Dale Cresap's blog

In the beginning I created male and female. People have been struggling with this ever since, but consider what my act implies. Women are not inferior versions of men, and men are not inferior versions of women. Both men and women tend to be highly defensive and easily threatened regarding their gender, and this is even worse for believers who care about which is more spiritual. This is unfortunate because I have so much to teach you about the Kingdom of God through the differences between male and female, but if you can’t let go of your defensive position you are unable to hear it. 

In extreme situations in combat a soldier who leaves a secure position to advance on the enemy will ask his buddies to ‘cover me!’ Perhaps you have never been in such extreme conditions, but could the same concept still apply? Has anyone ever covered for you in an awkward or embarrassing situation, helping you to a place of safety by not passing on damaging information? Perhaps you have done the same for others. Did you find a sense of satisfaction in ‘having their back’?  Even in situations not as severe as combat the same terms are used for the same concepts. Love covers a multitude of sins. 

Do you see life as a game? It is often portrayed that way, with the goal of getting ahead. Some people have advantages and are ‘winning’, although in this game no one really wins. Grace changes the rules so that everyone can win. Have you noticed that not many noble are called to the kingdom? Who wants to change the rules of the game while they are winning? I send the sun and the rain on everyone, the wicked and the just alike. Do you see the abundance of your life as a gift from me? When riches increase don’t set your heart upon them. Don’t let your blessings keep you from grace. 

What if I loved everyone? What would I expect from my followers? I would make it easy for them, and make my kingdom accessible for everyone, particularly the poor. I wouldn’t require special garments that not everyone could afford. I wouldn’t require a pilgrimage to some location that was too far away for some people. I would ordain rituals that involved common ordinary materials like water, food and drink. I would structure a faith that could be practiced by anyone, anywhere. My kingdom is not of this world, but the faith I established can be followed by everyone in the world. If I loved everyone I would found the Christian faith. 

Do you remember my first miracle? I turned water into wine at a wedding. My mom wanted me to do this but I said that my time was not yet come, and I did the miracle in secret. Only the servants who filled the water pots and a handful of others were aware of what happened. The master of the banquet was surprised that the best wine was saved for last. In particular  the guests at the wedding, for whom the miracle was performed since they drank the wine, had no idea where it came from. How many miracles have I performed for you that you are unaware of? How long have you been drinking divine wine? 

On several occasions I mentioned that my time was not yet come, yet I told my disciples that their time was always ready. This wasn’t meant for them alone, but for all my followers, and it is a call to live now, rather than in the future or the past. You can’t change the past and you don’t know what the future will bring. Are you aware of the possibilities of the present moment? This is where obedience and redemptive acts take place. It is the only time that you can act. Paul forgot those things that were behind and pressed forward for the high calling. Different faith traditions recognize different sacraments. Are you willing to see the present moment as a sacrament? 

Do you know how strong you are? It would be fairly easy to find a set of weights and see which was the heaviest you could lift. But strength is more than physical lifting. Spiritual and emotional strength are more important. How do you measure them? As with physical strength it is only by testing them, but the tests are not so short and easy to arrange. Yet they will come whether you schedule them or not. Do not be afraid of them. I have promised that those who wait upon me will renew their strength. I will enable you to do all that I ask of you, and the strength you require will be there when you need it. 

Do you find that people represent themselves by assigned offices or earned credentials, and that most credentials are academic? But there are other indications that validate authority. Consider Paul, who was quite advanced in the academic credentials of his day. He lists these in detail but then says that he counts them as dung. Yet when he needs to assert his authority he says let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. A modern version of this is, ‘you can just shut up because I’ve paid my dues and have the marks to prove it’. Do you? Remember that not all scars are visible. 

I offer you the opportunity for transformation. Do you realize the value of this? Have you desired it and begun this process? Did you think that if you did that others would notice and admire the changes taking place in you? How did that work out for you? Transformation involves increasing awareness. If this is taking place in you it doesn’t necessarily follow that it is taking place in others at the same time. Even if there are real changes taking place in you, how would they notice? Don’t set your heart on your transformative journey and move ahead with it because others notice and approve. Do it because I am drawing you forward and you know it is the right thing to do. 

Have you ever head someone exclaim that they are only human? Perhaps you have yourself. This is normally offered in a tone of resignation as an apology or an excuse. You should not apologize for being human, or use it as an excuse. What is man that thou art mindful of him? Yet you are made in my image, and this is true even in a fallen world. No other order of creation can claim this, and it is in human form that I came and walked among you. I am mindful of your frame, and know what you are capable of, and what you are not. I don’t expect more of you than you are able. Do you expect as much of yourself as you are able?