Budapest Epicenter for Revival

Budapest at center; Eastern Europe is highlighted in yellow

During the fifty years that communism kept this region in captivity, their was no freedom of worship.  And although the political changes in 1990 brought a greater freedom, which allowed the disciples of Christ to do great exploits for the Lord over the past twenty-two years, there is still a great need.  Eastern Europe is still a very dark place. Less than ten percent of the people in these countries are evangelical. And many of the evangelical churches are steeped in formalism. All the same social problems that plague the US and western Europe have now been imported -- immorality, pornography, hedonism, materialism, alcoholism, drug addiction, divorce, abortion, and suicide.

However, before we came to Hungary, the Lord gave us a vision for Eastern Europe.  We felt that through the power of the Holy Spirit, there was going to be such an impact of the gospel on Budapest that it would ripple all across Europe and Russia.  We saw it like the epicenter of an earthquake, where there are concentric waves pulsing outward from here.  

Amazingly, we have received confirmation of this from the disciples here!  Although we never mentioned it to our brother in the Lord, David, he told Len that historically, Hungary has been the origin for revolutionary movements.  And he said that there have been prophetic words within the churches that Hungary is going to be an epicenter for a great spiritual revival, an outpouring of the Holy Spirit across Europe.  He said the Lord has given this vision to multiple disciples here, and we see it as an amazing confirmation of our own vision.

Please pray along these lines that the vision would come to pass.  The Holy Spirit has essential and central role in the advance of God's kingdom. This is the only way this continent will be reached with the gospel, not by man's efforts.  We need an outpouring of the Holy Spirit here!

Author's note:  You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."  

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org.

Healed from a Breathing Obstruction

Photo from Health Updates

A few months ago at a church I was visiting in Hungary, I was asked to pray for a young lady, who was around thirteen years old.  She had an obstruction in her chest that was interfering with her breathing.  I agreed to do so.  After asking her some questions to understand her condition, I and her pastor laid hands on her, as I prayed for her.

As I prayed, I felt the power of God released. It's much more powerful than electricity, but it doesn't hurt you.  She didn't fall down or jerk her body, but simply stood still.

Afterward, I asked how she felt and she was able to breath normally.  She said she felt something like heat passing through her body when the healing occurred.  The next day, it was definitely confirmed by her mother that she was completely healed.  And weeks later we heard that she was still completely well.

Praise the Lord.  This is just one of many experiences that I could give.  I do not claim to heal. Only Jesus Christ can heal.  The truth remains that God still demonstrates His mighty power to heal through the laying on of hands by those who believe in Jesus Christ His Son.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master."

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community.  Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life. 

___________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org

Credits: The image in this blog is not the person described in this testimony.  It is a photo taken from a blog called The Health Update by Robyn Nazar.

Delivered from Voices and Dizziness

My twelve-year-old daughter has a wonderful testimony of how the Lord Jesus Christ delivered her from voices in her head and dizziness a few years ago. Here it is:

"I would like to tell you about my story of how God can heal and answer prayers. Back in the year of 2007- 2008, I had been taking history classes every Tuesday. I had a very nice Christian teacher who taught us many things and once took us to see many old things, things from Indians and things from colonial people.

Then, one day, as I was sitting in the room right in the middle of my history class, I started to get this really bad headache. Soon, I actually felt very faint and told my teacher. I also remember that at one point, I felt like I would vomit. Immediately, I told my teacher and she phoned my mom. When my mom came to pick me up, this was still going on. When we arrived home, I slowly walked into the house and sat down.

For about three days, this kept repeating. Then one day, as I was sitting in the living room of my house, I started to hear all theses voices in my mind. I couldn’t really make out what they were saying, but I sensed they were evil. I decided to put on a little music to stop myself from hearing the voices, but that didn’t do anything, it actually made it worse. So I just decided to go and lie down.

Before I went to my bedroom, I told my mom about the voices. She thought I was fighting off the flu, but I knew it wasn’t that. As I lay in my bed listening to the voices in my head, I started to faintly hear some of the voices laughing at me.

After awhile, I just decided that I couldn’t live with such torture and went to see my dad for prayer. And as soon as he laid hands on me and asked God to touch me and heal me, I immediately recovered and felt completely better. All the voices in my head stopped. I give all the praise to God for what he did for me!"

