Good morning Pastor John,
I have been diligently seeking God and listening for His Word recently. When I turn on a tv program just to veg-out I find myself unhappy with anything on so I end up on YouTube watching the Mathew study. I finally finished God Had a Son before Mary Did book*. What a blessing! I feel like I need to read it again many times, like Brother Jimmy and The Jerusalem Council book**. But there are so many more that I need to read. While reading your book, Suffering and the Saints book*** for my Old Testament study class**** this weekend, I kept thinking, I know I have read this a couple of times before but it seems so much richer now! The Spirit said, “It’s because you know the people and stories that the Bible is speaking about.” How true and how BIG a blessing it is to have a grasp of the stories and lessons contained in the Old Testament! All those years of hearing that the Old Testament is not for our time were a lie to enable us to better be controlled by the spirit of Christianity. Without that knowledge, I was able to believe what they taught.
As I read about Josiah learning of God’s word, I was thinking about how these things actually happened to me! “You shall betrothed a wife, and another man shall lie with her. You shall build a house, and you shall not dwell in it. You shall plant a vineyard [mine was actually blackberries] and shall not gather the grapes thereof. The LORD shall smite you” –– mine was heart surgery, bleeding bowels, etc. But He actually did these things to me. As I realized this, I started thanking God that He didn’t leave me in my own filth. Everything I thought I had lost was a big blessing. I would have stayed in that place if He had given me what I thought I wanted! I even started singing “Hallelujah” over and over until I felt His Spirit running up and down my body. I am so grateful for the Old Testament study online and for the saints who are letting me participate with them in their Old Testament class! And thank you for faithfully conveying the Word of God to us! I want to want what God wants me to have!
Your servant,
Mark W.
* Going to Jesus.com – God Had A Son Before Mary Did
** Going to Jesus.com – The Jerusalem Council
*** Going to Jesus.com – Suffering and the Saints
**** Old Testament Course (Pt. 1) – Going to Jesus.com