Dear Friends,

What I am quoting below I read the other day in a book called Jesus Calling and found it encouraging and stimulating.

“Demonstrate your trust in Me by sitting quietly in My presence. Put aside all that is waiting to be done, and refuse to worry about anything. This sacred time together strengthens you and prepares you to face whatever the day will bring. By waiting with Me before you begin the day’s activities, you proclaim the reality of My living presence. This act of faith-waiting before working- is noted in the spirit world, where your demonstration of trust weakens principalities and powers of darkness. As you look to me for guidance, I enable you to do less but accomplish more.”

This says many significant things. First, your trust in God is demonstrated by sitting quietly in His presence. Doing nothing, just sitting in His presence, quietly listening to Him. Why? Because this strengthens you and prepares you to face whatever the day brings. Second, this act of faith puts the powers of darkness on notice and weakens them.

How does that happen? They understand when you sit in the presence of God your spirit is renewed and strengthened. This sitting quietly brings about a better understanding of who you are and what is available to you simply because you are His child. That weakens their ability to harass and influence you and strengthens your belief and trust in God. There is a passage in James 2:19 that says: “You believe in God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder! This says to me, to believe in God is just the beginning. Even demons believe in God. Your belief requires some action and that action should begin by sitting quietly in His presence doing nothing.

It took me many years before I came to the place of understanding the profound importance of this discipline. For me, this practice began when God said to me, “Michael, I’m going to teach you how to be a friend, and friends just like to hang out.” That was a novel concept to me as most of my life I had been working to please God by my works.

Growing up I had been taught that my faith was demonstrated by my works. In our society today we often judge people by what they do. So my thinking was that the more I do for God the more He will be pleased with me. But what God was now revealing to me was that works are important, but of paramount importance is for you to come and sit quietly with Me. I heard Him say, “Let’s just hang out and learn to be friends!” When I started this discipline the change that began to take place within me was profound. Not only did I began to listen more carefully to God, I felt that He began to draw me closer to Him and tell me how much He loved me and how valuable I was to Him.

It’s About Relationship!
God wants to hang out with you. We so often feel as if we must be doing something even when we are with God that it’s difficult for us to grasp that He wants to be our friend. In order for deep friendship to develop there are times when we must spend time together doing absolutely nothing but being together. When I say this to people they will look at me as if I am a few marbles short of a full load. That’s because we don’t fully understand who we are and how passionately and irrationally the Father loves us.

This book will help you understand that, but only if you apply it will it help you live it. Everything in this world fights against time alone with God. Everything in God longs for time alone with us. Why would you possibly choose to be influenced by the former? Order from our Online Store or contact us at 661-833-2920 or mevans@wholeness.org.

We are in a good season and feel so blessed and it’s in part because of what you do in supporting the work of Wholeness Ministries. I have been following this path for over 26 years and God has brought faithful people around to meet the needs of this ministry every month. Thank you for your continued faithfulness without which we could not do this work.

God bless,

Mike

BOOK AN IN-PERSON MINISTRY SESSION
We have found these ministry sessions with people to be invaluable in healing them from wounds from their past. In some cases after two or three sessions, they experience freedom! If you need deep-level healing prayer or know someone who could benefit from this, here is how to start the process. Send an email to mevans@wholeness.org or call 661-833-2920 to schedule an appointment. On our website, simply follow the instructions under Personal Ministry.

Dear Friends,

I recently read this from the devotional, Jesus Calling, and found it to be very encouraging. So I wanted to quote it here and add some comments that were meaningful to me.

“Come to Me continually. I am meant to be the center of your consciousness, the Anchor of Your Soul. Your mind will wander from Me, but the question is how far you allow it to wander. An anchor on a short rope lets a boat drift only slightly before the taut line tugs the boat back toward the center. Similarly, as you drift away from Me, My spirit within you gives a tug, prompting you to return to Me. As you become increasingly attuned to My presence, the length of rope on your souls anchor is shortened. You wander only a short distance before feeling the inner tug—telling you to return to your true center in Me.”

