INSIGHTS FROM THE LATE BILL BRIGHT
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Girl Raised From the Dead

Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God (Mark 10:27, NLT).

Dear friends:

Our Lord tells us, "All things are possible with God" (Mark 10:27, NIV). I have learned not to doubt what God might do to demonstrate His love and to fulfill the Great Commission.

A few years ago, Paul Eshleman, the director of our worldwide JESUS Film Project ministry, documented one of the most amazing examples of God's power and purposes that I have ever heard.

The Malto tribe lives in the north of India, in the state of Bihar. The people are resistant, even hostile, to the gospel. It is an area saturated with the worship of Satan and hundreds of false gods.

One of our "JESUS" film teams approached the Malto tribe. But the resistance was so stiff that they bypassed the area and went to more receptive villages to show the film. A few days later, a 16-year-old girl died in one of the Malto villages.

It was evening and the family had finished preparations for burial. Many had gathered around to pay their respects and support the family. They were about to bury the body when the girl suddenly, miraculously awoke!

In stunned disbelief, the people told her, "Then you were not dead!"

"Yes, I WAS dead," she told them. "I went to the place of the dead. But God told me I must come back and tell you about the real God, the true God."

Still astonished, the villagers began to ask her, "Then who is the true God?" She went on to tell them that it was the God proclaimed by the film teams they had turned away. "God has given me seven days to tell as many people as I can that He is real," the girl said.

The next day, she sought out and found the film team in another village. She told them her story, and that God told her she was to go with them. For the next seven days, they showed the film to the now-receptive Malto villages. Before every crowd, she fearlessly proclaimed, "I was dead but God has sent me back to tell you that this film is about the true and living God. He has given me seven days to tell you. You need to believe in Him."

Then after the seventh day, although physically she appeared fine, she collapsed and died, just like she said.

Paul explained that as a result of this, hundreds of people who were bound by the chains of Satan turned to the living Christ, and at least six churches were established in the Malto area.

Yours for fulfilling the Great Commission each year until our Lord returns,

Bill Bright

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The late Dr. Bill Bright was Founder and President/Chairman Emeritus of Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization which began as a campus ministry in 1951 and now has more than 27,000 full-time staff and up to 500,000 trained volunteer staff in 196 countries in areas representing 99.6 percent of the world's population. In the past 50 years, Campus Crusade for Christ has seen approximately 6 billion exposures to the gospel worldwide. The film, "JESUS," which Bright conceived and funded through Campus Crusade for Christ, is the most widely translated and viewed film of any type ever produced. Since its use began in 1980, the film has been translated into 839 languages and viewed or listened to by over 5.7 billion people in 228 countries. Dr. Bright was also the author of more than fifty books. Dr. Bright recently co-founded Global Pastors Network to "Touch, Teach and Train" a group of 5 million new house churches around the world 24/7/365 at http://www.globalpastorsnetwork.org.

Copyright (c) 2003, Bill Bright. All rights reserved. However, readers may copy and distribute this message as desired, without restrictions in number, as long as the content is not altered. Forwarding this e-mail to friends is encouraged. For many evangelistic and spiritual growth materials, visit the Campus Crusade for Christ Web site at http://www.ccci.org. See http://www.campuscrusade.org for Bill Bright's own materials.