Several years ago while conducting meetings in the Philippines we met a middle-eastern dignitary in our hotel lobby. My husband Kevin noticed that this man’s eyes were intently fixed on Kevin’s bible.

As Kevin looked over at this dignitary, the man moved in very close and began to whisper. He told how his wife had found him reading the bible and had turned him in to the authorities. His only hope to get out of prison and back to his family and position had been to renounce Christ. He was so discouraged, convinced that there was no hope for him.

My husband asked him a simple question. “Do you believe in Christ?” The man immediately responded “Yes, I believe!” Kevin prayed with him and he openly wept, knowing his faith had been restored.

He continued to stare at my husband’s bible, and Kevin slowly slid it across the table saying, “Here take my bible – but this time don’t let your wife find it!”

You may find yourself in a similar scenario where you have denied Christ. You are not alone, the Apostle Peter, one of the original disciples of Christ and author of two books of the New Testament, denied Christ three times after promising he would stand with Him to the end.

Regardless of where you find yourself today, Jesus said, “I will never leave you and never forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). You can come to Him right now! He is waiting for you with arms wide-open!

Have you ever asked yourself, “Am I doing what I’m called to do? Am I where God wants me to be? What do I want to see in my life?”

You would be amazed to know how many people live their lives without a sense of purpose or direction. They don’t know where they came from or where they’re going. Of course, if they believe in Christ they know that heaven is their eternal home, but what about this life? They find no answers in their aimless, day-to-day existence.

If you find yourself in this condition I have good news for you. You can have a new beginning! The secret is to commit yourself to change. You have committed yourself to the Lord; now allow Him to develop you. The fruits of self-discipline, joy, love and perseverance are in you.

See yourself with the image of a new creation! You are not bound to be the person of the past. The old man is dead, and now you are a resurrected person with the potential of God in you!

When reasonable adults decide to have children, they normally aren’t under the delusion that there won’t be any misbehavior on the part of those children. Before the conception process ever begins they are fully aware that their decision to have children will bring problems and challenges with it…but the relationship is worth it to them.

It would have been easy for God to create us without the freedom of choice, but how meaningful could a relationship of that nature be? God knows full well the complexity of what is involved in the process of our obedience becoming genuine and from the heart, rather than something motivated by the fear of reprisal. And He is willing to endure “whatever it takes” to see that happen. Who’s to say that the wait doesn’t contribute to the joy for Him? I’m persuaded that nothing else is able to satisfy His great heart!

My husband and I were preaching in a small village in Mexico. At one of the meetings there was an elderly man who could not walk. He listened to the Word of God and heard that Jesus was still alive and that He loves and heals. Nobody prayed for that man; nobody touched him, and suddenly he jumped up and began to sing and dance, because God touched his body and healed him!

Dear friend, I want you to know that that precious old man from Mexico is not any different from you. Jesus loves you so much that He gave His life just for you to be healed! God loves each one of us so much that He Himself dwells among us and heals us. And if today you need healing, He will heal you. All you need to do is believe!

We wake up each morning with a world of possibilities before us. The morning news will reveal what went wrong while we were sleeping, but the good news is that there is more that has gone right! If you have found a right relationship with God, you had peace as you slept and a confidence when you woke up that He will be with you in your decisions and help you in your weaknesses.

In a world that is producing Pantheists with no framework for their faith except for the one they make up, you can be a shining witness of something solid to stand on. When you go into a grocery store, you never ask for the mush aisle where you can buy all the foods that require no teeth. That being true, why do people go into their spiritual life wanting a “mush” God, who has no definition, clarity, or voice other than the feelings they have during the day?

People are not interested in having mush on the menu for dinner, nor do they want mushy preachers sharing indefinite truths that are portrayed as opinions rather than guiding lights for us to hold before us!

I gather strength from my memory of watching Billy Graham stand before the leaders of nations and religions at a national meeting, and addressing all of them first by stating that He is a Christian minister and must therefore represent the One who has sent him. In our ministry we often have to address crowds of mixed religions, and they respect it when we identify who we are and why we must speak on behalf of the One we represent; just as they would represent their faith.

We are called to love people in their differences. People do not want to feel like you are tolerating them. It is a sign of disrespect to tolerate a person. We love people, and they recognize that love when we tell them from our heart why we are different, and what a difference Jesus has made in our life.

