"The Muslims are Coming!": Confessions of a Christian Bed-Wetter

By David Ryser

God favors a certain type of heart, not a certain type of people.  (Mark Pederson)

I recently had to give up listening to political talk shows.  In part, I did this because I found myself fuming against the stupidity of human government.  What other kind of human government is there?  I also discovered that I was beginning to be in fear concerning (among other things) the current state of the economy and the threat of terrorism fomented by some practitioners of “the religion of peace.”

I find that neither anger nor fear brings me any closer to Jesus.

As I was perusing a Christian website yesterday, I came across a bed-wetting article warning of the coming of the Muslim hordes to America.  It seems these demon-worshiping monsters are dedicated to the overthrow of the United States and the imposition of their religious law.  And, for good measure, they are also out to kill me and my family.

I am, as yet, unclear as to just exactly how they propose both to kill me and impose their law on me at the same time.

This is not to say that I am unaware of, or unconcerned with, this worldwide threat against life and liberty.  But I get very nervous when nominal lovers of Jesus confuse patriotism/nationalism with Christianity.  The Kingdom of God managed to muddle along somehow before the United States was founded, and I imagine it will continue to thrive even after the United States ceases to exist.

God is not an American.

As for the Muslim threat to the world, I defer to the expertise of my friend Cliff who ministers in the Muslim villages of Uganda.  Pointing to the book of Jonah, Cliff believes that we Christians will either convert the Muslims or serve them.  He prefers the former, so he preaches the gospel with power to people who respond in faith when they see the miracle workings of a God who is near to us, alive, and active (as opposed to a god who is distant, unknowable, and inactive).

I prefer Cliff’s methodology to that of the author of yesterday’s article who suggests we either deport or kill the Muslims in order to safeguard ourselves and the nation of Israel.  After all, the United States is vital to Israel’s survival…isn’t it?

Not according to the Bible.

Anyhow, because I am currently teaching a semester-long class on the book of Jonah, I have thought about Cliff’s theory a lot recently.  Some lessons from this wonderful little book might be helpful in assisting us to respond to a very real threat in our world.

The story is a familiar one.  The prophet Jonah is called by God to go to Nineveh, the capital city of the Assyrian empire, and prophesy its destruction (1:1, 2).  Because he is a prophet, and a contemporary of the prophets Amos and Hosea, Jonah knows that the Assyrians will be the instrument of God’s judgment upon Israel.  He also knows that if the Ninevites respond with repentance to his prophecy of destruction, then God will likely relent of His judgment upon them (4:2).

Jonah hates the idolatrous Assyrians.  And he loves his people.  To safeguard Israel (Where have we heard this line before?), he opts to go in the opposite direction from where God wants him to go (1:3).  He figures that if the Ninevites don’t hear God’s warning, they will be destroyed in forty days (1:2 & 3:4).  Israel will be saved!

Of course, it never occurs to Jonah that God’s doomsday clock does not even begin to tick for Nineveh until he arrives there.

Along the way, Jonah gets several lessons about God’s character and His love for all people…even the Assyrians.  The Ninevites repent at Jonah’s preaching, turn from their wicked ways, and are spared from God’s judgment (3:1-10).

Jonah responds badly (4:1-3).  And, quite possibly, God’s plan for Assyria (and for Israel) is ruined.

What if Jonah had received more than just the message (eyes and ears) of God?  What if he had received the heart of God also?  What if he had overcome his racism and religious bigotry, and taken advantage of Nineveh’s turn toward God and stayed there to teach them the ways of the Lord?  What if the Assyrians had become a godly nation, loving and serving the true God?

What if the Assyrians had conquered Israel by their godliness rather than by their armies?

God is not an Israeli.

We will never know what would have happened if Jonah had been God’s apostle to the Assyrians.  Over time, the Ninevites returned to their old ways.  They became enemies of Israel.  Because of Israel’s ungodliness, and failure to repent of it, the armies of Nineveh conquered Israel and took the nation captive.  Because they did not convert the Assyrians, Israel ultimately ended up conquered by…and serving…them.

End of story…for ancient Israel.  But what about us?

The world faces a dire threat from radical Islam.  Military and political solutions to this problem are doomed to failure.  The “Christian-American” solution of deporting or killing all Muslims will not work.  Even if it did work, it would be an obscenity.

The answer to this problem is and always has been…Jesus.

What if Christians would reach out to Muslims and demonstrate to them the life, love, and power of God?  Of course, this would mean that we would need to have all of the above qualities operational in our own lives…which makes it a bit of a religious crap-shoot.  But what if Christians could show Jesus to Muslims?

