daily word - light shine

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 23, 2020 - 06:00

Do you fully embrace your faith tradition? Are you able to interact with others of different traditions who fully embrace theirs? Has this ever created tension for you? You can embrace your faith and this resulting tension at the same time. Being faithful to your own calling doesn’t require you to live in isolation from everyone else. Meeting people who disagree with you doesn’t make them your enemies. I got along just fine in a world with diverse faith practices and you can too. You are to be in the world but not of the world.

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daily word - love - theory or practice?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 22, 2020 - 06:00

Do you know the difference between theory and practice? Theory may work in the classroom, but practice has to work in the real world. Theories may be proven wrong if they don’t work in practice. Do you have a theory about love? But love is more about practice than theory. As my word says, let us not love in word but in deed. Love is not a special way of feeling. It doesn’t matter how much tender affection you feel in your heart. If you are not demonstrating it in concrete action, how can you claim that it is love?

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daily word - poor in spirit

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 21, 2020 - 06:00

Have you heard it said that there are no atheists in foxholes? The same argument could be applied to AA meetings. Atheism is a luxury of those who can pretend they are self-sufficient. It doesn’t work for those who know they are at risk, in peril, and need help. But don’t these conditions apply to everyone? Yet not everyone is aware that they cannot make it on their own. I know the proud afar off, but I identify with the humble, and meek, and lowly of heart. Is it a mystery to you how the poor in spirit are blessed, and theirs is the Kingdom of God (now)?

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daily word - hired help?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 20, 2020 - 06:00

Do you hire skilled workers to do things for you that you don’t have the skills to do yourself? This could include anything from mechanics to construction workers to medical practitioners. Do you support your pastor? Do you see this the same way, hiring an expert to do something for you that you aren’t able to do for yourself? They watch for your souls, but this is not an appropriate metaphor. You should pay your pastor, but not to hire him to be spiritual in your stead. No one else can live your spiritual life for you, including your pastor. That is your privilege alone to fulfill.

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daily word - true essence

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 19, 2020 - 06:00

How do you see yourself? In the fullness of the essence of your humanity or as the sum of your attachments? How do you see others? You can see them either way, and they can make the first way more difficult if they see themselves the second way and carefully craft an image to present themselves the second way. But the first way still exists for all people. Strive to see yourself the first way. This puts you in a position to see others that way even if they are alienated from themselves and do not see themselves that way.

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daily word - enough faith?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 18, 2020 - 06:00

Have you ever been in a severe crisis and prayed for relief, but did not get the outcome you desired? Have you been told by those in positions of spiritual authority that you did not have enough faith to get what you wanted? This is a form of spiritual abuse, and it is particularly egregious to add this level of condemnation to you in the midst of suffering your trial. Didn’t I chide people for their lack of faith and promise that if they believed they would have whatever they wanted?

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daily word - stolen chapter?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 17, 2020 - 06:00

How would you expect atheists to behave? Would you expect them to live dissolute lives with no positive character traits? Do you actually find that atheists normally lead lives that are morally equal to or better than the general population, and even believers? What would account for this? Does it seem that they have stolen a chapter from a sacred text that does not belong to them? You can live on the residue of a Christian heritage without acknowledging the source of it. Blessed are those who do and teach all that I commanded. Blessed are those who know their source of life.

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daily word - whose rules?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 16, 2020 - 06:00

Would you like me to play by your rules? But I make the rules. You hunger for my presence, but I can be present with you in a way that you still feel alone. You would like to be spared from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, but I am with you and will sustain you in all things while inexplicably sparing you from nothing. You would like to have rigid certainty. I invite you in to take your place in the divine mystery. In all these cases you would prefer what is easy, comfortable, and convenient for you. Can you accept that I love you even if I choose another approach?

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daily word - winning arguments?

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Submitted by Dale Cresap on May 15, 2020 - 06:00

Have you ever won an argument? How do you define this? If your opponent ceases to oppose you? What if they turn their back on you and walk away in an icy silence? In that case, what have you really won? Certainly you have not won your brother, and which is more important? Argument implies an element of strife, discord, and confrontation. You may prevail by facts and logic, or at least decibels, but a gentler approach at persuasion is necessary if you want to win your brother’s heart. Have you ever changed your mind based on the argument of an enemy? What about the entreaty of a friend?

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