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Pastor John,
I feel so much faith after listening to my Ruth reading for the Old Testament class*. Ruth’s husband died, which left her with Naomi, and then she found Boaz, and married him, and that lineage led to Jesus. God has it all planned and the pieces will fall into place for our lives, too, at just the right timing. We just need to love Him, and stay close to Him, to reap those blessings when the timing comes.
Anna
Hi Pastor John,
I just wanted to share some thoughts with you about last Sunday’s meeting. There are absolutely no words to adequately express how I felt during that meeting! Out of this world, heavenly, love bombed, vulnerable, lifting of burdens, free, at peace, humbling, and happy; to name a few. It felt that God designed and tailored that meeting perfectly just for me! Jesus really does give us exactly what we need with His perfect timing! His love is so overwhelming that we can’t even imagine it within our own minds. I’m so thankful for his loving kindness toward me, and I can truly say that “goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life!”
Every meeting seems to get better. I thought my last meeting in February was my best. Now, I believe this last one trumps even that! Every meeting is different, and I love all of them. It’s kind of like what you said about certain saints that you’ve met over the years. You said, “That’s my favorite one!”, but then someone else comes along and you say, “Now, that’s my favorite!” But you realize that they’re all your favorites. It’s kind of like the meetings. They’re all my favorites.
I absolutely loved your explanation of the “meeting place.” It’s not a carnal construct like a physical location or place. When Jesus prayed to the Father, He asked for his disciples to be with Jesus where He’s at.
John 17:24 “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.”
You said that that prayer wasn’t for his disciples to go to heaven, but where Jesus was at presently, in the Spirit. Because Jesus hasn’t ascended up to heaven yet, his prayer was for them to be in that place where He was. That’s our meeting place with Jesus. Unified in spirit, having fellowship with the saints, being led by his spirit is our meeting place. Also, being of the same mind, judgement, heart, and love for one another in Christ. His Spirit, you said, allows us to call on the Lord and serve Him with one accord.
I’m so thankful for the Family of God! I really enjoyed listening, a couple of weeks ago, to Tom’s song, “The Family of God.” One line says, “when one has a heartache, we all share in the tears, and rejoice in each victory.” Because we’re family, I felt comfortable enough to become vulnerable and share my testimony of pain, and the happiness that followed. In a way, it was very therapeutic for me with Jesus being my therapist! Thank God He has taken that pain in my heart away and replaced it with happiness. He gave me an outlet of dancing, from my heart, in front of my family, and He gave me the opportunity for my family to get a small window into my heart. I wanted to share those memories because they touched my heart, and I knew it would touch others as well.
I really enjoyed what you said about happiness. You said, “Don’t be settled on being happy because He’s got something better in mind for you.” That’s so very comforting to know that promise. More happiness every day, yay! And then you said that manna gets old. There’s new manna tomorrow! I don’t know exactly what’s in store for me next, but I know He gives us the desires of our hearts. All we have to do is be in His will and ask sincerely! I don’t want to pitch that tent of happiness just yet, because I know there’s more blessings coming my way!
Love, In Christ,
David
I know that Jerry always appreciates feed-back from his students, so I am sharing some with my teacher!
You and this Old Testament course* have really opened my mind to the fact that what once seemed impossible, may be possible after all!
For example, let’s say “spontaneous human combustion.” Before this class, I would have never considered this possible, but after the way my brain feels from this week’s geography, I am definitely open to the possibility! 
Just kidding! I love your Old Testament course, and I love you! 
And my brain hurts!
Beth
Good Morning, Pastor John,
While listening to some old meetings this morning I started praying for God to merciful to my parents. I prayed “dear God please be merciful to my parents I don’t want to think about their eternal torment”. Before I could pray another word, the holy Ghost answered, “then don’t think about it, think about how YOU don’t want to go there”. That was the end of it. I felt I knew better than to continue with that thought process and start praying for something that was not already decided.
I just wanted to share!
Love,
Mark
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Hi, Mark.
The natural feelings we have for loved ones and others we have known and been close to can make us want to pray for them, even after they are gone, that they will be blessed. It was such natural love which produced such Christian traditions as burning candles for the dead and which inspired the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory.
But as you said, their judgment has already been decided. It is good that you heard from Jesus concerning that important point. His voice makes all the difference for us and determines whether we serve God after our own desire and opinion or serve Him according to His will.
Thank you for writing.
Pastor John
Good morning Pastor John!
I have had many questions lately, but every time I started an email with the question the holy Ghost inside me wouldn’t let me finish. Like, “should I arm myself, start hoarding supplies”, etc. The way most people here are doing, for the coming storm. The answer is no. Trust God, submit to whoever He puts in charge of you.
Since I have been reading the gospel tracts* I am getting answers to them. This morning the holy Ghost let me know WHY He didn’t want me asking: I must do my work first. The answers are readily available for all if I (we) do OUR work. I am sure I will have questions not answered in the tracts or bible study but I have to do my work first.
I just wanted to share what I learned so far today.
Also, the Random Thought for the Day was so good! I never thought about sin that way, but I do see the truth of it. The holy Ghost says don’t go there, and if you do, trouble is just ahead. Good thoughts to keep close!
Thank you!
Love you all!
Mark
* Going to Jesus.com Tracts – How I Received The Holy Ghost
** Going to Jesus.com – The Road To Salvation
Hello Pastor John,
After hearing a couple of the gospel tracts being read*, the holy Ghost prodded me as to why I hadn’t read them all before now. So, I have been spending much of my time reading and listening to them the last couple of days. This has replaced listening to the CDs, which were also a blessing to me. But the tracts are even more of a lesson. I find myself listening; sometimes the same tract a few times, over and over, thru the day. I find myself more productive, more content, and happier every day. It is hard to see yourself as who you really are until God’s Spirit shows you. I thought I was doing all I could. I wasn’t even scratching the surface! I pray He will continue to show me what I need, and I will listen and do it.
