When We Experience Awe!

Mike-P1020072-200Dear Friends,

There is a song I remember from when I was a child titled; “I Stand In Awe of You.” I did not understand what this meant until my later years when I had a couple of experiences where I was overwhelmed with being in the presence of God.

In 1968 when I was about 26 years old I emotionally hit bottom. I was living on a sailboat in Sausalito, CA. At one point I remember saying; “God, I don’t get it. Is this all there is to life? What’s the point to even go on? If you are real do something, anything! If not I am ready to sail off into the sunset. I felt that if this was all that life was about it was pretty pointless. I had reached the point that though I knew God existed I didn’t feel He was that intimately involved in my life and wasn’t sure He even cared.

Soon after this conversation with God I remember coming home one weekend and telling Bob Hartley, a close friend, that I was having difficulty even believing that God exists much less cares about us or what we are doing. Bob listened to me patiently and then wisely said, “Mike, why don’t we just pray.” I was somewhat skeptical but decided, why not? How could it hurt? We bowed our heads and I simply said, “God if you’re real I need to know it.” Suddenly I physically felt this warm wind rush from the top of my head that spread down over my whole body. I remember looking up at Bob and saying, “Wow, did you feel that? What was that?” He smiled and said that it was God answering my prayer. That was such a significant moment in my life that it changed forever my walk with God.

In 1984 I was at a healing conference at the Vineyard in Anaheim, CA sitting under the teaching of John Wimber. At one point, John asked all the pastors to come down front so he could pray over us. As I was standing there he began to pray and I felt such love from God that soon I was on my knees sobbing without understanding why I was sobbing. After a period of time I was back standing up with my eyes closed, my arms lifted in praise and I said, “God, how much do you love me?” Immediately I saw these two open hands coming down out of the clouds and I heard him say, “This much!” At that same moment I felt a finger touch me in the palm of my open hands and knew immediately that He was indicating the spikes that had been driven through His hands when He was crucified for me. I totally lost it and started sobbing again. After some time I gathered myself back under control emotionally. This is another experience that radically affected my life, and one I will never forget. These were just two examples from my life when I got a glimpse of how awesome our God is!

I have a couple of question for you. What brings you to your knees? When have you experienced awe in the presence of God? For me, when I take some time and dwell on the incredible privilege we have as children of God, it brings me to my knees. When I read about His works in the Old Testament and His works through His Son Jesus, in the New Testament, it brings me to my knees. When I am reminded that I can crawl up into His lap, lay my head on His chest and let Him put His arms around me, it brings me to my knees. Why, because I know that I am experiencing God and His awesome love for me. Remember this, “Our God Is An Awesome God!”

Consider this:
The God who created the universe,
who heals the sick,
who knows you need food and shelter to survive,
against whom all military might is but a puff of dust, and beside whose power a swirling, raging river is but a trickle in the sand.
This is the God who wants to spend time with you!!

Michael Dean Evans

Thank you for your faithful support of Wholeness Ministries. May God’s abundant blessings be on you in the coming year.

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.

All Is Grace!

Dear Friends,

One of my heroes, Brennan Manning, titled his autobiography, All Is Grace. His book tells us that Brennan has lived it, experienced it, and grasps the extraordinary power of God’s great gift. At the beginning of my journey with God, I did not understand this gift as well as I do now. I also have found that many of the people I have dealt with in this journey do not understand and fully appreciate living under God’s grace. Part of the danger of not being able to grasp what an extraordinary gift we have available to us is that we believe the lies that our enemy has successfully spread among us.

Two of these lies are: First, God does not love you as you are. Second, God’s grace is based on your works. These two lies continue to have a profound impact on how we live in our walk with God. I want to speak to these lies. First, God loves you as you are, not as you should be. And God’s grace is vast, unmeasured, boundless, and free.

I was in conversation with a friend recently and in the course of our sharing with each other I said, “I am so incredibly blessed I can hardly grasp it.” When I said this I thought about the journey God has had me on this 40 plus years. The miracles I’ve seen, the places I’ve been, and the people I’ve met were all possible because of God’s grace. In addition, I have lived under His protection, provision, guidance, and teaching.

But I can safely say that for much of this journey I did not fully understand the extraordinary power of God’s grace. Fortunately, I believe that is no longer true. Yes, there is still much to learn and understand about His grace, but now I am aware of and appreciate His grace as never before.

