It's Not Just About Who You Know: It's About How You Know Them

 By David Ryser

It's not what you know, it's who you know. (An American saying originating @ 1914)

With the pure You will show yourself pure; And with the devious You will show yourself shrewd. (Psalms 18:26 NKJV)

"Don't you think that's just semantics?" These words were uttered by a precious sister in Christ during a conversation with her and her husband in their home. She was graciously offering me an "out" after something I'd said. Something controversial. Controversial at least in her eyes. What I had said was, "There is a difference between serving God in order to be loved and serving Him because we are loved." Do I view this statement as splitting semantic hairs? No. Absolutely not. In fact, I find the views of our relationship with God contained in this statement to be polar opposites and important because how we approach God in our relationship with Him will determine how He responds to us in that relationship...at least according to Psalms 18:26...in fact, it will define the whole relationship.

As a co-worker once said concerning how to interact with people positively, "Approach determines response."

So, was this interaction the beginning of an argument between this dear lady and me? Nope. The argument ended before it began. I never contend with someone over a theological disagreement. In these cases, I always defer to 2 Timothy 2:23 and do not engage in the dispute. So, my response to her was, "I suppose you could see it that way."

I would rather be in relationship than be right.

This incident came back to my mind recently as a result of a phone conversation with a dear friend...we'll call him Robespierre...during which he gave his opinion about what is needed in the church he is attending in order to please God and see Him move powerfully in the services. Without going into a lot of detail, Robespierre believes that strict observance of certain spiritual disciplines...prayer, reverence in the church sanctuary, and a number of other religious deeds...will enable, and encourage, God to manifest His presence in the church services. Some of the Pharisees of Jesus' day held a similar belief. They taught that if every Jewish person on the planet would observe the Sabbath on the same day even once, the Messiah would come.

Yeah, okay....

Now, Robespierre has put his faith in Jesus and is a genuine Christian. He loves God. And he knows God...has experienced His love and presence in a powerful way.

But Robespierre also tends to be more of a human-doing than a human-being.

The danger in putting doing before being is that it can lead to a person coming to believe that God must be appeased in order to be pleased. And that if He is not appeased, He will be unable...or, at the least, unwilling (I've heard both)...to move among His people. The problem with appeasement is that it is just one step removed from manipulation.  "If I do (fill in the blank), then God will/must do (fill in the blank)." Our relationship with God then runs the risk of becoming a business arrangement.

And if that's the way we want it, God will accommodate us.

You see, it's not just about knowing God, although knowing God is essential for being in relationship with Him. It is a true saying that it's not about what we know, it's about who we know. But who we know is only half of the equation. In addition to being about who we know, it's about how we know them. It matters greatly how we know the person we know.

Allow me to give an example from the business world.

The saying, "It's not what you know, it's who you know" was very popular in my childhood and young adulthood. It was used pejoratively in many cases to denote nepotism or favoritism in hiring. But this saying also expressed the truth that employers are more inclined to view a job candidate favorably if they know the person, or if the candidate is recommended for the job by someone the employer knows and/or trusts. Nowadays we call this "networking" in which intentional relational connections are sought after as a valuable tool in the securing of employment. On more than one occasion I have benefited from personal relationships in the pursuit of gainful employment.

A successful pursuit, I might add.

But even in the business world, simply being known is nor enough. Not only must I be known, it matters how I am known. If I am well-known by the person acting as a personal reference, their opinion is taken more seriously by a prospective employer than if I am merely a casual acquaintance.

So even in the business world, knowing someone and being known by them is in the context of connection and relationship at some level. And as it is in business, so it is in the Kingdom of God.

Which brings us back to Robespierre.

I've known Robespierre for more than 40 years. I believe Robespierre has a sincere desire to serve God and to please Him through serving Him. And there's nothing wrong with serving God; in fact, I highly recommend it. But why do we serve? Is it to be loved and approved by God, or is it because we are already loved and approved by God? How do we perceive God? And where does this perception come from?

For many of us, our perception of God...and our relationship with Him...comes out of our relationship with our earthly father.

Robespierre's father was not an unkind man, but he was demanding. And Robespierre strove to win his father's approval through his actions...through service and obedience. As is common with the relationship between fathers and sons (and daughters), Robespierre never felt that he quite measured up to his father's expectations of him. And, unconsciously, Robespierre brought this relational dynamic over into his relationship with God.

And his relationship with others.

Robespierre can be strongly opinionated and demanding when it comes to his relationships with others. And he has strong opinions about how others in his church should be striving to bring the manifest presence of God into the church services. Among other things, Robespierre believes people should be praying more often, and more fervently, for God to show up powerfully at the church when the congregants are assembled.

Prayer is a good thing. I'm in favor of it.

The problem in Robespierre's case is that he is especially gifted to be an intercessor.  He spends hours every day engaged in passionate, intense prayer. And because this comes naturally to him, Robespierre expects others to have the same ability and desire that are his by gifting. And he can be a bit demanding about it. And demanding can become judgmental, and even accusatory, if people do not respond to Robespierre's demands to pray more often and more fervently...and if God does not manifest Himself in the church services the way Robespierre thinks He should.

But what if Robespierre is wrong about why God is not moving powerfully in the church services? What if God is not so much displeased as He is uninvited? Unwanted? Undesired? Undervalued? If this is the problem, no amount of religious works will fix it.

Why do we serve God? Is it in order to be loved and accepted by Him, or is it because we are already loved and accepted by Him? How we answer this question will depend a great deal on how we know Him. And the answer to the question matters.

It's not just semantics.

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

Not All that Glitters is Gold: Do We Have More Good Sense than a Crow?

 By David Ryser

Successful living, according to the counsel of God's written Word, is seeking, knowing, loving, and obeying God. (Fil Anderson)

I have known Don for more than 40 years. He is one of the godliest people I know, a man of uncompromising integrity and a great love for Jesus. He has spent most of his adult life as an itinerant minister, traveling across the United States sharing the Gospel of Jesus in churches and other settings. In all the years I have known him, Don has never compromised himself or his ministry for fame, position, or money.

For example....

Early in his traveling ministry, Don found himself seated in front of a desk occupied by a high ranking denominational official. This man had heard of Don's ministry. Don is specially gifted to hear from God and speak the things of God...with an occasional miracle thrown in for good measure. He is one of a very few people I know with a genuine prophetic gifting, not to be confused with the frauds and charlatans all too common in the church world. This official had a proposition for Don. He offered to provide Don with all the speaking/ministry meetings he could handle if Don would restrict his meetings only to churches within this denomination. This would be a temptation for anyone in traveling ministry, especially early on, because the success of a traveling ministry rests, in great measure, upon having places to which to travel.

But Don desired to go where God led him to go regardless of denomination or tradition. So, Don respectfully declined the offer.

Later, at a church where I served on the ministerial staff, Don lovingly confronted the senior pastor concerning an area where the pastor's life was out of balance and urged him to make some behavioral changes to avoid the inevitable negative consequences of this behavior. This took courage on Don's part because this church supported his ministry with a sizable monthly contribution; in fact, this church may have been his largest monetary supporter. It would have been easy for Don to overlook this pastor's behavior and not risk the loss of support; but, as I mentioned earlier, Don is a man of uncompromising integrity and felt compelled to say what God was telling him to say to this pastor.

The church cut off monetary support for Don's ministry. And never reinstated it. There were many other such instances during Don's 35 years of traveling ministry.

 Don has seen it all in his years of ministry...the good, the bad, and the ugly. He has shared with me about how God moved powerfully and supernaturally in his meetings. He has also told me about some things...sad, dark, tragic, wicked, and even evil...I could scarcely believe would ever occur in any church. And even after all he has seen, heard, and experienced in his travels, Don has retained a childlike faith and innocence...without being naive. Don is a special human being and man of faith, and I am privileged to call him my friend.

Because we are friends, we speak often by phone. We visit by phone because Don lives a good distance from me, and he doesn't travel very much anymore. I look forward eagerly to each conversation, to hanging out with my dear friend and sharing about the things of God and our faith journeys.

