Dale Cresap's blog

I promised to send the rain and sun on just and on the unjust. You can look for meaning in this in several ways. I treat the wicked better than they deserve since they do not honor or acknowledge me. It is my nature to be good to all. What then is the advantage of the righteous? If I will provide even for those who are distant from me, how much more will I do so for my own children? If your Father in heaven feeds the sparrows and makes the lilies of the field glorious in beauty how much more will he do for those who love him and devote themselves to him? Does this make you want to adjust your priorities? Seek first the Kingdom of God and your needs here will be provided and you will also obtain the wealth of my Kingdom.

Your judicial system and the scientific community are run as adversarial systems. The premise is that in a confrontation between opposing viewpoints truth will emerge, tested by hostile witnesses. Do you think this always works according to plan? It shall not be so among you, for this is not the method to find truth in my Kingdom. In an adversarial system you defend your own position and look for flaws in your opponent. He does the same in an apparently zero-sum game. I tell you to seek the truth and you will find it. Perhaps those who disagree with you actually know something that you can discover if you consider it without being defensive and argumentative. 

Elections are an essential feature of every democracy in which the citizens exercise their right to vote every year or every few years. Not all people live in a democracy but in an economic sense you vote with your money every time you spend it by buying some things and not others. In another sense you vote with your feet every time you take a step. You choose to be some places and not others. You understand the importance of obeying me, of speaking the words I give you and doing what you see me doing, but first you must be in the right location for the right audience. Therefore I call you to follow me. If you are in the right place you will be able to say and do the right things. 

I said that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. When you think of not living by bread alone do you think of how much more you have in a material sense than just bread? Yet my illustration was not to declare how minimal bread is as a material resource, but to contrast material and spiritual needs. Does your great abundance of material wealth make it more or less difficult for you to pursue spiritual nourishment? Perhaps my words could be rephrased to include all that you eat, drink, wear, live in, and drive in addition to electronic communications and amusement, and you would still need to live by every word of God. 

Have you ever met someone who had something to prove? Did you enjoy the encounter? What is it that such people are trying to prove? Those without an internal sense of identity and worth try to prove their worth to others. Wouldn’t you rather be around gracious people who have an internal sense of worth and don’t feel the need to persuade you that they are special? There is a human longing for affirmation and identity, and these cannot be completely obtained by your own efforts. If you come to me I will give them to you free of charge and you can be gracious to others without having to prove anything. 

In modern Christian terminology stealing sheep is a crime. Pastors desire to have a large flock but they know better than to recruit from other churches. Ye they can still be defensive about their own flock. Just as it is wrong to try to get believers to leave their own church to join yours, it is also wrong to deny those in your own church the opportunities to minister and receive ministry from my Body as a whole. I am the head of my Body and just as each member has something unique to contribute, so does every church. I want you to rejoice in what you can give and receive between local fellowships. All men will know you are my disciples by your love for one another. 

What do you say to old friends with whom you have neglected to maintain the friendship? The universal answer is that you have been too busy. Hopefully you were the one who took the initiative to renew contact if only for the reason of giving this excuse. Can you see that this is stated in a way that is less than honest? You only have so much energy to commit to contact with friends and you spend it where you perceive the most value. Yet it isn’t gracious to tell someone they weren’t worth the effort. Order your priorities according to the values of my Kingdom and you will have time for the things that really matter, like maintaining friendships.

I warned that many would come in my name that I didn’t send. I could foresee the growth of my church and the spread of the gospel message, and a deserved reputation for virtue for myself. Many would seek to enlist support for their own causes under my banner, and use my name to advance their own interests. But my message transcends the causes of men. Joshua encountered my angel and asked if he was for him or for his enemies. Even though he was captain of my army the answer was neither. I ask my followers to lay down their lives that they may follow me. This includes giving up their own causes that they may devote themselves to my cause.

You know that abuse can take physical, verbal, and emotional forms. Do you know there is also spiritual abuse? I set you free and intended you to remain free. I told you not to be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Bondage can either be freely chosen, or imposed others. In your Christian life you will encounter those eager to impose burdens on you that I did not give. In your conscience you are free to accept or reject them. No one has the authority to put you in bondage against your will. I am the ultimate authority in your life and I want you to come to me to confirm any requirements others would impose upon you that who I set free may remain free indeed.

Do you think I speak often or seldom? I have not left you to figure things out on your own. I am the living word and I speak constantly. Are you listening? You may have a question on your mind and desire an answer, but the way I am speaking may not address your current concern. Let me set the tone and direction of our conversation. I know what you need to hear right now. Trust me to understand and care for your concerns and address them at an appropriate time.