It is my joy and privilege to share with you how God has worked miracles in my life. Jesus Christ saved my soul out of the bondage of sin and later He saved me from the deadly illness of cancer.

 

I was born in a small village in Greece, the country where the Olympics were started and whose language God used to write the New Testament. My parents were poor and simple people, but they were very kind and hospitable. They sacrificially provided for their children and others. They loved God and lived with moral and ethical principles.

 

I was raised Greek Orthodox. In the Orthodox church, I learned the first lessons of the Christian faith. Generally, I was a good boy and a good student. I studied five different languages (in addition to English, which I learned later), and I wrote my first book at the age of eighteen. I graduated from college with a degree in Education. Later, the Department of Education prepared a scholarship for me to go to France for more studies. Regardless of all this, I was still very unhappy, and my heart was filled with emptiness.

 

I turned in all directions to find the truth that was missing from my heart - the truth that would satisfy me and fill the emptiness. Everything my parents, teachers, and others taught me was not enough. I feared God, and I desired to know Him better. As a religious person, I prayed and asked God to give me peace in my heart and the opportunity to help others.

 

After I got married in 1968, I came to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in Education that I dreamed of, 

but God had different plans for me. Because I had a talent for art, I received two scholarships from two well-known American art academies. After attending the academies, I started to work for large American companies and became a successful commercial artist. I thought a wonderful family, education, a successful career, money, a lovely home, and a car would offer me the happiness and satisfaction 

I expected. The strange thing is, even though began to accomplish and earn these, one by one, still, I felt unhappy and empty inside.

 

At this time, while I was still trying to find happiness in my life, I became very sick, and the doctors told me that I would never recover. While I was in pain and despair, God sent one of His people to me. He was a godly man who preached the Word of God in a Greek church and on the radio in the Chicago area where 

I lived.

 

For the first time in my life, somebody sat down with me, and plainly talked to me about God's love and the price that Jesus Christ paid for me on the cross. He described God's simple plan and told me that Christ died for my sins and offered me eternal life. As he unfolded God's plan of free salvation by grace, my spiritual eyes were opened. Finally, I began to understand clearly all that I had been reading in the Bible about salvation. On March 17, 1970, I repented and by faith accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord. He gave me eternal life and filled the emptiness I had. The Lord put a smile on my face and peace in my heart. He performed a miracle in my life. He not only healed my soul, but He also began to heal my sick body.

 

My whole life began to change, and the Word of God became not just theory and head knowledge, but a transforming power in my daily life. Before, I had taught the Word of God and the Greek New Testament to my students without experiencing a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

 

After my salvation, my dear wife got saved, then later, my two children. Praise the Lord! Through the years the Lord has opened many doors for me to witness to thousands of people of many different nationalities.

I have been involved in many American Christian ministries and have taught and preached the Word of God in Greek churches, schools, and on a Greek Christian radio program. The Lord gave me a passion for souls, a loving and caring heart, and made me a successful soul-winner. It has been a blessing over the years to direct thousands of souls to Him and see many of them get saved.

 

Since 1996, God has given me a unique and blessed ministry in the English language through the Internet, "A Spiritual Note from the Bible." The Spiritual Note, which includes a short message from the Bible, is sent out free of charge. It also contains the plan of salvation for adults and children, prayer requests, and information relating to the main subject of the Spiritual Note (testimonies, Bible verses, sermons of well-known preachers and evangelists, good Christian music, interesting Christian websites, inspirational quotes, beautiful pictures, clean humor, and more).

 

The Spiritual Note is received by believers and non-believers from all walks of life who have requested them. I have experienced the hand of God upon this ministry. He has helped to spread the Spiritual Note all over the world by recommendation of the people who receive it without any personal, commercial advertising or marketing. Also, many recipients have described the Spiritual Note as "the best email ministry in the world." The goal of this ministry is to glorify the Lord and help others by encouraging, comforting, teaching, inspiring, challenging, and evangelizing.

