We were having a meeting in Simferopol a number of years ago and didn’t have enough ushers. We had told the pastor we would have thousands of people, but he had never been able to get more than a couple hundred people together. So here we had thousands of people showing up on the opening night of the meeting, and this group of drunks wandered in and sat in the back.  As it turned out, they were drunks that had been committed to a type of insane asylum where they are medicated with as much alcohol as they would like, because that way they could at least keep them under control.

So these men wandered into our meeting, and then wandered to the altar and prayed a prayer. What happened then? When they woke up the next morning they had no desire for alcohol, they were in their right minds…they were healed! So they came back to the next meeting, and after that meeting they went back to the hospital, and then back to the tent the next night. These 6 men ended up being picked to be ushers, and they were so committed that they became our best Ushers, organizing other Ushers and security.

Alcohol had had such power over them, but after a prayer, in an instant their lives were transformed! When the doctors finally saw that these drunks were no longer taking any alcohol, even though they were offered as much as they wanted, they said, “What happened to you?” The men replied, “We got healed over there in that tent!” The doctor said, “I don’t believe you, I want to check your bodies.” So he began checking their bodies for microchips that were causing them not to want to drink! They wouldn’t believe that it had anything to do with a supernatural God who can heal, instead they said, ‘this has got to be some new computer chip technology that is controlling your urge to drink.”

Of course the doctors found no chips, and then realized that these men had been healed. They became the greatest testimony to the people coming into that tent as they stood there welcoming and seating people. The community knew those drunks, and they also saw that those drunks were in their right mind now.

What does Jesus say to us today? He says, I’ve loosed you from your bonds, I’ve loosed you from your captivity, I’ve loosed you from your sickness and disease.  I set you free 2,000 years ago from the influence of the devil, and now I release you to fulfill your destiny!

One of my most important life-experiences came as I was helping Jean, a woman who attended our weekly feeding program. Our local city had issued a notice that she was to clean up her property or they would haul off all her possessions. What was so tragic is that although she owned a beautiful home, she lived on the front porch!  You could not even find a pathway through her home. Though she was a gentle soul with a love for nature and a concern for suffering people, she had a serious mental struggle.

Our local outreach group organized a team to clear her property—not an easy job since to her, everything seemed valuable. I remember sitting on the street curb, dirty from head to foot, picking up seeds that had just spilled from her pouch. At that moment a car load of young people sped by, shouting, “Look at the street people!” Then I realized—they were talking about me! But as my eyes caught Jean’s, I saw joy—because someone cared enough to help her pick up her little seeds.

I have carried that experience with me to over 60 nations! Why? A well-lived life is a life engaged with serving others! If you are sad or depressed, remember there is always someone else who is sadder and more depressed than you. So go out and get busy interacting with others! Then, as Jesus said, you will discover there is no greater love than to lay down your life for another (John 15:13).

True human value is not found in serving yourself, but in serving others!

If I were to put a bunch of apple seeds into your hand, you would probably get a picture of what could be produced from them. The same is true if I filled your hands with turtle eggs.

If I were to put the seed of a human into your hand, try and think of the possibility!

We look at the Japanese bonsai tree and admire its artistically dwarfed size and shape. Most of humanity has gone through an unseen process much like the bonsai tree. Humans have been restricted, confined and twisted to a shape of another’s liking.

It may have been through religion, family criticism, personal inferiority and fears, or the example of others that you feel dwarfed and twisted, but Jesus came to set the captives free!

Each of us has an ability to dream of the possibilities in our future.  It is a risk to go beyond the parameters, but no one will ever know the height that you can grow to until you allow yourself to reach. God has put a future in you that reaches into eternity. Stretch for it today!

Several years ago while driving across the farmlands of Southern Ukraine we stopped to buy fuel. Our team leader decided to ignore the sticker that said our car required high-octane fuel, and proceeded to fill the car up with the cheaper gas. Fortunately for us our car had a special shut off valve, and after driving just a few miles the car shut down. We were grateful that our Russian team was familiar with syphoning gas, enabling us to transfer this fuel to another car and walk back to the station for a new container of high-octane gasoline. Reality set in for this team—there was no substitute for the real thing!

In our lives, let’s remember, time spent with God is time spent fueling your high-performance engine with the most efficient, cost effective, eco-friendly power source available! Lord, we ask you to inject us with your heavenly fuel today!

“The Spirit is a help to our feeble hearts… And we are conscious that all things are working together for good to those who have love for God, and have been marked out by his purpose” (Rom 8:26a, 28 BBE).

