Hi, Pastor John.

This morning Barbara was talking about not losing our testimonies while not having the meetings. This lesson has been on my heart, and it came in the form of a dream in 2008, I believe, and I want to write this testimony about God.

In my dream, I was running in the most lush ravine. On both sides of the ravine were straight hills covered with tall, thick, green grass. As I was running along the bottom of the ravine, I became stuck in thick, gooey mud that had been covered with grass. Both feet were stuck, and I couldn’t pull either foot out of the slushy mud. My feet were buried up to my ankles in the miry muck. When I looked up and down and in front and back of me, I noticed I hadn’t been running along a green hilly ravine, but I was in a drainage ditch in which the high levees were sowed with grass to help with soil erosion. The mud and muck in the bottom of the ditch where I had gotten myself stuck was leftover drainage, covered with grass and weeds.

I couldn’t move, and so I prayed to the Lord for help. About that time I saw you in front of me, with me in the drainage ditch, but you were not stuck as I had become. We were facing each other, and you wrapped your arms tightly around me and pulled me close into your chest. I was very embarrassed! After all, we were two males pressed together. I began to squirm and resist, but I could not brake your grasp and hold on me. With your left arm around me, still holding me tight, you took you right thumb and poked it into my left rib in my chest until your thumb penetrated to my heart. When I felt your thumb in my heart, I immediately became limp and still. I felt such a peace in my body and all resistance ceased.

About this time, while still in your grasp, I felt my body being lifted out of the mud and mess that I had gotten myself into. Still being tightly pressed into your chest, I looked down and saw my feet come out of my shoes (which were still stuck in the mud), and we both were lifted by the Spirit of God to the top of the grass covered levy. You then let me go, and I looked up to you as you were still being lifted higher, and you called down to me, “Don’t worry about your shoes; I’ll get you another pair.” I woke up.

We were talking this morning about the value of having a pastor from God like your Father, and now, you. I can look back over the years, especially since God miraculously healed me in your house in 2001, and see that you have been there in my life with the happy and sad times, up and down times, the trying times, kid times, and so on, and so on; too many examples to list. You have pulled me out of the miry clay with the Spirit of God, dusted me off, and have done nothing but encourage my heart to keep trusting in God and move up in the Lord and have faith in God.

I was telling Judy after I got back home this morning, and testified to her how Jesus used you to salvage me, as well as most of us all here now. Most of the children were born here and have been coming to the gatherings before they could remember anything, but most of the adults were not. We were pulled out of the drainage ditch by you, and lifted up by the Spirit and power of God, and transplanted to this place, where we can now live among each other in peace and fellowship. I told Judy today that I feel so humbled and honored to have such a pastor over me that knows me, loves, me, and cares that I meet God in peace on that great Day.

I do not ever want to forget the order of God that he showed me when I was in my early 20s: 1) God, 2) Jesus, 3) A godly pastor, 4) the husband, 5) the wife, 6) the children. I learned that the first two, and more than likely the first three in that order will not change, but if a family is having issues, then something is wrong with 4, 5, and 6; something is not in its place or order. When I first met you at Brother Delbert’s when I was a teenager, I knew that you had something that I needed, and that we didn’t have it there: standards from Jesus that brings fellowship to His Light, so that we my praise God acceptably.

We may always have differences in the flesh with temporary things, such as you may like blue and I may like yellow, you like fish and I like hamburger. But, with eternal things, to have the same mind for the truth and to be able to grow into perfection in fellowship is a wonderful gift of God. We may go though hardships, cancer, pain in our bodies, a million other things, but growing in the Spirit is worth it all. “Get the gold out of it,” I heard you say more than once.

I want to thank you with all of my heart for the many helps and the prayers that Jesus put on your lips for my family and me, for pulling me out of the ditch, for getting me a new pair of shoes to walk in, for a life that God has given me by using you for me (us). Yes, I’m thankful to have a godly pastor. It doesn’t matter whether I understand all things that you do or say, but I thank God when I do. Even when I don’t understand, to trust your authority that gave you for me is precious. Knowing (in my heart) that you are a pastor and that you are my pastor is a wonderful thing, and truly a gift from Jesus. I pray that I walk worthy not only of my calling, but especially yours.

