Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
II Corinthians 4:6 -‐ “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”. Only yesterday (before the compilation of this latest newsletter), I was approaching the New Orleans International Airport, for the purpose of meeting with Rev. Ebenezer Samuel. Ebey (as he is called) is the national director and president of Serve India Ministries. As I was headed to the New Orleans airport, I passed within one block of the apartment where the Lord Jesus Christ saved my soul, in October of 1980! For well over 29 years, I was alienated from the life of God. I was existing in willful ignorance of the glories of the Gospel, because of the blindness of my own desperately wicked heart. I hated the light of a Christ-‐centered life. I cherished the darkness of my own self-‐centered, self-‐ directed and self-‐pleasing life. And if I would have been left to myself, I would never have left the darkness that I had cherished, to come to the light of the Gospel, which I had so despised and rejected.
Oh, but praise the name of Jesus; for I was not left to myself! My dear wife, Dianne, had been supernaturally converted to the Lord Jesus two years prior to this. She had become a new creation in Christ. Dianne began living the “light” of a transformed life before my agnostic eyes. She commenced to patiently and persistently pray that my blinded mind would be illuminated, by the light of the glorious gospel. She would attempt to plant ‘gospel seeds’ into my life; but I would respond in angry arrogance and obstinate rejection. But she continued to pray for my salvation; she pursued opportunities to witness to my lost soul; and she maintained her ‘walk in the light’! My precious wife was no longer living in the darkness. She was now ‘light in the Lord’! The light of her transformed life had become an overwhelming argument for the reality of God the Son and His mighty life-‐transforming gospel!
As I travelled only a few blocks further down Williams Boulevard, toward the airport, I also passed First Baptist Church of Kenner. This is the church, in which Dianne had been converted and had become an active member. I decided to stop and park in front of the ‘prayer room’, for a few moments. I reflected on the precious reality that, many years ago, a number of the prayer warriors from the church had joined with Dianne, to pray for the salvation of my lost soul! Friends, my heart was literally overwhelmed with thanksgiving, for those people who cared enough to intercede for a lost drummer!
Oh but then, I began to recall the night when the Lord answered the intercessions of my wife and the prayer warriors at First Baptist Kenner. I had come home from the ‘pitch black darkness’ of the nightclubs of New Orleans, in the early morning hours before daybreak; just as I had done on many other nights. I had turned on the television and began to channel surf, just as I had done on countless previous occasions. But this night, I settled on a channel, where a minister was preaching the glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ! On any other night, I would have laughed, mocked and probably blasphemed the message and the messenger. I would have, figuratively speaking, stuck my fingers in my ears! Oh, but on this particular October night, there was ‘Someone’, who was infinitely more powerful than that preacher, who was calling out to my blinded heart! The ‘Great Quickener’ mysteriously and mightily applied that message, in such a way, that my sin-‐blinded mind was suddenly illumined!
The Wind of God infused the “words of the gospel” with supernatural light, which powerfully obliterated the darkness of my mind! The Spirit of Grace removed the spiritual blinders that had absolutely covered and smothered my sin-‐darkened heart, for almost 3 decades! The same God who commanded “Let there be light”, in the physical creation; proclaimed, “Let there be gospel light” in the darkness of Ed Lacy’s heart! God graced me with the light of the “saving knowledge” of His glory, in the face of His Son! He mightily transformed this persecutor into a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Three years later, the Lord called me into an itinerant evangelistic ministry. In these last 31 years of gospel ministry, our awesome God has given me the joy to preach and teach His Word, literally over most of this globe. I have known the joy of training pastors; teaching church planters; and preaching the Gospel, in 20 different nations and almost 150 foreign mission trips! Glory to His wonderful name!
After leaving my brief stop at the prayer room of First Baptist Kenner, I arrived to meet with Rev. Samuel. The Lord blessed me to be involved in extremely promising talks with the national Director of Serve India Ministries, involving invitations to preach and teach in a number of areas of India. We discussed some exciting potential opportunities, which may encompass my assistance in the training of the 4,000 pastors and church planters of their national ministry; as well as, all of the field directors of this nation-‐wide ministry.
As I departed New Orleans, a few hours later, my eyes filled with tears for my heart was absolutely overwhelmed of gratitude. I could not have possibly conceived all of the precious plans that God had orchestrated for my life and ministry. I was just a lost, bankrupt, destitute sinner, who was graciously given eyes to see my desperate need of a Lord and Savior. Oh, but on that night of conversion, the Lord began an unfolding and unfailing revelation, of what it means for Jesus to be my Master -‐ Teacher; and for me to be His slave and disciple. “I once was lost, but not I’m found; t’was blind, but now I see”! When I reflect on all that He has done through our lives and ministries, I cannot help but to think of the verse which says, “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.”
I want to give my sincere thanksgiving to all of those who stand with us, in intercessory prayer and financial support for this ministry encompassing these foreign endeavors. God has worked through your love, your intercessions and your contributions to teach literally thousands of church planters, pastors and lay leaders; as well as the glorious conversions of countless eternal souls. Dianne and I want to say, from our hearts, WE LOVE YOU! We thank the Lord for your heart to partner with us. Please pray for the four major foreign conferences, which lay ahead, in the remainder of this year! Please pray that our Lord will provide for all of the tremendous expenses that are involved. And once again, I also ask for your intercessory prayer, as I complete the 2nd half of this rough draft!
Your servant for Jesus’ sake,
Ed Lacy