You Are A New Creation!

1 John 3:8 says, “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.” That’s why we need miracles, because the Devil has been working from the spiritual realm into the natural realm to wreak havoc from the very beginning of time. He’s been using spiritual power and spiritual force to try to wreak havoc in the Earth and in our bodies and all around us for centuries. God wants you and I to be the ones who use spiritual force to work righteousness – the Truths of the Kingdom of God – into this Earth. We truly can be the agents to bring Heaven into the Earth; that’s what we’re called to do. We’re called to bring heaven into the Earth.

Remember, Jesus taught us to pray the way He did. He said to pray, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, here on Earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9-13). An easy way to know whether something is God’s will or not is to ask, is this happening in heaven? If it’s the same in heaven, then it’s God’s will. God’s will already happens in heaven, so that’s a really easy gauge to use. If we see something going on in the Earth and you know it’s not right, then say something. You could say, “This is not heaven or covenant, and I signed up for heaven.” Right when you were born again, you signed up for heaven. You signed up for a relationship with Jesus Christ, where you were born into the Kingdom of God. As you were born into the Kingdom of God, all of a sudden your heart becomes brand new. You become a new creation in Christ Jesus. According to II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new.” 

I had a scar on my hand before I was born again. It didn’t disappear after I gave my life to Jesus, yet all things are “made new” in the Kingdom. As you begin to understand the power and authority we have in Christ, God’s will is done in the Earth. When something happens on Earth that doesn’t line up with heaven’s agenda, that’s when you and I are to stand up and speak.

When I was in my senior year of high school, there was this one teacher who was really giving us seniors a hard time. This teacher taught our religion class, and he was just unnecessarily mean. We had to write a two-page paper every week, a 13-page paper at the end of the year, and a bunch of other things throughout the year. Well, one of my classmates got a little angry with the teacher over all that we were expected to do for him. Right in the middle of class one day, my classmate got up and walked out the door, went into the boys’ locker room and turned on the shower. Then he walked back into the classroom and put the teacher in a headlock, picked him up, and was about to carry him out of the classroom. This student was used to throwing bales of hay on his family’s farm, so picking up our teacher was no problem. As I was witnessing this, I realized that it wasn’t right. I stood up and told the student to stop, and he actually listened. Why did he stop? Because I said to and because I had exhibited authority. It wasn’t the kind of authority that said, “I am in charge over you.” No, it was spiritual authority because I was a believer, and I knew my authority in Christ.

When things are happening that are unjust, you have spiritual authority through Christ, my friends. When things are happening that are wrong, you have authority and you have the ability to change those situations. You have the ability to change what’s going on in the Earth, and you have the responsibility to do it. We can’t just sit around waiting and wondering when somebody else is going to do something. Some people go to God and say, “Lord, why did you let this happen?” And He looks right back and says, “Why did you let it happen?”

Genesis 1:26-28 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” 

God gave us authority and He want us to use it. If we don’t, the devil will gladly pick up where we leave off. And we’re not supposed to leave off; we’re supposed to pick up our responsibility and move forward and do the things that God’s called us to do. So, when you see something that’s not right, you have the responsibility to say or do something.

I was babysitting my brother’s kids once when my nephew said, “My tummy hurts.” And I said, “Well, let me pray for you.” So, he laid down on the couch and I started to pray for him. While I was praying for him, I perceived this black ball or a mass in his belly. I perceived that it was something demonic, so I started to bind it, but I couldn’t cast it out. I don’t know why I couldn’t cast it out of my nephew, but I kept binding it smaller and smaller. I said to my nephew, “Tell me when it stops hurting.” It got to be bound pretty tight before he said his stomach had stopped hurting, but I could still see that it was in there.

