Be Imitators…

One Of The Biggest Miracles..

With spring just around the corner, it was an uncharacteristically cold and windy evening. I was glad I had worn a jacket, but even then you could feel the damp air reaching through its gortex shell. We found Cydney and Carmen huddled together, wrapped in an old sleeping bag trying to stay warm. You can see life on the street reflecting in their eyes, manifesting itself in the way they were dressed.

One of the biggest miracles to see is a heart touched by His Presence, healed and filled with hope. This is what we witnessed that evening. As God revealed to us through a word of knowledge the hidden desires of the hearts of these two youth, His Spirit began to fill them with hope, touch them with His love, speak His destiny over them. They were so moved, so impacted with an encounter of our loving Heavenly Father. To see His love, flowing so freely, penetrated the very depth of my being, filling my heart with warmth, shutting out any sensation of the cold. We went on to see more emotional and physical healings take place, but this witness of His love stayed with me.

Be Holy In All You Do….
“As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” This passage of scripture is taken from 1Peter 1:14-16 (NIV).  The word holy that is used here in the Hebrew language is “qadowsh”, which means: sacred, holy, Holy One, saint, set apart. All to describe God’s character and His nature. Holiness is not just one of the attributes of God’s person, holiness is what God is. He is saying to us: “Be sacred, holy, and set apart just like Me, because I am sacred, holy, and set apart!”.

Be Imitators Of God….
Ephesians 5:1 tells us: “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” To be holy is to be separate for godly character , not sinful nature. It’s to imitate God in our actions,  to have our words and our thoughts line up with His Word and how He thinks of us. It’s the way we interact with one another, the way we treat those who despitefully use us. It is to be set apart for His plans and His purposes. It’s to release His love and His goodness to the lost, broken, and dying world. It is to re-present Christ!

Beginning of Everything…

Goodness of God…

A lady came up for prayer, and as she began to share her story, my heart was moved with compassion for her. She was having a normal week, until Wednesday, when suddenly she had developed severe abdominal pain and was taken to the hospital. Upon close examination it was discovered that she had advanced stage cancer that had spread all through her stomach area. “You are done!”, she heard the words spoken by the doctor. Even after taking heavy medication she was still in a lot of pain when we started to pray with her. God is so good and when He shows up good things happen! She experienced God’s healing touch in her body and all the pain in her stomach area was gone!

Faith is a Foundation…

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”, Hebrews 11:1. Paul is not giving a definition of what faith is, in this passage of scripture, but rather describing what it does. Faith is the assurance. The word the King James Translation uses here is substance. In the Greek language that word is “hypostasis”, literally meaning “a standing under”, or in other words, “that which underlines what is apparent”, creating a real sense of something fundamental and substantial like a foundation.

Beginning of Everything…

Faith is the foundation of what we hope for. It is the foundation of our relationship with God and the basis on which we attain everything contained in His promises. Faith is the beginning of everything that truly matters in the Kingdom.

Gospel of Grace

Mike was in a car accident. As the car behind him slid and slammed into the bumper of his vehicle, he was pushed forward, hitting the car in front of him. Still feeling the impact of the collision from behind, he was thrust forward at the contact with the vehicle in front. Suffering from pain in his neck and back, and not able to work, Mike readily accepted the prayer over the phone. Having put him on the speaker-phone, six of us lifted our voices in prayer, releasing God’s goodness. After short prayer, Mike, who was originally from Iran, a country of Muslim faith, declared his complete healing, feeling 100% better.

“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth.” – Colossians 1:3-6

In 3John 1:2 we read: “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health just as your soul prospers.” Third John was composed as a private letter to encourage and strengthen Gaius, and to commend the party of Christians led by Demitrius, who were strangers to the place where he lived. John prays this amazing prayer in response to brethren testifying of how they are walking in truth in verse 3, and to their love before the church in verse 6. The daily walk in truth of these New Testament Christians, the love that they have extended to all, were indications of the prosperity of their souls. And seeing that, John prays the prayer that “as your soul prospers”, from the Greek word “euodoo” – to succeed, you will succeed in every aspect of life including well-being and health in your body. The word “prosperity” in the business world means an economic state of growth with rising profits and full employment. This implies a continuous sense of increase and growth of His abundance of provision for us, of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our life, and of wellness in our body and our mind.

“Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing , even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth,” Colossians 1:6. The gospel we preach is the gospel of the grace of God. In Acts 20:24 we read “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God”. The word grace literally means free and unmerited favour or beneficence of God. So the gospel of the grace of God is the gospel of His free and unmerited favour, of the undeserved act of God’s kindness toward us, of His unearned love for us. A testament to how much He loves us, how precious we are to Him, how He thinks of us as His treasure for which He paid the absolute highest price. So how much more will He heal you and heal through you, touch you and touch others through you!? How much more will He give the miracle you need in your life and release miracles through your life!?
“Therefore they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying to the word of His grace, granting that signs and wonders be done by their hands”, Acts 14:3. When you speak of His grace, testifying of His unmerited love, His undeserved favour, signs and wonders are granted to be done by your hands. The Greek word here is “didomi”. It means to bestow, to bring forth, to have power. In other words, grant is to give right to, to give the opportunity or permission, to give as judged due on the basis of merit, to allow it in an official capacity. When we speak of His goodness, He shows up. And when He shows up, good things happen. For He is good and what He does is good! We don’t seek the hand of the giver, we seek the Giver. We don’t seek signs and wonders, we do signs and wonders!

When we preach the gospel of grace, God himself is testifying. Hebrews 2:4 said, “God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His will”. Signs and wonders are His way of showing the world how much He loves them, we read that in 1Corinthians 14. It’s His way of showing how much He loves His people. “Stephen full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people,” Acts 6:8. The Lord wants to do this for you, among you, and through you.

In 1Peter 4:10-11 we read: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracle of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Peter describes the grace of God as manifold. From the Greek word “poikolos” meaning “many colours”, “many sided”, “diverse”, and “many faced”. It shows that there is no situation in life that God’s diverse grace cannot meet and far surpass. It is indeed sufficient! Functioning like an unseen barrier against anything that opposes it, breaking every wall that stands in its way, bridging every canyon in our life. His grace is able to penetrate into every aspect of our daily life. Manifesting His love for us and those around us through healing our bodies, meeting our needs. Bringing signs and wonders to testify of His goodness and point this lost world in the right direction.

“My grace is sufficient for you!”, God declares this to each and every one of us.

The Heart of a Child

“I don’t think there is anyone who needs God’s help and grace as much as I do. Sometimes I feel so helpless and weak. I think that is why God uses me. Because I cannot depend on my own strength, I rely on Him twenty-four hours a day. If the day had even more hours, then I would need His help and grace during those hours as well.”
-Mother Teresa

It was great to have my Mother come from Belarus to visit us. It had been a few years since we saw her last and the children were overjoyed by her coming. My Mom would always bring many presents and, of course, a lot of Russian candy, which we like so much. Her coming is always much anticipated and a much celebrated event both by us and our children, but this time sadness overshadowed the joy of her being with us. As the days of her stay progressed, we noticed laboured steps as she would walk up and down the stairs. She began to display the lack of energy throughout the day and mentioned arthritic pain in her joints. She developed a rash in her face in the shape of a butterfly and felt unwell every day. Knowing that something wasn’t right and being concerned for her health we went to see the family doctor, who in turn sent us to see a specialist. Upon close examination, the doctor diagnosed my mother’s condition as lupus, and sent her for the full blood analysis. When the results for the blood test came, I was with my Mom translating what the physician was prescribing for a treatment. He was telling us that the blood work confirmed it to be lupus and was describing treatment for it.

SLE (or simply “lupus”) is a chronic, autoimmune, inflammatory disease that can affect any organ in the body and in a pattern that varies greatly from person to person. Lupus is characterized by autoantibodies. SLE is a chronic illness, which means that the disease is lifelong. Autoimmune means that there is a disorder of the immune system which cannot tell the difference between the person’s own tissues and foreign tissues. This conflict leads to inflammation (the normal body response to injury or infection) in various organs which causes the symptoms of lupus to appear. If severe or untreated, this inflammation may cause organ damage and loss of function. Autoantibodies, meaning antibodies directed against one’s self, are involved in this process and are typical of SLE.

