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

Prayer & Praise Report

It was another amazing trip to India.

I'm thrilled to report that 29,495 decisions for Jesus were made in the last month!

God's favor led us into five elementary and high schools to share the Good News of Christ to 8,000 students. When the youth were given the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Savior, nearly every hand went up!

In addition, we selected our 2008 team of National Evangelists. Rev. Simon Peter and Rev. Jeremiah will be leading two months of training with the eight new evangelists. Two of the evangelists are from Nagaland in the Northern portion of India. Once trained, each National Evangelist will lead mini-festivals in some of the most remote areas of India; places where most people have never heard about Jesus. We anticipate that each National Evangelist will lead 5,000 to 10,000 people to Christ each year.

I praise God for the dozens of miraculous healings on this trip. One of the most remarkable healings was at the Armur Festival. A woman named Shanthamna was deaf in both ears for 20 years and she experienced great pain in her abdomen and knee. When Shanthamna received prayer she said, 'It felt like a hand touched me on my cheek and then 'pop' I could hear!'. Not only can she hear in both ears, but the pain is completely gone!

Another healing took place just before the first night of the Maripeda Festival. I saw a crippled woman slowly make her way around the festival grounds with a cane, and I invited her run around the stage with me. She dropped her cane and began to run. I asked her, 'Did Jesus heal you?' She replied, 'Who is Jesus?' It was amazing that God's mercy drew this woman to the festival and He healed her even before she heard the Good News about Jesus Christ!

Thank you for your prayers and support. We are nearly half way to reaching our goal of one million decisions for Jesus by the end of 2010. Our next trip to India will be in May. God bless you!

Intentional for souls,

Tom Elie Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries

Prayer & Praise Report

Thank you for your prayers!

We just finished our fifth night of our fourth and final festival in Armur, Telangana which is 180 kilometers from Hyderabad. It was an amazing conclusion to this very fruitful trip. A record number of 360 vehicles transported 10,000 people the final night with 1,900 decisions made for Christ. In all, 5,400 decision cards for Christ were signed during this final five-day festival.

God continues to bless these beautiful people with many miraculous healings. Some of the testimonies include a mother who brought her son. He regained his hearing after four years of being deaf in one ear. Another story was that of a grown daughter who came with her mother. She had been paralyzed in her left arm and unable to raise her hand above her head or open her fingers, but God restored her. For the first time in years, she was able to lift her arms above her head and praise the God who healed her!

After four weeks filled with four five-day festivals, four "Ignite the Fire" Seminars for Pastors and Leaders, four church dedications, eight well dedications, plus speaking engagements in elementary and high schools, I'll be back in Minnesota on Thursday.

I will bring back beautiful photos and more stories about how God's favor led us into five elementary and high schools to share the Good News of Christ, introduce you to our ten National Evangelists that will work on behalf of Oasis World Ministries this year, and report the latest soul count. Until then, God bless you!

Intentional for Souls,

Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries

Prayer & Praise Report

A Record Harvest!

God has blessed this trip to India "far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think!" (Eph. 3:20 NAS).

We wrapped up our second Gospel & Healing Festival in Maripeda Banglow, Telangana. This was by far the largest turnout we've ever had in the history of Oasis. On the final night, over 320 truckloads of people, and auto rickshaws that were packed beyond capacity, transported ten thousand thirsty souls to the Living Water of Jesus Christ. At most festivals, we average 3,000 decision cards for Christ; and we praise God for this. During this festival, we received more than double this average with 7,120 signed decision cards for Christ!

Praise God for the harvest is ripe!

In addition, God continues to pour out His mercy to these beautiful people with miraculous healings. For a couple of people who were blind, God restored their vision, and He opened the ears of several others who were deaf. Praise God!

Along with the festival, we led two well-attended "Ignite the Fire" Seminars which provided training for over 850 regional pastors, evangelists and leaders. This training will help disciple the new believers that have come to Christ at these festivals.

Today we are in Challapalli, a coastal district of Krishana, 340 kilometers from Hyderabad. Dave Neiman and Pastor Steven Gartland from Minnesota have joined me for the remainder of this trip. We are in the third day of our third Gospel & Healing Festival during this trip. Although this festival is being held in a more restricted area, 4,000 people attended tonight's festival.

Please continue to pray. The biggest two days of this festival are just ahead and another five-day Gospel & Healing Festival and two "Ignite the Fire" Seminars are yet to come on this journey.

In addition, we will dedicate four churches and eight fresh-water wells in villages that were previously without. Now God's people will have a place to worship Jesus and several villages will have clean running water for the very first time. Thank you for your support and prayers!

Intentional for souls,

Tom Elie
Evangelist/President
Oasis World Ministries

Prayer and Praise Report

We're in our second week in India: conducting open-air Gospel and Healing Festivals, leading "Ignite the Fire" Training Seminars for pastors and leaders, dedicating churches and fresh-water wells. The weather has been wonderful and the response to Jesus has been amazing!

I'm thrilled to be ministering with Clarence and his son, Ernest. Clarence is a pastor in India who introduced me to this harvest field ten years ago. This trip marks my 26th time to India, and by the grace of God, we have reached 420,735 decisions for Christ! We are well on our way to reaching one million decisions for Jesus by the end of 2010.

Currently we're at Maripeda Banglow, Telangana which is 190 kilometers from Hyderabad. This photo that I've included is of a young girl who could not hear in one ear. Her mother testified to her saying earlier that day, "Maybe if we go to the festival God will heal my ear." She came to the altar to receive prayer and God miraculously restored her hearing.

Praise God for the faith of a child!

The other picture is of the outpouring at the alter on the second night of the festival. We set a record: 1,800 decision cards for Christ were received! Praise God for the harvest!

Thank you for your prayers and support... together we are reaping a great harvest!

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