From Me to You: May 2025
MEMORIAL DAY
I’ve been to Normandy in France. Above that Omaha beach- head are the headstones where more than 9,300 American service members are buried. You can’t really appreciate that number until you’ve walked such a cemetery, a sea of white crosses. Not long after our visit there, I read something one of our military generals said something that has stayed with me regarding those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. In meetings abroad, this general had taken some criticism over how the United States had done things that supposedly weren’t good for others due to our so-called “arrogance.” In response to these remarks, the general said, “The only thing that we have asked from you in Europe is enough ground to bury our dead.” That’s quite a statement. Let me tell you, I appreciate our military more than I have words to say. Most people don’t know, they don’t have the slightest idea of the price that has been paid. Our freedoms have come at great price, and that’s something we do well to think about.
AS AMERICA GOES SO GOES THE WORLD
Some may take exception to this, but I believe it to be true— as America goes, so goes the world. If America hurts, just about every other nation in the world hurts as well. If Amer- ica is prosperous, then just about every nation in the world also prospers, to a degree. The economics is one thing, but Satan endeavors to stop world missions, to stop the gospel from going out around the world. The single most import- ant thing in the heart and mind of God is taking this gospel to the whole world. The United States of America is one of the few nations, and maybe the only nation, that is taking the gospel to any degree around the world. The church is not doing much nowadays; it’s doing some, and thank God for it, but very little. I can’t answer for other ministries—I’m sure others are doing things, and I pray God will bless them and help them, and whatever the case. But our burden, our con- cern, our mission, our calling is to do what Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GOSPEL
The gospel is so powerful, so significant because we’re talking about the eternal souls of men, and there’s nothing more important than that—a soul exists forever and forever. I’ve related this before, but years ago, Frances and I were with a dear friend and his wife in Los Angeles, and this man wanted me to go with him, which I did, to one of his truck depots there. He was the CEO of a company, and he owned some 50,000 trucks or some tremendous number. Anyway, that day at the depot, I became quite acquainted with the foreman there; I spent the whole day with him and learned quite a bit about the business side of shipping and receiving. Later that afternoon, we said our goodbyes, and Frances and I headed to San Francisco, which was about a six-hour drive. We got in late, and about 3 o’clock in the morning, the hotel phone rang. I wondered who in the world would be calling at that time. I answered the phone, and it was that foreman from the truck depot. He didn’t really say what he wanted at the outset, and I didn’t want to be unkind, so we talked about everything we could think of. And then, right in the middle of the conversation, he blurted out to me, “Brother Swaggart, I want to be saved.” So I prayed the sinner’s prayer with him. This man really sought the Lord, and he gave his heart to the Lord Jesus Christ. During all those hours at the depot, with him telling me all about the trucks and whatever the case, this man had been hungry for the Lord. Before we hung up, I prayed again for him and his family. About three weeks later, that foreman dropped dead from a heart attack. The Lord had been dealing with this dear brother; He knew He was going to take him home. How many, I wonder, are reading this right now, and they, too, are hungry for salvation?
WHEREVER THE SIGNAL GOES
Frances gets the callers on her program, and many of them start off with saying how much SonLife Broadcasting means to them. For many, our music is a comfort to them, and they want it playing throughout the day and, for some, all night long. Donnie mentioned that one of our songs, “Jesus, Just The Mention Of Your Name,” was streamed in February more than 2 million times. Some of those listeners were in Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar—think of that.
Other viewers let us know how much they’ve learned about the Bible from what we’re preaching from the pulpit of Family Worship Center or teaching on the programs—The Message Of The Cross, A Study In The Word, and so on. We’ve had people describe SonLife Broadcasting as a“lifeline,” and a “constant comfort.” One grandmother commented that, “SBN is like my friend.”I strongly desire with everything in me, that the Spirit of God move mightily in our teaching episodes, the church services, the praise and worship with the music—all of it must be saturated by the Holy Spirit.
Not long ago, the Lord said to me, “Wherever the television signal goes, My Spirit will go with it,” and we believe this is what our viewers are sensing. Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). This is what the Spirit of God can do!
OUR NEWEST CD
In March, just before my birthday, we finished production on my newest CD, which is titled, Come Holy Spirit, I Need Thee, and let me tell you, I think it’s one of our best yet. Incidentally, this is one of my first opportunities to say, in print, a big thank you to all of you who took the time to write, call, or come in person to wish me a happy birthday. You made turning ninety a whole lot easier on this evangelist, that I want you to know, and I’m looking forward to what the Lord has in store as we continue on with the work of God.
In the Master’s service, yours,
Jimmy Swaggart
