The Selling Among Wolves blog

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“As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.” John 21:9

A few days ago my pastor, who is also a dear friend, invited me to spend some time on a ten acre patch of forested land they have here in Florida adjacent to their home. The idea was to get away from the 24/7 demands and stress of fighting a brain cancer that is trying to take over in my wife (but we will not have it and do not claim it as hers!) and find some solace and peace in the midst of this wearying storm.

When I met him at the fence line on his property, he walked me down the trail through the woods to a small private campground. The air was crisp and he had a fire built and burning strong in the open to warm us. There were chairs around the campfire with fresh water to quench my thirst. His daughter Jessa had lovingly prepared some food for me which was sitting in a nearby cooler. In case I preferred a warm drink, there was a thermos of hot coffee with cream and sugar if needed.

I can’t tell you how that made me feel! It brought to mind the image of Jesus lovingly preparing breakfast for the disciples after a long night of fruitless fishing on the Sea of Galilee.  He was quite prepared to leave me in my solitude, but a flood of pent up emotional energy came tumbling out of my mouth and he listened, occasionally offering up some insight from real life experience he had.

At the end of our time together, I felt like I had met with Jesus with the other disciples by the early morning campfire. A lot of cares melted off my back that day and I went home refreshed and encouraged. Sometimes we don’t need a sermon or even a Bible verse… We just need Jesus living through a friend. I am fortunate to have a number of friends like that and one is also my pastor.

Thank you also for extending to me your hand of friendship, your heart of compassion and your words of encouragement. For the most recent updates, visit www.BrendaPink.com

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

As you no doubt know by now, I find myself in the fiery trial of faith, where what I say I believe is being stress tested in real time with the highest of stakes. My wife’s life lies in the balance and she is fearless, confident and totally peaceful. You can find more details at www.BrendaPink.com.  One thing, however, that I wish to share with you is another take on this verse. Please allow me to stop at the first four words…

I have come to discover that faith in any number of things can come by hearing and that can be very dangerous. For example, when the neurosurgeon met with us to review the pathology report, faith in what he was saying started to rise, but the problem was that he was speaking words of death. He was nice about it and well intentioned. His education, demeanor and temperament conspired together to inspire faith in me, but that faith was in the outcome he was predicting and that was not good.

I found that when I immersed myself in God’s Word or in the encouraging words so many of you have sent me, that my faith grew strong in that direction. Seemed simple enough… Stop listening to the voices of gloom, despair and even of sympathy and only tune into the voices of hope and faith and love. Whatever you listen to enough of, you eventually believe. Therefore we must be wise about what or who we choose to listen to.

We must take heed to what we hear! For it is in the hearing that faith arises. What does Scripture say…? Hear O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. (Deut 6:4) There is much you can derive from that text and what immediately follows, but may I suggest you temporarily stop at the first three words… Hear O Israel! God is commanding His people to hear Him. Isn’t that what God told the disciples who were with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration? Didn’t God say, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.”

God wants us to hear what He has to say that it might go well with us. Today I silence the voices of doubt and skepticism, who know not what God has promised. I choose to hear Him and in hearing Him, faith will arise in the outcome God has in store. So remember, that faith comes by hearing, regardless of what you hear, so choose wisely what you hear because in the end, you will most likely end up believing it!

By the way, stop by www.BrendaPink.com and see a picture of a wonderful gift Zig Ziglar sent my wife this week. You just might want to get one for yourself! (It’s called, Embrace the Struggle). Have a blessed Thanksgiving my friends.

“But as one was cutting down a tree, the axe head fell into the water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was borrowed. And the man of God said, Where did it fall? And he showed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in there; and the iron did float. Therefore he said, Take it up to you. And he put out his hand, and took it.” 2 Kings 6:5-7

Our lives are the context from which we draw out the treasures that lift our souls. In so many ways our life is a river at the bottom of which there are axe heads… seemingly misplaced purpose or dreams that seems to have lost their way, but God calls them to rise… and they do. When the axe head sinks in the silt filled river, prospects for recovery are slim, but then comes hope and hope will float your boat (and your axe head!)

Three weeks ago, my gilded axe head, the wife of my dreams, the treasure of my youth, the joy of my desire was diagnosed with an incurable and hopeless condition and in that moment, my beautiful, gilded axe head flew off the handle into the swirling waters of my river.

