Dear Friends,

Early in his earthly ministry Jesus said, “The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve.” One of the definitions I found for servant was: “A person serving as an agent for another to attend to the wants and needs of others.” In our culture we don’t have a good understanding of servants because few of us have ever had any exposure to those employed as servants. We have some understanding from films or books they have been portrayed in but it is not common in our culture to be exposed to servants.

Over and over throughout the Gospels, Jesus shows us what God is like by serving. God wants to be known through servant-hood. Thus, when Jesus describes His return in glory at the end of the world, He says, “Happy are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them.” (Lk.12:37)

So we begin to see in the Gospels this image of Jesus as a servant. This model doesn’t fit well with what our world values nor what most of us strive to become. When you ask a child what do you want to be when you grow up? How many say, “Oh I want to be a servant!” Would that sit well with you as a parent? How many classes do you think they have at your University on Servant hood?

In his book Abba’s Child, Brennan Manning writes, “ What a scandalous and unprecedented reversal of the world’s values! To prefer to be the servant rather than the lord of the household is the path of downward mobility in an upwardly mobile culture. To taunt the idols of prestige, honor, and recognition, to refuse to take oneself seriously or to take seriously others who take themselves seriously, to dance to the tune of a different drummer, and to freely embrace the servant lifestyle-these are the attitudes that bear the stamp of authentic discipleship. Then he ends this by saying, “Servanthood is not an emotion or mood or feeling; it is a decision to live like Jesus. It has nothing to do with what we feel; it has everything to do with what we do-humble service.”

In my mind when I think about Jesus and how he went about in the ordinariness of his day I picture him interacting with people much like we do. He wasn’t always healing the sick, preaching, raising the dead or floating around with his head in the clouds. Come on, he was human, much like us. And we are called to be like him. Well, how do we do that?

For me, this is how it works. I try to live my day understanding that I am loved and I am called to love others. Sometimes I do well at this, other times I don’t. But I am learning that to be like Jesus is to try to respond everyday as he would respond.

Here’s an example: A couple of weeks ago I was with some friends over in Saint Ynez Valley here in California. We were on an outing and as we were walking up a dirt road a lady was walking down some steps when she tripped and fell on her face right in front of us. Her friend immediately helped her sit up but it was obvious she had twisted her ankle and was in great pain.

My first reaction was, “Oh I should pray for her.” But I hesitated because I immediately thought, “What if she would be embarrassed by that, or we are out in public with all these people around observing what just happened, what if it doesn’t work, etc.” But then I just went for it. I walked over to her, bent down and said, “Could I pray for your ankle?” She responded in a surprised tone, OK! I asked if I could put my hand on her ankle and that was ok so I prayed for maybe 20 seconds. Nothing changed.

It was still painful and she could not put any weight on it. I asked if I could pray again. That was okay so I prayed another short prayer and when I asked her how it was she said, “ I think the pain is gone.” She then stood up putting weight on her ankle. She was surprised that the pain was gone as she walked over to the car, her friend had just pulled up in, jumped in and drove off. We then continued on our way as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. I think that’s the way it should be. I think that’s the way Jesus did it. Not a big deal, but just react to life, as he would react to life. To me, that’s what it means to be a servant.

Pray with me that this Corona Virus will end soon. We are all finding it very inconvenient and rather tiring of how it has disrupted our lives. Thank you.

Thank you for your faithful support of this ministry. If you would like to become a supporter you can simply go to our Donate page where you’ll have several choices. We exist because of you.

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.

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.

Dear Friends,

For several months I have been writing a book detailing many of the miracles I’ve witnessed over the 25-year history of Wholeness Ministries. As I’ve read these stories I found it encouraging remembering all the incredible things God has done. I wanted to share with you one of these stories and the impact it had on the lives of two men.

In 2008 I was at St. Dennis Catholic Church, Lockport, IL for a weekend of training and equipping their prayer teams to culminate with a healing service Saturday evening. That evening I shared some testimonies and spoke about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Two of the men that were prayed for were Kevin and Andy. Andy is a pilot with Continental Airlines and Kevin was the Creative Director for Playboy magazine.

Andy King

These men were so impacted by the conference that it changed their lives. Andy said that this conference was significant in that it brought his family together and they dealt with issues that had caused division in their family for years. In addition, Andy had such a significant encounter with the Lord that in his travels he regularly prays for people in the terminal and on the airplane. It also stirred for him a new depth of love and intimacy with God and he began to understand and operate in the gift of Prophecy. I could see on Andy’s face such a new excitement for fellowship with God and a desire to follow Him. This is part of his testimony:

“The next morning during the sermon I knew that I had to testify to what I had seen, felt, and experienced that night. The Lord is calling me into service and I am ready to serve. What I felt was so real and true. I came out of there a completely changed person. I went to see one healing and one person speak in tongues. I left there praying for people and watching God heal them and I was speaking in tongues. Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ. I have been given gifts and I plan to follow Christ to determine how he wants me to use them!”

Kevin Kuster

After this experience, Kevin asked me if he should resign from Playboy. As the Creative Director, he is the one that chooses the pictures of the nude models that went into the publication of Playboy magazine. I told him to pray and ask God what he should do. As it turns out he stayed there for two more years before he felt released by God to go. When he shared at work what had happened to him others began to come into his office for prayer. Over that two-years, God used Kevin to work in the Chicago headquarters of this pornographic magazine to pray for healing and bring the light of Jesus Christ into that dark place. How awesome is that! When he felt God released him to go he resigned from Playboy and is now involved with a ministry called “Watts of Love.”

It‘s difficult to describe what goes on at these seminars and healing services but Andy and Kevin are a beautiful example of the profound impact they have on people. Continue to pray over what God is doing in His Church worldwide!

