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Pastor John,
This thought for the morning is so good! It goes right along with the feelings and what was being said tonight. It doesn’t matter what we’re going through, Jesus is always right here to help us through. 
Michelle
https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_thoughts.html?tname=tfm11-29
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Pastor John,
Galatians 4 says this:
What is the difference between the Jerusalem in verse 25 and the Jerusalem in verse 26?
Verse 25: “present-day Jerusalem, for she is in slavery”
Verse 26: “but the Jerusalem above is free”?
Michelle
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Hi Michelle.
I am glad you are not just reading the Bible, but are also thinking about what you are reading.
In Paul’s day, the “present-day Jerusalem” was the city of Jerusalem in the land of Israel. That Jerusalem and those who belonged to her were still in bondage because they were still under the law and were required to keep it. On the other hand, the Jerusalem that was “above” and free is the New Jerusalem (Rev. 3:12; 21:2) that belongs to “the Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16), that is, to the people who have received the holy Ghost and have been circumcised in their hearts, not their bodies (Rom. 2:28–29).
We who have been baptized into the body of Christ are “free” from the law (Rom. 7:4) so that we may live and worship in the newness of eternal life (Rom. 6:4). Our beautiful Jerusalem, with its gates of pearl and its streets laid with transparent gold, is still to come; nevertheless, it is our home.
I hope that helps explain the difference. Thanks for the question!
Pastor John
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Happy Thanksgiving John!
I have to tell what Jesus did for me! The last few day my foot was bothering me. When I got home Tuesday, I could barely walk. I have a bone in my feet that becomes dislodged sometimes. I go see a podiatrist, get an injection, and the foot wrapped. A few days later it is good. I decided that I had to go see my podiatrist. So, Wednesday morning, as soon as they opened, I called to get an appointment. They were booked and no way to get me in. I got a Monday morning appointment. So I called a different one, but no one answered. Closed for the holiday, I assume.
By now, I was caught in the whirlwind of work. So I endured until the end of the day. Walking became nearly intolerable. The foot hurt, my muscles were cramping as I would lock the muscle in and around my foot so it wouldn’t move while walking.
I made it home wondering how I would make it until Monday. As I was going thru the living room, I felt compelled to get on the floor and pray. I hesitated for a moment. I didn’t want to have to get back up. But I overcame that thought and got down on my face and prayed for relief. I begged for healing. I promised God I would tell everyone what He did for me if He would help me. I have no idea how long this took.
Funny thing about fervent prayer: time, long or short, isn’t it; you don’t experience time the same as normal. But I digress. When I got up in the middle of the night for my normal bathroom visit, my foot was sore, and my muscles sore, but there was not the overwhelming pain. I thanked God, praying again, and told Him that I would remember my promise if this was really true. I slept like a baby.
This morning, again slight soreness in the foot, but my muscles are normal. I can walk normal. My foot flexes with no real pain. We serve a great and wonderful God!
I have to keep my promise. So I am starting with you. I am going to tell my coworkers at work today. They all saw me dragging my foot.
I always wonder how He will show Himself next! He has done so much for me.
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Thank you for all your work teaching the truth about God!
Mark
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Whew Pastor John!
I don’t want to write to you every day, but I can’t help it today. I am amazed.
I can’t believe that Jesus is letting me understand this! I remember reading the Bible for the first time and turning the pages, telling Jesus that I didn’t understand a word of it but that I was gonna keep going. And then, one day Jesus let something go in, and that was a game changer for me.
I was reading scriptures on “faith” this morning from Roman’s 3 and 4. So, I wanted to read more in Romans 4 because we have been reading about faith and works. When I started the chapter, my thoughts were that I can see how people get confused about the issue of faith and works, but when I slowed down and read the whole chapter, I was amazed at the clarity. I then wanted to confirm that Paul wrote Romans, and so, I went to chapter 1, and I became mesmerized just at the clarity of the description of who Paul was. Wow! And then I had to keep reading.
It really is a matter of the heart. The hearts of those believers in Rome grabbed onto what they wanted, and mine did, too. I thank Jesus that I love His truth!
I feel the sweetest love for Abraham this morning. Abraham followed God before he received anything from Him. I see why he was God’s friend. And any heart following after God before the promise of the Spirit is given is like Abraham.
We all did that. We sought after God and kept coming before we received the Spirit, and God loved seeing us do that and soon sealed us with it. That makes me very mushy toward the hearts of those who are now wanting His Spirtt.
(By the way, mushy is best when two or more are gathered!)
Who knew Romans 1 and 4 were so good!
Beth
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Pastor John,
I was reading Genesis in my King James Version Bible and in the margin of chapter 3, I had written the below note:
SATAN>STEALS confidence in God
>KILLS zeal for God
>DESTROYS fellowship with God’s children
This went along perfectly with our last Father and Son readings!* The serpent was Satan because it did all of the above to Eve. Christianity is Satan’s work because it does all three things to children of God ensnared in its web. Satan is the Slanderer because the above list is the outcome of slander.
The moral corruption in this world isn’t due to Satan (as you said last Wednesday); it’s what our human nature desires. Satan and his demons may use man’s moral corruption to their own ends, but Satan and his demons are not the instigators of that moral corruption—it’s innate in those whose lives have not been cleansed by the Holy Ghost.
