This is a special day for you!

mike-P1020072-txt-300If you are alive, this is a special day for you. We don’t often think about it but every day we have is a gift to us. Not only that but who you are and what you have to give is unique. Never forget that you are unique and don’t allow the world to conform you to what they see as “normal.” Nowhere are we ever commanded in the scripture to be normal. We are an extraordinary people and we will do extraordinary things with our lives. We must remember that: “We are Fishers of Men, not keepers of the aquarium.”

Each of us is unique. We have strengths and weaknesses. It is important that we be who God made us to be. Read this quote from one of Brennan Manning’s books. “Be who you is, cause if you ain’t who you is, you is who you ain’t.” If you are not going to be you, who is?

Those of you who know me know that one of my passions is equipping people to do the things that Jesus Did. I believe we as a church do a great disservice to those around us if we do not do those things he commanded us to do in Matthew 28:18-19. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples… and In Matthew 10:1 “He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Vs. 7 as you go, preach this message, “The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.”

So we have this authority and power available to us to do exactly what Jesus did while he was here. “God has given us dynamite power, but we live firecracker lives.” (Author Unknown) Either we don’t understand what we have available or we don’t know how to use it.

For much of my life as a believer I thought that knowing what the Bible said and sharing the salvation message was more than sufficient. I don’t think I thought seriously about praying for the sick, expecting something to happen until I was exposed to a man in 1984 named John Wimber. Before that experience I placed a lot of value on knowledge and education. But after this experience with John’s teaching and modeling of the healing ministry, part of what I have discovered is that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. And how do we show them we care? One way is to pray for them to be healed.

If you’ve attended any of my workshops or read my books one of the things I say constantly is this: “The more you expect, the more you see, and the more you see, the more you expect.” I heard this quote from Pastor Bill Johnson years ago and it significantly impacted how I pray for people. I expect healing and I am surprised when they are not healed. I can’t say definitively that I’ve seen an increase in the number of healings but it seems to me that I am experiencing more healing than before my expectations were raised. So the question I have for you is: “What are you expectations of God?”

In my book “Why Not Waste Time With God,” I write about how important it is that we learn to know the voice of God. We place much value on knowing the word of God but I’ve found that knowing the word of God is not enough; you must also know the voice of God. How are you going to know the voice of God if you don’t spend time with God?

I love to go up to Kern Canyon and sit by the river. While there God spoke to me and said, “Michael, I’m going to teach you how to be a friend.” At first that was a bit puzzling to me because I thought we were friends. But then He began to show me that sometimes friends just spend time together hanging out. Not reading the bible, or interceding for someone or journaling, just being together because it’s good to be together.

A Dutch Theologian, Edward Schillebeeckx wrote: “In a revealed religion, silence with God has value in itself and for its own sake, just because God is God. Failure to recognize the value of mere being with God, as the beloved, without doing anything, is to gouge the heart out of Christianity.”

Think about 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 and power is but a puff of dust, beside whose power a swirling, raging river is but a trickle in the sand, is the God who wants to spend time with you!”

God bless,

Mike