What about you? When you think about your journey with God are you able to grasp the extraordinary power of His grace? It is so easy for us to live under these lies I wrote about earlier. We are a people who put a lot of emphasis on work and can easily judge others by what they do, what they produce. For example, when we first meet someone, after we ask for their name, we then ask, “What do you do?” We want to know where they are in the pecking order, which may determine how we treat them, or even whether or not we want to be their friend. Where is the grace of God in this? Our love without God’s grace is not boundless, and free.

Part of the reason I am writing about this topic is that I had to step back and think about my journey with God and try to grasp how His extraordinary grace has empowered and protected me. My challenge to you is this: stop for a moment and think about your journey and appreciate how God’s grace has been instrumental in your life up to this point. He has been there through the good times and the rough times for He says in His Word, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Joshua 1:5, Hebrews 13:5).

It is both reassuring and exciting to look to the future in our own personal journey and know that God’s grace is always there.

If YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A GIFT FOR A FRIEND, CONSIDER ONE OF MY BOOKS

Before You Get Here, Subtitled, Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven, is a guide to assist 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, I Will Never, Harmful Words and Harmful Connections, Let Yourself Be Loved By God, The Recovery of Intimacy, and more. Available here on our website and at Amazon.com.

For a copy of my book Before You Get Here go to our Wholeness Ministries Catalog.

This has been both a blessed and challenging year for us at Wholeness Ministries. Thank you for your continued gifts and prayers over this last year and in the year to come. We are indeed a blessed people.

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.

What if God Wants to be Your Friend?

Mike-P1020072-200Dear Friends,

If you have not read my book yet you are missing out on one of the best books that will help you understand, “The irreplaceable importance of holy loitering with God,” Brennan Manning.

Are you tired of striving and seeking approval from others? Do you long to experience the intimacy, joy, and freedom that comes from being deeply connected, soul and spirit with your Father God? What if ‘relationship with God’ was as simple as ‘wasting time’ with Him? What if, just by sitting quietly with your Father God, you could be confident that you are significant, accepted, and loved?

“This book frames spiritual growth with God’s heart, given in his Son and validated by His Spirit. This book demolishes our excuses and defenses against divine intimacy. This book is for those willing to have a fresh self-encounter and a fresh God-encounter,” Dr. Don Williams

When I first began this discipline of ‘hanging out with God’, little did I realize the profound impact it would have on my life. Since I first entered full-time ministry in 1976 I have sat under the teaching of men and women like Dr. John Lavender, John Wimber, Elsie Reed, Judith MacNutt, Randy Clark, Bill Johnson, and others that aided and guided me while on this journey. I have attended numerous conferences and workshops on the ministry of healing. I graduated from Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary and have read hundreds of books to help me as I traveled along this road that God placed me on. Lastly, Francis MacNutt, a man whom I considered a spiritual giant and one of those men who exemplified what I thought Jesus was like, mentored me for over 20 years.

BUT NOTHING I HAVE EXPERIENCED HAS IMPACTED MY LIFE AS PROFOUNDLY AS THIS SIMPLE EXERCISE OF SPENDING TIME WITH GOD DOING NOTHING BUT SITTING QUIETLY IN HIS PRESENCE. All the conferences and workshops I’ve attended, the teachers I’ve sat under, and the books I’ve read pale in comparison to what this simple exercise of just “hanging out” with God has done for me.

At one point God said to me, “Michael, I’m going to teach you how to be a friend, and friends just hang out.” But what started out years ago has become an integral part of my day and has a significant impact on what I say and do. Perhaps during this Christmas season you know some who could benefit from reading this. For a copy of my book Why Not Waste Time With God go to our Wholeness Ministries Catalog.

Another book you might consider giving as a gift is Before You Get Here. For a copy of my book Before You Get Here: Baggage to drop on your way to heaven go to our Wholeness Ministries Catalog.

Thank you for your prayers and donations that help keep this ministry going. You are much appreciated as we continue to spread the message of His healing and restoration to a hurting and lost world. As we wrap up the year 2021 and head into 2022 keep us in your prayers. We pray that this Christmas season will be a blessed and meaningful time for you and your families.

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.

In The Fire Or In The Lions Den?

Dear Friends,

I have been studying the Old Testament book of Daniel and am fascinated by how this young man Daniel and his three friends; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who were captives of King Nebuchadnezzar, became trusted advisors to the King. Over the years that they served under the king, there were many times when he called on them for counsel or to interpret dreams for him that his trusted advisors could not do.

