Dale Cresap's blog

My word asks who can tame the tongue. It is called an unruly evil because of the damage it can do. Yet it is also capable of great blessing. The Bible passage points out the inconsistency of the same mouth speaking blessing and cursing. You hear curses often enough. Is it possible to curse by withholding the words of life? There are sins of omission as well as commission. An animal that is tame will serve rather than attacking. A tongue that is surrendered to my will and purposes will not keep silent when the opportunity arises to speak the words of life. Realize the power of the words you speak and employ them only for blessings.

You are familiar with prayers of petition. You have my promise that I hear your prayers and grant your requests. Yet you also know the importance of praying according to my will. Are you certain that the things you ask for in your petitions are my will for you? You can know, but it requires a different type of prayer. This may be called a prayer of inquiry. If you ask of me I am eager to reveal my will to you. If a prayer of petition is confident then a prayer of inquiry should be humble and selfless, seeking to find my will rather than validate your own. Both can be equally fervent, but a prayer of inquiry has more power to conform you to my image and likeness. Then you can make your petitions with bold assurance.

Do you think of my Great Commission only as the presentation of the gospel message to every creature? Remember that it includes making disciples of all men. Do you think this is best accomplished by a systematic course of study, much like elementary school? Consider the most spiritual people you know. How did they get to be that way? The conventional academic approach is beneficial for some subjects, but a true spiritual life is only possible through a direct encounter with me. Do you think this goal is inconsistent with a systematic approach? It is not, but you should keep your true goal in mind as the friend of the Bridegroom as you conduct instruction in righteousness.

Do you rejoice in my promise that if you seek you will find? Do you find it encouraging to know that your search will be rewarded? Do you also view this promise as a cautionary note? It works both ways. Have you ever gone looking for trouble and not found it? If you give in to discouragement have you ever failed to find reasons to support this choice? Have you ever failed to find flaws when you look for them in others? To the pure all things are pure but if you look for evil you will find it. Be careful what you look for since you know you will find it. Seek first my Kingdom and you will find it.

Do you like what you see when you look in a full length mirror? You have a physical reflection and an internal image of yourself. You are surrounded by the images of other people and the artificial ideals of your culture. As a result you may not like your own reflection. Do you know that you also have a spiritual reflection? My word provides a mirror for you to evaluate your own conduct. You know what you should look like and in this case it is not an artificial ideal but a real one. Both your physical and spiritual reflections can be hard to face but you know you have my love and acceptance and my redemptive work in your life to change your reflection into my image. 

Are you worried about deception? You have an enemy, who is eager to lead you astray, and he can offer suggestions to you, but he cannot influence you against your will. I am not the author of confusion. I speak to you in many ways, and all of these will be in perfect harmony. If one voice is inconsistent with the others you would be wise to test it to verify its source. Your enemy can speak in one way, but he cannot confirm his word in many ways. Your fellow believers can assist you in determining my will. If they seek me independently on your behalf you can expect consistent answers, for your enemy can’t deceive them all if they look to me. 

Have you ever heard that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? This is synergy, when things working in combination are greater than the sum of their individual contributions. I use the illustration of a body in a scaled up version to describe my church. Yet the same concept works at an individual level. Have you found that prayer improves your Bible study? Yet doesn’t Bible study also improve prayer? Just as my body is not to be fragmented, neither is yours, nor your life. If my promise that all things work together for good for those who love me and are called according to my purpose helps you to put the painful events of your life into perspective, then how much more should all the works of righteousness work together to give you an integrated complete abundant life in me? 

Do you see yourself locked in a sequence of time, mindful that you have a finite amount and regretting mistakes from your past that can’t be corrected retroactively? My word refers to me as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Note that this was before the fall of Adam and Eve.  I knew in advance that this would be necessary and incorporated it into my eternal plan. I see the end and the beginning across a continuous spectrum that is not visible to you. Yet when you place your faith and trust in me I release you from the limitations of time. I have forgiven your past and hold your future in my hand. Your time is always ready. Walk with me now.

Do you think you are most qualified to minister to those closest to you, whom you know better than anyone else? Do you understand that this can be a problem? For you have a front row seat to their problems. Can this crowd out your view of the redemptive work I am doing in their lives? A prophet is not without honor, except among his own people. This hindered those who saw me grow up, and those who saw you grow up may never be prepared to see you as a man or woman of God. For your own part do not let the weight of historical visual evidence blind you to the new things I am doing in the lives of those around you. Don’t let it blind you to my current redemptive work and transforming power.

Do you think there is a practical solution for every practical problem and a spiritual solution for every spiritual problem? Have you ever resented someone for suggesting a spiritual solution for a practical problem? Practical problems can have spiritual roots. If you don’t address them you are just treating symptoms and will not succeed. Practical problems tend to disappear when the underlying spiritual problems are resolved, since they are more fundamental. Learn to look beyond the surface manifestations of the problems you encounter that you may understand and deal with their real roots to solve them permanently and grow in spiritual maturity.