February 15, 2008
Dear family & friends,
Warm greetings from the sunny sandy desert of Arizona! The days are getting warmer, the sun shines from sunrise to sunset (as always) and we’re enjoying each day God is giving us.
- Please find some personal reflections from Shanie and me below. We pray God will speak to you as you read it; that He will encourage and challenge you. Thanks for your interest in our lives and situation.
- The treatment is going well. Many of you wrote back and said just reading our treatment plan made you exhausted. Thankfully, the worst part will be over next week, as the intense 30-day detoxification program will be over. Of course we will continue with the bulk of the treatment, but it will get considerably easier come Wednesday (2/20).
- Many of you have received an email from our Scottish friend Ian Campbell, who has taken the initiative to attempt to raise money for our family to go to Hawaii. I know many of you would like to go to Hawaii, too, so it’s quite hard to even talk about this dream/desire. Shanie spent her teenage years there, lived there when we met and we got married there (20 years ago this year). Many have encouraged us to focus on our dreams; to make them happen and not just talk about them, and encouraged us to prioritize quality family time and fun. Last time we were there was 14 years ago, when Elizabeth & Amanda were 4 & 3, and for years we’ve dreamt about one day going back to show all three girls the place that has so much history and sentiment to us.
- On February 20 – 24 our whole family will attend a conference in Phoenix called “Raising the dead.” I am not sure what exactly will happen at this conference, but we believe God will work with signs & wonders, and that we will see and encounter Him and His power. Several of the speakers have actually raised people from the dead, so it’s easy for me to have faith that I will be healed from cancer!
- On February 25th I will get another CT scan in Phoenix. This will tell us if our treatment program has worked (or if I’ve been healed). And that will determine how we proceed with my treatment.
- If all goes well, we will travel to Hawaii on February 26; Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I got healed at the conference, then got the scan the next day to prove it and then took off for Hawaii the next day… what a celebration that would be; and how wonderful it would be to have vacation and not have to worry about sickness and treatment.
God bless each one of you. Thanks to all who are praying for us regularly and to those who have helped us financially.
Thank you so much for being there for us (in such a tangible way) during this time of our lives.
Peter (and Shanie)
Peter’s Thoughts and Lessons
Yuma, Arizona, February 14th 2008
Dear friends,
It doesn’t make sense. The oncologist said I would be dead before the end of the year, but I feel so much hope, peace and joy. He said that my immune system had shut down, and was no longer working, but I have never felt better and healthier. He said my wind-pipe was bent so much, by the pressure of tumors in my neck, that I shouldn’t be breathing normal, but I breathe just fine. He said that the artery by my heart was being squeezed by tumors, eventually causing the blood flow to my head to be compromised and my head to swell, but my head feels just fine.
“Someone” wants to close my throat, to keep me from declaring the love & goodness of our God. “Someone” wants to squeeze the very life out of my heart, to put to a halt what God has destined for me. But I will keep living, I will keep declaring the love & goodness of God and I will live to fulfill my God-given destiny! I feel a little like Job, whom the enemy tried to destroy, in an attempt to make Job curse God. Job stood the test. He lost everything, and was tested more severely than anyone I know, but he never cursed God; he didn’t even get angry with God. In the end God blessed Job beyond imagination, and the enemy was defeated to the point of being utterly sorry that he ever tried to mess with Job.
Being a Christian doesn’t make us immune to pain and hardship, but we know an amazing God who can turn absolutely anything around for good. This week CammiAnn had to memorize a scripture at her Bible study group. Guess which one? Romans 8: 28! And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. God is so great that He turns what the enemy means to kill, steal and destroy, into something good.
In Denmark we have a saying, which translated says something like this: “Nothing is so bad that it isn’t good for something.” If we are open, we can learn valuable lessons, and grow into maturity, even through the most difficult times.
It doesn’t make sense to my human mind, but I feel a peace that passes all understanding. I am daily experiencing the truth and reality of Paul’s words in Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I do go through moments of anxiety and concern for my situation and for my wife & children, but it doesn’t last long. I quickly find peace of mind, as I press into the presence and grace of God.
I can’t imagine going through what we’re going through without God. How do people do it? He is the source of everything I need. He is my Lord & Savior, He is my provider, He is my healer, He is my comforter and He is my friend… what else can a man need? Everything I need is available to me in Jesus. I just have to seek Him, focus on Him and receive from Him on a daily basis.
