Beyond the Hour of Power: Helping the Lost Find New Horizons

By James Richards, Crystal Cathedral Commissioned Pastor

When I was at the lowest point in my life, I turned the television set on, and I heard a chap named Dr. Robert H. Schuller saying, “Tough times never last, but tough people do!” I thought, wow, I need to hear that message. And I gave my heart to Jesus Christ. The first thing my wife, Yvonne, and I did was to join the church in 1994, and were immediately encouraged to get involved in leadership, and I was eventually ordained as a pastor.

Someone in the church came to us and asked us if we could help some people in Pakistan who needed Bibles. We found that, not only did these people need Bibles, they needed help to form a church. In this process, we discovered that millions of people in Pakistan are trapped in degrading poverty, and that the number one reason is illiteracy. So, besides starting our first church, we started our first school. And all of it happened through our Crystal Cathedral New Horizons fellowship (www.newhorizonsmissions.com), which has helped to provide in rural Pakistan the following and more:

Seven churches with more than 3,000 Crystal Cathedral members on fire for Jesus Christ. Plus, hundreds of Bibles distributed and a Bible course for non-Christians created.

• Five schools with 600 students and nearly 400 students sponsored ($59 per student) to attend state-run schools, with the first 80 graduated.


• Emergency medical treatment for many and 400 children immunized. Many widows and orphans are fed each month, clean tap water is now brought to villages, and electricity is connected.


• Goat & Sewing Ministries launched through micro-loans, and a Computer Training Center is planned.

So, we continue the message of the Hour of Power that "God loves you and so do I." We're seeing the difference and it's growing…and growing…and growing!

Lost? God Always Seeks! And Always Finds!

By Sheila Schuller Coleman

It was opening day for Little League. Jim had taken two of our sons, and I was supposed to meet him with the other two at the ballpark. As team mother, I was expected to head the snack shack that Saturday morning. So, after rounding up the myriad uniform pieces for three of our four sons, I dashed out of the house-late as usual.

It took some time for me to get the snack shack up and running, but eventually I had time to break away and see how my sons' opening games were going. I crossed the large expanse of park that housed six baseball fields, looking for my husband. Spotting him, I ran up to him and immediately noticed he didn't have
Nick, our four-year-old, with him.

"Where's Nicky?"

"Nicky? I don't have Nicky. You have Nicky."

"Me? No, I don't! You have him, don't you...?"

Suddenly, we looked at each other in horror as the realization of what we had done hit us. "He's home alone!"

Jim ran to the car. It would take him another fifteen minutes to get home. I
couldn't believe that we had made such a terrible mistake! When he drove into the garage, he saw Nick wandering around the backyard, his hands cupped to the windows. Locked out, he looked longingly into his house, muttering to himself, "I can't believe they left me home alone."

Jim swept him up into his arms. "I'm home, Nick! Are you all right?""Yes. I knew you'd come back for me."

When lost, do you KNOW that Jesus will come back and find you? Think how panicked we were as parents to realize we had left our 4-year-old son home alone for so long. How much more God cares about us when we have lost our way, lost our joy, lost our desire, lost our enthusiasm, lost our passion for our dreams, even lost our faith in Him-if even for a brief time.

Lost? KNOW God loves you as surely as Nicky knew we would come back for him! God always seeks! And He always finds! Lost? God Always Seeks! And Always Finds!

The Lost Has Been Found!

By Robert H. Schuller

Legend tells us that the beautiful Helen of Troy, over whom many battles were fought, was lost after one of the battles. When the army returned to Greece, Helen was not on any of the ships. Menelaus, at great personal peril, searched for her and finally found her in one of the seaport villages.

She had been suffering from amnesia. Forgetting who she was, she had stooped to the lowest possible level and was living as a prostitute. Menelaus found her in rags, dirt, shame, and dishonor. He looked at her and called, "Helen!" Her head turned, and he said, "You are Helen of Troy!" With those words, her head lifted and her back straightened into a posture of one who knows her worth. She had been redeemed!

You may be deflated and dishonored in your own eyes because you don't realize who you are. You are a member of the royal family. When you accept Jesus Christ into your life, you are a member of the family of God. You are no longer a lost soul. You have been forgiven and have recovered your honor!