Brother John, 

Sunday morning I asked for prayer for my knee which has been hurting for a few weeks. Last night I slept without any pain. Thank you Jesus he has been so good to us. Hope you have a good night.

Jim G.

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Hey John,

I want to mention something about my knee that Jim’s email brought to my attention. 

I was having trouble with my left knee for several weeks. It would often just go out on me without warning while walking up steps.  If I made a sudden move left or right, as I often do playing tennis, I would feel pain. 

Sometimes, I had to pull myself up the stairs going from your basement to the office. 

I don’t remember exactly when I prayed for my knee but I asked Jesus to heal it. I believe that other people I mentioned it to also prayed for me. 

Not long ago, I noticed that it was not bothering me when I climbed stairs. I was cautious at first and told myself that I would wait and see if my knee was really healed before I said anything. 

Well, I believe it is healed! Thank Jesus! 

Tom

Pastor John, 

I want to tell you hat I love about this Blog (below). There are two things:

1. I love that it gets more Christianity out of me. I can feel it. 

2. I love learning that the hidden Son of God was waiting patiently in heaven, wanting to tell men of the mercies of his Father.

That is exactly how we feel when we know the Son’s mercies toward us; we want to share it with others who don’t know how wonderful he is. I can feel Jesus waiting and wanting to come to earth and tell people of the Father and His glory.   As you said, “Repeatedly, in the book of Psalms and in the prophets, we find the hidden Son of God asking the Father to let him come to earth and teach men about the Father.  For example: “Let me sing of the LORD’s eternal mercies!  Let me make known with my mouth your faithfulness through all generations!” (Ps. 89:1″

Mmmmm…this is so good.   This new thought didn’t shake me up at all, and for me, that’s big, Pastor John. I feel at peace knowing I don’t anything rightly unless Jesus teaches it to me, and I feel wide open for new thoughts from Jesus. No guilt. No shame for thinking Heaven wasn’t perfect until the risen Son made it that way.

I love this: “There was certainly something about life in heaven that Jesus hated, for when he returned to heaven, he made enormous changes there, purifying it, according to the author of Hebrews (9:23).”

That just makes sense. I feel kinda …free 

Beth

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Jesus Hated Life in This World

“He who loves his life shall lose it, and he who hates his life in this world

shall keep it unto eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must follow me.”

John 12:25–26a

Preacher Clark testified once that God had spoken to him and said, “I am not a hypocrite.  I don’t command you to do something that I don’t do.”  Jesus was our example, and he expects us to follow it.  He did not tell us to hate this life even though he loved it.  He hated this life as an example for us, showing us how to hate it in a godly way, as he said, “If anyone serves me, he must follow me.”

But what is it about life in this world that Jesus hated?  First of all, when he came into the world, the righteous and the wicked were both living in it.  Second, when he came into the world, nobody in this world had the kind of life that he had, the eternal life that God gave him when He created him.  Therefore, nobody in this world truly knew or understood either him or his Father.  His Father knew him, and he knew his Father; every other creature in heaven or in earth was in darkness.

Before the Son of God rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and cast Satan and his angels out, godly and ungodly creatures dwelt in heaven, too.  Also, no heavenly creature, except the Son, had God’s kind of life, just as no earthly creature had God’s kind of life.  Moreover, Paul said that from the foundation of the world, the Son of God was hidden from both men and heavenly beings until he was revealed in Jesus Christ (Col. 1:26; Eph. 3:9).  This means that no creature in heaven knew or understood the Son before he was revealed, just as no creature on earth knew or understood the Son.  In short, the kind of life Jesus hated in this world when he came into it was very much like the kind of life Jesus knew in heaven before he came.

All this brings us to a question.  If Jesus hated life in this world, then did he also hate life in heaven before he came to earth and returned to heaven, and cast Satan and his angels out, thus purging heaven of all ungodliness?  There was certainly something about life in heaven that Jesus hated, for when he returned to heaven, he made enormous changes there, purifying it, according to the author of Hebrews (9:23).

When Jesus prayed that the Father would restore glory to him, he said he was praying for “the glory that I used to have with you before the universe existed” (Jn. 17:5).  Before this universe existed, the Son dwelt openly with the Father in supreme happiness (Prov. 8:22–31).  After the universe was populated, in heaven and in earth, the Son was hidden by the Father, to be revealed at the appointed time.  Repeatedly, in the book of Psalms and in the prophets, we find the hidden Son of God asking the Father to let him come to earth and teach men about the Father.  For example: “Let me sing of the LORD’s eternal mercies!  Let me make known with my mouth your faithfulness through all generations!” (Ps. 89:1).

