Dale Cresap's blog

In the story of Mary and Martha, it appears that Mary is approved and Martha is rebuked.  Yet I did not condemn Martha for what she was doing.  I just wasn’t willing to impose her demands on Mary. You will go through various stages of development in your spiritual growth. Along the way, you will encounter other people who are at a different place in their spiritual journey. You may ‘know’ what is best for them, or what they should do to advance, but you should consider carefully how to proceed. I am leading them on their path just as I am leading you on yours. If you want to help them, inquire of me as to how I would have you serve my servant. 

Do you understand that your identity does not consist of what you own? I taught that the abundance of a man’s life does not consist of what he possesses. Blessed are those who understand this, but there are some who do who still identify strongly with their own body, and they are not pleased with it. You are not what you weigh. You are surrounded by false images of artificially underweight people and you should not accept this as a standard. There may be good reasons for you to lose weight, but the real essence of your identity is spiritual rather than physical whether you are young and slender and fit or not. 

Do you see the world as a dangerous and hostile place? Do you understand that when I created the world I declared that it was good? Yet you know that you live in a fallen world. What does this mean? Does it negate my declaration at creation, so that the world is no longer good? After the fall there was a flood, and after that I promised seasons for planting and reaping, and I have kept my promise. Look around and decide for yourself if the world even in its present state still sustains life. This is a testimony to the one who created it, who also promised to send sun and rain on both the righteous and the wicked alike.

Do you think there is nothing less spiritual than paying your taxes? I paid my taxes, and it involved a miracle with a fish and a coin. I also answered a question about paying taxes to distinguish between the things that are Caesars, and the things that are Gods. I did not say that the things that are Caesars are inherently spiritual, but I did use the occasion to teach a spiritual lesson. There are some things you must do in this world in the course of your life here, but you don’t have to accept a division of your life into the secular and the spiritual. If I could find a spiritual lesson in paying taxes you can too. 

I provided for my people during their exodus in the wilderness by visible miracles, and then appointed a time to meet with them directly. Moses facilitated the meeting and assembled the people. When the time came the experience proved to be too intense for the people and they drew back, preferring to have Moses relay my instructions to them. This is not what I wanted. You refer to your faith as a relationship with me. Have your direct encounters with me ever been too intense, causing you to draw back and interact with me through intermediaries? This is not what I want for you either. 

He who is spiritual judges all things. Is everything spiritual? Most people make a strong distinction between spiritual things which are few and secular things which are many, but is this true? Didn’t I create all things and am I not the author of all life? You are surrounded by a world of spiritual reality. It may not be obvious to the casual observer, but if you are willing to look in faith it is there. If you look for me in places where you had not previously searched you will find that I am there. If you look you will see the transcendent in everyday life, for he who is spiritual comprehends all things. 

They that feared the Lord spoke often to one another. Have you noticed how much of conversation, even among believers, is about mundane and worldly things? Do you long for real divine encounters in your conversation, to talk about the Kingdom of God? Yet to suggest a shift in the topic of conversation seems self-righteous, even if it is what you hunger for. But I have promised that those who hunger will be filled. If this is what you want then ask me to intervene, and for wisdom that you may graciously shift the conversation topics upward, and encounter the Kingdom of God.

I led my people out of Egypt and provided for them with many visible miracles. Then I picked a time to meet with them face to face. I had Moses facilitate their involvement, but when the appointed time came the encounter proved to be too intense for them and they came up with an alternate plan, that Moses should approach me and receive the law. The people were willing to obey all that I commanded them, but they wanted an intermediary rather than direct contact with me. You refer to your faith as a relationship with me. Do you understand that involves a direct encounter that may be more intense than you expected? 

Would you rather spend a weekend with the committee for the enforcement of doctrinal purity or with a group of people picked at random from the phone book? Correct doctrine is important, so why is this such a dreadful prospect? You are called to judge yourself, but not to judge others. The practice of your faith should make you more pleasant company for other people rather than less. How do you perceive others? Don’t you avoid those who are judgmental? Yet isn’t it also difficult to be around those who make no effort to judge themselves? If you judge yourself and not others you will be a vessel prepared for every good work. 

Do you think of communion as a strictly individual matter? When you take communion you are taught to examine yourself. Yet if you fail to do so it is said that you have failed to discern the Lord’s body, which consists of the community of believers. So is communion individual or corporate? It is both. You are only called to examine yourself, not others, but you should do so with the awareness that you are part of a body, and that I am the head of the body. Your examination of yourself does not occur in isolation, but communion is life-giving in the way you relate to others, and to me.