It feels good to have this clarity! Thank you for all your teachings!
Allison
* Father and Son Reading, 26 PDF
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Pastor John,
Luke 13:1 says, “There were some present at that time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.”
Did Pilate literally mingle the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices so as to mock them and God?
Beth.
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Hi Beth.
I assume so, Beth. Jesus never just made stuff up, nor did he ever exaggerate a situation. But this is all he ever said about that, and it is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible.
Pastor John
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Good Morning!
I have a question from The Father and Son reading. 26, Section 2.*
“To be vomited out of the mouth of Christ is to be cast out of the body of Christ, which is the ultimate—and irreversible—curse in this life.”
Is this the same spiritual condition as being tartarized? I remember from the Hell book (https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_books.html?tname=hell) that a tartarized person does not realize they are cursed. Cursed and living in this world awaiting judgment is such a scary and sobering thought. I remember when I was away from the Lord crying to Jesus many times for him not to do that to me, to please show me how to repair things. I really feel like in a lot of ways that kept me pushing along. It still makes me shiver thinking about Jesus being pushed to that point.
This recent reading, makes you start checking yourself. How are my conversations and actions when no one is looking? How am I as a wife and mom? How’s my attitude been? It’s easy to sit in a meeting, but where are our hearts when away? I never want being in the meetings or praising Jesus to be just a form in my life….. Lord let it be my life! In everything I do!
Thank you, Jesus, for the check-points along the way. And thank you for these chapters. I feel like everything in my day looks different. These chapters in some ways feel like warnings from Jesus.
Margo
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Hi, Margo.
Yes, for Jesus to vomit a person out of his mouth is to be tartarized. May we never fall into that category. But there is no need to worry. If we value his mercy and keep our conscience clear, we will always be safe in his care.
Pastor John
* Father and Son Reading, 26 PDF
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Hi Pastor John;
Our reading last night, to me was very sobering (Section 2: HYPOCRISY).*
. For years, a lot of us have thought that being “lukewarm” was being in the middle, to one degree or another cold and hot. But when we read that lukewarm is past hot or cold, and being a worse condition than cold, it makes you want to check your heart and see what and who you are. Not looking to what we see but to what God sees about us. Only then can we really go to God in prayer for ourselves and for others.
We truly are in a special place to learn these things that Jesus has been teaching you. I feel very much loved and cared for by God and you. It’s like the Pearl this morning that said, “God plans to save you.” And, like Stuart says, “. . .if you let me.”
Thank you, Bro. John!
Billy
* Father and Son Reading, 26 PDF
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Pastor John,
As I was reading the very encouraging message of today’s TFE (Thought for the Evening): “Where do we go?” (https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_thoughts.html?tname=tfe11-16). I was reminded of something that I had only noticed about a week earlier, while reading through the book of Genesis.
Just like you wrote in the TFE, I, too, had been convinced, for a long time, that when God told Abram to leave his father’s house and go to the place He would later show him, Abram was still living in Ur of the Chaldeans. Well, as I was reading chapters 11 and 12 of Genesis recently, I realized that is actually not the case. 
Abram was still with his father, Terah and it was Terah who decided to leave Ur, and took Abram, Sarai and Lot with him (11:31) and they went to Haran and “dwelled there”.
Now, the next verse says that Terah died in Haran, so I’m not sure what God’s command for Abram to leave his father’s house practically meant, but what seems to be clear (at least for me) is that God spoke those words to Abram while he, his wife and lot were in Haran (12:1-5). As verse 4 says: “And Abram went as Jehovah had told him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.”
I thought this was something worth pointing out.
Zoli
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Hi Zoli.
It is always worth pointing out what the Bible says, so thank you for that. Yes, Abraham left Ur of the Chaldees with his gather and brothers, but it was Abraham, while still in Ur, who heard and responded to God’s call to leave:
Acts 7:
So, it appears as if Abraham had enough influence with his father and brothers that they went with him. We are told nothing about that, but it was definitely Abraham’s decision to leave Ur after God spoke to him.
Pastor John
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Pastor John,
There is so much said in Luke 11, and so much instruction! I know that you know it, but it is so good reading it! It makes me think of Damien ‘s testimony: the Truth is everywhere when God opens your eyes to see it.
I have a question about verse 52. This was before Jesus died, but was Jesus speaking of what was to come, or is there another meaning for that time as well? What would be the key of knowledge if not the holy Ghost? Was Jesus referring to himself and his death that they pleaded to Pilate for? What did they think he was talking about?
Luke 11:52. “Woe to you experts in the law! You took away the key of knowledge! You yourselves don’t enter in, and you hinder those who are entering.”
Beth D.
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Hi Beth,
I do not know what Jesus meant by “the key of knowledge”, but I feel sure that it had something to do with Jewish leaders exalting the traditions of their elders to the level of Moses’ law. When ministers make a tradition as important as God’s commandments, it confuses people as to what is holy and what is not. It has happened through the millennia, and it happens all the time now, that certain church traditions are considered holy and are exalted as highly as things that really are of God. And God’s dear children who have joined themselves to Christianity’s churches stay confused by that. Thank God, we have escaped that snare!
As for what Jesus’ listeners thought he was talking about, that is anybody’s guess. It was probably all over the place.
Thanks for the question.
Pastor John
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