Gems from Heaven

On March 13, 2012, I showed some videos to my wife and children, regarding gemstones from heaven, as well as others of gold dust, oil from heaven, manna from heaven, and the Lord’s glory cloud appearing in church meetings. I then taught them about the link between the physical and spiritual realms, and later posted a blog about it that I encourage you to read (see here).

Glory of God

On March 18, 2012, at 2:30 AM, I was lying on my back on my bed, and I had a dream. In the dream, I was in the same bedroom, lying on my back on my bed.   The only thing in the dream that was different than reality was that, in the dream, our three-year old son was in his crib in our bedroom. He was awake and indicated that he was aware of the presence of a (holy) entity right next to my bed in our room.  At that moment, I suddenly felt the presence of the Lord standing right next to my bed, but I did not see anyone.  There was an overwhelming sense of God’s presence upon me.  I immediately felt “terrified,” “afraid,” and “overcome with fear”.  I was also completely astounded. In other words, I was filled with the emotional impact of overwhelming surprise or shock.

In the dream, as I looked toward the presence of the holy entity (perhaps the Lord), I cried out very loudly.  I am not sure whether I cried, “Ohhhhhh!!!!!”  or “Woe!!!!!” But when I cried out, I was awakened by the sound of my own voice. 

Once I awoke, I remembered how the prophet Daniel fell at his feet as a dead man.  I remembered how the disciples were afraid and they cried out with fear when they saw Jesus.  They were afraid.  I was, too. 

Then I felt the glory of God.  I realized that what happened in the dream had actually happened in the room, and that the Lord’s presence was still there.  I got up and worshipped the Lord on my knees beside my bed in the very spot where the presence had been in the dream.  I still physically felt a sense of the presence upon me, but not in an overwhelming way like it was in the dream. 

In the morning, I shared this with the family at breakfast and looked up the passage about Daniel.  I immediately related to the terror, and Jennifer agreed that what I described was similar to this.  She reminded me that even Isaiah and Zechariah felt this way. She said that when she awoke during the night while I was worshipping beside my bed, she felt joy, peace and love inside her heart.

Here are the Scriptures I was pondering as I lay in bed immediately after the dream, plus a couple more about Isaiah and Zechariah.

“Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.” (Dan 10:7-12)

In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.  (Rev 1:16-18)

When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." (Mat 14:26-27)

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, "Get up, and do not be afraid." (Mat 17:5-7)

The prophet Isaiah had a similar experience. “Then I said, ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.’” (Isa 6:5)

And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense. Zacharias was troubled when he saw the angel, and fear gripped him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John. (Luk 1:11-13).

 

Open Heavens

On March 19, 2012, during our family prayer meeting, we experienced an open heaven over us and I felt the presence of the Lord.

Presence of the Lord

The next morning on March 20, 2012, during my personal morning prayer time, I sensed the presence of the Lord once again.

Crystal Gems from Heaven

After our Morning Prayer and breakfast, Jennifer discovered a supernatural gem in our bedroom (more photos at end of this post).  She said, “I was thinking about going to heaven and people that I want to see.  I thought that I just want to get rid of everything – all the worthless things of this earth – and leave it all behind for the Lord’s sake.  So I was cleaning out the shelf in our bedroom closet, and I got to where my basket was.  I moved my basket and there was a little, crystal-like gem.  I immediately thought it was a supernatural gem from heaven.  As I looked more closely at how it was shaped and it seemed to have a perfect cut with many facets.  Then I walked into the kitchen thinking that this is really from the Lord.” 

As I was sitting at the table, finishing my breakfast, she walked in and said to me, “Look what I found in my closet! I think it may be a jewel from heaven!”  And she handed it to me.  As she placed the gem in my hand, I felt the presence of the Lord all over me.  I said, “Jennifer, I can feel the presence of the Lord all over me right now! The Lord gave you this to show you how much He loves you!” 