What a powerful testimony! If you suffer from voices in your head or dizziness, the Lord Jesus can deliver you, just like He did for my daughter. Dizziness is not always caused by demonic activity. There can be other causes, but no matter what they are, Jesus is able to heal you. As a disciple of Jesus, the only thing you need to do is pray and believe. You may also ask someone to pray for you. You may pray like this:

Father in Heaven, I believe Your Son Jesus Christ died for me on the cross and paid for my sins. You canceled the certificate of debt that was against me. You have taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. And when you did so, you disarmed the rulers and authorities of darkness. You made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Jesus.

By His wounds I am healed. Through Him I have authority over demons. Every curse of the enemy over me is broken through the blood of Jesus. I repent for any connection I have had with darkness, and I ask You to forgive me. I receive your forgiveness. I ask you, Father to deliver me from these voices in my head and this dizziness. I now receive your deliverance.

And by the authority given to me by Jesus Christ, in His name, I command every demon afflicting me in my mind to go right now. Leave me and never return again. I am free through the power of the cross of Christ. Amen.

If you don't know Jesus, you need to know that He loves you very much and wants you to know Him personally as your Lord and Savior. He also wants you to know Him as your Deliverer, the One who sets you free from these voices and this dizziness.

Author's Note: You are invited to my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do you want to know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community.  Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life. 

___________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org

The Truth Set Me Free!

My friend Alan chuckled and said to me, “You’re searching for Jesus.”

“I’m not searching for Jesus,” I replied. I had gone to church all my life and been raised to believe in Jesus. I had my own Bible and at times had read portions of it. I could recite church creeds that I had learned as a child. I even prayed sometimes. How could I be searching for Jesus? I didn’t yet realize that there is a vital difference between knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.

Yet Alan saw the emptiness and confusion within me. He said, “Don’t take my word for it, Len. Do you have a Bible?”

“Sure I do,” I replied.

“Well, then blow the dust off of it and start reading it. But before you do, pray and ask God to show you the whole Truth and nothing but the Truth.”

So I did. If what I had believed was not true, then I wanted to know it. I began reading the New Testament of my Bible, praying that God would show me the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I was sure that God would not allow me to be deceived, if I asked Him for the truth. During that time, I came to understand what Jesus meant when He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father, except by me.” (John 14:6) I knew that I could come to God the Father only through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It would not be through any other person, dead or alive, that I would come to God. It would not be through any angel. Nor would it be through my church membership or sacrifices.

At that time, I also became convicted of my sin. Though I was only 19 years old, a young soldier in the US Army, I was in bondage to addictive behaviors and substances that were destroying my life. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Yet God didn’t condemn me. Instead He shined His light on the darkness in my heart, showing me my need to be reconciled with Him.

God’s Word told me that He loved me and had sent His Son to die for me on the cross, in order to pay the price for my sin. His Word told me that Jesus rose from the dead and is now seated at God’s right hand in heaven. The Bible also told me that by believing in Jesus, I would find a personal relationship with God. I believed God’s Word to be true.

Len shining his combat boots

So I called upon Jesus, asking Him to forgive me of my sin, and to set me free from the bondage in which I was living. I turned from the way I had been living and surrendered my life to Jesus. I asked Him to cleanse my heart of the filth that was there, and He did. That was February 13, 1986, and I still remember the day.  It was like God ran to me, lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes, put my head to His chest, and said, "Son, don't you know I still love you?" He removed the shame and guilt that had been there. I invited Him to come and live inside my heart, and He did. He forgave me, and took up residence within me. I experienced true peace in my heart for the first time, and exchanged my bondage for His freedom to live righteously.

For the first time in my life, I was glad to be alive. No longer did I wish that I had never been born. When I heard the birds singing, I knew they were praising my Lord. When I looked at the grass, it seemed greener. The sky seemed more blue. Everything was in technicolor. I now had hope. I had a personal sense of His love for me, and His presence with me. I also knew that I would now spend all eternity with the Living God, because I had been put in right standing with Him through the sacrifice of His Son.

He began to set me free of my addictive behaviors, and I was so glad. No longer was I weighed down by the heavy burden of my sin. Instead I had a new joy in my heart that my friends could see. This was not the momentary kind of happiness that I had experienced in the past. It was a lasting joy that I continued to experience, even through trials and difficulties. In fact, I still continue to experience that joy today.

