Dear Friends,

When I ended the 2016 Newsletter with, “WHAT AN AWESOME GOD WE SERVE!” I did not know what 2017 would bring to Wholeness Ministries. As I look back over the last year I could easily repeat this same headline for 2017. Below is some of what we experienced as God powerfully moved in our midst.

Over the last couple of years I have developed a mentoring relationship with Rabbi Nathan Joiner of Ruach Israel, a Messianic Jewish Community in Needham, MA. One of the areas he was most interested in was healing prayer and how I could help him in leading and training their existing prayer teams. In the 23 years I have been doing this, this is my first invitation to a Messianic Jewish Community.

Ruach Israel Rocks!! March of 2017 I did the first healing conference at this Messianic Jewish Community in Needham, MA. Here are some testimonies: We heard many testimonies that people received healing for assorted pains in their backs, necks and hips. One young girl shared with me that she prayed for a lady and actually saw her leg grow! They were both excited. I also heard of a gentleman who asked for prayer for one of his eyes, as it was cloudy due to cataracts. He told us it cleared up! One lady had chronic ringing in the ear that went away!

BETH YESHUA-Sacramento, CA – December 7-9, 2017 One result of this relationship with Nathan in Massachusetts is an invitation to conduct a healing conference at a Messianic Community led by Rabbi Joshua Rubenstein in Sacramento, CA. This is the second door God has opened thus far into this stream of ministry.

Josiah Worship Center Hit It Out Of The Park! In April I had the privilege of Ministering at Josiah Center in Maplewood. MN. Pastors Dave & Julie Carlson are growing a congregation that is bringing significant changes in the lives of people. They are guided by this statement on their website: “We are committed to creating an atmosphere of God’s presence where the Holy Spirit is alive and powerful. A place where people are healed and empowered!” I can say from my experience with them they are doing what they have committed to do.

During the conference I began to hear testimonies of backs healed, legs growing, eyes and ears healed. As the ministry continued we began to hear testimonies of Inner Healing and in some cases Deliverance from the influence of demonic spirits.

St. Luke’s Retreat Rocked! In August of 2016 I had the distinct privilege of spending three wonderful days in N. Carolina at Lake Junaluska, a Methodist Retreat Center. I was there to speak at the regional retreat for St. Luke’s Fellowship. I wanted to challenge them but also encourage them by reminding them that we have within us all the same power and authority that Jesus had. That’s stunning to think about. The entire weekend was filled with people who were freed up from internal stuff they had been carrying around for years as well as a number of physical healings.

Fairfax Assembly November 2016 – Pastor Marcello Rodriquez invited me to speak two Friday evenings at the Spanish speaking congregation on the subject of Inner Healing. Working through a translator we experienced a powerful time of equipping and ministry to those dealing with Inner Healing issues. I praise God for these opportunities.

The Bakersfield Mission I’ve had the opportunity to teach and minister weekly to a group of men in the year-long discipleship program at The Mission. This has been exciting and encouraging to watch them grow in their walk with God and also receive both physical and emotional healing.

I also had the opportunity to teach at Summit Bible College from my book, Why Not Waste Time With God, and two sessions on Inner Healing at Bakersfield Bible Institute at New Life Center. The New Year is going to be an exciting one for us. I am looking forward to the doors God has opened around the country to do ministry.

As we go into the Christmas season remember why we celebrate. Yes, the presents and getting together with the family is fun, along with the music, games and laughter. But of most importance is to remember it is a season to reach out in love and offer ourselves to those in unfortunate circumstances. Also, take time to think about why Jesus came and its significance in our lives today.

Thank you for your faithful and continued support of our work. It has been an amazing journey. Have a blessed Christmas!

God bless,

Mike

Dear Friends,

How deep and how rich are the ways of God! Is there any limit to what He can do? The obvious answer to this question is no. Emphatically NO! The more important question is, “Is there any limit to how much He can do with us, in us, and through us?” The answer to this question is Yes! We can limit God!

God will not violate our will. He is certainly able if He chooses, but He will not. He will not force us into relationship with Him. He will not force us into unfamiliar territory if we do not want to go. He will allow us to be status quo Christians if that is what we want.

