Dale Cresap's blog

Have you ever felt rejection from others? Who is not in a position to know firsthand how painful this is? In addition to the rejection you feel just from human existence you may experience rejection from people because you are faithful to me. Have you rejected other people? Is there anyone who would say you have? You have no control over the actions of others, and they are free to reject you, but you are not free to reject them in return. This may seem like an unfair burden, but I have called you to be the children of your Father in heaven, and he does not reject anyone, so you should not either. 

I called some fishermen to come and follow me, promising that I would make them fishers of men. You understand that I was talking about evangelism and since this call applies to you as well you can learn from this illustration. Fishing requires patience. You must be diligent, but trying too hard can drive away what you are trying to attract. When you are fishing you care whether it is you or the person next to you who catches a fish, but this should not apply to evangelism. Don’t beat the water with your fishing pole or present the gospel in such a way that it ruins the waters for those around you. 

My disciple who reclined with me at dinner later said that he once knew me by the flesh but now knew me by the spirit. There were witnesses to my life on earth and he was one of them. Have you ever wished that you had been too, or heard your fellow believers make this lament? Compare and contrast knowing by the flesh and knowing by the spirit. The apostle who experienced both would not hesitate to say that knowing by the spirit was better. Do not live with regret that you were not able to know me in the flesh, for the better part is as available to you as it was to John.

My word teaches you to pray for those in authority over you, particularly in the realm of government. Do you find the values of those in power to be different from your own? Remember that this passage was written in a time when there was no expectation at all that the leaders would be Christians or share the values of those who believed. Are you less likely to pray for an unbelieving president? By what logic? Shouldn’t this condition make you more willing to pray for a leader? My commandment applies in both cases and you can trust me to make your prayers effective regardless of the circumstances. 

You are a spiritual being and yet you experience this as a human. Touch is a basic human need and some feel it more acutely than others, but infants cannot survive without it. I invite you into relationship with me, yet I am a spirit and those who worship me do so in spirit and in truth, for I seek those who will. Does this leave you feeling detached? Yet you use the word ‘touch’ in a larger sense, as being touched by a performance or anything emotionally engaging. My followers refer to being touched by me as more than a figure of speech. Come taste and see that I am good and receive a touch from me. 

Do you consider your primary denominational affiliation to be the church in which you were baptized? This is fairly normal since baptism is a sacrament common to all Christians, and it is normally performed soon after salvation. Do you understand that you were not baptized into that church but rather into the Body of Christ as a whole? For my word teaches that there is one body and one faith and one baptism. If for any reason you should leave one church and join another, it isn’t necessary for you to be baptized again. Even though this event happens locally it is an expression of a global concept, and those who perform it should make this clear. 

You live in a culture of youth that admires the beauty and physical prowess of the young. Entire industries are built and millions spent to avoid even the appearance of advancing age. Yet nature will not be denied and this too is part of my design that I declared to be good from the very first. Do you associate wisdom with age? Acquiring wisdom as the years advance is not guaranteed, but it is possible. Do you think that wisdom is as highly valued as youth? No wise person wishes he was younger. You can’t turn back the clock, and it is an expression of wisdom to know that you shouldn’t want to. Learn to value the gifts of your current condition. It took a lifetime to acquire them.

Do you desire wisdom? Where do you look for it? Everyone is eager to share their thoughts with you. Does it seem that some are too eager, and speak too much and too loud? Do you find wisdom there? I chose my words carefully and used them sparingly. Don’t you find the same trait among those you consider wise? They tend to get a lot of mileage out of a few words and even their silent presence can lend an air of gravity to an otherwise wandering conversation. Have you noticed that I speak in a still small voice? This is where to look for wisdom, and when you find it use the same method to share it with others.  

How do you honor me with your finances? You can start by giving directly into my work in tithes and offerings. I only expect a fraction back of what I have given you. How do you spend the rest? I don’t impose any requirements, but if you ponder this question can you think of ways to spend your money that honor me in contrast to those that don’t? The same applies to the way you earn your money. Do you want your entire life to be an expression of your response to my love? Then the way you spend the money available to you will reflect this influence. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. 

Do you think that the circumstances of your life make you happy if they are what you want and unhappy if you don’t? Yet you see exceptions to this rule in both directions. If you change your circumstances in an attempt to make yourself happy you are likely to make things worse by adding frustration. You know some people who are happy even in difficulties. They have learned that happiness is internal and this is linked to the Biblical concept of contentment. You also know people who can make themselves as miserable as they please. Make this dynamic work in your favor instead of against you.