Dale Cresap's blog

Would you say that your faith is what you believe? Would it be a more accurate statement to say that your faith is what you live? Believing is easy in comparison. You know that I accept you and your name is in the Book of Life on the basis of your beliefs. With that issue settled, how should you then live? Your words can give testimony to your beliefs, but your life is a testimony that speaks louder than words. What does yours say? If your testimony consisted visible actions apart from doctrinal professions or church practices, what would it say about your life?

My word tells you not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers. Does this mean you should avoid all contact with them? There is another passage that says no to that. Christianity does not require isolation; in fact it works better without it. It is easier to think that you are better than you are when you are alone, but contact with others reveals and refines you. A yoke implies a constraint of common purpose. You shouldn’t enter a binding condition like marriage with someone who does not share your ultimate views.

Have you ever faced rejection? Everyone does at some time. Did you feel you were rejected by everyone? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that you were rejected by those whose attention you desired? Have you noticed that you are attracted to those above you, and attractive to those below you? So rejection is seldom universal, but you feel it most strongly from a select group. Rejection is painful, but part of the problem may be that you are being too selective. I said that when you showed kindness unto the least of these you had done it unto me. This works for friendship too.

What do you think of as courage? A soldier going forth to meet the enemy, fully armed and armored, and backed up by an extensive network of intelligence, supply, and command? It takes courage to face any enemy, and no decent commander would send his troops forth without giving them every advantage for victory. But how much more courage does it take to move into an unknown future in an undefended state? This is a choice for everyone, not just soldiers. Are you aware of the cost to be habitually defensive, and how much greater fullness of life is available if you are not?

Do you think beauty is important? It is highly rated in your culture. Do you think it is merely superficial and cultural, or do you think that it has a spiritual connection? Do you think it is connected to anything besides romance? My word refers to the beauty of the Lord. This is not romantic in the conventional sense, but it is an important concept. When you see beauty in nature, in creation, including people, does it make you think of me? The heavens declare my glory, and people can if they choose to. Works of art always refer back to the artist who created them.

Have you ever been at a loss for words? Some people never seem to be, although their many words can be more tiresome than profound. Some experiences do not lend themselves to easy explanations. Paul entered the third heaven and couldn’t say whether he was in his body or not. He saw things that were not lawful to utter. Do you assume that this was like having a security clearance for top secret information he was not permitted to reveal? Could it be that it was such a transcendent experience that to try to explain it would devalue it? That words would not do it justice?

Are you familiar with the scriptural passages that promise that you can have anything that you ask for? These are widely known and very popular. How has this worked out for you in practice? Do you know people who ‘hold me to my promises’, and whose prayers are a list of demands? Set aside for the moment the question of whether they get all that they insist on. Are these people that you admire spiritually, and wish to emulate? Don’t you find that prayer is a doorway to humility, and that your demeanor changes when you consciously address deity? I’ll stand by my promises.

My word commends those who are overcomers. This term implies pushing against resistance. It is easy to drift with the current, and difficult to swim upstream, yet without exertion you only go downhill. Are there any areas in your life that are not working for you? If they have become established then you refer to them as habits, and they are difficult to break. But do not think that they are your true identity. You have my promise that if you seek you will find. You could apply this even to overcoming entrenched patterns in your own life. Press on and I will enable you to overcome.

Do you want my guidance in your life? Do you hate it when you encounter a ‘closed door’? There are many doors in this world, but most of them lead to other people’s houses. You only need access to the one for your own home. So most of the doors you encounter will be closed, but do not be discouraged by this. Strait is the gait and narrow is the way that leads to life. Doors that do not open to you are not meant for you. Can you trust me to open the ones that are a part of my plan for you? Remain engaged and move ahead and you will find the strait and narrow way that leads to life.

Have you noticed that there are multiple views about end-time scenarios? Nothing is more certain to start a fight among believers, and each can prove his case from scripture. So far no one has guessed right about the timing or the details. One popular scenario involves the sudden departure of true believers prior to the end, rather like triggering an ejection seat on a fighter plane. Presumably this would leave everyone else behind to face the tribulation without the assistance of believers.