As a result, these other advisors became jealous and planned devious schemes to discredit them and even kill them. The first was when King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden statue fashioned and ordered that all should bow to this new golden God made in his image. Of course, these three young Jews would not do that and his chief astrologer reported it to the king. He became very angry and had the furnace heated seven times its normal temperature and ordered them caste into the furnace.

Their response was astounding! Abed-Nego stepped forward and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar if you sentence us to death by the furnace, our God whom we serve can deliver us from the flame. But even if He does not, know that we will stand firm and never serve your Gods. Nor will we worship your golden image now or any other day.”

What an astounding statement! What would you have done if faced with this same choice? Is your faith and trust in God strong enough that you could be this fearless? Think about what a horrible and painful way this would be to die. I would like to think that my faith and trust in God is strong and deep enough to respond as they did, but we won’t really know until we are faced with something like that.

Next is what happened with Daniel who as a very young Jewish captive, probably still in his teenage years, was elevated to a high position in the Babylonian kingdom because he was able to tell King Nebuchadnezzar what his dream was and the interpretation of that dream. Again because of envy and jealousy by the counselors and astrologers to the king they convinced him to issue an edict that for thirty days no one would be allowed to pray to or petition anyone but the king.

Daniel violated this edict by praying to his God three times a day. He was quickly arrested and thrown into the lion’s den. Although the king loved Daniel and did not want to do it, he was placed in a position where he had no choice. Daniel went into the lion’s den confident that his God would deliver him from any harm. We know the story of his deliverance without a scratch on him.

So the question would be for us; how would you respond to being faced with something like this? Again we would like to think that we would be brave and confident that God would protect us, but we would never know for certain until we faced this kind of test.

BEFORE YOU GET HERE
Why wait until heaven to be freed of the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat you? God wants you to face those burdens now, on this planet, and through the power of specific prayer be freed from them. My newest book, subtitled Baggage To Drop On Your Way To Heaven, is a guide to assist in discovering freedom from the invisible burdens that oppress and defeat you. Purchase at our online store at Before You Get Here or call us at (661) 833-2920.

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.

I Want To Experience That Healing Power!

Mike-P1020072-200Dear Friends,

Recently, a gentleman whom I have long admired came up to me after an evening meeting and said, “I want to experience God’s healing power.” He had this excited, intense expression on his face that surprised me but what I heard him saying is, “The power of prayer that I see in operation when you pray for healing, I want to experience that kind of power!”

For a little background, he has been around for a number of years in meetings where he has seen the power of God moving, bringing healing to the sick. Immediately I sensed he was not just casually asking but seriously wanted to experience the kind of healing power he had seen manifested. Two things immediately came to me. I said, “First, you have to spend significant time just hanging out with God. Second, you have to be willing to take a risk and step out and begin praying for healing expecting it to happen.”

Those of you who know me understand this response. These two themes I believe are key to watching God move through us to bring healing to a broken world full of sick, downtrodden people. People that are desperate for a healing touch from God.

I went on to explain some more about what I meant. I shared about what I’ve come to understand as key to walking in the healing power that God has made available to us through the Holy Spirit. I often joke about “Having Coffee with God,” which in reality is me spending time first thing in the morning sitting with God doing nothing but sitting with God while I have my morning coffee. These last six weeks I have had the privilege of sharing weekly with a group of men in the discipleship-training program at the Bakersfield Mission. When I spoke on this topic I shared with them how difficult this was in the beginning and how powerfully I have watched it come to life when I am praying for healing for someone.

As they grasped what I was trying to live out daily I could see in them the excitement to try this. I shared how in the beginning it was difficult for me to sit still and quiet because I was not used to doing that but was more comfortable doing things for God. I shared why this was such a hard discipline when I first started and could see the recognition on their faces and the excitement they demonstrated in wanting to try and do this. But I also told them how much Satan would oppose them when they first begin because it freaks him out. Satan knows that the closer you become to God, the more dangerous you become.

Then I shared with this gentleman the second thing he needed to do was take a risk, step out and pray for people, expecting God to heal them. I told about the journey God has had me on and over the years how He brought me around to not only expecting healing but being surprised when healing doesn’t happen.

Jesus Didn’t Hand Out Crutches! In the Gospels, we are commanded to heal the sick. The disabled jump to their feet, the deaf hear, the blind see, the dead show up for dinner. The strong message is that we are to bring in the Kingdom of God by doing exactly what Jesus did. I have found that when you show people the power of the Holy Spirit and they see or experience His healing both physically and emotionally, they want to be involved. So let’s don’t hand out crutches, let’s be bold and take the risk and do what we’re told to do; Go Heal The Sick!

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.