During our latest phone conversation, we talked about something in the church world which very much disturbs Don. Don's whole life has been dedicated to God, and God has blessed him and provided him with everything he's needed whether spiritual, mental, emotional, physical, or material. Don believes in God's promises, blessings, and provision; and he is living proof that God takes care of His people's needs. And Don is grateful to God for His blessings.

But Don is not in love with the blessings. He is in love with Jesus.

And Don finds it difficult to understand how some Christians can lust after, and pursue, the blessings of God without wanting to have anything to do with Him personally and intimately. Don is disturbed by how some seek to manipulate the principles of God's Word merely for the sake of material gain. He's not disturbed so much that the theology is wrong. He is disturbed because the theology is biblical, but it is being misused in an unbiblical manner.

Enter the typical televised megachurch.

This church puts on a good show and teaches the congregants...and the television audience...they can have all of the material things they lust after as they apply the spiritual principles found in the Bible, so they can live the American Dream in Jesus' name. And as an added bonus, they don't have to be inconvenienced by having an intimate relationship with God. They are told they can get God's blessings without having to mess with Him. Don is baffled by how people can subscribe to this foolishness.

As we spoke over the phone, Don and I considered the possibilities of why this sort of preaching and teaching would be so alluring to God's people. Could it be that supernatural signs and wonders were being performed in the church services under the conditions described in Matthew 7:22 and thereby deceiving the people? We decided that was probably not the reason. For one thing, this kind of stuff doesn't seem to be happening in these churches. It's dead religion, however much animated. There is no evidence of any supernatural signs and wonders being performed in these services. So, it's nothing supernatural; it's just a message that appeals to fleshly greed and lust.

So, what could it be that was drawing people away from Jesus into crass materialism? As we considered the conundrum of why people would want to trade an intimate relationship with Jesus for mere fame, position, or money, another possibility occurred to us.

People love shiny things. And in that regard, we are just like crows. Crows are attracted to shiny things like bits of glass, gum wrappers, shards of mirrors, pieces of metal, etc...whatever they see that shines. They will pick up these things and take them to their nest. They treasure these things without regard for their lack of any real value. And no one can convince a crow that its shiny things are not as precious as it thinks they are.

Don't people have any more good sense than a crow?

It would appear not. Because by cherry-picking Bible verses, people have become convinced that they can have all of the shiny things they desire...apart from a relationship with God...if they can just gin up enough faith.

Faith in what? Or in whom?

So, Don looks at this mess and sums up the situation by saying, "They claim to be following the Book (the Bible). Do they not read the Book?" And he makes a good point, because the Bible has a lot to say about this kind of goings-on within the community of God's people.

Examples of this abound. Here are a few examples....

The Bible clearly states God's summation of this kind of non-relationship with His people when He says through the prophet Isaiah, "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught" (Isaiah 29:13 NIV).

The Bible also warns us against the love of money and its consequences (1Timothy 6:10), teaches us that our faith for material blessings is in vain if we are exercising our faith with wrong motives (James 4:3), and cautions us that, even if we do get all we want and gain the whole world, it profits us nothing if we lose our soul in the process (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36-37).

So now Don and I are left wondering why some of God's people...who are people of the Book...would ignore the clear teachings of the Book to trade an intimate relationship with God for the shiny things of the world.

Just like crows.

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

Ahoy, Matey!: Being God's Cruise Director (Part 2)

 By David Ryser

...then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not rise to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13b-14 NASB)

It was early in the morning before classes began at the School of Ministry. As was my routine, I had arrived a couple of hours early to put some worship music on through the sound system in the sanctuary of the church and spend time with God. The students were invited to join me in this time of worship, and those who wished to participate typically would arrive one-by-one beginning about an hour before class. When I am worshiping God in this sort of setting, I usually pace because pacing while worshiping gives my body something to do as I quiet my mind and spirit.

This was my normal routine, but I've come to believe there is no such thing as a normal routine when it involves God.

On this particular morning, as I was pacing and worshiping, I discovered there were places where I felt the presence of God particularly intensely. And these spots would not remain static, but would pop up in different places over time. What fun! It was like playing hide-and-seek with God, and it brought me the wondrous joy most often experienced by a small child...I've learned God enjoys playing with His children. Once in awhile, I would stop at one of these spiritual hotspots and linger for a time in the awesome presence of God.

And then the students began to arrive.

And when they did, I transitioned from spiritual cruise passenger to cruise director. As a student arrived, I would say, "Why don't you stand over here?" and direct them gently to one of the places where God's presence felt particularly strong at the moment. When the student reached the appointed spot, the presence of God would overwhelm them. I would continue pacing and worshiping, finding another hotspot for the next student. When the next student would arrive, this pattern would repeat itself until there were quite a number of overwhelmed students worshiping and basking in the presence of God.

What does an overwhelmed student look like, you ask? You'll know it when you see it. It looks a lot like it looked in the Bible.

During this time with the students, I was acting as a spiritual cruise director. I would sense where the hotspots were located, but I would not step into one. Why? Because if I did, I likely would be overwhelmed by God's presence myself and be unable to be attentive to the students. While I was alone...before the students began arriving...I felt the freedom to become lost in God, and I took full advantage of it. But once the students began arriving, my role changed. I was still very much aware of where the hotspots were, but this awareness was for their benefit and not for mine.

And that's what it's like being a cruise director.

You see, a cruise director accompanies the cruise passengers on their excursions, sees and experiences the sights and activities along the way, but does not participate fully in them. While the cruise director sees and experiences what the passengers are seeing and experiencing, his/her focus is on the passengers and not the delights of the excursion. So, the cruise director experiences the excursion differently than the passengers. His/her joy is not based on experiencing the excursion, but in facilitating the passengers' delight while experiencing the excursion.

If a cruise director wishes to get lost in the experience of an excursion, they need to book a cruise as a passenger. Being a cruise director is hard work. Even a cruise director needs a vacation.

Ministry is very much like being a spiritual cruise director. And by "ministry" I am not referring only to vocational ministry...or public ministry of any sort. Yes, I have been privileged to be used as God's cruise director in traditional ministry settings...in the classroom and in a church service...on numerous occasions. God would move powerfully during these times, and people's lives would be dramatically touched by God in their bodies, minds, and spirits. I would be very much aware of God's presence, but I would not be overwhelmed by it. I would be both a part of what was occurring and somewhat outside of it at the same time. Without losing a sense of God's presence and awareness of what He was wanting to do in that moment, I was also very much in touch with the person to whom God was ministering and rejoiced when they received what they, in many cases, desperately needed.

But not all, or even most, ministry takes place publicly.

Too many of us who say we want a ministry actually just desire a microphone. Ministry is not about being seen and heard. It is not about being noticed, approved of, admired, and idolized as a great minister. Ministry is not about the minister at all. It is about the welfare of the person being ministered to, and it is about glorifying God.

And most ministry takes place privately.

When you pray for a friend's physical healing, and the prayer administers God's healing power to them, this is ministry. When you are inspired by God to speak words of encouragement, comfort, and uplifting to another person with the result that they are powerfully touched by God, this is ministry. When you pray for a person who is in a difficult situation, and God moves to give peace of mind and provision to the person, that is ministry. On these occasions, the person may experience the presence of God in a very powerful, and even overwhelming, way. And you may not feel a thing.

Why?

Because you're not a passenger on this excursion. You're just the cruise director. God's cruise director.

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

Ahoy, Matey!: Being God's Cruise Director (Part 1)

 By David Ryser

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.  (Jesus of Nazareth; John 4:24 NASB)

I was falling, plummeting from a great altitude. If I did not begin to beat my spiritual wings...furiously and soon...I was going to crash into the ground at a high rate of speed and burn.

Sounds like something out of a nightmare, doesn't it? I wish it was.

I was visiting with a friend in another state. We had not been together for quite some time, and I was very much enjoying the reunion as we hung out and enjoyed one another's company. Part of my visit was on a Sunday, and my friend attends a traditional church service on Sunday, so I honored our relationship by accompanying him to church. The church building was nice. And at the church I was introduced to some nice people, entered a nice sanctuary, and prepared myself to experience a nice church service. Everything was nice, but I really didn't feel as if I fit in.

Because I'm not nice. But I digress....

