Dale Cresap's blog

Do you minister life to people in my name? Are you surprised and disappointed if they do not seem grateful for this? Get over it. You are not working for wages in my Kingdom. The heaven is high above the earth and the economic models are different. In the Kingdom you are to give freely because you have received freely. What do you have to give that you did not first receive? Do not measure your life by what you accumulate, but by what you scatter abroad. Trust me to watch over it and derive value from it. Your Father who sees your secret sacrifice and selfless giving will reward you openly. 

Some people are restless and impulsive. The other end of the spectrum is timid and lethargic. Most people fall somewhere in between. The first type charges ahead, and their failures can be dramatic and visible, but their successes can be too. What about the failures of the second type? There is no evidence of risks not taken, ventures not attempted, opportunities refused. You can only imagine what could have been. If you are moving ahead I can intervene to correct you and alter your course. If you are stationary how will I motivate you to get moving? My word is a testimony to action: seek, ask, and knock; and you have the promise that you will find. 

Do you perform better while you are being observed? Most people have a keen sense of whether anyone is watching, and who is paying attention to them. Do you have this same awareness in a spiritual sense? For I promised to be with you always. Do you find this to be a great comfort, or does it make you uneasy to know that I see everything you do? If you want to live and walk in the spirit, take an eternal perspective of everything you do. Run the race that is set before you knowing that you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Run in such a way that they will cheer you on. 

I spoke to a Roman officer who understood authority because he was under authority. Are you under authority? In an ultimate sense you are under my authority but there are people with spiritual authority in your life as well. For most of my people there is a defined structure of clergy or parents who watch for your soul. If this does not apply to you then you would be wise to seek it on your own. Ask me to provide people you know who know you, whose walk of faith and integrity you admire, whose counsel you are willing to seek and submit to. If you understand the value of this you will seek it rather than waiting for it to be imposed on you. 

Do you understand that I can speak in many ways? There is a place in the Bible where Paul says he has received nothing from the Lord, and goes on to give his own opinion, and there it is, included in my word. Have you ever heard me speak to you in an overheard conversation between two strangers? Have you ever had someone make no claim to be speaking for me and yet speak divine wisdom into your life? I once spoke through the voice of a donkey. Is there any avenue I cannot use? Pay attention and you will hear me speaking in ways that you did not expect.

[My wife's post-surgical infection is still not resolved and your continued prayers are appreciated. DC] 

Have you ever heard a skeptic describe your faith in me as a crutch? This is hardly an adequate description. A total life support system would be more accurate. For a person who needs a crutch can still hobble or crawl without one, but I have told you that without me you can do nothing. A crutch is of no use to someone who needs life support. Those who reject this precept are blind and walk in darkness even though I provide for them. I want you to understand and even embrace it, that you may cease to lean on your own strength and learn to walk in total dependence on me. Then you will be equipped for every good work, and do the exploits of abundant life.

Do you have a passion? This may not be the way you earn your living. Is there something you feel compelled to do, as by an inner drive, whether it pays well or whether others appreciate or even notice it? Blessed are those who have the opportunity to pursue their passion. Do you understand the source of it? Even those who can identify their passion find that it started earlier than they can remember. I have for every person a future and a hope. This includes a unique identity and the drive to pursue the vision and dreams I created in you. The opportunity to carry this out is part of the abundant life that I promised those who follow me.

Do you think you know more about yourself than anyone else does? Some people deceive themselves even though others can see right through them. Have you not heard of someone described as being too close to a situation to see it clearly? Surely you are this close to yourself. This principle can apply even to those who are diligent to avoid deceiving themselves. There is safety in a multitude of counselors. In particular I have given you someone who is a spiritual authority in your life. They watch for your souls and will give an account. For this purpose I can give them insights into your life that I don’t give you. You can have confidence in seeking my direction through them.

Have you encountered material that was accessible at multiple levels? An adult and a child get different things from the same story. A musician hears a performance differently from one who is not. I spoke to the multitudes in parables. On the surface these were simple illustrations from familiar everyday situations, and some got nothing more than that out of them. Yet I used them to illustrate the fundamental truths of the Kingdom of God. Are you content to comprehend issues, and even my words at a superficial level? Even if you understand them at a surface level, there may be more that I want to say to you. Seek and you shall find. He who has ears, let him hear. 

My word affirms that my word is living and powerful. How can this be when you read it as ink that is dry on a printed page? Because I watch over my word to perform it. When you study the Bible I am involved in the process. If you come to it without preconceived ideas I will speak to you through it. Submit yourself to the word and be teachable and the word will come alive to you and live in you. My disciple testified that the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, full of grace and truth. Now you have me living within you. I want you to be aware of this as you ask me to open my word to you.