Below is a letter that was simply handed to me late at night on the 3rd of January, 2009 by my daughter Hannah. Nothing in the way she presented it could have ever prepared me for what was written inside.
Modern day slavery of Christians in Pakistan
I have since read her note to me over a dozen times and I choke up with tears every time I see the pages. As a father, I have always purposed to be a witness for my children — a witness in the way I live out what I believe. I have tried to never be a legalist but rather a lover.
I have spent a lot of time traveling away from my family and I know my children have paid a price that they could not even agree to. In the back of my mind, I always have a distant fear about how we have lived and if it will help or hinder my children as they gain their own faith and live what they believe.
How many of us have served the Lord and seen our children run the other way? I point no fingers here as I have seen good parents with terrible kids and terrible parents with great kids. I have no stones to throw. I was rocked to my core as I read Hannah’s note to me and after struggling through some really tough stuff from the past year, the Lord used it to so powerfully minister to my heart. Feeling like a failure due to my own weaknesses, I was able to see the Lord use my daughter to shine hope into my soul and have the burden lift.
I share this letter with you with my daughter’s permission and if you feel so inclined after reading it, I ask you to respond and encourage Hannah and the notes will be sent along to her.
My dreams and aspirations are to serve the Lord in every way I can. My parents taught me this from the first days I can remember. They taught me to love the Lord with all my heart and to love others.
As I look back over my life, the most influential person in it has been my dad. He has gone through so much in his short forty years of life. He has seen so many deaths and traumatic events in his 18 years of service to the Lord in ministry and I have watched and seen the toll it has taken on his life. Last year my dad was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD. After coming back from a trip to Africa, I could see along with the rest of my family that my dad was no longer the same.
Initially, I was angry with my father due to the fact that he would simply sit at home in his room, not leave the house, and would barely engage us in a conversation. I was angry and wondered how my father could be so selfish. After some time, I realized that it was I who was being selfish and self consumed.
This event has really impacted my life. I have a much different outlook on life and at times I am not sure if it is good or bad. Even after eighteen months, my father still has struggles at times and I secretly fear that he will go back to the person who could not talk with us once again. In my mind I think, people die every day, bad things happen all the time, why does it affect my father so much?
I am learning from him that life is precious and casts a long shadow of memories, some good, and some bad. In my father’s case, much of what he has seen ministering in war zones and disaster areas has been bad.
Every single person can have an impact on someone and their memory remains forever in the hearts of others. People come and go but what matters most and last the longest are the things we do to touch peoples lives and seeing this carried out in my fathers life has compelled me to dedicate my life to making a lasting impact, not just any memory but a memory of Jesus Christ. I desperately want people to see a small glimpse of Jesus when they look at me and possibly by seeing Jesus with skin on that they would also turn their lives over to Him. I am a fifteen-year-old girl but the God I serve is big and able and can use my life as I follow after His plan for me. My dad has shown to me the other side of following Christ, the side that allows suffering rather than simple blessings. My job now is to follow the Lord.
A Virtuous woman who can find, she is worth far more than rubies.
Hands down, one of the best training programs you can attend, that will prepare you and your team to survive and thrive in war zones, disaster areas while assisting and helping in humanitarian interventions.
One week course will be hosted in Calgary, Alberta Canada June 18-22nd 2012. Please see the short informational video below.
Forty-three class hours that may also be used for Continued Education Credits.
Course offerings include but are not limited too:
Disaster Assessment
Before one can truly assist when entering an area of humanitarian need, including disaster areas, the situation must be evaluated. Assessment helps with setting priorities in order to best be of aid to those who are suffering. This course provides hands-on understanding of the assessment process.
Humanitarian Assessment
The cornerstone of all DART training, this series equips you with the tools to recognize, analyze and plan for more effective humanitarian aid. Throughout the week, the conference builds on this initial training and culminates with group briefings on given disaster scenarios.
Personal & Mission Protection
This course will aquaint you with potential terrorist threats while providing steps you can take to avoid or survive these situations. This type of training is a must for anyone wanting to work in disaster or war-torn areas. For those leading teams or receiving teams on the ground, this training will equip leaders and team members who to stay safe and avoid potential problems by establishing “red lines” that all team members will know in advance. You will be equipped to respond to various threats against your team and or individuals to keep safe, stay safe and ways to get out of the complex problems presented while working in unsecured areas.
Land Mine Awareness
Many humanitarian disasters take place in nations that have thousands of unmarked minefields. It has become increasingly important that international aid workers are trained in recognizing and avoiding land mines. This realistic training takes place outdoors in a mock minefield, from which you will have to successfully extract yourself.
Cross Cultural Communications
With any foreign disaster comes a foreign culture. Understanding our own culture first is key to understanding foreign cultures. This course provides the guidelines from which to understand other cultures based on U.S. counterpart values.
Survival in the Field
This course will cover all aspects of survival in the field, including avoiding crises and incidents, surviving in adverse conditions, situational awareness, and surviving without food for an extended period of time.
Humanitarian Aid / Lessons Learned
This is a panel discussion, staffed by SWI team members and partnering organizations. This informal panel has no set parameters but is an opportunity for attendees to ask any questions they may have for us, based on our experience.
Mission Preparedness and Planning
A brief introduction to those considering mission work in disaster areas. Whether you are considering short term or long term missions, this presentation contains important basic information to consider. Subjects covered include: spiritual preparation, travel tips, culture and preserving the experience, fundraising and creating a support network.
Dealing with Trauma
One of the major issues in dealing with any disaster is trauma. The objectives of this course are to help the helper, by providing tools to take care of themselves as well as the trauma victims. Topics include: traumatic stress awareness, compassion fatigue, group debriefing techniques, negative coping behaviors, and models for dealing with grief and loss. Regardless of what kind of disaster relief you may do, this course is an excellent overview in how not to become a casualty yourself.
Biblical Storying/Orality of Scripture
In many of the places that require significant humanitarian aid assistance there will oftentimes
be people groups who have high illiteracy rates. Bible Storying is a unique method of communicating the scripture to those who cannot read. Approximately two thirds of the Bible is a narrative and therefore lends itself to communicating orally. Jesus taught by telling stories and was himself an oral communicator. You will find this presentation fascinating because it gets at the heart of the matter of effectively reaching with Biblical teaching.
Preventative Medicine
This course focuses on providing practical information on how to avoid potential health problems before they become debilitating. Personal and specific preventative measures against certain diseases and other travel related problems will be covered. Topics discussed will be focused on those areas of world that present the biggest challenge to travelers from a Western nation. Designed to equip you team to be as self-contained as possible. When infrastructure in your area of operation has failed, it is up to your team to provide for the team. This course teaches you the basics so minor issues will not become major issues.
UN and Peacekeeping operations
The United Nations provides military peacekeeping forces around the world. Many people have heard of the problems of the UN, but most do not understand the challenges and limitations these forces operate under. This presentation is designed to give you an overview of a real peacekeeping operation faced in Somalia and other countries from a first hand experience. The objective is to familiarize you with the challenges and complexity of these types of operations. Equip your teams to interact and coordinate when needed.