At the start of the service, a worship team, consisting of some very talented musicians and singers, came to the raised platform at the front of the sanctuary. They began to play and sing, intending to lead the congregation into the presence of God in worship.

And the worship got off to a great start.

The song the team had chosen to kick off the musical worship portion of the service was an excellent one. Even someone no more spiritual than I could sense the presence of God in that place, and the "wind" of the Holy Spirit blowing, as we joined our voices in song. We began to soar in the spirit, locking our spiritual wings and riding the powerful updraft of praise.

If you're going to lock your wings and soar, it's best if there is a strong updraft.

When it was time to transition to the next song, I eagerly anticipated the next "gust" that would take me higher in the spirit and into a greater experience of God's presence. The members of the congregation were fully engaged in the worship and obviously desiring to go higher. The next song began. It didn't connect well with the first song, and it became increasingly obvious as the "worship" service continued, that this loose collection of nice songs wasn't taking us anywhere.

The "wind" did not just abate. It stopped. It died.

And I was falling. The spiritual energy in that place had dissipated abruptly. I had been "soaring" in worship at a high altitude, and now I no longer had the support of the Spirit's "wind" to sustain me. I began...metaphorically speaking...to beat my wings frantically in an attempt to slow my rate of descent and come in for a soft landing back on earth. It was an unpleasant, and disappointing, experience for me.

But was it just me? Or were others experiencing the same thing?

I looked out into the congregation. What had begun as a group of fully engaged worshipers was a congregation becoming increasingly disconnected from the musical show still in progress on the stage. I observed the congregants as, one by one, they came "back to earth" and could read the disappointment in their deflated body posture and expressions of sadness on their faces.

And the show went on...at least on the stage.

I was now watching what Steve Gray has termed a "platform revival" in which a musical team is fully engaged in worship...and totally oblivious to the congregation...while the congregants become progressively disconnected from the worship. Not only did the congregants not receive anything positive from this experience, they were in some ways worse off than before the church service began. Because now, they were both disengaged and disappointed...and maybe even a little angry.

Imagine going on this spiritual roller-coaster week, after week, after week, after week, after....

You see, this worship team had forgotten they are not passengers on this spiritual cruise ship...they are cruise directors. The job of a cruise director is to see to it the passengers on the cruise get to where they are supposed to go and experience all the things they are supposed to experience. A cruise director goes with the passengers to the places they go, and is exposed to the things the passengers experience, but the cruise director is focused on the passengers rather than the sights and activities. The cruise director sees and experiences the cruise events, but is somewhat disengaged from them as well. If a cruise director wishes to be totally immersed in the cruise experience, they would be well-advised to book a cruise as a passenger.

Ministry in worship...or any other ministry for that matter...is very much like being a cruise director.

The function of a worship team is to take people into the presence of God...to lead them there. This requires they know where they are going, know how to get there, and take the congregation with them. And the exact formula for accomplishing this will vary from service to service, so there is no single method or procedure for accomplishing this. So it is a good idea to hear from God about how to approach each worship experience.

There are, however, some general principles in regard to leading worship which might be helpful.

For example, it might not be wise to string together a loose, random selection of Christian Top 40 hits and expect this song list to take the congregation anywhere. The songs in a worship service typically are most effective when they build upon one another and facilitate the congregation's journey into God's presence. And where does God want that journey to end? On the mountaintop? In the stillness of a lush valley?

Ask God where you're going and the best way to get there.

And please don't forget to take the congregation with you. This means attention must be paid to them as well as to God. Are they coming along with you? How are they doing while on the excursion? This will dampen your experience of the worship, but you're a cruise director and not a passenger.

And one other thing.

Please do not forget that you are pouring out while ministering on a worship team. Pouring out, not filling up. You are emptying whether it feels like it or not, no matter how much exhilaration you are experiencing during worship. And if you continue to pour out without filling up, you will eventually run dry. So, it would be wise to take the time to fill back up whether in a time of private worship or in a corporate worship setting in which you are not a part of the worship-leading team. Do it for the sake of the ministry. Do it for yourself.

And, please, do it for me. I never again want to have another worship experience like the one I had at my friend's church.

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

Lawful Use of the Law: Some Thoughts

 By David Ryser

But we know that the Law is good if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person...  (The apostle Paul, 1Tim 1:8-9a NASB)

The rabbi at one of the messianic synagogues in town was a guest speaker at the School of Ministry where I served. Among the many enlightening thoughts he shared that day was a statement which I will never forget, "Torah is not law in the legal sense. The word torah is better understood if it is translated as instruction." From that time, I have increasingly come to believe it is a mistake to impose the modern western concept of law onto the ancient Israelite culture into which the Law was given.

And if we don't understand what the Law is...and how to use it properly...it's a virtual certainty we will misapply it, misuse it, and even abuse it (1Tim 1:6, 7).

One day, while I was teaching a class at the School of Ministry, I drew an octagon on the whiteboard and wrote the word STOP in the center (this is the limit of my artistic ability). I then asked the students, "When you come to a T intersection and see this sign, for whom is the sign posted?" Now, the students had been with me in classes for several months, so they...correctly...assumed this was a trick question. Therefore, they didn't answer right away. I continued, "The sign applies to everyone, but for whom is it posted?" They thought about this question for a few seconds before I answered it. "The sign applies to everyone, but it was posted for the person who would not have stopped if it wasn't posted. The person who would stop if the sign wasn't there doesn't need it."

And that is the exact point the apostle Paul was making in the scripture passage in First Timothy chapter One quoted above.

Paul goes on to list some of the sorts of people to whom the Law was given. It's not a pretty list, and it's not anywhere near a complete list. It can, however, be summarized rather simply. To be succinct, the Law was not given to righteous people; it was given to unrighteous people. The Law was given to control their unrighteous behavior...if they obeyed it...until they didn't need it anymore. The Law was an instructor...a tutor (Gal 3:24, 25)...whose proper use was to bring us to Christ. Having been brought to Christ, we no longer need a tutor.

Simple. Very simple. As simple as stopping at a T intersection even if there is no posted STOP sign.

And this is not merely a New Testament phenomenon. No one has ever been justified by observing the Law. Paul gives two Old Testament examples of people who were justified apart from the Law...Abraham and David...in the 4th chapter of Romans. In the case of Abraham, he was declared righteous by God on the basis of faith...which is a good thing for Abraham because he couldn't possibly be justified by observing a Law which had not yet been given, and which would not be given for several hundred years (somewhere between 400 and 600 years). In David's case, he was born after the Law was given, and he was a dead man walking if he was attempting to be justified by keeping the Law. David's sins of adultery and murder were unforgivable under the Mosaic Law (as were any other intentional sins), and he should have been executed for them. Instead of death, David found forgiveness apart from the Law by putting his faith in God and receiving God's mercy.

In addition to not being executed, David wasn't even removed from being the king (which is something of a moot point, since his execution would have effectively relieved him of his kingly duties). There were consequences resulting from his sins to be sure, but not the consequences spelled out in the Mosaic Law.

But now Christ has come, and we no longer need the tutor...the Law. By faith we live in Christ, and His life in us produces a righteous life that does not rely on external rules, regulations, or laws. Christianity is not a religion; it is an intimate relationship with God entered into by faith. Law is no longer needed except by those who are not living in Christ. For those persons, the Law is given (if followed) to rein in their behavior and protect them from destructive living. To quote Wayne Jacobsen, "If you don't have Jesus, you'd better have Law."

But what about the 10 Commandments? Don't they apply to Christians? Well, yes. Sort of.

Let's look at the 10 Commandments. Eight of them are commands not to do something. To summarize, we are commanded not to: worship other gods, create idols, profane God's name (God is not His name, by the way), murder, commit adultery, steal, commit perjury, and yearn to possess what belongs to someone else. These commandments apply to everyone, but are they given to everyone? Not according to Paul in his letter to the young apostle Timothy.

In fact, I've begun to view these 8 commandments not so much as prohibitions, but as promises. Promises? Yes.

