Dale Cresap's blog

My word says to examine yourself when you come to the table of the Lord lest you partake in an unworthy manner. Do you view this in a negative manner, reviewing your life for faults that need to be corrected before you come? You should do this, rather like washing your hands before you eat, but you can also examine yourself with regard to the times that you felt the most joy, the strongest sense of purpose, felt closest to me. If you consider the conditions that brought about these experiences and how you may structure your life to have them more often, or for longer periods. Examination can be positive as well as negative. 

Are you at home? Everyone has some place that they identify as home whether they live there or not. People identify home as a place of love and acceptance, and blessed are those for whom that is a reality. College students, soldiers, and prisoners typically do not live at home, but still identify with it. For some, home is not a place of pleasant memories and this is tragic. Some seek a city with foundations in the heavens so they see themselves as pilgrims here, and not entirely at home in this world. All can take comfort in my promise that I have gone to prepare a place for you, that where I am ye may be also, and you will have love and acceptance at home even if you never had before. 

Do you consider yourself to be brave and courageous? Do you think these terms only apply to situations of grave physical danger? Do you care what people think about you? You may never be in a situation where you have to act decisively with your life or the life of others at risk. But everyone has to decide how to conduct their own life and how much influence they will accept from the opinions of others. Don’t you admire people who have a strong enough sense of identity and purpose that they don’t lose focus whether other people express approval of them or not? You can have the courage of your convictions even if you don’t have to display courage in battle. 

Do you think of a doorkeeper as a status job with prestige? Yet David said he would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. Do you realize that you face this same choice? For you are my temple in which I dwell. You are bought with a price, and you are not your own. You stand as a doorkeeper of your temple, deciding what you will admit and what you will refuse. I want you to realize the importance of performing this task with diligence that I may dwell in comfort within you and that you may be a vessel of honor, equipped for every good work. 

Have you ever been to a church where the people refer to each other as brother and sister? This endearing practice is becoming less common. The Bible gives an account of a man who asked me, who is my neighbor? In the beginning, there was no doubt about everyone being related. Now the population of the earth has increased drastically. Does this make it more difficult to view everyone as your neighbor, let alone your brother and sister? Yet this increase does not in principle negate the original premise that all people are related. Whether your church follows this practice or not you can still regard them and everyone else as your brother and sister even if you don’t address them that way. 

If someone came to you in desperation to be released from their burden of sin you would know exactly what to tell them. Forgiveness of sin has been the trademark feature of the Christian faith from the beginning. Does this ever happen to you? Don’t you find that the only people who care about sin are already in the church? Then what approach do you take to evangelism? It is not your job to convince people they are sinners. Conviction of sin is the task of the Holy Spirit. Yet this does not leave you passive and impotent. You are the salt of the earth. Your conduct is a greater factor than you realize in the advancement of the gospel. 

Do you know why you are here? How many people do you meet who say, if I was rich this is how I would devote my time? Have you ever said this? The statement is an acknowledgement of longing for a deep sense of purpose, but it ends up being an excuse for not doing it. How many rich people do you know who live from a deep sense of purpose? Perhaps it is better to look at those who do live from a deep sense of purpose. How many of them are wealthy? Even if you have to earn a living, how do you spend your spare time? I know your life situation and the demands on you, but I will not allow them to prevent you from reaching your destiny if you seek it. 

Do you see yourself as a defender of the faith? My word commends bold evangelism, preaching, and proclaiming the good news of the gospel of the Kingdom. Yet these are not inherently defensive activities. My word also commends you to seek first the Kingdom of God. Can you be a seeker and a defender at the same time? Doesn’t defensiveness close off the openness that is necessary for seeking? How effective have you been at defending the faith? Do you find yourself open to receive from people who are defensive themselves? Seek me, and trust me that my message will go forth more effectively from your openness than your defensiveness. 

Are you under the influence? You trust that you are ultimately following me, yet you are not following a faith tradition that descended from heaven in pure essence. Even very early in Christian faith there were those who identified with prominent personalities, such as I am of Paul, or of Apollos, or of Christ. The last one of these may seem to be the purest form, but it is the denial of the reality that people were involved in transmitting your current faith tradition to you. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging those who have gone before to bring you the message of redemption. It is beneficial to know who has influenced you. 

You understand that the forgiveness of sins is central to the Christian faith. Once you have received that, what comes next? Everyone is looking for validation; the reassurance that everything about them is OK. What I offer instead is the promise of transformation, that through a process that takes a lifetime you can be changed into my image and likeness. I don’t pretend that this is easy. It includes elements of being sifted like wheat, and tried in the fire. It involves laying down your life, and picking up your cross, and following me. Keep engaged in your inner work even when it is difficult. Transformation is better than validation.