In case you don’t already know it, this is God’s plan for you too. He loves you and sent His only Son to die on the cross for you. “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Jesus paid the price for your sin, so you don’t have to pay the price. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8) It is a gift that you must accept simply by faith.

Will you turn from your sin and surrender to Him? Ask Him to forgive you for every sin you ever committed. Sin is simply anything you’ve done in disobedience to Him. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Ask Him to come live inside your heart. Do you believe that He rose from the dead? If you do, then let Him into your heart. “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

If what you believe is not true, wouldn’t you want to know? Perhaps you’re questioning these things, and thinking this is just another man’s interpretation of the Bible. Let me challenge you to do as I did. Open the Bible and read it for yourself. Ask God to show you the whole truth and nothing but the truth. You can be sure that God will not lead you into deception, if you are sincerely asking Him for the truth. “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks” (John 4:23).

It doesn’t matter what kind of life you’ve been living. No matter what you’ve done, there is forgiveness for you and salvation for you today. “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Corinthians 6:2) I want to encourage you to open the door of your heart and let Jesus in. I did, and He changed my life. Jesus set me free!

Do You Want to Know Jesus?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community.  Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life. 

Author's Note: You are invited to view my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

___________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org

Escaped Having a Possibly Fatal Accident

Just got home from church. On our way here on the M7 motorway (where it leaves Budapest and heads toward Budaörs), we were doing about 50 mph in the left lane and accelerating when a guy in a Lexus passed me on the right at high speed and cut in front of me sharply. Then with little more than one car length between our vehicles, he jammed on his brakes and nearly made a complete stop. I had to react in a split second and bear down hard on the brakes to avoid rear-ending him. We barely missed hitting him. He signaled with his arm that he wanted me out of his lane. All that just to punish us due to his road rage! He nearly caused a fatal accident with five children on board. As soon as he finished his swift move and hand signal, he sped off and disappeared from sight.

Actions like those of the Lexus driver are really evil and criminal in my opinion. He threatened the lives of a whole family because of his road rage and his desire for unhindered fast driving.

My initial reaction after avoiding the accident was to change lanes to the far right and slow down. I felt angry inside and was incredulous that the guy had actually just done what he did.

If he had just sworn at me or honked his horn, that would be tolerable. But a car can be a deadly weapon, and this man (through his recklessness) almost committed negligent homicide with it today. I forgive him and have prayed for his salvation. At least we're all alive with not a scratch on us or our van. Although I'd hate to see what my brakes look like now. Hopefully not purple-blue color and warped, but if they are, they can be replaced. Human lives can't.

Thank the Lord we are all safe. The Lord had his angels around us protecting us.

Healed of Chronic Leg Pain

I met a wonderful man today named Ekale from Cameroon. He has a joyful spirit and loves to laugh. He is a professional football player, known in the US as soccer. He used to play for the junior national team in Cameroon, Africa. Then he came to Hungary and played for the Ujpest team. Today he shared with me his testimony, and I want to share it with you. He said:

“I came to Hungary and I didn’t know the Lord. I was living in darkness. I mean I went as low as you can go into sin. And I began to have chronic pain in my legs. I went to many different doctors and they tried different medications, but nothing would help me. Most of the medications just caused more health problems for me. So the doctors didn’t know what to do. None of them knew what was wrong with me. This went on for eight years! In the end, the doctors said they would need to amputate one of my legs! They said that the following year they would probably need to cut the other leg off, too!”

The photo below shows the sad condition Ekale was in for so many years. The other photos he sent me show the grotesque disfigurement that this terrible illness did to his body. He told me that it wasn't just his legs. Each day it seemed that he would notice the disease spreading to some other area of his body. It was mainly attacking his spine, but other areas of his body were decaying as well.

He went on to say, “Then a friend of mine from Ghana, who was not even a Christian believer, told me that if I want to be healed, I should go to the International Church of Budapest. I didn’t know Jesus, but I went there. I had a little seed of faith in my heart that God would heal me. At the church, they prayed for me, and God completely healed me. Later after they shared the gospel with me, I gave my life to Jesus. And now for eight years I have had no pain in my legs at all, and I am free of medication. Praise God!”