The doctor’s prognosis was a devastating news, describing prolonged treatment, taking expensive harsh medicine, possibly a life-long management of this condition. Things looked bleak in the natural, but for God. For God, who is our good and loving Father. God, who is omnipotent and omniscient. God, who expresses His passion for us through healing and restoring our bodies. And with that dependency on God, with a child like faith, in the moment of weakness, with total reliance on Him we began to pray, with others of like mind gathered around us. As we prayed, His Presence descended upon us with a tangible weightiness, and the healing fire of the Holy Spirit surged through my Mom’s body. Immediately, she felt the symptoms of the illness disappear. The pain in her body and the rash on her face were all gone and she felt well again, knowing she was completely healed. Upon further examination by the same specialist and another set of blood analysis, it was confined that my Mother was completely and miraculously healed, with no traces of lupus to be found.

“Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”, we read in Matthew 18:2-4. The simplicity of a child’s faith is the most important lesson we can learn from this verse. This type of faith is the key that unlocks the kingdom’s resources. It’s the key to tapping into His full provision, His inheritance for us as sons and daughters of the Most High, His abundance of emotional and physical health . Every four-year old child anywhere in the world has the faith to believe in miracles, in healing, in God. It’s not until someone tells them otherwise and teaches against it, that they stop believing. A child is capable of complete dependence on God, accepting and loving without bias, believing without dogmatism, trusting without prejudice. Children have the keys to the kingdom of heaven!

The challenge we face, in a society that is so prosperous and wealthy, is to continue to trust God. Even in the midst of being blessed and promoted at work, we are to remember that He is the source of our provision, that all good things come from Him. Promotion doesn’t come from the east or the west, but comes from the Lord. The moment we lose sight of that and put our reliance in the business we work for, we have limited God and stopped up the realization of His fullness in our lives.

“He wants us to be more childlike, more humble, more grateful in prayer, to remember we all belong to the body of Christ, which is praying always.”
-Mother Teresa

Love Yourself, Love Your Neighbour

“You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Matthew 19:19b

Working at the docks had its benefits. For one, the pay was good and working four days on, three days off suited family life. The work itself, once you get a feel for it, wasn’t hard or requiring mental exertion. It naturally attracted men who were mechanically inclined, usually with a background in heavy industrial equipment. It was a colourful assortment of people from various walks of life, from young men hardly out of school to men with years of experience behind them.

With the orientation and training behind me I was placed in crew “A”, working a Friday to Monday shift. It didn’t take long to see the social hierarchy within the crew of thirty men. It felt like high school all over again. The dynamics of interaction between the men would drastically change as Saturday would come. With minimal supervision and the company management off for the weekend, the mice would play with the cat away, so to speak. It was especially rowdy in the lunch room on this autumn Saturday afternoon. The notorious threesome, as they were commonly referred to, were in an agitated, destructive mood, looking for someone to direct their negative behaviour toward that day. Brad, Colin, and Walrus (nicknamed for a slight resemblance to the sea mammal) formed their alliance based on the commonality of their disregard for others and their socially dysfunctional behaviour. Standing six feet seven inches tall, displaying intimidating tattoo images on both of his arms and neck, heavily pierced and sporting a mohawk, Brad was the natural leader of the three.

That day, Kevin (not his real name), a young man with aspirations to be a firefighter, and a real love for his community in which he volunteers quite often, became the subject of their attention. As Brad was bullying Kevin he was met by the look in my eyes, for love does not tolerate disfunction, nor does it stand passively in the face of injustice. We see it in the life of Jesus in John 2:13-17. Love acts!
“Why don’t you stand up, so I can hit you!”, threatened Brad, holding a broken hockey stick in his hands.
“No, but I can jump and kick you in the head”, was my reply to him as I stood right in his face intently meeting his stare.
A hush settled over the lunch room. The air was electrified by the tension. I could feel everyone’s eyes riveted upon us. Time seemed to stop and what might have been only seconds felt like an eternity. Brad, not use to anyone challenging him, surprised and not knowing how to act, let out a nervous snicker. Calling out to Walrus, he made a sly remark and walked away. Breaking tension, the room exploded with applause. Cheering and hooping, the men laughed, enjoying such entertainment.

