Dale Cresap's blog

And be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds. Conformity means taking on the shape of something you are in contact with, such as molten metal taking on the shape of a mold in a foundry. This is a great method for making uniform castings, but it is not good for people, even though the same principle applies. But the passage offers a choice between alternatives, implying it will be one or the other. Being conformed to me means being transformed, because it is conformity to my transcendent image rather than anything of this world.

It is written that it is not in a man that walks to direct his own steps. That could be restated in that a man does not perceive his own best interests. Do you agree with this? Yet how many people are eager to seek out wise counsel rather than following their own preferences? Good advice is always available. What is more often lacking is the humility to accept it. Most people are inclined to trust themselves more than anyone else. Can you understand that you should trust yourself the least? Do you want the fullest, richest, and best possible life for yourself? Do you realize that you can’t get there on your own?

Are you an organ donor? Normally this would only occur in the event of your death, but you can make the designation in advance. This is a nice pro-life gesture in which your organs may live on and benefit others when you are gone. I have a superior alternative available to you right now. I have called you to be a living sacrifice. In this case you can donate your entire body, and you don’t have to wait until you die to do it. You can donate it now intact and functional. If you take this seriously you can provide a greater benefit for others while you are alive than your organs can after you die.

Do you know what tomorrow will bring? Do you even know that you will be here tomorrow? Then how should you live today? My word teaches you to watch for and be ready for my return. You can do this with the understanding that your departure may come first. Make your time count, and don’t put off what is essential because of what is urgent. I also said that your time is always ready. Opportunities to serve me will come to you unexpectedly. Don’t let them pass you by because you were not ready. Hold this perspective with joy and you too will be able to say that you have done all that the Father has given you to do.

Are you familiar with the idea of a pain threshold? Some people seem better able to cope with discomfort and endure it. This term is normally used in relation to physical pain, but not all pain is physical. Do you realize there is also an emotional pain threshold? If you answer my call to follow me you will suffer rejection as well. Come and join me outside the camp and bear my reproach. There is no nerve affected by this experience, but who can deny that it hurts to receive rejection in the places you would normally expect support? If you have a high emotional pain threshold you will continue to move forward in the integrity of your destiny even though it hurts. 

Do you want to be rich and famous? Would you settle for famous? Do you understand what problems come from this? You call famous people celebrities. People to celebrate? Everyone wants to be their friend. Adoring strangers come up wanting handshakes, photos, and autographs. There are a multitude of people to offer approval for their behavior no matter what it is. And so I taught you to beware when all men spoke well of you. Could you accept this treatment and still walk in humility and obedience to me, caring only what I thought of you? How well do celebrities do at this?

Do you experience fear concerning anticipated disruptions and transitions in your life? You have been through many of these already. Have you found that that actual transition is less traumatic than you anticipated? I tell you not to worry about tomorrow, for sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. You may be worried about tomorrow because you aren’t prepared for the challenges of tomorrow today. But you don’t need to face them today. Can you trust me that I will provide everything you need when the time comes? If you can accept this premise then you can have peace now and also when the transition comes.

Do you have a passion? Do you think of this term in reference to comfort, ease, and self-indulgence? This is a misunderstanding. You have heard of my passion and it had nothing to do with these things. I drank the cup my Father gave me. A passion is not a diversion you choose for fun. It chooses you, and you may think of it more in terms of destiny. A passion is something you can’t explain, but you also can’t turn away from it no matter what the cost in time, money, and suffering. So answer the call to pursue your passion, for it is those who do so that change the world.

Were you encouraged as a child to always do your best? Do you always do the best that you can? Do you think other people do their best? You are not in a position to make this judgment about others and may not be as accurate in assessing yourself as you think. So it comes down to a question about whether you want to make moral judgments of others that are more gracious or more severe. You are subject to limitations that may not be obvious, but manifest in your behavior, and others are in the same situation. It is more gracious to assume that they are giving you their best than that they are intentionally mean, thoughtless, or slothful.

Institutions are founded for a purpose, but they take on a life of their own, and seek to preserve themselves. Do you see my church as an institution? Its original purpose was to serve me, and so it continues to this day. Yet the ‘church’ of my own ethnic and cultural background was founded to serve God, but when I came along it turned out to be more interested in preserving itself and dealing with a perceived threat to itself. So I moved on. This is not meant as a criticism of the church, but the same principles still apply today. Is your church more eager to preserve itself or to follow me when I move on?