Do you even know what the foundation of the Muslim faith is?

The whole Muslim religion is founded upon the belief that their god is distant, unknowable, unloving, capricious, and inactive in the affairs of people.  If we will proclaim and demonstrate a God who is near, intimately knowable, loving, just, and active, then we could see a great harvest for the Kingdom of God.

And Muslims are not as far from God as you might imagine.  For one thing, they believe in the Jesus of the Bible more than does the average seminary professor.  For another, they have a heart after God and desire to serve Him.  They don’t know Him.  They’ve never experienced His passionate love for them.

And they have never seen an example of Him apart from us.  Which makes the task of converting them even more daunting.

But convert them we must.  Or serve them.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

The End of the World: Some Thoughts

By David Ryser

Jesus is coming.  Look busy.   (My all-time favorite bumper sticker)

One of the mixed blessings that comes with having the title of “doctor” in front of my name is that people ask me a lot of questions.  Normally I enjoy the interaction that comes from considering a thoughtful question.  At other times I am struck by how we Christians can be so concerned about things that don’t really matter.

For example, I am regularly asked about my opinion of the end of the world.

I don’t often get this question when the economy is robust and life is easy.  I usually get it when times are tough for the person asking the question.  I’m happy to respond to the question, but most people don’t understand the answer.

So before I share my answer, it may help to explain how I arrived at it.

It was March of 1997.  I had been in the professional ministry for 13 years.  And I was at the end of myself.  I was tired, burned out, fed up, and spiritually comatose.  My faith, once characterized by an intense love for Jesus, was on life support.  I was going through the motions, but had no passion for Jesus or the work of His kingdom.

I was, in short, a typical pastor.

Then one night I attended (somewhat against my will, I might add) a revival meeting held by people who had been mightily touched by God.  The congregation was made up of people who were passionate lovers of Jesus.  They prayed and worshiped with all their heart.  Their passion and intensity instantly convinced me of two things:  1) They loved Jesus, and 2) I did not.  I wanted to love Jesus.  I used to love Jesus.  Could I be in love with Him again?

And the service hadn’t even started!

The worship service was powerful.  The presence of God was so strong, even I could feel it.  I basked in Him.  It had been so long since I’d last experienced Him so tangibly.  How could I have lost Him?  Could I find Him again?

Then the preaching began.

But this wasn’t preaching like I had expected.

The simple country preacher humbly spoke about how he had encountered God.  This pastor had been broken, burned out, used up, and ready to quit.  In his lowest hour, God had come and restored his life and his strength.  Jesus became real to him like never before.  This man of God had come alive again and was living in the presence, love, and power of God.

And then this pastor asked us if we wanted what he had.

Did I want what he had?  Does a land animal crave oxygen?  Yes, I wanted what he had!  I didn’t know if I could get it, or even what “it” was exactly, but I thought I would die without it.

God finds that kind of desperation irresistible.

As I received prayer at the end of the service, I began to feel hope come alive in me.  The love and life of God began to be poured into me, displacing the disappointment, pain, and death.

And I began to fall in love with Jesus all over again.  In a moment…on that night…in that place…my world ended.

So when people ask my opinion of the end of the world, my response tends to be, “What world?”

Most folks find this response unsatisfying.  And they assume I’ve misunderstood the question.  So they reword it.  They ask, “Do you believe that Jesus is coming soon?”  And I tell them that, for me, Jesus has already come.

He came when my world ended.

You see, I don’t live in my world any longer.  I live in God’s kingdom.  I’m experiencing the truth of the words of John the Baptist and Jesus:  “The Kingdom of God is at hand.”  It’s near.  It’s here.  And I’m living in it.

I experience the presence of God every day.  God’s kingdom, as with any kingdom, is where the King reigns.  If God lives and reigns in me, then I am in His kingdom.  If not….

It really is just that simple.  Of course, one should not confuse simple with easy.

It can be tough living in a kingdom.  Especially if you are full of yourself.  I’ve discovered that what I want is not always what the King wants.  And in a kingdom, the king rules.  He always gets what he wants.  I don’t always get to have things my way.

Jesus is the King of Kings.  He’s not the Burger King.

Do I believe Jesus is coming again to rule over a new heaven and earth?  Yes.  And I yearn to see Him and experience Him in ways not possible before.  To know Him as I am known by Him.  To reach out and touch Him as He goes by and hold onto His feet if only for a few seconds.  That would be heaven for me.

You can keep your mansions.  There aren’t any mansions, anyhow.  Read your Bible…and not in English.