I went on with the rest of the evening taking care of the kids, and later on my nephew said his stomach hurt again, so I prayed for him again. We started praying, and right while I was praying for my nephew, his sister threw up all over the floor. I picked her up and ran into the kitchen, and while I was getting her cleaned up, my nephew got sick too. But when I went back in to look and perceive in the Spirit after he had gotten sick, the black thing was gone out of his belly! The thing that I couldn’t cast out earlier had left. I had been given a spiritual perception in that moment to be able to perceive what was actually happening in him, although not completely accurate, but it was accurate enough to get the job done.

God gives us these gifts to use. These gifts are not just for “super-Christians”. You and I one of the called ones because we are followers of Jesus. If you’ve never had an experience where the Holy Spirit leads you into the working of miracles or any of the gifts of the Spirit, venture in. You need to learn how to do these things. It’s time to lay hands on the sick and pray for people to be healed. When Mark 16 talks about people being healed after having hands laid on them, it doesn’t always mean they’ll be healed instantly. Sometimes it happens right away, but most of the time I would say it happens over time. However, I have heard so many testimonies where people receive healing hours, days, even months later. God is always faithful to complete the work He started (Phil. 1:6).

Are You In The Flesh Or In The Spirit?


JUNE 9, 2020

Hey Friends,
Do you want to know whether you are in the flesh or in the Spirit?
Do you want to know if you are pleasing God or at war with Him?
You CAN know!

Years ago I came home from work and Nancy said, “You need to go into (one of our daughter)’s bedroom. She’s throwing a fit.” Before I walked in, I said, “Lord I don’t have anything. But I’m trusting you.” So, I walked in and said, “How ya doin’?”
She said “Terrible.”
Everything was wrong. To her this was a major crisis. It was some great injustice and her temper was totally justifiable in her eyes.
So I asked her a question:
“On a scale from one to ten, how are you doing in walking in love right now?”
She said zero.
I said, “Okay, how about Joy? One to ten, how are you doing?”
“Zero.”
“How about Peace?”
“Zero.”

I want through all nine fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22,23 and she rated herself a zero on every one of them.
I said, “Did you realize that, if you have a zero for each of those, then you’re walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit?”

I don’t remember what she said next, but I do remember the complete change in her attitude. The storm was passed by. She was no longer in emotional turmoil.

Through her finding out she was in the flesh, she was able to locate where she was emotionally and spiritually, where she wanted to be, and that it was her will that would get her there. She chose to walk in the Spirit and instantly received the reward of choosing to walk that way. She had peace, joy, love and all the rest.

So, friends, how are YOU doing?
Are you walking in the Spirit or the flesh?
On a scale of 1 to 10 rate yourself
How are you doing when it comes to walking in:

Love?
Joy?
Peace?
Patience?
Kindness?
Goodness?
Faithfulness?
Gentleness?
Self-control?

Romans 8:5-9 “For they that are according to the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh: but they that are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace: Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. Now if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is not his.”

You get to choose.
Love ya

God’s Sustaining Power

God has an amazing ability to keep us. When we endure so many trials and wonder how things are going to turn out, it’s amazing that His power is still there keeping us. He is so loving and faithful! Its not so much that He loves us, which He does, but He also wants to love others through us. For Him to do that, we need to survive and stay in place. In the Bible Paul calls us living stones; we are alive but we are put in place like a stone that’s used to build a wall. People being in the right position is a powerful thing.

This year Nancy & I will be pastoring for 10 years. We are still in position. We have had some wonderful times as pastors, but we have also had some very difficult times. Somehow God has been able to sustain us. He’s kept us alive. We haven’t missed a meal. We haven’t done everything right and there’s some things that we’d change if we could do it again, but God’s faithfulness is what deserves the real acknowledgement here. It’s God’s sustaining power. We would have been knocked out of this a long time ago, but God kept us here. He placed us here. He wants to love through us. His faithfulness to us is not just about His love for us. We’re confident of that. But His faithfulness and His sustaining power are also because God has a plan and a desire; He wants His representatives to be loving on His behalf. He wants those who will represent Him to be accurately in place.

