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  • Genesis 4 – Cain’s Fear

    Hi Pastor John, 

    During our Old Testament class* we are taking with Mark, Brad and Allison, Mark asked, “where did the other people come from?” Today, Michelle and I were listening to one of the CD’s, God is punishing Cain to be cut off.  Our question is where did the other people come from that caused Cain to be afraid?  Up to this point all we know are the descendants from Adam, no one else. 

    Thank you,

    Kevin

    ==========

    Hi, Kevin.

    You all are doing a good thing, going through the online Old Testament class.

    As you continue through the Old Testament, and the New, for that matter, you will find that there are stories that leave off a critical time element, so that the events seem out of sync, if not impossible.  I suspect that is the case here.  The story you mentioned makes it seem as if Adam only had two children, Cain and Abel, at the time Cain murdered Abel.  But those two sons were both grown at the time (just how old they were, we cannot say), and I assume that Adam and Eve had many sons and daughters during the previous years.  Apparently, Adam’s sons and daughters married one another.  As Adam’s family expanded, there would have been quite a few children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, etc., and they could not all have lived in the same area.

    Adam would have had a multitude of children over his lifetime: “And the days of Adam after he fathered Seth were eight hundred years, and he fathered sons and daughters.  And all of the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died” (Gen. 5:4–5).  And after earth’s population increased sufficiently, God forbade marriages of close kin.  Before then, however, very close kin could marry.  Abraham and Sarah were half-brother and sister, and God was OK with that in their time, but in the law (centuries later), God plainly forbade such marriages (Lev. 18:9, 11).

    There are many unanswered, and unanswerable, questions about the earliest days of earth (Genesis 1–11), and we wonder about such things, but we have to stay focused on what is revealed.  Moses told Israel: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but things that are revealed belong to us and to our children”.

    That’s the best I can do with your question because the Bible does not deal with that issue.  It’s one of those “secret things that belong to God”.  So, I just say “OK”, and move on to learn those things God has revealed.

    Thanks for the question.  A lot of people have wondered about that, including me.

    Pastor John

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

  • Leviticus 23:27, 32 – “Afflict Your Soul”

    Pastor John,

    What does afflict your souls mean in these verses?

    Leviticus 23:27. “Also, on the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day for Atonements; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall afflict your souls, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord.

    Leviticus 23:32. It shall be a sabbath of rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. From the ninth day of the month at evening, from twilight to twilight, you shall observe your sabbath.”

    Beth D.

    ==========

    Hi Beth,

    That phrase “afflict your souls” means to fast and pray, and to do no work, that is, treat the day as a Sabbath, as God said in Leviticus 19:29 and Numbers 29:7.

    Thanks for the question.

    Pastor John

  • Well Written

    Pastor John,

    I have always loved something well written.  Not necessarily in an intellectual sense but in a thought-provoking, can the writer take me with them sense.

    I heard the tract Jezreel* yesterday and as I heard the Mizpeh Conference by Preacher Clark, I thought of how well written it is. How well written the tracts are.  I have always thought Uncle Joe wrote well also.

    I was talking to Jesus this morning about the bible/OT and how much I love the shadow of him in it. No one can write like God!

    When I was a little girl, I loved to read and my favorite books were adventure books that I got to  choose on my own . The reader could choose which ending to read. I always loved that because then the story did not end as quickly, there was more to the story!

    Not only did God write a story within a story but He knew that hearts would be created with His spirit and that when they read His story, He would talk to them and give them new thoughts and feelings over and over again. Who but God can write a book that you can never finish reading!

    There are always feelings and thoughts available! A story, not every reader will see or feel but the ones He chooses will! And the ones He chooses can go to a place in the story with God at different times.

    It’s poetic and beautiful and has love, adventure, mystery, etc.! God gave us everything!

    I sincerely love how God writes. I pray I get to tell Him that one day in person. I have a running list of all the things He is so wonderful about that I daydream about getting to tell Him!

    Beth Durham

    * Going to Jesus.com Tracts – Jezreel

  • Colossians 2:16-17

    John,

    Since in Colossians 2:17 “are” is used, is Paul saying the law had not passed away at that time, or is he just communicating it will always be a shadow?

    1. Therefore, do not allow anyone to condemn you in matters of eating or drinking, or in regard to a feast, or a new moon, or a Sabbath,
    2. which are a shadow of things to come, but the reality is of Christ.