Is the world coming to an end?  My world has already ended.  Is Jesus coming?  He has already come.  Am I looking forward to seeing Him?  More than you could ever know.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Not Everyone Who Kisses Your Butt is Your Friend: And Not Everyone Who Kicks Your Butt is Your Enemy

By David Ryser

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.  (Proverbs 27:6, NKJV)

Recently, a friend of mine kicked my spiritual butt.  I had missed God, and she called me on it…without bothering to use a whole lot of emotional anesthesia, I might add.  Are we still friends?  Of course we are.  If we hadn’t been friends, she wouldn’t have been allowed to kick my butt in the first place.

Perhaps I had better explain that.

This lady and her husband are dear friends of mine.  They held my hand and ministered the love of God to me during a very difficult time in my life.  They believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself.  As a result, they have earned the right to speak into my life.

What?  A person has to earn the right to speak into my life?  Well…yes.

Is that scriptural?  Perhaps a lesson from the book of Job will help here.

In Job 1:1, we are introduced to Job who is described as a person who is blameless and upright, and who fears God and shuns evil.  And God has blessed him.  Job is a wealthy and great man (Job 1:2, 3).  Life is good for Job.

Until one day….

God has a conversation with Satan about Job (Job 1:6-8).  God brags on Job.  He describes Job in glowing terms.  What is Satan’s response?

Satan calls Job a whore.

Yes, he does.  Satan says, “Does Job serve God for nothing?” (Job 1:9).  And then he goes on to say that Job loves God because God pays for his love (Job 1:10).  He then predicts that if God would stop paying for Job’s love, then Job would cease to love Him (Job 1:11).

That’s quite an accusation.

God is not going to stand for Satan talking about His good friend Job that way, so He decides to prove that Job’s love is genuine (Job 1:12a & 2:6).  Soon, Job suffers great loss.  He loses his oxen, donkeys, and several servants to a Sabean raiding party (Job 1:14, 15).  His sheep are killed in what sounds like a terrible lightning storm (Job 1:16).  He has his camels stolen and more servants killed by bands of Chaldeans (Job 1:17).  His children are killed in a windstorm (Job 1:18, 19).  And then his health takes a turn for the worse.  He is covered from head to toe with painful boils (Job 2:7).

Job ends up sitting in ashes and scraping the pus from his boils with pieces of broken pottery (Job 2:8).  Not a pretty picture.

Some men hear of Job’s adversity and come to comfort him (Job 2:11).  When they see him, they are so overwhelmed by the picture of his suffering that they weep, tear their clothes (a sign of extreme grief in their culture), and sprinkle dust on their heads (Job 2:12).  Then they sit with Job for a week.

A week!  Without saying anything.   Not a word.

These men suffered with Job for a week without opening their mouths.  They earned the right to speak into Job’s life by suffering with him.  And the Bible says that these guys were his friends (Job 2:11)!  Even they had to be with Job for a time before speaking to him.

You see, speaking into someone’s life is done most effectively in the context of relationship.  Especially when what you need to speak to me is unpleasant for me to hear.  You don’t need to be in relationship with me to tell me how great I am.  I’m open to hearing that from anyone.  Relationship is for when you need to admonish me.

Relationship is for when you need to kick my butt.

If I believe you love and care about me, I will allow you to give me a swift kick in the rear…even if I think you are wrong.  But if I don’t believe you love and care about me, I’m unlikely to let you within kicking range…even if you’re right.

You must earn the right to speak into my life.  And I must earn the right to speak into yours.

You earn that right by investing time in developing a relationship with me.  You don’t earn it by virtue of having your name on the door of a church office.  You don’t earn it by having a title such as “prophet” or “bishop” or “apostle” or whatever.  Self-sent apostles are a dime-a-dozen.

No, thanks.

If you don’t have time to be in relationship with me, then I might not have the time to listen to your “word” for me.  You can take your “word” and stick it…oops…take it somewhere else.

Titles and offices are not suitable substitutes for relationship.

Are there exceptions to this rule?  Yes, of course.  But not as many as we’d like to think.

And, church leaders, please don’t bother to introduce yourself to me as “Pastor (whatever your name is).”  I’ll know what you are when I see how you behave around the sheep.

And who among us has not been beguiled by the smooth tongue and flattering lips of someone whose goal is to get something from us?  We think we’ve made a lifelong friend who loves and values us, only to have them reveal their true colors and betray us in some way.

Remember that Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.  Not a slap.  Or a kick.

In truth, it is a shame that we are susceptible to flattery in the first place.  Do we have such a high opinion of ourselves?  We shouldn’t (Romans 12:3).  I’m not such a great catch apart from Jesus.  Or do we have such a low opinion of ourselves as to need constant affirmation…and that from people we don’t really know?