But there was a stick… a tree if you will… And my savior hung on that tree and bore the curse. (”Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree”) And on His back He bore the stripes, wretched, cruel strips of flesh ripped from His back by which we were healed. This is true and incontrovertible!

Between the time the axe head flies off the handle only to sink into the river and the time you see it rise to the top and swim there is the most strenuous battle to endure. But my wife has never doubted, completely confident that what the Father said is true and what He promised her in the night season, she could count on… and she does.

While Brenda stands on the riverbank expecting the axe head to float to the top, I have had my moments of fear and heaviness. Too many for my liking. I wish it were not so, but I am being honest with you. As I walk down this path, I get much strength from you all who have posted so many comments on www.BrendaPink.com.  So here’s the good news, I have seen in the reflection of my wife’s eyes the axe head floating to the top. It is more a reflection of what is about to happen, but in truth, has already happened 2000 years ago. She sees it so clearly that it is visible in her eyes. Now, as the rubber meets the road, I am seeing it more clearly as well. Something big is emerging here and I can hardly wait till we draw it back from the river and fit it again to the shaft. We shall cut some timber on that day! I hope you will join us!

“Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24) “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

Which is easier to say? “By His stripes you WERE healed” (2,000 years AFTER He took those stripes) or “By His stripes we ARE healed” (700 years BEFORE He took those stripes)? Think of how strange it must have sounded in Isaiah’s day for a sick person to claim they ARE healed from some sickness because of the severe whipping and ripping of flesh on a Messiah who was not yet come.  No more strange, but equally true for a sick person to claim they WERE healed by way of that same gruesome whipping on that same Messiah who came 2000 years ago.

Most of you know that my wife was diagnosed 2 ½ weeks ago with the worst kind of cancer in the brain and given zero hope. How has she taken to this news? She is deliriously happy, overwhelmed to the point of tears with the goodness of God and telling me she wouldn’t trade places with anyone, even if she could! The work God is doing in her is so precious, as to make the whole ordeal worthwhile.

Having said that, we don’t believe for a split second that God gave her this disease or that He allowed it to teach her a lesson. Having said that, we also firmly believe God will get glory - not from the presence of the disease, but rather by her deliverance from it!  Brenda’s faith is unshakeable and it is transformational to be in her presence as His presence exudes from her.

She keeps saying “It’s done! It’s finished!” She knows that Christ paid the price for her healing and she is not about to squander that most generous offer. So, the question has been asked of me, if it’s done, why is she so physically impaired at the moment? Ahhh… there’s the great question of the day… Would that you could walk this path with us… then you would understand. Allow me to attempt to put in words what we gained not by words, but rather by impartation from God (revelation).

Whether you’re looking forward 700 years to the price being paid or looking back 2000 years to the price being paid, it makes no difference. It is received by faith.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Did you happen to notice the last few months the journey God had us on, relative to healing before we ever knew there was a problem? It was all preparation.  Brenda and I had been doing a lot of hearing and faith was rising. Now is the time of testing.  We win because He already won!

Maybe this analogy will help you. Suppose you’ve been out of the country for years. Upon returning home you see that the Super Bowl is on TV and your favorite team is playing. At the half, your team is down by 28 points. Things look grim and victory is very much a long shot for your team. Then you find out that you are actually watching a rerun from last year’s Super Bowl and during the half time, the announcer reveals that your team actually wins by a field goal in the last minute of the game. As you watch the second half of the game, wouldn’t your expectation be different? It would be pure joy to watch your team defeat the opposing team and you would have no fear about the outcome because you saw the final score and you knew your team won.

If someone came into the room to ask you how the game was going, you could easily announce, “It’s done! It’s finished! We’ve won this game!”  If they didn’t know it was a rerun, they would think you nuts or out of touch with reality, but in fact, they are the ones not in touch with reality. So it is with healing.  We have seen the replay. We know Christ took the stripes to purchase our healing 2000 years ago. It is not in doubt. We are still going to have to play out the game to enforce the victory, but we know that we know that we have won! It is a done deal! Does that help? It does me… (o-:

So while Brenda’s symptoms are not good at the moment, they will be. She will recover. The game is won! She is only enforcing the victory God has given her and she is using the game plan God has given her. That game plan, by the way, is so significant that many, many people will be helped and their lives saved as you will see in due time. More on this topic in future blogs. With sincere love and deep appreciation for all your prayers (which avail much), kind words of support and great suggestions along the way. God bless you all!

