Dale Cresap's blog

At the end of my ministry on earth I called my disciples my friends. By extension this applies to you. During the time I spent with them, I accepted their humanity and at the same time sought divine purpose in their lives. I do the same with you. Have you found that this is the highest ideal of friendship, to offer human acceptance and jointly seek the noblest things? Some people aren’t interested in either of these and some only one or the other, so you should recognize those who are interested in both for the rare and precious treasure they are. Seek them as friends and seek to be such to those you would befriend. 

When you encounter unmarried unbelievers living together, do you think they should get married? Would this put them in a state of holy matrimony? This would not deal with their true condition and needs. Wouldn’t it be better for them to come to me? Then they could inquire of my intentions for them. Isn’t it possible that I would say, Go (your separate ways) and sin no more? If this is the case, wouldn’t it be better if they were not married? If you have a high regard for the sanctity of marriage then you should not recommend it to be entered lightly or unadvisedly. I am the Lord who turns two into one. 

Do you lead a busy life, with a constant unbroken sequence of events? Do you make it a point to spend time with me early and in deliberate structured ways? A regular daily devotional or your attendance at church with fellow believers would be examples of this. These are beneficial habits but you may find even greater blessings seeking me in unstructured ways. Have you ever devoted time to me without an agenda, but sought to follow where I would lead? Your time is always at hand. Be about your Father’s business even as you go about your business in the marketplace and I will give you unexpected opportunities to minister life in my name. 

Modern technology makes it possible for you to talk to your friends anywhere you go. Do you see this as having only advantages? For it also makes it easier for you to ignore the people around you. In many cases these are also your friends and family members, but you also encounter strangers and casual acquaintances in the course of your day. Not all of these are random, for some are appointments that I made for you. Will you have the awareness to know which ones these are, and to be present in your immediate surroundings to minister life in my name? Beware lest a technology meant to connect you serve to isolate you and diminish your abundant life. 

Have you discovered that you don’t have to go to very many church services before you hear a message about giving? What line of reasoning do you typically hear? That giving is a principle that unlocks blessings for you? That giving is the key to getting greater blessings? This is true at a certain level, but have you seen people respond to this in a way that is calculating and self-serving? What if there was a higher level of mystery to sowing and reaping? What if the blessing you received from giving was the development of Christlike character in your life? Can you see how this is a greater blessing than money coming back in greater measure? Would this make you more or less likely to give? 

Do you assume that you are ready for anything? It is not a part of the human condition to be able to make immediate dramatic changes in your thinking and behavior at will. It is helpful for you to understand this. I have a plan for your life. Do you think of this only as salvation? As important as that is, it is not the beginning of my work in you for I laid the groundwork for you to come to me. In my ongoing work in your life I continue to prepare you in advance for what I will do next. Even now can’t you look back and see how I prepared your heart for changes that seemed to occur suddenly? Trust me to continue and complete the good work I have begun in you. 

I said that I came to give life and life abundantly. Does abundance immediately make you think of money? I give you money, but the promise didn't refer to money in abundance, but life in abundance. Who wouldn’t want to have both? But which is greater? You have met people who were well-off, but were shallow, self-indulgent, and materialistic. You have also met people of modest means with generosity of spirit whose lives were rich and full. Which do you think describes me? Recall that the Son of Man had no place to lay his head. I want you to understand that the promise of abundant life is greater than the promise of money. 

Do you realize that you received the benefit of my sacrifice for you as something you could never repay? I’m not asking you to repay it, but does your gratitude toward me make you want to offer a sacrifice in return? What would be the greatest thing you could give? Are you prepared to die for me? To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Yet I ask something much more difficult of you. It is easy to depart and hard to remain, but you are called to be a living sacrifice, a living testimony in this world to the beauty and wonder of the Kingdom of God. That is your true home, but I want you to occupy here till I come. 

My word teaches you not to be judgmental. Do you think that this is an easy commandment to keep, so that if you don’t purpose in your heart to be judgmental it won’t happen? What is your default condition on this matter? Your mind is wired to think, to generalize, to complete the picture and fill in the blanks. Have you ever found yourself making connections you didn’t intend to make; stereotyping when it was not called for? Then you realize that you have to overcome a natural tendency in yourself to keep my commandment. Yet if you follow me and call on me, I will keep you from unrighteous judgment. 

Have you heard it taught that the early church was the most perfect form and the one that all future generations should strive to emulate? I taught my disciples a parable about wineskins, with the point that new wineskins would be necessary for new wine. The customs and traditions of their Jewish faith would not be adequate to accommodate the large influx of believers without a Jewish background. In like manner the church has spread around the world, but the same principle of new wine and new wineskins still applies. Do not look to the past, but look to me for a wineskin suitable for the wine I am serving now.