Dale Cresap's blog

I taught you that all men would know that you were my disciples by the way you loved one another. Does this suggest that you must decide who qualifies as ‘one another’? Other passages of scripture should make you wary of making such a determination. I faced the same question when a man asked me, ‘who is my neighbor?’ I answered with the story of the Good Samaritan. The man who showed kindness was from a different culture with heretical beliefs. This answer was meant to stretch my audience and it is fitting to consider these as the same question.

I said that I would build my church on a rock and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. What is your conceptual understanding of my church? Do you think of it in conventional terms, as a collection of buildings devoted to worship? You know that it is people rather than buildings that comprise a church, yet the buildings are symbolic of much structure and organization. I also taught that wherever two or three were gathered in my name that I would be present in the midst of them. This too is a valid manifestation of my church. I want to expand your understanding of church to be broader and more inclusive that you may affirm and participate in every aspect of it.

Do you use entertainment as a means of escape? What do you escape from, and to? Movies, books, and television can provide a world of enchantment and wonder to which you can escape from your everyday life. Yet this is an artificial world. I do not condemn you for loving stories; I told enough of them myself. But I want you to walk in the awareness that the world around you is one of enchantment and wonder. This is the real world in which you live. Does it seem mundane to you? Ask of me that I may open your eyes to see my omnipresence, and the transcendent and divine in everything you see and hear and touch. 

The Bible is a special message from me to you. It speaks with my voice and authority and has special status above all other sources in determining doctrine. It is the standard against which all others are judged. Yet the Bible does not contain me. In this sense nothing can contain me. The Bible is a created thing and as such you should be careful not to worship it, for the same rules apply to all created things. I invited those who thought that eternal life resided in the scriptures to search them and find that they testified of me. The proper response to the study of the Bible is to come to me and have life. 

Do you think of the justice system only in terms of courts of law and claims and lawsuits? Do you think of ministry to the poor as a matter of charity and mercy? You may think they have no legal claim for assistance, yet I told a story of a widow who came to ask for justice from an unjust judge, and she finally got it. Justice is a strong Biblical concept but it is broader than the one stated above. My word also teaches you to provide justice for the afflicted and needy. They may not have a case to make in court, but I want you to think of justice also in terms of kindness, compassion, and righteousness. 

Have you ever heard the admonition, ‘Don’t even think about it!’? In a climate in which speech is free and there is freedom of conscience regarding thoughts which are private anyhow this seems like a strong position. Yet it is exactly what I say to you about assigning people an eternal destiny. For I command you to say not even in your heart, ‘who shall ascend into heaven, and who shall descend into hell’. If you would follow my general commandment not to judge others this would be a good place to start. For I alone have the authority to assign eternal destinies and I take this exclusive domain seriously. Do and teach all I have commanded and let me worry about the outcome. 

Do you know people who talk all the time? They may have some interesting things to say but you can’t really have a conversation with them because that implies two people speaking. You may find such people wearisome and avoid them. Yet I am the Living Word, and I am always speaking. Yet I speak in a still small voice and do not dominate a conversation. Your overbearing friend may be hard to avoid, but I am meek and lowly in heart, and it is easy to avoid me. Those who understand the value of my words will seek me out, and sit at my feet, and listen carefully for they know that I alone have the words of life. 

You have my promise that you shall have whatever you ask of me in prayer. Do you consider this to be an amazing and extravagant blank check from someone with unlimited resources? How do you respond to this? Do you ask for as much as you can? My ability to give is unlimited. How great is your ability to receive? Would it be good for you to get everything you wanted, or would it leave you overwhelmed? Don’t let your desire for abundance turn into unfocused fragmentation. David said ‘One thing have I desired of the Lord’ and it was a good thing. Ask me for what you need to fulfill your destiny in me and you will get it with singleness of heart and purpose and vision.

Can you minister to me and not be aware of it? In the story of the sheep and the goats, I commended the sheep for very specific actions. I said that they provided me with food and drink. They gave me clothing and visited me. They were perplexed at this approval, and asked, when did we do these things? I replied that when they did them unto the least of these they did them unto me, and the converse was true for the goats. Note that there is nothing about doctrine, faith, or belief in this story. So it is possible to be kind to me and not know it, but it is better to do it with awareness, to see me in the least of these and minister to them as you would to me. 

I said that a prophet is not without honor, except among his own family and countrymen. This principle may apply to you even if you are not a prophet. This is similar to the proverb that familiarity breeds contempt. I am doing a great work of spiritual transformation in your life, but those who have known you all along may not be prepared to acknowledge this growth. The work I am doing in you enables you to minister life to others, but they may not be able to receive it. It is not beneficial for you to fight this principle I declared. Rather ask how far you need to go to be effective in the ministry I have given you.