Sadly, many Christians have no higher goal, no greater aspiration, than to be status quo. We like familiarity, we like routine, we like the “normal.” We do not like to step out of the boat and walk on the water because it is scary and we might drown. Peter did not hesitate to step out of the boat, but once he realized where he was, he became afraid and wanted to get back in the boat because it was familiar. It was safe in the boat. There is nothing wrong with the familiar, but staying comfortable with those things that are normal and familiar keep us from experiencing the extraordinary. “If He would expand us to receive the eternal, He must rescue us from the limitations of the temporal.” (Francis Frangipane)

Jesus calls us to follow Him. Just as He called his disciples into unfamiliar territory, so we have been called to be alone with Him for extended periods of time. Francis Frangipane says, “We must understand: God does not want us “normal,” He wants us Christlike!”

To become Christlike, we must do the things that Christ did! His definition of normal would be far different from ours. He wants us to become familiar with Him, but God is so deep, so high, so wide, so entirely unfathomable to our finite minds that always we will be challenged to move further away from being comfortable, satisfied and normal. There is nothing normal about God.

Keep these events in your prayers.
New Life Center – October 30, November 7, 14, 28
Fairfax Assembly – November 3, 10
Beth Yeshua, Sacramento – December 7, 8, 9 Rabbi Josh Rubenstein – Three Day Healing Conference

PERHAPS YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK AGAIN!
Many of us draw our value from who we know, what we do, and what we have. Do you long to experience the intimacy, joy, and freedom that comes from being deeply connected, soul and spirit, with your Father God? If so, you must prepare yourself to “waste some time” with God. You will be able to break free from dependence on others for approval. You can stop your pretense and striving for approval, and instead, sitting quietly with your Father God, you can be confident that you are significant, accepted and loved. You can purchase “Why Not Waste Time With God” from Wholeness Ministries Bookstore.

$$$$$ Thank You!
God continues to supply through His people, our financial needs, for which we are most grateful. Interestingly, although we do not have enough monthly commitments to meet expenses, there is always enough money every month when it is needed. When you receive this letter with the enclosed envelope please use the envelope for sending back prayer requests regardless of whether you send any contributions. It is important for us to know specifically how we can pray for you. Again, please know that we pray over all your prayer requests and delight in hearing from you as to what God is doing in your life.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. You have been faithful and we have been careful and faithful with the support you send us. We appreciate your trust and your prayers.

God bless,

Mike

Dear Friends,

I recently heard this quote on a tape and it was a reminder to me of the necessity of consistently seeking God in this journey of faith He has me on, and also a reminder of His goodness and faithfulness in the midst of the journey. Let me share with you some of this journey. Perhaps in this sharing you too will receive encouragement.

We launched Wholeness Ministries out on its own on “a wing and a prayer.” From a practical, realistic standpoint, what we were doing was described by various friends as risky, courageous, foolish, amazing, wise, and/or impractical. For me, it was a simply a matter of choice. God made it very clear to me that if I was to continue to operate in the ministry He had called me to, then I must resign my current full-time position at the church and step out. For me it was scary as I had a wife and three small children at home, and numerous financial responsibilities that needed to be met each month.

Would I make a choice based on what I could see with my eyes and discern with my mind or with what I could see and discern with my spirit. Obviously you are aware of the choice I have made. These years have been at times a little scary, confusing, occasionally frustrating, but mostly exciting and very fulfilling. My journey in “Faith” over the years has gone from, “Prove it to me God,” to “Okay, I’m going for it, I expect you to do what you said you would do.” I still have questions, struggle with some of what I see happening around me, and often ask God, “Okay, what is next?” Through all of this I have seen His hand move in interesting, exciting, and amazing ways.

In addition to supplying for all of our financial needs for twenty-three years, God has opened doors for me to minister in churches of many different denominations, both Protestant and Catholic. I have had opportunities through workshops to teach and equip people in the healing ministry, and conduct healing services around the world.

I am currently teaching here in Bakersfield at Summit Bible College, New Life Center and The Mission. This is in addition to meeting with people weekly for Inner Healing prayer both at my office and using Skype and Facetime. These tools allow me to pray with people throughout the United States. This has been an exciting walk of faith for which I am grateful. I feel honored that God has allowed me to walk this journey and I trust it will continue for many years.

