delivery or content?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 17, 2017 - 21:29

Are you offended at vulgar language? How offended are you at mean and hateful thoughts expressed in polite language? Well-spoken and articulate people are just as capable of expressing ungracious and unloving thoughts as others. Isn’t the content more important than the manner of delivery? As with many things, you do well to avoid the use of vulgar language yourself. Can you be gracious enough to pay more attention to what someone else is saying rather than the way they are saying it? Let both your listening and your speaking be done with grace and love. 

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money and prayers

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 16, 2017 - 20:21

Are you familiar with the challenge to put your money where your mouth is? This implies a commitment beyond just words. Would the things you pray for benefit from donations? Cornelius was an officer in the Roman army, and as such a gentile outside of my covenant people Israel. Yet his heart was toward me and even the Jews took note of his alms to their poor. So did I, and his prayers and alms ascended before me so I set the stage for him to receive the full gospel message, which took visions and visitations to bridge the cultural divide. Cornelius was a man who put his money where his prayers were. Are you? 

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unchanging

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 15, 2017 - 22:39

Do you accept the premise that I am unchanging? You have this as a doctrine based on the assertions of scripture. Are you fully convinced of it yourself? For you can read my word and get the impression that the rules have changed substantially regarding things like polygamy, slavery, and divorce. I was asked if a man could divorce his wife for any reason, since the Law of Moses had permitted this. I said Moses allowed this for the hardness of their hearts, but from the beginning it was not so. Many things you see as changing are not true reflections of my unchanging heart. If you look deeply for my steadfastness you will find it.

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good and smart?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 14, 2017 - 22:28

Do you ever confuse intelligence with character? Have you ever met simple people who are kind, and bright people who are mean? Intelligence and knowledge are highly rated in your culture, and you have an enormous educational system to develop them. Even if you accept the premise that intelligence is determined by genetics, you have a choice to keep your mind active or not, and everyone can learn more information. Do you have a method available that is as well developed, thorough, and systematic to develop your character? I want you to understand the value of this and give it due importance. Ask of me and I will teach you. 

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revelation

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 13, 2017 - 21:39

Have you ever received revelation from me? Blessed are those who know my voice. If you think you have not, or are not sure, how do you know or why do you think you have not? Do you think it requires an earthquake, a flood, or even a windstorm? I can be in these things but more often I speak in a still small voice. Do you think revelation requires you to solve thorny theological dilemmas? You can hear from me without doing this. The thoughts that I think of you are of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope, and I am willing to share them with you. When such thoughts come to you, think of them as a revelation from me. 

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coming soon

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 12, 2017 - 21:26

I promised to return, so you can count on that. My word supplies some information about the events leading up to this, but I didn’t include a timeline, so people have taken it upon themselves to generate their own. Yet the many predictions of the date of my return have all turned out to be premature. How should you approach this issue? You know better than to set a date yourself. Should you concentrate on your own spiritual formation and ministry, or events to come? The certainty of my return and the realization that it could be soon should inspire you to be good and faithful stewards now. 

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forgive

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 11, 2017 - 21:21

Does it bother you that I expect you to grant forgiveness freely? Does it seem like you are letting the people who hurt you get away with it? Does it appear that this requires you to revisit offenses against you with no justice or resolution? I do expect you to revisit these situations but not for the purpose of obtaining justice. The process of granting forgiveness changes you. It allows you to release the offense and deal with it in a way that renders it harmless against you. My word teaches you to be transformed into my likeness. Granting forgiveness is a way that you can participate in this process.

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ordinary?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 10, 2017 - 23:20

My word tells the story of two of my disciples who were on the road to Emmaus. It doesn’t say why they were going there, and Emmaus is not a prominent place in the Bible. Do you ever consider your own life to be quite ordinary, living in and going to places that are not special, and doing routine tasks? But the details of the business in Emmaus were not central to the story. The point was that my presence changed everything. This same principle applies in your life even if you consider it to be otherwise ordinary. My presence infuses divine life into your life and makes the ordinary extraordinary. 

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all things work for good?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 09, 2017 - 22:16

Have you ever quoted the verse about all things working together for good for those who love God to someone in extreme heartache and tragic devastation? Have you ever had it quoted to you in similar circumstances? Which did you enjoy more? That verse is in scripture, but it is better for you to affirm and embrace it because I have given it to you than for some would-be comforter to quote it casually. This is a powerful statement if it is spoken in first person by someone in the midst of great suffering, to affirm their steadfastness in me and declare that good will come of it.

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one goal

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on September 09, 2017 - 00:00

Is it easy to see the logic that you have to give up harmful and detrimental things to do the work that I have set before you? Is it harder to understand that you also have to give up things that are good and beneficial? Consider the most productive people you know. Are they involved in everything? You really can be spread too thin. Do you have a sense of destiny? You may have many things competing for your time and attention, but I have not called you to all of them. I have given you a future and a hope, and enough energy to carry them out. Lay aside weights, even those that are good, that you may run the race set before you. 

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