    Wendell

    ========== 

    Hi, Wendell.

    I am glad you are thinking about what you are reading.  The law probably had not yet passed at the time Paul wrote that letter.  It is the same for other works of Paul.  For instance, the book of Hebrews (which I believe Paul wrote) is filled with present tense verbs when the writer speaks of the law, especially the activities of the priests under the law.

    At the same time, the law will always be the shadow of Christ that God intended.  That is what makes study of the law, indeed, the whole Old Testament, so beneficial for believers today.

    Thanks for the question.

    Pastor John 

  • Colossians 1:23

    Pastor John,

    How can Paul say the hope of the Gospel has been preached to very creature ?  I understand creation speaks to the heart that there is a Creator and that being has provided for all by the natural elements (rain, sun, food, life, animals, plants, trees) testifies that the creator cares.

    Colossians 1:23.  … provided that you continue in the faith, established, and stable, and unmoved from the hope of the gospel which you have heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, was made a minister. 

    Wendell

    ============

    Hi, Wendell.

    Paul only meant that the gospel had been preached to every race, both Jew and Gentile.

    If we take what Paul said literally, we may start acting as crazy as “Saint” Francis of Assisi.  He took Paul literally and went around preaching to animals.  This is from the internet:

    “Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and environment, could be viewed as the original Earth Day advocate. … Francis cared for the poor and sick, he preached sermons to animals and praised all creatures as brothers and sisters under God.”

    Don’t do that.  Stay sensible and just confess Christ to the humans that you meet.

    Hope that helps.

    Pastor John

    ============

    Pastor John,

    Decades ago, I was given permission to fish on property owned by the Catholic church. As a caveat, I was instructed by the priest to pray for each fish that I caught.

    I showed no disrespect, but I thought the requirement sounded funny. We eat fish. It seemed strange to pray for a fish that I was going to eat. I could just not eat the fish if it needed saving from me. The man’s request seemed to put fish on a plane that God did not create for a fish.

    After seeing Wendell’s email today and your reply, I realized that many people today would probably find virtue in what the priest required of me. At the very least, they would make room for his personal belief system.

    But there is no virtue in a personal belief system when it comes to God; it is just being self-willed. Anything done in the name of God that isn’t from God makes us our own God just without saying so.

    Jerry

    ============

    John,

    Your response was not what I was thinking about. Let me say it this way. 

    I was thinking creation preaches that there was a Creator, but I can’t see where all have had the gospel he preached. 

    For that to happen doesn’t a preacher need to be sent?

    Wendell

    ============

    Hi Wendell.

    I suppose we have to say that God sent His creation, don’t we?  “The heavens declare the glory of God.”

    Pastor John

    ============

    Pastor John,

    Your conversation with Wendell sparked some thoughts.  The gospel is the sweet message of the revelation of Jesus, the son of God who was hidden from the foundation of the world.  And Jesus was only revealed once he came to earth, died, ascended, and sent back the holy Ghost.  But the heavens were declaring the glory of God since creation, even while the Son was hidden.  What changed with the heavens from declaring God’s glory to preaching the gospel of Jesus? 

    And yet if it’s not the heavens that preached the gospel to every creature, how could Paul say the gospel had been preached to every creature when he, or others during his day, had not traveled to every part of the world yet to preach the message of Jesus? 

    Richard F.

    ============

    Hi Richard.

    Nothing changed with the heavens at all.  The only thing that changed was man’s understanding of what the heavens were declaring.  It is exactly like the law and the prophets.  The law and the prophets were declaring nothing but God’s glory, as far as Israel knew, until the Son was revealed.  Then men began to understand that the heavens were declaring the glory of both the Father and His Son.  And as David said, there is no place on earth where that message has not been heard:

    Psalm 19:

    1. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament displays the work of His hands.
    2. Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night declares understanding.
    3. There is neither speech nor language where their voice is not heard.
    4. Their line goes out over all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

    Pastor John

  • Man’s Muzzle

    Pastor John,

    I was thinking about how restraint of the flesh as a form of worship to God is unacceptable. Jesus’s work is a work of the heart, and only living in that heart that Jesus creates is acceptable.

    If you want sin, living without it means nothing in this new covenant.  There is a better offer on the table – a heart that doesn’t want sin.

    Nothing but what Jesus does is acceptable to God, and that is a work of the heart.

    Jerry

    ========

    Hi, Jerry.