And whose opinion of us counts more than God’s?

Is His love not enough for us?  Is His praise not enough for us?  Are His presence and blessing and power in our lives not enough for us?  What about God isn’t enough for us?  Why do we desire the kisses of an enemy more than the kisses of God?

Actually, I’ve learned to appreciate my enemies.  They can teach us as much as our friends can.  God has used these people to show me a lot about of myself that needs a good God-makeover.  When I’m deceived and/or wounded by an enemy and I complain to God about it, He typically wants to talk to me about me…and not about them.

And the most valuable lesson both friends and foes have taught me is that not everyone who kisses my butt is my friend, and not everyone who kicks my butt is my enemy.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

"Wolf! Wolf!": The Cry of Insecure Leaders

By David Ryser

Wolf!  Wolf!  (The sheep in the movie Babe upon seeing a sheepdog approaching them.)

I was reading an interesting article in which the author divided people into three categories:  sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs.  Most people are sheep.  They are cute, cuddly, harmless, and clueless.  Wolves are predators.  And they are violent.  They take advantage of, and even harm and kill, sheep.  Sheepdogs are, to simplify a bit, wolves with a conscience.  Like wolves, sheepdogs are predatory by nature and are prone to violence.  Unlike wolves, sheepdogs use violence to protect the sheep.

And sheep typically have difficulty distinguishing between sheepdogs and wolves.  To sheep, a predator is a predator.  All predators look alike.

What does all of this have to do with the Kingdom of God?

A common theme in Christian preaching and teaching has to do with wolves among the flock.  Insecure church leaders use this as an opportunity to warn their parishioners against people who will come into the congregation from the outside and try to scatter the flock.  To steal them away and/or kill them spiritually.  Such sage words of warning are typically accompanied by guidelines to assist the sheep in recognizing wolves.  During one such church meeting, the pastor told his congregation that wolves never come from among the church leadership; but rather, from among the other worshipers.

This is a convenient teaching.  Especially if, in fact, church leaders can be wolves.  But why even suggest such a thing?  A wolf wouldn’t lie…would he?

Anyhow, when I read the article about sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs (an article, incidentally, that appeared in a non-Christian magazine), I began to be curious about what the scriptures have to say on the subject.

As it turns out, there are very few scriptures (only 13 verses) that even speak about wolves at all.  And even fewer speak of wolves in the way the Church speaks of them (a mere 4 verses).

In Ezekiel 22:27, the term “wolves” is applied to the princes of Israel.  Leaders.  In Zephaniah 3:3, the word “wolves” is used of the judges of Israel.  Leaders.  In Matthew 7:15, “wolves” refers to false prophets.  Leaders.  In Acts 20:29, Paul warns a meeting of believers about “wolves” who will come “in among you” and do damage to God’s flock.  So who is the “among you” being referred to here?  Acts 20:17 tells us that this was a meeting of church elders.  Leaders.

Do you see a pattern here?

And don’t even try to play the “Absalom card” on me.  Absalom was a member of the royal family.  A leader.

Now I’m not saying that there should be no leaders in the Church.  God has placed people with leadership giftings in His Church to guide, protect, and nurture His sheep.  I am in favor of godly church leadership.

They are God’s sheepdogs.

But I also know that sheepdogs sometimes go rogue.  When they do, they run in packs as wolves (and even sometimes with the wolves), terrorizing and killing sheep.  The Church is not immune to this phenomenon.

And if I were a rogue sheepdog, I would want to “take out” the true sheepdogs.

I have long contended that the most common and most persecuted gift in the local church is the gift of pastor.  People with this gift are naturally drawn to the “sheep” and the sheep are drawn to them.  Those with a pastoral gifting are loving and kind with sheep, but can be quite violent toward those who would harm them.

They are sheepdogs.  And insecure church leaders loathe them.  And persecute them.  And try to get rid of them.

Perhaps you’ve had this happen to you.  I have.  I was once part of a large church where the leadership did not value relationship and actually discouraged relationships among members of the congregation.  The stated fear was that “wolves” would take advantage of false friendships and draw the “sheep” after themselves to harm them.  Those who ignored this teaching did so at their own peril.

I knew it was dangerous to love people in this church, but I couldn’t help doing it anyhow.  I just find sheep irresistible…they’re so darn cute.

People need to be loved.  They need to feel valued.  They need someone to listen to them.  I was happy to accommodate them.  And it wasn’t long before I had lines of people waiting to visit with me after every service.  It got to the point where a young lady in the church printed up numbers (as a joke…she never used them) to hand out to people wanting to talk with me.

Of course, this got the attention of church leadership.

