Dale Cresap's blog

Do you want quick resolutions for the problems you face? I am aware of the problems you face and will come to your aid, yet the answer does not always come as fast as you would like. I am more interested in your character development than in giving you a carefree life, and remaining in tension can have a beneficial refining effect on you. This is not the answer you want to hear, but even now you can look back and see how you became a better person by having to wait for something instead of getting it immediately. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit, and I am with you always, even while I develop it in you. 

I promised that if you seek you would find, if you knock the door would be opened, if you asked you would receive. Yet even this magnificent open-ended promise does not complete the picture. How many people did I minister to and then tell them to go and tell others all that I had done for them? This is the rest of the story. Receive and give. Seek that you may receive, and then seek that you may pass on what you receive. Do not think of yourself as a reservoir but rather as a flowing channel of life. The good news of the Kingdom is not meant for you to keep to yourself. I give you living fire. Let your light shine before men that they may glorify me.

Do you find that time pressure robs you of your peace? This should come as no surprise. You should take this into consideration when you make your commitments and plan your activities. Trying to do too much can reduce the quality and enjoyment of everything you do. Yet I understand that you do not always have a choice and even the most thoughtful plan can be interrupted by emergencies. What should you do about events beyond your control? Always come to me, and especially at these times. The peace I give you is supernatural. It is a peace that surpasses understanding. You can experience it even at stressful times, and it is a testimony to those around you of my sustaining power in you.

Come to me, for I am the resource for all your needs. I have promised that I will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can resist. You are in need of correction that you may be refined into my image, but I will not correct you beyond what you can endure. I do not willingly grieve or crush my children. I would rather that you would fall on the rock and be broken, than to have it fall on you. Yet even in this I know what you are able to bear and will not exceed it. Are you encouraged to find you can endure more than you thought? No correction is a cause for joy, but it is temporary, and afterwards yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.

I came to give you abundant life. Do you think there is a worldly version of the same thing, accomplished without me? You see people who are famous because of their wealth and prominence, even because of their creativity, initiative, influence, and contributions to society, even if they have no apparent trust in me. Yet I also posed the question, what does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul? For I am the only one who can provide abundant life both in this world and the world to come, and he who is least in the Kingdom of God is greater than the wealthiest and most famous in this world. 

Are you leading the life you imagined for yourself? Blessed are those who know their destiny from an early age. Yet for most there is a difference between your first desires and the life you now lead. Do you live with regret and longing for what you had hoped for? Does this prevent you from enjoying the fullness of your current life? It is double-minded to lead one life in reality and another in your mind, and there is a special type of bitterness in trying to embrace something that does not exist. How can I bless something like this? I want you to live in the present reality see my hand in it that it may be an abundant life for you. 

Do you think of a minister as the leader of a church? Churches have leaders, but everyone is or should be a minister. There are special gifts called out for leaders for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry. Someone has to be in charge and direct traffic, but the performance – audience model of church is not Biblical. Let everyone bring a Psalm or hymn or teaching in the expectation that it will be welcome and they will have a chance to share. Even those in authority should be thought of as brothers rather than masters and should consider themselves as such. The greatest minister is the servant of all. 

Are you familiar with the concept of delayed gratification? Do you ever wonder if the sacrifices you make for me are worth it? How much more could gratification be delayed that to look forward to a reward that you will not receive in this lifetime? My people have been strangers and sojourners in this world because they could see a heavenly city afar off. Can you? This is the trial of your faith and patience that are so precious to me. Your present trials and afflictions, which are but for a moment, are not worthy to be compared to the glory to be revealed in you. This is my reward for my good and faithful servants. 

Have you ever done something casually that turned out to be an offense to someone else? Perhaps you were not even aware that it caused a problem. If others do such things to you does it create a vivid and enduring memory? Does it seem unfair to you that offenses that can occur so easily have such a negative impact? I said woe unto the world because of offences, and for good reason. Do you think of blessings as things you get? Can a blessing be something you get rid of? Come to me with your hurts and painful memories. Part of my redemptive work in your life is to release you from these things, to take away your burden of cares and woes.

How can you walk in this world and remain pure? I have called you to come out from among them and be separate. Yet it is not feasible for you to isolate yourself completely from the culture around you. It is necessary for you to work and trade in the commercial world, and this can bring you in contact with some impure influences. How do you reconcile this dilemma? To the pure all things are pure. If you diligently seek me I will protect you so that you can conduct your necessary business in this fallen world and remain undefiled by it. The light shines in the darkness and dispels it. Let your light shine before men that they may glorify me. Overcome evil with good.