Dale Cresap's blog

Have you noticed how many of the simple illustrations from the Bible relate to capacity? I told of a big harvest and new wineskins that wouldn’t burst. There was a large catch of fish in a net that didn’t break. I also told of a king who wanted his banquet hall to be filled, so he had his servants go far and wide to compel anyone to come in. Fullness is a simple visual image, but it illustrates an important spiritual principle. I still have other sheep who are not of this fold. Are you prepared to be a laborer in the harvest? Are you prepared to go wherever necessary and compel them to come to me to fill my house? 

Have you ever heard of someone ‘coming to their senses’? This phrase describes someone who comes to realize that they are in a bad situation that needs a solution. When the prodigal son ran out of money and realized his fathers servants were better off is a good example. Wouldn’t it be better to say that he came to his conscience or to an awareness of transcendent reality? Yet you live in a real world, and if your awareness is engaged in unreality, then coming to see your true current situation is a first step to recovery. I can give you spiritual guidance from what you see with your own eyes. 

Do you ever suffer from boredom? Yet you have more connections and opportunities available to you than ever before. Has the world grown dull and commonplace to you in spite of the intense competition for your attention? The problem lies with you rather than the world around you. I promised to be with you always. Are you aware that I am present with you? How do you see the world? Is it mundane, or do you see it full of divine connections, filled with mystery and wonder? This is available to you and I want it to be your normal experience. Ask me for this vision and you will not be bored in any situation. 

Do you make an effort to put on a good appearance, not speaking every thought that comes into your mind, and not volunteering information about your flaws, shortcomings, and sins? Do you suppose that everyone else does the same thing? From this do you conclude that the world is worse than it appears, even when it appears bad enough, and that there really is evil hiding in the darkness? It is possible to underestimate the evil in this world, but don’t underestimate my redeeming power. Though things may be worse than they appear, I am better than you can imagine. The contest between good and evil is greater than you know, but I will still win. 

Do you observe old churches and those more recent? Do you see more life and growth in newer churches? I told a parable about old and new wineskins and you are correct in seeing the symbolism applied to churches. Yet everything that is old was once new, and in the passage of time things that are new now will become old. This is not a reason to reject established movements and continually jump to the latest thing, for this too has drawbacks. My lesson for you in this is one of continual renewal. On the cross I said that I make all things new. This is an ongoing principle. Ask me how it should be applied in your life and in your church. 

Have you noticed that for some people, the deeper they are involved in the faith the more difficult they are to be around? Certainty of doctrine is an admirable goal, but zeal can be without understanding. Wouldn’t you expect those who walk closest to me to be more loving, accepting, and forgiving rather than less? The world hated me and I taught my followers that no student was better than his master, so they could expect the same treatment. Yet I was not hated for being self-righteous, critical, narrow-minded, and mean. If you are to follow in my footsteps and be hated by the world, let it be for the right reasons. 

Do you follow my teaching to support your church financially? Does it bother you to do this if the pastor has a higher standard of living than you do? I also teach you to help the poor. Do you think these should be the same thing? Both are worthy activities, but do not confuse the support of my servants with aid to the poor. In Old Testament times these were separate offerings. To link these concepts implies that the pastor should be the poorest person in church. I want you to be a cheerful giver, and to understand that you are really giving to me. You should definitely link these concepts together, and give generously.

I have posted these messages for years without much reference to myself. Reading a blog posting from a friend made me realize that I should issue a disclaimer. I hope that you don’t get the impression that my life is a living expression of these words I hear from Jesus. I wish it were but in reality I too am in tension between the righteousness I affirm and the reality of my life which includes weakness, selfishness, thoughtlessness, lust, and greed. I can identify with Paul when he says the good that I would I do not and the evil I would not I do. Through this I trust in Jesus who is in the process of delivering me and completing the good work he has begun in me.

Have you heard of cheap grace? Grace was very expensive to obtain in your behalf, but when you proclaim the gospel message to people do they get the impression that they can take this free gift and go on to do anything they please? Thinking this way indicates that they don’t really understand the gospel message. I paid a price you were unable to pay, therefore you are bought with a price and you are not your own. Do you understand that I have a prior claim on your allegiance and affections just because I created you? How much stronger is this claim now that you have received me as savior and redeemer? Therefore glorify me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. 

Have you ever visited a church and felt that you were being evaluated as a potential recruit? How your abilities would benefit their programs and how a tenth of your income would benefit their church treasury? Even if they made you feel welcome, did it seem that it was more for their sake than for yours? Have you ever had the same thoughts concerning those who visited your church? In the economy of the Kingdom of God, it is not just about the ways an individual can support a church, for I made each believer with a unique destiny. You should obey those who rule over you but never surrender the pursuit of my will for you alone. Trust me to make these work together in building my church. 

My word speaks of my return. It tells of conditions and events some of which are dramatic and cataclysmic. Yet the exact time of my return is a well-kept secret. You want to know and try to figure it out, but I’m not telling. Do you see my withholding of this information as a departure from my loving nature? If you knew exactly when I was coming do you think it would make your life better or worse? In my love I withhold this burden from you, yet I have taught you how to live now and how to approach this matter. Occupy till I come, be ready at all times, and keep watching for my return.