    All the religions of men are muzzles on the beastly nature of man. The law of Moses was the best muzzle for men because it was given to men by God, but still, it did not change man’s beastly nature.

    Thank God for this covenant, this “new and living way” of life!

    Pastor John

  • Billy’s New Childhood Story

    God Touches My Appendix

    From: 1972

    Billy Mellick

    It was about midday during the summer of 1972.  It was during a work week where dad and mom were not at home because they were at their jobs, and I was old enough to stay home by myself.  I can’t remember where my brother and sister were, maybe outside playing or at a neighbor’s house.  Since I was the oldest, I watched my younger siblings while dad and mom provided us a living.  I guess I was around 13 or so.

    Suddenly, while I was in the house, I began to feel a sharp pain in my right side.  It was so severe that I had to lie down on the bottom bunk of my brother’s and my bunkbeds.  The pains would come and go, but the last one came and would not go away but kept getting worse.  The excruciating throb in my side doubled me over until my head touched my knees.  I was in a cold sweat by now and in tears.

    As I lay there, I remembered the faith of my mother.  She believed in the healing power of Jesus.  I had had experiences with Jesus healing my feet after my mother had prayed for them when I was in the 2nd grade, and at ten years old, I had another experience with Jesus when He showed me where, on a dreary rainy day, I had lost the ten dollars I had that was to feed the thirteen people who were living in the same house.  I found the ten dollars, and we had lunch.  As I pondered those experiences, I started crying out to God in my heart and then very softly, verbally.  I couldn’t get up to get help, nor was there anyone around to cry out to other than Jesus.  I remembered praying, “Jesus, I have no one to help me . . . will you help me?”  The pain was unbearable as I was calling out on His name. 

    I really don’t remember how long I was on the bunkbed feeling the pain, with my head doubled over touching my knees, but again just as sudden, I felt a warmth touching my head and a calmness in my little mind (as I do now writing about it) that slowly flowed down my body until I felt it around my front right side.  When that warm and peaceful feeling stopped at my side, I heard the word, “appendix”.   I had never heard that word, at least I don’t remember if I did, and I certainly didn’t know what it was or what it meant.  I remember feeling that kind of feeling when Jesus healed my feet.  I spoke softly again, “I know who are, and I know what you can do – will you please touch me again?”  The pain immediately subsided!  My body straightened out on the bed, numb from the peace it felt.  I rolled over and stood up on the floor without any pain in my side or belly at all.  I don’t remember much what happened that day, only that I went outside to play.  But I do remember the joy that I felt that Jesus heard me once again, and I thanked Him for hearing a young boy pray. 

    My dad and mother, I learned, had had their appendixes removed, and when Judy and I had our son Josh, at eight years old his appendix ruptured.  It was only prayer by God’s people and a touch by Jesus that prevented us from losing our child.  It is now 2021.  I am 61 years old, soon to be 62 and I have never had another flare-up from my appendix.  Jesus really touched and helped me.

    I recently saw an old video on YouTube of an Oral Roberts healing service.  He was teaching that healing is the “children’s (of God) bread”.  He went on preaching that there is one thing that God cannot refuse, and that is when you ask Him, “Help me!”  He will help you, but Brother Roberts went on to say that Jesus wants you to turn your heart towards Him, repent, live right, do right, turn your life around.

    My Pastor, Brother John D. Clark, Sr. said many times over the years, “God has used Brother Oral Roberts in the twentieth century to turn more people’s hearts towards God than any other man since the Apostle Paul.”

    Jesus is still here!  All we must pray and ask is, “Lord, help me.”

    God, help us all!

    Billy Mellick 

    More Chilhood Stories…

    childrens-stories.pdf (goingtojesus.com)

  • Footprints on the Map

    Morning!

    A couple of weeks ago Sandy testified about something the Spirit showed her concerning this phrase from Matthew: “occupy ’til I come.”  She called me to tell me that the Lord had shown her something and she wanted to be on the list to come to the meeting when you did the Matthew reading so she could tell it.  While on the phone, she told me about it.  It brought to my mind something the Lord told me in October 2010.  You had just given us a message on honoring the gift of God.  It was very good, and afterwards, we all were prayed for.  When you laid hands on me, the Lord had a message for me through you: “occupy ’til I come”.  And I remember talking to the Lord about that and saying, “What does that mean???” other than what I thought it was, namely, occupy my place and continue doing the things I know to do in the Lord.  When Sandy called and told me what the Lord told her:  Occupying ’til I come means “Let me [God] occupy you”, it was an answer to a question I had asked 11 years ago!  I thought I knew the answer and was doing what I thought was it, but when Jesus gives the answer, it’s more than what you think you know.