What struck me about this was the idea of God being the Anchor of my soul. Knowing I will wander from Him, His spirit within me tugs on the rope that is anchored in Him, to draw me back. And then the idea that as I become more tuned in to His presence that rope is shortened. Thus I don’t wander as far before I know that I must return to Him because only there is the true center of my being, which is Him.

When I am honest enough to be transparent with Him and myself, and understand without Him how ugly and sinful I am in all of my humanness, I am amazed at His unconditional love.

When you think back over your life and what you’ve done; when you honestly examine yourself today, what you may sometimes think or say or do, don’t you stand amazed that He is always there, that He will never forsake you nor leave you?

He is aggressively initiating and seeking relationship with us. He is urging and inviting us to obedience because He knows what a life of wonder and power it is.

The realization of this is incredibly freeing. I don’t have to “suck it up” and tackle this task. In fact, the more I determine to do this in my own strength, the more miserably I fail. “I will do this” is not obedience. Rather, “I will let Him” do this in me, is obedience.

And knowing that He is the Anchor of my Soul and will always draw me back to Him, no matter how far I may wander is a depth of love I cannot fully grasp. But what I can grasp is that no matter how far I may wander He is always there to fully embrace me and bring me back into intimate relationship with Him.

We are in a good season and feel so blessed and it’s in part because of what you do in supporting the work of Wholeness Ministries. I have been following this path for over 26 years and God has brought faithful people around to meet the needs of this ministry every month. Thank you for your continued faithfulness without which we could not do this work.

God bless,

Mike

My newest book BEFORE YOU GET HERE: Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven, is a guide to assist you in discovering freedom from the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat many Christians today. Chapters include: The Importance of Forgiveness, The Traps of Unforgiveness, A Look in the Mirror, Harmful Words and Harmful Connections, Let Yourself Be Loved By God, The Recovery of Intimacy, and more. Copies are available at Wholeness.org and at Amazon.com. Check out the entire Wholeness Ministries Catalog right HERE.

BOOK AN IN-PERSON MINISTRY SESSION
We have found these ministry sessions with people to be invaluable in healing them from wounds from their past. In some cases after two or three sessions, they experience freedom! If you need deep-level healing prayer or know someone who could benefit from this, here is how to start the process. Send an email to mevans@wholeness.org or call 661-833-2920 to schedule an appointment. On our website, simply follow the instructions under Personal Ministry.

Dear Friends,

I have had the most amazing thing happen to me over the last couple of months. I have had to wear glasses for over 50 years. A couple of months ago I went in for an eye exam and the doctor said I had stage 4 cataracts. (Stage 5 being the worst).

So Kaiser sent me to a Dr. Cowan who, after a thorough exam assured me that she could remove the cataracts and I would be able to see clearly without glasses. She said I might need them for reading but her goal was to bring my eyesight back to what would be required for me to pass the DMV driver’s eye test without glasses. She was a bit concerned about the shape of the right eye but felt she could still fix that condition.

On April 7 I arrived at the surgery center and after some preparation, they wheeled me into the operating room and Dr. Cowan began working on the left eye. I was awake during the entire procedure. Had to wear an eye patch for 24 hours due to swelling but when the eye healed I could see clearly without my glasses! Suddenly all the colors were bright again. I didn’t realize until this surgery that I was seeing everything through a brown haze. Obviously, I was overjoyed at the results.

Went in for surgery on the right eye on June 16th. Both eyes are now healed and I can see clearly without my glasses for the first time in over 50 years! What modern medicine can do is amazing to me. For me, this was another way God brings about healing. He does this by using skilled doctors and surgeons and various medical procedures we have available to us that were unheard of 25 years ago.

When Dr. Cowan said I would need glasses for reading I thought she meant I would need to go back to my Optometrist and get a new prescription. But it turns out that I could go to almost any store and buy reading glasses over the counter, which I quickly did, much to my delight.