BTW - you can follow Brenda’s healing and submit prayers and encouragement directly to her through this website www.BrendaPink.com.

First of all, I want to tell you all how much your emails and postings have meant to me and Brenda! I cannot possibly respond to them as I would like to, but please know they are all read and all appreciated! One of our rainforest business coaches set up a site for Brenda at www.BrendaPink.com where we will post updates and with joy receive any comments, suggestions and prayers you may have.

I would like to bring you up to speed right now if I can. On Wednesday, we met with the neurosurgeon who performed the biopsy and now had the results of the pathology test. His eyes could barely meet mine when he delivered his report. He could only say, “I’m so sorry”.  A very nice doctor, but obviously he isn’t tapped into the same revelation of hope that Brenda is. As Brenda and I got up to leave that little examination room, our eyes met. I was looking to see the impact on her and she was looking steadfast into mine and simply said, “Jesus said, ‘It is finished’ and it’s still finished! Nothing the doctor said changes what Jesus said.” Of course, we believe that healing is in the atonement and are standing on His finished work on the cross.

Earlier I had explained that the diagnosis of glioblastoma brain cancer is often referred to as GBL. I wanted her to recognize the abbreviation if it was ever spoken to her. She quickly retorted, “They call it G-B-L, but I call it L-I-E!”  As you all know, for the last few months, we have been deeply steeped in the study of healing and God’s provision for us. Now, the enemy is testing us, but he will not prevail. In fact, he has already been defeated!

Brenda is calm and fearless. Her faith has outreached my own. She inspires me every moment of the day. I am digging deep to catch up and I believe I have now. The first few days were the worst days of my life. Considering the fact that I have buried my firstborn child and my stepson, that is really saying something.  I felt your prayers of support rising up. It was like there was a major earthquake offshore that caused a tectonic shift in the earth’s plates resulting in a giant, silent tsunami of faith and intercession carrying healing in our direction. In a matter of a few days, all grief is gone. All fear is gone. We are fighting strong and building strength every moment we draw breath. Brenda often says, “no fear lives here!”

Let me ask you a question… If you accidently ran through a plate glass window and severely cut your wrist, which of you would pray for a miraculous healing? Which of you would stop and fast for a divine healing while the blood flowed out of your wrist? Would you not as quickly as possible, make a tourniquet to stop the bleeding? Yes, you may well be simultaneously asking God for His help, as would I, but I would make every immediate attempt to stop the bleeding using whatever means I had available.

That’s what this situation is like to me. Brenda’s body is out of balance. Her immune system has been compromised for some time and we are working night and day to correct all that. In the wee hours of the morning, before the biopsy, as we lay scrunched up in the same hospital bed, Brenda told me that God had spoken to her in the night season, telling her she would live and impact many. She was to get her body in an alkaline condition immediately and take other natural steps to correct the imbalances that created the conditions that made her body vulnerable. That is the path we are on.

Many of you have emailed us health related suggestions. Not only are they greatly appreciated, but we are aggressively following through, integrating them into a specific battle plan that we believe God is giving us. In a very real sense, we are applying a natural tourniquet to this imbalance and we are doing so as we feel He is leading us. I hope you know, that she is also bathed in prayer daily, that we are standing firmly on the Word of God, and that we are making plans for our life when she is past this. We are not getting our affairs in order as the saying goes, but rather we are planning on joyously living a full and satisfied life full of good things. God will get glorified in this victory!

As we fight this battle, Brenda at this moment has very limited function with the left side of her body. I have to dress her and tend to her personal needs. Her dear brother Sonny flew here from his home in Panama and moved in with us, giving invaluable support, aid and phenomenal assistance 24/7. Sonny and I are often found in the kitchen at 2 or 3 in the morning preparing fresh juice for Brenda to strengthen her and get her alkaline up. We are doing a host of other protocols like the Budwig protocol, making sure we do not do anything to conflict with something else we are doing.

What we are learning and experiencing through this process is far too extensive to share at this time, but I will tell you that the outpouring of love and support from our church, our personal friends and so many of you, have been like sentries posted all around us, guarding our back, encouraging our heart and filling our spirits with faith, hope and love. Please keep it up. I look forward to sharing with you about faith, hope and love in upcoming posts.

