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).

THE WORD OF GOD BRINGS HEALING

Friends,

Last year I put together an album of my instrumental music with healing scriptures spoken over the music. My desire was that people would either hear and be healed or at least that it would build their faith to be healed by God’s available healing power.

I really want everyone to be healed. I believe God does too.

We’re actually working on a book and a class on this topic.

I hope you enjoy this track.

Just sit back and close your eyes while listening.

If you want to hear the rest of the album, you can purchase the CD here on this site, download it from iTunes, Amazon, stream it on Spotify and many other outlets.

God bless,

Joe

LET LOVE WIN THE DAY

June 2020 JBM Newsletter

What a tumult!

What crazy times we are living in right here, right now.

Yet right now I’m sitting in my comfy chair, looking out the window at a pond with a fountain, the temperature is perfect, the breeze is blowing, the sunshine is beautiful, and I’m able to sit quietly and speak to my Creator. I’m able to read His Word, hear from Him, let Him know that I love Him and let Him speak to my heart. I write down what He says. Quietly I hear Him say:

My grace is increasing.

My grace is abounding.

Let love win the day.

You might think ‘Joe, you are so out of touch with what’s going on!’ And I would agree with you. I’ve spent a lot of time watching the news. I’ve spent a lot of time on Facebook, etc. trying to see what is going on and what wisdom is available. Are all of my friends OK? Is there any breakthrough? What kind of progress can I expect? How is this going to affect my family and our church and the future of our ministry? There are so many questions. So much concern. So many expressions of pain. So many accusations of guilt.

Friends, if you want to be effective you’ve got to get disconnected.

I heard a prophetic word where Jesus was coaxing someone to get alone with Him. He said, “Come apart before you come apart!”

The effective ones are the ones who have spoken with their Commanding Officer. Who have gotten their battle plans from the King. The ones who meet privately with the Creator God, be at peace and listen to His heart. These are the ones who are going to show up with a fresh word, an attitude that heals and refreshes. They are the ones who are going to bring joy back into its rightful place in our lives and in our world.

Friends, this is our day. He made it for us. Receive His love. Receive His comfort. Receive His healing. Be transformed by His love. Then just shine. You’ll know what to do.

Love ya,

Pastor Joe

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.

Rest

Did you know it takes patience to rest?

I’m on a sabbatical right now and when you are used to doing, doing, doing then rest is not an easy process to yield to.

Resting is a process.

It allows your body, mind and soul to do things that couldn’t happen while you were so busy.

Activity inhibits some critical processes. Rest is not really rest in the truest form, it’s simply a change of processes.

Constant activity requires your body to stay in a constant state of defensiveness so that you can continue uninterrupted in your constant busyness. But this constant state of defense requires that other processes be reduced in their priority. Some never happen. Some healing processes never happen when we stay busy.

Rest is where you tell your body, “I’m going to slow down now and give you time to catch up, heal, regroup, re-assess, regenerate, reinvigorate.” There’s so much work that needs to be done inside us. If we think it’s unimportant we will never give time to it. Rest is more important than we know.

Did you know it takes faith to rest?

I know there is a God.

I know that I am not Him.

I know He’s bigger than me, more capable, more loving.

I know that He knows that I need rest.

So within His creation, His system, He has made room for me to rest, time for me to take a break.

When I rest I must trust Him for all the things that I was relying on myself for.

I must rest. He is good. He will take care of all those things. I need not worry. I need not fear. God is good. Good night! Time to rest.

Handhelds can become parasitic

Hey Friends,

 
I woke up this morning with the Lord talking to me. Here’s the journal entry:
 
You awaken my ear like one being taught.
 
Regarding handhelds & other electronics:
They can become parasitic
 
Jeremiah 2:6
This is what the Lord says
What fault did your fathers find in me
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
 
  • Pay attention to what you need
  • Pay attention to what you have
  • Pay attention to what has you
  • What do you focus on?
  • What do you focus on the most?
  • Is it life to you?
  • Or does it take life from you?
 
Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years.
This is your life –
what will you spend it on?
Where your focus is – there your heart is.
 
Proverbs 17:24
A discerning man keeps wisdom in view,
But a fools eyes wander to the ends of the earth.
 
Proverbs 19:29
Stop listening to instruction, my son
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
 
Son, I will show you what life is:
Life is when you tap into me and knowledge, wisdom, love and healing begin to flow. Being one with me, spending time listening to my voice, reading my word & preparing your heart for service. This is life.
This multiplies and brings forth my abundance to you.
 
So walk with Me Son.
Let me lead, guide, direct.
Let me give you focus.
Focus your eyes on Me.
Through me you can see all I would have you see.
Through me, the wisdom you need is revealed.