Can you imagine a 10,000-pound axle from a logging truck falling on top of you and nearly cutting the midsection of your body in two? That’s what happened to diesel mechanic Bruce Van Natta when the semitrailer he was repairing fell off a jack in November 2006. 

Van Natta shouted to the driver “Turn it off!” and then pulled part of his body our from under the bumper of the vehicle. He was in agonizing pain, but what happened next is the reason the 40-year-old travels the world proclaiming Jesus.

“I had an out-of-body experience,” the Rudolph, Wis., resident told Charisma. “I was 10 to 15 feet in the air on a roof and when my spirit looked down, I saw two angels kneeling, facing my body with their arms under the truck.”

Van Natta says he had “100 percent total peace” during the experience. “I didn’t even realize the person under the truck was me. And it didn’t bother me one way or the other that the guy under the truck was hurt because I had peace,” he recalls. 

He says when the firefighter patted his face and told him to wake up and fight for his life, he returned to his body. “All of a sudden my spirit, like a rocket, went wham! into my body.” 

Van Natta could hear people around him saying he wasn’t going to make it. “When they opened me up in surgery they saw what looked like mush,” he says. Doctors found torn arteries and large sections of both his large and small intestines destroyed.

But after surviving five major surgeries, Van Natta has made a full recovery. And he says God gave him another miracle in 2007 when a man from New York prayed that his small intestines would grow back. 

Van Natta says he later felt something wiggle in his abdomen and asked doctors to examine him. The results of a scan taken months later revealed that 300 centimeters or nearly half of the mechanic’s small intestines had miraculously returned. 

Today, Van Natta is the author of Saved by Angels and founder of Sweet Bread Ministries, which is dedicated to proclaiming the gospel around the world through the Word and outreaches. 

Married and the father of four children, Van Natta says his purpose is clear: to tell people about God’s love. “Each of us has a unique circle of influence that shouldn’t be just Sunday Christianity. We need to share it every day.”

But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” But the Lord replied, “Have you any right to be angry?” (Jonah 4:1-4)

When Jonah went into Nineveh (a godless nation) with his message, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned” (Jon. 3:4), the eventual result was that the king himself proclaimed a fast.

Is this because the king invited Jonah to his palace? No. Is it because the king left his palace to hear Jonah? No. It was because “the Ninevites believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth” (v. 5). It began with the people. Today we use the expression “grass roots”-what ordinary people think and do. It was the people who “believed God.” (It doesn’t say they believed Jonah.) The consequence was that the news reached the king of Nineveh, and he got involved (v. 6). The fast in turn moved the heart of God, who had sent Jonah to Nineveh in the first place!

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened. -Jonah 3:10

The whole scenario, then, was God’s idea. He had looked upon a godless nation with graciousness by sending Jonah to them. The only ungracious person was Jonah himself who lost face because of his unvindicated prophecy.

God hates ingratitude. His undiluted wrath was displayed in ancient times because people who knew God did not glorify Him as God, “nor gave thanks to him” (Rom. 1:21). God notices our gratitude happily, but He also notices our ingratitude and our not remembering to thank Him.

Excerpted from Just Say Thanks! (Charisma House, 2005).

Joyce Meyer says the church will have to change the way it presents Jesus to the world if we are to reach the next generation with the gospel. Meyer, with the help of her husband, Dave, spreads the message of Christ to millions of people each year through conferences, books, television and other mediums. To glean Joyce and Dave’s insight that will help you reach your family, coworkers and the hurting person next door with the good news, listen to the podcast below with Charisma magazine editor Marcus Yoars.

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Learn how to gain victory over depression. A foiled suicide attempt gave Kristen Anderson a second chance at life. Listen to our interview with her.

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In Genesis 12:3, God makes a promise to Abraham: ‘”I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.'”

In my own life I have seen proof of this promise; when I have blessed Israel and the Jewish people, God has showered His blessings on me. That is why we have set up the “Bless Israel” fund through Christian Life Missions.

