Dale Cresap's blog

Do you face ponderous and complex questions and desire that I should give you detailed answers? Yet I do not always elaborate. Yet even so I give you the insight and guidance you need. I have promised to be with you always. Are you aware of my presence?  Conduct your daily activities so that they are informed by my presence. If you are aware that I am with you that knowledge alone will provide most of what you need. My disciples were not people of status in their society but when they proclaimed my word with power it was noted that they had been with me. You are known by the company you keep and this is all the more true in my case. It rubs off.

Do you observe that those who are bound in sin, such as serious addictions, seem to be diminished in their humanity, unable to experience the full range of human expression and involvement? Sin is a process of death. It can work suddenly and completely, but at the very least it will work progressively and insidiously. Conversely, have you noticed that the godly are full of life, and live every aspect with full expression? This is the abundant life I give, for I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Even if death is working in you it is not too late, if you turn to me in repentance to be redeemed and healed and transformed from death to life.

Do you care what everyone thinks about you? Yet you know that you can’t please everyone, so you have to value some people’s opinions more than others. Do you then care more about the opinion of the people who like you than of strangers or those indifferent to you? This is a normal way to manage the issue of meeting expectations. Do you know that I like you more than anyone else does? From this you would logically conclude that it is more important to please me than anyone else, and you would be right. If you can only please one then please the one most important. Please God rather than men. 

Those who fall into sin are to be restored in a spirit of meekness and gentleness, being careful that you do not get drawn in yourself. Do you have a ‘grid’ for restoration? I do not willingly crush my children even in the process of correcting them. How much less should you who have been forgiven much yourself? Are you prepared to work with those who repent that they may be healed? Are you prepared to accept them as fellow believers again? It is one thing to accept them as fellow believers who come to receive ministry from you or along side you, but I have ministry for them to perform as part of my plan. Are you prepared to receive ministry from them? 

What attributes do you ascribe to spoiled children? Do you think of them as selfish, undisciplined and self-indulgent? Do you assume that this comes from over-indulgent parents? Adults can have the same qualities to an even greater degree, although they are more subtle in expressing them. Do you refer to adults with the same qualities as being spoiled? Who is to blame for their condition? These characteristics are the opposite of the godliness described in my word. Spoiled fruit cannot be restored to freshness, but marvel at my redemptive power, that even people who are spoiled can come to me and be restored to godly character.

Do you think that you are highly aware of your situation, so that you know about any needs that you have? Could you have any needs that you are unaware of? Most people who come to me do so because of a need they are aware of, such as illness or personal or family crisis, and I end up meeting a need they were unaware of. Your need for reconciliation and redemption is greater than any other need you have. This is true of everyone, but those who are in darkness do not realize it. Let your light so shine before men that they may understand their real needs and come to me to have them fulfilled. 

All your life you have known people by what they look like, what they say, and what they do. These are observations that anyone can make. Yet you are a spiritual being, as is everyone you meet. In my word I tell you to no longer know anyone after the flesh. This requires you to disregard the visible physical reality of other people that you may know them according to the spirit. This takes discernment and a deliberate intent to look beyond the superficial, but if you ask of me I will give you this understanding. I do not say it is easy to unlearn habits and be retrained to see this way, but this perspective is the only one that allows you to see the true humanity and spirituality of those you meet.

Have you ever heard of people referred to as sheep? This implies that they are placid and unthinking followers. This is no compliment. Yet many times in my word I refer to my own people as my sheep. Do you think I mean this as an insult? Yet my word also refers to me as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and it is clear that sheep face a better future than goats. It is not within a man to direct his own steps. Even the best and brightest are followers and all the more so if they are unaware that this is true and how much this dynamic affects them. Blessed are those who walk in the light and are delighted to call on me as their shepherd.

The skeptic and the doubter pride themselves on their reason and intelligence for the things they can figure out on their own. This is their primary distinctive. My intelligence so far exceeds theirs that there can be no comparison, for mine is infinite, yet I do not pride myself on it. For my primary distinctive is not intelligence but love, which is greater, and I should know. Do you think that you lack wisdom in comparison to the intellectuals you know? Yet I am willing and eager to share divine wisdom with those I love, who seek and ask it of me. I want them to understand that love is greater than intelligence, and for it to be their primary distinctive as well.

Do you desire the approval of others for being devout? I warned against emphasizing the outward appearances of piety in offices and titles, in manner of dress, and even in your appearance, that those who fast should not appear sullen or somber to be regarded as being spiritual. Are there still more ways in which you value public approval for your spirituality? Even if you avoid these items just mentioned are you content to let others think you are more spiritual than you really are? This is a dangerous trap. Be quick to acknowledge me for your righteousness and yourself for your faults to bear my presence in you with open humility.