Dale Cresap's blog

My word promises that I will give you what you ask for. Do you think that you should be able to pray once and get immediate results? Yet I told the story of the importunate widow to show that effective prayer is sustained. Have you ever wanted something and prayed fervently for it? Did you rejoice with gratitude when your prayer was answered? Yet did you also find that your level of devotion and fervency declined when you were able to cross this item off your prayer list? Are you as interested in the development of your character as much as you are in the answer to your prayer? I am. This is why you don’t always get immediate results.

What aspect of the Christian life do you enjoy the most? If a church held separate meetings for bible study, prayer, and worship, would you expect the attendance to decline in that order? Where is most time currently devoted, and about which activity do you hear complaints that it went on too long? Yet you desire to go to heaven. What activity takes place there? You will not need to study the way you do now, for you will know as you are known. The things you pray for, such as healing and provision, will not be issues. Worship will endure for eternity. I don’t want this to be an abrupt transition for you. Get used to the idea now.

Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. This verse was written in the context of the basic necessities of life: food and drink and clothing. Are these daily concerns of yours? You are fortunate if you are affluent enough that these basic needs are satisfied. Are you then concerned about higher level things like a satisfying career and a suitable life companion? This principle of scripture is universal and applies at every level. No matter what you desire, seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and ALL these things will be added unto you. 

Is it proper for one faith to go to war against another, even if they hold irreconcilable doctrines? This has been tried before. Can you find anyone today who thinks the Crusades were a good idea? Do not repeat a mistake. You have a battle to fight, but the weapons of your warfare are not carnal, and neither are your enemies. For I have called you to contend with dark spiritual principalities and powers. Prosecute these attacks with vigor and determination, yet in this world be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Not only are you not to perpetrate evil, but you are to turn the other cheek to those who would harm you, that you may be the children of your Father in heaven who will defend you. 

Are you confident and assertive? Are you all the more so the more sure you are of your position? Are you more certain of the truth of the gospel message than of anything else? This does not give you the right to be an arrogant know-it-all. When I walked this earth I was meek and lowly in heart even though I was truth personified. Don’t you find me to be this way even now? The people you encounter will perceive your demeanor and accept or reject you on this basis before they even listen to what you have to say. Follow my example in your character and behavior that you may win your audience for me. 

Do you judge others by what they wear? They judge you. Can you hold the same view of yourself regardless of what you wear, even when you know that the opinions of others about you will be formed on the basis of your appearance? Yet the Kingdom of God is not about apparel. A spiritual identity is transcendent of the things of this world. Your essential being is not affected by what you wear. I am a foundation for you that is firm and solid as opposed to changing fashion. I know that you have need of these things and will provide them for you, but seek first my Kingdom, and have your identity established in it, and all these things will be added unto you. 

Do you insist on getting your own way? Do you consider it a victory when you do and a defeat when you do not? Yet victories come at a price, and sometimes the price is greater than the value obtained. A stubborn and willful demeanor can get results in the short term by belligerence and overbearing. Yet in the long term this will drive people away from you. The final cost is the loss of things that are priceless. My word says it is better to suffer wrong than to sue your brother in court. Even short of legal action there are proper and improper ways of addressing disputes. It is in your own interest to take a long term view and consider yielding now to have a better future for yourself.

Are you familiar with the concept of an acquired taste? Perhaps there are things that you did not care to eat as a child. Your parents may have insisted that you eat it against your will, saying that it was good for you. You can grow to genuinely enjoy these things as an adult and seek them out. This is an acquired taste. Are there activities of the Kingdom that you do not naturally enjoy? Are you in a dilemma because you know they are good for you even though you have no innate desire to do them? I ask you for obedience. If you purpose in your heart to obey me and attend to prayer and the study of my word and worship and all the things of my Kingdom then you will develop an acquired taste for righteousness and genuinely enjoy these things.

Have you ever asked someone to do you a favor? This is asking for a one-sided single act of kindness. Yet favor has a broader meaning. I grew in grace and favor with God and man. This is favor as a state of being rather than a onetime act. My ultimate act of favor for you was the sacrifice of my life for your redemption. This was a one-time act in that it was sufficient for all humanity for all time, and was one sided in that I loved you before you loved me and died for you while you were yet ungodly. Now you have obtained favor with me and can experience it continually. Your favor with me is permanent and eternal. I want you to know and walk in the grace of your redemption.

When you proclaim the gospel message, do you make it clear to your audience that you are not recruiting for your church? You understand that salvation involves citizenship in my Kingdom and this is the primary thing. Church affiliation is secondary. Even if you understand and affirm this, the average person walking in darkness may not understand the distinction and may be wary of your intentions. It is up to you to make this clear. They will need discipleship, but they may get it at another place. Even if they have issues with the church you attend, I still want them in my Kingdom.