Dale Cresap's blog

Does your faith make you a better or worse person? Do you find this question offensive? Yet I addressed it in great length in my interactions with the Pharisees. They were as devout and diligent in their practice of faith as you could ask for. Yet their practices made them less loving, caring, and compassionate, and provided them with excuses for their bad behavior. Their faith took them further away from me and made them worse people than if they had made no profession or affirmation of faith. Don’t think this issue is limited to a small sect that only existed for a short while.

Is there some big obstacle standing in your way; some impediment that prevents you from making the progress you want in your life? Perhaps you do not see things the same way I do. Paul complained of a thorn in his flesh, something he did not want and asked me three times to remove. This is what he wanted but I told him that my grace was sufficient for him. This is not what he wanted but he found out it was true and the thorn I refused to remove was part of my process of grace in his life. Do you have a thorn of your own? Are you still at the stage of asking me to remove it?

What do the poor want? Those without food, drink, shelter, and clothing are very aware of these basic needs and are highly motivated to fulfill them. Once these necessities are met the concept of desire does not go away, but it does change. The wealthy spend just as much time in the pursuit of their desires as the poor, but the search is not as focused. The wealthy are not as able to articulate what they want, and more expensive versions of toys do not bring satisfaction.

Is it possible to feel the pain of others? This is known as empathy and compassion. Everyone admires these qualities but they are not so commonplace in practice. It is easy to look at others and see the ways they are different from you. This makes it easy to exclude and reject them. Do you dismiss those you consider to be in trouble of their own making? It is harder to identify with those you consider to be different from yourself but can you begin with the ways you are similar rather than different? This is a first step, but I have called you to do more than this.

Why do you pray? Do you like the promises that you can have anything you ask for in prayer? How has this worked out for you? Yet if you believe it, what would you ask for? You know better than to offer selfish prayers, and you are sensitive enough to be aware when others do this. I have already promised to meet the needs of believer and unbeliever alike, whether they pray or not. So what if prayer didn’t ‘get’ you anything except a change in yourself? Would you still pray as fervently as you do now?

One day I wanted to meet with my people. I arranged it in advance. When the time came, the encounter proved to be too intense for the people. They proposed plan B, that Moses should meet with me and relay my instructions back to the people, and they would follow them. And so legalism was born. This is easier than encounter, but it was not what I wanted. You see the very same principle in effect today. How many believers do you know who live their life of faith through someone else, or reduce it to a formula? But I don’t want that for you any more today than I did for my people long ago.

You are familiar with my admonition not to judge others, for in doing so you establish a standard by which you are judged. Have you ever heard anyone criticize Shakespeare as an author, or Beethoven as a composer? Those doing so are inviting criticism of their opinions, for the reputation of these men is better established than the opinions of their critics. You don’t have to wait until the end of the age for harsh judgment to work against you. Haven’t you seen an immediate response, that those who offer judgment without mercy invite judgment by the same standards against themselves?

Are you easily threatened and heavily defended? Or are you looking to learn and grow? A politician engaged in a debate as part of his campaign is not looking at this experience as an opportunity to explore possibilities and learn. Neither is an attorney in court. Both are looking to win. These are special cases but some people extend these concepts to every area of life. You have encountered such people and know that their minds are fixed and resistant to change. Are you willing to release your desire to win that you may be open to persuasion and moving forward into greater truth?

What do you get out of the story of Mary and Martha? Most people draw the wrong conclusions. Was Martha wrong in serving me? Yet I claimed the role of a servant myself, and told my disciples to follow my example. Too many people who find fault with Martha are eager to sit at the feet of a television set rather than at my feet hearing my word, which is harder. I have provided you with enough time to both hear my word and serve me. If you commit yourself to both sitting at my feet and serving me you will find that one complements the other.

I said that it was not what went into a man that defiled him, but what came out of him. For the food you eat passes through you and is eliminated. But divisions and hatred and strife emerge from within. In like manner with bitterness it is not what you eat but what is eating you. Offenses that you do not release will remain and grow within you spreading poison. You have seen this type of toxicity work its way to the surface in others. Don’t let it take hold in you. Is this easier said than done? This is a beneficial side effect of laying down your life and dying to yourself.