Understanding Insurgencies
Everyday we hear about insurgent attacks in Iraq but few understand the challenge and complexity of trying to reduce or eliminate this type of threat. This presentation is designed to give the student an overview of how an insurgency works and what the opposing force needs to do to combat this threat through counterinsurgency operations. This type of warfare is important to understand since the majority of humanitarian aid efforts take place in nations suffering from internal insurgencies or counterinsurgencies.
Documenting and reporting: Photography-Video-Journalsim
Conveying vision and information designed to impact your base of support and inform your team. Video and photography training that will associate you with the “ethics” and keep you from voyeurism of pain to vision based communications designed to impact without exploiting. This class will help you with important photography issues and questions like: What type of camera should I use? How should I take care of my camera? What types of pictures are most effective? How do I take pictures of people without offending them? Learn how to take pictures powerful enough to make others pray for those who are suffering and join in supporting future trips and projects.
Note* Not and exhaustive list but designed to communicate mandatory and elective courses.
Come and attend DART training in beautiful Calgary Canada in Partnership with First Alliance and get equipped to be a part of the solution in Complex Humanitarian Disaster.
Who should attend
Mission leaders, Long and short-term International workers, Individuals wanting to be certified in Disaster Response, relief/aid staff and volunteers. NGO and Non-Profit groups responsible for team safety and contingency management planning for staff, teams and volunteers
Due to advance sign ups and limited attendance for class to teacher ratio, this course is extremely limited and will fill up fast. This is not a sales pitch, this is a fact.
Call our U.S office at 918.336.8400 for cost, information and or check back on the web sites listed for further information.
Testimonials
“I have used so many practical and spiritual “tactics” this past year as a result of what I was taught and shown at SWI. SWI was the foundation upon which we have been building our lives this past year in preparation for present and future mission work. Just a quick update on the three of us: Amanda has one more year to go in Israel and Allison leaves in August to begin bootcamp with the Army Reserves Officer Candidate School in Ft. Benning, GA. I am in my last two years of nursing school and will be going to Israel in October. We are working on finalizing some trips soon and will let you know as soon as plans are complete because we want your prayers to be before us and with us. We’re always listening for your name to pop up in our area as a guest speaker–as soon as we hear you are in the area, we’ll be there.”-Tracy
“Given the unique nature of your goals, you need a unique Vision statement like: ‘The needs of the many depend on the courage of a few and God who does the impossible.” -Volunteer from SWI disaster team
I want to share a very small part of the mission that you probably have not even thought of, however the scene crosses my mind daily……………Just before leaving Nairobi for Nakuru we stopped to exchange money. We were all standing outside the bank taking turns going inside. We were all introduced to a prominent business man, blanket business I believe. He said multiple times that we should not stay in Nakuru, that it was too dangerous, and we should stay at the Park. You just stood there with your hands in your pockets and a smile on your face. I was panicking inside and the words “listen to him, listen to him” kept going through my head… The day we left Nakuru just before going over the last hill in the Wildlife Refuge we stopped and watched the fires erupting in the city. It was at that spot that a teammate thought we were leaving the very people we were there to help and it was at that spot that the scene in front of the bank played through my mind. Your obedience in listening to the Lord and not let a “person” sway your thinking really left an impact on me and is a daily blessing to me now. I think of all the employees of the hotel that were ministered to by the team ,and all the people we met there in the Nakuru Hotel, I know that we stayed exactly where God had wanted us to stay. Even with the black smoke hovering over the city I thanked God that He led such a Godly man to light a fire in my heart. -Gail
Training opportunity brought to you by Strategic World Impact in partnership with First Alliance Calgary.
Men standing in line waiting for much needed assistance.
Charles Spurgeon said, “If you are going to preach the Gospel to a hungry man, then wrap a gospel tract around a sandwich”. While the use of this quote as a model for practical based approaches to evangelism is sound exhortation , we must take care that we do not push this quote beyond its original intention of the man who said it.
To imply that Gospel proclamation must not, or worse, cannot take place without mans benevolent intervention will lead down a road that Christ himself never trod.
I hear the clamor of some readers already, “How dare you!” Christ came and met physical needs.” “He healed the sick and lame, and what about the bread miracles.” Surely Jesus was moved with compassion for the poor and lame and you only need read the Gospel of Mark and you will see the water and bread miracles being repeated. I will contend, however that the primary purpose of these and other miracles were performed to provide proof of authenticity, God was now in the flesh. In fact we see that when the crowds clamored for a “king of bread” that would magically solve the hunger problem of the day, Jesus promptly withdrew from that crowd. Look at Mark’s Gospel we see that Jesus started out his earthly ministry with a flurry of miracles, Mark 1:32-34 “When evening came after the sun set, they began bringing to Him all those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. 33 The whole town was assembled at the door, 34 and He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out the man demons. But He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him.” The disciples searched for Jesus early the next morning to presumably start the healing meetings backup and let Jesus know, Mark 1:37b ..”everyone’s looking for You!” Yes, Jesus cared about needs but it was subservient to his main reason for his earthly ministry. Listen to the response of Jesus as found in Mark 1:38 And He said to them, “Let’s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come.” Later in the Mark 2:5 Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Son your sins are forgiven.” The following verses clearly teach that the main point of the healing, though Jesus was moved with compassion, did recognize their faith, said in v10. “But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”. Again, lets look at Mark 2:17 When Jesus heard this, He told them, “Those who are well don’t need a doctor, but the sick do need one. I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The purpose and ambition of Jesus in his incarnation was to proclaim the Gospel and then embrace death on the cross, die and rise again, that their might be a Gospel for us to proclaim! John 3:17 For God did not send His son into the world that He might condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. Ian MacPherson said, At Bethlehem the most High became the most nigh!” The “singular eye” of Christ was upon the Father while stationed on earth. He did as the Father told Him and He revealed the Character of the Father, then declared, “I and the Father are ONE, if you see Me, you see the Father.”
Don’t let this get out, but the Apostle Paul never traveled Asia Minor with a forty-foot shipping container of relief goods. His passion, unmatched I might add, was to proclaim Christ and Him Crucified, resurrected and verified! (I Cor. 15:1-11) My caution in all that is aforementioned is simply this, humanitarianism, as beneficial as I have personally seen it to be, is decidedly limited to the preserving of the body but only the Gospel and its proclamation will bring the preserving of the soul for eternity. I admit to you, I have used the quote of Saint Francis, “preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words”, to a fault. Any sound biblical thinker will quickly realize that we must have sound doctrine and teaching as well as character of living. Caring for the needs of the poor and needy and widowed and orphaned is truly biblical, but the primary reason for this exchange of love toward those in need is to show the character of God in us as His bride. I am not advocating a Church that “preaches” but does not “demonstrate”. I advocate preeminence be placed upon the truthful proclamation of His word, just as Jesus came and demonstrated by His earthly ministry.
I have listened to organization repeatedly say, “We are not here to proclaim, we are here to show God’s love”. As I chew on that statement I find myself being lead to believe then, that the temporary assistance being rendered has a greater sufficiency than the “truth” that alone saves a mans soul.
