Dale Cresap's blog

Do you think that some people are addicts because they have a tendency toward addiction? You are right, but then everyone else has a tendency toward addiction as well. Some influences are so powerful that only those who have avoided an initial exposure are not addicted. Other things are addictive for some, but others can enjoy them with restraint. It is not only drugs that are addictive. Anything you give yourself to can gain power over you. Do you see everything in your life as a gift from me? You are right, but hold even your gifts from me with a loose grip. Things that are good servants can become fearful masters. 

How important is it to you to be right? I promised my followers that if they continued in my word they would know the truth and the truth would make them free. There is no life and light apart from the truth. Are you more concerned about being correct or about displaying my love and character to the world? These goals should not be in conflict, but do you know people who turn the pursuit of truth into a contentious contest? People don’t care about the perfection of your doctrine as much as you think they do. Would you be surprised if I didn’t either? People do care if you love them and so do I. Continue in my word and in your pursuit of truth and let it make you more free and loving. 

Do you realize that everything on television is staged or scripted for dramatic effect? Otherwise you wouldn’t watch it. Do you structure and plan your own life to avoid drama? Do you find that your own life contains drama whether you seek it out or not? Would you find it interesting enough to live it otherwise? You don’t have to stage or script your own. It will come to you unbidden. Yet your efforts to resist it can leave you fighting against the very things that give your life meaning and purpose. Make your plans, but be open to my plans as well. I don’t always tell you in advance what I will do. Be ready for and open to the unexpected. Be led by the Spirit. 

Is it important to you to be right? Everyone else feels the same way. Yet people hold a wide range of positions. How many do so with the awareness that they could be wrong? Is it more important to you to be right or to be like me? For how much Christlikeness is demonstrated by two parties arguing over which one of them is right? My word teaches you to suffer yourselves to be defrauded rather than to contend with a brother in court. So in some cases it isn’t worth the cost to prove yourself right and win. Be aware of the costs involved on both sides and be prepared to follow the higher law of love. 

I promised to send the Holy Spirit, also known as the Comforter, to my followers after my departure and so I did. The same Comforter is active in your life. What do you think of as comfort? Do you look for personal validation and reassurance that you are right? Everyone would like this but it is false comfort, like flattery. The wounds of a friend are more faithful than the kisses of an enemy, and don’t be quick to seek or accept reassurance that you are not in need of transformation. The growth you need is available to you, but it will not be quick or easy. Fortunately you have the Holy Spirit to comfort you during this process. 

No one can come to a place of repentance unless they are convicted of sin, and this is the job of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever tried to convict someone of sin by your own efforts? If this has ever been done to you did you find it annoying and ineffective? So this is not an effective approach to evangelism. Yet have you ever been convicted by the righteous conduct of someone else, even if they made no effort to admonish you directly? Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify me. You can become an agent of the Holy Spirit’s ministry without speaking a word. 

Have you noticed that being an atheist is very trendy today? Some recent publications and a cultural shift have made this culturally acceptable in today’s climate. The public identification is a new development, but the underlying principle is very old. The basic rule of life for those who are not believers is the same as it was in Old Testament times: every man did what was right in his own sight. You can see how that worked out. Do you know believers whose confession affirms me but still follow this rule of life? You do well to confess my name. You also do well to hear my voice and obey. 

In matters of law and justice, ignorance of the law is considered a valid defense. It may not be enough for a not guilty verdict, but it is a mitigating factor. Did you think it was a gracious thing for me to pray regarding those who killed me, forgive them for they know not what they do? This is really giving the benefit of the doubt concerning motive. Yet who sins with a conscious awareness of the consequences that will ensue? Do you? You cannot examine the thoughts and intents of someone else’s heart, but in this case you can err on the side of grace. Are you prepared to ask for forgiveness for others on the assumption that they sinned in ignorance? 

Concerning those who put me to death on a cross I said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do’, and you understand that they had no concept of the magnitude of their act. Do you think this concept had only a one-time application? Have you heard the same statement used widely? Yet do those who commit great evil have any concept of what they are doing? You can be oblivious to the great damage you do by walking in darkness. And so I urged my followers to awake, to have eyes to see and ears to hear and to walk in the light of the day and of the truth that I may not have to pray for their forgiveness for not knowing what they did. 

How do you conduct discipleship? New believers should not be left on their own to wander. Have you heard that if you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but if you teach him to fish he eats for a lifetime? In like manner the first thing children are taught in school is how to read. Then they have the means to learn anything they want. There are many lessons appropriate for new believers, including instruction from the Bible, but is there anything more important than learning how to hear my voice? This is as important as learning the Bible. Teach new believers to hear from me and they will have a lifetime of revelation and guidance.