Dale Cresap's blog

Soldiers in battle require physical courage in facing the enemy. Have you ever been in this situation? How many people do you know who have? Yet there are other types of courage that everyone can experience. Have you ever suffered rejection or ridicule for holding an unpopular position? Even if there is not a risk of death or injury the pain associated with standing for principle is real. Soldiers have weapons with which to fight back, but those weapons are not helpful in this situation. Nevertheless the truth will sustain you for speaking up when it would be easier to remain silent.

Do you ask me for trials and afflictions? No one does, and I don’t expect you to, but you will have them whether you ask for them or not. Can you see that there are some desirable character traits that can only be acquired through suffering? Longsuffering is only one of these. But even though all suffer, not all grow as a result. What do you have that is more precious and costly than your sorrows? It would be a shame to waste them. Your attitude toward them and the way you respond to them determines whether they will transform your life or just make you miserable.

Do you see the gospel as a positive or negative message? If you ask the next ten people you encounter walking down the street would you be surprised if they said the gospel was a list of rules and things you cannot do? Is this how you see it? Whose fault is it if they have the wrong impression? The gospel is a message of life. It is about abundant life. It is about finding and fulfilling the unique destiny and purpose for which I created you. It gives meaning and belonging and a sense of identity to those who embrace it. Is this how you see the gospel message in your own life? Can you share it this way with others?

Have you heard that lifestyle evangelism is the most effective type? Have you noticed that it is time consuming? Do not confuse the work of evangelism with the world of commerce where there are such things as sales quotas. Be patient and take your time. You may never see the fruit of your efforts, but planting seeds and watering are essential to the final outcome. It isn’t necessary that the same person follows the process through and gathers the harvest. Rest assured that your labor in me is not in vain. My call to you is to let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify me, and this is not a burdensome assignment.

Have you ever seen an iceberg? Most people have not, but most people also know that only a small portion of an iceberg is visible above water, so if they ever did see one they would realize that most of it is below the surface. Do you know that you live in a spiritual realm? The visible world that you see is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak.  You are immersed in a spiritual reality that is just as real even though you can’t see it. You know that the 90% of the iceberg underwater supports the 10% that is visible. In about the same proportions the invisible spiritual world supports the world you can see.  

Are you fishing in shallow waters? You may not fish at all, but you choose how you spend your time, whether it is on things of substance that matter, or on passing things with no enduring value. Do you find that this modern world exerts pressure on you toward the banal and frivolous? It takes a sense of purpose and intention to turn away from the readily available diversions and amusements to seek deeper things. My disciples were fishermen and I told them to push out into deeper water for a catch, and this proved to be good advice. I would offer you the same advice whether you are a fisherman or not.

The Psalmist knew that my mercies were new every morning. What do you see when you get up in the morning and look out your window? Does the scene seem stale and mundane? It is a human tendency to disregard the familiar and not see new and innovative things in places you have looked before. Part of my transformative work in your life involves moving beyond this limited perspective into new vision. The Psalmist was right. If you have eyes to see you will look at the same things and see things you have never seen before. This is true vision because it is in accordance with my continual presence and mercies that are new every morning.

My word tells you to seek me, and promises that if you do you will find me, if you seek for me with all your heart. So where do you begin your search? In most searches, such as your car keys or other lost items, you know where to start. You also know where to start looking for information. In the case of a person you go to places you expect them to be. But a search for me is not based on locations. In telling my disciples not to go here or there chasing reports of my presence I told them that my Kingdom was within them. Is this the one place you are afraid to look? Yet you have my promise that if you do I will find you there.

Have you heard believers discuss the question of ‘once saved, always saved’? This is a theological proposition that is also referred to as the question of eternal security. It has remained an open controversy over the centuries with opposing schools of thought. Can you lose your salvation? This question comes close to one you are told to avoid; who shall ascend into heaven, and who shall descend into hell. It is also a question that is more legalistic than relational. If you are deeply immersed in a relationship with me it should be incomprehensible to you that it could ever be discontinued.

I was hungry and you fed me, and thirsty and you gave me a drink. You are probably familiar with these entries from a list of ways you can help others, and there are a few others mentioned. Do you think the list was meant to be exhaustive? You could apply the same principle to the world you live in. My car broke down and you gave me a ride, or my battery was dead and you gave me a jump start. If thoughtfulness, kindness, and generosity are your guiding principles then you will look for every opportunity to exercise them, and you will be doing so unto me as much as in the Biblical list.