The persecution began with warnings in sermons about wolves in the congregation.  My behavior didn’t change.  So the warnings became more pointed.  Friends would come to me after the church service and say, “Do you know that the pastor was preaching about you?”  At first, I didn’t.  I could not imagine a person as gifted, talented, and anointed as our pastor being so insecure as to be threatened by the likes of me.  But over time, I was forced to concede their point.

So what could I do?  The scripture encourages me to love God and to love people.  I did my best to do both without offending those in leadership, but was not willing to stop loving.  Eventually I felt it best to leave the church because of a piece of gossip that seemed to confirm the fear that I was going to lead a coup of some sort.

The ironic thing about this is that the pastor preached vigorously against gossip in the church.  It turns out that the right kind of gossip was welcomed.  Only the wrong kind of gossip was frowned upon.

Don’t ask me to explain it.  I don’t understand it either.

I no longer attend traditional church services.  If I did, I would love God and love the people.  If that was a problem for the church leadership, then it would be their problem.  I would love the people without fear of consequence.  I simply refuse to violate scripture, and quench the life and love of Jesus in me, for the sake of insecure leaders.

Love God.  Love people.  If God has made you to be a sheepdog, be what you are.  Watch yourself…don’t go rogue.  Most wolves in the church were once sheepdogs.  If persecuted, guard your heart.  If you can continue loving people without regard to the persecution, do it.  They need love more than you need to be comfortable.

And pray for your leaders.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

You Can't Get There from Here: Making Good Time on the Road to Nowhere

By David Ryser

You cannot spend your way out of a recession or borrow your way out of debt. (Daniel Hannan).

When I saw this quote, I was stunned because the statement was made by a politician.  My mental equilibrium was restored only after I discovered that Mr. Hannan is not an American politician.

It is self-evident to some people that a nation cannot spend itself into prosperity.  Many such obvious statements could be coined.  For example:  You cannot drink yourself into a cure for alcoholism.

Or how about this one?  You cannot religion yourself to God.

I’ve had friends who have left the professional ministry.  They’re usually happy to be out of the religion business, but have to work through some hurts and disappointments they’ve picked up along the way.  And they don’t realize how much of their troubles were self-inflicted.  Typically, they’re not ready to hear about it for a long time.  Because we are friends, we talk about it when the time is right.

So, let’s take a look at how a Jesus-loving church leader can be his/her (and the Kingdom’s) worst enemy.

In Mark 2:22 (cf. Luke 5:37, 38), Jesus tells us that new wine cannot be put into old wineskins.  If new wine is put into an old wineskin, the fermenting wine will cause the wineskin to burst.  The wine will be wasted, and the wineskin will be destroyed.

And so it is with churches.

Much is made of the subject of the new wine in sermons...along with mention of the old wineskin.  Usually, and incorrectly, the use of the term “old wineskin” is in reference to Judaism.  All of this talk about new wine and old wineskins is particularly noteworthy when we consider that the two scriptures mentioned earlier are the only verses in the entire New Testament that speak of new wine and old wineskins at all--and they are referencing the same teaching.

So Jesus possibly spoke about the new wine and the old wineskins only once.

Reading these verses in context, I have become convinced that when Jesus speaks of the new wine, He is talking simultaneously about powerful moves of the Holy Spirit in our time as well as the people affected by this outpouring.  He’s talking about us!  He’s speaking about what happens when God’s Spirit is poured into people…and what happens when those people grapple with incorporating this move of God into a religious system that is not able to contain either the move of God or the people of God who are filled to overflowing with His Spirit.

When God pours out His Spirit (His presence and His power) onto His people, one of three things usually happens.  And all of them end badly.

First, religious people may accept neither what God is doing nor those who have been impacted by it.  They prefer the old and the familiar ways.  When Jesus speaks about the new wine and the need for new wineskins to contain it (Luke 5:37, 38), He goes on to say (in verse 39) that people do not immediately acquire a taste for the new wine.   They declare that the old wine is good enough.  They can reject the new wine.  They hold on to the old religious ways for any number of reasons:  out of a love for tradition, a preference for the old and comfortable way of doing things (no matter how perverted and unbiblical), to maintain their standing or position in the church, etc.  They will reject an obvious move of God in favor of the old wineskin.

I have seen this happen on more than one occasion.  Once it occurred in a church I was pastoring.  It’s why I don’t pastor anymore.

Second, the church leadership might try to preserve both the new thing God is doing and the old religious church system, methods, and programs.  Trying to please everyone, they end up pleasing no one…including God.  The pressure of the old straining against the new will eventually come to the breaking point, and the church explodes--and is destroyed along with what God was trying to do.