One of my challenges (or tests) in this time, is the extreme life-style change we’ve had to make. I have to give up some of the many things important to me… things I thought I couldn’t live without... like coffee, or candy & chocolate, like an occasional glass of wine, a little “comfort-snack” now and then, a romantic steak dinner with my wife, or sleep (I still get too little sleep at night because of the itching), spending time on my computer or playing with my mobile phone pocket PC (because of risk of harmful radiation) and the list goes on and on. It’s hard, I don’t deny that, and after 25 days of not eating I am certainly hungry and craving something to chew on, but God is slowly teaching me to look to Him for fulfillment, and not look to artificial sources for joy, satisfaction and a “feel-good” sensation.
Everything is in His hands. My times are in His hands. When my time does come (when I’m old and gray) I want my family to be able to write the following statement on my tombstone: “He was content in all things.” More than anything I want to learn the secret of being content… despite the circumstances. (Philippians 4:12).
One of the most important lessons we’re learning as a family these days, is to re-prioritize our lives… to align our lives according to His plans and standards. Things that concerned me, and occupied my mind and time, just a short while ago, seem less important today. We’re learning that our main purpose in life is to love God and be loved by Him and secondly to prioritize family (before work and ministry.)
I can’t wait to send the oncologist a letter 11 months from now, and tell him I’m still alive… and not just alive, but that the cancer is gone and that I’m healthier than ever! Doctors are great, and I have a great deal of respect for them, but they aren’t “God’s prophets.”
Thanks so much for standing with us. We feel the effects of your prayers and support every minute of the day.
Your friend,
Peter
Shanie’s Thoughts and Lessons
Yuma, Arizona, February 14th 2008
I have been thinking a lot lately about all the things that God has been teaching me over the past few months and what He has been doing in my/our life. I am so amazed at the goodness of God. It really and truly blows my mind to think about all that He is, all that He does and His incredible commitment to ME! What an amazing God I serve. I want to put into words some of what He has been doing in my life and share it with you so that maybe it can be a source of encouragement for you too. Even as I write, things come to mind that God has done and I am nearly brought to tears for the gratitude and awe that these things inspire in me! I am afraid words will never be able to express to you what is really in my heart, but with God’s grace I will find the best expressions!
Circumcision
Last summer a word came to YWAM about entering the Promised Land. If you look at Joshua 5 you will see that the Israelites had crossed the Jordan River and were standing on the edge of their Promised Land. The Lord told them that they were about to take the land, but that first they needed to be circumcised, as none of those born in the desert had been circumcised. So, they circumcised themselves and waited until they were healed before taking the Promised Land. The word to us in YWAM was that we had crossed the Jordan and that we were on the edge of our Promised Land, but that we must first circumcise our hearts and minds of wrong attitudes and beliefs before we would be able to take the land.
Since that time Peter and I and our children have been meditating on that word and asking the Lord to show us the things in our lives that were not in line with His kingdom truths. It has been an awesome time of reflection, revelation and realigning ourselves according to heavenly standards.
Higher Truths
Something that I have begun to understand more in depth recently is the fact that there are different levels of truths in the Bible and that I need to continue to rise to higher levels of understanding what is higher truth.
Let me try to explain through a recent example: Yesterday I was talking with Amanda and she shared with me a story of something she was beginning to understand. She said that her name, Amanda Cheri, has always been very special to her because it means “worthy to be loved”. One day she got a revelation of the love of God for her and the fact that she was worthy to be loved. She shared this revelation with a friend who wrote back to her stating that, “None of us are worthy to be loved.” After that she said she began to falter in her revelation and even came to the point of not liking her name any more, because the truth was she wasn’t really worthy to be loved. She went on to say that the night before I had been praying for someone and I had spoken a word for them about the fact that they were not rejected, but that they were worthy to be loved and that they could receive that love. She said that as I spoke those words something began to stir in her and she began to realize that if it was true about him it must also be true about her. As we talked we discussed the Biblical truths about our worthiness and came to this conclusion: God created us because HE IS LOVE and wanted to have relationship with us and love us. This is true. Sin came into the world and separated us from the love of God, rendering us unworthy to be loved. This is true also. Jesus came and died for us so that we could be reconciled to God and His love, redeeming us and making us worthy of God’s love. This is also true. All of these things are true, but the highest truth is that we are worthy to be loved because Jesus overruled our unworthiness when He died and gave us the opportunity to choose God, be forgiven and come back into our place of relationship with the God who IS love and desires to pour out His love on us. Not only that, but He makes us His children which automatically makes us royalty as sons and daughters of the King of kings and gives us authority AS His sons and daughters! What an amazing truth! How sad that within the body of Christ we hang on to the lesser truth more than the higher truth. If we truly understood this truth we would live so much different, with so much more confidence in whom we are in HIM!