What profit is gained by leaving a man marching toward hell while ten pounds heavier. Emphasis must be on the Gospel first and foremost. May I quickly add the caveat that over 22 years of serving internationally and providing humanitarian relief, that I am equally shocked by the tactics used by evangelical groups that would aid starving people with food but first make them listen to a “gospel message”! I oppose that approach as well, as a starving man will raise his hand to follow a toad, if he can at least get food. Help because it is the correct action, then I have found by experience, most usually ask,”why have you done this for me”.
Jesus could have easily remained “king of bread” and set up “miracle bread shops” to meet the physical needs of the world in perpetuity, however had He done that, we would have never had the “broken bread” of Christ that we were to consume and never hunger again. Christ knew that the earthly mission was limited by time but His accomplishment of all the Father had given Him to do would open up the doors of eternity. He desired that we would be with Him, where He would be and via His atoning death made that possible.
With a growing push for the Church to become a “Social Gospel” forum, aiding in wealth redistribution, is not only blatantly non-scriptural but leads to horrific crippling of those in need. It is not the initial help, but rather the miss use of “aid” that creates dependency and all the while we smile and pity and feel so needed. The “messiah complex”, that is easily fostered when people are in need and we happen to be the ones with the supplies and food to help, is a dangerous usurpation of a role we must not nor could not ever fulfill. It is the emphasis on a socialized gospel that has led us to show a demanding upon the resources of others that Jesus himself never proclaimed much less practiced. Why does all of this matter? Because as the church goes, so goes the nation.
Kevin Turner
Strategic World Impact
Please read the article below, as it addresses the issue well.
One policy under attack by these “progressives” is the conservative effort to “cut programs to the poor.” They say that such a policy goes against Jesus Christ’s commands in chapter 24 of the book of Matthew to feed those who are hungry.
These “Red Letter Christians” are making a lot of noise, but they are just a bunch of clanging cymbals – and the love that they claim to spout has no basis whatsoever.
What these misguided religious zealots conveniently fail to note is that nowhere in the New Testament or the other books of the Bible do Jesus Christ, His apostles, God the Father, the Holy Spirit, Moses or the Hebrew prophets command the government to take money from its citizens and transfer it to poor people. In fact, the Bible says just the opposite.
God presents us with three general ways in the Bible to take care of the poor and needy:
1) through the family;
2) through the church; and
3) through individual charity.
The applicable passages for these three ways are Deuteronomy 14:28, 29, Numbers 18:24, Matthew 6:1-4 and 1 Timothy 5:3-16.
Now, the first two ways are pretty clear. People’s first obligation is to the needy, poor, widowed and orphaned in their own families. Only after they do this do they have any obligation to help the needy, poor, widowed and orphaned through their local church organization. God established the pattern for this kind of church giving in Numbers 18:24 and Deuteronomy 14:28, 29. As David Chilton points out in his great book “Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators,” the bulk of Christian giving to the local church should be geared toward financing professional theologians, experts in biblical law and church discipline, teachers of God’s word and leaders skilled in worship.
It was only every third year that all the giving was set aside to help the needy, poor, widowed and orphaned. Even then, the money was not given just to anyone who showed up. Those able to work but don’t do not qualify for help. Also, those who have families to take care of them don’t qualify, nor do widows under age 60 qualify, according to the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 5:3-16.
Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh, talks about the third way in Matthew 6. He tells His listeners that they should give individual charity. He also says they should give such charity secretly: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
In other words, Jesus is not a socialist. Nor is he a liberal. In fact, in none of the Bible passages just cited, nor in any others I know of, does Jesus, God or even Moses cite the government as the means by which the poor, needy, widowed and orphaned are housed, clothed and fed.
Thus, a simple, straightforward reading of the Bible, God’s Word, including the “Red Letter” words of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, clearly shows that the American welfare state is anti-Christian and unbiblical.
Any Christian who advocates such a government welfare system (including clergymen or women) should be harshly rebuked. Furthermore, any members of any political party, including Republicans, Democrats, Reform Party members, Libertarians or whatever, who advocate such a socialist system yet claim to be Christian should be reprimanded by their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and by all church leaders.
If any such party members refuse to repent and change their ways, then their names should be posted at their church and throughout the whole land so that all Christians in the United States can know not to vote for these people or place them in positions of authority and leadership. Of course, all Christians should encourage families to take care of their own. And they should also encourage their churches to give at least one-third of their gross income to help the poor, needy, widowed and orphaned.
On that note, it is interesting to recall that the 10th Commandment in Exodus 20:17 actually protects private property by commanding people not to covet their neighbor’s house or belongings. That commands applies to the average citizen as well as the elected official, the judge and all other government officials.
Furthermore, the Bible condemns laziness and praises hard work. Proverbs 10:4 says, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.” Proverbs 14:23 says, “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”
Finally, it is interesting to note that, in Mark 7:20-23, not only does Jesus Christ declare that all sex outside of heterosexual marriage, including homosexuality, pre-marital sex and adultery, is evil, he also declares that both greed and envy are evil. Thus, Jesus Christ condemns both the greed of the rich man as well as the greed of the poor man, and the envy of the poor man as well as the envy of the rich man.
Thus, God condemns the politics of envy of the left, and he extols the virtues of hard work and capitalism, not just the value of charity!
Liberals and socialists like the “Red Letter Christians,” Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Ted Kennedy and former Vice President Al Gore are violating the commands of Jesus Christ, who is God in the Flesh. They are also violating the commands that God gives all of us in the Hebrew Scriptures as well. If they truly want to follow the words of Jesus in the New Testament, they should stop their opposition to the real Christian movement in America and join it. One of the first things they should do immediately is help cut government programs for the poor.
Christians must stop the ungodly, immoral rape of American citizens with the totalitarian, socialist welfare state!
They must establish a proper and godly system of family, church and private charity. Not just Christians, but all true Americans should follow God’s clear guidance in this matter. God will reward us mightily for our obedience in these matters.
Tom Snyder is an experienced journalist with nearly 20 years of experience. He is vice president of Good News Communications, a non-profit Christian ministry based in Los Angeles, Calif.
While walking through the destruction of a village in Pakistan I had reached the overload point. One house after another burned, destroyed and demolished. Families sitting in the rubble of what was their home wanted us to come and see all that had been lost and pray with them that God would restore. After view countless houses my heart began to retreat to simply protect myself from the grief and sorrow these Pakistani Christians were facing.
I was close to simply becoming a voyeur of violence, my heart was retreating in to protection mode as I teetered on grief overload. Some call it compassion fatigue, I just call it “entering in”.
I quickly asked for the team to leave the devastation and head back to our guest house. While in the van I shared with the team what was happening in my heart and was glad to hear I had made the right call as all the team was feeling the same load and weight of pain. How do you come to people that have been devastated, but continue to put their trust in God alone and walk gently on such Holy ground.
To place ourselves as the answer would be wrong as only Christ can and will stand in the place.
Orphaned girls in Pakistan.
Yet I find myself conscientiously aware that I am called to be part of the solution, while leaving the beleaguered believers looking to Christ alone.
