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

“We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose” (Rom 8:28 AMP).

WOW! I get excited when I read this passage. God is a partner in our labor working things together for us! What a pleasure it is to trust in HIM knowing that he is working behind the scenes on our behalf. Today in prayer, I heard myself saying, “God, YOU are my partner and I have total confidence that you are bringing in the resources, people and establishing the plans in your time frame!”

Each one of are continually surrounded by change due to difficulties in this natural world; however, in this time of transition we use our faith and our passion to latch on to God’s will and the wealth that is available for transfer into the hands of those in the kingdom of God! We are not down, defeated without hope or alternatives BUT WE ARE UP, EXPECTANT AND DREAMING OF NEW POSSIBILITES IN CHANGING TIMES!

Thank you Lord for bringing in the people and resources and blessing all of our partners!

As I travel it is interesting to see the number of people who have a sense of destiny in their heart, but a lack of clear direction to make that destiny a reality.

Jesus told us to pray “Our Father…..Thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).  I am not looking for the best that the government can give on earth or the best that Wall Street can give on earth. I want heaven’s standard for my earth! Heaven is abundantly blessed and healthy, as well as full of wonderful trusting and loving people. That’s a good destiny for earth.

Scripture tells us that we are “ambassadors of heaven” (2 Corinthians 5:20). It’s interesting to note that an ambassador does not live by the standard of the country he is in, but the country that sent him. An ambassador is under the law of the country that sent him and is also financed from the country that sent him.

Those who have called on Jesus and received His life are sent from God’s country to not only inhabit this earth, but to occupy it until He returns. I like what General Patton said in World War II: “I don’t like to pay for the same real estate twice.”

We can see in many parts of the world where the church has done a poor job of occupying the land, they are now attempting to re-establish the kingdom of God where there was once a great reality of God’s presence and power. We are sending teams and tents to Europe to again evangelize in regions that once were a great voice for redemption and new life. Time and money must be spent to do what a failed church should have done.

We are given the destiny and opportunity to influence every sphere of society and be the salt of the earth. Bring truth to your world so those you influence can rest in assurance that heaven is their home on earth as well as the life to come!

How do you picture God? Do you envision Him as distant? Angry? Vengeful? Cruel? In truth, He is none of these. God is good. Our God is a God of joy, a God of love. He wants all people to know that He is alive and desires to heal everyone.

We have hosted tent festivals in many cities of Eurasia and Africa and have seen thousands of people being healed. God wants all people to be healthy and that is why He not only desires but also is ready to heal any sickness. God’s Word says, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, God delivers you from sins and sickness. God loves all people equally and He does not have favorites. The Scriptures tell us that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that each person would be saved (John 3:16). This applies to every one of us.

No matter what your problem is or what it is that you need, God sent His Son Jesus so that you and I could receive life!

Can there be a more important decision than the one that determines where we spend eternity? Every other decision seems trivial at best when compared with this one. Yet billions, myself included, have made assumptions about salvation that we would never make about any other decision!

Here are three mistakes you can make:

1. Not reading the contract for yourself. For 22 years I assumed that the leader of my church had everything under control. He read the contract for us and told us what to do. He read it but never signed it himself or had any of us sign it. We were never told what was required to guarantee a relationship with God and ensure us a place in heaven.
2. Not understanding the conditions. I was told I was a good guy, so I assumed I was going to heaven. I presumed that was enough. Millions of people compare themselves with others and believe they are not so bad, so they think they will make it to heaven. I belonged to a big church, so I supposed they could not all be wrong. I thought my church membership would get me in! This is folly. Without a relationship with the living God, you cannot be sure that you are going to heaven.
3. The third mistake people make regarding salvation is not knowing a clear path to God exists. My last assumption was that no one could personally know for sure where he or she would spend eternity. Now I realize that if you do not know, you will not go! My greatest moment in life came under an elm tree at Michigan State University in June of 1978. That’s when I made my connection with God. For the first time I knew my past was forgiven and my future in heaven was secure. If I never knew anything else, that alone was enough to enable me to die a happy man!

There is a choice to make.

The power of choice determines your future. Though God loves you and has provided you with a wonderful life on earth and in the time to come, accepting what He has provided is still your choice. Even though God knew you before you were born and provided a purpose and provision for your life, He cannot choose that for you. You must choose it for yourself.