Thank you!
Love you all!
Mark
I wonder how many things in this life have “curled up and died,” when they have tried to bite God’s children, like the poisonous snake that bit brother Frank years ago.
I would imagine not a thing has broken through God’s protective hedge that He didn’t ordain.
Jerry
Good Morning Pastor John!
I feel like I get blessings every day! The last couple of days have been my happiest so far. Listening to the CDs, I heard you talking about killing the old man daily. I had always thought he was dead the moment a person received the holy Ghost. That wrong belief left an opening for confused feelings and thoughts. Now that my eyes are open, I find myself happy just doing daily tasks! A new kind of happy! I am sure I have heard that message before, but for some reason, I never got it until the last few days. Maybe it’s because I am dedicating myself to listening to God’s word while doing tasks. Instead of making a special time to listen, I now just put the CDs in when I am home and run them almost all day.
I am adopting the attitude of not being anxious over anything as well. No more fretting “what if”. When that thought arrives, I attack it with “God will give me what I need!” It doesn’t stay long after that. I am sleeping better since. Instead of falling asleep worrying about this or that, I fall asleep in wonder of what God will do next!
I thank God for loving me!
Love,
Mark
Morning!
I have really enjoyed going through the Hell book.* Yesterday, as I was going over it, I first came across this in the section “Is the Pit another name for Hell?” You wrote, “The Pit, also like Hell, has levels, and the wickedest men are cast into the lowest level of it (Ps. 55:23). And after he was crucified, the Son of God went there, too: ‘You have set me in the lowest pit, in the darkest of depths’ (Ps. 88:6).” Then, I ran across this in another section: “Before he ascended into Heaven, Jesus’ descended first into the lower parts of the earth” (Eph. 4:9). As I was reading this, I started thinking about when Jesus died, that he went down to the “heart of the earth three days and three nights” (Mt. 12:40). It was interesting to think that maybe it took him three days and nights to visit the degrees of Hell. Reading it altogether, the wickedest of men are in the lowest level, and Jesus was sent to the lowest pit. And also, he descended into the lower parts, another level, of Hell. And in John 8:56, “Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he might see my day, and he saw it, and rejoiced.” So, he saw the righteous in one of those levels, or in several levels. Seemingly, he saw the righteous and the wicked in their degrees.
But the thought that came next for me was that Jesus is the only one who has and was able to visit all aspects of the earth, beneath it and above it. And so, he knows all his creation, both the good and the bad, and thus he can know us in all ways, whether faithful or not and where we will end up for eternity. He is not “unknowing” about anything, he has experienced it all. When he was in the “lowest pit”, he prayed to get out of there and he said to his Father, “you have shown me many and grievous troubles” while he was in Hell. He said next, “cause me to rise again from the depths of the earth” (Ps.71:20-21). His Father apparently wanted him to know what it was like in the lowest of low. –– and he had just gone through awful torture on the cross, and this place was worse than that. It wasn’t that he “preached” to the wicked because he was going to convert them; it seems that he was sent there by his Father, to know about it. To know his creation and see the result of his creation and the result of those who did not value or esteem his creation, and then also to show himself as the one “through whom the world was created,” even to the righteous. Although, I’m sure he was declaring the works of his Father along the way 🙂
I just like thinking on the fact that the Father wanted Jesus to know everything! And also, his own value. What he had just done by suffering that terrible torture and death was going to save the people he loved from an awful and terrifying end. And also, the encouragement that Jesus has sent and made available to us that we can make it with him. I felt much thankfulness and fear of God and love in this book from the Father and his Son. And applying that to us, that Jesus wants us to know about him and our value. We are truly loved by Jesus if we have received God’s life and understand what was done for us and what we have been saved from. 
Amy B.
* Going to Jesus.com – What the Bible really says about HELL
Morning,
Yesterday when I was reading the Hell book,* I came across the section “Who is in charge of Hell?” It says, “Satan has nothing to do with Hell. In fact, he will never even go there. At the end of this age, Satan will not be thrown into Hell but will directly be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is not Hell but a place into which Hell itself will ultimately be cast (Rev. 20:14).” I thought how good it is to know the truth about the Devil! There are so many spooky myths about him. It has been ingrained in people’s hearts and minds that the Devil and God are in a battle and that Satan is over Hell as God is over Heaven and they are adversaries, when in fact, he is not even in Hell.
In the book, you explain that Satan (the Devil) was in heaven and was cast down to earth, not into Hell, by God. There is no war going on in Hell with Satan in charge. It’s funny when you think about it, really. If you take the Scriptures and put them together, as you have done in the Hell book, you can see that Satan is not in Hell and has nothing to do with it. In short, the Devil is never even going to go to Hell, and he has nothing at all to do with it. That’s a new and big thought for many. So, that should lead you to the question, If he is not in Hell, where is he? And, if he is “is walking to and fro in the earth . . . seeking whom he may devour”, how is he doing that? That’s the big question. If we can get our minds off of the Devil and his pitchfork, and the notion that he has any kind of power against God, we can focus more on the actual “works of the Devil”, and where they are hidden. What a clever facade he hides behind, one propagated most by undiscerning believers!
I’m so thankful that I never worry about the Devil and that I was never taught that the Devil was in control of anything that has to do with me. That is a terrible, worrisome fear for many. I love thinking that God is in control of my life, and concentrating on what can I do to please Him.
God help us to look where the real power is! Again, I am thankful for the truth. Without that, we would be lost in the midst of myths.
Amy B.
* Going to Jesus.com – What the Bible really says about HELL