With deep gratitude,

Michael

Last Monday my wife and I were up at 4:00 am, had some wonderful time with the Lord over some cappuccino and then took our usual walk around the subdivision lake before having a bite to eat and then diving into work. Other than some apparent sinus congestion and building pressure behind her eye, all was well with us and the world. That was Monday.

On Tuesday morning, while doing some exercises on her exercise ball, she lost her balance and struck her head against the dresser. It wasn’t the fall that alarmed us… It was the fact that she fell. Something was not right in our world and we went to the doctor to find out. It wasn’t the bump that concerned the doctor, but rather the accompanying symptoms and we were advised to go to the emergency room at the hospital for a CT scan. With some reluctance we went.

The attending physician got concerned and brought in a neurologist who opted for a brain scan MRI instead. We were still hoping to be out of there in time for dinner and pick up a prescription for what we thought was a sinus or inner ear infection throwing off her sense of balance. Then it came. The news there was a golf ball sized mass behind her right eye.

Brenda was admitted immediately and they proceeded to do a full body CT scan to search for cancer in other parts of her body. By the time the tests and questions were finished, it was 1:30 in the morning. We found out the next day, there was no cancer in those other places. We were turned over to a neurosurgeon for consultation on Thursday, and later introduced to an array of cancer specialists, while as yet no one had given us the diagnosis of what was in her brain, other than it was a tumor.

We scheduled a biopsy for Friday and initial reports confirmed the doctors’ worst fears. The specimen was sent off for a pathology test to confirm what they believe they already know. To complicate matters, during these same few days, my wife has lost the ability to control much of the left side of her body. Simple things have become exceedingly difficult if not altogether out of reach.

We checked out of the hospital Saturday to be able to rest at home while waiting on the pathology report. I like to think I can write reasonably well, but I cannot begin to express the anguish of heart to see my wife whom I love more than life, struggle like this while staring at a prognosis that I will not dignify by putting into print. We slept the last two nights in the same single hospital bed, like two puppies snuggled up, taking comfort in the nearness and presence of the other.

According to the physician, this would have begun in the last couple of months, roughly around the time when we began to boldly proclaim that God wants you well, that it is His will for us to live a long life and not be struck down prematurely with disease. So here we are now, staring the giant in the face, eye ball to eye ball with everything on the line.

A crisis like this has a strange way of focusing you. For me, nothing else matters but seeing my wife recover and live a full life with me. God has spoken to her in the night season while at the hospital and we are pressing into God for His help and further instruction.

Conventional treatments are not an option. The tumor is inoperable and, according to them, incurable. Well, as one dear friend told me the other day, it seemed like all the diseases Jesus healed were incurable!

No disrespect to the medical profession here, but they had nothing but apologies to offer and absolutely no hope. Orthodox treatments offer only a few months extra time and most of that is spent vomiting or just being horribly sick. Not an option for us. Our hope comes from the Lord. Only now, it’s all on the line. We can’t just talk it.

We’ve made a decision. Win or lose, it doesn’t change the fact that God’s Word is true and He can be trusted. I believe the Lord and ask Him to help my unbelief. God healed Hezekiah with a poultice, another man by bathing in a river, and countless others in various ways. We look with expectancy to see Him deliver us in our hour of great need.

As we journey on, we welcome and appreciate your support in any form. While we fight this battle, I am not taking direct calls or able to answer emails, but we covet your prayer support and are strengthened by your love and friendship.

With love and gratitude…

A crowd came after Jesus across the sea to find Him. They weren’t looking for fellowship, wisdom or even His miracles. Jesus said they had come for one reason only… provision. Having been the recipients of the miracle of the loaves and fishes, they wanted more and went to considerable effort to row and/or sail across the sea to get it. The instruction Jesus gave them applies to us today. He said, “Labor not for the food which perishes, but for that food which endures unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for on Him has God the Father set His seal.”

They were game for that idea and wanted to find out how they could get provision without working hard for it. They said, “What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?” They knew how to grow and harvest wheat. They knew how to make flour and bake bread. What they didn’t know was how to do what Jesus did. They wanted to know what they had to do so they would be able to do what He did.

This is what Jesus told them… “This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He has sent.” Did you get that? The one thing Jesus gave them to do was to believe on Him. The same is true today. But we would rather earn our way somehow by Bible reading, prayer, tithing, etc. Those are all good things, but there are no performance based metrics that Jesus is monitoring to see if He will release something you need.

