Dale Cresap's blog

Do you think that I came to suffer and die so that you wouldn’t have to? You are correct in understanding that my atoning death is the only way for you to have life, and through it you can have abundant life. Yet do not assume that this abundant life is easy or painless. For in providing salvation for you I also invite you to lay down your life and pick up your cross and follow me. I fulfilled a destiny that only I could, but I still invite you to walk the same road beside me. It may not be obvious to you now but this road that is strait and narrow is the road that leads to life. Trust me that the path I lead you on is necessary and sufficient to bring you into the glorious destiny I have prepared for you. 

Have you ever been to a spiritual conference or seminar? In some cases these are called retreats. Have you ever wondered at this terminology? My word speaks of victory rather than retreat. Yet even I drew away from public ministry to spend time alone with my Father. This is not yielding and giving ground to your adversary, but an essential refreshing and reenergizing. I have given the example for you to follow. You can do this on your own without a designated location and schedule, but do you? You need these times of focused communion with me whether they are formally structured or not. Do whatever you have to do to spend this quality time with me. 

Do you think acceptance and approval are the same thing? It is easy for people to make this mistake. For most people there is no difference. They only accept things and people they approve of. Yet this is not true for me and should not be for you either. You are my beloved, and I accept you as you are. I do not approve of your sin, and I correct you as a son beloved of his father, yet this does not diminish my acceptance of you. I desire your company and seek you out when others reject you. Don’t you always get a warm welcome from me whenever you seek me, no matter what you have done? I want you to know this deeply from firsthand experience, that your light may shine to extend my acceptance to others. 

I promise that the pure in heart will see God. Do you read this and assume it refers only to sexual purity? I want you to think of purity in a broader sense, for there is more than one way in which a heart can become contaminated. Purity in this sense can be considered similar to integrity. A heart that is pure is free of internal strife and confusion. It corresponds to an eye that is of single vision and full of light. Yet you do not see me with your natural eyes. I reveal myself to you through your mind and heart. Do you think you need to wait for heaven to see me? Seek heart purity and you will see me now. 

Do you assume that things that are good are better in larger quantities? Paul advised Timothy to take a little wine for his digestion. Elsewhere my word warns against those who are given to much wine. Some people abstain altogether, and some things are off-limits in any amount, but for most people and choices moderation is a valid concept that applies to food and drink and beyond. Is any food evil in its own right? Yet any can be consumed to excess. It is easy to make rigid rules and hard to live by them. You need to be led by the Spirit to enjoy things in beneficial amounts and know when to say no more that your moderation may be a testimony to me. 

Have you attended graduate school? This is the highest level of academic instruction, for those who continue after their elementary and undergraduate education. This is not available everywhere and not to everyone, for schools that offer it are selective at this level. Yet I offer it to all who would seek and find. I have a program of instruction for you that begins with the basic doctrine of salvation but does not end there. I have more to teach you if you are willing to go on. What you have so far is the foundation for what is to come. I want you to eagerly pursue the ongoing revelation I have for you. 

My word mentions a few titles and positions associated with serving me. Do you hold one of these? If so, wear it lightly. These positions are only recognized by believers, and normally only within a local assembly. If you have ever seen someone insisting that their title be recognized outside their sphere of influence did it seem grasping and ungracious? All of my children are called to be servants. I led by teaching and by example not to seek dominion over others, but that he who would desire to be great in my Kingdom should do so by being the servant of all.

Do you expect sympathy and special treatment during your times of difficulty? I washed my disciple’s feet just before I died. Do you find it easier to be thoughtful and considerate to others when everything is serene in your own life and your concerns are in the background? It is a higher test of your character to observe how you attend to the needs of others while you have concerns of your own. If you give your troubles free reign they will enlarge to crowd out your usefulness to others, and even to yourself. This distorts your perspective and interferes with your vision. Address yourself to the needs of other people and your own will diminish. 

My apostle Paul had a thorn in his flesh in a figurative sense, something that greatly troubled him, and he asked me repeatedly to remove it, yet I refused. I told him my grace was sufficient for him, and he accepted this. Now he has gone to his eternal reward. How do you think he views it in hindsight? He had asked me to remove it. Do you think he views my dealings with him as good except for this refusal? You can be confident he does not, because he came to a place of understanding and acceptance even while he was on the earth. One day you too will have an eternal perspective and see how my goodness was manifested in everything you experienced. Blessed are those who understand this now. 

Do you know people who profess a need for emotional healing? Do they seem to make it the focus of their life, reading books, going to conferences, trying one approach after another without success? Emotional healing is a valid concept but this is not a valid approach for obtaining it. My word does not support this level of introspection and self-absorption. It teaches you to lay down your life and pick up your cross, to esteem others better than yourself, that it is better to give than to receive - in so many ways. If you follow this Biblical instruction you will receive this healing you desire in due course as an indirect benefit.