Was it just a daydream?

January 14, 2025

I was sitting in the living room at Mandy's place where the house church I belonged to was meeting. One of the elders was speaking on some topic. I was bored, so my mind began to wander and I had the following daydream:

I needed to talk with my father about something, so I went to the castle where my father was the king. I walked across the drawbridge under the portcullis hanging above the gate and into the courtyard. Two guards in armor were standing by the castle entrance, and they ignored me as I reached to open the door and enter the castle. I walked down the hallway where other guards were silently standing at attention on either side of the hall. I approached the door to the king's chamber and looked up at the guards standing silently on either side of the doorway. I slowly opened the door and looked into the room.

The king was hunched over his table together with his counsellors. They were discussing important matters while examining some papers on the table. Realizing the king was too busy that I should interrupt him for such an unimportant matter as mine was, I turned around and left the room, quietly closing the door behind me.

With my head hanging and feeling sad, I walked slowly back down the passageway and out through the castle door. I walked across the courtyard, under the portcullis, and onto the drawbridge. But just as I was about to step off the drawbridge, I remembered something:

Wait a minute — he's my FATHER!!!

I quickly turned around and ran back through the gate into the courtyard. The guards saluted me as I approached and opened the castle door for me. I ran down the hallway and the guards on either side briskly saluted as I ran past. And when I reached the door to the king's chamber, the guards standing there opened it and waved me in to enter. I ran into the room where my father the king was busy conferring with his counsellors, and I shouted "Dad! Dad!!"

The king immediately straightened up and looked straight at me. Then he brusquely waved away his counsellors and told them to leave the room. Pushing his papers aside, he lifted me onto his table and putting his arm around me, said, "Son, what's wrong?"

I can't help wanting to cry whenever I remember this daydream. I'm crying right now in fact, even though this happened many years ago when I was a young man who had only been a Christian a few years. It was my first powerful experience of the fatherhood of God, and the effect it had on the others in our house church — I think someone had asked me what I thought about the topic being discussed, and when I didn't respond they realized my attention had been elsewhere — but when I told the group what I had been just been daydreaming, the effect on them was electric: "Whoooaaahhh!" most of them said, leaning back on their sofas in amazement.

That felt nice.

At the end of our house church service, one of the elders asked if I would like to bring the message the following Sunday. I said yes, and I spent that whole week trying to think up more parables (made-up stories that taught a lesson) I could share with the group. Well, the following Sunday finally arrived, and the church members looked on with smiling expectation as I began sharing my parables...

They were hugely disappointed. My thought-up parables were contrived and lame, and I felt more and more embarrassed as I shared them under the increasing frowns of the listeners. Needless to say, no one thanked me at the end of my sermon.

That didn't feel nice.

Some thoughts and analysis

Clearly my experience had been more than just a daydream: it was a revelation of the Father's love. One might expect that such a revelation would have had a deep and lasting effect on my understanding of the Fatherhood of God and my relationship with Him.

It didn't. I was still the same insecure young man afterwards: passive, unassertive, lacking in confidence, full of self-doubt and plagued with anxiety. My revelation didn't "take" in my innermost being and had zero impact on my spiritual growth as a young Christian. Why?

Perhaps it was because I already understood that God was my Father and that He loved me, for I knew I had eternal life because of what Jesus had done for me on the cross. So my daydream didn't really tell me anything that I didn't already know.

But I think the real reason my daydream had so little impact on me was because of my relationship with my earthly father. I loved my dad, and I know he loved me too; he proved that in so many ways when I was growing up. But my dad had his own struggles with insecurity that affected his behavior towards me and which left me feeling uncertain about his love for me. For example, dad could be demonstrative in showing affection by giving me hugs and expressing admiration for my achievements. But he could also be sharp and cutting with his words, calling me a jerk when I did something stupid or withdrawing in coldness whenever I rejected his advice. Because of these mixed messages I received from him, I found it difficult to approach my father whenever I needed something, fearing he might reject my request. But whenever I did ask him for something, he almost always gave it to me.

I think this confusion I experienced regarding my earthly father's feelings towards me probably carried over into my relationship with my new Father when I became a Christian. The first part of my daydream seems to confirm this, while the dream's ending shows my Heavenly Father's true feelings towards me. But just as my dad's demonstrations of affection could be negated by a single expression of his criticism, my assurance of God's love towards me was similarly precariously balanced at this point in my Christian life. After all, what if I don't live up to my Heavenly Father's expectations? Will He still love me? And yes, I was aware that Romans 8 says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. But what if I sometimes still walked according to the flesh instead of according to the Spirit? Was I truly in Christ if I struggled so often with sin in my life?