My team wept with those who weep and held them, prayed for them and simply sat with them. In reflection of all that has thundered past our eyes I found a meditation by Oswald Chambers, that so eloquently speaks to, not only the past few weeks, but the past 19 years of labor living among the pained, persecuted and suffering.
To the Helper:
Recognize that what you say will be different for each person because every person’s circumstances and personality are unique. Romans 12:15 tells us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.” The book of Ecclesiastes says: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” There is a time to talk, a time to simply be with the person, a time to give answers and explanations, a time to just listen, a time to visit, a time to give the person time alone.
We need to keep in mind the wisdom of the book of Proverbs, “Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in the right circumstances.”
Through the Gospels, Christ ministered to people according to their need. For example Lazarus died, Jesus ministered to his sisters in different ways. Martha seemed to be trying to understand why her brother died, so Jesus explained the resurrection of the dead to her.
But with Mary, who fell weeping at His feet, Jesus simply wept.
Proverbs 14:10 says “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.” Only God can say, “I know just how you feel.” Also Proverbs 25:20, “like one who takes away a garment in cold weather, and like vinegar on soda, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.”
You don’t have to have all the answers. Your prayerful presence can work wonders. Remember that God ultimately is the source of all wisdom, healing, and wholeness. The greatest benediction one man can cover another who suffers, is not in his words, but that he implies: ‘I don’t know the answer to your problem, all I can say is that, “GOD ALONE MUST KNOW; LET US GO TO HIM.”
In my hour of trouble, perplexity and despair, looking to the Cross-I find Him there. Striped and bloodied, naked and tormented, subject of Gods wrath fomented.
I fall to my knees, lips that only quiver, speak to my pain oh life giver! One thousand questions get a swift reply, look to the Lamb that was crucified!
While you bore the cross, I fancied my crown. Little did I know about love that’s laid down! Careless I tread on sacred Sod, in silence drops the blood of God.
Faith that reckons, shall find him there. On a blood stained altar I cast all my care.
The covering from above if heeded, leaves fig tree withered, leaf no longer needed.
From eternity to a womb, through time to a tomb! So the Son of Man traveled, as Lion and Lamb; with trumpet and sword will you come again, er’e shall we meet Thee as bride for the Groom.
K. Turner
working on plans after the earthquakes in Pakistan
Kevin J Turner
If you feel pressed by the Holy Spirit then prayer for these in Pakistan who are member’s of the body of Christ. If you feel lead to give to them then give from a generous heart knowing that God sees all. I am still in Pakistan and planning the next team that will come to serve and be the hand’s of Christ. Stand with us as we practice the ministry of presence! www.swi.org
From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher,
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.
From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary,
O Lamb of God, deliver me.
Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay,
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod:
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.
The historical evidence for the resurrection of Christ is very good. Scholars such as William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, Gary Habermas, and others have done an especially good job of detailing that evidence. It is the aim of this article to offer a sort of synthesis of some of their key points and show the strength of the historical evidence for the resurrection of Christ.
A method commonly used today to determine the historicity of an event is “inference to the best explanation.” William Lane Craig describes this as an approach where we “begin with the evidence available to us and then infer what would, if true, provide the best explanation of that evidence.” In other words, we ought to accept an event as historical if it gives the best explanation for the evidence surrounding it.
When we look at the evidence, the truth of the resurrection emerges very clearly as the best explanation. There is no other theory that even come close to accounting for the evidence. Therefore, there is solid historical grounds for the truth that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
It is worth pointing out that in establishing the historicity of the resurrection, we do not need to assume that the New Testament is inspired by God or even trustworthy. While I do believe these things, we are going to focus here on three truths that even critical scholars admit. In other words, these three truths are so strong that they are accepted by serious historians of all stripes. Therefore, any theory must be able to adequately account for these data.
The three truths are:
The tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion.
Jesus’ disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ.
As a result of the preaching of these disciples, which had the resurrection at its center, the Christian church was established and grew.
Virtually all scholars who deal with the resurrection, whatever their school of thought, assent to these three truths. We will see that the resurrection of Christ is the best explanation for each of them individually. But then we will see, even more significantly, that when these facts are taken together we have an even more powerful case for the resurrection–because the skeptic will not have to explain away just one historical fact, but three. These three truths create a strongly woven, three chord rope that cannot be broken.
The Empty Tomb
To begin, what is the evidence that the tomb in which Jesus was buried was discovered empty by a group of women on the Sunday following the crucifixion?
First, the resurrection was preached in the same city where Jesus had been buried shortly before. Jesus’ disciples did not go to some obscure place where no one had heard of Jesus to begin preaching about the resurrection, but instead began preaching in Jerusalem, the very city where Jesus had died and been buried. They could not have done this if Jesus was still in his tomb–no one would have believed them. No one would be foolish enough to believe a man had raised from the dead when his body lay dead in the tomb for all to see. As Paul Althaus writes, the resurrection proclamation “could not have been maintained in Jerusalem for a single day, for a single hour, if the emptiness of the tomb had not been established as a fact for all concerned.”
Second, the earliest Jewish arguments against Christianity admit the empty tomb. In Matthew 28:11-15, there is a reference made to the Jew’s attempt to refute Christianity be saying that the disciples stole the body. This is significant because it shows that the Jews did not deny the empty tomb. Instead, there “stolen body” theory admitted the significant truth that the tomb was in fact empty. The Toledoth Jesu, a compilation of early Jewish writings, is another source acknowledging this. It acknowledges that the tomb was empty, and attempts to explain it away. Further, we have a record of a second century debate between a Christian and a Jew, in which a reference is made to the fact that the Jews claim the body was stolen. So it is pretty well established that the early Jews admitted the empty tomb.
Why is this important? Remember that the Jewish leaders were opposed to Christianity. They were hostile witnesses. In acknowledging the empty tomb, they were admitting the reality of a fact that was certainly not in their favor. So why would they admit that the tomb was empty unless the evidence was too strong to be denied? Dr. Paul Maier calls this “positive evidence from a hostile source. In essence, if a source admits a fact that is decidedly not in its favor, the fact is genuine.”
Third, the empty tomb account in the gospel of Mark is based upon a source that originated within seven years of the event it narrates. This places the evidence for the empty tomb too early to be legendary, and makes it much more likely that it is accurate. What is the evidence for this? I will list two pieces. A German commentator on Mark, Rudolf Pesch, points out that this pre-Markan source never mentions the high priest by name. “This implies that Caiaphas, who we know was high priest at that time, was still high priest when the story began circulating.” For “if it had been written after Caiaphas’ term of office, his name would have had to have been used to distinguish him from the next high priest. But since Caiaphas was high priest from A.D. 18 to 37, this story began circulating no later than A.D. 37, within the first seven years after the events,” as Michael Horton has summarized it. Furthermore, Pesch argues “that since Paul’s traditions concerning the Last Supper [written in 56] (1 Cor 11) presuppose the Markan account, that implies that the Markan source goes right back to the early years” of Christianity (Craig). So the early source Mark used puts the testimony of the empty tomb too early to be legendary.
