Dale Cresap's blog

Are you familiar with the idea of cheerleaders? They do not take part in the game, but they encourage those who do. If you are not a sports fan, you may consider this to be one step removed from something you don’t take seriously anyhow, but could there be a spiritual parallel? Do you have people you can count on to stand by you and encourage you in your hour of need? Isn’t this beneficial for you even if they don’t take on your burden? Who does this for you? For whom do you perform this vital task?

Have you ever prayed, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven? This is the most familiar of all prayers and a routine prayer for many believers. What does it mean? To implement this you would have to know how my will is done in heaven. Do you have access to this information? You can only know this by revelation, but I didn’t set you up for failure. I’m happy to show you if you inquire. What about the part about my Kingdom coming on earth? What does that mean? Didn’t I say that my Kingdom was not of this world?

Do you like to be popular and have the admiration of others? My word tells you to beware when all men speak well of you. Do you find it comforting when the people in your circle agree with you? Can you extend the above principle to beware when everyone you know agrees with you? This may indicate that you don’t know enough people. Do you find it threatening to encounter people who disagree with you? But there is truth outside of your tradition and your current level of understanding. Are you open to receive it? Where do you think you will find it?

Have you ever heard of the Bible referred to as a sword? This reference to a sharp instrument is within the Bible itself, and some churches routinely refer to the Bible this way. A sword is typically thought of as a weapon to be used against others. Have you ever heard of someone falling on their sword? This phrase is also in the Bible and refers to a soldier using his sword to take his own life. So do you use your Bible primarily against yourself or against others?

Do you understand the importance of forgiveness? The Bible gives this so much emphasis that believers realize the need to seek forgiveness when they require it and to grant it when it is asked of them. This would seem to cover all situations, but what do you do when someone needs your forgiveness and refuses to seek it? Is this a situation in which you must withhold forgiveness? In this case are you restrained from acting or can you accept an apology that you never received?

Have you lived long enough to revisit your values and reconsider them? Have they shifted to ones that serve you better? This is a good thing. Did the whole path of your life support your current values? Do you look back and think that you have wasted much of your life in things that didn’t benefit you? I don’t want you to live in despair for a past you cannot change, and regret for things that seem wasted, or worse, detrimental to progress. Do you recall that I was the stone that the builders rejected that became the cornerstone?

Do you understand that you are to love your enemies? Do you understand that love is the central characteristic of your faith, and that you are to express it for everyone? So the expression of your love should not be limited to your enemies, but that does define the extreme extent of your circle of love. The Bible assumes that you will love your friends, and associate with those of your own tribe and economic status, who can repay your generosity to them. Doing so is not an acknowledgement of a transcendent reality, but loving your enemies is. How about loving everyone in between?

Do you live a life of gratitude? You know that this is the right thing for you, but is it your daily experience? You can work to earn money and you can study to gain knowledge. You can practice skills to improve your skills. What can you do to increase the expression of gratitude in your life? Do you understand that gratitude and expectations work in opposition to each other? You expect the world to work a certain way, and that people will treat you in the same manner that you treat them. Have you already experienced disappointment because of this?

Do you have an attitude of gratitude? This rhythmic phrase has become a popular proverb, but it has underlying substance. This is a good place to start, but not a good place to end. What concrete actions do you take to express your gratitude? What about the people in your life that you love; that you are closest to? Are you aware of how much your own life is enriched by contact with them? Do they know how grateful you are for them? How can they know if you don’t tell them? What about all the favorable circumstances and conditions in your life for which there is no person to thank?

Are you familiar with the Great Commission? Do you refer to this work as evangelism? It tells you to go into all the world preaching the good news of the gospel to every creature. Evangelism is normally associated with making converts, but the Great Commission goes on to tell you to make disciples. Do you see these as being the same thing, or is making disciples a more demanding task than making converts? You have programs to follow with a systematic approach to presenting the gospel message. How do you go beyond that to encourage people to do their inner work to become disciples?