Dale Cresap's blog

You live in a consumer culture and this affects the way you think. Does this influence extend to your spiritual life? Have you ever left a church? As a consumer you can select which stores you do business with and which you do not as a matter of preference for any reason. But you are part of a church rather than just a customer. I consider this matter serious enough to refer to my church as a body comprised of members, and members that are part of a body do not come and go at will. All of this is not to say that you can never leave a church, but your reasons should be better than consumer preference.

Do you expect equality in relationships; that each party will give and receive about the same amount form each other? How well do you find this to work in real situations? Do you resent it when you seem to be giving more, and the other person is consistently receiving more? I told my followers not to expect reciprocity. I told them that if they gave to those who were able to give as much in return, then they had their reward, but if they gave to those who could not repay them then they had a reward in heaven. Do you assume that this applies only to money? Enlarge your understanding. Some people don’t have much to give in a relational sense and still need love.

Do you like a bargain? Who doesn’t? Yet do you esteem lightly what you obtain cheaply? Does your church lower the bar of expectations for members? Look around you and see which churches are growing and which are not. Do you see those with high expectations for faith practice growing, and those with low expectations declining? Grace is free, but there is a cost for discipleship. There are some areas in which shopping for a bargain is a false economy. The development of your soul is one of  these. I told stories of wise kings and builders who counted the cost of battles or structures and encouraged my followers to count the cost of following me.

What is your view of the end times? There are multitudes to choose from, and from talking to your fellow believers you may conclude that it is very important to choose the right one. Believers will defend their positions fiercely on this question. Does your view of the end times make you more generous, kind and loving today? Do you know anyone for whom this is true? If it doesn’t, then what is the advantage of holding it? Everyone has been wrong about the timing so far. Will you be the one to get it right? I don’t expect you to. Come and follow me and you will be ready when the time comes.

Do you engage in the traditional Christian activities of prayer, Bible study, and church attendance? This list is not exhaustive. You may be able to think of other practices and engage in them. How beneficial do you find these practices? That is, do they make you more loving, kind, generous, and Christlike? I tell you to examine yourself when you take communion. Do you think of this only as a grim review of sin? You could also use it as a time to review the effectiveness of your spiritual practices. How much wisdom and insight does it require for you to see that you would benefit from doing more of  those things that are working for you and less of those things that are not?

When you talk to other believers using the phrase ‘the word of God’ what are you referring to? Isn’t this the name you give the Bible? Yet the Bible says in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God. This passage is not referring to the Bible, which came much later. You think of the Bible as a divinely inspired record of eternal truth, and you are right. Do you find eternal life in the Bible? I spoke to an audience who thought they did, and told them that the scriptures testified of me. The question remained as to whether they would come to me and have life. Will you? Is this how you understand the ‘word of God’?

Do you know people you would describe as fiercely independent? Are you one of them? My word tells you to stand fast in the liberty in which I have made you free. So is there an advantage to being fierce? You are a member of the community of humanity. With your fellow believers you are a member of my body. But I have not assigned you to make the determination of who belongs and who does not, and even for those who are without you share the distinction of being created in my likeness. Do you assume that liberty and community are exclusive polar opposites? They do not need to be if you hold your independence graciously rather than fiercely.

Do you carefully consider the sources of what you hear? Do you feel obligated to accept anything from Christian sources and to reject anything from non-Christians? Don’t you know any Christians whose teachings you would hesitate to accept? Being a believer is not a guarantee of perfect knowledge. What about the other side of the coin? Could those you regard as outside the fold know something that you don’t? Your first consideration should not be the source but the truth of the assertion itself. You regard some more highly than others but no one should get a free pass and bypass examination. I promised to lead you into all truth by my Holy Spirit.

On my entry to Jerusalem I said that if the people were silent the rocks would cry out. Can you imagine anything more inert than a rock? Yet even rocks are attracted to each other. This is obvious in the case when one of them is large, such as planet earth. Yet the same gravitational attraction is present between two grains of sand even if it is small. I said that if I was lifted up I would draw all men unto me. You have already seen the ‘law of attraction’ working in people. If even inert rocks are influenced by attraction, then how much stronger is my drawing power toward you in the spiritual realm.

Do you know my will? It would be presumptuous to say that you do, but I’m willing to reveal it to those who are interested. You hold it as a basic doctrine that I am sovereign, but you should not use this as a basis for thinking my will is inscrutable, and passively accepting whatever happens as fated. Even though I am sovereign my will is never arbitrary or capricious. I always act according to my purpose of redemption. Have you ever seen me act any other way? If you want to know my will in any situation you can ponder the question of what my redemptive purpose is and see what comes forth.