Dale Cresap's blog

It is obvious to believer and unbeliever alike that there are a multitude of Christian traditions. As I have one body with many members, so there are many denominations within one body. You have seen the problems that arise from competition and infighting between denominations. Does this mean that you should forsake denominational affiliation? There is no such thing as a generic Christian. It is beneficial for you to be committed and devout within your own calling. Can you do this without being superior, exclusive, and divisive toward your brothers and sisters who are equally committed and devout within their own traditions?

How do you feel about those who leave your church? Do you accept the assumption that the longer you stay at a particular church the better and that leaving indicates a problem? Do you assume that one church can meet the spiritual needs of its members for their whole lives? Do you see those who leave as traitors and rebels? Do you see my Body as a single entity? Let me encourage you to refrain from judgment in this matter. Accept the fact that the spiritual needs of your fellow believers may change over time, and you cannot keep them against their will. Be glad for the time you spent together, and remain on good terms if you can, for you are still members of one Body.

Do you take your kids to restaurants to learn restaurant manners? Why would they need two sets of manners? If they have one good set, it will serve them well in all situations. Moreover, it will serve them well with all people they encounter. But is this the way you really live? Do you show the same dignity, courtesy, and honor to those who serve you as to those who outrank you at work or church or in everyday life? My word cautions you not to shame or despise the poor. It isn’t hard to have one good set of manners. You already know how to show deference to those above you. The hard part is applying that set to everyone. 

Do you understand your faith as a relationship to me? You are correct, and this means it is more than intellectual assent, but the term relationship is so broad that it can be used to describe the relative positions of inanimate objects, and your faith in me is more than this. My word speaks of transformation into my likeness. In my final prayer I asked that we all may be one, and the epistle writer describes my followers as partakers of the divine nature. This is a level of relationship beyond anything else for which you use this term. Are you prepared to look at this relationship as participation in my life?

Do you seek to avoid suffering? My word promises that all who seek to follow me will encounter persecution, so you may not be able to avoid it. No one seeks it out, but cherishes and nourishes his own flesh. The question is what lengths you are willing to go to avoid suffering. If this is a big priority for you then you will find you are tormented by smaller and smaller things. Then the minor annoyances of life will take on even greater proportions and you will suffer more rather than less. You can reverse this trend if following me is your top priority. Then you will be able to overlook ever greater offenses until you consider them to be light afflictions not worthy to be compared to the glory to come. 

My word says that in the last days knowledge would increase. Without setting a timeline for end-time events would you say that this has happened? It seems that a database of all the facts in the world is available continuously to nearly everyone everywhere. Would you say that there has been a corresponding increase in spirituality? How has one not lead to the other? Does this lead you to question the assumption that knowledge is the measure of all things? My word says that knowledge puffs up. He who is spiritual judges all things, but you have to ask the right questions and walk the right path to get there. 

Have you been baptized? The Bible teaches this clearly as a first step for believers, and it is a universal practice among Christians. Do you see baptism as a symbolic act? It is a public statement of identification with me, being ‘dead and buried’ in water in like manner as I was dead and buried, and coming up out of the water in ‘resurrection’, even as I was resurrected. Yet even John said that he only baptized with water and spoke of one to come who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. In doing so he acknowledged that his baptism was ritual and symbolic, which is not to say it is without meaning. Are you ready for a real baptism? 

Do you draw a sharp dividing line between the sacred and the secular? Are spiritual activities few and narrowly defined, with special times, places, and rituals, and everything else is secular by default? This is a common assumption by both believers and unbelievers, but you don’t have to look at things this way. You take it as an article of faith that you live in a world that I created, and that you were made alive by receiving divine breath. I have promised to be with you always. The more you look for my presence in everyday events, the more you will see it. If it isn’t obvious, ask me what my purpose is in every situation and I will show you. 

Are you familiar with the concept of selling someone out? This is another term for betrayal, and it is one of the worst things you can do. I know because it happened to me. This phrase implies an exchange of money, but that isn’t strictly necessary. In a broader concept it is trading the high value of the integrity of friendship for anything of lower value. Do you see how the same concept could be applied to yourself? You can sell yourself out. If you deviate from your true identity or compromise your unique destiny to gain the approval of other people, then you have betrayed yourself and sold yourself out. 

Do you avoid pain and suffering and setbacks and run from them whenever you can? Yet do you look for deep meaning and unifying purpose in life when you are having fun, going to parties, and have plenty of money? You could, but most people don’t. it is easy to be superficial when things are going your way, but there are gifts available when they are not if you are willing to receive them. Don’t waste your sorrows, for they serve an essential purpose in your spiritual development. You need a container for life that is big enough and strong enough to hold even pain, sorrow, and death. Don’t waste these opportunities for growth. 

[I'm leaving town for a few days - DC]