Dale Cresap's blog

A man asked me one question and I gave him two answers. He asked what the greatest commandment was and I told him to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. So far so good. Yet I went on to say that the second commandment was similar to it, to love your neighbor as yourself. Why did I add this second commandment? Because it is too easy to claim you are following the first one in the abstract. The real demonstration of how well you keep it is shown in the love you have for your neighbor whom I also love. As my word also says, how can you love God whom you have not seen if you cannot love your brother whom you can see? 

Do you have strong tastes and preferences? Nearly everyone does. Do not confuse these with your identity.  I also encourage you to hold them with a loose grip, and not to criticize the preferences of others. For those without spiritual understanding think that they are the sum total of their preferences, so if you criticize these they take it personally. Then they are offended and you lose the chance to declare my Kingdom to them. Everyone likes their own best, but you cannot prove that yours are better. Hold yours gently, and firmly embrace the identity that you have in me. 

Do you live in a country where you can vote? It is a privilege to exercise this civic duty, even if it is infrequent and you are not confident that your vote has much influence. Yet even if you live where you are unable to vote in a ballot box you can vote in the more profound ways that everyone can. You vote with your money every time you spend it, choosing some things to buy rather than others. You vote with your feet with every step you take, choosing where you will go and what you will do there. You vote with your words every time you speak, choosing what you affirm by what you say.

Have you heard the saying, ‘every man for himself’? In military terms this is the worst possible situation. It implies a complete collapse of unity, coherent and coordinated action, and command structure. It can be considered a disorganized surrender. Yet in the civilian world it is routinely accepted as a rule of life. There are military metaphors in my word and my church has been described as an army. Where do you think it is on the scale of command structure as opposed to every man for himself? Don’t be discouraged. I have things organized better than you may realize. I want to show you this so you can recognize it and act in obedience in unity. 

Can you look back and see that you have grown in the faith since you first believed? You have a greater understanding of the truth. How has this affected your ability to relate to others? Did you have no reason or basis to judge others when you were first saved? Do you now? Your growth and maturity should make you more able to show compassion, understanding, and acceptance rather than less. Being judgmental is the default condition of humanity, but it takes on a particularly bad taste when it is acquired and developed through religious practices. True growth in me will not lead you into this self-righteous trap.

I promised you an abundant life. What do you think this looks like? A life of wealth, fame, and drama? Do you consider your own life ordinary and mundane? Do you disdain your own life in the quest for something magnificent? I am present in the life you currently live. If you look for success by the measures of the world around you how will you find your true life in me? My Kingdom is within you. Look for me now and you will see I am already there, perfecting that which concerns you. Embrace your life that you may cooperate with my efforts and you will have a real eternal life rather than a false fantasy one. 

You have my promise that nothing shall separate you from my love. Yet you can be bound and in prison, afflicted, or taken places in custody against your will. You can be put to death for my sake. You read accounts in my word of these things happening to my servants. The same principle can apply at less severe levels for those who are poor or living in unpleasant situations. How can my promise apply in these cases? I promised that my Kingdom was within you, and that I would be with you always. You have inside yourself a spiritual refuge. You have a safe place here where you can go when the external world attacks you, or even when it doesn’t. 

You know that I am the source of living water. I also said that he who believes in me would have living water issue from him. You refer to flowing water as a stream, and this is the metaphor I give for the ministry you do. It has many parallels in the natural world. What do you notice about streams on a map? They start out as many, and end up as one. For streams run until they converge with another stream. This is as an illustration of unity. As you practice the flow that I have given you, notice that I connect you in relationship with other streams. I want you to see how your streams work together, reinforcing one another for a common purpose.

Come to me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Come all who are hungry and thirsty and I will give you living bread and water. Come all who are rejected by others that you may find acceptance in me. Come to me those who are wounded with invisible wounds and I will provide healing and comfort for injuries unseen. Come those who are needy and unable to buy their way out of trouble and I will provide everything for you. Come those who are dirty and I will wash you whiter than snow. Come to me all those who are poor in spirit for my Kingdom is yours.