The following is an excerpt from my book “From Heathen to Healer” available HERE It was a typical Michigan winter’s evening – gray and dreary in all respects. But it wasn’t just the weather that was gray and dreary that evening at the healing service – as my wife and another prayer minister were about to witness. My wife and a friend of ours (the aforementioned prayer minister), were at the front of the church waiting for someone to come up for prayer. They didn’t have to wait very long. A rather thin man of average height came forward. He was unremarkable to look at, but, according to my wife “you didn’t need spiritual gifts or the ability to read souls to tell that there was something amiss with him”. She said that it looked like the man was carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders, and indeed he was. Abused as a child and poorly treated during his adult life by society, the man began to pour out his story. It was tale… Read More »Don’t it Make My Brown Eyes Blue?
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In the northern climates, September is a transition period. The late grasses and plants appear and begin to bloom; Chicory and Queen Anne’s Lace for example. The leaves on the trees are no longer waxy and bright, but dull and drooping soon to become aflame with color. The thistles are also in bloom with their beautiful but prickly purple flora and while the world here is still green, there’s a certain weariness and fatigue to all of nature. It’s inevitable; winter is coming. For me, winter is a welcome sight because I love the change of the seasons and just as soon as you grow weary of one, it’s time for another. The first buds in the spring are as welcome to me as the first snowfall that coats the landscape in its clean, white beauty. For you, it may not be winter, but summer which is on the horizon. Perhaps you prefer the present season better and do not welcome the change. No matter. It will change, because change is inevitable. “You cannot step… Read More »The Inevitability of Change
The Inevitability of Change
As the story goes, St. Teresa of Avila, who was running because she was late to church, slipped and fell headlong into the mud. Getting up, she complained to the Lord saying: “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few”. The past month has involved a visit to an emergency room for myself, and emergency surgery and a subsequent unplanned hospital stay for my wife. One might say that we’ve had several St. Teresa moments this past month. Truly, the effects of original sin are both ruthless and inclusive, and as a result, all of Adam’s descendants will experience suffering (Jesus included). Why then should we expect to escape the avoid it? But why suffer at all? What good does it do? Well, that is a great mystery, but I suspect that in the same way that pain limits our abilities and our efforts, suffering keeps us from getting too comfortable in our situations. Put bluntly, this isn’t our home and we’re not meant to feel comfort or fulfillment.… Read More »Is suffering useful?
Is suffering useful?
Evangelizing in a Restaurant by johnjkowalski.com July 14, 2026 Tags:Evangelism Why don’t more people evangelize? Well, there are many reasons, but people will usually say thing like:. I’m shy I don’t know the person I’m talking to I’m not knowledgeable enough about the Bible I don’t like to talk to strangers Let me give you one example that I personally experienced that overcomes all of these. A friend of mine took me out to dinner at a restaurant in a town I’ll call Oakville. While at dinner, my friend Tim, asked me about my ministry – how to pray with people, when to pray, what to pray, etcetera. I explained it’s very situational and really depends upon the circumstances and what the person needs in their life. Just then, the waitress came with the check. I asked her what her name was, and she said “Susan”. I said “Susan, my name is John and I’m a Christian and I try to make it a habit to pray for my wait staff. Is there anything I… Read More »Evangelizing in a Restaurant
Evangelizing in a Restaurant
I get requests to pray for people. A lot. And I don’t mind it. In fact; I’m glad to help. But the job of an intercessor is – as the name implies – to intercede, not to take ownership. What I’m talking about is what I call prayer outsourcing. Think about God’s relationship with humanity. In the beginning, there was only Adam, and Adam represented all of us and because of this, when Adam sinned, we all felt the effects, which is why all suffer from original sin. Adam sneezed and humanity got sick. But then God began to change the relationship – to broaden the base, as it were and He chose to make a covenant with a people, (Noah), instead of an individual (Adam). Then a tribe (Abraham), then a family (Jacob) and their individual descendants (Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Reuben, etc.). But God always had a representative between Him and the common man. For example, He spoke to the people through Moses, then He chose the descendants of Levi to be His go-betweens.… Read More »Is intercessory prayer helpful?
