My Easter Message

As we all know, the origin of Easter goes back to the Gospel message that on the third day after crucifixion, Christ arose. The cornerstone of Christian faith is the unprecedented and utterly unique Resurrection of Jesus Christ. What does this mean for us today? Ultimately this is a very personal question. I have contemplated various ways in which the risen Lord acts today, as we trust Him. Below I am sharing two very remarkable instances that have come to my attention, followed by a personal testimony. Some of you may have seen the following in my Christmas letter, reports that encourage me to know (and I hope you) that yes, Jesus, our Lord and Savior, arose, ascended, and lives today.

The Chief Financial Officer of Regent University, Mr. Larry Dantzler, gave the following report publicly and also to me personally, when I spoke with him.

Mr. Dantzler was in a preaching mission (he is also a minister) in Lagos, Nigeria several years ago. After a sermon, a grandfather who had been a Moslem approached him and asked that his young granddaughter, standing by him, be healed of a withered arm that was very short. The grandfather believed that Jesus would heal the arm! During a lengthy prayer, when Mr. Dantzler was wondering how he would handle the situation, the crowd around became excited. When he opened his eyes, Mr. Dantzler saw that the “withered” arm had been lengthened to parallel to the good arm! He believes the healing was in response to the grandfather’s faith.

Another but different instance of our Lord wonderfully at work through those who trust Him was given in a Regent chapel service by the Rev. Jim Cymbala, pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle church. Here is the substance of what I remember him saying.

On September 10, 2001, Pastor Cymbala retired for the night, but could not sleep. In fact he stayed awake throughout the night, until 6 A.M. the following day. This was unusual, as he would never have trouble sleeping, if he had not physical problem. Even when he drank coffee before going to bed, he still would go to sleep.

Not able to sleep, Pastor Cymbala opened his Bible and read Scripture that spoke of the spiritual harvest that needed to be reaped. Finally, after falling asleep, the phone rang about 9 A.M.. His daughter on the line told him to turn on the T.V. The now infamous “9/11” event had occurred!

Pastor Cymbala later was to learn that four of his church members had been killed in the disaster on the Twin Towers in New York. The following Sunday, after he preached, hundreds of people came forward to find Christ! What a harvest!

Why was it that Pastor Cymbala could not sleep on September 10? God truly does work in mysterious and wondrous way to accomplish His purposes!

With a closing personal word—twenty years ago I had a recurrence of melanoma, a deadly skin cancer. The surgeon who operated on me at that time told my wife Rose that he gave me two and a half years! After surgery I took no medicine, as there was none at that time that was expected definitely to work for this problem. But my students at Regent University prayed for me, and in fact I was told that some fasted! I was also prayed for by a Christian friend at the church we were attending at the time.

The deadly disease has never recurred! Either by way of God’s providence, or even a miracle, I am still here. Praise the Lord! To Him be the glory for ever and ever.