Pastor John,

I just finished watching sister Willie on a video.  I have had this same feeling and thought twice about it now in the last few weeks.  We need to be in shape for whatever God wants to use us for.

We have been reading in Joshua in our Old Testament Class,* and as I read it, the thought I had was what if Joshua’s mighty men were sitting around eating Cheetos and out of shape when God sent them to conquer Canaan’s land?  They would have been useless to God.  They had to be in shape at all times for whatever God was going to send them to do!  I really felt that thought, and I have been praying for Jesus to help me be in the best shape I can be in. 

We never know when God may send a new or an old heart our way.  I want to be in the best spiritual shape to give a testimony or say ” Amen”, or maybe even say “No way”!  Whatever God may want me to do!  How awful it is to be out of shape when Jesus calls your name!

As I watched sister Willie, I was loving how much I hold onto her testimony.  I love holding onto her shirttail, following her “mouth full of thankfulness” home!  So many times, I tell myself, “You can’t be thankful and grumble at the same time.  They don’t go together.”  That gold from sister Willie has saved me from a wrong attitude so many times, and it had me asking Jesus to make me thankful.  It works! The right gets rid of the wrong!

Beth

* Old Testament Course (Pt. 1) – Going to Jesus.com

Hi Pastor John,

I want to write to you about a testimony that is so very similar to your testimony about The Straw Man.  Some months ago, you began to speak about The Straw Man, and it reminded me about my testimony from when I was a girl.  I had an experience where Jesus showed me about The Paper Man.

When I was girl, maybe 10 years old, I was playing in the back yard by our brick BBQ.  We never used the BBQ for BBQ’s; rather, we just burned twigs and branches and leaves in there.  Well, this one day I was standing on the opposite side of the BBQ, and I had a vision from God.  Before me, I could see a giant towering and intimidating man made out of paper.  When I looked closer (waist level), I could see he was actually made up of thousands and thousands of tiny pieces of paper with writing on them, somewhat like fortune cookie paper or paper tickets, but there was much writing on them, and the writing was academic writing of man.  The word “plagiarize” came to me.  I was old enough to have a rudimentary understanding of the word, but I recall being a bit intimidated by the word, because it was a “big” word.  But I understood these papers were writings of man that were copies of other men, and the writings were just repetitions, and nothing new being said.  No revelation from God.  And they were false.  I also had the understanding this had been going on for a very long time, at least “a thousand years” was the time frame that came to my mind.

As I stood there and marveled, I was intrigued that the size of The Paper Man was so very intimidating, but he was only made of paper!  Yet, I could feel its imposing intimidation.  But it was false!  As I marveled at this, I briefly came out of the vision long enough to notice the Red Head Matches that were set on the BBQ, and I understood (like your testimony) that it would only take lighting these matches to set the whole thing on fire.  I marveled more at this, and my heart greatly wondered at the man in the future who will have the privilege of setting The Paper Man on fire and destroying it.  I wanted that man to set it on fire right then!

It will be a wonderful day when that Straw Man/Paper Man is destroyed by fire!

Love,

Jenny

As I listened to some of last night’s fireside chat, I couldn’t help but think of how Africans were treated so cruelly. The dehumanization you talk about was exactly how their shipment from Africa to other parts of the world shackled and in quarters similar to those of cattle, living in their own feces and given just enough sustenance to keep enough of the “goods” from perishing was justified.

Economics motivated the slavery operation and was then justified by “science” that said things about Africans similar to what Hitler and his regime said about Jews.

The cruelty of man truly knows no bounds

Allison

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That is so true, Allison.  Slavery has always been around, but the English/American form of it was horrific.  And according to the angel who stood at the foot of my father’s bed one night, God was very displeased.  The angel gave a warning to my father to the people in this country, “from the president to the peasant”, saying that “the white man stole the black man from the land God had given him.”

It hurts my heart to think of black mothers forcibly separated from their little ones, and the many other ungodly cruelties those slaves suffered.  But God saw each one, and we can be assured that “a book of remembrance was written” for them all.  Because of God’s perfect justice, nobody “gets by” with any evil deed.  And thankfully, because of that same justice, every good deed will also have a reward.

Pastor John

Pastor John,

I found the video of the Asbury revival interesting.  The things this man said about a vision he had in 2001 stood out.  In the video, this man, Dutch Sheets, talks about a vision he had in September 2001 right after 9/11 while speaking at a conference.  Recently, on 1/25/23, he was interviewed and retold that experience/vision he had in 2001.  Two weeks later, on 2/8/23, the Asbury event started. 

In the vision from 2001 Dutch Sheets saw a revival of young people that “wanted more of him, and they really didn’t want religion, they didn’t want our forms, they didn’t want somebody to preach at them.  They wanted to know about Jesus. They wanted a relationship with him, but didn’t want religious form.  They wanted something different.”

As a result of what he was seeing in the vision he began to say, “How are we going to steward this?…. How do we teach them without trying to put them in a form and in a mold that they know nothing about and don’t want?  How do we teach them relationship without religion? … “This is going to be incredibly difficult to steward.”  Then he said, “We are going to need to be ready to take them into His presence and allow holy Spirit to teach them and allow holy Spirit to shape them, to show them what he wants and who he is.” 

That man told of a vision he had over 20 years ago.  I don’t know if it has anything to do with what is happening now, but either way, those tentacles of Christianity (as Gary called them) are always waiting to strangle out anything that Jesus does.  Jesus help them!

Here is the video: 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=c6MoYSDjEkw

Amy French

https://youtu.be/gBSMMSIQDm8

I love this!  As I listened to it, I thought about you being on trial and a court of law playing this. There is not one thing wrong in this. It is not against anyone, it is just for God! The spirits that find something wrong in this are not for God. They are against God.

I can hear your words ringing in my heart “I can’t find one thing wrong with the truth.”

Me either! 

A heart for God will love this!

Beth

Hi John.

Last night, when Darren and the folks were singing his song, “What do you want from Jesus?”*…. At some point in the song I heard Anna singing a harmony.  It was very low in her voice, it sounded like a male voice, and it had some sort of “angelic” quality to it, at least that’s what my ear was hearing.

I hadn’t been looking at them while they were singing, but when I heard Anna’s voice I had to look over to see if it was her or not.  The feeling that came was, “this is anointed”… it touched me.  

Every time I heard Anna singing her harmony in “what do you want from Jesus”, something would come to mind like: “to never (carelessly) hurt another person”, or, “to have a perfect and honest heart”, etc.  I hadn’t thought about it beforehand, each of the thoughts and desires just came spontaneously, like I was ad-libbing, and I felt like Jesus was really listening and would work to accomplish those desires.  It was a special experience, just wanted to tell about that while I’m thinking on it this morning.

And thank you for your message on the father and son. It’s good to be reminded that the Son is “it”, and how blessed we are to live in a time when we can understand Him.

Gary

* Seven Pillars Music.com – Gospel Music CD Gallery