Fourth, the empty tomb is supported by the historical reliability of the burial story. NT scholars agree that he burial story is one of the best established facts about Jesus. One reason for this is because of the inclusion of Joseph of Arimethea as the one who buried Christ. Joseph was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrein, a sort of Jewish supreme court. People on this ruling class were simply too well known for fictitious stories about them to be pulled off in this way. This would have exposed the Christians as fraud’s. So they couldn’t have circulated a story about him burying Jesus unless it was true. Also, if the burial account was legendary, one would expect to find conflicting traditions–which we don’t have.
But how does the reliability of Jesus’ burial argue that the tomb was empty? Because the burial account and empty tomb account have grammatical and linguistic ties, indicating that they are one continuous account. Therefore, if the burial account is accurate the empty tomb is likely to be accurate as well. Further, if the burial account is accurate then everyone knew where Jesus was buried. This would have been decisive evidence to refute the early Christians who were preaching the resurrection–for if the tomb had not been empty, it would have been evident to all and the disciples would have been exposed as frauds at worst, or insane at best.
Fifth, Jesus’ tomb was never venerated as a shrine. This is striking because it was the 1st century custom to set up a shrine at the site of a holy man’s bones. There were at least 50 such cities in Jesus’ day. Since there was no such shrine for Jesus, it suggests that his bones weren’t there.
Sixth, Mark’s account of the empty tomb is simple and shows no signs of legendary development. This is very apparent when we compare it with the gospel of Peter, a forgery from about 125. This legend has all of the Jewish leaders, Roman guards, and many people from the countryside gathered to watch the resurrection. Then three men come out of the tomb, with their heads reaching up to the clouds. Then a talking cross comes out of the tomb! This is what legend looks like, and we see none of that in Mark’s account of the empty tomb–or anywhere else in the gospels for that matter!
Seventh, the tomb was discovered empty by women. Why is this important? Because the testimony of women in 1st century Jewish culture was considered worthless. As Craig says, “if the empty tomb story were a legend, then it is most likely that the male disciples would have been made the first to discover the empty tomb. The fact that despised women, whose testimony was deemed worthless, were the chief witnesses to the fact of the empty tomb can only be plausibly explained if, like it or not, they actually were the discoverers of the empty tomb.”
Because of the strong evidence for the empty tomb, most recent scholars do not deny it. D.H. Van Daalen has said, “It is extremely difficult to object to the empty tomb on historical grounds; those who deny it do so on the basis of theological or philosophical assumptions.” Jacob Kremer, who has specialized in the study of the resurrection and is a NT critic, has said “By far most exegetes hold firmly to the reliability of the biblical statements about the empty tomb” and he lists twenty-eight scholars to back up his fantastic claim.
I’m sure you’ve heard of the various theories used to explain away the empty tomb, such as that the body was stolen. But those theories are laughed at today by all serious scholars. In fact, they have been considered dead and refuted for almost a hundred years. For example, the Jews or Romans had no motive to steal the body–they wanted to suppress Christianity, not encourage it by providing it with an empty tomb. The disciples would have had no motive, either. Because of their preaching on the resurrection, they were beaten, killed, and persecuted. Why would they go through all of this for a deliberate lie? No serious scholars hold to any of these theories today. What explanation, then, do the critics offer, you may ask? Craig tells us that “they are self-confessedly without any explanation to offer. There is simply no plausible natural explanation today to account for Jesus’ tomb being empty. If we deny the resurrection of Jesus, we are left with an inexplicable mystery.” The resurrection of Jesus is not just the best explanation for the empty tomb, it is the only explanation in town!
The Resurrection Appearances
Next, there is the evidence that Jesus’ disciples had real experiences with one whom they believed was the risen Christ. This is not commonly disputed today because we have the testimony of the original disciples themselves that they saw Jesus alive again. And you don’t need to believe in the reliability of the gospels to believe this. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Paul records an ancient creed concerning Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection appearances that is much earlier than the letter in which Paul is recording it:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time…
It is generally agreed by critical scholars that Paul receive this creed from Peter and James between 3-5 years after the crucifixion. Now, Peter and James are listed in this creed as having seen the risen Christ. Since they are the ones who gave this creed to Paul, this is therefore a statement of their own testimony. As the Jewish Scholar Pinchahs Lapide has said, this creed “may be considered the statement of eyewitnesses.”
Now, I recognize that just because the disciples think they saw Jesus doesn’t automatically mean that they really did. There are three possible alternatives:
They were lying
They hallucinated
They really saw the risen Christ
Which of these is most likely? Were they lying? On this view, the disciples knew that Jesus had not really risen, but they made up this story about the resurrection. But then why did 10 of the disciples willingly die as martyrs for their belief in the resurrection? People will often die for a lie that they believe is the truth. But if Jesus did not rise, the disciples knew it. Thus, they wouldn’t have just been dying for a lie that they mistakenly believed was true. They would have been dying for a lie that they knew was a lie. Ten people would not all give their lives for something they know to be a lie. Furthermore, after witnessing events such as Watergate, can we reasonably believe that the disciples could have covered up such a lie?
Because of the absurdity of the theory that the disciples were lying, we can see why almost all scholars today admit that, if nothing else, the disciples at least believed that Jesus appeared to them. But we know that just believing something to be true doesn’t make it true. Perhaps the disciples were wrong and had been deceived by a hallucination?
The hallucination theory is untenable because it cannot explain the physical nature of the appearances. The disciples record eating and drinking with Jesus, as well as touching him. This cannot be done with hallucinations. Second, it is highly unlikely that they would all have had the same hallucination. Hallucinations are highly individual, and not group projections. Imagine if I came in here and said to you, “wasn’t that a great dream I had last night?” Hallucinations, like dreams, generally don’t transfer like that. Further, the hallucination theory cannot explain the conversion of Paul, three years later. Was Paul, the persecutor of Christians, so hoping to see the resurrected Jesus that his mind invented an appearance as well? And perhaps most significantly, the hallucination theory cannot even deal with the evidence for the empty tomb.
Since the disciples could not have been lying or hallucinating, we have only one possible explanation left: the disciples believed that they had seen the risen Jesus because they really had seen the risen Jesus. So, the resurrection appearances alone demonstrate the resurrection. Thus, if we reject the resurrection, we are left with a second inexplicable mystery–first the empty tomb and now the appearances.
The Origin of the Christian Faith
Finally, the existence of the Christian church is strong proof for the resurrection. Why is this? Because even the most skeptical NT scholars admit that the disciples at least believed that Jesus was raised from the grave. But how can we explain the origin of that belief? William Lane Craig points out that there are three possible causes: Christian influences, pagan influences, or Jewish influences.
Could it have been Christian influences? Craig writes, “Since the belief in the resurrection was itself the foundation for Christianity, it cannot be explained as the latter product of Christianity.” Further, as we saw, if the disciples made it up, then they were frauds and liars–alternatives we have shown to be false. We have also shown the unlikeliness that they hallucinated this belief.