So much of our teaching and thinking in the church is based in lesser truths OR even in worldly truths that are not from God at all. As we have been on this quest for a renewed mind and heart God has been giving us greater revelation of His truths and it has been blowing our minds!
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Nature and Character of God
Just the other day we got an email from a woman that we don’t know, but who receives our updates through someone else. There is something that has always bothered me that we often say, but I’ve never really done anything about it. However, this woman had a word from the Lord to us that addressed this issue so completely that I had to sit down and really deal with my own belief system and TEAR IT DOWN; circumcise it from my mind.
She wrote this: Why do you say God CAN heal me? Where in my word does it say I CAN heal you? There is nowhere in My word that says I CAN heal you. My word says I HEAL. My word says Jesus healed ALL who were sick. ALL. What is this CAN? This implies that I may not want to! I HEAL!
I have always felt uneasy saying that God can heal, but now I knew I had to do away with that word. If one of God’s names is “The God Who Heals” then the highest truth has to be that He HEALS. Period. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. I have to stand on THAT truth! I have allowed the world’s way of thinking to reduce my thinking to what God “can do” and “might do” and “occasionally does”. I have reduced God to a wishy washy being who acts according to His whims and not according to WHO HE IS! I am learning that if I live by “God can heal” or “he heals some, but…” and “IF God heals” or “I’m not sure it’s His will to heal” then I am actually coming into partnership with the enemy. That’s right! To doubt who God is or what He is capable of is to partner with the enemy! Why? Because anything that is contrary to the nature and character of God is against God. Who is against God? Satan! If I doubt God who am I giving credit to? Satan. I realize that this may shock some people, but I have begun to see the reality of this truth. Who are WE to doubt the almighty God who created the universe and stretched out the stars and holds the earth in the palm of His hands?! Who do I think I AM! Am I saying that we should ignore our feelings? NO! We need to believe IN SPITE of our feelings! Stand on the truth no matter what! It is like the man whom Jesus asked “Do you believe?” and he replied, “Yes Lord, help my unbelief!” This has been my prayer on many occasions! “I BELIEVE! Help my unbelief!” I refuse to be tossed by my feelings! I want to stand on the truth of God’s word. The truth is Jesus healed ALL who came to Him! That is the truth! Jesus said “greater things than I have done, you will do.” I WILL do greater things because He said it! Do I FEEL great and powerful and capable? NO! But who cares! His word is true! IF Jesus said it, it HAS to be true or He is a liar! And one thing I do KNOW is that He is not a liar! When I stand on HIS truth, that truth becomes a reality in my life and revelation begins to take over and I come to a place of KNOWING in my inner most being the truth of that reality.
Matthew 4:24, 8:16, 12:15, 14:36, Mark 6:56, Luke 4:40, Acts 5:16 (All referenceses to ALL who were sick being healed.)
A question that many of us have is ”Why didn’t God heal my mom, dad, sister, friend?” I can totally understand that question because I have also prayed and believed for healing and not seen it happen. The truth is I don’t understand why. I do understand some principles that help me deal with those situations. The first is the principle of the seed. “Unless a seed falls to the ground and dies it won’t produce fruit.” I don’t believe that God takes a persons life prematurely. I do believe that He turns all things for good and that as we continue to believe for healing the death will not be in vain, but that it will take root and grow and that as we choose to continue to trust God and pray for healing we will see the fruit of that seed as we pray for others. I also know that Jesus is THE Redeemer. If He is THE Redeemer He HAS to redeem, because it is WHO HE IS. I believe that He will redeem EVERY situation that the enemy has meant for evil and destruction in my life. I also know that God says “Vengeance is mine.” And HE will avenge every wrongful death. I also know that as I refuse to take up a case against God and choose to continue to walk by faith and trust him and pray for the sick he WILL act and I WILL see healings take place. It has already begun as we have begun to walk that road. Not everyone we have prayed for has gotten healed, but MANY have…including one cancer case! It’s a little bit like weight lifting. When you first start you can’t lift much, but the more I lift the stronger I become and as I push against seemingly immovable obstacles pretty soon I am able to move more and more. The key is not to become offended at God for what isn’t moving, but thank Him for what is beginning to move in my life and keep pushing for the breakthrough! I know the story of a woman who decided she believed the word of God and began to pray for the deaf. She went to every deaf person she could find. The first 20 didn’t get healed, but she continued to believe and number 21 was healed, she continued to pray regardless of whether people were healed or not and today, a few years later, EVERY SINGLE deaf person she prays for is healed. We must not speak of God based on what He doesn’t do, but on what HE does do! Never take up a case against God. In so doing we are once again partnering with the enemy. If we speak against Him we are not speaking FOR Him!
