Dale Cresap's blog

What do you look for when you look for the Kingdom of God? Magnificent heavenly glory? That is what people were looking for in a messiah, and most of them overlooked me because I didn’t fit the profile. Instead I spoke in familiar images of everyday things. Lost coins, sowing and reaping wheat, candles and bushels, sheep and fish. Where is the glory in that? Yet there were a few that got my message and knew that I was speaking the words of life.

You live in a culture of intense individualism. Do you see this trait in the church as well? Is this message inherent in the gospel, or is it a cultural overlay on the church? I said that it is not good for the man to be alone, but this was not my final word on this matter. Bear one another’s burdens. Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together. No one lives or dies unto himself. You are your brother’s keeper. In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me. Do you refer to your faith as a relationship with me?

What is the basis for your hope? This term refers to your orientation toward the future. What is your expectation concerning things to come, even without knowing the details? This depends on your view of the nature of the world and your place in it. This is in turn influenced by your previous experience. If you live with the awareness that in your life so far you have been the recipient of grace and favor and mercy, this is a valid basis to expect that these things will continue.

When I was asked about my Kingdom, in the context of something to fight for, I said that my Kingdom is not of this world. There are not many governments called kingdoms anymore, but every country has a government that serves the same purpose. So you have dual citizenship. My rules for you include following the rules of your government, in so far as you are able, and blessed are those for whom this does not present a conflict. So you have a foot in both worlds, so to speak, and allegiance in two realms.

Are you on a diet? This term is usually used to refer to a program for weight loss, but the more general use of the term refers to anything you eat. Is there a still more general use of the term? Could it include the things you watch and read and listen to? What about your other activities and the company you keep? Could the term diet be applied to anything that has an influence on you? In terms of diet I said that it was not what entered a man that defiled him, but that which proceeded from him. The intake in question referred to food only.

Some governments have rules against cruel and unusual punishment, but still put prisoners in solitary confinement. I said that it is not good for the man to be alone, and this is universal, and still applies. Yet a far greater number choose solitary confinement for themselves, or accept it without seeking community. Contact with other people is essential for well-being. How particular are you about whom you will associate with? Don’t be so fussy that you isolate yourself. While you are on your search for your community of like-minded people engage with the people you meet on the way.

Have you ever heard someone justify an extravagant purchase by saying, ‘I’m worth it’? This is faulty reasoning. Your worth is inestimable because you bear my very image and likeness. Don’t bring it down to the world of commerce in material goods. Haven’t I chosen the poor to be rich in faith? But anyone who attaches their worth to an inanimate object is poor no matter how much money they have. If you understand your true worth it will bring you to a place of contentment.

I said that if your brother offends you, you need to go to your brother. Have you found that this is a very difficult thing to do? This can result in a hard conversation, but your brother may have offended you unawares, and it might be easily resolved. Even if it is not you have put the issue in the open. What is the easy thing to do? Cut off all contact without a word or a trace? Easier still to spread the word and enlist support from any third parties who will hear you, to vindicate and justify yourself. Have either or both of these things ever been done to you? Don’t do them yourself.

Do you make a strong distinction between full time spiritual employment and secular work? I don’t. some people serve full time in church ministry, but others? They may describe their work as a job or a career or a profession, but all these terms imply secular work, and in church circles it is implied if not stated that this is inferior to full time ministry. But you can conduct yourself as a Christ follower in whatever job you currently hold. You can live by my principles and use whatever opportunities present themselves to let your light shine before men that they may glorify me.

I said that unless you are converted and become as little children you would not enter the Kingdom of God. Yet you have already been a child. So this statement implies that you have lost something you once had that is essential to life. What could it be? Have noticed that children have a sense of wonder and live in a world of enchantment? They get over this in due course. So it is appropriate to ask if this is true or not, and if it is a valid and useful way to see the world. Do you live in a world I created? Every time you open your eyes do you see something I made with divine intention?