Christ Cathedral Provided For Me!
For a number of years, I was provided an office rent-free at Renaissance Church, which is under the leadership of my friend Pastor Tony Kim. They have graciously allowed me to use this space without any cost, even providing me access to office supplies and a copy machine. Due to circumstances beyond their control, they needed the space and I had to relocate.

I wasn’t sure what to do but when I mentioned this to another friend, Pastor Max Van Dyke, he graciously offered me an office at his church on White Lane. I have moved in and once again have a place to meet with people for counsel and Inner Healing prayer. As things have loosed up a bit regarding covid-19 I’ve had opportunity to meet in person with people in this office. I still do some ministry by Skype.

Thank you for your prayers and donations that help keep this ministry going. Keep our needs before the throne of God.

Thank you for your continued faithfulness to this ministry. We are truly blessed.

God bless,

Mike

My newest book BEFORE YOU GET HERE: Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven, is a guide to assist you in discovering freedom from the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat many Christians today. Chapters include: The Importance of Forgiveness, The Traps of Unforgiveness, A Look in the Mirror, Harmful Words and Harmful Connections, Let Yourself Be Loved By God, The Recovery of Intimacy, and more. Copies are available at Wholeness.org and at Amazon.com. Check out the entire Wholeness Ministries Catalog right HERE.

BOOK AN IN-PERSON MINISTRY SESSION
We have found these ministry sessions with people to be invaluable in healing them from wounds from their past. In some cases after two or three sessions, they experience freedom! If you need deep-level healing prayer or know someone who could benefit from this, here is how to start the process. Send an email to mevans@wholeness.org or call 661-833-2920 to schedule an appointment. On our website, simply follow the instructions under Personal Ministry.

Dear Friends,

In last month’s newsletter, I wrote a bit about this past year, living with the pandemic and all the changes that we had to make, wearing face masks, social distancing, vaccinations, etc. In addition, we saw the closure of many places of business, changed the way we conduct church, and the disruption of our schools and universities, etc. across the nation.

So the question now is where do we go from here? And while our first response may be, “I don’t know, I’ve never been here before.” I do know us well enough to be assured that we will come out of this and life will go on. When we as a people of faith face all the unknowns of the future we can be sure that our God is still in control. He will provide for us, guide us and protect us.


While we have never faced a pandemic like this here in the United States in our lifetimes, we have had some events over the years that were disruptive to our life and which we as a nation were able to overcome and move on. We experienced the depression of the 1920’s – 1030’s, World War II, and came out of it stronger than we were before.

During my lifetime, 1942 to the present I’ve seen some things that my generation had never experienced before. The assassination of our President, John F. Kennedy, our Attorney General, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. Then came the war in Vietnam, the tragedy of 911, and now this Covid 19 pandemic.

If you watch much of the news today what you see and hear is that we are in deep trouble as a nation and there is much to fear. Anxiety and fear about the future is a staple of most network news. But again, let me remind you that God is still in control and we as believers can hang on to this, He will never let you down and He will always provide a way.

Back in 1994 when I resigned from my job at the church and took Wholeness Ministries out to operate as an independent ministry my biggest fear was how I was going to support my family and pay the bills. It was a huge risk to step out but God had assured me that He would provide. It has been just over 26 years and we have been amply blessed as a family.

What Are You Afraid Of?
Some time back I was reading material from Brennan Manning and came across a paragraph that I thought was quite appropriate considering the state of our economy and the fear that we are in deep trouble as a nation. I trust you will find it comforting and encouraging.

• “The question that the gospel of grace puts to us is simply this: Who shall separate you from the love of Christ?

  What are you afraid of?

  Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of Christ? It can’t.

  Are you afraid that your inadequacies could separate you from the love of Christ? They can’t.

  Difficult marriage, loneliness, anxiety over the children’s future? They can’t.