Over the last several years through Christian Life Missions and friends like you, we have helped buy an ambulance for Israel; helped rebuild a war-torn city near the Lebanese border; and provided bomb shelters near the Gaza Strip where Kassam rockets from Hamas rain terror on Israeli citizens who had no where to run and hide.

Many ministries raise money for Israel. However, some raise money for Israel but the funds never get to the intended destination, according to what I’ve been told by Israeli insiders. This has also motivated me to make a way for those who want to bless Israel to do so with integrity through a ministry like Christian Life Missions.

We are a small ministry with little overhead expense. Most of what you give will go directly to “Bless Israel.” Christian Life Missions has been around since the mid-1950s and has been a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability since 1980.

Over the years Christian Life Missions has functioned with the utmost integrity and without a shred of controversy, so you can give with confidence.

As we think of places to give, won’t you band together with others who (like me) believe in blessing Israel? If your gift is at least $30 we will give you a copy of David Brog’s book Standing With Israel, which tells from a Jewish perspective why Bible-believing Christians are Israel’s best friend.

My company donates the books so everything you give can go to bless the Jewish people and Israel. We have sold or given away nearly 150,000 copies of this important book. If you haven’t read it, you need to because it will bless you.

We sent out this request to our regular Christian Life Missions donors in the past, but we have decided to include readers of Standing With Israel eNewsletter because we want you to also receive a blessing by blessing the Jewish people and Israel!

Donations can be made by sending a check made payable to “Christian Life Missions,” designated for “Bless Israel” in the check’s memo line, and sent to Christian Life Missions, 600 Rinehart Road, Lake Mary, FL 32746.

Donations can also be made online at with a credit card or through PayPal. To me, that’s an even quicker and easier way to give.

Please check out Christian Life Missions’ new Web site, , which tells about all the ministries we support. But the ones closest to my own heart are those that bless God’s chosen people. Won’t you dig down and give a generous offering-as I’m doing?

God bless you for your generosity.

Steve Strang
President, Christian Life Missions
Founder and Publisher of Charisma magazine

In biblical times, a winepress represented joy, singing and rejoicing. Farmers would harvest their grapes, place them in a pit hewed from a rock called a winepress, and crush the fruit to get the juice. They would use the grape juice to make wine and serve it at weddings, dinner and other gatherings. But according to Isaiah, the winepress is also symbolic of God’s wrath. To learn more about the ancient winepress, click below to watch the video.

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More than 1,500 churches from a variety of denominations showed their solidarity with Israel during a special service Sunday.

On the second annual Christians United for Israel (CUFI) Sunday, congregations prayed for the peace of Jerusalem and pastors dedicated their sermons to explaining why Christians should support the Jewish nation. Organized by Texas pastor John Hagee, founder of CUFI, the event drew participants from all 50 states and 50 nations.

“Israel is an outpost of freedom and democracy in one of the most undemocratic regions in the world,” Hagee said after the event. “Now is the time for Israel’s supporters, regardless of faith or political ideology, to unite in standing with Israel as she confronts such serious threats from Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran.”

Hagee said Israel is in more danger than ever, as the nation faces the threat of a “nuclear holocaust” from Iran, whose president has said Israel should be wiped off the map. But he said “making matters worse” is the fact that the Obama administration seems to be wavering in its support for the Jewish nation since Israel announced plans to build in disputed land in east Jerusalem last March.

“Washington has manufactured a crisis with Israel over building homes for Jewish people in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, something no other American administration has ever done,” Hagee said in a video message before the event. “Now there is talk the administration will impose a peace settlement on the parties whether or not the Israelis believe their security is guaranteed. In my 30 years as a Zionist there has never been a more critical hour for Israel than right now.”

Members of the participating churches were encouraged to sign a pledge posted at CUFI’s website. The statement affirms that the Jewish people have a right to live in their ancient land of Israel, that Israel has a right to defend itself against acts of terrorism, and that Christians will speak out on Israel’s behalf “whenever and wherever necessary until the attacks stop and they are finally living in peace and security with their neighbors.”

CUFI Sunday is part of a series of A Night to Honor Israel events being held in churches throughout the year. So far, 146 such events have been held nationwide.