Jesus has sat down at the right hand of the Father. He has done His work. He has conquered sickness and lack. There is no shortage of provision. Our work that He has given us is to believe Him, to take Him at His word. He said, all things are possible to Him that believes. I believe Him. Today, I will make that one simple thing, my work for the day… to believe Him. I will as the writer of Hebrews put it, labor to enter His rest.  How about you?

“But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ… For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father… In whom (Jesus) we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.” (Eph 2:13, 18 & 3:12)

In life, having access can be a game altering advantage. Having access to capital, to power, to influence, to medical care, etc. can make a huge difference in how your life turns out. One man has a wealthy, benevolent rich uncle who wants to help him and another man doesn’t. Having access to the resources of the world, to the positions of power and influence make more difference than just about anything I know.

So few of us have any real access to power, position or wealth that it can be discouraging. Yet God has given us access to Him, through Christ by the Spirit. Access to God! Now that trumps access to Donald Trump or his bank or access to any other name you can name. Who needs access to the president of the United States when you have access to God? We have access to the riches of glory and that trumps the local bank. Now, God may well open up access to the president or the bank vault, etc, but the access begins with HIM, not with the people He has in position.

So what do we have to do to access the access? How do we step into Hebrews 4:16 and come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace in time of need? How do we turn on the faucet of access, favor and provision? Surely there must be a list of ten things, three things, seven things or something for us to do to satisfy God’s requirements.  Surely there must be a work I do or perform to merit His helping me out.  There is one work Jesus gave us to do. That work is at once the simplest and yet most difficult work you will ever do. What do you think it is?

Important Note: As many of you know, I made myself available the last three weeks over the phone in small group calls to share with you how we can walk together in a coaching relationship using the tools and revelation God has given me. We made room for enough calls to accommodate 526 of you of which 511 spots have been taken, leaving only 15 reservations open for this week. We currently have five spots open on Tuesday at 3:00PM and Wednesday at noon or 3:00PM. Then we will be done and I will begin working closely with many of the folks who joined me on those calls. For more details, be sure to reply to Cheryl at this email to confirm your appointment. This is the last week of doing this for 2009. Blessings!

“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…
but wise men store up knowledge”
(Hosea 4:6, Proverbs 10:14)

Last night, I concluded my 30^th private small group coaching call in three weeks. I held those calls so I could meet many of you and hear your feedback on my online coaching program. The response has been moving indeed. We’ve had callers from Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas sharing their hopes and dreams and looking at the vehicle God has given us to mentor, coach, motivate and inspire you.

If you were on the call, then you were given a backstage pass to our Learning Lab where you have access to a complete Biblically based audio business library anytime day or night with nearly 40 hours of high impact success training complete with corresponding, downloadable PDF’s of PowerPoint content. You had the chance to see much of the Rainforest MBA program and see portions of 24 digital video courses filmed on locations in various rainforest regions and to realize that the principles that make the rainforest thrive are the same principles that will make your business thrive.

I showed you an impressive list of the mastermind mentors like Zig Ziglar, Henry Blackaby, Ricky Skaggs, Ken Blackwell and many others who desire to speak into your life through this medium anytime, anyplace that you have a good internet connection. You learned about the unlimited access pass that you have not only to hundreds of pages of documents, thousands of dollars of success training, but also to write me as often as you wish with any questions regarding your goals, your vision or your business and I will answer them twice a month online. To top it all off, you have full access to the spiritual development library and online business devotional by video to enrich and strengthen your walk with the Lord.

Next week, we are bringing an end to those conference calls. We only allow about 12 people to a call, so we can actually have a conversation with you at the end of the call if you so desire. We are a little over half way booked up next week, but still have some open slots available. If you want to acquire a strong spiritual footing in the marketplace with Biblical business and success training like you’ve never seen elsewhere, then next week is your last invite to come to a private, small group coaching call. Simply reply to this email and indicate your time preference for Tuesday or Wednesday at either 9am, noon or 3pm Eastern Time to secure your time slot. Please offer several options in order of preference, so you are sure to get a spot even if your first choice fills up.

These calls will NOT be recorded, so please don’t take a time slot unless you actually intend to be on the call. If for any reason you can’t keep your time slot, please email us ASAP to cancel so we may allow someone else that time. This is not business as usual. I am taking this time very seriously and investing it in you. I look forward to sharing details with you on the call.