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belief and faith

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 31, 2016 - 21:45

Do you understand that belief and faith are similar but not identical? Belief comes first and faith grows from it. This is illustrated in the life of Abraham. His journey of faith began with believing me, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. This is not to say that he was righteous, but I was willing to accept him on the basis of his belief, which was a good deal for him and an early expression of grace. Much later Abraham is called to sacrifice his dear promised son Isaac. By then his belief had grown into solid faith and he was able to follow through with this most demanding request though I intervened to prevent it. Watch your own belief grow into the substance of faith. 

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where to start?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 30, 2016 - 21:28

Once you become a believer, do you think that all the problems of the world are external to you? That they are due to the atheists, the Muslims, the liberals, or the gays? Or a different set for believers of different backgrounds? Your ability to change others is less than your ability to change yourself. How successful are you at changing yourself? For judgment will begin in the house of God. How much support does my word give to the idea of imposing change on others? Yet it tells you to judge no one except yourself. I still have much work to do in you, and I will complete the good work I have begun. 

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church growth?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 29, 2016 - 21:57

Are you interested in growth for your church? I have commissioned you to preach the gospel to every creature. This is a better approach than recruiting exiting believers from other churches. Yet it is based on the assumption that the people who respond to your presentation of the gospel will want to go to your church. One activity should support the other in the matter of making disciples and not just converts, so you should be prepared to see the process through. But if I commend you for being a good and faithful servant in presenting my message, and invite you into the joy of the Lord, will you still complain that they didn’t go to your church?

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problem of evil

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 28, 2016 - 21:26

Have you ever pondered the problem of evil? You think of me as being loving and powerful and yet you see people endure suffering from the forces of nature and from each other. Does this make you wonder if I am not powerful enough to intervene or loving enough to care? Many people have engaged this question and come to one conclusion or the other and their faith has come to ruin because they have reached a false conclusion about me. You know my nature not only as a matter of doctrine, but also as a matter of experience. If that leaves you with some difficult questions don’t force your way to wrong answers to resolve them. Don’t attribute evil or impotence to me. 

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not what you are not

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 27, 2016 - 21:33

Do you define yourself by what you are, or what you are not? When the question is posed that way it is obviously better to be known by what you are. Yet I spoke of the Pharisees who prayed and thanked God that they were not sinners, or publicans, or tax collectors. In everyday conversation how often do you hear people describe themselves by what they oppose? How many of those who have left a religious tradition call themselves an ex-(fill in the blank)? In so doing they give their past undue influence over their present and future. I would have you walk in the true liberty of having a positive identity in me. 

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love your neighbor

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 26, 2016 - 20:32

My word teaches you to love your enemies. It also teaches you to love your neighbor. Which of these do you think is harder? It is normal to think it would be harder to love your enemies, but you know who your enemies are, and the issues you have with them. Do you know who your neighbors are? You can be open to conviction when your enemies come to mind, but how do you overcome indifference and apathy toward your neighbors if you don’t know who they are? Inertia can be a greater obstacle than opposition. Go out into the highways and byways to encounter your neighbors and let my light shine through you to compel them to come into my Kingdom. 

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Body Temple

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 25, 2016 - 21:19

Do you see your body as a burden and a hindrance to your spirituality? This has been a common false view for centuries, that spirit is disembodied pure transcendent essence, and the body is vulgar, base and vile. This is not Christian thinking. Do you remember that in the fullness of time I came as a man, in the flesh, and that I had no form or comeliness that men should desire me? If a body was good enough for me it is for you too. Is your view of yourself in need of redemption? Make peace with your body. Realize that it is not your enemy, that you may have an integrated view of your whole being, and serve me with joy in the temple I have given you. 

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shook up?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 24, 2016 - 21:27

Have you ever been shook up? When your internal equilibrium is disturbed you find it unsettling and seek to resolve this situation. I promised that all things would be shaken only those things that could not be shaken would remain. Did you assume that this referred to a time of cataclysm in the distant future? I tell you that it can happen on an individual scale at any time. You may consider this similar to being sifted like wheat in the process of trying your faith. You can expect this to happen to you but it doesn’t have to be traumatic. Think of it as a way of learning that only I cannot be shaken. 

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foul weather God?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 23, 2016 - 21:41

Do you have any fair-weather friends? This uncomplimentary term refers to friends who are only with you in good times. Conversely, how many people do you know that only have a foul-weather God? How many people pay no attention to me until they see suffering and injustice and wonder how I could permit it? I will grant you that these are difficult questions, but not all people are perplexed by them. If you want to understand don’t be so selective in seeking me. Those who walk with me and seek me constantly in good times and bad are not distraught and confused in difficulties because they know the comfort of my presence in them. 

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hit bottom?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on March 22, 2016 - 21:09

Have you ever fallen in a spiritual sense? This can happen in various degrees, and my word refers to those who stumble but do not fall. Yet those recovering from addictions will describe themselves as falling and hitting bottom. They have reached the end of their resources and can go no further. This was not an experience they sought, but it was a turning point and the beginning of their recovery. In Biblical terms hitting bottom could be compared to my reference to those who fall upon this stone. Those who do so will certainly be broken, but it is a brokenness that leads to eternal life. Have you hit bottom?

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