Did you know there are cars that actually increase in value over time? Some of them doubled in value from the moment they left the factory, like the Ferrari Enzo. Of course we might look at cars and say it does not happen very often.

What about people? Are people doomed to lose value over time?  I don’t think so. Like cars, people can lose value and rust, wear out, fade or stop functioning; but it doesn’t have to be that way. When we were in Cuba, I was delighted to drive around in many cars from the 1940’s. There was a pride of ownership and a special attention given to each car. At a car show in Florida, I saw that it was the old cars that had the most appeal and attention.

Friends, your best years are ahead of you if you will just keep yourself up! You are gathering valuable information. You have time tested experiences. You have evaluated mistakes and gathered information so you will not make those mistakes again. You are time tested and trusted. Rise up in expectation, you are ready for your greatest challenges today!

Most people are aware that they have 5 senses. Some become greatly skilled at one or more, but have we developed our 6th sense? With this sense we touch the unseen realm. With the 6th sense we see what others cannot see and expect what others think is impossible.

The 6^th sense is the FAITH sense. Jesus encouraged people to use this sense. He said, “Only believe,” all things are possible to those who believe.

The unseen God is a faith God. Without using faith we cannot please Him, but it is possible for all to please Him. Your heart knows things your hands, taste, eyes, ears, or smell cannot understand. Before you die make sure you see at least one miracle, but really go for it and see one a day!

If you have lost your purpose, there is always a way back. Even the prodigal son found himself after he ate with the pigs. You can’t get much lower than eating corn on the cob with a hog on the other end of it! Scripture tells us that he came to himself:

The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger!” Luke 15:16 (NLT)

What can you do when you find yourself that disconnected with yourself, your dreams, your past, and your family?

You have been left with a letter from heaven; a voice from a place that is unchanging, a book of ideas that are confirmed to all who choose to believe them. Locate yourself in scripture and preach the word to yourself. After you discover yourself once more in the pages of the ancient text, then find others that are as lost as you were and help them on their journey back to the Father.
 

Never stop growing!  When we stop growing spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally we begin dying.  If we get into a boat and just sit there in that stream or river, what is going to happen?  We might want to go upstream, but if we sit there with our oars inside the boat, we’re simply going to flow with wherever the current takes us.  If we really want to go somewhere new or different, we have to put the oars in the water and start rowing against the current!

Many times it is tempting to rely only on the spiritual.  “Wherever the spirit takes me…it’s so wonderful…” But then we have no idea where we might end up, and 20 years later realize that we’re still just floating around!

To accomplish something we have to set some goals…when we start rowing, we start growing!

Have you ever had the question arise in your heart of why something happened to you that you did not want or expect? Does God want our hearts to be broken or our energy diminished?  No, He does not. He said that in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer, He has overcome this world. It is clear that the world with all its circumstances and people can throw unexpected curve balls at you, but be of good cheer!

All that you are is not based on all that you have. Your value is based on the image God has of you as His righteous, holy, empowered son or daughter. The great apostle Paul went through shipwreck, near drowning, and two weeks of being tossed like a ball on the ocean before he was finally delivered and made it to land. You would think angels would have started a chorus of praise as Paul arrived safely on the shore, but instead he gets a snake bite! What does he do? Should he get mad at God for adding insult to injury? No, he just shook it off! He had places to go and people to meet!

Whatever happens to you, SHAKE IT OFF!

James 3:4
“Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.”

There are very few Christians that would blatantly ignore the will of God if they knew what He wanted them to do. Does God speak to people? Yes! Have people heard His voice? Yes, I believe they hear His voice. Why then do people often say they knew what to do but just didn’t do it? The problem is not in the speaking or in the hearing—the problem is in the doing.

If we believe that the God has a destiny for each of us, then it is important to connect with Him and not waste our time. Once we connect it is important to hear the direction, desire, peace, word, counsel reading, or whatever other way you picked up His signal. The third part is the hard part: acting out that direction.

James the Apostle says we are like ships at sea. When we get instruction on where we are to go then we are to set sail for it. But if the rudder on our ship is broken, then we are at the mercy of the wind and water. Most people live at the mercy of the immediate circumstance. They rarely reflect on where they want to be 10 years from now, or what their heart is calling them to be.

We must fix our rudder in order to reach what is in our heart. What is the rudder? James says the tongue is the rudder of your ship. Broken rudders speak of today’s problem and today’s bad news. Use your rudder (tongue) to guide you to your destination. Shipwrecks are not in God’s plan!