Dale Cresap's blog

Have you heard powerful and dynamic speakers and engaged with the emotional enthusiasm of their message, but realized later that there was more entertainment than substance in what they said? Has this ever happened to you in church or conference? It isn’t wrong to be excited, but excitement alone will only carry you so far. Those who shouted ‘Hosanna’ on my entry into Jerusalem didn’t see my visit through to the end. In some churches people exclaim ‘amen’ to affirm things they already understand. They are silent when they are being challenged and stretched, but this is where transformational growth takes place. 

I warned that many would come in my name, but you should be wary of them and look for more than just claiming to represent me. Have you noticed through history how many have used my name to promote their own agenda or cause? But I am not so easily owned. How many people do you meet, even those who follow me, who have strongly held affiliations that define their identity? These can be political or theological ideology and many others. But if I am difficult to classify and enlist, perhaps the same quality should be evident in those who follow me. For their kingdom is my Kingdom, and it is not of this world. 

Do you know that there are various types of questions? They can be innocent and honest, and lead to a search for answers, or at least greater understanding. Questions can also be implied arguments or attacks, used to call into question an opponent’s premises. In this case the question is used to close down the search for answers and meaning. Note that the question may be identical in both cases. The difference is in the intent. I posed some questions myself, for the purpose of expounding truth and leading people to God. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? 

Have you ever heard of people referred to as full of themselves? This is a peculiar statement, because who else would they be full of? Yet you know what is meant and it is never intended as a compliment. Such people are too eager to fill up any silence with their words, to expound their own opinions, to defend themselves fiercely and attack others. What is the absence of these qualities? Resist not evil (against yourself). Lay down your life and pick up your cross. Be willing to decrease that others may increase. A broken spirit and a contrite heart. You find these qualities attractive in people and I do too.

Do you like guaranteed results? Do you want to expect with certainty that other people will perform as they promise and hold yourself to the same standard? How well do you find that this works for others, and for yourself? You can only do what you can do, and the rest is out of your hands. Even if you do everything that you intend, there are factors beyond your control. Realize this and be gentle with yourself. I said that the poor in spirit were blessed leaving you to wonder what it meant to be poor in spirit. This is an aspect of it. Obey what I give you to obey realizing that the outcome is in my hands, and know that this principle applies to everyone. 

Do you want to hear my voice? What do you expect it to sound like? What if it comes through the mouth of another person, perhaps someone you know or even a stranger? Have you ever had this happen to you, that someone’s words are illuminated to you, and you knew that they were full of divine insight and purpose for you? This can happen even if the other person is unaware of it. Sometimes my voice coming through another person is enhanced rather than diminished when they don’t say, ‘Thus saith the Lord’. Yet if their words resonate with you with divine life you should respond to them as if the heavens parted and they came from above. 

I commended a Centurion who approached me for his great faith, but you can tell by inference that the story didn’t start there. He came on behalf of his servant rather than for himself or his immediate family, indicating that he had compassion and saw the man as more than an economic resource. He further demonstrated humility to come to me in person to place his request, crossing lines of culture, religion, status, and wealth. All of this happened before he recognized that I could heal at a distance. Faith and virtue rarely occur in isolation. If you want to see great acts of faith practice those qualities that precede them. 

Do you think that most people expect to go to heaven? What do they expect it to be like? Believers relate it to a church service, and those who do not practice faith expect it to be like a family reunion. Both groups may not be very enthusiastic about heaven because they are not very enthusiastic about these things that they have experienced and are available to them. I don’t give many details about what is to come, but I do promise that you will know as you are known, and that the things you now see in a glass darkly you will then see face to face. Is this enough to make you enthusiastic about going to heaven? 

My word tells you to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. What do you make of this? Do you understand this to mean that your salvation is in doubt, and that you must secure it by your own efforts? Yet you are saved by grace through faith, not of your own works. If you approach this verse with the premise that your salvation is not up for grabs, then what does it mean? Don’t settle for mundane vision and lead a mundane life. You have entered an eternal drama and your words and actions have consequences that will echo forever. You should be awestruck at the part you are called to play. 

How great is your need for approval? If you were to perform some prominent ministry, for instance serving as a prophet, would you expect to be recognized for it? Yet prophets in ancient times were effective in their service because they did not require approval. They spoke for me and in most cases it cost them their lives even as I pointed out to those who maintained their tombs. You may hesitate to go to this extreme, but the same principle applies at any level. No man can serve two masters and so if you continue to follow me you will have to make a choice between me and public opinion. Don’t let your need for approval make you compromise your faith.