Is intercessory prayer helpful?
We are made up of a flesh (material) and spirit (non-material) and we sometimes forget that the gap between the two is not very far apart. Most know that non-material things (like stress) can affect our material bodies but few realize that material things (like addiction) can just as easily open an unwanted door and affect our spirit. Truly, it is a narrow gap and sometimes afflicting spirits can affect our physical bodies. This is NOT a case of demonic possession – but it is where deliverance ministry comes in. I was helping out on the prayer team at a healing prayer service when a man sat down in front of me. “What are we asking Jesus for today?” I asked the man. He replied, “I get these really bad anxiety attacks.” “That sounds difficult,” I said “tell me about them”. He continued, “It bothers me all the time but sometimes it gets out of hand. I’ve even been driving and gotten a panic attack so bad I had to pull into the nearest hospital and… Read More »Beyond Healing the Body
Beyond Healing the Body
This is from the Gospel of John chapter 19:28-30: “After this, Jesus, knowing that all was finished, said to fulfill the scripture, “I thirst”. A jar of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit.” So, obviously, this is a powerful scene in the Bible. But what does Jesus mean “it is finished?” What is the it? A friend and I were studying this verse, so I asked him what “it” was. The exchange went like this: “Everything! Jesus did it all, so there’s nothing more to do because He did it all, and He even said so.” I pressed further, “So you say that it’s finished and nothing more needs to be done by anyone?” He replied, “That’s right. Nothing more can be done because Jesus did it all.” So I said, “So you’re saying that… Read More »It is finished…
It is finished…
In 1986, when he was 25 years old, drug addict Jonathan Wayne Nobles brutally attacked two women in Austin, Texas, stabbing them to death. He was arrested, and stood trial. He never took the stand, and virtually the entire case rested on his confession. It was an open and shut case. He was found guilty and, according to Texas law, sentenced to death. He was sent to Huntsville Prison. When he first arrived, he alienated almost everyone. He got into fights, broke away from the guards and physically harmed himself just to get out of his cell. But one of the people who befriended him was the priest who ministered to the prisoners. He encouraged Jon to attend Mass. So he did. He went once. And then again. And then again. And he kept going back. Something just clicked. After several months, Jon Nobles was baptized. And his life after that changed. Jon Nobles became known for his kindness, looking out for other inmates, ministering to them, quoting the scriptures. He developed a deep devotion… Read More »The Amazing Story of Jon Wayne Nobles
The Amazing Story of Jon Wayne Nobles
By Leslie Kowalski How many times have you prayed for a specific request, need or for a certain outcome or resolution to a problem, but it seemed your prayers weren’t answered? Does God hear you? Is He ignoring your need or painful situation? There are several reasons that you might not be receiving the response you had hoped for: Trusting God’s timing: His timing is different from ours. We want what we want and it’s usually right now! That’s not how He works. Place your trust in Him. He is always working in the background on situations we may not know or see. He always answers prayers. Sometimes the answer is, “Wait” or “not yet”. “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 Another purpose: God may have a plan that will ultimately serve your spiritual growth or your good better than what you could have imagined. In this case, He is saying, “No, I have something better for you.” “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,… Read More »God…why don’t you answer my prayer?
God…why don’t you answer my prayer?
This eternal cry of man was asked by a young lady in my 8th grade Sunday School class. I gave the standard response of original sin and, in deference to the child, I threw in an analogy that Adam and Eve were “sent to their room” as a way to put it in perspective for an 8th grader. A couple of days later I awoke in the middle of the night with a better analogy. In the beginning Adam and Eve were with God from the beginning – and all was well. We all know the story of the fall; Adam should have been watching over Eve, Eve ate the apple, Adam ate the apple, etcetera. Enter a different God into the picture. A God Adam and Eve had not encountered before. A disappointed God, an angry God, a God whom they had betrayed. Now we know that God is all-knowing, all-good and all-powerful and He had to know this was coming. So, could God have simply wiped out the two troublemakers and started over?… Read More »If God is good; why evil?