Dale Cresap's blog

Do you find that people talk about topics of interest to them? I said that the gentiles seek after the things that they eat, drink, and wear. Do you find yourself less and less interested in these conversation topics of your friends who are not seeking my Kingdom? Do you find that your conversations with those walking the same path you are to be refreshing and full of life? I said that those who feared the Lord spoke often one to another and I hearkened and heard it, and wrote a book of remembrance for those who feared me and thought upon my name, and they shall be mine when I make up my special treasure. You want to be in this book. 

My word teaches you that some men’s sins go beforehand and some follow after. Some sins have visible effects and others are easier to keep secret. Are you more concerned about sins that everyone can see? Yet according to the verse the other sins will follow you even though they are invisible, and they will eventually become obvious. Could these be more dangerous and destructive than the first type? For there is an immediate incentive to deal with visible sin, but invisible sin can grow large undetected and be more difficult to deal with. Search and try your ways and judge yourself that you may be pure within and without and not be judged. 

The most primitive rule for living is to avoid pain and seek pleasure. The most elementary forms of life will do this. It is a stimulus -response immediate gratification approach. Yet have you not faced difficulties voluntarily and delayed gratification to seek better eventual outcomes? This indicates a higher view of life and this progression continues upward to the ultimate view of life. If in this world only you trust in me you are of all men most miserable, but you are called to a city founded in heaven. Your spiritual sojourn may seem to add to your trials and tribulations in this world but these are not worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed in you.

I told you not to cast your pearls before swine, or give that which is holy to dogs. Do you find this to be a troubling passage in a book of gracious words? Obviously these references are to people and you are to preach the gospel to every creature. Must your now decide which people are swine? These are not permanent classes of people. You have come far in your walk with me, and even those who are saved may not be ready to receive the pearls I am giving you now. Offer to lead onward those who are ready, but do not force the issue. Remember how long it took you to get where you are and offer the same grace to others.

You are familiar with my story of the prodigal son. With whom do you identify in this story? Most people who are new in the faith see themselves as the prodigal, coming back to the Father for reconciliation and restoration after coming to their senses and turning away from sin. Do you still make this identification after being saved for many years? Do you ever become the older brother who was not pleased to have his brother return and receive undeserved favor? My word offers redemption for sinners. It also cautions those who lead a life of faith not to become self-righteous and judgmental. 

Do you recall the story of two of my disciples discussing current events on the road to Emmaus? I joined them although they didn’t recognize me. I let them fill me in and then explained to them the real significance of these events. How many believers have expressed an interest in hearing the content of this unrecorded dialogue? Yet I promised that wherever two or three were gathered in my name that I would be there in the midst of them. The conversation on the road was a perfect example of this. If you join someone to converse in my name and expect my presence with faith and intentional awareness then your hearts also will burn within you as I speak.

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.