Dale Cresap's blog

Daily Journaling Devotionals

Heavenly Gems in Daily Bites: CWG Ministries Life-Engaging Blogs

Dale Cresap is a Certified CWG Facilitator posting daily devotional blogs of two-way journaling. (What is two-way journaling?) Enjoy and be encouraged!

daily word - like-spirited

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Do you seek out those who are like-minded to yourself? This is a common phrase that everyone understands and responds to. Everyone likes the company of those who are in agreement with them. Yet do you know people with whom you agree on points of doctrine who are nonetheless disagreeable people? Would you rather keep company with those who are kind or with those with whom you are in agreement? What term would you use for those who are kind and pleasant and congenial? Like-spirited? Is it more important to you to keep company with those who are like-minded or like-spirited?

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daily word - love one another

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By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, by the love ye have for one another. This is a profound statement. For any group, do you find their authenticity more validated by the love they have for one another, or for the love they have for you? Hold that thought while we revisit the story of the Good Samaritan, which hinged on the question of who is my neighbor. The moral of that story is to reach outside of the group you identify with to extend kindness to others. You can extend the same principle to the statement demonstrating that you are my disciples.

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daily word - Here I come!

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You have my promise that I will return. Are you eager for this? You can be confident that it will happen even if you don’t know the date and time, even if it doesn’t happen during your lifetime. This is not a matter for passive indifference, for I tell you many places in my word to love my appearing, and to look for and hasten unto the coming of the Lord. This certainty can and should motivate you and give you a sense of urgency in the life you live now. Are you ready for it? Does desiring it imply that you are prepared? Is there anything you have left to do?

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daily word - teacher or judge?

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Do you see me as a teacher or a judge? What did my life consist of? You find examples in scripture of people referring to me as teacher or rabbi, which was a common honorary address at the time. Did this seem to fit the life I lived? Didn’t I come to teach people about the Kingdom of God? Do you think of God the Father as more of a judge? Yet I declared that those who had seen me had seen the Father, and that I and my Father were one. So does this imply that you should think of your Father God as more of a teacher than a judge?

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daily word - unbeliever's God

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How do unbelievers perceive me? Have you noticed that even those who do not believe that I exist have a conceptual model of me? Does this strike you as odd? It should strike them as odd. So it is fair to ask them, what sort of God do you not believe in? This is usually a God that is harsh, judgmental, exacting, indifferent, and distant. Do you know from firsthand experience that this is not a valid description of me? So this gives you a place to start with them. Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify me.

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daily word - sparing words

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A fool utters all his mind, but a wise man spares his words. Have you ever met people who spoke every thought that came to mind? Did you find this to be tedious and wearisome? Were you tempted to tell them that it would be better if some of their thoughts remained private, but thought better than to mention it? Yet have you met other people you wish would say more, because their few words were profound? You consider them wise, but the former are not. Their words punctuate the silence, but for the former, silence is a relief. So in your own case, what words do you withhold?

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daily word - Thanks for Asking

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Have you ever had a story of joy or sorrow and wanted to share it, but hesitated not knowing how it would be received? Yet if someone inquired about your situation you were eager to tell the tale and grateful that someone cared enough to open the door and ask. Have you ever said, thanks for asking? Has anyone ever said this to you? What do you want to know about the Kingdom of God? Do you want to know what the Spirit is saying to the churches today? Do you want to know of the future and the hope that I have for you? Do you want to sit at my feet and hear my word?

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daily word - noble liberty

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Do you delight in your liberty? I tell you to stand fast in it, and not be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. Yet there are two sides to this coin, and urgency is a counterbalance to agency. For you also have an unction from the Holy One, and the love of God compels you to fulfill your destiny. So these two things go hand in hand. What is the value of your liberty if you have no noble mission to apply it to? It is your destiny to have a purpose that gives meaning to your life. Have I not promised that my yoke is easy and my burden is light?

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daily word - optimistic?

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Are you an optimist? A pessimist? Everyone loves an optimist, and who loves a pessimist? No one knows the future, so neither position can be rigorously defended, but you still have to make decisions now based on reasonable expectations not knowing how they will turn out. But these choices do not occur in a vacuum of theoretical abstraction. You have the basis of your own experience. Do you also have a world view of a benevolent Supreme Being who grants you favor and blessing? If you have a history of my faithfulness to you in the past, is it reasonable to expect it to continue?

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daily word - first and last

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Have you heard that the first shall be last and the last shall be first? Do you believe this? Does anyone? How many people fight or even maneuver for position to get to the back of  the line? Some ancient mystics are famous for having done so, but this is not the motivation or expected outcome. What are the benefits of being last? Releasing self-promotion purifies intention and allows you to do the right thing for the right reason. I gave you an example to follow by making myself of no reputation.

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