A little while later, she was back in our bedroom again, drying her hair, and looked over at another shelf in the closet.  She wondered whether she might find something else in there. Then she turned away from the closet, and pondered how the Lord has been giving supernatural gems to His people in the US, Africa, and other places.  She wondered if He was going to do the same thing here in this spiritual wasteland, because the glory of God needs to come.  She said, “As I once again turned back toward the closet, there on the floor lay another crystal-like gem.  It was laying perfectly face up in the carpet.” 

I was in my office when Jennifer came in and shouted, “Len! Look!”  And she showed me in her hand a gem just like the first one, which was larger, but had the exact same cut!  We went into the bedroom, and she showed me where she found it.  It had been on the floor, in the exact center of the spot where the glory of God appeared two nights ago.  Then we were certain it was from the Lord.  As we looked at it in the light under a magnifying glass, it had a perfect cut with many facets.  When we put the smaller one beside it, we could see that they were both cut exactly alike.  As I held them in the palm of my hand and looked through the magnifying glass, I could see the details of my palm print perfectly and clearly through the stone.

I said, “Jennifer, I felt the presence of the Lord when you placed the first one in my hand earlier.  I know this is from the Lord.”  Then we all knelt down and praised the Lord profusely, not for any thing he could give us, but for Who He is.  We declared that He is more beautiful than diamonds, more precious than silver, more costly than gold, and nothing that we desire compared with Him.

She said that as she was praying yesterday, she heard the Lord say, “It is my Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  Last night as she was going off to bed, she thought that she would need to use our electronic Bible to find that passage.  She opened the Bible and read a passage.  At the end of the passage, she read, "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” (Luk 12:31-32).  She said, “Wow!  That’s the verse!” And she hadn’t even gone searching for it.  She wasn’t actively looking for it.  So that confirmed it had been the Lord speaking this to her.  So when these gems appeared this morning, it further confirmed that the Father has chosen to give us the kingdom.

When she tried placing the gem back into the carpet in the same position it was in when she found it, she could not get it to sit perfectly upright like it had been when she found it.  She commented later, “It’s the latter rain!  It’s raining!”  We also tried dropping it from eye level onto the carpet and it always bounced away.

As I studied the Word of God afterward, I felt this passage best describes these stones: “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone, as a stone of crystal-clear jasper." (Rev 21:10-11).  The holy city has the glory of God and brilliance like crystal-clear jasper.  Jasper is quartz, and the stones Jennifer received are like crystal clear quartz, as pictured at the end of the Wikipedia article about quartz.

The Lord Himself is "like a jasper stone," as He sits upon His throne. In John's Revelation, he wrote: "And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance." (Rev 4:3)  According to a commentary on Revelation by Dr. Oliver B. Green, he states: ""The Jasper, the last stone in the Old Testament breastplate, represented Benjamin. This was a clear stone, speaking of total victory. On the Jasper stone was Benjamin's name, which is a combination of two Hebrew words (BEN and JAMIN), so scholars tell us, meaning 'the son of my right hand'...or, as one authority puts it, 'the son of my power.'"

I checked online to see the difference between crystal and glass.  All crystal is glass, but only certain types of glass can be classified as crystal.  It has to do with the higher lead content of crystal.  Glass typically has a yellow or green tint, while crystal is completely clear. Glass often has sharp cuts, while crystal has smooth, rounded cuts.

These stones the Lord has given us do not have sharp edges.  They have smooth, rounded cuts.  Both stones are identical with eight facets, one stone being larger than the other. They don’t have any yellow or green tint to them, but are perfectly clear with no inclusions or cloudiness. We believe they are crystal clear quartz.

Later in the afternoon, I spoke by phone with my Christian cousin, back in the States, who is a certified gemologist.  I told him about these and he said that if I place the stones face down on a printed page, such as a magazine, and can read the text, then they are not diamonds.  He said that when it is a diamond, you couldn’t read the text through the stone.  He asked me to take a photo and send it to him.  So rather than use just any text, I decided to use God’s Word, in order to take a photo of the stones face-down on some text. I opened Jennifer’s Bible to Proverbs 8,where it was book marked, and I placed the stones right on the verse that says, "Take my instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than choicest gold. For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her.” (Prov 8:10-11).  We were unable to read the text through the stones.  It was distorted.  I took the photos and some video footage of it to send to my cousin.  He wrote back saying his first impression is that these are glass jewels.

