My journey was life-changing. I know that for many Christians we no longer perform pilgrimmages as part of our worship of the one true and living God. Many might not classify this trip I took as an actual pilgrimmage since it wasn’t to somewhere like the Vatican City or to Jerusalem (al-Quds). But, if you consider the motivation, the place chosen, and what took place, there is nothing else close to describe what happened.

1. Motivation: I was looking for an opportunity to experience God and worship Him.

2. The Place: Bethel Church in Redding has been experiencing a rather special outpouring of God’s presence. Yes I did have a small amount of “skeptical openness”, but this quickly changed as I saw God at work firsthand.

3. What Happened: I saw a number of healings and miracles take place that cannot be currently scientifically explained. I saw a man who could not bend at the waist because he had metal rods in his back receive healing which allowed him to fully bend at the waist and touch his toes. I saw a woman who came in with an oxygen tank and who could hardly breathe freely lay down her tank and then run up and down about 20 flights of stairs completely healed. I also saw a woman whose right leg was significantly shorter than her left grow out right before my eyes the closest thing I can compare it to would be if you were to apply even pressure to a tube of toothpaste and watch it come out evenly. What I saw was not humanly possible without the presence of God changing and healing people.

On Saturday I went to the healing room they have at the church. As soon as I walked in there was this “heavy” feeling in the room–not heavy in the sense that something bad happened, but rather heavy in the sense that God’s glory was weighing down in the room (that’s the closest thing I can describe it to). This happened again on Sunday (day seven).

At one point during my time there the weight was so heavy I couldn’t stand up. As I was laying on the ground someone else prayed for me and said to me that God told them that He wanted me to enter the current of the river, to trust Him and not be afraid. As he said this I began to weep because there was no way that the man who was praying for me could know that that was the image I have been carrying for the last three or so years. I saw myself along a river bank holding on to the side not wanting to let the current take me, but knowing that’s what God wants me to do–let go! So, I knew that God had to be speaking to this man because only God knew of this picture of my life. Wow! Amazing.

So now I am journeying home, changed forever. I realize now how much a naturalistic worldview has influenced my expression of faith.

Although I believe in miracles that took place in the holy Bible, I don’t think I believed that they still take place today, nor that God would pour out His presence so strongly that I wouldn’t even be able to stand! But, after this trip I can think of no other explanation to describe what I have seen and experienced. God really is as good as the holy books say that He is. He is real, He is present, He is active, and He wants people to encounter Him and know personally not just intellectually how much He loves us all. The toughest thing is to receive this, it’s almost unbelievable that the Creator of the universe would be mindful of us. Wow!

Yesterday much of the teaching was on the topic of deliverance. I know this is a problem I have seen both in the Christian and Muslim World. I do not know how Muslims have dealt with this problem, but I do know how Christians have responded in history. Much of this response can be found in the Bible.

When prophet Jesus (as) was on the earth he imparted to his disciples the authority God had first given him. God gave Jesus authority to cast out demons and this same authority Jesus then transferred to the disciples (hawariyun). Most Christians today believe that we also have been given this authority. It must also be stressed that once a demon is cast out there then remains a vacancy in that person’s life which if it is not filled up with God’s Spirit will in fact continue to be available and accessible to future evil spirits. It therefore is very important for the person doing the exhorcism to be filled with God’s Spirit and to have the faith to lead that person to repentance from whatever gave the access to the evil spirits as well as to lead that person to true faith in God. Once there is faith this person can receive God’s Spirit into their life and find new hope and power to overcome any bad habits they used to have as well as the ability to impart this hope to others.

I am curious to learn more about this from the Islamic perspective.

Then, last night there was an opportunity to pray for those with terminal illness. A woman stood up directly in front of me. I reached out (as did others) somewhat tentatively at first, but as my hand touched her shoulder I felt this immense power flow through me and after about ten minutes I sensed God had healed her. It was very emotional, it was way beyond my realm of experience and understanding, but I do believe she was healed. Although we won’t know for sure till she gets a doctor’s report, she did testify that she felt like she had been healed…Wow!

It was a great reminder to me last night that as God moves in our lives, we are not to keep this to ourselves but instead we are to share this with others. The picture I have is of a fountain that is continually being replenished with water from a natural spring or river. There would be a stagnation if this fountain was just regurgitating old and dirty water. It’s the same idea with our relationship with God. He offers us Himself continually but sometimes we try and replace him with our own rules and traditions. Secondly, we can think this is only for us, our family or community but miss that whatever God gives is meant to be given to others. This keeps things flowing!

Enough for now, today is the last day of the conference. More to come.

Also, here’s a short film clip that I shot with my iPhone, sorry for the bad quality.

Yesterday I was struck with a very convicting thought…if I believe in my mind that God continues to heal today through His followers, but if I don’t myself extend my hands in faith that God will heal others, then I really don’t believe.
The onus is on God’s followers to step out in faith and extend their hands to the sick–believing by faith that God is going to heal others through our faith.

Amazing!

Convicting!

What next?