There is such a huge wave of needy people and God’s heart’s desire is to envelope all of them with His love, His wisdom, His healing…all of His goodness. He must have people in place who will allow His love to come through. There are so many that are so hungry and needy for His love. He must have us in place.

He is the mortar that holds the living stones in place. When God gives you an assignment He wants you to stay there. The Devil will provide many opportunities for you to give up that assignment. But God will also provide His sustaining power. So many things pass before your eyes; so many problems that make staying in place look impossible. But staying in place is exactly what God wants us to do. His faithfulness is here to see you through, to help you and to keep you in place. If we focus on the problems then their chance of overcoming you increases. If you focus on God then His promise of surviving and thriving are yours.

Now when trials and storms come, remember that they don’t last. We don’t live in a constant storm. There are times of peace, hopefully sustained periods of peace. If you’re living in a constant storm, you may consider whether you are in God’s will or not, or you may consider that you might be missing a piece of wisdom for the way you are doing things. If you turn down a one way street going the wrong direction, you will face continuous opposition until you turn around. God has a place of peace for you; a place of productivity, of meaningful service, of significance and plenty.

Let God position you. Be faithful to Him. Let His faithfulness sustain you.

Vengeance Is So Heavy

OVER A WEEK AGO I WAS TURNING LEFT IN FRONT OF THE GLEN ELLYN LIBRARY TO HEAD NORTH OVER THE TRACKS. I WAS WAITING WHILE THREE CARS WERE HEADING SOUTH TOWARD ME THEN TURNING RIGHT. THE LAST CAR LOOKED LIKE HE HAD HIS BLINKER ON SO I PULLED OUT  TO TURN LEFT. AFTER I PULLED OUT HE SLOWED  BECAUSE HE APPARENTLY WAS NOT PLANNING ON TURNING AND I WAS NOW IN HIS WAY. HE YELLED OUT THE WINDOW AT ME SOME UNREPEATABLE CURSE WORDS.  WELL I’M NOT AROUND PEOPLE MUCH WHO TALK LIKE THAT SO THAT STUFF HURTS MY EARS; ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S DIRECTED AT ME. I THEN STARTED TO FEEL OFFENDED AND THE CHEMICAL REACTIONS IN MY BODY STARTED TO RISE UP WITH HOW TO HANDLE THIS. ALL KINDS OF IMAGINATIONS FLOODED MY HEAD. THEN I REMEMBERED THE SCRIPTURE VERSE THAT SAID, “BLESS THOSE WHO CURSE YOU AND PRAY FOR THOSE WHO SPITEFULLY USE YOU.” SO, I STARTED PRAYING FOR THIS GUY, TO BLESS HIM. I PRAYED THAT HE WOULD GET A RAISE IN HIS JOB AND MAYBE EVEN A PROMOTION AND THAT GOD WOULD BLESS HIS MARRIAGE AND FINANCES AND ALL HIS RELATIONSHIPS. THAT THE GOODNESS OF GOD WOULD OVERTAKE HIM. IT WAS SUCH A RELIEF TO TAKE THIS POSITION, BECAUSE BEFORE I THOUGHT OF THIS SCRIPTURE, SOME OF MY IMAGINATIONS TOWARD HIM WOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE CLASSIFIED AS CHRISTIAN. LATER I REMEMBERED THE SCRIPTURE THAT SAYS, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT THAT I REALIZED THE HEAVINESS OF THE BURDEN OF WANTING TO PAY THAT GUY BACK FOR YELLING CURSES AT ME. WHEN I COMPARE THAT TO THE LIGHT FEELING THAT I HAD WHEN I WAS PRAYING FOR BLESSINGS ON HIS LIFE THERE WAS A STARK CONTRAST. NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY GOD SAYS THAT VENGEANCE IS HIS. IT IS TOO HEAVY FOR US AS HUMANS TO CARRY IT. I LOVE GOD. HIS WISDOM REALLY MAKES THINGS EASIER.