Mailbag

Send us comments on Twitter!
https://youtu.be/gVZOxqojW-g?si=jTPkeTDV8hDt_XxU
Watch What We Do!

Search

Looking for something specific? Try a search below!

  • His Standard

    Hi, Pastor John.

    This morning I called Donna C. We talked about loving God’s standard, about how we love that you have always held to His standard, and how it has helped us hold to His standard with our children that choose sin.

    Because you love Jesus more than me, I know how to love Jesus more, too. Your loving Jesus has laid a clear path, through what could have been very hard times. That path was brightly lit and easy to follow from my first steps.  You holding to His standard makes me feel very safe and says “Amen” to what Jesus put in my heart for him.  I rejoice inside every time you say you love Jesus more, every time you say repent and get it right with God.  Knowing what this world is being taught about Jesus, I am so thankful you fell in love with him.  I think of you as my pastor, and that makes me see you are my brother, too.

    Beth 

  • “Christianity Itself Is a Lie!”

    Pastor John,

    The “Remember this” statements from the Slander book are so good!  This particular one jumped off the page at me:  “False doctrine and lifeless ceremonies are slander against the right way of the Lord.”  After reading some of your chapters on slander, I am seeing that true statement more clearly than ever!

    I’ve been thinking about institutionalized slander since we talked this morning.  I can not think of one thing I was taught growing up in Christianity that was the truth. Not one!  I can state with full confidence that Christianity itself is a lie!  

    But I had the thought today, “What if I had believed those lies?  What if I had believed that drinking that wine and eating those wafers was my only way of having communion with Jesus?  Or what if I had believed that having some water sprinkled on my head as a baby while my parents repeated some scriptures was the baptism that mattered?  What if I never heard about the New Birth?  What if I had sat in that dead religion for all these years?” I know without a doubt the answer to those questions.  I would be dead.  Even if my physical body was alive, I’d be a dead man walking.

    But then I felt tears of thankfulness and relief welling up because Jesus didn’t leave me there to die.  He showed me the right way!  He gave me His life!  Jesus did that for every one of us and He will do it for any sincere heart that cries out to Him!  

    I love that this book is full of light; exposing the truth about institutionalized slander!  

    Lee Ann

  • Reading Today

    Pastor John,

    I was so glad to be able to listen to you all read a portion of the Slander book this morning.

    The second to the last paragraph in today’s reading said this:

    Our Guiding Principle: the Love of God

    Even inconspicuous things like eating and drinking can offend (cause to stumble from the way of righteousness) an innocent child of God if he has been taught that it is wrong to eat certain foods or drink certain drinks. And sometimes when a child of God has been so offended, it is very difficult to win him again to the right path.

    I realized as we read, pastor John, the “path” that you described here is not necessarily a set of rules or ordinances or a belief system. God doesn’t send those things to lead others to Christ, he sends people; His people. We are the light of the world, Jesus said, and if we fail to discern other’s hearts and fail their conscience with our so-called liberty, we are the path, the path appointed by God that they may not be able to reconcile with. They may have to make it to Christ IN SPITE of us, instead of with us.

    My what a responsibility we have to discern others as we exercise our God-given liberties!

    There is no right or wrong, there is just God.

    Thank you for today.

    Jerry

  • The Tearing of the Veil

    Pastor John.

    When Jesus was crucified, what did the tearing of the veil in the temple mean?

    Thanks Jacob F.

    ===========

    Hi Jacob.

    Good to hear from you.

    The tearing of the veil represented the fact that a different priesthood was about to be instituted by God, a priesthood “after the order of Melchizedek” and ordained by the power of an endless life instead of on the basis of being a descendant of Aaron. This new High Priest, Jesus of Nazareth, was about to enter into the Most Holy Place in heaven to offer himself for our sins, by which act, the Old Testament figure would lose all its glory.

    Pastor John

  • “You have to Volunteer to Sin.” – Preacher Clark – Good!

    Pastor John,

    Preacher Clark, in an old meeting, was telling what he just recently learned from a sister, who was also present:

    “After God fills you with his Spirit, he gives you power and authority over Satan, and anytime after you receive the holy ghost that you sin – you have to volunteer to sin! That’s right. I couldn’t have believed that if God hadn’t come onto her and brought me the message. You say, ‘Well, I didn’t volunteer to do that!’ Well, He gave YOU authority [not to sin]. He doesn’t give Satan authority over you; he gives you authority over him! Somebody comes along and wants to hurt your feelings and …well, you’ve got to volunteer to get back under that spirit with them to even get your feelings hurt!

    It means something to know that God has given you authority and power over Satan from the time you get started until you get the mind of Christ!”

    Good!

    Jerry

  • Hearts Created by God

    Good morning,

    I had the sweetest thought yesterday. I thought that I don’t know one heart that has followed and follows God’s spirit, that would not want someone else to have it too. When God creates a right heart in man, a heart after Him, there is no division or selfishness. I went through every heart I know and thought how happy each would be for someone to seek to receive what Jesus has given to them. That is the difference between man’s heart and a heart God creates. One ought to examine the hearts that they are joined to, and seeing the hearts I am joined to bring a love for what Jesus has done for us. Seeing the hearts that God has created also says a lot about what He wants. I never thought about it like that before, but it really teaches us about our Father.