These kinds of arguments raged through my mind in the early years of my Christian life. Truth is, even though I had become a convinced Evangelical by that point, all the sound doctrine I had learned didn't really help me very much — and this despite having read all six volumes of Martin Lloyd-Jones's commentary on Romans and memorized much of the first eight chapters of Romans in the original Greek!

In a future post I'll explore this question of why experiences of God's love don't always help help us grow spiritually. But for now, let me just conclude with one final, and I think very important, observation concerning my house church daydream/revelation. I believe that the most fundamental reason why this particular revelation had so little impact upon me personally is because it wasn't actually intended for me: it was intended for the others who attended that house church meeting. My daydream was a gift from the Holy Spirit, and such gifts are given for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7) not to bring the person who delivers the gift high regard from others or boost their self-esteem. But none of us in our house church understood this as we were all die-hard Evangelicals: good, solid Christians, but limited in some ways by our cessationist theology. So when I shared my daydream with them, the elders reacted by thinking I must be a gifted teacher and invited me to bring the message next time. And since among Evangelicals being a gifted preacher is often viewed as the sina qua non of being a committed Christian, I readily assented to their invitation — and was then deeply hurt by their reaction on the following Sunday.

Fortunately I now have a better understanding of what the Christian life is supposed to be like, some of which Ingrid and I have tried to describe in our free book Simple Kingdom: Discipleship. But I'm telling you, it's been a long, hard journey, and I'm looking forward to reaching the finish line. Because then there won't be any more questions —I'll see Him face to face.

Take care, and be filled to overflowing with the Father's love.

—Mitch

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Making it easier to read

March 4, 2026

I've broken up the online version of our book Simple Kingdom: Discipleship into separate pages for each chapter. That way you can use the book's table of contents to jump directly to the particular chapter you want to read instead of scrolling, scrolling, scrolling until you find it. Much easier to read now instead of having the entire book on a single page. I'll also do this with our other two Simple Kingdom books when I have some time. --Mitch

The storms of life

March 3, 2026

Is your house built upon a rock or has it been built on sand? In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus tells the following parable: "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV) What we often miss when we read this parable is that the storms of life can affect all of us. Both those who follow Christ and those who follow the spirit of this present age are subject to sudden and unexpected happenings that can shake the stability of our earthly existence. The difference though is that when your life is grounded on following Jesus, the storms of life may shake your existence but it won't all come crashing down like it does for so many people around you. Look at all the precious promises our heavenly Father has given us as his children: The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all. (Psalm 34:19 NIV) The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. (Psalm 37:23-24 NIV) Ingrid likes these promises which from Psalm 91:14-16. The translation here is from the Jerusalem Bible: I rescue all who cling to me, I protect whoever knows my name, I answer everyone who invokes me, I am with them when they are in trouble; I bring them safety and honour. I give them life, long and full, and show them how I can save.’ And then there's this one, which is one of my own favorites: When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2 NIV) Ingrid also adds the following words taken from an old hymn which perfectly sums everything up: On Christ, the solid rock, I stand; All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand. Both Ingrid and I can testify that God is faithful, that he always does what he promises in Scripture. So if you know God, you can always trust him completely. And if you don't know God yet, you can still meet Him through his son Jesus. Read my testimony to find out how you too can enter into a personal relationship with the living God. Blessings in Christ, ---Mitch

New book: Finish Life Like One of the Twelve

February 19, 2026

In his book Finish Life Like One of the Twelve (WestBow Press, 2025) Richard Morton asks, Where are the seniors? Why are they sitting in pews instead of being involved in active ministry? He blames the American Dream for this, the idea that after working hard all your life you've earned the right to sit back and enjoy life in comfort and ease. No more commitments, just play golf, travel, and throw away your alarm clock. Rick argues convincingly that this is not what the Christian Life is all about. That every believer, not just pastors and missionaries, are called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus right until they go to heaven. Rick frames his argument on the message of the Kingdom of God, which was the central teaching of Jesus and his disciples. He argues convincingly from Scripture that Christians today — all Christians — are called, equipped, commissioned and sent to do the same things that Jesus did: to heal the sick, cast out demons, and proclaim God's kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit. And he frames this not as a heavy burden but an exciting opportunity that believers who are seniors and retired can easily enter into. Rick also shares stories from his own life and the life of his wife Sharon to illustrate how God can use us to advance his kingdom. As a senior himself — he turned 70 as he was writing his book — Rick provides practical, actionable steps for entering into the ministry of Jesus, and into what he calls Radical Retirement — finishing the final years of your life like you are one of the Twelve. Ingrid and I feel every Christian who is a senior and retired should read this book. Some will be challenged by it, and a few may even be offended. Many however will be inspired to dive back in and start following Jesus again with renewed vigor and passion. A great way to make use of Rick's book in your church might be for a group of seniors to meet together once a week and work through it one chapter at a time. You can buy Rick's book on Amazon .