God is good!
Another thing that we have learned is that God doesn’t bring bad things on our lives. He is not capable of that because HE IS GOOD. Goodness cannot produce badness. It’s not possible. If it were then He would not be good. In our Christianity today we often say that God’s ways are higher than our ways and we refer to HIM bringing bad things on our heads because of HIS higher ways! God doesn’t bring calamity upon us. The enemy brings the calamity (or we ourselves do it by our bad decisions) and yet we so often give GOD credit for what the enemy has done. Are Gods ways higher than our ways? Absolutely! But what does God say about bad things in our lives? He says He will take what the ENEMY meant for evil and turn it to good. He says that He will walk through the valley of the shadow of death WITH us. He says that He is an ever present HELP in times of trouble. Often we cry out for God to do something in a specific way, but He chooses to answer us in a different way. His ways are higher than our ways. We live in a fallen world. We are in a battle, even though we have already won the war, but Jesus said to pray that HIS kingdom would come and HIS will would be done on earth AS IT IS in Heaven. So even though bad things happen we can pray heaven into those situations and overrule them! This is the higher truth!
Isaiah 55:8-10 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
The Life of Job and Other Lessons
Just last night Peter and I were talking with our girls about the life of Job and how it wasn’t God who brought all that trouble on Job. The enemy wanted to prove God wrong about Job. But Job refused to curse God. Job KNEW the God He served and He refused to turn on the ONE, TRUE, GOOD, FAITHFUL God. Job did NOT understand why he was going through what he was going through. Have you read God’s response in Job recently? I would encourage you to do it if you haven’t! It’s awesome! Who do we think we are?! It puts everything into perspective. The awesomeness of God! Who can know it?!
Last fall, while we were in Europe, we spent a large part of our time speaking about the goodness of God and what it means to consider it all joy when we go through trials. We are not surprised that the enemy would want to test us in this! But we laugh in his face because in and through it all we are finding GOD’S words to be the HIGHER truth! Are we suffering? Yes! It’s true. But just as God said that He would be an ever present help in times of trouble, He is proving Himself faithful! The HIGHER truth! Are we aware of the fact that the doctor has given Peter a year or less to live and that we are facing a death sentence? ABSOLUTELY! And we thank God that the doctor is NOT God! And just as the 23rd Psalm says, He is walking WITH us through the valley of the shadow of death! Amazingly, just as the Psalm says, we are not afraid of the evil of that place! Are we facing trials of many kinds? You bet! But what JOY there is when we face them knowing that our faith is being tested and growing and they are producing perseverance! Do you know that the JOY of the Lord IS our strength?! It is REALLY true! His joy over us is SO tangible that it fills us with joy as we receive the revelation that HE rejoices over US with singing and THAT joy is contagious! It is strengthening us day by day!
James 1:2-3 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
In these trials SO many things are being exposed in our lives and we are taking this opportunity to “clean house”! We are dealing with our attitudes towards each other and God, our beliefs about who we are and who God is, our responses to each other when we are having a bad day! It’s amazing the things that rise to the surface when the heat is turned up! Thank God! I don’t want that junk in there! It is a REFINING fire that brings about purity! Bring it on! As long as God is with us we can do anything! You know just two nights ago Peter was absolutely miserable. It was awful. He couldn’t sleep, he was itching horribly again. So we sat up, turned on the light and I took my Danish Bible and began reading and declaring God’s promises over him. I read Psalm 91, then 119 and just continued for about an hour to read. We sat there taking in the words of promise and hope and revelation began to fill our hearts and minds and suddenly we were feeling so built up, encouraged, strengthened and joy was taking over! At 3:00 in the morning! You know, Peter was still itching. It hadn’t stopped. But suddenly it wasn’t so important anymore. It wasn’t what mattered. Do I understand everything that is happening or what God is doing or thinking or planning? NO. Do I trust Him? I can’t afford not to! He is FAITHFUL! He is TRUSTWORTHY! He is GOOD! He is LOVE! How can I NOT trust Him? To NOT trust the one who created me, who loves me, who chose me, who designed a destiny that only I can fulfill…That is insanity!