Who needs to be commanded not to worship other gods or create idols? Someone who desires to worship multiple gods and create idols. Who needs to be commanded not to profane God's name? Someone who desires to profane God's name. Who needs to be commanded not to murder? Someone who desires to murder. Who needs to be commanded not to commit adultery? Someone who desires to commit adultery. Who needs to be commanded not to steal? Someone who desires to steal. Who needs to be commanded not to commit perjury? Someone who desires to lie under oath. Who needs to be commanded not to lust after what belongs to another person? Someone who lusts after what does not belong to them.

But what if I don't desire to do these things?

For me, these commandments are beginning to take on the characteristics of promises rather than prohibitions. They are promises that I won't be the kind of person who would do these things, or even desire to do them. Whether these commandments convey the idea of "don't do it" or "you won't do it" depends very much upon the person receiving the commandments, don't you think?

If you don't do something...or even desire to do it...you don't need to be told not to do it. You might even find the promise that you won't do it to be somewhat of a comfort. I know I do, especially when I am practicing walking according to the Spirit and manifesting in my behavior the life of Christ that dwells in me. And it's really not all that hard to do.

It's no more difficult than stopping at a T intersection that does not have a posted STOP sign.

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

Rules, Regulations, and Rituals: So Who Needs Jesus?

 By David Ryser

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!" (which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)--in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence. (Saul of Tarsus, Colossians 2:20-23, NASB)

As I sit down to compose this little article, it is the beginning of the Lenten season. Normally I would neither know, nor would I particularly care, about this; but I’ve been spending time with some great guys who attend a church which operates according to the liturgical calendar. And during Lent, people who attend churches where this sort of liturgy is an essential part of the worship attempt to live…for 40 days…the repentant, sacrificial, humble, and moderate lives we all would be well-advised to live year-round. Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, so many of the people at the restaurant where I dined last evening had smudges on their foreheads and ordered meatless salads.

I ordered a meat lovers pizza. It was delicious.

And this incident started me thinking about the subject of religious rules, regulations, and rituals. The Church to which I'm referring has a plethora of all these and is often lampooned by other religious groups as a result. The irony is that all church groups have rules, regulations, and rituals...even those which claim to have none...they simply differ from group to group.

And these rules, regulations, and rituals are routinely used to judge the genuineness of the faith of the adherents/congregants.

Dr. Tim Stafford coined the term Double Validation Heresy to describe this situation. In short, the double validation heresy states that a person must be validated twice in order to be considered a good Christian...or to be considered a Christian at all. Not only must we be validated by God on the basis of coming to a saving faith in Jesus, but we must also be validated by a religious/church group by submitting to their particular rules, regulations, and rituals. Calling this heresy unbiblical is like calling Mount Everest a big rock...it's not just unbiblical, it's anti-biblical.

To sort out this mess, and hopefully arrive to a resolution to this conundrum, we need to return to the first century AD.

Shortly after Jesus' resurrection, His followers received the Holy Spirit and became what we would call born-again believers (John 20:19-23). Shortly thereafter, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 persons assembled in a room. They preached the gospel to a multitude of people that day, and many came to a saving faith in Jesus (Acts 2:1-41).

They were all Jewish. Every one of them. The preachers and the hearers.

I mention the Jewishness of these believers in Jesus because although the disciples of Jesus were commissioned to preach the gospel to all the world, they did not yet understand He was including non-Jewish people. Jewish people were scattered throughout the whole of the known world. And Jesus was the Messiah. Their Messiah.

If Jesus is not the Jewish people's Messiah, then whose Messiah is He?

But then, God threw a wrench into the apostles' understanding of the faith community. In Acts, chapter 10, we read of how the gospel was first preached to Gentiles by Peter with the result that they also came to a saving faith in Jesus. Peter caught some grief over this, and he defended his actions to the group of believers in Jerusalem with the result that they accepted what had occurred as a genuine act of God (Acts 11:1-18).

But this was only the beginning.

Believers who had fled Jerusalem because of persecution began to preach the gospel in Gentile territory with the result that eventually their preaching was accepted by non-Jewish people (Acts 11:19-26). And like a snowball rolling downhill, this move of God among the Gentiles grew exponentially and with irresistible momentum. Acts, chapters 13 and 14, chronicles a missionary trip taken by Barnabas and Saul/Paul which resulted in many Gentiles coming to a saving faith in Jesus, and primarily Gentile fellowships were established.

And for some, this was a problem (Acts 15:1-2).

You see, when the fellowship of believers was comprised only of Jewish people, these believers continued to practice the rules, regulations, and rituals of the Jewish faith which defined them both religiously and culturally. The earliest expression of the Christian faith, therefore, was Jewish. Now that Gentiles were coming to faith in Jesus, the question arose as to whether these Gentiles were required to become Jewish and to observe all of the rules, regulations, and rituals of the Jewish religion in order to be considered genuine believers.

Would these early Jewish believers and their leaders succumb to the double validation heresy? Or would they accept God's validation as sufficient?

A council of the leaders in Jerusalem was convened to consider this question. After much debate, it was decided to require nothing more of the Gentile believers than that they abstain from certain practices that were particularly offensive to their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ (Acts 15:3-35) so both groups of people could worship and fellowship together...a major stretch of existing social norms even at that.

So what we have now is Christianity without rules, regulations, and rituals.

The earliest Gentile believers had an experience with Jesus and very little, if anything, else. They had no Bible. And even if they had parts of the Old Testament available, they likely couldn't read them because the vast majority of these believers were the most common of people and were likely illiterate (1Cor 1:26-28). They were experiencing and worshiping a living God and operating in a faith that had no rules. To say they had questions about how to live their lives without religious rules and regulations would be an understatement. A good portion of Paul's letters to the Christian fellowships in various locations is devoted to answering their questions and the giving of instructions concerning living a life that honors God and manifests the life of Jesus which had been planted in them...without succumbing to the pitfall of religion.

Even so, the temptation to turn a vibrant and intimate relationship with God into a religion existed even in these earliest fellowships. Paul tells the Colossian believers in no uncertain terms that religious rules and regulations are not only unnecessary, but they are worthless for living the Christian life. So we can safely dispense with observing religious rules and regulations as a way to honor God and to be accepted by Him.

But what about rituals?

I suppose rituals can be somewhat helpful so long as the person observing the ritual remembers that it merely serves as a means of connecting with the One to whom the ritual is pointing. Too frequently, however, the ritual itself has become the thing worshiped and often is performed in a perfunctory manner with bored/unengaged celebrants and congregants. Worse, it can become a requirement, the neglect of which is a serious sin and casts into doubt the spiritual standing of the offender.

The only thing even approximating ritual among the early Christians was the observance of the Lord's Supper during their fellowship meal when they would gather to fellowship and worship. Bread and wine were served with the meal, and the redemptive work of Jesus was remembered and celebrated. But even this ritual became common/stale in at least one instance, and Paul addressed and corrected the situation (1Cor 11:17-33).

Religious rules, regulations, and rituals? I neither need, nor do I want, them. All I need and want is Jesus.

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

The Eucharist: Holy Sacrament or Powerless Ritual?

 

By David Ryser

Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (Jesus of Nazareth, John 6:53)

 For more than a year now, I have been attending a men’s study/fellowship group sponsored by a local church. Although I am not a member of this church, nor do I attend the religious services there or share many…if any…of its core beliefs, I am enjoying the fellowship of the men in the group. Like many Christians, these men are desiring to know and serve God better. And their desire is sincere and heartfelt.

 And because I am a guest at this church, I strive to be on my best behavior and not contend against any of their beliefs at our meetings.

 The sect of Christianity of which this church is a part is currently in the midst of a three-year Eucharistic Revival. Exactly why it would take three years to train the faithful members of this sect adequately concerning the Eucharist (or Communion, or Lord’s Supper, if you’d prefer) is somewhat bewildering to me, but I have found the discussions of the Eucharist at our meetings to be quite illuminating.

 Because I was raised in this particular sect of Christianity; and although I have not practiced this form of religion for more than 50 years, I do speak the language and understand its core teachings.

 The doctrine of the Eucharist is this sect’s theological cornerstone. According to their doctrine, the elements of the Eucharist…the bread and the wine…are transformed (transubstantiated) into the literal spiritual body and blood of Jesus when consecrated by a priest during their religious ritual. And this doctrine is based upon the biblical passage in John 6:48-56 combined with the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper. So, partaking of the consecrated Eucharistic elements is the same as partaking of Jesus’ body and blood.

