Dale Cresap's blog

Have you heard of red flags? This is a common term for warning signs that there may be trouble ahead. It is often used with regard to character issues that may affect a relationship, but has other applications as well. Does this seem like a negative approach? Is there a positive alternative that you could think of as green flags? Have you ever had unlikely independent events coincide in your favor? Multiple things indicate that it was not by random chance. Did you think that I was trying to tell you something? You may take this as a form of guidance.

You have a unique set of fingerprints that I gave you. It was a great advancement in criminal investigation to realize this, and that people left unique identifiers on everything they touched. Do you think I have fingerprints too? An artisan leaves fingerprints on the things he makes, and there is no difference with me. Fingerprints may not be obvious to the casual observer, but they can be seen by those who look diligently for them. Do you see my fingerprints on everything I made? I signed my work. They are on everything I made, including you and all other people.

Do you regard me as a sovereign? This is a basic matter of doctrine. Do you see me asserting my sovereignty every time you think that a situation calls for intervention, or that my righteousness would be offended? So you may conclude that I am non-assertive in the way I exercise my sovereignty. Does this seem like a contradiction in terms? It is not. As a sovereign I can stay my hand if I choose. For your own part, do you want to see my sovereignty expressed in your life? Is it possible that you can make this choice?

Do you know what is required to enter into the Kingdom of heaven? This is not a secret. I have made it clear in my word. Blessed are those who proclaim the good news of the gospel. Do you apply the same criteria to everyone? The same Bible says do not say, even in your heart, who will ascend into heaven, and who shall descend into hell? This decision is made above your pay grade. Would you want this burden? Who will dispute my judgments? If I let you in because of your belief and another for being kind to the least of these, in what court would you file an appeal of my decision?

You are familiar with the concept of fair weather friends. You know some people whose company you enjoy but they wouldn’t be the first, or second, person you would call in a crisis. Do you also know people that you may see only infrequently, but you know that you can count on them to be there for you in difficult times. You could think of these as foul weather friends. Does it take a crisis to find out who they are? Are you a fair weather or foul weather friend to others? It is possible to be both. How would you rate my friendship to you, and yours to me?

What do you have to offer other people? Some people have great talents and they are blessed if they can offer to the world such things as music or insight or provision. Where do you see yourself in the distribution of talents? 10,000? 5,000? Most people make comparisons to others and see themselves as deficient. But what is the greatest need? What does everyone have to offer that everyone else is in desperate need of? Do you see a crisis of human dignity around you? Who do you know that suffers from a lack of respect for their essential humanity?

Can something be bought twice? You refer to people such as elected legislators and judges who have compromised their integrity in exchange for money as having been bought. Is it possible to be bought without money or without much money? In this case you could say they were bought cheaply. How many of my followers have aligned themselves with causes that are not Kingdom related and gotten nothing in return? You should be cautious and selective in what you embrace. Do not lightly give your heart to anything. Remember that you are bought with a price yourself and are not really for sale.

Do you know some believers who identify as conservatives and others who identify as liberals? In my Father’s house there are many mansions, and room for many viewpoints. Yet I still said that my Kingdom is not of this world. Do these believers hold the same ideological positions as those of conservatives and liberals outside of the community of faith? But those are positions that are very much of the kingdoms of this world. Wouldn’t you expect something different about the positions of the subjects of the Kingdom of heaven that marks them as distinct?

My word promises that at the end of the age, when you enter the Kingdom prepared for you by the Father, that you will know as you are known. Does this imply that you currently do not, that even your knowledge of yourself is limited, while my knowledge of you is not? I know you better than you know yourself. Would you want such knowledge now? Would you be able to bear it? My love for you is infinite, and I can display it even knowing you better than you know yourself.

I asked my disciples who men said that I am, and they gave various responses from what they had heard from others. Then I changed the question to make it more personal. Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter said that I was the Christ, the Son of the Living God. This was the right answer, and I said that he was blessed because flesh and blood had not revealed this unto him, but my Father in heaven. Firsthand experience speaks with more authority than derived sources. You can learn from books but you need to make their truth your own reality. So who do you say that I am?