And the new move of God, and the people who went for it, are usually blamed for the church’s demise.

Third, and perhaps most common, the church leadership may see that the new move of God is straining the church’s religious structure (and threatening their power).  If something is not done soon, the church will be destroyed.  But they want to retain the new wine as well.  So they try to co-opt the move of God by tinkering with their church system in an effort to accommodate God’s outpouring without substantively changing the church “wineskin.”  They bleed off just enough of the new wine (such as by adding closely-supervised “small groups” to simulate church as an organism rather than just an organization; or by simply dampening, or even removing, those “troublemakers” who are contending for the move of God) so that the remainder can be contained within the old religious system. 

Over time, the new wine resembles the old wine.  The church services might be more exuberant, but God is nowhere to be found.

When we do this, we usually just end up where we began.  It’s different.  It’s exciting.  It’s fun.  It makes us feel good.  We’re moving fast…we’re making good time…but the road we’re on doesn’t go anywhere.

Just ask my ex-pastor friends.  When God began to move, they initiated a few changes to accommodate Him.  But they simply would not give up their role as “the sage on the stage” and were unable, or unwilling, to let God take control of the church service.

Including their beloved sermon.

We would be well-advised to follow the biblical model for responding to what God is doing.  We should embrace it…totally and fully.  We need to allow God’s Spirit and power to transform us…first.  Having received a transformation of heart, we then can go about the business of changing how we do things.  We should receive, and become, the new wine.

And then we should seek God about the new wineskin to hold the new wine.

So when God moves in a new way (new to us, anyhow), we need a new way of doing things as well.  How we “do church” must change…radically change.  But transformation of our heart should precede a change of methodology.  If not, we will change what we do without experiencing a transformation of what we are.  This is always a grave error.

If we do not experience a transformation of our heart before we change what we do, we will find that we’ve done nothing except discovered a new way to do an old thing.

And then both what we had, and what we could have had, will be lost.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Raising the Dead: One Man's Experience

By David Ryser

The worst defeat is never having tried to win.  (Dale Brown)

Recently a friend of mine attempted to raise a person from the dead.  I say “attempted” because the person is still dead.  My friend is the pastor of a small church in the community where the death occurred.  Two young teen boys were killed in a boating accident.  This pastor was asked to officiate at the funeral.  In the days preceding the funeral, he felt led by God to raise one of the boys from the dead.  Others in the church confirmed his impression.  Some members of the boy’s immediate family added their endorsement of his plan.  On the day of the funeral, my friend prayed and commanded the boy to be raised from the dead.

Later in the day, both boys were buried next to one another.

So what went wrong?

Raising the dead is part of Christ’s commission to the church.  Jesus raised the dead…at least 3 times.  He sent His disciples out to preach the Kingdom of God with signs accompanying them, including raising the dead (Matthew 10:7, 8).  In the book of Acts, both Peter (Acts 9:36-41) and Paul (Acts 20:9-12) raised people from the dead.

Raising the dead is a part of our commission as well (John 14:12).

You see, raising the dead is not just for the people in biblical times.  Dave Hogan ministers powerfully among the Aztec people in Mexico.  He has raised people from the dead.  Pastors and ordinary Christians, from the churches he has planted, have raised people from the dead.  There are stories from all around the world of people being raised from the dead.

So why doesn’t it seem to work for us?

Dave Hogan himself once shed some light on this while recounting stories of people being raised from the dead in Mexico.  In the course of sharing these testimonies, he added, “You do understand, don’t you that most of the people we pray for to be raised from the dead are still dead?”

What?!

I am reminded of something John Wimber said when speaking about the explosion of physical healing that changed the course of his life and ministry.  He told of the time when God began to deal with him to preach about physical healing and to pray for the sick.  For months he preached on the scriptures pertaining to divine healing and prayed for the sick.

No one was healed.

He took this situation to the Lord.  God’s response was to command him to continue preaching on healing and continue to pray for the sick.

He obeyed God.  No one was healed.

People began to leave the church, thinking their pastor had gone loony-toons.  Over time, Wimber lost half of his congregation.  He continued to preach and pray in obedience to God’s command.

Then, one day, people began to be healed.

Suddenly it seemed that everyone Wimber prayed for was healed.  The results were phenomenal!  A major healing revival broke out and swept the country.  Wimber became the recognized authority on healing prayer.  Asked one day what kept him humble while performing healing miracles, Wimber’s response was instructive…and powerful.

“Failure.”

I don’t know why some people remain dead when believers pray to raise them.  And I don’t know why some people remain sick when believers pray for their healing.  All I know is that we Christians have a commission from the Lord Jesus Christ to proclaim the Kingdom of God with accompanying signs and wonders.