Today Ekale is a walking testimony to the miracle power of Jesus Christ. To see him, you would never know that he was once so ill. He told me that when he visited the International Church of Budapest he did not believe in Jesus. But he did believe that if they prayed for him that he would be healed. Later, a man named Ebenezer from the church continued to stay in touch with Ekale. He shared the gospel with him and Ekale eventually repented of the way he was living in darkness. He departed from his hedonistic lifestyle and gave his life to the Lord. What an amazing miracle God did in his life.

Perhaps you are in pain and need the Lord to heal you. Jesus Christ loves you and knows about your problem. If you will cry out to him right now in faith believing, He can heal you. But even more importantly than that, He will save your soul, if you will repent of your sin and ask Him to forgive you.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community.  Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life. 

___________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org

My Life Was Built on the Wrong Foundation

I have had the privilege of knowing David for over a year now. As our relationship has grown and I have spent time equipping him, I have watched him grow in his relationship with the Lord. I've watched him make Jesus the priority in his life, and although the narrow road he has chosen is not easy, he's got the joy of the Lord. Here's his testimony of how the Lord Jesus changed his life during the past year, as he has submitted to the process of becoming a disciple:

"I was born into a Christian family. My father taught me a lot from the Bible and I had faith in it. I recall one day as I was walking down the street, worshiping in my heart, I heard a voice say, 'I’ll never leave you alone.' I knew it was God who told me that. Following that experience, I got baptized.

However, after that, there were not many changes in my life. My first priorities were still my future career, my love life, etc. Then on July 15, 2009, my father died of cancer. At that point, I knew that I had to change my way of living.

I was in love with a girl. But then I lost my feelings for her and began to fall in love with her best friend. The two girls were my best friends, too. They realized what had happened and they both hated me for it. Consequently, losing their friendship caused me to fall into a deep depression.

Then I met Len at my father’s funeral. He mentioned the Life Transformation Group (LTG), which seemed very interesting and attractive to me. But I was so deep in depression. Then he asked me to pray about it and see if the Lord wanted me to be equipped in such a group. So I prayed and felt ok with it.

Once we started meeting together for discipleship, my life began to change. I started to realize that my life was built on the wrong foundation. The foundation of my life was myself. And once I realized it, I gave my life to Jesus 100%. I started to read the Bible regularly and God spoke to me through it. I was set free from depression. And my life is still in a process of change. I’m very thankful to Jesus, who saved my life and called me to Himself again. And I’m thankful to Len whom God sent, and who was used by God to change my life.

God bless all of you. "

Obviously there has been a major change in his life that began on the inside and is working its way out. Those who know him well can see that there has been a definite and positive change in his life.

It's interesting that the Lord showed David his life was built on the wrong foundation. I'm reminded of the words Jesus spoke when He said:

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall." (Mat 7:24-27)

The two houses Jesus told about may have looked similar on the outside, but only one was built on a proper foundation made of stone. The one built on the sand represented the person who hears the Jesus' words but does not put them into practice. That house was destroyed. But the man who puts Jesus' words into practice will never be destroyed. Though the storms of life may come, he will stand, because he's built his life on the solid Rock. That's what David has done. He's begun to build on the Rock that is Jesus Christ and no longer upon his own self. As a result, the Lord is blessing him as well as others whose lives he is touching.

Author's Note: You are invited to view my collection of blogs at Writing for the Master.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. Your first step is to repent and pray like this from a sincere heart:

HEAVENLY FATHER,
I have sinned against you.
I want forgiveness for all my sins.
I believe that Jesus died on the cross for me and rose again.
Father, I give you my life to do with as you wish. I want Jesus Christ to come into my life and into my heart. This I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you repented and prayed this sincerely from your heart, then you are a child of God. You have a relationship with the Lord. Now cultivate that relationship and produce the fruit of repentance. Like any other personal relationship, this one requires you to spend time with Him for it to grow more intimate. So spend time daily, seeking the Lord, calling upon Jesus name, repenting of any sin in your life, talking to Him and listening to His voice. Read His Word, the Bible, in order to see what God wants for your life and all the wonderful promises He has given you. As soon as possible, you need to tell someone that you have given your life to Jesus. Join with other loving believers who believe the Bible and preach the good news of salvation in Jesus alone, be water baptized, and find a place of service in that loving community.  Be sure and share the good news of Jesus with those who don’t know Him, and live faithfully for the Lord all your life. 

___________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International. He is based in Eastern Europe, where he is helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, and planting churches that multiply. www.dmiworld.org