Dale Cresap's blog

When I made the world I said that it was good. You know all about the fall that followed, but this did not change the fact that the world I made was good. It still is. Have you not noticed that it is favorable for life? You are aware of extremes of harsh climates, but I still give rain and sun, a season for planting and a season for reaping. I made a world favorable for expansion and replenishment. I gave you a north star to find your way and an abundance of fuel stored safely underground. Open your eyes and you will see my goodness everywhere you look. You do not need to look to random explanations to account for my goodness. My creation testifies of me. Give me glory for what you see.

Does it bother you that I never ask what you are thinking? You like it when your friends inquire of this because it is affirming and validating, but I already know the answer. When you come before me you are welcome to repeat it but this is not necessary. I do invite you to come and let us reason together. The passage in my word is in the context of repentance and forgiveness, but the concept is not limited to that. I want you to come and reason together with me in everything you think and do. I want you to have the continual awareness that you abide in my presence and in communion with me you have access to my thoughts that are higher than your thoughts and have the mind of Christ.

Do you think growth is only positive and beneficial? Anything that is diminishing is not growing, but evil can grow as well as good. Growth can be negative in this sense. Do you allow yourself small indulgences that you consider harmless? Big things grow from small things, for better or for worse. This is the principle of escalation. You see growth in the natural world in the absence of limits or intervention and the same thing occurs within you. Guard your heart, mind, eyes, and ears with regard to what influences you allow. Be intentional, active, and deliberate in directing your focus towards me that you may have positive and beneficial growth in righteousness.

Early in my word I said that it was not good for man to be alone, so I created a companion for him. In so doing I set in motion the means for procreation of more men and women to populate, replenish, and subdue the earth throughout history. This created many opportunities for companionship according to the same principle, but not all are married. Even so it is not good for anyone to be alone. Do you understand that I am your first companion; that I created you in my image for fellowship with me? Let this be the foundation for all your relationships and you will have a multitude of brothers and sisters in this world and the world to come. 

I have promised you peace. Yet have you ever experienced an unsettled state, in which your familiar moorings or landmarks are pulled up, and you feel adrift until you get back to them? But in some cases you do not get back to them, but rather move on to establish new ones. You should not look on these as disasters or even intrusions, for to think that way assumes that life is meant to be static and unchanging. Growth and change are normal parts of life and you should expect them. If you understand and expect this then you can have peace when it occurs. Consider your life to be a sojourn even if you stay in one place. 

What goal do Christians have in presenting the gospel to those walking in darkness? The final objective usually stated is that of getting them saved and involved in a church. Yet how much appeal does a church hold for them? What was it that drew you to me? Didn’t the Christlike behavior of believers play a stronger role in your own conversion than the appeal of the church as an organization? The same thing that worked for you works for others too, even as the apostle said, you are our epistle, read by all men. Let your life be an open book and let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and come to me. 

Male and female I created them. There is neither male nor female in Christ, but in this world the distinctions between the sexes are recognized and rightly so. Each is in turn subject to typical behaviors common to men or women respectively. Each may smile at the traits of the other or be more openly critical of things they regard as weaknesses and failings that they themselves are not as subject to. My word tells you to give honor to the weaker vessel. This is stated as an admonition toward men regarding women but it could be considered to go both directions. I want everyone to give honor and grace to everyone else that you may live as brothers and sisters together in one body.

Do you see a connection between worship and prayer? Do you ever feel overwhelmed at the number and magnitude of prayer concerns that you have? You can address them individually in sequence, and I am always glad to hear your petitions. Do you understand that worship can be a generalized form of prayer? For in worship you acknowledge my total sufficiency for all things. In worship you recognize that I am in control, that my will is perfect, and I am able to carry it out. If you have ever been uncertain of how to proceed in conventional prayer or become lost in the details then spend time in worship for if I be lifted up I will draw all men unto me.

Have you ever been hypnotized? Most of my people avoid such a vulnerable and diminished state of consciousness with good reason. Yet is it possible that the multitudes you see every day are in a hypnotic state? You live in a material world but you also live in a spiritual world. Both are real and you are profoundly influenced by both whether you realize it or not. Yet how many live with an awareness of only one? These are spiritual sleepwalkers who go through this live not knowing there is a reality beyond what they see. I have called you to be children of the light and of the day. I want you to walk in the full awareness of both realms and awaken those around you who have never been awake. 

Do you want all your questions answered right now? It takes patience to live with unresolved questions. My disciples had lived and walked with me for three straight years and even so I told them that I had more to teach them, but they could not bear it now. Have you considered the possibility that I have all the answers to your questions now, but you are not able to bear them yet? I know what you are ready to receive. Growth comes from answers but growth also comes from living with questions and sometimes growth is necessary before you are ready for the answer. My purpose in your life is not just to inform you but to transform you into my likeness. This is a journey rather than an event. Continue in my word and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free, and I will complete the good work I am doing in your life.