Dale Cresap's blog

Have you ever visited the places that I walked? Do you wish you had lived when I did on earth? Do you realize that only a handful of people recognized me for who I was during my life on earth? Do you think you would have been one of  them? Because most did not. Yet you have my promise that I am with you always. So you have my presence with you in every moment and in every encounter. And so I told my followers not to run around here and there chasing down reports of my appearing. For I told them that the Kingdom of God is within you. Blessed are those who understand this and live their lives accordingly. 

When you put money in the offering at church, is it added up to some total in the church office? Money all looks the same, but I made an observation about a poor widow who put a small amount in the offering at the temple, and said that she had given more than the big contributors because her giving was sacrificial and theirs was not. One dollar looks like another, but they are not equal in the offering because sacrifice is a more important concept than amount, and equal giving does not imply equal sacrifice. Let each one purpose in his heart how much to give, for each one answers to his own master. 

My word says the peacemakers are blessed, for they are the children of God. Do you see a difference between peacekeepers and peacemakers? This is the difference between accommodation and reconciliation. Peacekeepers go along to get along, and are willing to tolerate offenses and injustice for the sake of placating adversaries, and this leads to a false peace. Real peacemakers are willing to do the work of confrontation motivated by love that leads to reconciliation. This is the more strenuous and painful task, but it leads to a just and lasting peace. 

How do you respond to the difficulties in your life? Do you bear your cross and endure the thorn in your flesh in silence? Or do you complain about them? If you believe that they are given to you for a purpose, then it would be unseemly to complain about them. I want you to have a large enough perspective that you are aware of the means of grace in your life, even if they are deeply veiled. Then you can accept them rather than fighting against them, and they can accomplish their purpose without your opposition. You can bring glory to me by bearing your trials with grace and equanimity. 

Do you engage in recreation? Consider the meaning of this term. “Re-creation”. It implies something wonderful, as a practice that is restorative, much like being born again. It suggests a return to your origin to be made new. Yet what sort of activities do you refer to as recreation? Any form of play? For much that passes for recreation does not have these favorable properties, and could more accurately be described as indulgence, distraction, or diversion. There is a big difference in that these are not life-giving pursuits. I don’t object to you having fun. Consider the activities that you choose for recreation so they truly are that. 

Do you cherish your right to vote? This is your free choice to make according to your conscience. Do you understand that history gets to vote as well? This is in a metaphorical sense rather than in political elections, but it is still a valid concept. Consider the wisdom of those who have gone before you in giving you the world as it is and the way it works. History doesn’t have veto power; otherwise slavery would not have been abolished. You may have strong opinions about things you would like to change in your church, your country, and the whole world. You will be in a better position to create positive change if you honor those who have gone before by learning to understand your path to this point. 

What do you take away from the creation story? Do you see the heavens and the earth as my creation and people made in my image? Is this what you see whenever you open your eyes; opportunities for divine encounter? But there was a fall after creation. Did this change everything? I said that all that I created was good, and the fall did not change this. It did require effort on the part of men and women for bringing forth the fruit of the earth and bearing children. This did not fundamentally change the world or the fact that it was good. So you can still expect to live in a world of wonder and divine encounter. 

The religious leaders of my time sent soldiers out to apprehend me. They encountered me but they returned without me. They had the authority and weapons to bring me back so the religious leaders asked them why they did not. The answer they gave was that never a man spoke like this before, but I didn’t even try to fast-talk my way out of being arrested. Do you think that power and position are what really matter in getting things done?

Do you have an image to maintain? Even if you would say ‘no’, how many people do you know who are doing this, whether they would be eager to admit it or not? Consider the meaning of this statement. An image is not a real thing, only a representation of it, and with this statement it is not likely to be representative of anything real. So why do people go to such great effort to maintain their images? This is a heavy burden that I have not given you. I don’t love your image because it isn’t real, but I do love you.

In the beginning I created a man and a woman. They were designed to come together to reproduce themselves, and so they have replenished the earth. I gave distinctive masculine and feminine qualities to them that persist to this day. This was part of my creation that I declared to be good. Do you find the whole question of gender characteristics to be a sensitive issue today? Different cultures have handled this in different ways throughout history. Is yours too easily threatened and heavily defended on this issue to hold a serious conversation about it? I have things to teach you about this if you can relax enough to learn them.