Easter power or Easter hour?

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him" (II Chronicles 16:9).

Last Easter Sunday I visited a Catholic church with some relatives. The priest was obviously very happy to have police directing the huge flow of cars that inundated his church that Sunday. But he jokingly asked the congregation, "Where have you all been?"

Both America's Catholic and Protestant churches are often full on holidays, but half full the rest of the year. Are we raising a nominal church, to believe in a powerless cross? Are we, yes, you and I, part of an American religious melt-down that only gives religious genuflects to God on Easter and Christmas and 9/11's, but whose heart is pre-occupied with other pursuits? Are our hearts loyal to dead religious traditions or are we loyal to a living God?

Are we celebrating the 'power' of Easter or the 'hour' of Easter?

The Bible is replete with stories of people's failings to follow God loyally. Oh yes, many started well, but finished poorly. King Asa was one of them. God told Asa, "The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you" (II Chronicles 15:2).

At first Asa listened to the prophet, and God blessed the people. Asa tore down the altars to the idols. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord. They entered a covenant to seek the Lord with ALL their heart and soul. Life was good. But Asa slipped a little. Instead of relying on the Lord for His protection, he relied on others. He lost his power. His heart was not loyal to the Lord. He was fickle.

What about us? Will you pray with me...

Dear Heavenly Father,
Would you forgive me of any nominal Christianity that hides in my heart? Would you remind me again why I am really here on this earth? Would you give me courage to tear down any idols in my own life? Would you help me to have a loyal heart to You, and to Your mission of reaching the lost? Would you infuse me afresh with Your resurrection power this Easter? In the mighty Name of Jesus Christ I pray and ask. Amen.

My friend, America needs the church right now. Our country's answers are not in the White House, but in the church house. They are not found on Wall Street, but on the Way of the Cross. Nominal Christianity will compromise loyal hearts. We NEED the power of the resurrection to keep our hearts loyal to His mission...to seek and save the lost!

We MUST be both passionate and compassionate! Let's come out of the church house, and be the salt and light God has called us to be. Let's shine the Way, the Truth and the Life to those who have not heard. Let's shine His love, joy, peace, and hope to those who are searching for it. God knows this is what our world needs.

Intentional for souls,
Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries

The Ripple Effect

“...as Peter went.... he found a certain paralyzed man named Aeneas... who was healed...so all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord” (Acts 10:32-35).

Have you ever seen a fish jump out of the water? His movement causes a ripple throughout the whole pond. When you and I step out of the boat and start walking on water, our footprint causes a ‘ripple effect’ that reaches far beyond anything we can imagine.

Because Peter went...

...Peter found a paralyzed man...

...whom he healed in Jesus’ name...

...whom the town saw, and turned to the Lord.

Why did two whole towns turn to the Lord? Because Peter ‘went’.

Jesus says to us today, ‘Go into all the world”... and if you go, ‘lo I am with you always”. The ‘ripple-effect’ starts by us simply choosing to ‘GO’.

We say, “I sure would like it if God used me to heal the sick like Peter was used.” Well, Peter did not know what his day would look like... he just went out... and God used him mightily.

One pastor said, “We never used to pray for the sick in our church services, and we never saw people healed. But now we pray for the sick regularly, and we regularly see people healed.”

We can’t catch fish if we never GO fishing. When I GO, Jesus GOES with me! And when Jesus GOES with me, the supernatural starts to happen.

This isn’t the end of the ripple. In Acts 10:36-43, the Bible tells us that a lady named Dorcas died suddenly. Peter was in the town of Lydda, which was near Dorcas’ town. So they called him over to pray for her to be raised from the dead. He came... she was raised from the dead... and many believed on the Lord!

Why was this woman raised from the dead, and many came to Christ? Because Peter ‘went’ to Lydda... which was near the town of Dorcas. Thus, the ‘ripple-effect’.

Let’s step out of the boat today and start making ‘ripples’ for God’s glory!

Intentional for souls,

Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries

"Out and Into" Christianity

"The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matthew 9:37-38).

The great evangelist T.L. Osborne wrote a book called, . He states that many of us in the church have gotten things backwards. We are praying for God to send the souls INTO our churches, and God is praying to send the believer's OUT into the harvest.

In other words, our prayers aren't even scriptural!

The late great evangelist, Dr. Bill Bright felt that 50% of Americans would turn their lives to Christ if the gospel had been lovingly presented to them by someone they trusted. Just think - 50%!

But it won't happen!

Not unless the church (you and I) change our strategy. Believers need to be intentional and GO OUT so that new believers COME IN. It's as simple as that! We've been doing evangelism backwards. We want them to come in, but we won't go out.

The harvest is not the problem - Jesus said the harvest is plentiful. And it is! Everywhere I go I try to share in 60 seconds what Christ means to me, and I've found that people are VERY open to hear my story!

The message is not the problem. 'JESUS SAVES' still works; especially when you tell them what Jesus did for you.

A good E-Free pastor friend of mine told me that he went to Bill Hybel's conference a couple years ago. He said that they admitted to have made a lot of good decisions, but they fell short in one specific area - they should have made evangelism their top priority.

My friend, if you want to experience that first love all over again, let's teach and equip each other to share our faith in the marketplace and in our neighborhoods. When I conduct training and outreach seminars, the people that complete it are so happy they did. They finally feel equipped to share their faith with their friends, and share it joyfully, confidently and intelligently!

Ready to fall in love with Jesus all over again? Let's go out!

Intentional for Souls,

Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries