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  • The Law and Perfection

    Hey sir how you doing tonight? sorry it took me so long to write you.  I am a friend of Margo, and she sent me your email to personally ask any questions i have based on the HOLY GHOST and HIS word. while i was reading todays thought of the day, which was: Thought For The Morning 05-02 Keeping the Law, Part 1.*  If god is perfect in every way possible and teaches how to be of perfection, then why would he create laws that could not keep us, is it to test our faith and see how we handle temptation and worldly behavior, or am i looking at it from the wrong perspective. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your night and stay blessed. 

    Alex 

    ==========

    Hello Alex.

    Thank you for writing.

    Everything God does has purpose, and the purpose for the law He gave to Israel was to prepare Israel for the Messiah that He would send them, His Son Jesus.

    The prophets prophesied with words, but the law was prophecy in activities such as sacrifices, holy days, holy places, religious clothing, etc.  We would have had no way to understand what Jesus did for us without God providing us the concept of sacrifice, priesthood, etc.  All those things spoke of Jesus.

    The law God gave Moses could make no one perfect because nothing but the holy Ghost can do that.  But as Paul said to the Galatians, if there were such a thing as a law that could make people perfect, it would have been the law of Moses (Gal. 3:21).  The Son is so great that the law was holy, just for telling of his coming.

    Thank you again for writing.

    Pastor John

    * Going to Jesus.com – Keeping the Law, Part 1

     

  • After Death

    Good morning pastor John! 

    I was listening to what you said at the funeral service and it brought up the question in me that death always brings up, which is, what exactly happens when we die?  I don’t know why the thought of sleeping and not going straight to Jesus troubles me, but it does.  Maybe it is just some left over baggage and wrong ideas from Christianity.

    I want to go straight to Jesus when I leave this world.  I daydream about that moment! 

    Yes, I know it doesn’t matter what I want! 

    Yet, I have been pondering that, and trying to remember everything I have learned thus far from you, and going through what scriptures I can find.  I just wanted to ask you a question to make sure what I think I remember is correct.

    When Jesus died and descended into the heart of the earth for three days, he preached the gospel to those that were down there.  When he left there, he took Abraham, Lazarus, and others that were not on the side of Torment, with him? 

    And the thief on the cross, Jesus said he was going to be in Paradise with him, that day?  “Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, today you’ll be with me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43).

    Beth D.

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    Hi Beth.

    In my book, “What the Bible Really Says about Hell” this is explained in some detail.  Before Jesus ascended back into heaven, Sheol (or, Hell) was divided into two parts, Paradise and Torment.  Jesus transferred Paradise into heaven after he ascended into heaven and cast Satan and his angels out.  The righteous, as spirits without bodies, still go into Paradise when they die, but Paradise is no longer in the heart of the earth.  Paradise is now where Jesus is.  Saints in Paradise do not have their new bodies yet, however; Jesus will give them new bodies when he comes and resurrects them from the dead, implanting their happy spirits into the glorious bodies God has prepared for them.

    Don’t worry.  If we love and obey Jesus while we are in these fleshly bodies, whatever he does with us after we shed them will be good, and we will love it.

    Pastor John

    My book on Hell can be found here:

    https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_books.html?tname=hell 

     

     

  • Christian’s First Duty

    If someone were to ask me what a Christian’s first allegiance lies, I would say that a Christian’s first allegiance is to the government.  And in spite of all that they say, they have proved that is true by fighting for the governments they are under.  In both world wars, Christians on both sides used Jesus’ name as they prayed, and the proceeded to kill each other for their respective governments, which the real Jesus forbids his people to do.

    Pastor John

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    John,

    This is so true!

    Based on my experiences with some Christians, it is right up there with the “get saved” doctrine.  When you stop and put it in perspective, things really haven’t changed from the time of the Crusades.

    Wendell

    ========

    Hi Wendell.

    In reality, things have not changed since AD 325, when Christianity began.  Christianity began as a religio/political institution under the wing of the Roman Emperor Constantine, and it has never been anything else.

    Pastor John

     

  • Mark 14:61b

    RE: Mark 14:61. But he was silent, and answered nothing.  Again, the high priest questioned him, and told him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed?”

    Jim,

    Regarding your question about the “told him” in our translation of Mark 14:61, I have checked, and that is an accurate translation.  In Matthew 26:63, which describes the same scene, the high priest “answered and said”, but here in Mark, the high priest “questioned him and told him”.  That difference in translation reflects the different verbs involved.

    Admittedly, Mark 14:61 is a little awkward, but I decided some years ago that in our translation of the gospels, we would compare the gospels in detail where they tell the same stories, and so, produce a translation which reflects such grammatical subtleties as that.  That is certainly not the only way to produce a good translation, but it is the path we chose.

    Thank you for the question.

    Pastor John

     

     

  • Still Feasting!

    Good morning John,

    I wish I could write like Leeann, Beth, Michelle etc.  They express themselves so clearly.  But, I have to write something about how I’m feeling.

    Last night was so wonderful to me.  I’m really beginning to see/feel how great a thing it is for me to have been chosen by Jesus.   He came and died, he suffered so that he could send back his spirit to give us life now and someday live with him forever.  That is really big.

    Like I said, I don’t know to how to express what I’m feeling, but it’s great, I love it.

    Thank you John for all your teachings and writings.  The Father and Son reading is doing something to/for me.

    See you soon.
    Margarite

    ==========

    Pastor John,

    I am still feasting on your testimony!  Just believe Him!  He gives us a heart that’s ready, ready to forgive, ready to love, and ready to rejoice!  Everyday is new, everyday there’s hope!  That old girl is dead, buried, gone!

    Whew… everyday, every situation, Jesus is our answer.  More and more of him! That just feels so good to my soul! 

    I just love this!  Feels like Jesus is tickling my soul!

    Michelle

     

     

     

  • Last Night

    Good morning!

    I was thinking about last night and how sweet and encouraging it was.  Once again, I love the connections that can be made to my own children and how I talk to them or treat them.  Steven and I have spoken before about mistakes our children make, and we agree that we don’t ever want them to feel so bad about a mistake that they can’t come to us.  I want them to feel safe and loved enough that they aren’t afraid to make a mistake.  In other words, if something big happens, they will know that we are here to help/fix/comfort/correct…they can come to us.  When you overreact or are unapproachable, it deters someone from feeling safe enough to seek help.  I’m not sure if that all makes sense on paper, but as you were talking last night, the feelings were similar as if it were on God’s end with us. 🙂

    Also, concerning your testimony, I love that there’s a difference between being ready for something good to happen…when it happens, and being ready/happy right now because something good COULD happen.  It’s the belief that He can do anything…and will if He wants!  It takes out the, “Oh, I wish He would…” or “I hope one day…”, and replaces it with, “Isn’t it wonderful that God can fix that right now!”

    Occasionally during these types of meetings, I imagine myself gone and these words are being spoken with me in mind.  “This is really how people would talk about me?”  There is so much love for someone fallen away.  Hurt, but so much love and care for their future.  I think, “Man, if you only knew how we feel…”  It touches my heart so deeply to know that we are a body of people who really do care for one another!  What a special place to be!  A very safe place to come back to in time of trouble. 

    Thank you for last night. 🙂

    Leah

  • Knowing God

    Still feeling the wonderful effects of yesterday’s meeting.  Between that, and the wonderful readings: Montanus and Father and Son, I feel so richly blessed.  Asking Jesus to let it go deep.  What you said yesterday keeps ringing in my heart, “if what you feel is from  God , and you recognize it is God, then that is knowing God” I love that!  That’s what I want more than anything.  To know God and be more like Him!  Walking over to the meeting yesterday morning, I was talking to Jesus.  I told him I don’t want what I’m saying to be just words and yet my heart is far from you.  What you sent yesterday (the blog “Let Both Grow Together” https://pastorjohnshouse.blogspot.com/2024/04/let-both-grow-together.html) about the wheat and the tares is always so sobering to me.  The thought of being so blessed in the middle of this body and me just being a tare makes me give pause and ask Jesus to not let me get by with anything!

    But then to get to the meeting and feel the feelings and recognize they weren’t me.  I sat there thinking about knowing God and it just overwhelmed me.  Understanding the value of what it means to have the Spirit of God on the inside of us and recognizing it’s God is what all God’s children need!  Amen!

    Lee Ann

     

     

  • Montanus Sentences

    Hi Pastor John,

    Doris and I are amazed at the book that you were able to write about Montanus from the little information of one liners and two liners that you were able to find that the scholars had written about him. It reminds me of the night that I woke up and asked Jesus how you were able to write a book with so little information?

    When I asked, He responded with “he has had a measuring stick.”

    I replied with a question, “With a measuring stick”?

     He said, “Yes”. There was a pause and He said, “the truth”.

     I pondered over His reply and the thought came to me that you understood Paul’s gospel of Uncircumcision and this was your measuring stick.  From this you were able to determine that Montanus understood Paul’s gospel, and that’s what he believed and taught.  This is why the apostate fathers, and Christianity hated him so much and destroyed his writings because it was contrary to what they were teaching.  We love these notes and what you have written about Montanus and we are very thankful that Jesus has given the understanding us to believe it.

    Randell and Doris 

     

  • God’s Rest

    Hi Pastor John,

    I am working in Virginia today, and I spent the morning thinking on the reading from God Had a Son before Mary Did and what I felt last night.

    I came into the meeting so exhausted.  We have both been working very hard to do things to the new house so that we can move in.  As I sat there last night, I could feel the rest that we were talking about.  The real rest and the refreshing that comes from Jesus.  I had to close my eyes and just breathe it in.  I have spent this whole drive to Virginia letting it soak in how merciful and true what Jesus said he would give us really is.  It is one thing to read about it but it is so wonderful to sit in that room and experience it as we go.  I remember what living in this world did to me before Jesus came for me. I understand to some degree what Solomon felt and what he was so desperately longing for. 

    In the part called “The Spirit or the Flesh”, you quoted Paul: “But the fruit of God’s nature is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness, faith, meekness, self control.  Against such, there is no law.”  Just reading that felt so good.  Jesus once told me in 2012 that there was only the spirit and the flesh.  He put that in my heart in the very beginning.  Just that title stirs my heart.

    And when we read “Filled Not Touched”, I felt the Amen!  I thought of my recent visit with a dear relative of mine and some feelings I had after that visit.  Just a touch is not enough.  Jesus did not die for anyone to stop at just a touch. 

    I used to wonder if I would ever know how true the truth is, like Jerry talked about knowing. It brings tears to my eyes to realize somewhere along the way Jesus has been making sure I do.  Somewhere along the way, he has put it in my heart.

    I looked up some verses on rest, thinking about what I wanted to find, but what stood out to me most was these verses:

    Isaiah 28:12 – “ . . to whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which you will cause the weary one to rest, and, This is the refreshing.  Yet, they would not listen.’”

    Prov. 6:10 – “A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest . . .

    Prov. 21:16  – “The one who wanders out of the way of understanding shall find rest in the congregation of the dead.

    I am so thankful for God’s rest!

    Beth D.

     

  • Last Night’s Reading of Section 2

    John,

    Last night’s reading was very good, as others have already said.  I think this chapter is my favorite, although that could change as we continue.  Almost every sentence is a Pearl.  I particularly like the section on the saints’ warfare with the flesh. You have spoken on this matter many times over the years, but I think what you have written in Section 2 brings the point home more clearly.

    This paragraph stood out to me:

    “God’s life makes us foreigners to our old selves, our own human nature, and as new creatures in Christ, the warfare of God’s children on earth is a warfare against who they used to be and who their fleshly nature tells them they still are. As it was with Jesus, our warfare is not against any worldly power; it is a battle against the spirits of this age, including our own, to remain steadfast in who we are after we are created as God’s children in Christ (Eph. 6:12).”

    It reminds me of Natalie’s testimony, “You can dig that old girl up, but you can’t make her live!”

    Thank you for all the work you have put into this book.  Like you have said, it is an encyclopedia of spiritual truth.

    Tom 

     

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