When Jennifer saw the Scripture beneath the stones, she was amazed and said that was the very chapter she was praying about yesterday!  She had been praying with her Bible open to that very same page.  Proverbs 8:11 states, “Wisdom is better than jewels!” 

Then Hope came to me and said that in school today, she had just read the following words in the spiritual warfare chapter of her Health textbook: “Solomon describes wisdom as better than rubies or anything else we might desire in this world.”  This is a paraphrase of Proverbs 8:11!

Here is the entire passage that Jennifer read last night, containing Jesus’ word about the Father giving us the kingdom: Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions." And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. "And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' "Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. "For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? "If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.” (Luk 12:15-30)

I told Jennifer that these stones are probably of no earthly value, but only eternal value to those with the eyes of faith.  It’s just like anything the Lord gives.  The world places no value on the spiritual things, because the natural man cannot discern them.  For example, if I go to a public speaking expert and share my testimony, he will evaluate it based on his criteria for a good speech.  He may tell me that my speech is too long, or I use the word “Umm,” too often.  He may rate other aspects of it, and tell me that no one would ever pay anything to hear me give this speech.  In his estimation, my testimony is completely worthless.  Yet to me, and all who hear it with the ears of faith, it is priceless.  No man can ever place a monetary value on my testimony, yet it has eternal value that is greater than all the riches this world could afford. Isn’t it the same with all the Lord gives us?

This testimony is part of something much greater that God has been doing in our lives here in Hungary since January 1, 2012 (for more on this amazing outpouring from God see here). 

Video Footage

If you would like watch the video of the crystal gems see here. I encourage you to watch the whole video: 

Photos
For the photos of the gems see here:

Stones

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, I recommend reading The Voice That Changed Everything -- the Testimony of Dr. Stenhouse, Discerning the Things of the Spirit, Pastor Raised from the Dead, Muslim Woman Now Follows Jesus, An Atheist Turns to Christ, Godly Attire and Adornment -- Seven Divine Revelations, and Holy Fire Baptism. You may also access my complete blog directory at "Writing for the Master." 

Attribution notice: Most Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.

Do You Want to Know Him?
If you want to know Jesus personally, you can. It all begins when you repent and believe in Jesus.  Do you know what God's Word, the Bible says?

“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.’” (Mar 1:14b-15).  He preached that we must repent and believe.

Please see my explanation of this in my post called "Do You Want to Know Jesus?"

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

Outpouring of the Spirit

I want to share with you what has been happening here in our lives this weekend.  God is doing amazing things!  What follows is an excerpt from a letter we sent today on New Years Day to some of our partners:

There have been many things leading up to this that I won't go into, but will simply allude to at the end.  But last night on New Years Eve, we and the girls listened to Baptized with Fire, specifically just Book# 1 of five books, after the boys were in bed. We were all so encouraged to pray and seek the Lord.

Afterward at almost midnight, we had a time of prayer.  I prayed for my wife and each one of my daughters, to give them my blessing for the coming year.

First, my eleven-year-old daughter broke some things off her life and was baptized in the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues (cf., Mat 3:11; Lk 3:16; 24:49; Joh 1:32-33; Act 1:4-5; 2:4).  This was repeated afterward with my other two daughters.  We all broke out in loud and fervent prayer and prayed in the Spirit for an hour kneeling and lifting up our hands.

My eleven-year-old's experience during this was that she felt that God had set her free!  Afterward we could all see it on her face and in her eyes.  She now looked at peace and her face was aglow, whereas it had not been so beforehand.  It looked so light bright and light.  It looked like scales had been taken from her eyes.  They are clear and glowing with light now.  There is gentleness upon her face that was not there before.

The girls prayed on and on in the Spirit with us, and never got bored with it.  They never got tired.  They could have prayed all night long, and they wanted to, because they got new strength from the Lord when they started praying.