But what about pagan influences? Isn’t it often pointed out that there were many myths of dying and rising savior gods at the time of Christianity? Couldn’t the disciples have been deluded by those myths and copied them into their own teaching on the resurrection of Christ? In reality, serious scholars have almost universally rejected this theory since WWII, for several reasons. First, it has been shown that these mystery religious had no major influence in Palestine in the 1st century. Second, most of the sources which contain parallels originated after Christianity was established. Third, most of the similarities are often apparent and not real–a result of sloppy terminology on the part of those who explain them. For example, one critic tried to argue that a ceremony of killing a bull and letting the blood drip all over the participants was parallel to holy communion. Fourth, the early disciples were Jews, and it would have been unthinkable for a Jew to borrow from another religion. For they were zealous in their belief that the pagan religions were abhorrent to God.
Jewish influences cannot explain the belief in the resurrection, either. 1st century Judaism had no conception of a single individual rising from the dead in the middle of history. Their concept was always that everybody would be raised together at the end of time. So the idea of one individual rising in the middle of history was foreign to them. Thus, Judaism of that day could have never produced the resurrection hypothesis. This is also another good argument against the theory that the disciples were hallucinating. Psychologists will tell you that hallucinations cannot contain anything new–that is, they cannot contain any idea that isn’t already somehow in your mind. Since the early disciples were Jews, they had no conception of the messiah rising from the dead in the middle of history. Thus, they would have never hallucinated about a resurrection of Christ. At best, they would have hallucinated that he had been transported directly to heaven, as Elijah had been in the OT, but they would have never hallucinated a resurrection.
So we see that if the resurrection did not happen, there is no plausible way to account for the origin of the Christian faith. We would be left with a third inexplicable mystery.
Three Independent Facts
These are three independently established facts that we have established. If we deny the resurrection, we are left with at least three inexplicable mysteries. But there is a much, much better explanation than a wimpy appeal to mystery or a far-fetched appeal to a stolen body, hallucination, and mystery religion. The best explanation is that Christ in fact rose from the dead! Even if we take each fact by itself, we have good enough evidence. But taken together, we see that the evidence becomes even stronger. For example, even if two of these facts were to be explained away, there would still be the third truth to establishes the fact of the resurrection.
These three independently established facts also make alternative explanations less plausible. It is generally agreed that the explanation with the best explanatory scope should be accepted. That is, the theory that explains the most of the evidence is more likely to be true. The resurrection is the only hypothesis that explains all of the evidence. If we deny the resurrection, we must come up with three independent natural explanations, not just one. For example, you would have to propose that the Jews stole the body, then the disciples hallucinated, and then somehow the pagan mystery religions influenced their beliefs to make them think of a resurrection. But we have already seen the implausibility of such theories. And trying to combine them will only make matters worse. As Gary Habermas has said, “Combining three improbable theories will not produce a probable explanation. It will actually increase the degree of improbability. Its like putting leaking buckets inside each other, hoping each one will help stop up the leaks in the others. All you will get is a watery mess.”
Legend?
Before examining, briefly, the implications of the resurrection, I wish to take a quick look at perhaps the most popular theory today against the resurrection–that it was a legend that developed over time. The facts we have established so far are enough to put to rest any idea of a legend.
First, we have seen that the testimony of the resurrection goes back to the original experiences. Remember the eyewitness creed of 1 Corinthians 15:3-5? That is the first-hand testimony of Peter and James. So it is not the case that the resurrection belief evolved over time. Instead, we have testimony from the very people who claimed to have experienced it. Second, how can the myth theory explain the evidence for the empty tomb? Third, the myth theory cannot explain the origin of the Christian faith–for we have already seen that the real resurrection of Christ is the only adequate cause for the resurrection belief. Fourth, the myth theory cannot explain the conversion of Paul. Would he be convinced by a myth? His conversion was in fact too early for any myth to have developed by then. How then can we explain his conversion? Do we dare accuse him of lying when he said he saw the risen Christ? Fifth, we have seen the evidence that the empty tomb story in Mark was very early–within seven years of the events. That is not long enough for legends. Sixth, we have seen that the empty tomb narrative lacks the classic traits of legendary development. Seventh, critical scholars agree that the resurrection message was the foundation of the preaching of the early church. Thus, it could not have been the product of the later church. Ninth, there is very good evidence that the gospels and Acts were written very early. For example, the book of Acts never records the death of Paul, which occurred in about 64, or the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70. Since both Jerusalem and Paul are key players in the book of Acts, it seems strange that their demises would be omitted. The best explanation seems to be that Paul’s death and Jerusalem’s destruction are omitted because the book of Acts had been completed before they happened. This means that Acts was written before 64, when Paul died. Since Acts is volume 2 of Luke’s writings, the book of Luke being the first, then the Gospel of Luke was even earlier, perhaps 62. And since most scholars agree that Mark was the first gospel written, that gospel would have been composed even earlier, perhaps in the late 50s. This brings us within twenty years of the events, which is not enough time for legends to develop. So the legend theory is not very plausible.
On the basis of the evidence we have seen, it appears to me that the resurrection is the best explanation. It explains the empty tomb, the resurrection appearances, and the existence of the Christian church. No other competing theory can explain all three of these facts. In fact, none of these competing theories can even give a satisfying explanation for even one of these facts. So it seems like the rational person will accept that Jesus Christ rose from the dead.
The Importance of the Resurrection
But, in conclusion, don’t we have to ask ourselves what implications this has? Why does it matter? Or is this some dry, dusty old piece of history that has no relevance to our lives? I believe that the resurrection is the most important truth in the world. It has far reaching implications on our lives.
First, the resurrection proves that the claims Jesus made about himself are true. What did Jesus claim? He claimed to be God. One might say, “I don’t believe that He claimed to be God, because I don’t believe the Bible.” But the fact is that even if we take only the passages which skeptical scholars admit as authentic, it can still be shown that Jesus claimed to be God. I have written a paper elsewhere to demonstrate this. So it is impossible to get around the fact that Jesus claimed to be God. Now, if Jesus had stayed dead in the tomb, it would be foolish to believe this claim. But since He rose from the dead, it would be foolish not to believe it. The resurrection proves that what Jesus said about Himself is true–He is fully God and fully man.
Second, have you ever wondered what reasons there are to believe in the Bible? Is there good reason to believe that it was inspired by God, or is it simply a bunch of interesting myths and legends? The resurrection of Jesus answers the question. If Jesus rose from the dead, then we have seen this validates His claim to be God. If He is God, He speaks with absolute certainty and final authority. Therefore, what Jesus said about the Bible must be true. Surely you are going to accept the testimony of one who rose from the dead over the testimony of a skeptical scholar who will one day die himself–without being able to raise himself on the third day. What did Jesus say about the Bible? He said that it was inspired by God and that it cannot error. I will accept the testimony of Jesus over what I would like to be true and over the opinions of other men and women. Therefore I believe that the Bible is inspired by God, without error. Don’t get misled by the numerous skeptical and unbelieving theories about the Bible. Trust Jesus–He rose from the dead.