And these include healing the sick and raising the dead.

And I’m reasonably sure that my pastor friend will raise someone from the dead before I do.  Because, to date, he has prayed for one more dead person than I have.  And he will continue to do so every time God leads him.

I don’t know how many people will be raised from the dead as a result of believing prayer.  But I do know how many will be raised from the dead by no prayer.

None.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Intimacy With God and Others: Getting Naked

By David Ryser

Reading the Bible, I am struck by how often God likens His relationship with His people to the relationship between a man and his wife.  Especially in the Old Testament, the biblical writers use explicit, sexual images to describe God’s passion for His people and His desire for an intimate experience with them.  Time and again, while confronting them with their unfaithfulness to their covenant with Him, God expresses His outrage as One who has been betrayed by an unfaithful lover.

And He uses language we don’t use in church.

How did I miss this?  In Bible College, and later in Graduate School, I had been taught that in the Old Testament God revealed Himself as a Lawgiver and a Judge.  The people of God lived under the Law of Moses, judged mercilessly based upon their obedience/disobedience to the Law.  A relationship with God was unavailable to them because Jesus had not yet come to pay for our sins and bring us into right relationship with Him.

What a crock.

The Old Testament records the stories of men and women who knew God, walked with Him, and experienced Him in intimate relationship…both before and after the giving of the Law.  And when God’s people broke their covenant with Him, He did not react as an offended judge.

He reacted as a cuckolded husband.

Intimacy in the marriage relationship expresses itself in many ways.  Among them is the physical union of husband and wife wherein they become one flesh and their hearts are joined together in a way that is denied to all others.

And this involves getting naked.

In the Genesis account of Adam and Eve, the word “naked” plays a central role in the narrative.  Or more accurately, three Hebrew words that can be translated “naked” are used to tell the story of the intimacy of the relationship with God that was lost when man sinned.  And how much God desired to restore that relationship with us.

And the price He would pay for it.

The first occurrence of the word “naked” is found in Genesis 2:25.  The Hebrew word translated “naked” here simply means “unclothed.”  The man and woman were created by God without clothing…and they were not ashamed.

Naked means unclothed?  Who knew?  What else could it mean?  I’m glad you asked.

The second incidence of a word that can be translated “naked” refers to the serpent, and occurs in Genesis 3:1.  The Hebrew word means “smooth” or “slick” and describes someone who is disingenuous or crafty.  We express this concept in our own language when we refer to someone as a “smooth operator” or as “slick.”

When we use these terms, they are not meant as a compliment.

The third use of the word “naked” is found in Genesis 3:10 (cf. Genesis 3:7 & 3:11).  Man has sinned.  Adam and Eve are hiding from God.  They’ve made clothing from fig leaves for themselves.  God is looking for them.  He cries out, “Adam, where are you?”

This is not a geography question.

God knows where Adam is hiding.  And what he is wearing.  And what he has done.  God’s cry for Adam is akin to someone who senses a distance in a once-intimate relationship and says to the other person, “I can’t reach you.  I don’t know where you’ve gone.”

Even if the other person is right there in front of them.

Adam’s response to God is that he is hiding because he knew he was “naked” and he was afraid.  This Hebrew word for “naked” is perhaps better translated “exposed” and carries with it the sense of guilt and shame that comes with such exposure.

It wasn’t sin that kept man from God.

Sin caused man to be separated from God.  But guilt and shame caused man to hide from God.  What would have happened had Adam not hidden himself?  What if Adam, in his sin and shame, had run to God instead of away from Him?

We’ll never know.  And it no longer matters for Adam.  But what about us?

When we sin, or fail God in some other way, do we run to Him or away from Him?  Do we try to hide and cover up what we’ve done?  What about when we sin against, or fail, other people?  Do we face up to what we’ve done?  Or do we try to hide and cover up our shortcomings?

And how will we ever experience intimacy with either God or with people if we hide ourselves from them?

Why hide from God?  Jesus paid an awful price to restore an intimate relationship with God (Genesis 3:15b).  Why would we run from this kind of love?

How many people do you know who would die just to hang out with you?

We will never know intimacy with God until we get naked with Him.  Turn to Him in our failure and shame…exposed.

And allow Him to clothe us with His love and forgiveness.

Likewise, we will never experience intimacy with people unless we become emotionally and spiritually naked/vulnerable before them.  In the New Testament we Christians are told to encourage, admonish, and pray for one another.  How can we do any of these things effectively when we are hiding from each another?  Intimacy with God, our spouse, and with other people requires that we get “naked.”