 And now things become interesting.

 Because in one of our meetings, a question was posed as to how long the grace received at the partaking of the Eucharist remains effective. Having received the body and blood of Jesus, why is it necessary to receive the Eucharist more than once? Why does one need to receive the Eucharist multiple times? Does the presence of Jesus leak out of us over time? Does Jesus’ body and blood have an expiration date? And if it does have an expiration date, how long does it last before it becomes ineffective? Is there something that can cause this grace to become null and void?

 All good questions, and there is an answer to them.

 According to this sect’s teachings, the presence of Jesus and the grace received upon partaking of the Eucharist is effective until the recipient sins. When the participant sins, they have fallen from a state of grace, and the benefits of Jesus’ body and blood are no longer effective in their life.

 What? My sin drives Jesus out of me?

 Oh, but there’s more. Because receiving the Eucharist with certain kinds of sin on my soul can render the whole thing ineffective from the start. If I have unconfessed small sins (venial sins such as lying or having impure thoughts) on my account, the grace received at the partaking of the Eucharist will wash these sins away. But if I have unconfessed big sins (mortal sins such as rape, murder, or missing mandated church services), these will remain unforgiven even though I have received the literal spiritual body and blood of Jesus.

 It seems that some sins are just bigger than Jesus.

 Fortunately for the members of this sect, there is an avenue to receive forgiveness for sins prior to receiving the Eucharist so that the grace imparted can be obtained by the recipient. Instead of relying on Jesus’ broken body and shed blood for forgiveness, one needs merely to confess their sins to a priest who can do for us what Jesus’ body and blood cannot…forgive our big sins.

 And it doesn’t matter what is the spiritual condition of the priest administering this forgiveness to me. He might be engaged in grievous sin (homosexual pedophilia, for example) and still be able to forgive me for cheating on my taxes.

 So, on those rare occasions when I attend a service at a church associated with this sect, I do not go forward to receive the Eucharist, in part because I am not an active member of the sect and would be respectfully denied the Eucharist as a result. Also, to receive the Eucharist at this church would imply that I am unified with this sect in its doctrine of the Eucharist…which I am not.

 So, I don’t.

 But what is the alternative? I have received the Eucharist at churches which are a part of other Christian sects. Typically these churches refer to receiving the Eucharist as taking Communion. And, typically, this partaking of Communion consists of a five-minute add-on to the end of the church service where the communicant is given a stale oyster cracker and small cup of Welch’s grape juice to consume when the cue is given to do so after a brief review of the institution of the Lord’s Supper.

 Aside from giving me atrociously bad breath, this disrespectful form of receiving the Eucharist does virtually nothing for me.  It certainly does not bring me closer to Jesus. And it is, at best, unbiblical.

 Because while I do not subscribe to the doctrine/teaching of the first-mentioned sect concerning the Eucharist, neither do I see the receiving of Communion to be merely symbolic. To do so would be to ignore the clear teaching of 1Corinthians 11:17-34 in which the apostle Paul chastises the Corinthian believers for receiving the Communion in an unworthy manner and writes that to do so brings judgment upon the recipient…to include physical illness and even death (verses 27-30).

 Mere symbolism won’t kill you.

 So, what exactly is the Eucharist? Is it a holy sacrament? Is it a powerless ritual? I have come to believe that it likely is, strictly speaking, neither; rather, it is an observance and proclamation in memory of Jesus and His redemptive work that is best received with reverence, gratitude, and a pure heart. And when a fellowship of believers receives the Communion in this manner, Jesus is present.

 So where does that leave me?

 I find that I can no longer, in good conscience, receive the Eucharist in either of these kinds of churches. But I also desire to experience the presence of Jesus in this special way shared with other believers.

 Fortunately, I have come into contact with a small group of godly people who are passionate about Jesus. Because we do not live in the same town, or even in the same state, we meet regularly, remotely, via the internet. We share our lives and our faith journeys during our time together and recently have expressed our desire to receive Communion collectively. No ritual. No priests needed to consecrate the elements. Just a handful of garden-variety lovers of Jesus who want to share a sacred moment together.

 And that’s what the Eucharist is to me.

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

Who Is Jesus?: And Why Does It Matter?

 

By David Ryser

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great moral teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity)

 A few years ago, my wife and I retired and moved to a small community in the mountains of central Arkansas. We very much enjoy living here among the mountains, trees, and lakes while seeing all sorts of wildlife daily. The people in our community are, for the most part, good people, and we have met some who have become dear friends. As in many such small towns, the community boasts a weekly newspaper which keeps us informed of the goings-on in our area. Among the regular columns in the newspaper is one written by a local pastor.

 I typically do not read this column.

 Recently, a friend…who knows I once was in the religion business…cut the most recent installment of the aforementioned column out of the paper and brought it to me asking me to read it and to tell her what I thought of it when I was finished.

 I read the article and found it quite interesting.

 To his credit, the pastor shares his biases and presuppositions with the readers of his article, a trait I wish all journalists…secular and religious alike…possessed and demonstrated. And what are these biases and presuppositions you ask? Well, here they are in his own words: “Let me confess in print that I consider myself to be an agnostic, a humanist, and a Christian. Agnostic because absolute certainty about God is not possible. A Christian, not because I believe Jesus was God (I don’t) but because he offered the best plan for living a life of dignity and service. Humanist because I’m certain that the only tools at my personal disposal are curiosity, conscience, compassion, and a compelling desire to spread kindness.”

 That’s a lot to digest, and it makes my head hurt when I attempt to take it in all at once, so let us consider his statement one piece at a time.

 First, this pastor’s claim to be agnostic is philosophically vacuous. Absolute certainty about God…or anyone/anything else for that matter…is not possible, but that does not make one an agnostic. Only God has absolute certainty about God, but this is not a basis for agnosticism. If it were, everyone who is not God would be an agnostic. To base his agnosticism on the impossibility of absolute certainty about God places this pastor philosophically on the level with a man who is unsure about whether he is married because he does not have absolute certainty about his wife….as if any man does. But, joking aside, how do we have absolute certainty about anyone…including whether they even exist? We could be living in a delusion, seeing and interacting with imaginary people. We could be living in a hologram designed to teach us moral lessons with ourselves as the only genuine creatures in the hologram. If you would challenge me to prove my actual existence to you with absolute certainty, I would be unable to do so. I might not be motivated even to attempt to do so since I’m not convinced of your existence with absolute certainty. Why would I attempt to prove my existence to a possibly imaginary entity?

 Do you see my dilemma?

 Next, the pastor claims to be a Christian based upon his belief that Jesus…although not divine…through his teachings, offered the best plan for living a life of dignity and service. He may very well believe this, but upon what basis? Has this pastor thoroughly examined the teachings of all the other spiritual teachers? If so, he is remarkably well-read, well-traveled, and unimaginably old. In order to declare a particular teacher’s teachings on how to live a life of dignity and service to be superior to all others, one would need to have researched exhaustively all of the others.

 And even then, could he be absolutely certain (See what I did there?)  that he fully understood those teachings in their historical, cultural, and linguistic context to the point where he wholly and accurately understood the teachings as the teachers themselves understood them?

 And what about Jesus?

 Claiming to accept Jesus as a great…perhaps the greatest…moral teacher without acknowledging Him as the divine Son of God comes with the problem C.S. Lewis so eloquently described in the passage quoted at the beginning of this article. Because Jesus claimed to be divine. Several times. In many different ways.  His claims to deity, and the teachings of His followers concerning His deity subsequent to His ascension into the heavens, are too numerous to list here. As we read the New Testament, we can readily identify numerous instances of this. And these don’t include the ones we miss. For example, Jesus often referred to Himself as the Son of Man. This is not a declaration of His humanity. The term “Son of Man” first appears in the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13-14) and was understood by the Jewish people in Jesus’ day to be speaking of the victorious Messiah in a context that clearly depicts Him as a heavenly being.