“CUFI is just 4 years old, but since our inception, we have seen that Christians across the country and around the world are eager to learn about and act on the biblical and historical mandates for Christian Zionism,” said CUFI Executive Director David Brog.

“Israel needs support now more than ever,” Brog added. “I am very proud that CUFI is playing an ever-increasing role in making that happen.”

CUFI will host a summit in Washington, D.C., July 20-22 aimed at lobbying members of Congress to stand with Israel and urge the Obama administration to maintain the United States’ historic support for the Jewish nation.

Does your busy routine of going to work, taking care of the kids and rushing off to church keep you from experiencing God in a meaningful way? Every day we should stop and take a praise break, and tell the lover of our souls thank you for being faithful and true. To listen to a prayer of thanksgiving by Sharyn Culp of His Majesty Ministries, listen to the podcast below.

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Sharyn Culp is the founder of His Majesty Ministries, a worldwide prayer sanctuary on the Web. She offers a message of healing, deliverance, hope and more from the heart of His Majesty. To receive prayer, click here.

On the second day of my trip to Israel last year, I toured Caesarea, an ancient port built by King Herod. There I saw ruins of a centuries-old vomitoruim (my tour guide, Tison Ben David, explains the meaning of the name in the clip) and a reconstructed Roman theater. When archeology meets biblical history, the Bible not only comes to life, but we also develop a greater understanding of God’s plan for mankind. Watch the video below.

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Participants from three continents gathered in San Remo, Italy, Sunday to mark the 90th anniversary of the signing of a resolution that created a legal foundation for Israel’s statehood.

Deputy Speaker of Israel’s Knesset Danny Danon and Italian Member of Parliament Fiamma Nirenstein were among those who returned to the site where the Allied powers of World War I signed the San Remo Resolution on April 25, 1920.

The document incorporated into international law the 1917 Balfour Declaration, a formal statement of policy by the British government recognizing “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.” The 51-member League of Nations unanimously approved the San Remo Resolution in 1922.

“The Jewish people have international rights from San Remo regarding Israel and Jerusalem,” Danon told the Jerusalem Post. “And the time has come that we begin talking about these rights.”

Although many in Israel believe the Jewish people have biblical rights to the land, Danon says secular Israelis need to become more familiar with the international rights conferred through San Remo. “Sadly, there are many Israelis who feel that we’ve conquered or are occupying a place that, in fact, we have full rights to,” he said.

The Second San Remo Conference drew participants from the U.S., Canada, Israel and Europe, and was organized by the European Coalition for Israel, a Brussels-based group unites Christians across Europe in support of Israel. The Canadian Supporters of Israel’s Legal Rights, the City of San Remo and the International Institute of Humanitarian Law were partners in hosting the event.

“This [San Remo Resolution] marked the end of the longest colonization in history,” said Salomon Benzimra of Canadian Supporters of Israel’s Legal Rights. “This early episode of liberation, which preceded the global decolonization process by more than thirty years, should be welcome by all progressive minds.”

On Saturday, organizers held a seminar on “the legal significance of the San Remo Resolution as it relates to the status of Israel and Jerusalem under international law.” The panelists included Danon, Nirenstein and Jacques Gauthier, a Canadian lawyer who spent 20 years researching the legal status of Jerusalem.

Representatives from the original nations that signed on to the resolution-Britain, France, Italy and Japan, with the U.S. acting as an observer-symbolically re-affirmed the affirmation of Israel’s legal status during Sunday’s event. The group issued a statement at the close of the conference declaring that “the resolution remains irrevocable, legally binding and valid to this day.”

Robert Lloyd George, whose great-grandfather, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, was one of the original signers of the San Remo Resolution, greeted participants during the weekend conference.

In recent years scholars have been raising awareness of the San Remo Resolution and other documents that set the legal stage for the modern Jewish state. But Danon said more education is needed, and he plans to sponsor initiatives to that end in Israel.
“Although we don’t always win the struggle opposite Palestinian PR, we will win with the facts,” Danon told the Jerusalem Post. “Because when you begin to explore the history of it all, you begin to understand a reality that is completely different from what is portrayed in the media, and what has been portrayed by the Palestinian side.”