Dale Cresap's blog

My word teaches you to take every thought captive. What then are you to do with these captive thoughts? Each one requires an appropriate disposition according to its source and type. To handle them properly you must understand where they came from. You do not generate all of your own thoughts. You generate some of them, some come from me, and some come from your adversary. The thoughts you receive from me you should embrace and pursue. Your own thoughts should be conformed to my word and my thoughts, and those from your adversary should be rejected outright. 

My word teaches you to love your enemies. How can you go about this? It also declares woe unto the world because of offenses, and particularly to those by whom the offense comes. Yet if someone else does something that could be considered offensive, it is still up to you to choose whether to be offended or not. You may say that you have a valid reason to be offended, but you can also be an agent of grace and refuse to take up the offense. In so doing you express love for your enemies by releasing them from the dire consequences of being the ones by whom the offense comes. Be kind to those who despitefully use you. 

Do you think of me as a judge? My word says I perform this task. Does your exposure to your own legal system make you think of a judge as a dispassionate and objective observer, sitting above the proceedings and careful not to influence them by his presence? This doesn’t describe me at all. I am not willing that any should perish. I came and poured out my life that you may live. I ever live to intercede for you. In your legal system it would be a miscarriage of justice for the judge and the advocate to be the same person, but I am able to render righteous judgment even though I am on your side. 

Do you think that I speak only infrequently if at all? How often do you expect to hear from me? I have called you no longer servants, but friends, for I am prepared to teach you all things rather than keeping them secret. When you encounter your friend, how often do you suggest that you spend some time together in silence? Do you not rather engage in conversation immediately and continuously? If I am your friend shouldn’t you expect the same dynamic with me? Your friends may run out of interesting things to say, but I never do. The Living Word always has something to say. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 

Do you admire those who have a passion in life and follow it? They seem to know their own destiny and live life to the fullest extent. Yet it is still possible to gain the whole world and lose your own soul. I admire those who are passionate for me. They also have an abundant life; one that leads to eternal life. Are you prepared to sacrifice everything for me? You have my promise that those who give up family and houses and lands for my sake and for the gospel shall have a hundredfold of these same things in this life, and in the world to come eternal life. The promise also includes trials and persecutions, but these do not interfere with your abundant life of passion.

You know your personal acquaintances directly and you know famous people by reputation. They don’t know you, and since you know them by hearsay and second-hand accounts it would be more accurate to say that you know about them. I came that you might have life, and this is life eternal, that you may know me. It is not enough that you know about me, for this is not intimate enough to be a saving knowledge. Let not your heart be troubled, for I have made myself available to you that the way is open for you to know me directly. Unlike the famous people that you only know about, I know you as well, and invite you to abide in me.

My word lists special offices of ministry as the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher. It implies that these are held by different people. Yet most modern churches are led by an individual who is expected to perform at least three of these duties and perhaps all five. This is a burden that I did not assign and an unrealistic expectation for any person. It is not healthy for either the person attempting it or those under his leadership. Even those who I have called and assigned to be leaders in my body are also members who should fit in and interact with every other member. Every member supplies something, and they provide leadership under my authority.

My word teaches you to love me with all your heart, as well as your mind, soul, and strength. Do you think that all of your consciousness and awareness occurs only in your brain? Have you ever heard of a gut feeling? Surely you have experienced this as a first reaction to an unfamiliar situation, a visceral wave that passes through your belly before your brain has the chance to consider all the data and reason though to a conclusion? You are fearfully and wonderfully made as a body with many members, and each serves a vital purpose. I want you to understand that your body is more than a vehicle for moving your brain around. 

Do you find that your culture measures human value according to intelligence? This is contrary to the Biblical principle of honoring the sanctity of human life because it is made in my image. I am not impressed with any man’s intelligence because it is a gift from me. It is also an expression of my diversity and creativity. To attempt to reduce it to a single numerical measure or even several cannot capture its breadth and complexity. To measure human worth by such simplistic gauges is unrighteous judgment. Those who are truly wise will recognize and value every gift that I give, in others and in themselves. 

Do you ever feel stuck in a rut, constrained by choices you made previously that commit you to a current life that you do not enjoy? Have you made bad choices that prevent you from living with a sense of destiny and fulfillment? Don’t underestimate your ongoing capacity for renewal. When I said I made all things new, it was not a one-time event. From any circumstance and situation you currently face turn to me and I will show you a path to your destiny. This is a universal principle whether you sense that you are currently in my will or not. This is a description of walking with me and abiding in me.