Dale Cresap's blog

You know how to present the gospel message. This is called evangelism and it is the duty of every believer according to the Great Commission. Yet this refers to disciples rather than converts. This implies more than just salvation. How do you make disciples out of converts? Conventional instruction is the generally accepted method, but is this sufficient and is it the only way? Do you see yourself as a pilgrim, on a spiritual journey of growth and transformation? If this works for you it will work for others too. He who is wise wins souls, and also finds a way to invite them to begin their continuing journey.

Do you have an instinctive response to comfort your friends when they encounter afflictions? If your friends are spiritually immature do you find that the comfort they want is for you to affirm their condemnation of their enemies? If you are spiritually mature are you reluctant to do this? You should be. How do you comfort someone in pain without facilitating their bitterness and resentment? You can offer them sympathy for their pain. You can point out that the person that they regard as their enemy isn’t the real problem. You can realize that the true comforter is the Holy Spirit and receive wisdom to minister to those who are not able to receive it directly. 

In my teaching on earth I made several statements that began with, ‘you have heard that it has been said’. I wasn’t referring to hearsay or folklore. The things I quoted were scripture. Since I wrote them it only follows that I would be in a position to provide commentary on them. Yet the things I said appeared to contradict the original text. You are to love your enemies rather than hating them, avoid swearing rather than making oaths, and resist not evil rather than seeking vengeance. In other cases I taught that more was required than the text implied. Are you a good student of the Bible? Would you have drawn these conclusions from the original text?

My word tells you to be still and know that I am God. This implies that there is a connection between stillness and knowing. Is this how you know other things? A diligent search for knowledge implies proactive involvement. You have many resources available to you for all the facts in the world. Yet knowing me is different. This is a journey in which you make greater progress by slowing down and calming down. The world and its distractions and your own racing thoughts are too prominent in your awareness. If you want to know the author of life, release those things and I will come to you. 

Have you ever encountered people with ‘baggage’? In some people this is obvious but who in the course of life can avoid picking up some things along the way? The painful and negative things that you have experienced may leave you with burdens you would rather put down, but you carry them around anyhow. Your house is more comfortable and spacious if you clean out your junk now and then, and your life is the same way. Even in a materialistic culture you realize it is possible to have too much stuff, and this lesson applies to more than just material things. Throwing away junk is valuable in every realm of life. 

Do you love books? The written word has provided a very effective communication method for all of recorded history. In essence it connects a reader with an author. How do you regard the Bible? Is it an illustration of this principle too, or is it in a special category and exempt from this rule? In other words, is it possible to know the Bible without knowing the author of the Bible? If so this is not a desirable situation. I dealt with the same thing in my ministry on earth. The Pharisees knew the scriptures that testified of me but they didn’t recognize me when I was present with them. These things were written that you may believe and know the one the Father sent. 

Parents want to foster the impulse of generosity in their children so they give the children the money to be able to buy gifts for their parents. Does this seem like a pointless exercise? Wouldn’t it be easier for the parents to buy those items themselves? The need for character development in the children trumps the arguments of logic and expediency. Why does this matter? You are my children, and I want you to be generous. What do you have that you didn’t receive? I give to you freely from my resources. If you understand this does it make it easier for you to be generous in turn? I love a cheerful giver. 

I told a parable about talents in which different servants got different amounts to invest while their master was away. You understand this story was given to illustrate a larger principle. For you see the people around you and some are smarter, taller, more attractive and overall more capable than others. This seeming disparity is partly due to the fact that your culture values some talents more than others, but the differences still remain. It may be helpful to you in understanding this story to know that even one talent was an enormous amount of money. Even the least of these have more than enough to fulfill their destiny. leaving town for a few days.

In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, the workers who showed up just before quitting time were paid the same as those who worked all day. Do you understand that this really isn’t a story about labor and wage practices? Some people spend a lifetime walking with me before passing beyond, and others squeak in under the wire. Are these to be envied by the others? Don’t you breathe a sigh of relief when you hear of such an event? The issue here is the perceived value of serving me. If you really understand it you won’t resent it but will be glad you worked all day. 

Do you give to the poor? The Bible teaches you to do this. Do you pay your taxes? The state expects you to and the Bible supports this activity. Render unto Caesar. Do you see these as related activities? If you live in a country where government support for the poor is funded by taxes, you can claim that they are linked. Yet taxes are not donations, and compulsion can take the virtue out of giving, but it doesn’t have to. If you are called to be a cheerful giver in what you donate, would it make you feel better about paying taxes to know that some part of it goes to the poor? Don’t let your ministry to the poor be limited to this.