Healing Story: Pneumonia

February 11, 2026

One of the great things Ingrid and I learned during the early days of the Vineyard is that you could ask people to pray for your healing whenever you got sick. And more often than not, you got healed. But you can also learn to pray effectively for your own healing, as the following story demonstrates. Recently I had been experiencing a sharp pain in my upper right chest whenever I tried to breathe very deep. This had been going on for several weeks, but not being a very mindful person I tended to ignore it. I also thought it might have something to do with the upper-body weightlifting I was doing. Perhaps it was only a muscle strain from trying to lift too much. Or maybe my heart is feeling stressed from lifting weights that are too heavy for someone my age (71) so maybe I should just dial down a bit. Which I did, but the pain didn't go away. And it couldn't be my heart, could it, since that's on the left side of my chest, not my right. So maybe it’s just a muscle strain, and those are no big deal and if left alone usually heal by themselves after a few weeks. Anyways, those were my thoughts as I continued to try to ignore my condition. But after about another week had passed, I finally decided one morning to pray for my condition. I placed my left hand on my upper right chest where the pain was located and asked the Holy Spirit to come and release God's healing power on my condition. At that moment several things happened. First, I suddenly recalled that I had experienced similar pains in my life several times in the past, and they had all been associated with having pneumonia, medically verified by a physician. "Of course!" I thought to myself, "I've just got a touch of pneumonia. How silly of me not to have recognized it!" But then I remembered that pneumonia if it is allowed to persist can permanently damage lung tissue, so it shouldn't be taken lightly. The next thing that immediately came to mind was that the pneumonia I was experiencing might have been caused, or at least aggravated, by certain lifestyle choices I had made lately. Nothing sinful, mind you—just stupid behaviors. So I resolved to try and change those behaviors if possible. But that still left the problem of experiencing sharp pain whenever I tried to breathe deeply. Then another thought struck me. In Hebrew as well as Greek, the word that means "breath" can also mean "spirit." So could my breathing problem be caused by a spirit? This idea hit me with the force of a revelation (i.e. with a feeling of certainty) so I thought it was probably a word of knowledge. Which meant that I needed to do something in response to receiving it. So placing my hand again on my right upper chest, I rebuked the spirit of pneumonia by saying "Spirit of pneumonia, I break your power over my body and command you to leave right now!" Then I took a very deep breath. And the sharp pain was no longer there. But I still felt a kind of dull ache in my right chest when I tried breathing deeply, so having driven off the demon that had been trying to get his claws into me — figuratively speaking, but literally true in ways our natural mind can't understand — I spent several minutes laying my hand on my chest and asking God to release his healing power to heal any inflammation in my lung tissue and damage my lungs may have experienced. After praying like this awhile, I tried breathing deeply and still felt the same dull ache. But fortunately no more sharp pain. So I resolved to keep praying like this for myself every couple of hours, hoping that through "soaking prayer" my remaining condition would progressively be healed. I did this three or four times that day, and then I forgot about it. The next morning I took a deep breath. No ache, no pain. And as of a week later my condition is still completely healed. What can we learn from this story? As John Wimber tells us in his book Power Healing , sicknesses often have several different contributing factors involved in causing them. These may include organic (functional) breakdowns of physical health, like wounds causing damaged tissue or through invasive viruses or bacteria; environmental factors like poisonous substances; social factors like relationship problems with others resulting in unforgiveness and hardness of heart; and various levels of demonic activity. Effective healing often involves determining which of these is the root cause (i.e. the most important or fundamental contributing factor) and dealing with that first. The root cause of a condition can sometimes be determined by careful listening to what the person you are praying for says, but more often it involves receiving a word of knowledge (a direct revelation from the Lord) as to what is causing the problem. In my case, the Lord used the word play of breath-equals-spirit to show me that I had to deal with the demonic element first before my condition could receive further healing. But if the Greek/Hebrew word for breath can also mean spirit, does this mean that pneumonia is always caused by an evil spirit? No, but sometimes it can be. And in this case, I think it was, based on the outcome of the way I ministered to my condition. Hope you find this helpful. And if you haven't read Wimber's book yet, I urge you to buy it and read it . Cheers, Mitch

