Dale Cresap's blog

There are few reigning kings in the world today but even so coronations are still big events with pageantry and worldwide media coverage so everyone knows about them. There was an exception to this in ancient Israel with David who had to be fetched from his sheep to be anointed king, and apparently went back to tending them. The only witnesses were his brothers who were resentful. David conducted himself in a kingly manner even though recognition would not come until much later. Are you willing to walk in the fullness of your calling even if no one notices? Do you need a title to serve me? 

My word says that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Do you assume this refers to your money and the way you spend it? You are right but your spending habits are not the only monetary indication of your values. How you earn your money says a lot about you too. Don’t be quick to say that you took the only job available to you, or that your job has no spiritual dimension. Didn’t I say that if you were the servant of all you would be great in the Kingdom of God? What jobs are there that don’t require you to serve others? If you can’t reconcile your current job with serving me then ask me for a new one. 

Do you make it your permanent and only goal to do everything right? Can you see how this might work against you? Consider the story of the prodigal son. He made a huge mistake in demanding his inheritance and departing from his father’s house for a life of indulgent dissipation. Yet he came to himself and returned to his father’s house to be restored. Consider the older brother in comparison. He did everything right for which he was resentful and at the end of the story is outside his father’s house. The younger son did everything wrong and learned from it. The older son did everything right and did not. If your mistakes cause you to come to yourself and return to me they will have accomplished their purpose. 

Do you associate with people based on common beliefs? Have you noticed that I didn’t? Most of my followers shared my Jewish faith, but I interacted with Romans, a Samaritan woman,  and a Siro-Phoenician woman, and told a story commending the faith of a Samaritan. I lived in a deeply pluralistic faith culture, as you do, and my Jewish followers struggled with my openness and interaction with ‘outsiders’. Do you? I knew how to navigate the religious landscape of my day, and taught my disciples that I had other sheep who were not of this fold. They didn’t understand this at the time, but it is an enduring truth. Do you understand it now? 

Have you heard the famous quote that all that glitters is not gold? This is a profound truth that you should be aware of since you live in a culture full of glitter that is highly esteemed. Yet it consists of more appearance and less substance, and a closer examination finds little of real value. It is also true that all that is gold doesn’t glitter. Your search for truth may lead you to seemingly mundane places and ordinary events. Don’t let this discourage you. If you continue in my word you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free, and you shall have treasure in heaven that is better than gold. 

Do you understand that happiness is linked to gratitude? You don’t just have my word on this. It is supported by scientific evidence. To explain this in simple terms you must know that there is something you need of great value to you that you cannot obtain on your own, but it is freely given to you. Wouldn’t you expect those with a sense of autonomy, independence, and self-sufficiency to be happier? But they are living an illusion, and this does not lead to happiness. Blessed are those who know that they are not separate and autonomous, who know they freely receive blessings, and know whom to address the thank-you note to. 

I told my followers to lay down their lives and pick up their cross and follow me. Paul mentioned that he had been given a thorn in the flesh as a messenger of Satan to buffet him. Do you think of these things as curses? Yet these are things of redemptive value so they cannot be curses. From his thorn in the flesh Paul learned that my grace was sufficient for him, and your cross is not a curse. It should be the normal expectation for every believer. You can see the redemptive purpose in my cross. Can you see the redemptive purpose in your own? If not, do not ask that your cross be taken away, but rather that your eyes would be opened to see. 

Do you consider the Christian faith to be dignified? David danced before me, and before a large crowd of people, in a way that was a dramatic sensational spectacle. Enough so that his wife was embarrassed for his sake and mocked him with sarcasm. David replied that he would be yet more undignified. The modern equivalent of this is to say, ‘you ain’t seen nothin’ yet’. I liked his response more than hers. Have you ever been embarrassed by the exuberance of a fellow believer? Yet is it possible that your own resistance to exuberance works against you? Are there situations where it is appropriate? How can you be still more undignified? 

Do you seek my presence? Do you know that you can’t escape it? You accept omnipresence as a matter of doctrine. Do you know this in your heart as well as your head? The Psalmist said ‘where could I go from your presence?’ because he saw me everywhere he looked. Other references say that in me you live and move and have your being, and I said that you don’t need to go here or there to chase the Kingdom of God, because it is within you. So can you see that seeking my presence is more a matter of increasing your awareness that I am with you always? How would you live if you understood this?

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Times and seasons proceed in a continuous cycle, so picking a certain day to begin the year is somewhat arbitrary. Improvement is desirable, but New Year’s resolutions are famous primarily for being broken. What do you learn from this? Have you ever had your own self-improvement projects fail? Can you make a permanent change in your own behavior at any time by willpower? It is a revelation of wisdom to accept that you do not have complete control of your own life. Understand that I am in charge and will perfect that which concerns you in an ongoing process of transformation. Your time is always ready. You don’t have to wait for a new year.