 And when Jesus used the term, both His followers and enemies clearly understood what He was saying about Himself.

 And if Jesus was wrong about something as basic as who He was…or, worse yet, lied about who He was…then what else might be flawed in His teachings? Is He a delusional megalomaniac? A narcissist? A lunatic? Demonized? A charlatan? And does any one of these possibilities qualify Him to be a great moral teacher?

 Jesus’ teachings are grounded in who He is. He and they are not divisible.

 We accept the teachings…moral and spiritual…of Jesus as authoritative/superior because He is divine, and His teachings originate from the throne of the Father/God. If the teachings come from any other source, we are free to disregard them in whole, or in part, with impunity.

 So, what about the pastor’s claim to be a humanist?

 I accept this claim as genuine. I have no reason to doubt this man consistently demonstrates the virtues of curiosity, conscience, compassion, and a compelling desire to spread kindness. If I were to meet him, I likely would find him to be a gentle soul who shows love for, and benevolence toward, everyone he meets.

 In short, I believe he is a good man.

 So, what about us? What about we who claim to have, as a result of believing in Jesus our divine Lord and Savior, the life and nature of Christ living in us through the indwelling Holy Spirit whose life and power are daily transforming us into the image of Christ? Surely this transformation includes a display of curiosity, conscience, compassion, and a compelling desire to spread kindness...along with the fruit of the Spirit listed in the 5^th chapter of Galatians and the love of God described in the 13^th chapter of First Corinthians. These are what comprise the nature of Christ that we claim to have residing in us. So, we can expect these attributes to be demonstrated consistently in our lives.

 And if they are not, then why not?

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

How to Kill a Move of God: The 3 M's

 

By David Ryser

 Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. (Psalm 127:1a)

 I watched it die a slow death. What I perceived to be a genuine move of God in this little church was waning. It was fading and would soon be gone. When it finally died, it did not die of natural causes. It was killed.

 How do you kill a move of God?

 I’ve had a lot of time to ponder this question. Moves of God are birthed in unexpected ways. And they have a life cycle. They are birthed, grow, mature, and morph into what God is doing next with everyone aboard…ideally. Unfortunately, most of them die an untimely death, and the people who were impacted the most powerfully by the last move of God too often become the most vocal critics of the next move.

 How do you kill a move of God? And why would you want to?

 It’s difficult enough to get God to come to church to begin with since the institutional Church shouldn’t even exist. It’s like the ancient Israelite monarchy.  God never intended for Israel to have a king. He even warned them about what would happen if they opted for a king. But when Israel chose to reject God’s lordship in favor of a human king, God did not abandon them. Even though the monarchy was not of God, He worked within that system by blessing the reigns of godly kings.

 And so it is with the institutional Church.

 My friend, Tim, says God comes to church because that’s where the people are; if they were somewhere else, He would go where they were. As a result, a move of God typically begins in the institutional Church setting. And dies there. The causes of this demise are usually specific …and predictable.

 I call them the three M’s.

 The first way to kill a move of God is to manufacture it. When the move becomes widely known, people will be drawn to it. Over time, there can be pressure on the leadership to come up with new ways to keep the move fresh lest the people tire of it. Too many times when this happens, the leader(s) of the move will manufacture supernatural manifestations to keep people engaged in the move. Some such methods I’ve experienced, or heard about from reliable sources, include…but are by no means limited to…“angel” feathers appearing on the floor of the meeting area, semi-precious gems littering the floor after the meeting, ministers pushing people in prayer lines causing them to fall seemingly under the power of God, and spurious personal prophecy. Sometimes it’s something as seemingly innocuous as adding just a bit of human contribution to what God is doing.

 Jesus did not do this.

 Jesus summed up His earthly ministry in two sentences: “I only do what I see the Father doing” (John 5:19) and “I only say what I hear the Father saying” (John 12:49-50). He did not manufacture the works of God by performing spiritual tricks for His followers, the religious leaders, Herod, and even the devil outside of the Father’s will and direction although He was asked to do so by all these groups of people/beings at one time or another during His ministry.

 This is our model, and we would be well-advised to follow it.

 The second way to kill a move of God is to manipulate it. Typically, this manipulation is justified under the guise of the need to “pastor” the move, so it doesn’t get out of control. Out of control? Whose control? Is God incapable of controlling His move? And have any of these religious control freaks ever read the Book of Acts? The early days of Christianity were marked by what Tim calls “Holy Ghost chaos” with the apostles and other leaders scrambling to keep up with what the Holy Spirit was doing. Artificially manipulating a move of God by human effort, masquerading as protecting the people from excess, is often done with the goal of diverting the flow of the Spirit into a different…and more controllable…direction, thus defeating the purpose of the move.

 The purpose of any move of God is to bring the hearts of people closer to God and to advance His kingdom. Manipulating the move of God to achieve any other purpose contaminates/poisons the move. When the purpose of a move of God becomes about glorifying man instead of glorifying God, it has been manipulated…assuming it was genuine to begin with.

 And we would also do well to remember that using spiritual means to manipulate people and events is the definition of witchcraft. Mentor the move, yes, but don’t manipulate it.

 The third way to kill a move of God is to merchandise it. As soon as a move of God becomes about making money and/or becoming famous, the move is doomed. The move is no longer about God; it is about establishing the brand of the leader(s) and their ministry. In my experience, when a move of God advances to this stage its demise is imminent. Scripture and personal experience teach us that God allows some impurities and excesses in a move for the sake of the people being impacted by it, but nothing will cut off the flow of the Holy Spirit as when a genuine move of God becomes a business.

Many years ago, a classmate had a ministry renowned for miraculous works and healings when He would pray for people and administer the power of God to them. These supernatural works were genuine. He was gifted and anointed by God to perform these feats. And he was happy to dispense these gifts to you…for a price. You see, he would only pray with you, and administer God’s power to you, if you would make a monetary donation to his ministry. I forget now which scripture verse he used to justify this behavior, but I do recall thinking this course of action would end badly.

 It's a mess. And worse, even when a genuine move of God is manufactured, manipulated, and merchandised until God is compelled to turn off the tap of the Spirit’s flow, people still will flock to it. The leader(s) of the move will be idolized, their churches and ministries…while outwardly appearing to be blessed by God…becoming little more than personality cults driven by human effort and personal charisma.

 Why? Why do people fall for this?

 Because of the supernatural manifestations. The miracles, the healings, the prophecies. The fake ones are bad enough, though they are usually debunked in the end with little long-term damage done. It’s the genuine works of God’s power, performed outside of His will and authority, that are the most dangerous and difficult to discern. Jesus speaks to this in Matthew 7:22-23. In this passage, Jesus is speaking of a time, during the final judgment, when some will come to Him seeking entry into His kingdom based upon the supernatural works they’ve done in His name. And Jesus does not dispute the genuineness of the mighty works performed. He does, however, reject these “ministers” based on His lack of intimate relationship and fellowship with them.

 We should never mistake God’s blessing for His approval.

 God blesses because He loves. He loves, and wants to provide for the needs of, the people He is blessing.  The one who ministers His blessing is irrelevant. And this person may be deeply flawed, sinful, or even an outright charlatan like the ones in Matthew 7:22-23. This is why we should be discerning, to test by the scriptures and sense the witness of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, concerning these things. If something violates scripture or feels wrong in our spirits, it’s most likely because something is wrong.  We don’t need to judge the minister, or the ministry, or the works performed. If God tells us to stay away from it, we should stay away from it. We don’t need to know why.

 So, we rejoice when we experience a genuine move of God. We bask in God’s presence, gratefully receive His blessings, and are drawn closer to Him. We allow ourselves to be immersed in the flow of the Spirit and be carried to wherever He is taking us next on our journey with God until He desires to take us somewhere else.

 How do you kill a move of God? Why would you want to?

