason should be to save yourself the embarrassment.

Do you believe in the separation of church and state? Or do you think of it as an attack to weaken the power of the church? Don’t be quick to give your enemies credit for this. It was my idea first. In the theocratic state of ancient Israel I forbid the kings to burn incense on my altar, since this was the job of the priests. In the New Testament I spoke of paying tribute saying, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. In saying this I implied that these are different things. If no man can serve two masters, then neither can a church. My church is not free to serve me alone if it is a state bureaucracy.