KEEP THESE EVENTS IN YOUR PRAYERS
Summit Bible College through November 2nd
New Life Center October 30, November 7, 14, 28
Fairfax Assembly November 3, 10
Beth Yeshua Rabbi Josh Rubenstein, Sacramento CA three-day Healing Conference December 7, 8, 9

AN IMPORTANT WORD ABOUT INTERCESSORY PRAYER
Since the beginning of Wholeness Ministries we have stressed the importance of undergirding all that we do with intercessory prayer. We would choose not to function in this ministry without knowing there is a group of intercessors praying for the ministry itself, and our family. There is a small group of us meeting each Thursday morning for this purpose. I know there are many of you who also pray for us weekly as you have occasionally shared with me what God is showing you. I want to thank you for your prayers as they are much needed and appreciated.

God continues to supply through His people, our financial needs, for which we are most grateful. Interestingly, although we do not have enough monthly commitments to meet expenses, there is always enough money every month when it is needed. We want to thank each of you for you faithfulness. When you receive this letter with the enclosed envelope please use the envelope for sending back prayer requests regardless of whether you send any contributions. It is important for us to know specifically how we can pray for you. Again, please know that we pray over all your prayer requests and delight in hearing from you as to what God is doing in your life.

God bless,

Mike

Dear Friends,

This last month I had the distinct privilege of spending three wonderful days in N. Carolina at Lake Junaluska, a Methodist Retreat Center. I was there to speak at the regional retreat for St. Luke’s Fellowship. These are a group of people from different areas that are involved in the healing ministry. They come together once a year to rest, refresh, be healed and encouraged.

The first night that I spoke my purpose was to encourage them. This was with all those who were part of leadership and the prayer teams that would be praying for people during this retreat.

During this time of ministry John Rice (the leader of this fellowship) and I, felt it was important to pray for them and impart to them what God had deposited in me. Over the years I have sat under the teaching of and been mentored by some incredible men and women in the Kingdom of God. Through them God has deposited significant gifting in me and I believe that part of my ministry is to impart that gifting to others that they might go out and do what Jesus did. It was a powerful time of prayer, healing, and empowering them.

On Friday my first message to the group was, “Who Was Jesus?” The goal was to remind them not only who he was, but also what he did, and then who we are through him and therefore what we are to do. I find that we often forget the power and authority we have available to us because of our relationship to Jesus. Not only that but we can easily fall into forgetting that we are called and commanded to go out and proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel. The question I often ask is, “If we don’t do it, who will?”

I had two more talks on Saturday. One was on “The Traps of Unforgiveness” and one was on “God’s Message and God’s Power.” I was having a struggle about which of these to do first and after much prayer felt strongly that God wanted me to talk about unforgiveness in the earlier session. So, I talked about the Traps of Unforgiveness, which are Condemnation, Intimidation, and Accusation. During the ministry time I asked God to bring to everyone’s mind people that they needed to forgive. Almost 90% of the people were reminded of someone they needed to forgive. It was a powerful time of ministry and quickly became evident by what followed this session that unforgiveness was exactly what was needed at that time during this retreat.

The last message on Saturday was, “God’s Message is Demonstrated With God’s Power.” I spoke about our calling to not only proclaim the message of the Gospel but to demonstrate it. If we are Christians then that means we are “Christ Like Ones.” The question is can we really call ourselves Christians if we don’t do what Christ did? Here’s and example:

Suppose I joined a skateboard club. Every week we gathered and talked about skateboarding. We studied the different types of boards, the wheels, bearings, techniques of skating, the various types of ramps and jumps. We bought skateboarding T-shirts and caps and talked about the heroes of skateboarding. We even went to events to watch these champions do their incredible tricks and came back excited, hoping that one day we might be able to do that. But we never got on a skateboard. Are we skateboarders? I don’t think so!

That was a question I challenged them with. It’s easy to be a Christian safely behind the walls of the church. But what about out in the marketplace? I wanted to challenge them but also encourage them by reminding them that we have within us all the same power and authority that Jesus had. That’s stunning to think about.

The entire weekend was filled with people who were freed up from internal stuff they had been carrying around for years as well as a number of physical healings. My sense is that they left this weekend feeling much better than when they came.

Thank you for your continued support of Wholeness Ministries. We continue to see God do exciting things and there is much on the horizon we will share with you in the coming months.

God bless,

Mike