Fixes to worship book

January 29, 2026

There has been a formatting problem with the online version of our book Simple Kingdom: Worship where if you clicked on a link to a footnote it would take you to that footnote, but clicking the back button on your browser wouldn't return you to the place where you had been reading in the book. This has now been fixed by embedding the footnotes directly into the text of the book. An alternative and probably better fix would have been to make the footnotes popups, but unfortunately the web hosting company we use for our site charges extra for that particular feature, and we're cheap ;-) BTW if you are (or want to be) a worship leader or write worship songs, we encourage you to read our book as it steps you through the whole process of crafting different types of songs, putting together worship sets, and practical tips on leading worship in church and/or home fellowship settings. And if you know anyone who is a worship leader or songwriter, please let them know about our book by using the sharing icons at the bottom of this webpage. Thanks!

Outline done, ready to start writing

January 27, 2026

We've finished the outline for our next book Simple Kingdom: Word and Spirit and are ready to begin writing it. I'll be posting draft chapters here on our website so those of you who are interested can read them as we finish them.

How to find God

January 18, 2026

If reading my testimony has resonated in your heart and you want to know more about how one can enter into a personal relationship with God, this article which I've just uploaded to our Resources section can help show you the way. And for those of you trying to bring others into God's kingdom, feel free to use the article as a guide for explaining the gospel message to them. --Mitch

Personal testimony updated

January 10, 2026

I've revised a few things in my personal testimony with some clarifications and additions. You can check it out here .

Remember the poor

December 23, 2025

Times are difficult for the average person here in Canada. One indication of this Ingrid and I have noticed as we drive around is the number of cars we see that have a non-working headlight or brakelight. It seems people are trying to reduce their spending by not getting their cars serviced. This is not a good idea -- cars need to be maintained properly, and driving without working lights endangers both yourself and others. But with stubbornly high food inflation, rising housing and insurance costs, and wages not keeping pace, people are having to make hard choices about where they should allocate their money. Times are even harder for the poor in our society. While their are many kinds of poverty, and many reasons people may be poor, the ones the Lord has especially laid on our hearts are the poor elderly that live among us. For example, yesterday we did our weekly grocery shopping. Our first stop was Safeway, a chain of grocery stores here in Canada. As I walked around to get some items we needed, I quickly noticed some elderly people who looked like they were struggling to make ends meet. The old man who bought only a single litre of milk. The sad-looking elderly couple who slowly pushed their shopping cart through each and every aisle looking at items but not putting anything in their cart. I also noticed that the store had far more comfort food (chips, popcorn, candy, chocolate) on display than it had fresh fruit and vegetables in the produce section. That's another sign of how times are hard for people, prioritizing snacks that have low nutritional value (and high profit margins for the store) over healthy but expensive fresh foodstuffs. While the official rate of inflation here in Canada has now declined to just over 2 percent, the reality is that the cost of basic necessities (food, clothing, transportation and housing) for many people has risen by a huge amount over the last few years. This has impacted elderly people living on a fixed income, especially those who depend mostly upon the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) since those government payments have not increased nearly as much as the cost of living. It's an old story, isn't it, of governments and news media making misleading statements and promises about the real state of the economy. For example, our Prime Minister here in Canada during the 1970s, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was a popular and charismatic figure during a time of revolutionary idealism. But in a news clipping from the 1970 Christmas Eve edition of the Winnipeg Tribune newspaper, Prime Minister Trudeau was quoted as saying that "Inflation no longer exists in Canada" and was reported to have also said that "the fight against inflation has been won" and "the government's anti-inflation performance was unequalled in any country in the Western world."

More equipping resources

December 14, 2025

A friend recently asked if I had any advice on how to equip members of his church to pray more effectively for the sick. I responded by sharing with him some materials I had developed for this purpose many years ago when Ingrid and I were Ministry Team Coordinators at a Vineyard church. We had used these materials to conduct a series of workshops for members of our church and for visitors from other churches. You can download a PDF of our Ministry Team Training materials from the new Resources page on our website, and if you find it useful feel free to share it with others. Cheers, Mitch