 

My first dear wife is now with the Lord in heaven after she had a heart attack in 1996. We had twenty-eight happy and blessed years of marriage. I am grateful to God for giving me a wonderful and blessed wife and children to help me in His ministries. Later, when I became seriously ill, God miraculously brought my second wife into my life. She is a blessed Christian lady with a kind, loving, and caring heart. Her sacrificial and supportive spirit has helped me through all of my hard times. She is a real servant of God, and we are both very pleased and happy with our marriage.

 

In 1999, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and a large tumor nearby. The thyroid and the tumor were both malignant. A surgeon removed the entire thyroid, the tumor nearby, plus fifteen malignant lymph nodes. During the next two years. I had radiation treatments. In August of 2001, tests showed another three tumors in my neck and nearby chest area. My surgeon told me, "Even God can't help you." He did not want to be involved with my case because it was severe, and there was a possibility I could die during the operation.

 

When people I knew heard this sad news, many (even some believers) raised their hands and gave up. Instead of comforting, praying, or helping me, they began to wait for my funeral. The devil used their attitude and the hard words of my surgeon to try to discourage me. Instead, as a redeemed child of God, 

I raised my eyes to heaven with confidence, and by faith, I told those with weak faith and negative attitudes that the Lord would deliver me from this life-threatening situation.

 

I believed that the Lord still had work for me to do for Him in this world. Through my internet ministry, 

I asked for prayers from sincere Christians and their churches around the world. A retired pastor told me he was getting up at midnight and was praying with tears for me, and a missionary wrote to me that he was praying for a miracle. As Christians, we believe the work of faith is in our hands, but the work of miracles is in God's hands!

 

The Lord helped me find a better hospital and surgeon. My unshakable faith in God and the prayers of believers gave me strength and peace as I faced this difficult situation. The Lord not only allowed the right doctor to perform the surgery, but He also caused my health insurance to approve coverage for all the costs of the operation, which they had earlier denied.

 

"The just shall live by his faith" (Habakkuk 2:4). When we put our cares in God's hands, He puts His peace in our hearts. This is exactly what happened. His peace and presence never left me. The prayers of my loved ones and believers from around the world were answered. Although the surgery lasted for many hours, everything went smoothly, and there were no complications.

 

It is unbelievable but true. The surgeon found and removed not only three, but a total of thirty-five tumors and lymph nodes. Eighteen of them were malignant. Because there were no complications during the surgery nor afterward, they sent me home the next day. I was even without pain. My surgeon said, "Now you are in God's hands." This was the best place to be. I am in the hands of the Great Physician, my Lord, and Savior Jesus Christ! I am very thankful for the many miracles the Lord has done in my life over the years, and now He has added one more. I feel very well now, and the yearly follow up medical results have been normal. I know my trials in this world are not over, but I praise the Lord because, through them, He is increasing my faith and purifying my Christian character. 

 

This temporary life is so short, and sooner or later, each one of us will meet the Lord. I hope you are ready to meet the Lord as "Savior" and not as "Judge." If you are not saved, I want to tell you something very important from my own experience. If you are far away from the Lord Jesus Christ, you will not find the salvation of your soul, real peace in your heart, or happiness in your life. Only Jesus Christ can give you a NEW LIFE and REAL LIFE. I am not promising that if you have Jesus Christ in your life, you will be without trials, but the Lord always will be there to help you.

 

Dear Reader, I believe with all my heart that it will not be the end for me when I die, but only a new beginning in my Father's heavenly home for eternity. Will you be there?

 

I encourage you, before it is too late, by faith, trust Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. The Bible says, "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2). In the quietness of your mind at this very moment, you can receive Christ's gift of salvation by sincerely praying this simple prayer from your heart:

 

Dear God, I know that You love me and want to save me. Jesus, I believe You are the Son of God, and you shed your precious blood and died on the cross to pay for my sins. I believe God raised You from the dead. I now turn from my sin, and by faith, receive You as my personal Savior. Come into my life, forgive my sins, and save me. In Your name, I pray. Amen.