How happy must the Son have been when the Father at last sent him to earth to be revealed, to be free to teach men, as the Son of God, about his Father – and to return to heaven and openly enjoy again the Father’s presence as His precious Son!

(To read more of Pastor John’s blogs please click on the link below.)

http://pastorjohnshouse.blogspot.com/2009/12/why-world-hates-you.html

Pastor John,

The other day I was reading about Cornelius in Acts, when Peter went to Cornelius, and his household was filled with the holy Ghost.  The next morning I woke up still thinking about that.  I was reading about the Centurions, the Roman soldiers, and was thinking about what kind of men they must have been.  From what I understand, they had no regard for God or the Law of Moses.  None of this was a part of their life; they thought they had no need for such stories and no need for the one true God.  Then I thought about the centurion that asked Jesus to heal his servant and how Jesus said he had not seen faith like that in all Israel.  These thoughts kept rolling in my head and heart about who exactly these people were.

When I got in my car to go to work yesterday, one of Darren’s songs was playing and a line was, “You don’t know who you are until you know who you are not” (not sure if exact words), but then Jesus let me see the story of Cornelius and the other centurion differently.  My heart almost burst with thankfulness.  The mercy God had on us Gentiles was almost too big for this heart to take in.

As I was driving I kept thanking Jesus, and I heard this: “Until you understand who you are, you cannot understand what I have done for you.”  It was a very humbling experience. 

Michelle

Bro John, 

It seems to be in the nature of a person, before God changes us, to easily discount or disregard the love and blessings that come from our closest family, first.

We start as children, often honoring the desires of our friends first, while resisting the wishes and, often, the blessings of our parents that love us. We will do that with our spouses too, unless Jesus saves us from it.  I loved so much tonight that Julie P. was able to acknowledge the blessing that God sent her through her husband.

I thank Jesus for that – it is so good!

It makes me consider my own home and spouse, to double check myself to make sure I am hearing Jesus in those who are closest to me.  He is always speaking 🙂

So good.

Jerry

Pastor John, 

Sitting in your office this evening, listening to the “committee” translate Psalm 77, I heard you say something that I do not recall ever hearing said before.  It was this: “David’s “mighty men” were not mighty because of their strength; it was because of the faith they had.”  When you said that, it immediately took me back to something that the Spirit of the Lord said to me during one of our prayer meetings, many years ago.

It was a dozen years ago, plus or minus, and I was visiting here (North Carolina) from Louisville.  We were having a fine time in Jesus.  The Spirit was falling, and people were singing and clapping.  It was a wonderful meeting.  As I looked around the room enjoying the sight of everyone, I looked across the room at dear brother Gary, and as I did, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me very plainly, and very unexpectedly, and said, “Mighty Men of God.”  I knew at that moment that God had just spoken to me regarding Gary, and I knew just what kind of “might” God was telling me about – the spiritual kind, and the only one that matters.

Your words tonight regarding David’s men have made it clear for me just what it is that I heard from the Lord all those years ago. 

This is a sweet life, with the sweetest people.

So glad to have been able to listen to you all this evening 🙂

Jerry

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And we were glad to have you with us.  Come again!

Pastor John

Pastor John, 

The past couple of weeks I feel like Jesus has just been carrying me.  With experiences and feelings, in a way, it’s almost felt like taking a step off a cliff at times.  But I wanted to share with you two things that have happened over the past couple of days that have really stood out to me and have really given me relief.

For years, I have asked the question, Who am I? or What am I supposed to be doing?  With those questions was a little fear because I guess I was scared of what the answer may be.  But the other night, I asked the question, and the Jesus answered simply, “You’re mine.”  It was so simple, but it brought so much relief!

Then last night, I was asking him some questions, and I heard, “Trust me.” Several times this happened as I was walking around, doing things in my house.  Then, as I was about to get into bed, I was asked a question: “Do you trust me?” It stopped me in my tracks.  It made me think of Peter when Jesus asked him if he loved him.  I said Jesus, “I don’t know, do I trust you?  If I don’t, please help me!”

All night, I just thought about Jesus.  I woke up around 4 AM, just thanking him, then fell back to sleep.  When I woke up, Jesus was my first thought.  Driving into work, all I keep thinking is, “It’s Jesus.  That’s it, just Jesus.”  

It was just really simple, sweet thoughts.

Michelle