Dale Cresap's blog

Have you raised your children in the faith, only to have them wander away from it when they were old enough to choose for themselves? This is one of the most distressing things that can befall you. Yet you have my promise that if you raise up a child in the way he should go, that when he is old he will not depart from it. This promise does not say that they will never wander. They may forget who they belong to, but they are mine and I will not forget my own. Their righteous upbringing and my love for them form an irrevocable claim and I watch over them to draw them back to myself even when they stray. 

Some things you can experience firsthand. Other things that you haven’t experienced directly you can imagine by creating them in your mind, if your experiences are close enough to bridge the gap. Other things you cannot even imagine. Perhaps you say you don’t have a ‘grid’ for them. Have you noticed that my word does not give much detail in the description of heaven? It does say that eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man the things that I have prepared for those who love me. You walk in this world with the promise of glory, a city with foundations built by God. You cannot comprehend it now, because it is better than you can imagine.

Do you worry? You may be wary to affirm this because I have told you not to worry. Do you have concerns? How does this differ from worry? I give you tasks to perform and burdens to bear in intercession. Yet my commandments are not grievous and my burden is light. Worry is unproductive, as I said, who by taking thought can make himself taller, or turn a hair black or white? Yet if you obey me to put your hand to the plow as I have directed you can know that there will be a beneficial result even if you don’t see it yourself. My word does not return void, but accomplishes that for which it is sent forth, and this applies to your faithful acts as well.

Is your pastor hesitant to teach you about giving because he knows you are sensitive about the issue? Do you think it is a conflict of interest if he benefits, even if indirectly, from your giving? Does he become your enemy if he tells you the truth? If you will not receive it from him, from whom will you receive it? For my word is clear about the blessings to the generous. There have been excesses and abuses concerning this doctrine, but they do not negate the truth. You can’t afford not to be generous. It would be better to give somewhere else than to not have a manifestation of generosity in your life. Blessed is he who gives to his church and elsewhere as well.

Have you ever encountered people who by the nature of their job or the way they accomplish it seem to make more work for other people? This is the opposite of helping. They have a counterpart in my Kingdom. There are believers who conduct themselves in such a way that the way of truth is evil spoken of. Those who encounter them have a bad impression of believers, creating an obstacle for them to receive the gospel message. It is still possible for them to be saved, but it creates extra work for those who present my word with faithfulness and integrity. Live so that your life makes people desire me. 

My word tells you to remember the poor. It also says that to him who has more shall be given, and to him who has not, what little he has will be taken away. Do these sound contradictory to you? The redistribution of wealth is a prevalent theme of many governments, and it is popular among those who have not. Yet the above verse implies that the spiritually rich will get richer. The economy of my Kingdom is not a zero sum game. My wealth is inexhaustible and available to all. Those who seek it get it because they value it, and they get more. Those who don’t value it discard what they have been given and don’t notice the loss. Lay up your treasure in heaven.

Do you think that everyone wants peace? If this were true than there would be peace everywhere, but you know that this is not true. Everyone wants peace on their own terms. Perhaps a better question would be whether you wanted peace enough to make the sacrifices necessary to obtain it. Do you think that this question only applies to nations? I tell you that it scales down to individuals. Strife and division and discord are possible at every level of aggregation. Is this present enough to be considered a default condition? Do not accept this as inevitable, but walk in grace and humility toward all that you may be a peacemaker my child.

Do you expect to be commended when you do right and hope for mercy when you do wrong?  Do you think it is bad enough to suffer for your own faults and hope that in some way your virtues will balance against them? Yet my word speaks of suffering for the sake of righteousness, even as I did, for they hated me without a cause and I had done them no harm. Isn’t it unrealistic to expect to lead a pain free life? Then isn’t it better to suffer for doing good than for doing evil? For in this case my word tells you to rejoice. Suffering for wrongdoing can be considered as chastisement and correction, but suffering for virtue is the glory of righteousness.

The common people received my message gladly. Those who rejected me had titles and position invested in the status quo. I came to give them life, and they perceived me as a threat because they were so closely attached to a system they depended on. They hated me without a cause. The same dynamic can work within an individual on a smaller scale. Do you have any attachments in your life that prevent you from fully embracing me? You know that the Pharisees would have been better off to walk away from all they had to follow me. This is a universal truth that applies to all people in all times. Is there anything you are attached to that holds you back?

You ask me for blessings and you are right to come and make your requests of me. What is your concept of the blessings you seek? Do you think that they will give you an easy and indulgent life? Yet even unbelievers know intuitively that this is not the best life to live. Then perhaps you should expand your understanding of blessings. If you ask me for them and believe that I answer your prayers, then you should examine your life if the light of that and see how your circumstances fit in the context of my Kingdom.