Dale Cresap's blog

Would you like to see a miracle? Be directly involved in one? How about a lifetime full of them? The accepted definition of a miracle is something that could not occur without my direct intervention. Perhaps you set the bar too high. I can and do intervene in your life in ways that are not obvious. Other people may not be convinced that this is irrefutable proof of my involvement with you, but you should be. Ask of me to open your eyes to see the little coincidences, improbable events, and perfect timing in small things that are the fingerprints of my watchful care over you. Are these things miracles? They are just as beneficial for you whether you call them that or not. 

You have my promise that I am with you always. Are you always with me? I enjoy the time you spend with your attention focused on me, but I realize that you are finite and mortal in attention span, and that you have many things competing for your attention, including the necessities of life. Do not let this discourage you, for it is possible for you to be with me always even when your attention is diverted. Have you ever pondered an idea ‘on the back burner’ or in the back of your mind? At this level you can have a continual awareness of my abiding presence with you and receive my peace and guidance without interruption.

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.