  Negative self-image? It can’t.

  Economic hardship, racial hatred, street crime? They can’t.

  Persecution by authorities, going to jail? They can’t.

  The Gospel of grace calls out: Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  You must be convinced of this, trust it, and never forget to remember. Everything else will pass away. Faith will become vision, hope will become possession, but the love of Jesus Christ that is stronger than death endures forever.”

So, What Now? We trust in God and move on doing what we always do, overcome!

Continue to lift us up in prayer. Thank you for your faithfulness.

God bless,

Mike

BOOK AN IN-PERSON MINISTRY SESSION
We have found these ministry sessions with people to be invaluable in healing them from wounds from their past. In some cases after two or three sessions, they experience freedom! If you need deep-level healing prayer or know someone who could benefit from this, here is how to start the process. Send an email to mevans@wholeness.org or call 661-833-2920 to schedule an appointment. On our website, simply follow the instructions under Personal Ministry.

Dear Friends,

We occasionally hear from many sources how lazy and self-centered young people are today. Typically we mean those of working age between 16-25. We are told they are not only lazy but operate with the attitude that we owe them something. They are often viewed by many as privileged, and spoiled, spending most of their time playing video games. It’s not surprising then that they live up to our expectations.

I want to challenge that expectation and tell you about an experience I recently had with two young men 18 & 20 years old. I had a project I wanted to be done here at my home and knew I was not up to the task. A friend recommended a young man, 18 yrs. old who just graduated from high school. This project involved the layout of a patio built around a swing in my backyard and involved carrying a large number of cement blocks as well as sacks of leveling sand and small rocks.

When Caiden arrived I explained what I wanted to be done but not how to do it, because I frankly didn’t know. I was curious to see what he would come up with. After we picked up the material he spent the entire day laying out the area around the swing. The next day he asked if he could bring his friend Canon to help carry and place the blocks and said he would be willing to help simply for the price of lunch.

Those two young men not only completed the project in two days, but they did it well. I was surprised and happy with what Caiden came up with. It was interesting to me that he talked about working with his father on different tasks around their home and would occasionally say to me, “I learned this from my dad.” After Caiden finished he was looking at the project and said to me, “I’m really proud of this, it’s the first project I’ve done on my own.” I paid them and Caiden said if you need anything else done, let me know and off they drove. (Oh, by the way, I did pay Canon as well.) I found them both to be hard-working, humorous, creative, and men of integrity.

A few days later I needed help moving a large, heavy piece of furniture my wife found at an estate sale. As we were at the house picking it up, the lady who conducted the sale, who had never met these young men before, at one point said, “It’s so encouraging to meet young people of such integrity.” She picked that up just watching and listening to them.

I know there are many others like them, both young men and women and sometimes all they need is a chance. There is indeed hope for this younger generation, let’s give them a chance!

ATTENTION PASTORS, CHURCHES, OR RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS!

After some serious thought and prayer, I am willing to donate my book, “Why Not Waste Time With God,” to churches here in Bakersfield, CA. If you are willing to give them out to your congregation use our contact page to get in touch with us and we will deliver to you a case of books. If you can use more than one case let us know. There are 80 books in a case. Please do not ask for less than a case.

*If you are out of state we will ship them if you will pay the shipping.

My book BEFORE YOU GET HERE: Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven, is a guide to assist you in discovering freedom from the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat many Christians today. Chapters include: The Importance of Forgiveness, The Traps of Unforgiveness, A Look in the Mirror, Harmful Words and Harmful Connections, Let Yourself Be Loved By God, The Recovery of Intimacy, and more. Copies are available at Wholeness.org and at Amazon.com. Check out the entire Wholeness Ministries Catalog right HERE.

Your giving to this work is a blessing. What is important to me is your heart of giving believing that what you are doing will make a difference in the Kingdom of God! Continue to lift us up in prayer. Thank you for your faithfulness.

God bless,

Mike