Dale Cresap's blog

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?

Do you surround yourself by people you choose? Everyone needs human contact and a sense of belonging, and prefers the company of those like-minded. But is this really a community? If you have control over all your connections, does it meet all your needs for growth? True growth to your full potential will require you to come into contact with people you did not choose, and a true community will provide such people. If you understand that this is true, then how do you go about choosing the right people that you would not choose? Don’t worry.

Have you ever lost your identification? This is an important thing in the modern world but if you don’t have it you may be able to get someone with an established identity to vouch for you. Have you ever lost your identity? This isn’t quite the same thing. People can have all their documents in order and still have no idea who they are. The concept of an identity crisis is real. Others are eager to sell you one for a price, but it will not be yours. The fake identities available are so prevalent that it isn’t easy to find your own, even though I gave you a perfectly good one to start with.

I sent my disciples out in pairs to do ministry in my name and gave them some other instructions. They were excited when they returned saying that even the demons were subject to them in my name. I told them to rejoice not in this, that the demons were subject to them, but that their names were written in heaven. You may not be impressed by worldly power, but are you impressed by spiritual power?

Are you at peace? What is the basis for the peace you have or would like to have? Stable relationships? Financial security? Secure employment? Absence of war or national or personal crisis? These are all obvious answers, but they may not be available to you. Yet you can still have peace. I offered my followers peace, but not as the world gives. You may recall that my early followers did not have the type of security and stability that you enjoy, yet my offer was real. My kingdom is not of this world, so the peace I offer has a transcendent quality.