Thank you, Pastor John for loving me.

Bill M.

Hi John,

I wanted to share a little something that Jesus did for me recently. Several days ago, I felt like I wanted to read something from Paul, so I started reading in 1Corinthians. I read through the first six chapters and stopped. The next day, I wanted to continue my reading, but I thought, this time I think I’ll continue reading aloud in 1Corinthians along with Amy, without realizing what the next chapter would be about. Well, it turns out chapter 7 contains very good instructions for husbands and wives. We both thought it was really neat that Jesus set it up for us to read that particular chapter together.

And then, just a day or two ago, I heard brother Tom tell about how the Spirit spoke to him recently, saying something like, “Husbands, feed your wives”. I thought that was very good counsel for us husbands at any time, but especially with us not having gatherings recently. And I was so glad to have had something from Jesus to pass on to Amy that day.

Vince

p.s. Our translation of 1Cor. 7 is really good. It’s even better when you read along with the video that is posted on the GoingToJesus.com web site. https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_translation.html?tname=1corinthians#CH7

Pastor John,

A few weeks ago I received a letter from a woman who had visited the house while Beth and I were away. In the letter, the woman spoke of some literature she had left in our door entitled “Why must we die?” She said she hoped we would read the literature and that she could visit us again sometime in the future to discuss.

I was moved in my heart by the woman’s sincerity. The letter was handwritten and the individual stamps were affixed by the sender.

I did read the material she left in our door, and when I reached the end, I realized that it hadn’t answered the question at all. But more importantly, I realized that I DID know the answer to the question in the pamphlet… “why must we die?”

Many years ago you visited the saints in Louisville and you asked us all that very question – “why do men have to die?” We all ventured a guess that day, mostly (and quite often) repeating the same answer in one form or another, “because man sinned.”

After many attempts you gave us the right answer; “because God is holy.” That is why men have to die, all men, “because God is holy.”

Men have to die because of Who God is, not just because of the things that men have done.

Men commit crimes worthy of death every day in this Nation, but the leaders of this country fail to require their execution. Children commit atrocities every day against their parents and they go unpunished. It is not a man’s actions alone (apparently) that demands the death penalty, but to whom those actions are against.

This country’s failure to carry out the death penalty on people that commit heinous crimes is not because of newfound enlightenment or mercy as many promote, but it is instead because of immorality in the people responsible for carrying out righteous judgment. Those responsible for executing judgment do not feel worthy to carry out such fitting punishment because there isn’t enough difference between them and those they are condemning.

The reason grown men and women allow foolishness and disobedience from their children is because their hearts are too much like their children’s and too far away from God to require righteous behavior. They don’t feel worthy to require God’s higher standard.

Mercy for the unrepentant is not mercy, it is just moral failure on the part of the judge.

But I understood something else pastor John, something wonderful! The very thing about God that requires all men to die because of Adam’s disobedience in the garden of Eden, is the same thing about God that allows all men to be forgiven of their sin if they will just repent. The holiness of God that demands death for disobedience, demands life for those who are repentant. Praise God that is good!

Jerry

Pastor John,

When I read Matthew 5:18, it just stopped me. I don’t even understand why it stopped me. I read it, and read the Blog, “Destroying the Law”, and read Matthew 5:18 again. For a moment, I could not even form clear thoughts. I had never really read what Jesus had said and it did something. I understand that the law was done away with and written on our hearts, so it was really even more confusing why I got so stuck. I understood “Destroying the Law” when I read it, yet something about reading Jesus saying that “until heaven and earth pass, not one jot or tittle, shall in no way pass,” did something to me.

When you answered that question this morning around the fire, it just fixed it. Whatever it was, it’s just settled. I feel like it just shook off. It wasn’t in words that I know of, because I can’t tell you what it was; I can just tell you it’s settled!

That’s pretty amazing!

Jerry asked me afterward more about what my question was, and in trying to explain it, I feel how wonderful it is that you and Jesus knew the question even more than I did, because what you said answered my question, whatever it really was, and brought relief.

Thankful for you.
Beth D.