Our conviction is what draws people to Christ as it is expressed in sincerity. The truth that must be chewed on is what puts teeth in our mouth and strength in our bones!

As we approach Easter to celebrate the resurrection, let’s take a look at what happened afterward.

For 40 days Jesus stayed on the earth and taught in His resurrected body. What did He do and teach?  Here are a few things He did not do. He did not raise the dead. He did not heal the sick. He did not deliver anyone.

Why not? What was the first thing He did do?

He appeared to Mary.

John 20:16
“Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.  Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.”

What does this mean? It means that Jesus is personal. I believe He makes Himself known to each of us in a personal way. He knows your name and He comes to each of us on a personal basis.

For example, at one of our meetings in Guntur, India, a young Muslim man and his mother were attending the night meetings for 5 nights.  On the 4th night he came forward and testified that he had seen a cross coming to people each night and when it got close to the people, it turned into a man. On the 4th night that cross came to this young man and turned into Jesus. He gave his life to Jesus and his mother was healed of tuberculosis. The extreme shyness left him and he boldly spoke of this new personal relationship with Jesus!

“I am the vine and you are the branches” is a familiar bible quote to those in Christian circles. The grapevine elicits warm thoughts for many. For the French it is the taste of the wine that is important. For many it is the taste of the grape whether it is red, green or purple. For others, it is savoring the taste of the juicy, yellow and red raisins that come from this most luscious of fruits.

For the Christian, this statement “I am the vine you are the branches,” speaks of an intimate relationship with God that produces a marvelous fruit for tasting by those who are near and those who are dear. The fruit that flows from the branch is either a sweet tasting savor of Christ, or a bitter flavor of a life devoid of good fruit. Regardless, the reality is that Christ tells us that this relationship of vine and branch produces a connection of such power that we can ask anything we desire of the Lord and He will grant it.

I encourage you today to spend time abiding in the Word of God. Let it infuse your life with energy and vision that will produce fruit worthy of the tasting!

 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” John 15:5-8 NIV

Regardless of the state of the economy, I look to a different news report, one that is not tied to the stock market. It is God’s economy—one of listening and obeying.

Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written… so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go… (1 Kings 2:3 paraphrased).

First, we must walk. This indicates that regardless of how difficult the crisis is that you may be facing, continue! God will guide you in your everyday affairs. He is committed to you more than you could ever commit to Him!

Have you considered recently that He gave His Son to die on a cross so that you might be justified just as if you never sinned? This is amazing love.

Second, remember that you must keep His ways. God’s way is the LOVE way! What does love say? It does not remember a wrongful hurt. It does not seek its own. It is not easily provoked. It speaks no evil. Love does not envy. Love is kind. Love endures all things. Love is the force from which faith flows! No LOVE = no FAITH!

My faith works today because I have love. I do not have love because I have faith… I have faith because I love. I love because He first loved me!

Love is a much greater motivator for men and women than any dollar or any discipline.

Love inspires every creature to be more than just a creation.

Love believes—when all evidence says it should not.

Love sees a bright future, even when dark clouds suggest storms on the horizon.

Love is the power of God.

Love lays down its life for the unloved.

Love pays the price others will not pay.

Love—the weapon of God—has conquered armies, won nations and made disciples of the vilest of men.

Many years ago, my husband and I went to the Philippines where I preached to a large congregation. I remember how during the sermon the Holy Spirit urged me to repeat again and again, “Jesus saves! Jesus heals! Jesus saves! Jesus heals! Jesus saves! Jesus heals!” Then I suddenly stopped. My husband looked at me and whispered, “Leslie, say something else.”  I replied, “Kevin, Jesus saves! Jesus heals!”

Suddenly something started happening—the kind of things that Jesus did when He was here on earth, as it is written in the Scriptures: “And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matthew 9:35). Suddenly, a woman shouted, “I can see! Jesus heals! He healed my eyes! I was blind and now I can see!”

“My tumor has disappeared!” another woman shouted. Someone else cried out, “I can hear! God opened my ears! For the first time in my life I can hear my child’s voice!”

Nobody touched them! Nobody laid hands on them! But GOD was present at that place. HE was there. He touched people and healed every sickness and disease.

God does not play favorites, He loves everybody. Those people in the Philippines are the same as you. God healed them, and He wants to heal you!