My thirteen-year old daughter was filled with the Spirit like never before.  She said she felt the power of God like electricity go through her whole body. Her hands and her jaw were shaking and she could not stop herself from speaking in tongues.  When she was speaking in tongues, she felt that what she was saying was really expressing her feelings and what she wanted to tell God from her heart. She kept her eyes closed, and she said it helped a lot.  Jesus revealed a part of Himself to her.  He showed her that He is listening and He cares about her and He wants to know her.  She told Him she wants to know Him.  She said she knows He loves her and she can’t really say how much He loves her.  When I got near her, I felt that when she was praying in the Spirit, she was saying, “I praise you, Lord.  I praise you!  I’ll praise you forever, as I stand before you throne in the midst of a multitude from every nation, tribe, and tongue.”  And many other things like that.

My nine-year-old daughter also got baptized in the Spirit.  She said her jaw and hands were shaking as she prayed.  She was praying VERY loudly in the Spirit!  She did not stop for an hour like that on her knees and lifting her hands to Jesus.  This has never happened to her before! 

We went from just before midnight until about 1:15 AM.  As the nine-year old was repenting and confessing her sin before the Lord, praising Him, and telling Him she would serve Him forever.  She was praying against any curses the enemy would try to put on us, and against any temptations that would come at us.  As she prayed in the Spirit, and I knelt beside her, I felt she was praying many different things like, “There is a light that shines around your throne and it is brighter than any other light.  Your face is brighter than the sun, Jesus, and your eyes are like blazing fire. You love me more than anyone else.  You are so adorable, so beautiful.  You are the lily of the valley, the Rose of Sharon. How lovely you are to me!  I give you my whole life and will serve you forever..." and many other things like that.

I wept before God for joy that he had baptized my three girls with the Holy Spirit.  There was no denying it was real.  Even when I stopped praying or quieted down, they kept going with great fervency like they would never stop. 

I eventually was so tired and wanted to go to bed, but my wife and two of the girls did not want to stop.  I convinced my wife that she needs her rest, but the two girls wanted to stay up.  So they read their Bibles in my office until 2:00 Am, after everyone was in bed.

Today around noon-time, I shared some things in the kitchen with the family that the Lord had shown me during my quiet time from 1 Cor 14, Rom 8, and Eph 4:30-32.  There was more repentance from all of us, my six-year-old son got baptized with the Spirit and spoke in tongues for the first time, and again, it was an awesome time.  We all met with the Lord and my wife wept.

God is so good!.  He has been very merciful to me and all of us here.  Let us seek His face. 

In addition to the audio book I mentioned and linked to above, there have been many other things the Lord has been saying and doing by His Spirit. You would need to go check out some of my blogs to really take it all in...but I'll mention a few of them at the very end.  Perhaps the things that affected us the most were the testmonies of the following people:

Angelica Zambrano (Young lady from Ecuador who died and saw heaven and hell)

Seven Youths from Colombia who saw hell

Bill Kolikata, an Australian pastor who died and saw heaven

Daniel, a Nigerian pastor who was raised from the dead, who saw heaven and hell

Those were the main impacts prior to "Baptized with Fire" that I mentioned at the beginning.  Some other earlier examples of things that impacted us are:

International Impact of Pentecost

Supernatural Power for All Disciples

Why we no longer celebrate Christmas

Holy Living in a Perverted World

One Thing

My hope and prayer is that these things spark true repentance and Holy Spirit revival in your life, just as they have in ours.

Author's note: If you enjoyed this post, you may also like the other posts in this blog available through the links in the side bar. 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 was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.

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."  

___________________________________________________

Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. 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.

"For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." (Psa 91:11)

Author's Note: For more testimonies, please see the Home Page of this blog. For more true stories of angelic encounters, please see Angelic Encounters. For more true stories of miraculous survival, please see Miraculous Survivals. You can find all of my most popular blogs on Writing for the Master.

Letting Go of Someone You Love

I went to the funeral for a dear man named Janos (pronounced YA-nosh) today. This was the usher at our church who was so full of joy and who died of a terrible cancer a couple weeks ago.