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” We read in 1Corinthians 13:4-8a. That Saturday afternoon marked a turning point in the life of Brad. With a new found respect, Brad became my friend, confiding to me the heart wrenching story of his childhood. Brad was an intellectually brilliant young man with a university education and hidden dreams for a better self. Growing up in an abusive home and being bullied in school for being a science nerd, Brad had great aspirations of becoming a police officer, to help those going through a similar situation. In spite of his greatest fears, in spite of telling himself that he will never treat anyone how he was treated, he had become the very person he abhorred. He became just like the people who has hurt him so much. Love does not reject the broken, the lost, the unwanted, the outcast. Love looks past appearances and looks at the heart. As I listened to him, never judging, speaking soft advice, never controlling, as I loved him, never rejecting, I began to see changes take place in Brad. Gradually the destructive behaviour was replaced with good responsible work ethics, and outbursts of anger with words of human communication. The changes were so evident that the management, recognizing the improvements, promoted him into a leadership role with the company. And this self professed atheist and hater of Christianity became open to the Gospel. Brad came to love himself and in turn love another.

1 Corinthians 13 ends with these words: “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Love has no boundaries. Love breaks all the walls, spans every gap, bridges every void. Love never fails in its ultimate pursuit of human life with a worth of such profound proportions. Knowing the value that love places on other individuals is the rudimentary basis for loving others.

And first loving yourself, in turn you can love others.

The Lord of New Beginnings

“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

At the family gathering, during this Christmas season, I met a friend of one of my nieces, Carolina. She is a beautiful young person, about 13 years of age. Carolina had no Christian upbringing and a very difficult family situation. That day she was quickly running into the store when she slipped and fell hard on the payment. Her left leg was badly bruised and she was in tremendous pain. With the relatives around us being concerned for her well-being, I offered quick prayer for her pain. Not knowing what to expect and with everyone watching she agreed to the prayer. Having my niece, who is not walking with the Lord, put her hand on the her leg I prayed a two second prayer. I asked how she felt, but the look on her face told it all. “Are you some kind a freaking healer?! My pain is all gone!”, she loudly exclaimed. “It’s not me, it’s all Jesus”, I replied to her and went on to tell her about His love for her.

As we approach the end of 2011 and the start of 2012 I would like to speak of His new beginnings in our lives. The year has gone by and the new year is about to start and with that comes new grace and a fresh anointing for His purposes and His destiny for us. No matter what your experiences were, it doesn’t matter what you were going through and the challenges you faced this last year, it is a dawning of a new start, a fresh beginning, a clean slate of all things. Leave the regrets behind, and looking forward, press in towards the mark of the high calling. Decide to have different experiences in the new year. Raise your expectations for higher and better things. Don’t settle for just good. Go for the best the Lord has for each and everyone of us. Partner up with the Holy Spirit and see the dreams that He has put in your heart realized. Make a New Year’s resolution to love Him more, to take more time to hear His voice, to get closer to Him this coming year. And as you experience new levels of intimacy with our heavenly Father you will see a turning point in your life.

Christmas is a time when just about everyone is more open to the Gospel message. It’s a time when people who don’t normally go to church, would come to church, people who don’t normally pray would pray. So as we were taking time to pray together as a family, I had a word of knowledge that someone in the room was having pain in their left hip. My wife’s cousin Shannon came forward in response to that word and after a short prayer her left hip was healed. This news quickly spread through the entire extended family and the aunts started to come to me with prayer requests for their healing. One had her back healed and the right knee was touched significantly. Her right leg grew about half an inch and hips were straightened out. The other had received complete healing from neck pain and greater freedom of movement.

Having gathered together for a turkey dinner of close to 30 family members and friends, Karen came to me and informed me that she was told to see me to receive her healing. God is so good! Apart from Him, really, we are nothing! It’s all His grace, His goodness, and His love toward us. And the Father expresses this love through touching and healing our bodies. It’s Him who does it! He just looks for willing vessels to flow through. As I began to pray for Karen the Holy Spirit came, and when He shows up good things happen. She received healing in her her left leg and was able to move her foot from side to side, something she couldn’t do in a very long time. The next thing I know, I have a line forming behind me of people wanting prayer or just watching what God is doing. The first person in line, a distant relative I have never met, began to share her numerous health issues, and starting with the first one, I prayed. The power of God came so strong, and immediately she received healing in her face and her left leg. Not stopping there, prophetic anointing was flowing, and the kleenexes were quickly passed to her.