God bless,

Mike

YOUR PURCHASES ON AMAZON CAN HELP WHOLENESS MINISTRIES!
AmazonSmile is a program where Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to Wholeness Ministries. As many of you shop on Amazon this could amount to you giving a significant amount of money to us over a year’s time. There is no cost to charitable organizations or to AmazonSmile customers. The shopping experience is identical to Amazon.com with the added benefit that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate to the charitable organizations selected by customers. Just go to AmazonSmile, search for Wholeness Ministries, and sign up. It’s that simple.

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,

God is doing incredible things in our day as we go through this Corona virus. He is looking for people who will follow, but also understands that to follow requires commitment, faith, and obedience in all areas of our lives.

There is a Gospel song called “Daystar”. The chorus is, “Lead me Lord, I’ll follow, anywhere you open up the door. Let me know your wisdom show me things I’ve never seen before. Lord, I want to be your witness, you can take what’s wrong and make it right. Daystar, shine down on me, let your love shine through me in the night.”

Doesn’t this song express what most of us want? We want to follow, we want to know His wisdom, we want to be His witness, we want Him to transform our lives so love shines through us. But as we walk into an understanding of what it means to follow God we learn very quickly that it most often means that our enemy, Satan, kicks up his attack a couple of notches in all areas of our life. We find ourselves attacked in our families, our finances, our jobs, and /or our health. These attacks usually deal with issues having to do with faith, trust, and obedience. Often times our immediate response is to draw back which then leads us into discouragement and/or fear of further and we just give up because this walk with Him is too hard and we are not strong enough. That is exactly what Satan wants us to think and do. If he can get us to that point he has then won the victory.

Read this slowly and thoughtfully! WE ARE NOT VICTIMS BUT VICTORS! We are co-heirs, we are called to be servants and warriors of the Most High God, and we are able to walk under the empowering and anointing of the Holy Spirit. We have the very God of the universe as our Father and He walks with us in the battle. We are in the process of becoming overcomers. But if we are going to become overcomers we must have something to overcome. Thus God allows this battle to wage around us to conform us to the image of His Jesus and to bring us to an understanding the we are indeed able to walk in victory! If you want to be a part of what God is doing in this world today, you will pay a price, but you will also in the midst of the battle be a victor as you learn to live under the anointing and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

What a perfect time we have to have coffee with God. In my book, “Why Not Waste Time With God?” I talk about the necessity and importance of carving out some daily time to sit with God and just listen. We do not pray, listen to music, journal, or intercede in prayer. We just sit and listen. This is difficult because our time is consumed with a multitude of activities intended to bring approval and acceptance from others.

If you long to experience the intimacy, joy, and freedom that comes from being deeply connected, soul and spirit, with your Father God, you must prepare yourself to waste some time with Him. By doing this you will learn to love more compassionately, give of yourself more freely, and take yourself less seriously. Furthermore, you will be able to break free from depending on others for approval.

You can order a copy of “Why Not Waste Time With God?” right HERE.

Thank you for your prayers and support. You are much appreciated.

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,

What amazing ways God works! In last month’s newsletter, I spoke about a medical condition I was dealing with that zapped my energy and endurance. What I didn’t tell you is what that condition was, how it was diagnosed, and what I’ve been doing to help my body recover.

Some years back I received a call from Marilyn Bodine, one of the founders of the Institute for Human Development, an organization in Phoenix, AZ. that integrates the medical profession with Supernatural healing. Over the years I’ve made a number of ministry trips to Phoenix, AZ to train and equip people there that are in the medical profession. In the process, I’ve made many friends in Phoenix.

About two months ago I was sitting home when I received a call from Marilyn. She said, “Michael, the Lord put you on my heart, what’s going on with you?” I told her what I had been dealing with, she prayed for me and we soon ended the call. About 20 minutes later I received a call from Dr. Dino Prato, a dear friend, and the CEO/Founder of Envita Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ. Envita is a Unipathic Medical Center focused on specialized medicine offered in the integrative medical model. Marilyn called him right after she hung up the phone. When I described my symptoms to him he knew immediately what I was dealing with. He said, “Michael you have a viral infection. Come over here, let us do some tests and let’s get you back on the road to healing so you can continue to do what God has called you to do.”

I flew over to Phoenix, they did a number of tests to diagnose exactly what was going on. I returned home and after test results came they put me on an anti-candida diet for eight weeks. After four weeks trying this diet plus the supplements they provided it was determined that it was not giving them the results, they wanted so Dr. Prato asked me to come over to the Center so they could treat me on site. At that time they said that I would need to be there three to four weeks.

The good news is that after two weeks of treatment I could tell I was feeling better. The doctor called me in for a consultation and said, “Your tests are showing some significant improvement and that we have beaten this Candida. How do you feel?” When I told him how much better I felt he then told me that they would free me to return home, with the proviso that I continue with the supplements. I was excited.

So I am now back in Bakersfield, and feeling much better than I was when I left here. I look back at how God arranged all of this and am just amazed once again at His love and how He used both prayer and medical treatment to get me back on the road to health.

Thank you for your prayers and continued support of Wholeness Ministries. You are much appreciated.

God bless,

Mike

YOUR PURCHASES ON AMAZON CAN HELP WHOLENESS MINISTRIES!
AmazonSmile is a program where Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to Wholeness Ministries. As many of you shop on Amazon this could amount to you giving a significant amount of money to us over a year’s time. There is no cost to charitable organizations or to AmazonSmile customers. The shopping experience is identical to Amazon.com with the added benefit that the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate to the charitable organizations selected by customers. Just go to AmazonSmile, search for Wholeness Ministries, and sign up. It’s that simple.

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.