Dale Cresap's blog

I accused some hypocrites of being blind guides and others came to me asking if they were blind also. What an odd question. Would it be possible to be blind and not know it? Yet my answer was conditional. Since they claimed to see, their blindness remained. Don’t let this happen to you. Are you willing to acknowledge areas where you lack understanding? Are you willing to revisit and examine anew matters that you thought were settled, and to find fresh revelation? Everything that can be shaken will be shaken. If you are willing to keep seeking and looking you will find that I cannot be shaken, but that I am bigger than you thought before. 

Do you think that you must have an answer to everything? Knowledge and intelligence are highly rated in your culture, and so they may be seen as a form of wealth, but referring to someone as a know-it-all is universally seen as a criticism. You have passed from darkness to light and he who is spiritual judges all things, but even so my word declares the universal truth that you know in part. Have you come to accept this reality in your own life? If not you are mistaken about something very basic. If you have then you are in a position to advance in following me as a seeker who keeps on seeking my Kingdom. 

Do you understand the importance of balance? Your physical sense of balance prevents you from falling over, but you also understand this concept in a broader sense, that you consider everything according to its proper worth and value it accordingly. Yet don’t you see the principle of emphasis operating in your life, to give greater weight to some things than others? You see other people emphasizing different things. How then can you obtain the desirable state of balance? If you are open to consider the things emphasized by people of widely different backgrounds you can move toward a state of balance yourself. 

If there is an offense between you and another person, are you content to let the matter drop and walk away? You may think the matter is over, but this is a resolution that does not involve reconciliation. My word teaches you to go to your brother and seek reconciliation. This is not as easy as letting it drop, but it is the only way to be restored in fellowship. Didn’t I seek you out intentionally before you were reconciled to me? Do you think there is a social protocol that dictates which party should be the one to initiate reconciliation? The reality is that the one who understands the value of it more will seek it first. 

Do you value your liberty and see it as a gift from me? My word tells you to stand fast in the liberty I have given you and not to be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Do you look outside yourself for threats that would deprive you of your liberty? This verse implies that you should be more diligent to look within. People choose and voluntarily accept bondages more severe than earthly tyrants would impose on them. You can revolt against tyranny, but against whom would you rise up to oppose self-imposed oppression? Come to me and I will give you greater freedom than you would choose for yourself. 

You use the word presence to describe things near you and the word present means now. Can you see how these words are similar and the concepts are related? You also speak of the here and now. You know that I am with you always. Can you follow this concept to improve your awareness of my presence with you and your understanding of what I am doing at all times? For this is an accomplished reality but you will grow in maturity and understanding by your awareness of my presence with you here and now. Do you think of sacraments as rituals for rare special occasions? I want you to walk in the sacrament of the present moment. 

Do you see me in the gospels as loving and gracious? How do you see me in Revelation? Does there appear to be a different Jesus in Revelation? Do you think I finally have had enough and reach a breaking point, calling an end to grace and executing vengeance? Yet this would be a more human reaction than a divine one, and you have strong doctrinal support for my unchanging nature. Even in the apocalypse I reveal myself as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Do you look at this record of end time events as the final act of retribution? I want you to read it again and see it as the final act of redemption. 

Have you ever wandered far away from me? No matter how far away you go you can return in a single step, or even less, because I will receive you as soon as you turn toward me. Were you expecting to have to work your way back? If it was not by your own works that I received you to begin with, how would I expect you to earn your way back? The prodigal son did not expect a warm welcome at home after ruining the family’s fortune and reputation, but he got one nonetheless. When he left he was indifferent to his father’s love but he came back with a renewed revelation and appreciation of it. You can expect the same yourself. 

A man said that I was good and I replied that only God is good. Does this seem like a cynical statement to you? How much time do you spend trying to classify people into those who are good and those who are not? If you accept my statement it relieves you of this burden. Does this mean that all people are evil? You can accept my statement about the goodness of God without making the logical inference that people are not. After all, I told you not to judge others. Do you then see this statement as liberating rather than cynical? For you can give the ministry of life to others and receive it from them without having to determine if they are good or not. 

You know how central the cross is to the Christian faith. My cross has become the universally recognizable symbol of Christianity world-wide, and many of my followers wear a small one as jewelry. How prominent is the cross in your own life? Do you think that my cross makes you exempt from bearing a cross yourself? You could not do what I did for you on the cross, but my word teaches you to lay down your life and pick up your cross daily and follow me. There is an element of death involved in following me. Even though it is not a physical death you will find life in being a living sacrifice.