“Get Lionel, get Lionel here!”, someone spoke with urgency. A man in his late 40s, wearing glasses, came and sat on the chair in front of me. Lionel was a close friend to the family, a very generous and loving man. In 1996, while driving in Northern BC, he was in a head on collision. A tractor-trailer lost its trailer loaded with forestry products that hit Lionel’s car. The car was totalled and it was an absolute miracle that Lionel survived the crash. Years followed after that with hospital visits, many surgeries, continuous treatments. Although he was thankful to be alive, the doctors were able to do only so much for him, and he had to learn how to live with many physical limitations and pain. Lionel had constant ringing in both ears and double vision when he would try to read something. So starting with that, praying a simple prayer, I asked him to read something. The double vision was totally gone, the left ear was healed, the right ear had only small amount of ringing left, and his body was on fire as the Lord continued to heal him. Yay Jesus!

This coming year I believe we will see a greater move of God. We will see greater signs and wonders, miracles and healing like never before. His Presence will be stronger, His grace will abound, and His people will enter into new realms of knowing His ways. We will achieve greater breakthroughs in God, reach higher levels of His anointing. And as we experience new intimacy with the Father, we will see new beginnings in our lives.

Happy New Year! Happy new beginnings!

He is Good

As I write this, I am overwhelmed by the love of our Lord. A year ago, Michael, my cousin through marriage, was diagnosed with cancer. In the last two weeks his condition worsened, taking big toll on him and the family. Not able to eat and on heavy medication has brought drastic changes to his countenance, making him unrecognizable. Things looked very bleak in the natural, but for God! For He is good and what He does is so good! In Psalms 34:8 it said, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” I have tasted His goodness, I have seen how just, upright, and good He is.

I began seeking God on Michael’s behalf a week before my flight to see him, was scheduled to depart. Pressing into God with prayer and fasting, I witnessed a breakthrough at the end of that week when the Holy Spirit moved so powerfully at our church service in North Vancouver. Our Father never sends you into any situation without the necessary tools or the right equipping to be an overcomer, to be victorious in Christ Jesus. And that morning, as the Spirit moved in prophetic and power, the anointing specifically for this trip has come upon me in the form of pillar of fire. Encouraged and build up, I have received particular instructions how to minister to Michael.

It became very evident, as God opened doors to witness and minister to various people He brought across my path as I was traveling, that He was in this trip. First was the taxi driver. Originally from Iran and of Muslim religion, he was some what surprised when he learned the nature of my trip, but became open to the gospel when I shared many healing testimonies. One in particular had a strong impact on him. The night before, a lady came to me asking if I remembered who she was, proceeding to tell her story. Number of months ago I received the word of knowledge that someone in her family was having a surgery. As it turned out it was her sister, who was diagnosed with carpal tunnel and was scheduled to have her wrists operated on. After prayer for healing and edified with a prophetic word she went home to learn that the tenants in her sister’s hands were discovered to be totally healthy. Encouraged by this testimony, my taxi driver, whose name unfortunately I cannot remember, began to tell of the same condition his wife was in. On disability and not able to work for seven years, she exhausted just about every medical option available to her without any success. After praying for his wife, he asked me for the address of the church, desiring to come for further prayer, this time with his wife.

“You are good, and what you do is good,” it said in Psalm 119:68. God is always good! What He does is good! And when He shows up good things happen! On my flight there I was sitting besides an older gentlemen, whose name was Mike. Now Mike was a farmer in good health, but after lifetime of working with his hands, he had developed numbness in his right index finger. After praying a short prayer for him, the feeling began to come back into that finger. I was filled with joy because of His passion for us, and Mike was rejoicing with me. It’s a privilege to share the gospel, not an obligation. We get to pray for the sick, it’s not a have to. We are honoured to speak of His love, not forced to do so. And on top of it all, we get to demonstrate His goodness.

I was profoundly impacted by “Catching The Initiatives Of Heaven”, a book written by Dennis Walker. In which Pastor Dennis speaks of revelation on the verse 19 in John chapter 5. It said, “Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, ” Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner”. The secret to success in Jesus’ ministry wasn’t because He was God, for He came in the form of man and gave up His godly attributes. Because of His intimate relationship with the Father, He was able to access the heavenly realm, and seeing the Father’s doing, partnering together, He ministered exactly what He saw. I was struck by the importance of us co-labouring with Christ, catching the initiative of heaven, and then doing exactly what the Spirit reveals. With that on my heart I began to pray for Michael.

The first day I was there, even though the Spirit was moving strongly and His Presence was so gloriously evident, we did not attain the breakthrough over the sickness. Being aware of this, I secluded myself in my room to seek the Lord for specific instructions in how to pray for my cousin. In the intimate time before the Father, I felt Him say, “Karate chop the tumour in Michael’s throat”. I have never done anything like it before, and being concerned that i might hurt him, I asked the Lord if I could bonk his throat with my hand instead. Feeling that it was good as well, I asked Michael’s permission to do so, as we began to pray again. It was a time of one of the strongest connections to heaven I have ever experienced. I began to see the Spirit move like a river, washing over dead ground so dry that it was covered with deep cracks. As the power continued to flow with such intensity, wave after wave came, bringing life back. The cracks were gone and vivid green shoots began to spring out of the ground. I lightly hit Michael’s throat, being led by the Holy Spirit, breaking the power of cancer and releasing healing into his body. I saw in the Spirit that the same pillar of fire came and rested on his chest, feeling the heat coming from it. Michael felt it as well and asked for the fan to cool him off. I began to know hidden things about the people in the room, and prophesy began to flow with such power. Later I heard the Father say, “Don’t pray for his healing, for he is healed. Just minister to him.” Shortly after, Michael ate, and for the first time in weeks, his body did not reject the food.

“The wicked hemmed me in, there was no way out, but not for a minute did I forget your plan for me. I get up in the middle of the night to thank You; Your decisions are so right, so true, I can’t wait till morning! I am a friend and companion to all who fear You, of those committed to living by Your rules. Your love, God, fills the earth! Train me to live by Your counsel! Be good to your servant, God; be as good as Your word. Train me in good common sense; I’m thoroughly committed to living Your way. Before I learned to answer You, I wandered all over the place, but now I am in step with Your word. You are good and the source of good, train me in Your goodness,” we read Psalm 119:61-68 in the Message Bible. He is the very source of good! The next morning my heart was filled with thankfulness to Him when I heard that for the first time in weeks Michael felt better. And for the first time since I got there Michael was smiling.

He is so good!

His Greatest Treasure

John, a 13 year old student of North Vancouver Christian Academy, was in acute pain, having stabbed himself with the sharp end of a pencil that morning. This accident took place just before the children gathered together, receiving words of knowledge from God and praying for each other. As John came forward, another student prayed a simple prayer of faith, laying her hands on him. Immediately the pain left and even the stab mark instantly disappeared. John, being filled with joy upon receiving his healing, rubbing his hands together, thanking God, exclaimed: “Even the bump is gone!” God is good! What He does is always good! And when He shows up good things happen!

The traditional Jewish wedding has three parts. The first part is called Shidukhin, meaning engagement. It is time when the man and woman, realizing their love, make promises to marry each other. This occasion would be celebrated and the marriage would be set at a future date. In Talmudic times, around 200 A.D., the groom would pay a dowry for his bride, literally purchasing her, and establish the covenant between them.

As the price was paid on Calvary, all that mankind lost in the Garden of Eden through the deception of Satan, Jesus has redeemed on the cross. Having made peace through His precious blood, Jesus destroyed the works of the enemy once and for all. And giving the gift of peace, in John 14:27 He tells us: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”. That word peace, “eirene” in the Greek language, comes from the primary verb “eiro” meaning to join. So what Jesus is saying here is, as we come in to the covenant that He has ratified, we join to Him and access peace that He has for us, for He is our peace.

In Numbers 6:23 the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: “This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace”‘. Most people understand the Hebrew word “shalom” as meaning “peace”, but that’s only a small part of the full meaning of that word. As Jewish people greet or bid farewell to each other, they are saying much more then simply “hello” or “goodbye”. According to Strong’s Concordance 7965 Shalom also means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety, soundness, tranquility, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord. Shalom comes from the root verb shalom meaning to be complete, perfect and full. In modern Hebrew the related word “shelem” means to pay for, and “shulam” means to be fully paid.

Colossians 1:20 says, “And, having made peace through the blood of His cross”. The world in the mist of turmoil is looking for peace, but only true Christians have it. And it’s only available through the blood covenant with Christ. It is something Jesus paid for in full, and made it available to us. Not only did He paid the price for His bride to be free from the power of death, but gave His “shalom”, the fullness of His provision. In Him we have total completeness, wholeness, health, and peace. His love purchased our welfare, our safety, our tranquility. We have fullness in Christ, rest and harmony. In Him we are perfect and complete.

In Hebrews 9:15 we read “For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance”. On the hill of Golgotha, nailed to the cross, blood running down His bruised and beaten body, He said “It is finished”. The dowry was paid for His bride. Just like a man from the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, who for the joy of over it goes and sells all that he has and buys that field, Jesus gave His all. He purchased His bride paying the supreme price, giving His life. In Hebrew 9:17 it says, “For a covenant is valid only when men are dead”. He validated this New Covenant with His own blood, purchasing His bride, you and me, in the eternal act of love.
Jesus paid the ultimate price for His bride because she is worth it. Just like that man in Matthew 13:44, who found a great treasure, Christ found the treasure.

His bride is His greatest treasure.

To Know the Love of Christ

My mother was dying.

It all started when my mother developed an abdominal pain after having some food out with friends. At first, she thought it was something that she had eaten that evening, but when the pain persisted, she decided to see her doctor. After the medical examination and reassurance by the doctor that it was mild food poisoning, she was sent home. By the third day her condition worsened. The pain became intolerable and she was in agony when paramedics came to take her to the hospital. Upon her arrival to the emergency ward, it was discovered that she had an inflamed appendix, and doctors rushed to remove it. The surgery was successful, and as my mother rested, everyone was confident for a quick recovery. But that confidence was soon overshadowed by the news that complications were stopping her healing process. An infection was discovered, and despite the doctors’ attempts to treat it, nothing was working. It spread through her entire body, threatening to enter her brain, leaving only days for her to live.

As she laid on the hospital bed, on the brink of slipping into a deadly coma, an angel appeared and stood at her feet. My mother describes this angelic being as having the appearance of a woman, although we know angels are neither men or women, having a long white robe, and just the tips of the wings were visible at the back. She could hear the angel speak, but the lips did not move. She knew it wasn’t an earthly language, but she understood it. The best way to describe it, my mother said, was like a beautiful, flowing music. “From this day, from this hour, from this moment you are healed!”, the angel said before leaving. Something powerful and creative took place in that hospital room. Immediately my mother began to improve and was discharged from the hospital by the end of the week. The biggest impact she had received from this encounter is the knowledge of our Heavenly Father’s love. The fact that He cares for us and loves us so much that He would go to the extreme to show that.

In the Message Bible in Ephesians 3:19 we read, “Live full lives, full in the fullness of God”. As Christians our destiny is to walk in the abundance of everything God has for us. His plans for us are fullness of provision, health, and happiness. In Jeremiah 29:11 it says: “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope”. Whatever situation you might find yourself in, whatever storm you might be facing in your life just know that sickness, suffering, and lack are not part of God’s plan for your life. His plans are to prosper you and not to harm you. His plans are to give you hope and a future, not sickness or suffering. His plan for you is to walk into the fullness of His blessing.

“But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us. Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”, we read in Ephesians 2:4 and 5. He loves us so much. For God so loved the world that He send His only begotten Son. We deserved to die, but He died in our stead. His love has no boundaries, His love has no limits. There is nothing our Heavenly Father would withhold from you and me and He proved it on the cross. Jesus took our sins. He bore our iniquity. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, the Bible tells us. He was beaten and broken in our place and this is the price our Father paid for our redemption. In 2Corinthians 8:9 it says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for our sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich”. He gave it all, holding nothing back, for you and me. The Father’s love for us is only equal to the love for His only Son, and He has demonstrated that on Golgotha.

Let’s look at Ephesians 3:19 again in the New American Standard Bible. It said: “and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you maybe be filled up to all the fullness of God”. When you have an encounter with love Himself, all the theological knowledge you have of God melts away. That experience overtakes any perception you might have of God, it supersedes any idea of who He is. When you come to know who He truly is, you come to know His love.

When you come to know His love, you come into the fullness of God.

From Disciples To Witnesses

As we began to pray for a someone to receive her healing, a vision came. I saw a straight road leading down the mountain, but it was full of orange road blocks, the kind used in construction. As far as you could see in this vision, one after another, the road blocks stood blocking the way, making the road unusable. As we continued praying, the river of the Holy Spirit erupted at the top of the mountain. It ran down the road, violently washing away every road block, destroying everything in its path, clearing every obstruction, taking away every hindrance. The River washed the road clean.

In Acts 1:8 we read: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The book of Acts is called the Acts of the apostles, because it tells of mighty deeds they have done. It is not just a story of a special people doing extraordinary things, but it is a story of our extraordinary God doing special things through His people. Someone said: “You cannot do a supernatural task without a supernatural Saviour”. The disciples of Jesus knew their impossible assignment to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and to cast out demons, but they also knew that Jesus was sending the Promise of His Father upon them. As they gathered together on the Day of Pentecost with one accord in prayer they were endued or clothed with power from on high, and the disciples became different people. These are the same disciples who were hiding for fear of the Jews in John 20:19, but when the Holy Spirit came, they became bold, passionate Christians, burning with a desire to serve Him. Their hearts were ignited with the love of the Father for the broken, lost, dying world. They became people, compelled to bring others to know God. The disciples were transformed into His witnesses.

A disciple, by definition, is a person who believes and helps to spread the doctrine of another. A witness in the the judicial system, on the other hand, is someone who attests to the genuineness of a document or signature by adding their own signature. Peter in 2Peter 1:16 makes this statement: “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” This is that same Peter who was afraid of the Jews, hiding with the other disciples behind shut doors, but when the Holy Spirit rested upon him he was transformed into a powerful witness of the Gospel of Christ. In 1Corinthians 2:4 it says: “And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” We get to preach the Gospel, tell the good news, to everybody we meet, but what’s even more amazing, we get to demonstrate it. Bill Johnson said it this way, “Without power, the good news is not good news.”

A good example comes to my mind. One of my previous coworkers, Derek, was an amazing young man, without the knowledge of Christ. He has had traumatic experiences with the supernatural of the enemy, but never with the power and love of our Lord. As he shared with me the negative impact it left on his life, I was moved by the compassion of the Father for him. The moment I began speaking of His joy and peace the Holy Spirit came upon me so strong I had to turn away. As I did, I heard him exclaim: “Can you feel it, can you feel it!” The power of God was moving upon Derek, demonstrating the gospel. In the middle of the workplace he had a powerful encounter with the God of love that will stay with him for the rest of his life. It was so evident to him that it was God that I didn’t even have to say very much. St. Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”

In Matthew 10:7-8 Jesus said, “Preach this message: The Kingdom of Heaven is here. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” There is power residing inside of us, the power of the Holy Spirit. It is like a mighty river ready to burst out of us, ready to flow, to touch, to heal. A powerful river able to destroy the works of the enemy, mend the brokenhearted, make someone whole again. The Holy Spirit wants to flow out of us just as He did in Luke 8:46 when the woman with the issue of blood touched Jesus’ garment. And as we stop for that one person in the middle of our busy day and allow the Spirit to flow out of us we will see revival. Christians will be revived and many will accept the Lord Jesus Christ. The Church will grow, thousands of people will be swept into the Kingdom. Prayer meetings will be full and His people will be lovers of His presence and communion with Him. Hell will be plundered and heaven populated.

Christ’s disciples will become Christ’s witnesses.