This question can be one of the most informative or one of the most destructive questions we can ask. When it comes to discovery, this question has opened the door to fabulous inventions and modern technologies; however, when it comes to life and death the question “WHY” causes many a soul to sink to levels of depression never before experienced. Some aspects of the question “WHY” which pertain to death, dying and destruction will never be resolved until one day when we stand before the creator of humanity.

How do we come to grasp with these issues of “Why?”?  First, understand that God is not the creator of evil, but it issues forth from the heart of humanity that is separated from God by sin. Second, recognize that from the very beginning of time there has been a force of evil (Satan) determined to destroy the very creation that God holds as the apple of his eye. Third, realize that it was only the deepest love that created humans different from all creation giving us the faculties of reason, will, humor, imagination, words and decision-making capabilities—and with these abilities come great responsibilities for life, family, country and even our earth.

So today let’s turn our Whys in life into a Why Not?—turning the negativity of depression into the positivity of expression! If you’re down and don’t understand, choose to release this situation to the Lord and find the good that remains in the life or lives around you!

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit (Prov 18:21 NIV).

I can think of many testimonies where women have been delivered from the bondage of shame and fear. When I was in Kazakhstan we were conducting a very large woman’s conference, and at the end of the meeting this very little lady came up to me holding a gold chain. She grabbed my hand and put the chain in it saying, “Leslie, my husband is in prison for sharing his faith and I am all alone in my home. I have three small children and I have come from far away. I felt so ashamed and so alone—they closed up the church and the government is against us. I have always asked myself, what did I do to cause this to happen? What sin did I commit that might have sent my husband to prison?  But today you have given me hope and reminded me that it is the blood of Jesus that paid the price, and what my husband and I are doing we are doing because Jesus Christ has come to us. Now I know I do not have to be ashamed, I am not the cause of this! I now can come before God with an open face, and I am giving this chain to you to remind you that the women of Uzbekistan will never forget that they have been created in the image of God, and we can come boldly into His presence.”

She ended by saying, “Now I return to my country and I will lift up my head, for I am not ashamed that I am a Christian created in the image of God!”

Jesus gave a Roman centurion—a man who had no covenant with God—a higher compliment than He gave to any of God’s covenant people. Jesus told His disciples that He had not seen greater faith in all of Israel than what He saw in this man (Matt. 8:10). What caused this centurion to receive such a compliment from God?  He had evaluated the similarity of authority that He and Jesus carried, and told Jesus to speak the Word only and his servant would be healed.

This soldier’s understanding of how his own word of authority operated in the natural realm gave him perfect understanding of how Jesus’ words operated in the spiritual realm. This centurion had a revelation that words controlled both realms! If that is the case—and Jesus has given us the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 16:19)—then what we say is the road map to our future. We are our own prophet; we declare our own future.

Can this power be abused? Yes. But it was intended to be used by people with a new, God-filled heart to bring about the desires of that heart.

I was once in the city of Ufa and had been preaching there for probably two weeks. At the end of one of my meetings a grandmother came marching up to the front of the platform. She was frustrated. “Pray for me,” she said bluntly. “I have pain in my legs; I’ve been coming to a lot of these meetings, and I still have pain. Pray for me!”

I smiled at her and said, “Babushka [that is grandmother in Russian], what will happen when I pray for you?”  She kind of shook her head and said, “Well, I don’t know. Whatever God wants.”

“Babushka, the question has already been decided.” I pointed to her neck. “What’s that hanging on your neck?” She lifted it up and said “A crucifix. A cross with Christ on it.” I said, “Do you see that cross behind me? Do you see that cross at the back of the platform? I walked all the way to the very back of the platform and said, “Babushka, do you see this cross? There is no one hanging on it. Do you know why?” Her eyes got real big and she looked at me.

I continued, “Jesus isn’t there anymore because He already paid the price two thousand years ago, and He has risen from the dead showing you that your sins, your sicknesses, and the devil have been defeated. Do you understand that it happened two thousand years ago?”

I walked back to the front of the platform and looked at her. As I got close to her I said, “Babushka, when were you healed?” She looked up at me with big eyes and said, “Two thousand years ago?”  “That’s right,” I replied, “Now do you want me to pray for you?”

Before I could pray a word, she lifted her hands to heaven and began dancing, saying “Oh, oh, I’m healed; two thousand years ago Jesus healed me. You don’t have to pray for me, the pain is gone; I’m healed!!”