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

"Everybody Out of the Pool!": The Day God Panicked

 

By David Ryser

If Adam & Eve had been Cajuns, they would have eaten the snake instead of the apple and saved us all a lot of trouble. (Author Unknown)

 When I was a child, back when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, I loved summer. Summer meant no school, long days of play, and swimming. My mother bought summer passes at the community pool for me…and my siblings…and after lunch every day, we would walk the several blocks to the pool and enjoy many hours in the kid heaven known as the swimming pool. What fun! Yet, this reverie was not an uninterrupted one because, every hour or two, an announcement would blare out from the pool’s public address speaker: “Everybody out of the pool!” Upon hearing this announcement, we all would exit the swimming area and take our seats on the pool deck and listen to a brief presentation by the pool director concerning some aspect of water safety while pool staff would perform their tasks to ensure the water was safe for swimming.

 The announcement, “Everybody out of the pool!”, was not given to punish us. It was given to protect us.

 Our original parents, Adam and Eve, were living the high life in the Garden of Eden. For how long they were living in this paradise, and enjoying fellowship with God and one another, we do not know. But one day, the serpent beguiled Eve by calling into question the goodness of God and touting the wonderful benefits of partaking of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Eve took some of the fruit, ate it, and gave it to Adam who also consumed it.

 And everything pretty much went down the drain after that.

 Their eyes being opened to know good and evil; Adam and Eve fled from the tree, made fig leaf aprons for themselves, and hid from God among some trees. Being particularly good at the game of hide-and-seek, God quickly located them in the trees. And He was not pleased. I don’t think He was angry, either. Hurt. Disappointed. Panicked.

 Panicked? Yes. We’ll get to that in just a bit.

 What transpired next was a very difficult conversation between God and our original parents. Difficult for Adam and Eve, certainly; but I imagine it was a difficult conversation for God as well. He had not intended for this to happen. His original intent was to enjoy uninterrupted, intimate fellowship with the man and woman…and their descendants…in a place specially created for them. In the ensuing conversation, God outlined the consequences of mankind’s disobedience. Not only would human beings begin to experience death on several levels, but even creation itself came under a curse because of sin.

 God also had a few things to say to the serpent.

 And nowhere in this conversation did the word “punishment” appear.  I remember being surprised by this when I first became aware of it.  Somehow, I had confused “consequences of” and “punishment for” sin in this story.  I don’t know if I had been taught Adam and Eve were being punished for their sin, or if I had simply assumed they were being punished; but the word “punishment” does not appear, in any form, in this story. In addition, nowhere in this conversation does God say, or even imply, He is causing the consequences of sin to come upon mankind or the creation.

 Punishment is inflicted. Consequences occur. Big difference.

 Part of my difficulty was caused by the misuse of the word “punishment” when a more accurate term might be “consequence” or “discipline” depending upon the situation. And this misuse/misunderstanding of the word “punishment” was not confined to our family. It was also misused/misunderstood in the church I attended.

 Punishment. Consequence. Discipline. Let’s sort this all out, shall we?

 Consequences are what occur naturally as the result of a chosen action. For example, if I jump out of the top of a tall tree, I will be injured. My injury is not a punishment or discipline. No one is inflicting this injury upon me because of my foolishness. I am injured because I did something that resulted in an injury.

 Discipline, on the other hand, is inflicted upon me by another person in response to my actions. My actions provide an occasion for discipline, but do not cause it. The purpose of discipline is redemptive. It is a tool to correct my behavior and teach me to behave differently. Its purpose is to train me…the word “disciple” comes from this word…and is intended to produce a positive outcome in my life. Discipline might be painful for me, but its purpose is ultimately benevolent.

 Punishment, like discipline, is inflicted upon me by another, but its purpose is not redemptive. Punishment teaches me nothing. Punishment corrects nothing in my behavior…it is nothing more than retribution. Punishment is not a means to an end; it is the end.

 We can be excused if we are confused when a parent tells us we are being punished for our bad behavior or our church teaches us we are being punished by God for our sin. In both cases, we are receiving discipline and not punishment.

 So, God’s conversation with Adam and Eve outlining the consequences of their sin was finally concluded, and then God clothed them with animal skins…replacing the works of their own hands (a good example of religion, I think)…to cover their nakedness.

 And then God panicked. God panicked? Well, sort of.

 In Genesis 3:22, God speaks these words: “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” and He never finishes the sentence.  This is the only unfinished sentence God ever speaks. In fact, this is the only unfinished sentence in the entire Bible. Maybe this does not exactly express panic, but it at the very least conveys extreme urgency. The very thought that man might eat from the tree of life and live forever in a state separated from an intimate relationship with God, and outside of His presence, is unthinkable to Him. So, God throws Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden. And prevents them from returning (Genesis 3:23-24). Is this action a consequence of sin? Is it disciplinary? Is it punishment?

 It is, in fact, none of these things.

 This is God’s “Everybody out of the pool!” moment. Just as when we were summoned out of the community swimming pool when we were kids…and for the same reason. God is not punishing mankind by throwing them out of the garden, He is protecting them. He is protecting them from eternal life apart from intimate fellowship with Himself until such a time as a Redeemer will come to make things right again. This is not something mankind can do for itself. And, until then, it is not safe for man to be in the “pool”.

 So, a loving God protected mankind…His crowning creation who was created in His very image…from an eternity trapped by a sinful nature and living in a cursed world. Jesus is making the “pool” safe again. And one day, when the time is right, we will hear the words…the words I heard long ago as a child:

 “Okay, everybody back in the pool!”

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

The Triune God: Holy Trinity or the Three Blind Mice?

 

By David Ryser

Three blind mice, three blind mice. See how they run, see how they run. They all ran after the farmer’s wife. She cut off their tails with a carving knife. Have you ever seen such a sight in your life as three blind mice? (Old children’s song)

 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. (Habakkuk 1:13a).

 The lady…deceased now for many years…sitting across from me on the other side of my desk was a friend of mine. She was sharing with me that she had sinned. While this was difficult for her, she was hoping to find forgiveness and comfort in her confession. What little solace she had found to this point came from an obscure scripture from the book of Habakkuk (quoted above). She said, “I know that God cannot look upon sin. So, when I was sinning, I believe He was looking away so He wouldn’t see my sin.”

 Hmmm….

 People tend to react to this little piece of a scripture verse in Habakkuk in a couple of different ways. Some fall into deep condemnation because they interpret this scripture to mean that, when they sin, God cannot bear to look at them. They are pond scum in His eyes…if He could see them…and He is thoroughly disgusted with them. Others, like this woman, believe God turns His face away from their sin so He doesn’t see it lest He think badly of them. The former view has even affected some preaching concerning Jesus’ redemptive work on the cross. According to these preachers, when Jesus uttered the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” it was at this point that the sin of the world was placed on Jesus, and Jesus became sin (2Corinthians 5:21). The Father could not look at Him because of that sin and Jesus felt abandoned by the Father because, for the first and only time, fellowship between the first and second Person of the Godhead was broken. After sin was judged and the wrath of God against sin was poured out upon Jesus, the fellowship was restored and Jesus cried out “Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit” as He passed from this earthy life.

 I am embarrassed to admit I preached this rubbish myself many years ago.

 So, which of these two interpretations of Habakkuk 1:13a is correct?  Does God view us as lower than worms because of our sin to the point where He cannot even bear to look at us and fleeing from us to get away from us? Or does He turn His face from our sin so He can continue to deal redemptively with us without being overly disgusted by us?

 Actually…neither.

 A reading of Habakkuk 1:13a, in context, reveals the author of the book has neither of these thoughts in mind when he wrote it; in fact, quite the opposite is true as Habakkuk goes on to say that God watches the actions of wicked people who oppress the godly and the prophet is offended because God seemingly does nothing to correct this injustice.

 Have you ever felt like this? I have.

 So God does, in fact, see our sin and yet always acts redemptively in our lives to restore the temporary break in fellowship…not relationship…with Him. Need proof? Let’s go back to the Garden of Eden.

 In the 3^rd chapter of the book of Genesis, the Bible records how Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Their eyes were opened to know good and evil. They realized they were naked and felt shame. To cover their shame, they made aprons of fig leaves to cover their physical nakedness and hid among some trees in fear when they heard God walking in the garden during the cool of the day. And then God called out to Adam.

 “Where are you?”

 This question was not asked for God’s benefit. God knew where Adam was, and He knew about the ridiculous choice of evening wear Adam and Eve were sporting. The question was asked for Adam’s benefit. He wanted both Adam and Eve to know that He was looking for them.

