Dale Cresap's blog

Do you think of prayer as talking to me? What about me talking to you? You expect to engage in an exchange of conversation with your friends and it is considered rude and a violation of social protocol for one person to dominate a conversation. Yet how many people pray without expecting me to respond or leaving an opportunity of listening in silence for me to do so? How many people engage in prayer speaking to me but think that me speaking to them is a form of mental illness? You describe your faith as a relationship with me and you have my promise that my sheep hear my voice. I also promised that if you seek you will find. This implies that if you listen you will hear from me. 

My Great Commission to you was to preach the gospel to every creature. You may consider this a daunting task but I don’t expect you to do it alone. Do you want to see it fulfilled? Consider the stories I told about the laborers in the vineyard and the prodigal son. Those who labored all day didn’t think the late comers were worthy of a full day’s wages, and the elder brother didn’t think the younger brother’s return was worth celebrating. In both cases these positions did not agree with the true authority. Set aside for a moment the difficulty of the Great Commission and the details of the task. Is it your heart’s desire to see everyone in the Kingdom of God? 

Do you have more admiration for people who are clever or people who are wise? Clever people are entertaining and keep you amused with their witty remarks. Wisdom is a rarer quality and not all who display it are glib or articulate. A poor man delivered a city by his wisdom but the poor man’s wisdom was despised, and my word says that wisdom cries in the streets implying a buyer’s market. There is more available than is desired. For I promise that if any man lack wisdom to ask of me and receive it freely. If you understand the value of wisdom you will take me up on my offer. 

Have you ever heard the phrase “too much information”? Perhaps you have experienced this yourself. People have a natural curiosity and there is a common assumption that knowledge is harmless and you can’t have too much, but knowledge can be a burden to bear. Would you want to know the date and hour of your death? If you find out someone’s deep dark sins will it be as easy for you to treat them with love and grace as before you knew? Most information you learn through gossip you should prefer not to know. What is learned cannot be unlearned. Realize this when you seek information and for what you already know that you would rather not, come to me for the grace to enable you to carry this burden in a gracious way. 

Do you see any distinction between the church and the Kingdom of God? My church is meant to represent me, but this is done by people with human failings. Some people have had bad experiences at church and have walked away from me as a result. This compounds and amplifies a loss that could be limited. If your circumstances and experiences force you to distinguish between me and the people who represent me then make that distinction and move on from them without moving on from me. Even the best of my followers has human flaws, so you will face this dilemma at some time. Don’t let bad representatives keep you out of the Kingdom of God.

I taught you to love your enemies. Do you see any tangible benefits to this other than being the children of your Father in Heaven? For one thing it reduces their influence over you. Hatred comes with a high burden of overhead. Maintaining an active opposition is more work than you think. It engages more of your time and attention than the value of any benefit obtained. When you define yourself in opposition to things you distort your own sense of identity. Hating your enemies invites them into your head in a greater way than loving them does. So love your enemies for your own sake that you may be the children of your Father in Heaven. 

Do you schedule and plan your day to make the most effective use of your time? Does your day always go the way you expected? How do you plan and prepare for a day when you don’t know how it will turn out? I said not to worry about tomorrow, that sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Yet I know what you will face tomorrow even if you don’t. I may ask you to do things today that you don’t understand. Do them anyhow. Tomorrow you may see why these steps were necessary as advance preparation. You can’t obey today’s instructions tomorrow. Follow me and trust me to turn your sequence of todays into a life of destiny. 

Are you familiar with the Biblical principle of sowing and reaping? Many people are frequently reminded of this by those taking offerings, and many people consider it warily because of excesses and abuses by televangelists. They may have a basis for caution, but that does not negate the fact that sowing and reaping is a Biblical principle. Be as wise as a serpent and as innocent as a dove in your giving, for you want it to be used responsibly to advance the work of my Kingdom. Be led by my Spirit, and trust that your giving in obedience to me is really giving to me. 

Have you ever heard someone say, where was God when I needed him? Who hasn’t? Who hasn’t said it themselves? Although this is phrased in the form of a question, do you see that in most cases it is really intended as an accusation? If the expectation is that God will be with you always and you are not aware of his presence, then it is a fair question, but you will only get an answer if you pursue it as a question rather than an accusation. If you are willing to revisit the experience from this perspective, I will comfort and reassure you by showing you how I was with you in your darkest hour. 

I taught clearly about dying to yourself that you may live, to lay down your life and pick up your cross and follow me. These may not be anyone’s favorite Bible verses, but they present a strong and unified theme that you cannot ignore. You meet some individuals that take them seriously. Paul died daily, always bearing about my death in his own body. Do you think this ends with individuals? My body is composed of many members, and some things that apply to individuals can be scaled up to groups of believers, such as churches. Are you prepared to see churches die to themselves that they may live?