    Beth

  • When God Starts Spanking

    Good morning,

    I believe another good reason to stay very far away from this self-centered, perverse, all-about-me world, is that I do not want to get hit when God gets tired of the tantrum they are throwing and starts the spanking!

    Best thing I have learned–none of us matter! When you really know that, everything going on out there is just pure self-centered, perverse junk! We have the answer, Pastor John! Eyes on Jesus! Jesus matters! That’s so good to me!

    Beth

  • God’s Peculiar Treasure from Pastor John

    Greetings in the name of Jesus!

    These are troubled times, but Jesus is keeping us safe and blessed. Keep your eyes on him! It’s ok to see things the way Jesus sees them, that is, to see things the way they really are, and to talk about those things. But remember to speak so as to edify the souls about you.

    Ephesians 4
    [29] No foul speech is to come out of your mouth, but only what is useful for edification, as the need may be, that it may minister grace to the hearers.

    Philippians 4
    [8]Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasant, whatever is well spoken of, if there is anything virtuous, or anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.

    Malachi 3
    [16] Then those who feared the Lord spoke, each one to his neighbor, and the Lord gave ear and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared The Lord and thought on his name.
    [17] “And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day that I make up my peculiar treasure, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.“

    Let’s speak to one another of the many blessings with which God has surrounded us, and be God’s in the day He makes up His peculiar treasure!

    Pastor John

  • Paul’s Time Line

    Pastor John,

    We’re up to the New Testament part in your book, Suffering and the Saints, and Brad asked me when does the New Testament start. I answered correctly that commonly it’s thought to be the book of Matthew but that we know it really started when the holy Ghost was sent back and filled the disciples.

    My question was what is the length of time between the disciples receiving the holy Ghost and Paul going forth to teach the Gentiles, as it feels like that is the real beginning of the New Testament.

    And, Brad wants to know how many years transpired between Paul beginning his ministry and Peter preaching to Cornelius’ house?

    Lots of love!!!

    Allison

    ==========

    Hi Allison!

    Concerning your first question, it cannot be determined from the scriptures exactly how much time passed from there day of Pentecost until God sent Paul with his gospel for the Gentiles. It was obviously a matter of years, not months. According to Paul, after his conversion, he went away to Mount Sinai (“Arabia”) to meet with God, alone:

    Galatians 1
    15. But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
    16. to reveal His Son to me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,
    17. nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went away into Arabia, and then returned again to Damascus.

    It was there at Mount Sinai, I suppose, that Paul was caught up to the third heaven and received his incredible revelation of a new gospel:

    2Corinthians 12
    2. If in the body, I do not know, or if out of the body, I do not know; God knows. Such a man was caught up to the third heaven.
    3. And I know such a man – whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know; God knows,
    4. how that he was snatched up into Paradise and heard inexpressible things which are unlawful for a man to speak.

    Paul’s gospel was indeed, as you say, a beginning, but it was not the beginning of the anew Testament. Paul’s gospel was the beginning of the full knowledge of God, the beginning of the eternal gospel, instead of the gospel for the Jews which Peter and the other apostles, which passed away when God finished dealing with the Jews as Jews.

    The story of Paul’s conversion is told in Acts 9, and Peter’s preaching at Cornelius’ house is in Acts 10; however, that does not mean that Paul had begun preaching his new gospel before Peter was sent to that Gentile’s house. As you have seen, Paul spent a significant amount of time seeking God (and no doubt studying the scriptures and learning of Him) after his conversion. Moreover, if Peter had heard of Paul’s gospel before God sent Peter to preach at Cornelius’ house, then Peter and the Jewish brothers who were with him would not have been surprised when God poured out the holy Ghost on the Gentiles:

    Acts 10
    44. While Peter was still saying these things, the holy Spirit fell on all those who heard the Word.
    45. And those of the circumcision who believed, as many as came with Peter, were astonished because the gift of the holy Spirit had also been poured out on the Gentiles!
    46. They knew this because they heard them speaking in tongues and magnifying God.

    I hope this helps. It was good to hear from you!

    Pastor John

  • Freedom

    Hi Pastor John,

    I watched that movie Newton’s Grace today and then read the Freedom tract. It made me think about what would happen if we were enslaved. It is not such a far-fetched idea anymore. I thought about all the guidelines, regulations, and the curfews in place now and I thought about who we are. We are still us, treating people right, loving Jesus, and being who God made us. I really do love us. They could chain us up, take away every earthly good, even keep us from each other and we could still be us. We could still have fellowship. Feels like we have already tasted a very small degree of that, and we are still happy and loving Jesus and still FREE. Sitting in the meeting room, wasn’t it (though I do pray to be there together again).

    I loving seeing who we are. I love that I am in the We. Who would we be if He had them take it all away? We are seeing a glimpse now.

    Who are Junior and Natalie, and Damien and Kay, when sickness comes? They are His. Testimony after testimony of Us being His.

    I can hear Brother Earl testifying as I write this “If I live I am His, and if I die I am His.” I believe I value that testimony much more now.

    I hesitated to write to you again, but it is so good to me! I keep thinking of Daniel being torn from his homeland and still being true to God the whole time, even when facing lions. Daniel belonged to God, regardless of where he was or his circumstances.

    We have His spirit in us. We have more.

    I am thankful to see who I am, how I feel, and how I spend my time without you all and without meetings.

    Ps…But I really miss you all, too!

    Beth

Recent Posts