“He was wounded for your wounds, pierced for all your sin

By His stripes you are healed, died so you could rise again

He let the blood and water flow, and did it all to let you know

You’re the reason He went to the cross

Oh, He’s calling you to run home to the cross

To the Cross”

“The Cross,” by Chris Tomlin and Anne Wilson

     I’d read the scripture on which these lyrics are based many times over the years, but always believed that it just applied to “spiritual salvation,” but not necessarily to physical healing.  That was until April 27, 2018.

That was 2 days after the stroke I suffered, when the man upstairs (what the head of our broadcast ministry likes to be called!) and his brother in Christ and longtime friend Ron walked into my hospital room.

The man upstairs pulled out a card with some notes on it.  He said the Lord had given him 2 questions to ask me before they prayed over me:

• Did I believe that God would heal me from the stroke?
• When (not if) He healed me, would I be willing to share what he’d done?

With tears in my eyes, I answered yes to both questions and believed it like I’d never believed anything before.

Well, most of you know the rest of the story.  I was able to leave the hospital in 2 weeks and was back on the air in less than one month.  God is so Good! It also gave me a new understanding and belief in those scripture verses on which the above song was based. Jesus not only died on the cross to save me from my sin, He is also still very much in the healing business. For that, I will always be grateful.

Two weeks ago, after a bout with cancer, Ron went home to be with the Lord.  A few days later, the man upstairs and Bonnie asked me to step outside the studio for a moment. Phil (Oops!) held a wooden cross in his hands. He said it had come from Ron’s house, and he and Bonnie thought that I should have it.

In tears (as I am right now), I accepted this most precious gift. Recently I moved to a house in Kernersville. It now rests in a prominent place in my home, and serves as a daily reminder of not only Ron and that special day in the hospital when he and the man upstairs prayed over me, but also what Christ did for you and me on the cross that day so long ago, and the complete healing He is still offering us today.

Grace and Peace,

Dennis