When we first came to this church, Janos was the usher who greeted us at the entrance with his great big smile and hugged us. He made us feel welcome there, even though we knew nobody. He escorted us to the seats in front that were reserved for English-speaking people who need translators. And he made sure we each got a headset to hear the translator during the service, so we could understand everything that was going on. Whenever there was a technical problem with the headsets, he would come right over without delay to help correct it, so we would not miss anything that was being said. Even though he didn’t speak English, Jennifer and I felt his love and joy, and it seemed like we got to know him in spite of our inability to communicate with him very well.

I had talked with one of the pastors about Janos right after he died a couple weeks ago. He told me that when Janos first discovered he was ill, he did not yet know how serious it was. He went to the weekly prayer meeting and he told the people there that he was ill. But he said that even if he were to die that very day, he felt like he had served the purposes of God for his life on earth and had fulfilled his mission. I recall that he also got up in church one Sunday, which was the last Sunday he was able to attend church. He went up front and with joy he testified for the Lord. He said that he had been given the opportunity to be a witness for Jesus during his lifetime. At work, he would smile and say hello to people, asking how they were doing. He said they would stop and tell him about the things that were bothering them. He would do this each time he saw them. After this happened two or three times, people would inevitably ask him why it was that they felt they could talk to him so freely when they were unable to do this with anyone else. He would explain to them that he is no different from them. They too could have this joy and peace in their hearts if they would give their life to Jesus as he had done. He said that through him the Lord had brought many members of his family to the saving knowledge of Jesus.

At the funeral, I talked with Ibolya (pronounced EE-bo-ya) about him at length. She told me the story from her perspective. In March when Janos became ill, he did not yet know how serious it was. He did not know what was wrong with him. He was only 45 years old and there was no reason to believe this illness was terminal. But Ibolya, who is a cardiologist, said she has been trained in the university to spot signs on a person’s face when they are close to dying. One day soon after he first became ill, she was standing by him while he was doing something and she noticed these signs on his face. She said she was thinking to herself that Janos was close to dying, but she didn’t say a word. Yet he turned to her and said, “Why do you think that I will die soon?” She was amazed that he knew exactly what she was pondering in her heart and they discussed it. She said, I am not saying that you will die right away, and she tried to encourage him.

He went to the doctor in March and a lump was discovered inside his abdomen. She said the doctor was negligent and scheduled the next appointment for Janos two months out in May! She had to get involved herself and helped to get him into chemotherapy, but it was too late. The disease was too far progressed and the medical professionals sent him home with no treatment plan or hope of living.

The church prayed earnestly for him over the past five months. There were many different prayer meetings at the church and in the homes, as well as people visiting Janos at his home to pray for him.

One Sunday evening very recently, Ibolya and her husband Laci (pronounced LOT-see) had been away on holiday about 200 km from Budapest, when Janos' mother called them on their mobile. The mother who is an old Christian said that she finally came to the point where she had released her son to the Lord and that he was very close to death. She was very concerned that Laci as his pastor and his wife, Ibolya should go to see him right away to pray and release him to the Lord.

So she and Laci made the trip into Budapest and visited Janos two days later on Tuesday evening in his home and talked with him. One of the questions they asked him was whether he was ready to go. He said he had been battling with terrible nightmares at night that he would go to hell. So they encouraged him that he knows Jesus and when he dies he will go to Jesus in heaven, not to the devil in hell.

After this they told him out loud from their hearts that they release him to the Lord. This is not something they did lightly, as they have known and loved Janos for many years and he was very dear to their hearts. After they released him, he said with complete peace and assurance, “I go. Hallelujiah!” And he smiled. Then they took communion together with Janos. The next morning he died and went to be with the Lord.

It is essential that we release our loved ones when it is their time to go and they are ready to meet the Lord, in order to help them die. Often times when one or more family members cannot seem to let go of their terminally ill or dying loved one, they prolong the person’s death needlessly. By not letting go of them, they can keep the person around languishing in a state of suffering, and it is so much harder on everyone. Ibolya has seen this time and again and she says it is necessary for the loved ones to say out loud from their heart to the dying person, “I release you (to the Lord Jesus).”

