Dale Cresap's blog

Do you resent the rich? If you understand how wealth is created then you know that those who build and operate great commercial enterprises are beneficial for the economy of others even as they enrich themselves. Some are of good character and behavior and some are not. Yet my word still carries many warnings for the wealthy. For the poor are rich in faith but it is harder for a rich man to enter my kingdom than for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. When riches increase set not your heart upon them, but maintain your values and treasure in heaven. Do not resent the rich, neither stand in awe of them. They too need to be converted to enter into life. 

Do you look for differences between yourself and those you meet? You would do better to look for similarities. You distinguish yourself from those you disagree with to defend the integrity of your own identity, yet your identity is not threatened by contact with those you disagree with. If you start with similarities you have a foundation from which to bridge differences, but if you start with disagreements you have only a chasm across which to attack. Agree with your adversary while you are in the way with him. You cannot compromise the truth, but don’t separate until you have exhausted every avenue of understanding and reconciliation by which you may win your brother.

I have given you my great commission to go forth and preach the gospel message to every creature. This is evangelical work that they may be saved. What about those who will not acknowledge that they have sinned? My word makes it clear that it is the mission of the Holy Spirit to convince of sin. You have a part in the salvation process by proclaiming the message, but you cannot do it all. If the Holy Spirit has not gone before you to convict, then your message will have no meaning for your audience. You are called to sow seed and I give the increase, but I want you to understand that you sow in partnership with me. 

Do the limitations you encounter in your life fill you with resentment and frustration? Do you see them as hindrances and the lack of things you need? Perhaps you have the wrong perspective of things that are beneficial for you. You benefit by having boundaries and borders, even if they feel like imposed limitations. To understand this consider those who have none. Who doesn’t get into trouble with unlimited money, time, and no accountability? There are readily available examples of those who were ruined by having too much too soon and too easily. Ponder this and be grateful for the boundaries I have placed around you. 

My word says my sheep hear my voice and teaches you to be led by the Spirit. What do you expect me to talk to you about? Do you want to develop doctrine from the scriptures? Yet this is a specific calling and not something done in isolation, for no scripture is of a private interpretation. Not everyone is called to this, but everyone needs guidance for their daily life, and this I am eager to provide for all. Meditate on my word and I will give you insights into it for the clarity and understanding you seek. Walk with me and I will direct your steps, guiding you clearly in the path I have prepared for you. 

Have you noticed that nearly everyone seems to be concerned about their weight? Your culture values slenderness even as the multitude of abundance pushes people away from it. Yet there is a spiritual parallel to weight in which abundance is not a bad thing. Have you noticed that mature believers of any age have a sense of gravity about them? You take them seriously whether they speak much or little, and their very presence can change the atmosphere of a gathering even if they don’t speak at all. You may be aware of the number you get when you step on a scale, but you can have this quality without being aware of it. Moses did. My presence in you carries more weight than you know. 

Does your identity involve a strong attachment to your city, state and nation? What about your school and your team? Yet I see you as a citizen of my Kingdom, which is not of this world. The narrow distinctions you choose to build your identity also isolate you from others. Do you notice that those who are most effective in my service and have the greatest reach of ministry have a transcendent quality that goes beyond worldly distinctions? My apostle said he became all things to all people. Even if your descriptive traits remain unchanged I want you to hold them with a relaxed grip that you may be equipped for every good work and by any means save some. 

My word describes encounters between me and the Pharisees. I had some strong words for them. They were serious about the practice of their faith in every aspect of life, but they made the law into harsh judgment, without life or mercy. The gospels refine some expressions of the law and the rest of the New Testament adds some more. Have you met modern day Pharisees who take the same approach to the New Testament that the Pharisees of my time took to the Old Testament? I feel the same way about this practice whenever and whoever manifests it. I have given you my word. Declare it in such a way that it gives life. 

Do you know anyone who professes faith but only practices enough of it to make them miserable? In my word I take issue with those who are lukewarm saying that I would rather they be hot or even cold. Your faith is meant to express a deep inward transformation and manifest in every aspect of your life. Those who make only a superficial showing have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof. The little they have deceives them against progress into true righteousness. Aren’t the happiest people you know those with a deep and abiding faith that controls everything they do? Be one of them. 

My word teaches you to be led by the Spirit. Would you say that you are? Are you concerned that your understanding of the Spirits leading may be faulty and that you will make mistakes? Do you share these concerns about others and wonder how there shall be unity and cohesiveness in my body if each person seeks their own direction this way? It is indeed possible for you to make mistakes but if you are led by the Spirit I can correct them. How shall you be corrected from your own errors if you are not led by the Spirit? And if all my followers are led by the Spirit it is a testimony to me that my body functions in harmony as a single entity with many members.