Third, many people are confused by the many different religions in the world. Are they all from God? But on a closer examination we see that they cannot all be from God, because they call contradict each other. They cannot all be true any more than 2+2 can equal both 4 and 5 at the same time. For example, Christianity is the only religion that believes Jesus Christ is both God and man. All other religions say that he was a good man only-and not God. Clearly, both claims cannot be right! Somebody is wrong. How are we to know which religion is correct? By a simple test: which religion gives the best evidence for its truth? In light of Christ’s resurrection, I think that Christianity has the best reasons behind it.
Jesus is the only religious leader who has risen from the dead. All other religious leaders are still in their tombs. Who would you believe? I think the answer is clear: Jesus’ resurrection demonstrates that what He said was true. Therefore, we must accept his statement to be the only way to God: “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, except through me” (John 14:6).
Fourth, the resurrection of Christ proves that God will judge the world one day. The apostle Paul said, “God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.” The resurrection of Christ proves something very personal and significant to each of us–we will have to give an account of ourselves to a holy God. And if we are honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that we do not measure up to his standard. We are sinful, and therefore deserve to be condemned at His judgment.
Which leads to our fifth point. The resurrection of Christ provides genuine hope for eternal life. Why? Because Jesus says that by trusting in Him, we will be forgiven of our sins and thereby escape being condemned at the judgment. The NT doesn’t just tell us that Christ rose from the dead and leave us wondering why He did this. It answers that He did this because we are sinners. And because we have sinned, we are deserving of God’s judgment. Since God is just, He cannot simply let our sins go. The penalty for our sins must be paid.
The good news is that God, out of His love, became man in Jesus Christ in order to pay the penalty for sinners. On the cross, Jesus died in the place of those who would come to believe in Him. He took upon Himself the very death that we deserve. The apostle Paul says “He was delivered up because of our sins.” But the apostle Paul goes on to say “He was raised to life because of our justification.” Paul is saying that Christ’s resurrection proves that His mission to conquer sin was successful. His resurrection proves that He is a Savior who is not only willing, but also able, to deliver us from the wrath of God that is coming on the day of judgment. The forgiveness that Jesus died and rose to provide is given to those who trust in Him for salvation and a happy future.
Let me close with the sixth reason the resurrection is significant. The Bible says that Christ’s resurrection is the pattern that those who believe in Him will follow. In other words, those who believe in Christ will one day be resurrected by God just as He was. The resurrection proves that those who trust in Christ will not be subject in eternity to a half-human existence in just their souls. It proves that our bodies will be resurrected one day. Because of the resurrection of Christ, believers will one day experience, forever, the freedom of having a glorified soul and body.
1 See William Lane Craig’s Reasonable Faith and The Son Rises, J.P. Moreland’s Scaling the Secular City, and Gary Habermas’ The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus and Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?, a debate with then-atheist Anthony Flew.
Were this miracle to happen today with much of our modern ministries we would not only take him into the boat, we would mount him to the masthead. Proudly, we would set sail for the next church to display the once “Demon Possessed Man” as proof of how mightily God uses OUR ministry.
Would not people sit back in awe as we paraded this “trophy” through the circuit of meetings and churches, surely glorious praise and big offerings would follow as church folk see what power our ministry wields.
The fallen Adam in me will gladly give obeisance provided space is left for malfeasance.
God save us from our inherited need to bolster ourselves by prostituting what you alone can give or do. Romans 11:36
“My main ambition in life is to be on the devil’s most wanted list!” The words of Leonard Ravenhill, a modern day sage that walked with God and pleaded with His people. The impact of Mr. Ravenhill’s life will surely be revealed in eternity.
The most striking characteristic that I found so amazing about this man of God was, ACCESS! As a week old follower of Christ with not even a hint of church background to entangle me, I heard a message by Leonard that shook me to the core. Shortly after, sill not skilled in the finery of access to Super Saint’s, I had the audacity to call this man and even more shocking was that he answered the phone.
In a day when access to “pop star” Christians is severely constricted, Ravenhill was accessible. Not only did he answer the call of the well known but also the desperate call of the unknown, like me.
In the talks and time that I had with Leonard as a new believer, what strikes me most is that he never gave me an answer to any of my myriad questions, rather he simply pointed me where to look and get them myself. Much of what we call discipleship today is actually transference of information of a religious nature. Information has sadly taken place over inspiration for building “cookie cutter” preachers as Mr. Ravenhill would say.
In Mark Chapter 5 we read,
1They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.a2And when Jesusb had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
14The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessedc man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17And they began to beg Jesusd to depart from their region.
18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
20And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
How could it be? Jesus would deny discipleship to a man that begged to get into the boat with Him!
Were this miracle to happen today with much of our modern ministries we would not only take him into the boat, we woud mount him to the masthead. Proudly, we would set sail for the next church to display the once “Demon Possessed Man” as proof of how mightily God uses OUR ministry. Would not people sit back in awe as we paraded this “trophy” through the circuit of meetings and churches, surely glorious praise and big offerings would follow as church folk see what power our ministry wields.
For the glory of God this trophy of His grace was sent back to his own town to testify to the Glory of God. Jesus would fund His ministry by trusting the Father who had sent him instead of parading a side show of “the set free” to build up His ministry.
Oh how I have searched my heart over this passage that shows Jesus setting a man free while never seeking to “use” that moment of redemption for anything more than bringing glory to the Father. I rejoice that my Lord still sets men free from demons and touches the infirm. I also confess that I tire of meetings were the body of Christ exults with raptured glee when testimony of healing or deliverance is given but can hardly muster an amen when a simple broken missionary stands before them to report that one or two souls were convicted of their sin and found live in Christ.
If I learned anything from Leonard Ravenhill it was simply this, Let God get the glory while I listen for the crescendoed drum beat of my death march! May the Lord come once again and by His Holy Spirit raise up another “boney fingered prophet” that will not prostitute His gifts nor His graces, that he longs to adorne His bride with, and be content as one of His hidden ones.
If you are wanting a great book to read then I sincerely point you to the many books that Ravenhill penned and I point you to the book that Mack Tomlinson penned about Mr. Ravenhill.
Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond’s book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat:
Islam is not a religion, nor is it a cult. In its fullest form, it is a complete, total, 100% system of life.
Islam has religious, legal, political, economic, social, and military components. The religious component is a beard for all of the other components.
Islamization begins when there are sufficient Muslims in a country to agitate for their religious privileges.
When politically correct, tolerant, and culturally diverse societies agree to Muslim demands for their religious privileges, some of the other components tend to creep in as well.
Here’s how it works:
As long as the Muslim population remains around or under 2% in any given country, they will be for the most part be regarded as a peace-loving minority, and not as a threat to other citizens. This is the case in:
United States — Muslim 0.6%
Australia — Muslim 1.5%
Canada — Muslim 1.9%
China — Muslim 1.8%
Italy — Muslim 1.5%
Norway — Muslim 1.8%
At 2% to 5%, they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups, often with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs. This is happening in:
Denmark — Muslim 2%
Germany — Muslim 3.7%
United Kingdom — Muslim 2.7%
Spain — Muslim 4%
Thailand — Muslim 4.6%
From 5% on, they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. For example, they will push for the introduction of halal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature halal on their shelves — along with threats for failure to comply. This is occurring in:
France — Muslim 8%
Philippines — 5%
Sweden — Muslim 5%
Switzerland — Muslim 4.3%
The Netherlands — Muslim 5.5%
Trinidad & Tobago — Muslim 5.8%
At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves (within their ghettos) under Sharia, the Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islamists is to establish Sharia law over the entire world.
