Believe it or not, miracles do happen today! I can give you
the names and addresses of many who have experienced great miracles
in their personal lives. Nicky Cruz now lives in Colorado. Not too many
years ago he was vice president of the notorious Mau Mau gang in Brooklyn.
He was vicious--so much so, he once tried to kill his own brother. Seventeen
victims were stabbed by him in gang fights. He and Mau Mau president
Israel Narvaez roamed the streets of Brooklyn, terrorizing, fighting--full
of hate and violence! From 1956 to 1958, the Mau Maus were one of the
most feared of all New York City gangs, making headlines regularly.
Today Nicky Cruz and Israel Narvaez are both ministers. Both have written
tremendous books, telling of the miracles that happened to each of them.
Instant Change....so simple!
When David Wilkerson was a country preacher at the time, and both Nicky
and Israel heard him preach on a street corner in Brooklyn. He simply
told them how Jesus Christ could take the hate out of them and make
something out of their messed-up lives. They were tired of the killing
and violence, and their gang members were getting hooked on heroin.
He asked them to surrender their lives to Christ; and with a simple,
honest prayer, they invited Christ to become their Lord and King.
Nicky Cruz has become a legend, preaching to multitudes--as many as
50,000 at one time. He went from gang leader to evangelist in just four
years. Israel Narvaez now lives in Everett, Washington, and he travels
extensively, preaching the gospel of Christ also. The Mau Mau gang called
the conversions of both of their leaders "a real miracle!"
Another life changed...what kind of a man!
Sonny Arguinzoni pastors a church in Los Angeles, with a congregation
comprised mostly of converted addicts, alcoholics and prostitutes. He
has also founded an entire organization of addict churches throughout
the United States called "Victory Temples." Dave met Sonny on the corner
of Flatbush and Myrtle Avenue in front of a pizza parlor. He was a hundred-dollar-a-day
junkie--dirty, sick and hungry. He thought Dave was a narcotics agent
at first, but he took a few minutes to hear him out. He had been busted
so many times, he had lost count. He had no time for his parents or
God; all he lived for was the next fix. He busted apartments and stores,
stealing everything he could find to pawn for drug money. He was a con
man, a cheater, a liar and a thief. But drugs had worn him down to the
bone. He was tired of the hassle. Dave helped him kick his habit, cold
turkey. But most important of all, Sonny turned his life over to Jesus
Christ. Talk about a miracle: Sonny walked away from his habit, his
old con friends, the pushers and pimps--and went to college, married
a beautiful lady and entered the ministry. Today Sonny Arguinzoni is
a respected minister, author and friend to thousands of junkies and
other street people. Jesus Christ took a nobody from a back alley--and
turned him into a man of God. It's a miracle!
Again Another...
Jacque Schultz had been a drug addict for years. She had been arrested
for armed robbery and sent to prison on numerous occasions. She was
also in and out of mental hospitals and drug detoxification programs.
But she never stopped craving dope. She introduced her teenage brother
to drugs--and held him in her arms as he died, only seconds after she
removed the needle from his arm. When her boyfriend died of an overdose
of drugs in her bed, she and a friend drove his body to a construction
site, where they buried him. What a life of horror and heartbreak she
lived! Jacque was told about Dave's ministry in New York City to drug
addicts. She was told about Jesus and His love for her. She cried out
for His help, and His love burned out all her sin, all the dope, all
the bitter disappointments and haunting memories. Jesus Christ made
her a brand-new person. She went to Bible college and is now married
to a minister. God's healing is complete! She experienced a miracle!
God Is Not Dead!
I get tired of hearing people say God is not real, that He no longer
answers prayer, that the days of miracles are long gone. Right now,
all across this land, hundreds of miracles are taking place. Addicts
who were once stoned out of their minds are being cured by the power
of Jesus Christ. Prostitutes are quitting the tricks and the trade,
and they are finding a new life of respect and dignity through Jesus
Christ. Homosexuals and lesbians, from New York to San Francisco, and
all over the world, are experiencing this same miracle of deliverance
from life-controlling habits. Christ is emancipating so many of them
now--and organizations are springing up to assist them in finding a
new life-style. I can give you names and addresses of many of them--all
of whom will tell you about a miracle that happened to them the day
they started seeking the reality of Jesus Christ.
The same Christ who was in the world nearly 2,000 years ago is still
in our world today. He performed miracles and set sinners free from
their sins then, and He is still doing it today. He is forgiving, loving
and guiding exactly as He did then.
Do You Need a Miracle?
What is it going to take to straighten out your life? You know that
no doctor, psychiatrist or any other human being can change you. You
need a miracle! You need a superhuman power to break all your habits
and put a new mind in you. Jesus Christ loves you as much as He loves
Nicky, Israel, Sonny and Jacque. He doesn't play favorites, and He never
turns down anybody who calls on Him for help.
Jesus said: "Him who comes to me, I will not cast out" (John 6:37).
Jesus knows exactly where you are and what you are going
through, and He cares about you. Maybe there was a time you got really
down, and in desperation you called out to God. Maybe it was late at
night, when you were lonely or at the end of your rope. Maybe you were
thinking about suicide--because you were so mixed up and hurting. Was
there a time when you prayed to God and you thought nothing happened?
You got the impression God didn't hear you--or that maybe you were not
good enough for God to help you. The trouble is, you didn't really want
to change and become a new person; you just wanted temporary relief
from your hurt. Jesus doesn't work that way. He isn't interested in
merely patching you up. Instead, He wants to make you over into a brand-new
person who is not a slave to sin. The Bible says, "If
anyone gets into Jesus he becomes a brand-new person inside. He is not
the same anymore. A new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, Living
Bible).
I don't care how good or bad you are--you need a miracle. I don't
care if you are a junkie with the biggest habit in this city--you can
have a miracle in your life. I don't care if you are a drag queen, a
sadomasochist, a drunkard or a homosexual--you can experience a miracle,
too. Are you divorced, confused, out of work, feeling all alone and
rejected? Do you get the feeling there's no future left for you, and
all you can hope for is to make it through the day? It doesn't matter
to Jesus Christ! You have the potential of becoming a new person, with
new hopes, new dreams, and a future so great it could blow your mind.
It is all possible through faith in Jesus Christ. Just ask people who
have experienced His miracle power in their lives. It's not a joke!
It's not a phony trip. It's as real as the sun, moon and stars. Why
not start getting hungry for this miracle power in your life? Aren't
you even curious enough to find out if it's really true and possible
for you?
The Devil Can't Hold You
When Christ died on the cross, He destroyed the power of the devil.
Jesus Christ walked all over the devil and made him weak and powerless.
Jesus won--and the devil lost! The Bible says the devil has no right
to keep you as his slave. "The Son of God came
to destroy the works of the devil..." (1 John 3:8, Living
Bible). Don't ever think you can't walk away from your evil habits and
sins. The devil can't make you do anything, if you decide to get into
Jesus Christ and let Him do your fighting for you. Satan would deceive
you into believing you are powerless to resist. He wants you to think
you are never going to get out of the mess you are in. But not so! All
you need to do is remember that Jesus died on the cross to set you free
from Satan's power--and then call out to Him to take over your life.
He will do it! The Bible says, "Whoever
Christ sets free is free indeed" (John 8:36).
Be encouraged!
********************Letter # 16 (28.4.2002) *********************