One last thought…the God we serve is a God of adventure! The greatest of all adventures is a life of faith in Him, in His promises, in operating in the Spirit He bestows on His followers. All of my most amazing stories regarding this come from either my childhood or early adulthood. Where did I get off the path and start traversing in a different direction? I believe it was when I became comfortable with where I’m at and rather immovable in God’s continuing adventure.
So, I enter this fourth day with a recommittment to this life-encompassing adventure.

Today we arrived at Bethel safely, alhamdullilah! Today’s conference covered the history of Christianity and the reasons why healing had been forgotten or neglected in true expression of Biblical faith–especially since there are so many references to it in the Bible.

The second lesson covered the Bible’s teachings on the Kingdom or rule of God (similar to the Islamic teachings regarding Deen of Allah (swt)) and how God’s Kingdom consists of miracles, healing, and the deliverance from evil spirits (jinn).

Tonight we attended a healing service, and I saw and heard a number of people who got healed by God’s power alone. One woman came down from the audience with a canister of oxygen. She got up to the stage and shared how during the service she felt this burning in her lungs, then realized she could breath freely again. She shared how she for the last year has had quite a number of cysts in her lungs which have prevented her from breathing properly. Well, tonight, she felt this heat in her lungs and then felt like God had freed her. So, all of the sudden, she drops the oxygen canister, puts it on stage, and then starts running, she runs up 20 flights of stairs and then back down again to show that God really has healed her! It was an amazing night.

One of the things taught tonight is that when prophet Jesus (as) went anywhere, he always healed people (by God’s leave). As he taught about the Gospel and called people to repentance, he always healed the sick and cast out evil spirits (jinn). Secondly, it was also taught that Jesus’ disciples (hawariyun) as well as those who follow the teachings of the Gospel (Injeel) are to continue in this ministry of healing and proclaiming. Healing is actually suppose to be an ordinary part of the message of the Gospel. Ouch! This part was rather convicting for me since I don’t really operate in such faith, but also encouraged me to see that God is real, He does continue to heal, and that we who follow Him can step out in faith, and pray that the sick would be healed.

During the time of worship God brought my children to mind. Often when I return home from somewhere, my wife will call out to the kids, “Daddy’s home!” Immediately the kids will come running and it just floors me every time, the smiles, the look of anticipation of seeing their daddy, just the immense love and connection between father and children. It really is a window into how God wants us to respond to Him. Jesus (as) taught that we ought to come to God as children. It hit me tonight that this is what He meant. My children have no hesitation, no fear in coming to me to be held, to be loved, to be cleaned up and bandaged when they get hurt, or often to be fed too! God reminded me tonight that that is what He wants from me.

Anyhow, good stuff for tonight, some of it well outside my usual frame of reference, but I just want to open during this pilgrimmage to all that God wants to say and do.

Today I begin my journey up to Redding, CA to attend a four day conference on healing at Bethel Church.

As I reflected on the significance of this trip I realized that in many ways this is a pilgrimmage for me. I am going not just to learn more about healing and intercession in Jesus’ (as) name, but also to experience the living God and to receive from Him whatever He wants to give.

I also thought about my Muslim friends and many of their pilgrimmage experiences. I know as I have listened I felt a certain void in my own faith–why haven’t I ever gone on pilgrimmage? And even if I wanted to, where would I go? What would I do? How would I prepare?

So, I plan to blog about my experience: what I see and hear and feel…and let’s just see where this leads.

As I was driving up the 5 freeway, passing lots of farmland, cows, and truckers, it hit me just how far I really do feel from God. How often I fill up the moments with trivial thoughts, mindless entertainment, and other distractions. How can I get back to some of those earlier times of closeness that I have felt towards God? Another question that has been eating at me is what part do I play in experiencing God and Him changing me into a better person and what part does He play?

I think I grew up thinking I had to read the Bible more, pray more, or stop doing this or that and then I would feel better…at least temporarily. But now I wonder, maybe God does a lot more than I initially realized. Maybe in fact He does all of it! I’m now wondering if in fact the moment I actually give up trying to be good on my own and admit I can’t do it, possibly then I’m closest to where God can actually do something in my life…

It also struck me that God uses the mundane, the ordinary, sometimes also the traumatic and difficulties that arise to test us, refine us, change us…these all are things I’d rather avoid. I have always had this picture of wading in the shallow water with my hands holding to the edge of the bank of a river, the current begins to take me but I resist and try to hold onto the ledge despite the fact that I sense God wants me to let go and enter into the middle of the stream where it’s over my head, where I’m fully at His mercy, and where my life is fully trusting in God’s mercy and love and nothing else. What will it take to get me there and will I survive?

I would like to make one clarification since this is an interfaith blog. According to the Bible, we are not praying to Jesus(as) to heal people, but rather we are praying in Jesus’ name. This is because Jesus(as) is with God in heaven and continues to intercede on our behalf. I hope to explore this further as the week progresses. I am also curious to learn more about what Muslims believe about intercession and what would their reaction be upon learning how Christians pray in Jesus’ name.