We yearn to be loved and accepted.  Just as we are…how we really are.  How will this ever happen if we are hiding from everyone?

If you want intimacy, you have to get naked.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com

Accidental Healing: God Don't Need No Hamburger Helper

By David Ryser

On my last trip to Barrow, Alaska, I relearned a lesson I should have had to learn only once…a long time ago.

My friend, Tim, was involved with a well-known prophetic movement for several years.  During that time, he noticed that genuine prophecies were often accompanied by what he calls “hamburger helper.”  This term refers to when the prophet/prophetess adds to the prophetic message.  It can be in the form of a clarification, or the addition of a timeline, or any of a number of add-ons designed to assist the one receiving the message to interpret and implement it.

Adding “hamburger helper” to a prophetic message almost always ends badly.

While ministering at a church in Barrow, I felt led by God to lay hands on a woman who was seated in the congregation.  As I did, she began to tremble.  I was inspired to say, “You’re in a lot of pain.”  I then prepared to launch into a prolonged blither-fest concerning emotional pain, and…blah, blah, blah.  But before I could say anything else, the woman’s shaking increased to the point where she fell out of her chair and onto the floor.  She remained on the floor for several minutes, shaking under the presence and power of God.

I thought, “Well, God started this…He can finish it” and walked away without saying anything else.  I’m glad I did.

Two nights later, the woman gave a testimony in the service.  It seems she had been suffering from severe pain in her hips that bothered her when she walked.  When I laid hands on her and said, “You’re in a lot of pain,” the power of God hit her.  She was instantly and completely healed of the hip pain.

And I learned two lessons.  The first concerned accidental healing.  The second was about not adding “hamburger helper” to what God speaks.

Accidental healing is a term I’ve coined to describe a healing performed without any intent to heal on the part of the person God is using to perform the healing.  This is not the first time this has happened to me.  When I was teaching at a school of ministry, one of the pastors of the church pulled me aside before a church service.  He asked me to choose some students to form a prayer team that would minister the power of God during the service.

Being the obedient fellow I am, I went about the selection process.

I noticed two of the students standing at the front of the church building interceding for the upcoming service.  I came up behind them and placed my hands on their shoulders to get their attention.  I informed them that they would be part of the prayer team.  Then I went about my business.

I didn’t intend to heal anyone.  Honest.

After the service, one of the students approached me.  She told me that she had become increasingly sick during the day with what she thought was a sinus infection of some sort.  When I touched her to get her attention before the service, she was instantly and completely healed of her sickness.

My intellectually and theologically astute response was, “Cool!”

The Bible records at least two instances of accidental healing.  In one instance, Elisha’s healing of a person is particularly notable because both the man and Elisha were dead when the healing occurred (2 Kings 13:20, 21).

OK, maybe that one doesn’t count.

But Jesus performed a healing on a woman who had been suffering from an issue of blood (Luke 8:43-48).  And He did not intend to heal her.  In fact, He was on His way to heal someone else when the healing occurred (Luke 8:41, 42).  If Jesus had not sensed the healing power flowing out of Himself and into the woman, He would not even have known that He had healed anyone (Luke 8: 45, 46).

That’s an accidental healing.

In the case of the woman in Alaska, the healing was ministered through a prophetic word, “You’re in a lot of pain.”  Had I gone on to add a bunch of “hamburger helper” about emotional pain and whatever else I was going to say, she very likely would not have received her healing.  My “prophetic word” would have been wrong, and she would have had no basis for the faith to receive a physical healing.

The whole thing would have been a mess.  And the tragedy would have been that it would have begun as a genuine word from God…followed by a bit of “hamburger helper” added to it.

Graham Cooke says it best when he observes that, “We almost never know what we are speaking into” when delivering a prophetic word to someone.  From experience, I can say that I almost never know anything about a person or their circumstances when delivering a word from God to them.  And I don’t need to know.

So why would I want to add something to it?

The fact is that once God inspires someone to speak, prophecy is really quite simple.  After receiving the message from God, prophecy requires only two other things on our part.

Knowing when to speak.  Knowing when to shut up.

How hard can that be?  Jesus summed up His entire ministry in two statements:  “I do what I see the Father doing” and “I say what I hear the Father saying.”

If we would follow Jesus’ example, I suspect we would more often see Jesus’ results.

So when we are going about our business as ordinary Christians (carrying and ministering the presence, power, life, and love of Jesus), we would be well-advised to do only what we see God doing and say only what we hear Him saying…adding nothing.

God don’t need no hamburger helper.

Responses to this article are welcomed.  You may contact the author at drdave1545@yahoo.com