A woman from Congo-Brazzaville was plagued by severe migraines. As she attended one of our public meetings a rain storm suddenly rolled in. While most of the crowd fled for cover, this woman pushed closer to the platform, refusing to leave.

My husband, who was speaking at the time, made the decision to continue solely because of her. After the meeting this woman couldn’t wait to talk to us. She said, ”With each rain drop that fell tonight the pain lessened in my head. I was desperate! I could not go on living this way any longer. When the rain came down it was like a cool, healing balm from heaven. The pain, fear and depression all vanished. I was going to take my life tonight if the pain did not leave!”

Though plagued by a chronic condition, this woman instantly found new life! What did she do? She brought her problem to Jesus. She was determined to get her healing. Like the woman in scripture with the chronic blood disease, she said to herself she was going to get what she needed! Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Scripture: Matthew 9:20-22, 11:28

The scriptures tell us of a woman who was stigmatized by a chronic illness for 12 years. Spending all of her money seeking medical solutions, she only grew worse.

Evidently, she heard about Jesus’ miracles and made a bold decision—despite public opinion. She repeated to herself, “If I only touch His garment, I will get well.” Though crowded on all sides, Jesus knew someone had touched Him expecting to be healed. Turning immediately to the woman, He said, “Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well.”

This woman faced significant stress in life. She had spent all of her money, was ostracized by the public, and was critically ill. Yet, her thoughts led her toward healing! Her thinking gave her the strength to break out of her normal routine and find what she needed!  She determined to press through the negative obstacles and reach out to Jesus for her miracle. I want you to know that you can do the same today!

Let’s continue looking at two more ideas to Cultivate your Environment for a Creative Miracle:

#3 Cultivate your faith! Faith often defies logic and requires that we trust like a child. Faith is not foolish or arrogant nor does it tempt God. Faith believes that God is not a man that He should lie. Therefore, faith takes God at His word.

The Holy Scriptures say that without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists, and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.

#4 Cultivate an awareness of Christ’s presence. Multitudes of people live in environments where they lack work, proper health care and money. In this environment the creative compassion of Christ shines!

Jesus was not just an ordinary man with healing power, He was God in human flesh. He was our model for life! He showed us how we can do the works that He does. Just like the little lad, bring what you have to Jesus and let HIM multiply it!

 Scripture:  Hebrews 11:6

Only 1 miracle is recorded in all Four Gospels authored by Jesus’ closest associates. The Miracle of the 5 loaves and 2 fish, is called a Creative Miracle.  Five thousand men, their wives and children were fed from a young boy’s lunch. When Jesus saw that His vast audience was hungry, He told His disciples to feed them. The perplexed disciples timidly offered the one creative idea before them—a young lad’s lunch. How do we Cultivate the Environment for a Creative Miracle?  Over the next two days we will look at 4 ideas to get you started:

#1 Cultivate your curiosity! How? Curiosity is defined as a desire to learn; a spirit of inquiry and an interest in others. I believe this miracle appears in all four Gospels for two reasons: First, a child with very little to offer took interest in others. Second, these Gospel writers participated in the miracle themselves. As Jesus multiplied the lad’s lunch, their curiosity and interest compelled the disciples to participate in God’s creative miracle! Could it be that simple curiosity is the creative pathway to your miracle?

#2 Cultivate a lifestyle of participation. Allow yourself to get involved with God’s creative process. In this account, a seemingly insignificant child solved a crisis for 5,000 men plus their wives and children. A young boy with only his lunch! Could it be that this kingdom belongs to the children, as the Bible says, because children have the potential to receive all the possibilities that God offers?

Scripture:  Matthew 14:15-18, Mark 6:35-44, Luke 9:12-17, John 6:5-13

Time has a way of dimming our expectation and lowering our forecast of good things in the future. God designed prayer to include the expectation of an answer. Jesus often mentions that our Father’s desire is to do good to His children.

In times of delay Jesus mentions to ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. It is never too late!

When the news came to Jairus that his daughter had died while Jesus was delayed, Jairus was told by Jesus to “only believe.” His daughter will live! Death may be final, but nothing is too late when Jesus is with you!

Jesus needed the faith of Jairus to work with. He knew the bad report would paralyze Jairus as it would us. Grief and sorrow would soon replace faith unless Jesus addressed it. Getting hold of our feelings is important! I believe Jesus was saying to Jairus: “Just stay open to your miracle. Do not shut down. I am bigger than any bad report!”

Friends, never quit and you will never lose!
Scripture: Luke 8:48-50

There are several revelations that have lit up the world through history. John the Baptist gave us the sign of the new era when he said: “Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Up until that simple declaration there was no way out of sin except for an intricate religious system of law and sacrifices.

Martin Luther brought back into focus a way of life lost to generations when He said, “The just shall live by faith.” This lifted the burden of fear off of the world who had no confidence in a heavenly future.

F.F. Bosworth said: “Physical healing is in redemption.”  This gave confidence to millions to claim and receive their healing when no physical evidence was present.

What simple statements are bringing peace, power, and purpose into your life?

