Dale Cresap's blog

Have you heard that accident rates go up when drivers talk on cell phones? In many areas this practice has been outlawed for this reason. Yet drivers have been talking to passengers in their cars for as long as cars have been around and this does not appear to cause a problem. What is the difference? A cell phone conversation is different from one in person because it lacks a sense of immediate presence, and this makes a real difference. Can you think of other areas in which presence is important? You do not see me, but can you sense my presence? Are you aware that I am always with you?

Are you seeking wisdom? This is a pursuit highly commended in the Bible. Do you compare it to looking for your car keys? These are vastly different activities. You expect the search for your keys to be short and focused and when you find them the search is over and you can get on to your next activity. You can expect the search for wisdom to take a lifetime. It doesn’t have a ‘eureka’ moment when that which you desire is found once and for all. Hopefully you will retain the wisdom you obtain along the way as you continue your search. Don’t be discouraged.

Are you looking for something glorious and magnificent? My early followers were. They would have been happy with a conquering king to deliver them from occupation and oppression. Do you think that some were disappointed with my teachings about lilies and sheep and coins and birds? Are you? Many of my messages I closed with the words, he who has eyes to see, let him see, or he who has ears to hear, let him hear. My audience was hungry for the Kingdom of God, and my message was that the Kingdom of God is all around you in everyday life if you have eyes to see and ears to hear. Do you?

Do you find that everyone laments the problems in the world, and has strong opinions about what is wrong, and firm ideas about what needs to be changed? Do you? Do you think the world would be a better place if you ran it? Beware of this conclusion. Recall all the times in history when those who thought they had a better idea seized the power to implement it. How well has this worked out? My word tells you that I have ordained the powers that be.

Does the Bible teach you that my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts? Do you accept that this is true even if you have a Bible? The Bible doesn’t make you smarter than me. Moses trembled when he encountered me, and others, including my beloved John, fell to the ground on their faces as dead men. But you have come to the City of the Living God and have access to a greater realm of glory than they did. Can you bear it?

Have you heard of pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps? This common saying implies an intense self-directed effort but it is logically impossible to pull yourself up this way and the attempt  would only create internal stress. Does this illustration of physics have a spiritual parallel? Can you achieve your own spiritual awakening, salvation, and transformation? You acknowledge dependence on me for these things. Do you require the assistance of others as well? You do not exist in isolation and were not designed to live this way.

Do you take the Bible seriously? What is your greatest concern about the Bible? Do you insist that all the events of the Bible happened exactly as described, and would appear as such if captured by modern video recording? Is this your defense of the integrity of the Bible? Or are you more concerned about how to implement in your own life the message that the Bible speaks to you? Can you answer this question by the guidance given in the Bible? Some are called to be theologians, but the guidance I gave to everyone who responded to my message was to follow me. 

Are you generous? Generosity is a universally admired trait. Do you have a great deal of money to give away? If not, do you think this prevents you from being generous? This is one way to be generous, but there are many others. How many can you think of? One way to be generous is to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are doing the best they are capable of even if you don’t know for sure. You can give of your time and your attention and bestow love and favor on everyone. Do you know people like this whether they have money or not? Are you one?

Do you take insults personally? When someone seems to be overly sensitive do you tell them not to take it personally? If you are a person how else would you take it? Yet this is common terminology that is well understood even if the underlying principle is seldom articulated. How fragile is your identity? Is it externally based, dependent on the affirmation and approval of others, and therefore subject to rise and fall based on their whims? This is a weak sense of self. Or is it internally based, given by me, and therefore independent of external circumstances?

Do the founding documents of your country promise you the right to pursue happiness? This isn’t true for everyone, but this is an idea with universal appeal. Have you engaged in this pursuit? How successful have you been? Do you know how to go about it and what would make you happy? Most people think that unlimited self-indulgence is the best approach if they can implement it. Have you noticed that those do end up spoiled and disillusioned rather than happy? What other approaches are there?