I told Ibolya about a lady named Merle at the nursing home across the hall from my mother, who was laying unconscious in her bed, languishing near death. I knew of her situation, but had not had the opportunity to visit her. My mother had also told me that the family of this woman had given orders to the nursing facility that nobody was allowed to visit with this lady except for family members. They did not want anyone seeing her in this terrible condition.

One day when I went to see my mother, she was not there, as they had taken her down for x-rays. So seeing that Merle across the hall was alone in her room, I asked the nurse at the nurse’s station if I could pay her a visit. They told me to go ahead right in. I went in and saw that she was laying there unresponsive, unable to communicate, her lungs making a terrible gurgling sound that showed they were filled with fluid. But knowing that she could still hear me, I spoke to her like I would speak to any person who is able to communicate.

I greeted her by name and introduced myself. Then I went on to share Jesus with her in a very loving way. Afterward, I led her in a prayer of repentance to ask forgiveness for her sins and invite Jesus into her heart. Although she couldn’t pray out loud, I encouraged her to simply repeat the prayer after me to God sincerely in her heart. As I shared and as we prayed together, I felt the sweet presence of the Lord in such a powerful and tangible way. It was awesome! Once we finished praying, I congratulated her and told her she was now ready to meet the Lord. I said, “You don’t need to be afraid anymore. You are ready to meet your Maker. When you die, you will go straight to heaven to be with Jesus forever.” I then told her she could release herself and let go, because it was going to be truly wonderful in heaven.

The next day, when I returned to the nursing home to visit my mother, the nurse on duty stopped me and thanked me sincerely for visiting Merle the previous day. She said, “Less than ten minutes after you left yesterday, she expired.” Once again, I felt the sweet presence of the Lord upon me at that moment. I knew in my heart that God had been keeping this woman alive on earth for that very short visit which I had with her. In His mercy, He wanted to give her the opportunity to get her heart right with him and establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ His Son. God allowed circumstances to be such that my mother was not there and this woman was available with no family members visiting. It was a divine appointment, and once she released herself to the Lord, she passed from this life into eternity.

After Janos' funeral today, I went to the luncheon reception at the church. I spent time talking with David, the son of the deceased man. David, who is about 18 years old, told me about the days just before Janos died. His father’s disease had progressed rapidly, and his belly swelled to a great size, making it very difficult for him to breath or to speak.

David said he has some bad memories from this period. I don’t know why. Perhaps because of the terrible pain and suffering Janos was in and because of the nightmares of hell his father had. But David said he had many good memories as well. He spent time digging out old pictures of his Dad when he was younger and still healthy.

On the night before Janos died, David heard him praying in different languages, which Janos had never learned, such as Japanese, Italian, etc. He was praying in other different languages, as well, which David couldn't understand. Sometimes Janos would stop praying. Then he would wait, and answer in his native Hungarian "Yes, Lord. You're right. I'm sorry. Hallelujiah." David said this was the first time he had ever heard anyone do this, and it was one of the greatest things he had ever witnessed in his life.

On that same night, as David lay on his own bed, he had a dream, which was not a dream at all. It was so real that it was actually a vision. In the vision, his father lay on David’s bed and said, “Tomorrow I go to be with Jesus.” In the vision, his father Janos was perfectly healthy. His body was whole, not all swollen with cancer in his belly like he really was in the next room. And the next day his father died.

He said he loves his father very much. And when his father died, the first thing David did was get his guitar and worship the Lord. He sobbed and wept of course, but he worshiped the Lord, and the presence of the Lord was very real. He said he loves to worship with his guitar and whenever he does, the Lord always meets with him. He leads worship for the church youth group.

What a wonderful disciple of Jesus Janos was during his earthly life, and now he is with Jesus in heaven! He has left so much good fruit behind him here on earth. His son David is evidence of that. I'm sure he will hear the Lord say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

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Len Lacroix is the founder of Doulos Missions International.  He was based in Eastern Europe for four years, making disciples, as well as helping leaders to be more effective at making disciples who multiply, developing leaders who multiply, with the ultimate goal of planting churches that multiply. His ministry is now based in the United States with the same goal of helping fulfill the Great Commission. www.dmiworld.org.