Scriptures: John 1:29, Rom. 1:17, 1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:3-5

A few years ago I was speaking in Northern Argentina where I met a young woman who wanted to be well. She said to me, “I came to this meeting tonight for healing! And I know I received my miracle but I don’t want to tell anyone until I’ve returned to the Doctor.”

She was just a teenager and I remember thinking, what could be wrong with this beautiful young girl? A few days later, she again found me after I spoke and this time she was carrying a large brown envelope and smiling from ear to ear!

She had returned to her doctor that day, and he first reminded her that she should give up ANY hope of ever being a mother. Then he continued, “I never would believe this if I wasn’t looking at these x-rays, because I am the one who removed your ovaries and the cyst that had exploded! You now have two normal, healthy ovaries! There is no reason why you can’t be a mother!” He was astonished and she was so excited because her dream was to be a MOMMA! She said, “Leslie, I knew God healed me last night! I just wanted proof so no one could deny what God had done for me!”

Recently, I was moved by a letter I received from a family whose daughter is seeking higher education. An everyday person just like you, she had lost sight of her dream. In the mundane routine of life, she had lost hope. What do you do when it seems like hope is lost or when it seems that your dream is a thousand miles away?

You can develop CREATIVITY habits essential to cultivating the dream that is in your heart! How?

1. Create Your Own Inspiration Book Using Bright And Beautiful Pictures! Gather pictures from magazines, advertisements or the newspaper. Paste the images on a dream-board or in a book—let them speak new possibilities to your heart. Their symbolism can expand your horizons.
2. Momentarily change your surroundings! If you are facing discouragement on the pathway to your dream you may need inspiration! Use a simple change in environment to stimulate your curiosity and increase productivity in thought. Do this throughout your day!
3. Rely upon the creativity of others! Contrary to popular opinion, most thoughts are not original but they are a conglomeration of all that we have heard, read and seen!
4. Speak out or write out your thoughts! Get into the habit of capturing your thoughts throughout the day! This is one of the best ways to stimulate the creative process!
5. Allow a sense of urgency to motivate your creativity! Don’t wait for tomorrow! Procrastination never brings out the best in life! It simply eats away at your life!

More physicians today believe that medicine alone cannot deal with some of today’s worst illnesses, according to a statement issued by an organization composed of medical professionals who believe in divine healing.

Dr. Sean Thomas George, a consultant physician from West Australia, told his amazing story at an Australian Conference on “Spirituality and Medicine.” George told the crowd that after returning with his intern from a clinic session on the south coast of Australia, he felt minor chest pains and he was “unusually hot.” He decided to stop the car and as he got out, still feeling the discomfort, he called his wife, also a doctor, to let her know what was happening. She suggested that he drive straight home.

George said he felt “divinely directed” to enter a clinic, where he used an electro-cardiogram to diagnose a heart attack and to receive a few drugs they had on hand.  The pain continued to get worse, and 11 minutes later his heart completely stopped beating! Not only did he have a heart attack but he was in cardiac arrest. For the next 60 minutes a team of doctors and nurses used more than 4,000 chest compressions and gave him 13 electrical shocks.

His heart and lungs did not respond. After one hour and 10 minutes, George was pronounced dead. Ten minutes later, his wife arrived and was told to go in and say her last words.

His wife, also a medical doctor, understood the seriousness of the situation and as a believer in Jesus Christ as Her Savior, she decided to humbly ask God to intervene. She held Dr. George’s hand and prayed “Lord Jesus, he is only 39, and I am only 38 and we have a 10-year-old boy. I need a miracle.” As soon as she said this it was as though someone had breathed life into Dr. George again and his heartbeat came back. George had come back from the dead.

Four hours later, George was flown to Royal Perth Hospital where doctors carried out an emergency procedure to clear a severely blocked artery on the right side of the heart. The attending physician thought George would not survive, and even if he did, he would be completely brain dead on a ventilator. In ICU, George had kidney and liver failure and went into a deep coma.

Against all odds, he opened his eyes three days later, was discharged after two weeks, and returned to full-time work following three months of steady recovery!

Perhaps today you find yourself in a difficult situation and you are in need of help? I want you to know that a prayer as simple as Mrs. George’s prayer could be the key to your miracle today!

My brother-in-law Pat is one of those amazing individuals who exemplifies the “COURAGE TO CARE.” Several years ago he was fighting a fire in downtown Detroit, a city that is infamous for the fires set in its scores of abandoned buildings.

What did Pat do? He jumped through a tiny basement window just in time to stop a man from setting a policewoman on fire! Somehow Pat wrestled her free of the assailant who had just doused her with gasoline and had a lighter in his hand!  His act of courage saved the woman, the house, and possibly his entire company.

I asked Pat – “How did you do this?” His response was simple: ”You do the things you must to protect people. I am not sure I even thought about it…I just acted!”

I want to challenge you today to act on your instinct to help! Don’t be a bystander in life when you can be a participator! You can find the courage to care and you can change your nation, your family and your life!

Don’t ask what life can do for you, but ask, “What can I do to better the lives of others?” Remember Jesus said, Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends!