Monthly Archives: November 2014

A few days ago, on Facebook, I posted a video of a wonderful miracle. It was from Bethel Church, Redding  California, and a man – a friend – James Moloney was speaking. The amazing thing about James is that he’s a highly highly qualified theologian, Bible Teacher, minister – but often, he never gets to ‘preach’ because he has such amazing words of knowledge which, once they start coming to him, just continue! I hunger for that gifting more in my life! This clip, with James, speaks for itself:

This dear man was healed of so many things. Why? Because he was desperate – you’ll hear James saying he was ‘pulling on my britches’ of his faith. If you’re desperate, like he was, your time will come, believe me: our ‘human’ problem is that when it doesn’t come when we want it, we can so easily become disappointed, disillusioned – maybe even jealous. Each of those attitudes is a deterrent to healing in itself. This man was pumped, and ready for God to move, whenever God told him. And, as a result, steel plates and rods disappeared from his legs. James has faith for the impossible.

I’ve seen steel disappear – a lady in Minneapolis, some years ago, with a steel plate in her hips following THREE failed hip-replacement surgeries. Not only that, when the surgeon had put the steel plate in, he put it in badly, and it was pinching flesh deep in her hip, and there was nothing that could be done for her. This particular evening, during a healing conference, she came forward, walking terribly and clearly in so much pain. She had on light beige coloured trousers (that’s a relevant piece of information, not a fashion comment!!). As I prayed – with other people looking on, which always tends to be a pressured situation!, we watched as a grey patch appeared on her beige trousers as the steel dissolved, and came out as molten steel through her skin – which meant, of course, as she was still standing, that God has put a brand new hip in place (from his heavenly warehouse of new body parts!) as he dissolved the steel. I’m no scientist, but I DO know that steel doesn’t dissolve! She then set off running backwards and forwards across the front of the church, where there 2,000 at the conference….

There are many sceptics in the ranks of evangelicals, sadly – even cynics – but for me, NOTHING is impossible for God, and that’s the way I choose to live my life. If you’ve just watched that clip, then here’s another – not from a well-known preacher, in a big church known world-wide. It’s of my friend Peter McAvoy, aged 23 years, from Bangor, Northern Ireland, in a city – Yumbo – near Cali, Colombia, in July:

This guy Johnny, in Yumbo (pronounced Jjjumbo!!!), spent some time searching for the screws and plate that he knew were – or rather had been – in his ankle. They’d gone. God IS the God of the impossible….

When I watched the video of the man with James Moloney, I thought about the hundreds of pairs of knees and individual knees I’ve seen God heal, while mine remain unhealed: I can honestly tell you there is no jealousy, just an increase in my ‘pulling on God’s britches’ for him to graciously decide ‘Paul, this is YOUR time’….

My knees had been duff for quite a long time now, you know if you read my blog! – right one 10 years (an injury I never got treatment for from an accident in Cali, Colombia), the left one 5 years, from an injury in Bucharest, Romania, that I never got treatment for… I’ve had a top orthopaedic surgeon offer me a trip to the top of the list of surgeries for knee replacement surgery, because, in her words, ‘you shouldn’t even be able to stand up on those knees, let alone walk’… but walk I do: not brilliantly, and not far, I have to confess, and sometimes, preaching is an exercise in keeping my face from showing the amount of pain I’m in while I’m stood at the front telling people how much Jesus wants to heal them. My time IS coming – so is yours, if you don’t lose heart, let disappointment or disillusionment cripple your faith, and don’t get jelus when someone else gets exactly what you want. I rejoice with the dear man in the first video clip, thank God for his miraculous power, and pull that little bit harder on his britches….

A very, very dear friend of mine had his new book advertised on Facebook today. There is a plethora of Christian books, many of them worthy of reading, some perhaps not quite so… this friend, Dr David Chaput de Saintonge, and his lovely wife, Gail, have walked a path these last few years that would have destroyed many people: they’ve done it with a deep rooted joy the most evident thing in both of them if you were to meet them (or you’ll agree,I’m sure, if you know them). David is a Doctor, a teacher of doctors, and a marvellous man of God. Some years ago, David and Gail had the awful experience of a diagnosis of prostate cancer. If you were to see David today, he’d give you a smile, and tell you how good God is. His book, Grief to Hope, is the story from a medic’s perspective, of what it is to be the ‘other side of the sheets’, through poems. Being a medic, David has known ahead of time what is likely to come next at each stage of their journey: and I’d urge you to buy the book, certainly to give it to friends who are struggling with long term or terminal illness.

What amazes me about David and Gail is that they’ve never given up hope. As someone who prays for the sick, very, very often, I have some people ‘accuse’ me of giving people hope: my answer to them has always been that I’d rather live hoping than live ‘hope-less’. Now, I use David and Gail as an illustration to the accusers. Nothing is impossible for God: we all know the words, but how much do they affect, for instance, our grief’? They have NEVER given up hope: still don’t give up hope. Just last year, in September, I was introduced to a wonderful lady, Alejandrina, who lives in Ecatepec, a suburb of Mexico City. Alejandrina had cancer everywhere – blood, bones, spine, stomach, liver – you name it. When I met her, she’d been allowed, by her hospital, to go home, so that she could die with her family around her. The medics said she had, at most, 2-3 days to live. To say she didn’t look well would be an understatement… I heard  nothing more until February this year, when I was invited to a barbecue at the home of some friends in another part of Mexico City. I had no idea what – or who – I was about to see. I greeted various people as I headed towards the smell of steaks, chicken, and chorizo (!!) – and, standing by the barbecue, was – Alejandrina. 5-6 months AFTER she had 2-3 days to live.

Jesus was too late for Lazarus’ healing. But it wasn’t a problem for him, even if it was for everyone else. So 2-3 days to live certainly isn’t an issue for Jesus, and you can see that Alejandrina isn’t a corpse, she doesn’t even look as though she MIGHT have been one. She was totally healed.

That’s why David and Gail haven’t given up hope, and grief doesn’t have to be the end, it can be the beginning of hope. I had the privilege of staying in their lovely home with them just a few months back, and have had the honour of praying for David a number of times. We all WANT the instant miracle, if we’re honest, don’t we. I know where David is concerned, I did. But in grief, and DESPITE prognoses, they – and I – have hope. They are a couple who constantly encourage you, love you, bless you.

You can buy David’s wonderful book here:       http://www.grieftohope.co.uk/

Again, as someone who ‘gives people hope’, I’d encourage you, if you’re struggling with long term illness, or staring death in the face, to ask for God’s HOPE to fill you… I’m looking forward, one day soon, to hearing David’s testimony….and that glass of wine will be raised to Jesus as a toast of thanksgiving for his hope. Please pray for David and Gail, even if you don’t know them, and buy the book. Someone you know will have their life changed by it.

In less that a couple of months’ time, I’ll have been ‘in ministry’ full time – whatever that word ministry means – for 36 years. Right at the outset, when the ‘call’ came from God, money – for me – was a big factor – as I’d quit a job in banking to go full-time. For the next few years, I had a ‘notional’ salary, working for Youth for Christ: but I only got that notional salary if I’d raised the money through churches and individual support for our work. Then the big ‘crunch’ came – at the end of 1983, with the very clear word from God to go for some Bible/ministry training, which involved selling the house to pay the fees with the equity. As an ex-banker, that was tough, and I wanted to know from God where the next home after the training, was going to come from.

There are not too many times when I can say that I’ve heard God speak audibly: this time was one of them, and loud, too! ‘Trust me for your home, security, and income’. You might think it’s easy to jump off the cliff with something so clear and direct as that. I think it would be easier for me NOW: it wasn’t then. But it happened. Finished the time at Roffey Place Ministry Training Centre…but a couple of months prior to the end, I’d realised that God was struggling to get the ‘trust me for your home’ bit together, as I really needed to know – then – where ‘home’ would be. So often I get in God’s way, trying to help him out. And, as a result, ended up homeless for a while, until God had ‘persuaded’ me to realise that I didn’t actually NEED to know until the course was over, and the college accommodation ceased to be available. Then began the marvel of the next 30 years, with God providing – through wonderful Christians – homes, or the money to pay rent.

In these 36 years, there have often been times of immense blessing, ALWAYS in the ministry side, and often from a personal perspective: but there have been, too, a good number of ‘wilderness’ experiences: times of great testing, especially where money is concerned, as is often the case with people involved in ministry. I’ve never, in the 28 years I’ve been travelling, almost literally from one side of the world to the other, and from (almost!) top to (almost!) bottom, had a shortage of invitations to preach/teach/pray/encourage. Wonderfully, too, I’ve never had to ASK for invitations, they’ve always come on the basis of relationship, word of mouth, and through a variety of means.  The testing times are never easy: but always beneficial – normally with hindsight! – as I look back and see what God has done IN me as well as what he does through me. The IN me bit is far more important in God’s eyes than the through me bit.

Just recently, I was corresponding with a friend, Simon Guillebaud, who some (most?) of you will have heard of: he and Lizzie, and their kids, have been living in Burundi for many years, as missionaries. I told Simon what was happening, and I described it as a ‘Faith MOT’. For those outside of the United Kingdom, the MOT (Ministry of Transport) test is a compulsory annual test of your car if it’s over 3 years old. It’s pretty stringent, and the smallest detail can ‘fail’ it, after which it is theoretically illegal on the roads! I feel that God is walking me through a Faith MOT right now. It’s tough, especially when it occurs whilst away on a ministry trip (I’m in Romania until 18th November, and back here again next month). Last week, I had to try and make GB£0.40 (yep, 40 pence: 45 eurocents, US$0.55 cents) last for 3 days. If I was Bear Grylls, doubtless I could have done it, eating caterpillars, slugs, etc! Unfortunately, I neither have his good looks ad physique, nor his cast iron stomach!

One of the things I hate most, in ministry is sharing needs. Truth is, it is Biblical to share needs, but it’s flipping difficult to when the need arises. I am happy to try and raise funds for projects and people in the places I go to – if you regularly read my blog you’ll know, for example, Ana Beiba, in Cali, Colombia. Over the years, God has blessed countless people in many nations through the generosity of people who know me. This particular wilderness has been tough: tougher than I’ve ever known, to be honest: maybe, as you get ‘older’ in the ministry, the test gets tougher, like an older car going through the MOT! So far, I think I’ve managed to ‘hold on’ – and I’m just praying that I’m nearer the end of the MOT than the beginning of it…

This was sparked in me today when I read a great quote from Danny Silk, one of the amazing preachers to come from Bethel Church, Redding, California. This is it:

I’m so very grateful for the dear friends who have responded to cries for help. Truth is, the cry is still there. I’m involved in a fair bit of ministry here in Romania, and it is as expensive (for Brits) to live here as it is back home. I don’t honestly know how Romanians manage, as the average monthly salary is around £160, 200 euros, $225.

One of the reasons it’s tough to ask, is that, many times over the years, people have said such helpful things as ‘So you’re  living by faith and hints now, then’ or ‘So you’re not trusting God anymore, then’… Acts 2:42-47 is the answer to comments like those, but it does make you NOT want to share needs if you even think you’re going to get a response like that.

The purpose of this post is to say: if you have people around you in need, please – help them. If you have missionaries – please, bless them. If you have old people struggling to keep warm – help them. And if you’re reading this, and love what I write/what I do/stories I tell, and you can help me, then I’d be eternally grateful.

What I don’t want is for the wilderness to win. It’s an abrasive place, especially, as I’ve said, when you’re away, in a place where you need to help people rather than look to them to help you. I’ve never charged – because God said not to – for any ministry in these 36 years, as I believe the God News and the gifts of the Spirit are to be given away freely – freely you have received, freely give. In this abrasive place, it is easy for ‘cracks’ to appear. I haven’t cracked – at least, I don’t think I have! – yet: but the thought has gone through my mind, ‘Is this the end?’ of my itinerant days. The confirmation from people who have been in touch with me say it isn’t: thank you for those words, because I don’t feel it’s the end, either. In fact, my hospitalisation 2-3 months back seemed to me to be a release into a whole new lease of life, as I shouldn’t have lived, according to consultants.

Please, not for myself, but for people around you, look and see if they’re in need, and help them. Someone said to me a while back, that if everyone on my mailing list, or friends list on Facebook, gave £1 a month, it would be revolutionary. It certainly would! If you CAN help me, then – thank you, I’ll be so very grateful.