The Dead Are Raised

My guest blogger today is Jesse Birkey. 

We were met at the door by a frantic woman hurrying us inside with jumbled words and erratic gestures.  She showed us to a middle-aged man lying face down on the floor.  I bent down and gave him a shake.  That’s all it took to realize the man was dead. I told my partner to grab his feet while I moved to the head.  “When was the last time you saw him alive?”

The woman sputtered something that sounded like, “a few minutes ago,” and fell silent like a car that’s experienced its last mile.  We rolled him over and I felt for a pulse while his empty, dilated pupils stared at me.  No pulse.  “Start compressions,” I ordered.

My crew is experienced, fast, and confident.  In no time we were working through the appropriate protocol.   His airway was secure and drugs were pushed through a patent IV.  Everything was going smoothly except for one thing: The guy was still dead.

We hit the ten-minute mark, which feels like 30 when trying to revive someone’s heart.  15 minutes came and went, and there wasn’t anything left to do we hadn’t done to try and bring him back.

And then something struck me as I watched my partner pump on the guy’s chest.  I hadn’t prayed.  It hit me so suddenly I did a double take to empty space in front of me.  I fixed a look on the heart monitor and prayed in a low voice, “In the name of Jesus, I command death to leave and for life to return to this man.”

The instant the last word left my mouth the lifeless pattern on the heart monitor quivered and then changed.  “Do you have a pulse?”

My partner looked up at me with two fingers on the man’s throat.  “Yes.”

And he still had one when we delivered him to the ER.

I thought this was a neat testimony to share on the Thursday before our show, Project Afterlife premieres on Destination America.  On the show you’ll hear amazing testimonies along the same vein as this one, only you’ll hear about their afterlife experience.  And you’ll hear from the people that prayed for them to come back.

We are proclaimed followers of Jesus who should earnestly desire to walk in the same way he did and to do the same things he did.  Even raise the dead.

The resurrection power of Jesus is alive in us!    We will heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and preach the kingdom when we understand who is alive in us.  The abundance of Christ boils up inside of us and we either stoke the flame or stick it in the freezer.  Don’t be afraid.  Take great courage and step out in ways you haven’t before.  Be ready to respond as he leads you.  It’s going to be uncomfortable, but only for a few moments.  Then it’s going to be really great!

Blessings,
Jesse and Kara Birkey

Check out our brand new book, Finding Home.