 If Adam had believed God could not look upon him after he had sinned, then why did Adam hide? Why didn’t God hide?

 You see, if God cannot bear to look upon sin…and if Adam has sinned…this story is backwards. God should be hiding from Adam, and Adam should be looking for God. But that’s not what happened. Instead of hiding Himself from Adam and Eve, God is actively seeking for them.  He wants to be with them and to have a conversation with them.  This will be a difficult conversation to be sure, as their sin has dire consequences for themselves and all of creation, but God is not abandoning them. On the contrary, God is already setting in place a plan of redemption that will ultimately restore all of humanity and all of creation to its original state.

 God sees our sin. He’s not pleased by it, but He sees it. And God is bigger than our sin. He is not disgusted by us to the point of being unable to look upon us. He is not frightened by our sin. He does not flee in terror and hide quivering from us and our sin; but rather, He seeks us out and offers forgiveness freely if we simply acknowledge our sin, confess it, and receive His mercy and cleansing (1John 1:9).

 So, what would we be well-advised to do the next time we sin? And make no mistake about it, there will be a next time. I can only speak for myself when I say that I have determined not to do what Adam did when I have sinned and God is desiring to have a conversation with me about it. Instead of running away from God and trying to hide my sin from Him…and hide myself from Him…I plan to run toward Him. As fast as possible. Even though it’s hard. Even though my shame concerning my behavior makes everything within me want to run as far as I can and hide as well as I can to avoid the pain of dealing with my sin. Even though I would like to avoid the upcoming conversation about my sin.

 Because God sees me. Yes, He sees my sin; but, more importantly, He sees me. In all my failures and shortcomings, He sees me. And He’s seeking me out because He wants nothing more in that moment than to work redemptively in my life so our fellowship can be restored, and I will be free once again to enjoy a sense of His love and presence untainted by a sense of guilt and shame. I have lived for an extended period…even as a Christian…without a sense of God’s love and presence, and I never want to live like that again.

 God sees me. The triune God is a Holy Trinity, not the three blind mice. And I’m grateful.

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

Shame on You!: Why are You Hiding?

 

By David Ryser

Wonderful, wonderful Jesus is to me. Counselor, Prince of Peace, Mighty God is He. Saving me, keeping me from all sin and shame. Wonderful is my redeemer, praise His Name. (Old time Pentecostal worship chorus)

 “You’re a very hidden person. You must be carrying a lot of shame.” These words were spoken to me by a Christian counselor acquaintance of mine many years ago. I was unable, or unwilling, to accept the truth of these words at the time due in part to the use of the word “shame”. This word had become a buzzword in counseling circles, both Christian and secular; and because of this, it had no assignable meaning to me in this context. So, I passed over it and failed to deal with it…though I never quite forgot those words…because it sounded like so much psycho-babble to me.

 And then, years later, I got a brain worm.

 I’m told a brain worm is when a song gets stuck in one’s head and they are unable to get rid of it. Instead, the song plays over, and over, and over again. Maybe for several minutes…or days…or weeks…or…. The song was the old time Pentecostal worship chorus quoted above. It’s a catchy little number, I’ll say that for it. As this song played repeatedly in my head, I began to consider the words of the chorus.  I was particularly drawn to the last word of the third line.

 Shame.

 Why did the composer of this chorus choose the word “shame” at the end of this line? It didn’t make any sense to me. We all know that Jesus saves and keeps us from sin. This is drilled into us from the moment we come to faith in Jesus. But shame?  Did the composer use the word “shame” because they needed a word to rhyme with “name” at the end of the fourth line? Or were they onto something? Something important.

 Seeking the answer to this question led me back to the Garden of Eden.

 Immediately after Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened to know good and evil. They became aware of their own nakedness, sewed some aprons of fig leaves to cover themselves, and hid among some trees when they heard God taking His daily evening walk in the garden

 They were hiding…a classic symptom of shame.

 God called to Adam, and Adam answered that he was hiding because he knew he was naked. I am told the Hebrew word translated “naked” in Genesis 3:10 conveys the thought of being exposed.  We use the word this way even today when we do, or say, something stupid in public that gets noticed and describe our subsequent feelings later by saying, “I felt naked in front of everyone.”  As a result of feeling exposed, Adam was afraid.

 Fear of discovery/disapproval/punishment…another classic symptom of shame.

 God confronted Adam with his sin.  Attempting to explain his actions, Adam threw both Eve and God under the bus by blaming “the woman you gave me” for his sin (Gen 3:12). He blamed Eve for giving him the forbidden fruit to eat and blamed God for giving her to him in the first place. Two birds. One stone.

 Blame-shifting…another classic symptom of shame.

 And shame has plagued mankind ever since.  We see it in politics/government, in the corporate world, in our personal lives, and even in our churches.

 Need some examples?

 At the time of this article’s writing, the United States is in an election season. Candidates are running for offices ranging anywhere from the country’s president all the way down to city council. The lack of transparency, the lies to cover up personal and professional flaws while accusing the opposition of the very same flaws, and the refusal to accept personal responsibility by blaming others for their failures…or, worse yet, pointing to the bad behavior of others to justify their own bad behavior…runs rampant in the campaigning.

 To see supposedly grown adults behave in this manner is embarrassing…and they want to be our leaders.

 The corporate world is no better.  Some time ago, I was visiting with a person who had been in a position of authority within a corporation who recounted an incident wherein the administration of this company had made a serious mistake in judgment to the detriment of the organization.  The board of directors was meeting shortly thereafter, and the members of the administrative team were deliberating how to address this situation with the board. This person advised total transparency accompanied by an apology and a plan to remediate the mistake.

 His suggestion was rejected. The board was lied to, and the mistake was covered up. This sort of dishonesty is, unfortunately, rather common in the corporate world…at all levels.

 Our personal lives are a rich breeding ground for shame to thrive.  Our relationships too many times are a fraud because we hide our true self from others out of fear of ridicule/disapproval/rejection, and they hide themselves from us for the same reasons. This is nowhere more apparent than in romantic relationships. It’s one thing to put forth our best self when trying to woo another, but we go one step further by presenting ourselves as someone the other would be interested in…even if it’s not our genuine self.  This kind of deceit is poison to an intimate relationship.  Each of us has a need to be known and accepted/loved. When we hide who we are…and present a self that doesn’t exist…even if we receive love as a result, it rings hollow to us because we believe that if the other person knew our real self, we would be unloved and rejected.

 And both parties in the relationship are spinning the same sort of deceit with the result that they both fall in love with someone who doesn’t exist. And it doesn’t end well. Too often the result is experiencing the very rejection both feared. While courting my wife, I made a promise to her that I would always be honest with her about who I am so she would know who it was she would be choosing to love or reject.

 When it comes to personal relationships, I would rather be known and rejected than unknown and accepted.

 And what about churches? Places of worship where the people of God come together to love Him and one another. Where transparency and unconditional love are celebrated and demonstrated. Where someone is loved and accepted by the others because s/he is loved and accepted by God…no second validation is required. Surely shame has no place in such a setting.

 Yeah, right.

 I know of a church on the brink of collapse because church leadership has chosen to cover up allegations of misbehavior involving some of the children in the church. Instead of investigating these allegations and being honest with the findings and taking actions to make things right as best they can, leadership have chosen to take the shame route: deny, cover up, and blame-shift. They’ve even gone so far as to take legal action against some of those they perceive to be their accusers. This sham is about to be exposed despite all efforts to cover it up.

 I wish this sort of thing was uncommon in churches. It’s not.

 And these shame-driven actions will end in disaster for the church. Just like it does for anyone else. Shame does not produce anything good in our lives or bring us closer to God any more than it did for Adam.

 But, like the song says, Jesus has saved us from shame.  The apostle Paul assured the believers in Rome…and the rest of us wherever we are…that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1). Because of Jesus, we can stand before God and man without any sense of condemnation, inferiority, or shame. We are free to be authentic before God and others. While we use wisdom when sharing ourselves with others, the parts of us we do choose to reveal can be our genuine selves.

 Saving me, keeping me, from all sin and shame. It’s a great little song, don’t you think?

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