When Muslims approach 10% of the population, they tend to increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. In Paris , we are already seeing car-burnings. Any non-Muslim action offends Islam and results in uprisings and threats, such as in Amsterdam , with opposition to Mohammed cartoons and films about Islam. Such tensions are seen daily, particularly in Muslim sections in:
Guyana — Muslim 10%
India — Muslim 13.4%
Israel — Muslim 16%
Kenya — Muslim 10%
Russia — Muslim 15%
After reaching 20%, nations can expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings, and the burnings of Christian churches and Jewish synagogues, such as in:
Ethiopia — Muslim 32.8%
At 40%, nations experience widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks, and ongoing militia warfare, such as in:
Bosnia — Muslim 40%
Chad — Muslim 53.1%
Lebanon — Muslim 59.7%
From 60%, nations experience unfettered persecution of non-believers of all other religions (including non-conforming Muslims), sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon, and Jizya, the tax placed on infidels, such as in:
Albania — Muslim 70%
Malaysia — Muslim 60.4%
Qatar — Muslim 77.5%
Sudan — Muslim 70%
After 80%, expect daily intimidation and violent jihad, some State-run ethnic cleansing, and even some genocide, as these nations drive out the infidels, and move toward 100% Muslim, such as has been experienced and in some ways is on-going in:
Bangladesh — Muslim 83%
Egypt — Muslim 90%
Gaza — Muslim 98.7%
Indonesia — Muslim 86.1%
Iran — Muslim 98%
Iraq — Muslim 97%
Jordan — Muslim 92%
Morocco — Muslim 98.7%
Pakistan — Muslim 97%
Palestine — Muslim 99%
Syria — Muslim 90%
Tajikistan — Muslim 90%
Turkey — Muslim 99.8%
United Arab Emirates — Muslim 96%
100% will usher in the peace of ‘Dar-es-Salaam’ — the Islamic House of Peace. Here there’s supposed to be peace, because everybody is a Muslim, the Madrasses are the only schools, and the Koran is the only word, such as in:
Afghanistan — Muslim 100%
Saudi Arabia — Muslim 100%
Somalia — Muslim 100%
Yemen — Muslim 100%
Unfortunately, peace is never achieved, as in these 100% states the most radical Muslims intimidate and spew hatred, and satisfy their blood lust by killing less radical Muslims, for a variety of reasons.
‘Before I was nine I had learned the basic canon of Arab life. It was me against my brother; me and my brother against our father; my family against my cousins and the clan; the clan against the tribe; the tribe against the world, and all of us against the infidel. — Leon Uris, ‘The Haj’
It is important to understand that in some countries, with well under 100% Muslim populations, such as France, the minority Muslim populations live in ghettos, within which they are 100% Muslim, and within which they live by Sharia Law. The national police do not even enter these ghettos. There are no national courts, nor schools, nor non-Muslim religious facilities. In such situations, Muslims do not integrate into the community at large. The children attend madrasses. They learn only the Koran. To even associate with an infidel is a crime punishable with death. Therefore, in some areas of certain nations, Muslim Imams and extremists exercise more power than the national average would indicate.
Today’s 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22% of the world’s population. But their birth rates dwarf the birth rates of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, and all other believers. Muslims will exceed 50% of the world’s population by the end of this century.
Adapted from Dr. Peter Hammond’s book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat
Christianity was not served up to the world on a silver platter. It was introduced at just the right time according to Jesus. It was a time when the mighty Roman Empire held a vice-like military hold on the people. Oppression was rampant and the yoke was heavy. The sheer face of men’s wisdom hemmed them in on every side as the Hellenists substituted the wisdom from on High for the base reasoning of men. To complicate matters all the more, the Jews of the time held a stranglehold on religion and a relationship to God was replaced with counted seeds and measured steps. Man for the Sabbath, not the Sabbath for man.
Into this world of inequity came the Christ. Even His birth was perilous. Long and arduous travel, a hard manger filled with hay, and shortly after a slaughter of children which included a forced withdrawal to Egypt. Africa, home to so many refugees, even harbored our Lord.
It was in perilous times that God was magnified. It was when nations were at the end of themselves, when the ways seemed in front were not able to be crossed, and the formidable armies were in hot pursuit. What we find again and again throughout scripture is ordinary people becoming extraordinary people as perilous times made a place for greatness.
It was Paul, who boarded a ship with chains and shackles, when a hurricane turned a prisoner into a Captain. As Christians and believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have no other choice but to accept the stark realization that perilous time will come. And those perilous times are the building blocks for conquest and victory. Obstacles become stepping stones and opposition only strengthens one’s resolve for possession.
We must understand from the start, we are called to be salt and light in an ever-increasing and tasteless world that grows darker by the day. The call to discipleship is a hard one.
The stark fact is that many of us have a relaxed interest in a relationship with God, but intense interests elsewhere. We enjoy a TV thriller on Saturday night, but are disposed to church on Sunday morning. We will indulge in Christ as an adjunct of our culture, but refuse to own Him as our Sovereign Lord. We like generalizations about the teachings of Jesus, but want nothing to do with the blood of His cross. We like to talk about His life and ethics; but the Master is a Person with wounds in His hands and His feet. When Jesus bids a man, He bids him to “Come and Die.” To have these words written on our hearts is perhaps an embarrassment too great for us to bear.
To be light in a dark world, we must not only abandon, but we must embrace. Put off man-made robes of righteousness and be clothed in the robes of Christ. Let go of idols and lay hold of the Redeemer.
We must know that there is no Christ on the Christmas card or no stained glass windows mentioned in the Gospels. We are left only with the workman from Galilee with no bed for the night — the village artisan who handled nails and wood for a living, and then was nailed by His hands to wood in His death.
Thus, He comes as one of the poor unknowns of the earth declaring the “Great unknown of Heaven!” He offers no social advantages and no hope of aggrandizement. There is no dividend for the faithful and no cash bonus for the apostles. Everytime a man puts forth his foot to follow, the Nazarene puts a cross in his hand.
On He trudges down the road of Palestine to a hill called Calvary, and still there is no beauty in Him that men should desire, yet paradoxically, men trusted Him, loved Him, worshipped Him, and later even died for Him.
In the face of His coming, and in the face of His call on your life, to cling to this world and the things of this world, to pride one’s self on being someone, and having something in a planet usurping every right of its Creator is spiritual treason.
Since Cain slew Abel, men have hated men. Nations rise against nations, and kingdoms rise and fall. None of this happens without affecting those who live in that kingdom.
January 13, 2012 
Posted in Disaster Assistance Response Training, family, Pondering, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Suffering 
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