Dale Cresap's blog

What are you discovering in your experiment of praying for people you encounter? Is it difficult to establish this as a new habit? Are you concerned that you don’t know the needs of the people you meet? I know what they need, and this is a case in which you can do no harm. Even if your prayer is off the mark it won’t hurt. Have you seen any results in the people you pray for? If you engage in this activity it will increase your awareness of those around you, and your awareness of me and how I am always present to intervene and pour out blessings on those who need them. Perhaps the first result you see will be in yourself. 

I told Peter that Satan desired to sift him like wheat, but that I prayed for him that his faith would not fail. This sifting is a metaphor but it is not a process that anyone would desire or choose. Yet I did not tell Peter that I would prevent it from happening. This is a pertinent story because Peter was not the only one that Satan wanted to sift. He wants to sift you too. Have you ever felt it happen to you? I will pray for you as much as I did for Peter. This process brings forth beneficial changes so I told Peter that when he was converted to strengthen his brethren and you will be able to do the same thing.

Do you think of compromise as an ugly word? It suggests the giving up of something you desire in order that an agreement can be reached. In the ordinary give and take, zero sum game approach to life it is the only way to move ahead. But there is a higher way of viewing things in which you move up to a transcendent perspective. I tried to move my audiences away from the us-versus-them mentality and into this higher plane. Consider my responses. Render unto Caesar, he who is without sin cast the first stone, neither did this man sin or his parents that he was born blind. I still do this. Ask of me and I will show you. 

Is it easy to tell when someone is favored more than you are? If your brother or sister was the favorite child you have a keen awareness of this. In like manner you see doors open without effort for very attractive people and you have to push them open yourself. Yet those who have favored status are not as aware of it. The favored child and the very attractive person think their special treatment is normal and the way the world should work. Do you know that you have favored status yourself? For I send rain and sun on the just and on the unjust, and open my hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. You have favored status with me. Are you aware of it?

Have you ever worked at an organization that had conflicting goals, such as, we value creativity, innovation, and originality, and failure is not an option? Perhaps you have felt the tension of this inconsistency by imposing it on yourself. The second goal would lead you to seek the most conventional, proven, and accepted solutions, which are not consistent with the first goal. Since you serve me your goal is obedience, but the first goal above does take greater faith to execute. I have called you to follow where I lead and often it will be in unfamiliar territory. The Holy Spirit is with you. Do what I tell you and leave the question of success or failure to me. 

Do you consider yourself to be wealthy? You live in an affluent, consumer-oriented culture. Money is on everyone’s mind and you are aware of where people stand according to their wealth or lack of it. Yet there are things you can’t put a price on. How could you value your friendships and the intangibles that give more meaning to life than material things? If you could put a price on them wouldn’t it be more than your material assets? Could you afford to buy them if you did? Yet you have them. So perhaps you are wealthier than you realize. Seek first the Kingdom of God, and lay up your treasure in heaven. 

I am coming back. You have my word on that. My word gives some clues as to what to look for, and people have taken these and built highly detailed scenarios about how it will happen. None of them are correct. Many have even set dates and suffered the embarrassment of watching them come and go. The problem is that if you can imagine it and articulate it, then it is too small. I created the world in a week and I have had all the time since then to stage my triumphal return. It will be the ultimate event, full of redemption and love. You will finally know the meaning of the word ‘awesome’. Stay tuned. 

Have you heard of fair-weather friends? Perhaps you have heard that in times of crisis you find out who your friends are, and have experienced this first hand. Many friendships revolve around a common interest and do not grow into genuine love. People change and grow, and if the friendship isn’t built with enough flexibility to allow this it will wither and die. Weak friendships are only built for pleasant times but real friends will see you through a crisis and it is valuable to know who they are. I called my devout followers friends rather than servants and this applies to you too. Do you understand that I will see you through any crisis and change?

Do you see repentance as an event? This is something that happens with little or no duration, such as a realization that things are not working for you and a conscious decision to turn to me. This is a valid understanding, but you can also see repentance as a process, and this implies duration. Have you ever repented only to have to go back and repent again concerning the same issue? My work in you is one of total transformation, and this takes time. Forgiveness is available with no delay, but my work in you doesn’t end there. Be open to being transformed by the renewing of your mind and be patient while I complete the good work I have begun in you. 

Have you met people who reject their formative spiritual experiences, realizing after examination that they had been deceived? This is a harsh judgment and many who make it end up bitter and resentful. Often they refer to themselves as an ex-(fill in the blank) or in darkly humorous form, a recovering (same). This can become permanent, but such people seem stuck in their development because you can’t define yourself by what you are not. Even if your background was in error, it is still part of the process that got you where you are today. Learn what you can from it and look forward not back.