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To: Quix; All; Alamo-Girl; airborne; American in Israel; AnimalLover; auggy; backhoe; backslacker; ...

Hello PingList, Received this in email today & wanted you all to see it.

Quix is on travel for a couple weeks, he will have sporadic access to the Net.

JM


Foreword by Eddie Smith
From the book, Godsize Stories from Around the World
(c) Copyright 2005, Carl Blunt and Eddie Smith

Play Audio Message

http://PlayAudio-123.com/play.asp?m=198540&f=CRQURU&ps=7&p=1


We serve a big God who’s doing Godsize® things today around the world. Every day God is intervening in the lives of ordinary people just like you.

I had hardly settled into the car seat after my 20-hour trip from Houston to Lagos, Nigeria when my host, Pastor George, began telling me how he had raised a woman from the dead the day before. I listened courteously, yet incredulously to his story.

The elderly and frail mother of a woman in his church had passed away early that morning before dawn. Two men from her village carried the dead body on a cart to her daughter’s home in a neighboring village, informed the family of the death, and laid the woman’s corpse on a bed.

When the church member sent word to the pastor’s home about her mother’s passing she discovered Pastor George was in the city on business for the entire day.

At 8 o’clock that evening when he returned home his wife told him of the woman’s death. So, Pastor George freshened up and went to the home of his grieving church member. Once there he was taken into the bedroom where the woman’s body had been lying for more than 12 hours.

George told me, “She had been dead the entire day. I touched her hand and her body was cold and hard. So, I said a brief prayer over her and began to leave the room. When I got to the bedroom door the Holy Spirit said, ‘tell her to get up.’ I immediately thought, ‘that’s crazy.’ Then I felt the Lord say again, ‘tell her to get up.’

“So, without any faith whatsoever I turned back to the corpse lying on the bed and said, ‘Lady, get up.’ I waited for a moment. As I had suspected it was clear that nothing was going to happen. Then as I turned to leave, out of the corner of my eye I saw what appeared to be a twitch on her face.

“Pastor Eddie, she began to slowly move her extremities and in a few moments she sat up, dazed and confused. I walked over to her and helped her stand. Wobbly at first, she grabbed me and hugged me.

“We were standing there rejoicing with each other when one of the men who had delivered her body that morning came through the door. As soon as he saw her standing beside me, he screamed and ran from the house with his friend close behind!”

When I arrived at the civic center to speak that night I told the leader of the crusade, “The pastor you sent to pick me up at the airport this morning, Pastor George, thinks he raised a lady from the dead yesterday.”

This well-known national leader said, “Eddie, such things are commonplace in Nigeria. Many of the 15,000 Christian leaders you will be speaking to have raised someone from the dead, been raised from the dead, or have someone in their family or church who’s been raised from the dead.”

Six months later I was enjoying prime rib with two friends at the world-famous historic Broadmoor Hotel at the foot of Pike Peak in Colorado Springs. While we were eating I shared my Nigerian story with them. As I did, they looked at each other and smiled. I stopped.

A bit indignant I challenged, “You guys don’t even believe me, do you?”

“Oh, we believe you alright,” one answered. “We just think it’s interesting you’re telling us this story. You see, we just returned from a trip to India. The missions organizations we work for sent us there with a videography team from New York to produce a one-hour video about people who have raised someone from the dead, have been raised from the dead, or who have a member of their family whose been raised from the dead.”

Six months later, my wife Alice and I were teaching a conference on spiritual warfare at the base chapel of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Those attending the conference were all military officers and their wives from all 5 branches of the U.S. military, as well as officers from various armies of the world.

At one point, I shared with them the story I just shared with you. At the break, a group of the officers rushed to the back of the room and cornered a black officer. After a moment or two they turned with a smile, a nervous laugh, and walked away. I stopped one of the men and asked, “Why did you all rush back to talk to the black officer? And who is he?”

“He’s a Kenyan Army major,” he explained. “He’s been here a little over a month. Two weeks ago he came to Christ. We went back to see if he could verify your story about God raising people from the dead in Nigeria.

“And what did he say,” I asked.

He replied, “The major told us he’s from Kenya, not Nigeria. He said, ‘I have no idea what happens in Nigeria. But in Kenya, God raising people from the dead is commonplace.’”

Western Christians are settling for far too little. God wants to do so much more. Scripture says of Jesus, “And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58). Is it possible that our unbelief is keeping God from performing many mighty works in our cities?

God wants to do “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” Our hope is that as you read the stories in this edition of Godsize® Stories from Around the World you will be inspired to trust God for more than you’ve ever trusted Him for before.

Godsize® stories are stories of God doing incredible things in the lives of ordinary people. We are looking for your stories. You can submit them at www.godsize.com.


59 posted on 07/20/2005 4:27:24 PM PDT by JockoManning (www.biblegateway.com)
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To: JockoManning

Thanks for the ping!


60 posted on 07/20/2005 8:16:41 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: JockoManning
“So, without any faith whatsoever...."

Praise God, I really needed this. I've been beating myself up for not having enough faith.

61 posted on 07/20/2005 10:08:47 PM PDT by oprahstheantichrist (...rethinking the Oprah thing. Watch Soros closely.)
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To: JockoManning
Is it possible that our unbelief is keeping God from performing many mighty works in our cities?

The Arab's have dropped over five thousand mortars on the Jewish suburbs of Gaza and have killed less than a dozen people. The "settlers" have a strong faith in God.

It shows. I myself have seen a man with a short leg being prayed for, and I saw the leg grow before my eyes. Does this story count? It was in an American Church. God is real.

62 posted on 07/21/2005 3:48:02 AM PDT by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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