I recently met with a young lady who miraculously survived a devastating car crash with little more than some bruises. A few days later her mother was having a discussion with her about it, and happened to notice my book sitting on her cluttered desk, (she’d come to an event at Honey Lake nearly a year before and I’d given her a copy). For some strange reason she unexpectedly felt an urge to give it to her daughter and abruptly picked it up and handed it to her and said, “Here read this!”
This was very strange, because though she’d had the book for some time, she still hadn’t read it herself.
The daughter told me that she doesn’t like to read books and can count on one hand those books that she’s read in her life. This is due to a disorder that she has that prevents her from fully concentrating when she reads. She can read a paragraph, but due to her condition she can’t focus on what it says or comprehend its meaning, because she’s thinking of several other things at the same time and ends up having to read it three or four times in order to understand it. It’s a frustrating and arduous task to make it all of the way through a book in such a fashion and she told me that as a result she just doesn’t read books.
Nonetheless after reading the information on the back cover of my book she decided it looked interesting and decided to give it a try.
Are you ready for this? She read half my 428 page book in just one day and the other half the next day!
Yikes!
She and her mother both told me that reading Miracle on Luckie Street has changed her life forever. I’m not privy to the details of her life, but apparently she’d been heading in a decidedly dark direction (prior to the car crash and subsequent book reading) and now she’s turned back to God and intends to stay on that course.
I say bravo, amen, and praise God for that, and I’ve been praying this morning that she’ll stay on track and accomplish tremendous things in her life.
The book was so meaningful to her that she wanted to meet me and her mother brought her by Honey Lake to do just that, (and I’m glad they did). I receive many visits such as hers, and I also receive numerous calls, and letters from folks that have read my book and benefitted and I know that it has given hope to many thousands of people. In fact this year we’ve already sold and given away more books than all of the previous year.
Hmmm . . . What to make of it . . .
Yesterday I received a letter from a man, (91 years young), who recently heard my testimony in Orlando and then read my book. He compared my life to the Apostle Paul. He said in part, “There are many similarities between Saul and yourself. No, you didn’t give approval to a Christian’s death, but in many ways you were just as evil”.
He went on to remind me that the Bible is clear that God has not amended His assertion that we will “reap what we sow”. And then he said, “ . . . but that doesn’t mean we can’t modify what we have sown by prayer and action”. He told me that in many ways I’d reaped what I’d sown. I suffered and spent many agonizing days, weeks, and months reaping the consequences of the evil that I’d spewed including my addictions, alcohol abuse, cigarettes, and anger. Then he said something poignant; he said, “God does not intend that you pay the price for that twice. It was agonizing to give up your anger, but once you did and turned to God, you received peace to your soul”.
I’ve engaged in prayer and action since becoming a follower of Christ just as Paul did. Today Paul is living the good life at the throne of God. One day I’ll enter heaven and enjoy it as well. We aren’t reaping what we sowed eternally, because we modified it through prayer and action.
David Wilkerson once said that in order to have true passion for Christ we must be baptized in anguish. You might not have done any of the things I’ve done and you might wonder if you can be baptized in anguish. He wasn’t talking of anguish like I experienced or Paul for that matter per se.
David Wilkerson spoke about anguish over the perversion in America and the sinfulness of the church. He pointed out how the church today is married to the world. People are seeking places where smooth messages are being preached. Christians no longer want to hear about God’s coming wrath and the necessary correction of their lives. This broken and God-fearing man denounced the passivity of God’s people including Christians who are blind to the lukewarmness and the sinful mixture that has crept into their lives and churches little by little. He warned how the spirit of blindness is the least recognizable thing. He called believers to leave their passivity: “You have lost your fight. That’s all the devil wants to do is get the fight out of you and kill it. So you won’t labor in prayer anymore, you won’t weep before God anymore. You can sit and watch television and your family goes to hell. If you are expecting somebody else to win your family or to do this work you are mistaken.”
Through his very deep, challenging and anointed message, (which can be viewed at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGMG_PVaJoI ), God is calling believers to a baptism of anguish and for us to fervently pray for the recovery of a nation. As I listened to this riveting message this morning I had tears streaming down my face. I strongly urge you to listen as well.
That nice 91 year old man who took the time to write to me has it right when he says:
“ . . . but that doesn’t mean we can’t modify what we have sown by prayer and action”
The Bible assures us that in spite of the evil path our nation has chosen to follow in the past few years; it can be saved, and so can our families, and so can we. Praise God that we have that opportunity. I pray that we all will take advantage of it while there is yet time.
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!
Neh. 1:4
When I heard this, I sat down and wept. In fact, for days I mourned, fasted, and prayed to the God of heaven . . .
October 25, 2013 – Click here to listen