This is the ending of the chapter, “The Apostasy of the Body of Christ” in Pastor John’s new book The Iron Kingdom. He wanted everybody to see it.

A Matter of Time

    Most believers outside of Jerusalem and Antioch would never have seen a copy of the letter which the apostles and elders at the Jerusalem Council sent to the Assembly in Antioch, and rumors of the letter would have borne insufficient weight for believers to be persuaded of it. So, in spite of the Council’s decision, Paul had to spend much of his strength afterward laboring to save his Gentile converts from adding ceremonial works to the Faith. The zeal of the false teachers took them everywhere, it seems, to undo Paul’s influence, and the body of Christ, in a relatively short time, fell into apostasy despite Paul’s herculean efforts. Unable to be everywhere at once, Paul could not put out the multitude of fires that burned the truth out of the hearts of his converts, and after those first-century Gentiles rejected Paul’s gospel in favor of Peter’s, it was only a matter of time before the body of Christ degenerated into just another worldly institution. Just as Moses had foreseen the results of Israel’s apostasy, Paul foresaw what would happen to the apostate body of Christ. Seeing what he saw would come upon the saints, Paul could have quoted some of Moses’ last words to Israel (Dt. 31:29): “I know that after my death, you will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you, and that evil will befall you in the latter days because you will have done evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger by the work of your hands.”
    As believers drifted from Paul’s gospel of the reliance solely upon the Spirit, they grew more worldly-wise, and the more worldly-wise they grew, the more ceremonial form they added to the Faith. Thus began the apostate body of Christ’s journey toward acceptance by the world. And after several centuries of trial-and-error doctrinal and ceremonial development, the fallen body of Christ was so finely adorned with worldly beauty that she would attract the favorable attention of the world’s master, apostate Rome.

Good morning Pastor John,

As I was driving into work I was listening to Gary sing, before the song started I heard different one’s saying, “Jesus, oh Jesus”. It made me smile to hear his name. I started speaking in tongues and thought how sweet it is to say his name. I thought how wonderful it is to know him but how much greater it is and how truly blessed we are, that he knows us! I’m overwhelmed. What a name…just to say it fills my heart! Thank you Jesus!

Michelle

https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_thoughts.html?tname=tfm03-04

Good morning,

I just read the above Thought for the Morning. That is very sobering to think some may be left in Christianity because they cannot handle freedom or their burdens to be lifted.

It leaves that sober reminder not to push past God, to be slow and listen for the spirit.

Beth

Pastor John,

I have had the sweetest time with Jesus this morning!

For months I’ve been asking Jesus to help me have faith, to know his voice and trust it, to slow down and listen. This morning I was talking to Jesus. I was asking him to help me trust him, to give me faith to trust him. I started thinking about going “limp” in his hands and thought, “Jesus, I can’t go limp for your will unless I have faith and trust your judgment and direction.” I began to feel a little down, a little heavy, like this was a hard request. Then Jesus let me see this body. I saw everyone sitting in the meeting room, and while I was looking at everyone, I heard him, “It took faith for each and everyone to get here!” I started thinking of how it took faith, listening to his voice, and obedience, for each one of us to get to where we are today, right this moment! Then I got excited! He reminded me that if he brings something to our mind, it’s because he wants to do something about it!

I love how encouraging Jesus is! Nothing is too hard for him and he is here always ready to help us, whatever it is we need!

Michelle

John,

The Bible verse on my app was from Romans 8, and I just felt the nudge to read the whole chapter. It’s never felt sweeter. I was thankful to understand it! When I was reading the verses about the flesh, I could see Donna in the meeting yesterday pulling at her skin. We are covered in it, but we have the Spirit too! There was even a verse about sheep going off to the slaughter just like Amy’s parable from their trip to Ohio. We all know 8:28 which was Gary’s song about all things working for our good! So many wonderful verses in chapter 8…it’s just us living our lives in God!

Also, I had a thought after reading our paper yesterday about how Jesus didn’t have a form, and he put people at ease around him to ask questions or interrupt him, for example. I thought if we are to be like him, I want to put people at ease around me. I want to be approachable. It’s just another way to be like Jesus.

I’m so thankful for Bess’ blessing. It’s all still soaking in today.

Carrie