Pastor John,

I am so thankful for our comforter.  This week work has been extremely busy and I’ve been a little overwhelmed with school work.  When I got home from class on Tuesday I could not wait to spend some time with Jesus.  I knew that if I could just get still He would be there to help me, and He did!  I started praying and then began to speak in tongues, I felt the relief from head to toe.  I went to bed that night so thankful for the holy Ghost, so thankful that I know who gives us relief!

This morning I was getting ready for work and hopped in my car.  As I was driving I began to feel this “push” and didn’t like it.  I had a cd on in my car but it began to skip, I took it out and wiped it off but again it skipped.  So I took it out, I felt like Jesus just wanted to spend some quite time together.  So I said, “Jesus, I’m here.”  It was so sweet, a gentle, sweet calm fell in my car.  I began to speak in tongues, very softly.  Whatever that “push” was just had to leave.  Jesus left me with the sweetest feelings to start my day.

I love these feelings!  I’m falling deeper and deeper in love with Jesus!  Learning to go to Him and trust that He will take care of me! 

I’ve been thinking about Bess’ testimony about driving to the doctors office with no directions, but Jesus is our map!  He will guide and direct our path if we let Him.  Whew…just feels so good!

Michelle

Hey,

I see so much love from Jesus for his mother in the Father and Son excerpt, below. The other thing that I thought is that all of Jesus’ family must have abandoned him to one degree or another; if Jesus felt the best person to care for his mother was John? I wish I knew all the details.

Jenny

John,  

The excerpt today echoes the thoughts I’ve been having since our reading tonight and since we read the last few chapters of Revelation. I’ve never felt the love, like I have this time, that Jesus has for the Jews at the end. It brought tears to my eyes while we were reading tonight when I was thinking about him being reunited with the remnant that is left at the end. Thinking about their names being in the Book of Life, and at the time, they didn’t even believe in Jesus or his book. Wow. Such love Jesus has for them! 

Carrie

Pastor John, 

​I was talking to Jesus yesterday on the way to work.  I had just finished listening to Donna’s song, “Run to my Jesus”.  I was asking Him to “empty me and fill me at His command,” as the song says.  Then I came to a stoplight, and the car in front of me had a license tag that read, “4bearance”.  That really struck me because you just don’t see that everyday.  So, I looked up the definition:  “Self-control; patient restraint; hold back, abstain.”

I thought about that off and on, all day.

Last night, I got home and started reading.  I wanted to find out where that word was in the Bible, and I found it in Romans.  I read in chapter 2 and by the time I had finished, I had such a fear of God in my heart that I began to pray . . . I mean really pray.  The spirit of prayer fell on me, and I began crying and speaking in tongues.  I began asking for discernment and understanding.  I have prayed for these before, but not like it fell on me last night.

I feel like Jesus is trying to teach me something but I’m not getting it.  I feel it, but don’t understand it.  Can you help me?

Michelle

Hey John,

I still have the sweet feelings from last nights meeting.  Yes, we are blessed to hear these words of life.  What compassion it gave me for God’s people that have little to no food!  I just want to thank you for feeding us, and I thank all the translators too. 

I loved Darren and Gary songs last night.
Jr.

Good morning Pastor John, 

​I had the sweetest drive into work this morning!  

When I passed by Carrie’s neighborhood and saw her coming out, I don’t even think she saw me but it made me smile to see her.  I thought, Oh Jesus I love her, I love my sweet family.  Then I had the thought, Jesus did it!  He put that love in my heart. 

Then a little later I looked out my window to see this beautiful sunrise with the most amazing colors!  And again, I had the thought, Jesus did it!  He created this beautiful sunrise for us to enjoy. 

As I continued driving and listening to our wonderful music that moves me down deep in my soul, I had the thought again, Jesus did it!  He’s given us our musicians and this wonderful music!​ Whew…. how sweet!  All because He did it!

I love Jesus made us, us!

Hope you have a great day!

Michelle

Hi Pastor John, 

Today I was in the car and I was listening to a brother testify.  This brother said, “I know I can sit here in this chair (at the prayer meetings) and die.”  That struck my heart when he said that, and almost immediately Jesus said, “I am life support.”  Jesus will keep us alive when our spirits are tired and need help to keep going. Jesus will bring us into the “emergency room”, as Sister Willie says, and plug us into the body where we can get nutrients and be fed.  There really is nothing new in this world.  Jesus is the original life support!  That is so good to me.

Yet, just as in the world, a body cannot stay on life support.  Almost immediately the muscles weaken causing atrophy.  I was in a coma for seven days once, and after I woke up, I remember not being able to sit up without help.  I remember wanting to stand, and my mind was ready to get up and walk, but my muscles could not function like they were supposed to.  The lack of circulation and blood flow had an almost immediate effect.  I could not eat or swallow after only seven days.  The muscles were too weak.  I had to do daily exercises to even take a drink of water.  I was so thirsty, yet I could not have a sip of water, for the doctors feared I would choke on it.

You can overcome the atrophy and get strong again, but it is not without work, and it is not without pain.  The longer the body is on life support, the harder it is to regain strength and function.

I love the mercy in this, and I love His wisdom.  We can rest when our spirits are tired.  Jesus will keep us alive.  But we have to get up and use our spiritual muscles!  We have to move and let the blood flow, or everything vital begins to die.  We do not want to get to the point where we cannot take a sip of water from Jesus.  Imagine being so thirsty for a drink, and having the water available, but no longer having the strength to swallow.

Also while I was in a coma, the hospital sent two men from local churches, on separate occasions, to anoint my head with oil because the odds were high that I was going to die, and that was supposed to ensure I made it to Heaven.  I am so very thankful for the oil that will really get me home. 

I found this definition of atrophy:

Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body.

Beth

Hi Bro John, 

I really enjoyed Rob’s testimony last night about his two choices the doctor gave him about his ear. ​ ​One was to apply the cancer cream and the second was to have surgery which required being cut on and then recovery time. ​ ​Rob went with his doctor’s first choice if it were him (the doctor) making the decision.

I know he was talking about a physical thing, but I thought about it in a spiritual way too.

It makes me think this could be how Jesus talks to us sometimes. ​ ​When he shows us something about ourselves that needs fixing or changing, we have a choice to make. ​ ​Many times, we can hear godly sermons, songs and testimonies that seem to speak directly to us.​ ​ If we can take in that godly wisdom and instruction, apply the “healing cream”, we might discover that was all that was needed to take care of the problem.​ ​ On the other hand, we can just hear what came to us as mere words or maybe think those were words for someone else, do nothing when the help is offered,​ and then have to be cut on. ​ ​That kind of spiritual surgery can be tough,​ even though we realize it’s for our good​,​ and it’s much better to be cut on than cut off.

It reminds me of the song you sang recently, “Let Have His Way With Thee”. ​ ​The ​chorus goes like this: “His pow’r can make you what you ought to be; His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free; His love can fill your soul, and you will see, ’twas best for Him to have His way with thee.”

When listening to the words, I usually hear this: “His love can fill your soul and you will see ‘Twas best for Him to have had His way with thee.” ​ ​Meaning, his way is many times an easier way,​ but we make it harder when we refuse to take that easier way when it was first offered.

Oh my, how many times have I done that in my life time.​ ​ It makes me want to tell Jesus all over again how sorry I am that I did not go with his first choice for me.

Hope your day has been a very good one.

Sheila