    I have been looking through my papers of things that Jesus has told me through the years that I have written down and thinking to make a collage of them.  Interestingly, when I opened the box last night, the index card sitting right on top was just that: 10/2/2010 while being prayed for, “I will heal you.  Occupy. . . occupy [your place] until I come.  I am coming”.  I thought, wow, then and now!  I had just been thinking about that, and there it was.

    Shortly after that, I found where I had had a very touching visit from Jesus in which the Lord used Natalie Embry to relay a very tender and intimate message to me from him in March of 2005.  A most precious visit from the Lord, I must say.  As I was reading over it, it read: “I designed your path.  You are mine” and other sweet words from Jesus.  But I didn’t remember some of the things the Lord had said to me, and one of them was “in due time”, said a couple of times over.  I never questioned that, nor did I ask what that meant.  I was so smitten with what had happened and Jesus talking to me, I didn’t think or ask about what was coming in “due time”.

    As I was reading those things last night back to back, I was seeing the footprints on the map of my life perfectly designed by Jesus.  I didn’t know what was coming, and I couldn’t have planned it.  In 2005, Jesus knew I was going to need to be focused on his things for the next few years in order to do my work as a helper.  And, I didn’t know that during that time, Jesus was going to touch a young man in Nebraska and start him on a journey in Jesus.  Then, fast-forward to October 2010, the Lord tells me “he’s coming” and basically, to be prepared (“Let me occupy you”).  One year later, November 2011, Jesus sent Vince to Graham to be my husband, and that is when our story began.

    It’s really sweet to look back on your life and see the footprints on the map.  Reading what the Lord told me, the instructions he gave me, and how he planned the whole thing, I didn’t know what was coming, but he did.  When you see things in the light after the fact, you wish you would have known the details 😉 so you would have done better or differently, ha!  But here we are!  We got here.  There are so many more details in the story, but realizing that Jesus loves you and knows you personally and what you need and think and feel, is very special.  I love the messages lately and the emphasis on realizing how much you are loved by God.  To get that down deep in our heart takes time, but once you realize it and believe it, you can’t get away from it.  It draws you.  It’s the best love affair there is.  And it makes everything else in this life sweeter.

    Amy B

  • Jesus IS the Truth

    Pastor John,

    Years ago when I would heard you say, “…the Truth is a Who, not a what!” I always understood that to be because a man – Jesus – embodied all the elements of the truth that God gave.  I was still believing the truth was a WHAT…I just didn’t realize it.

    Then one day, like a light switch popping on, I felt the words you were saying and understood, GOD’S TRUTH IS JESUS.  Not because Jesus represents God’s list of what is true, but because God created a Son and his name is Truth!  He is Truth!  Jesus doesn’t fulfill or represent anything in God’s creation.  He is the beginning.

    It reminds me of listening to an Old Testament teaching CD* one day and thinking, “What kind of man was Jesus, to be able to come and fulfill all of God’s Law!?”  And the Spirit spoke to my heart and said, “Jesus wasn’t sent to fulfill the law, the law was sent to try to fulfill Jesus!”

    Jesus was the first of everything! 

    So good.

    Jerry

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

  • Love Is Not Fellowship

    Pastor John,

    I loved reading this random thought for the day. It reminded me of my relationship with sister Natalie.  I had known her my whole life; she was there when I was born.  Jesus put us together!  I thank him for that.  I miss her greatly.  She was the friend that made me stay close to Jesus to be her friend.  Our relationship was strictly Jesus; he was the common denominator.  We never one time went shopping together – Not that there is anything wrong with shopping, but it was just a connection beyond this world and what people call love or friendship.  If she didn’t hear from me in a day or two, she would call me and say, “What have you and Jesus been talking about?”  When I needed it, she would even say, “That doesn’t sound like God.”  She pushed me closer to Jesus!  

    We all need to have and to be that kind of friend.  Paul said “She showed you how to be that kind of friend; so be it! “

    Here is that Thought for Today that I read:

    Love Is Not Fellowship

    From a conversation with Brother Stuart

    Hi Pastor John,

    While I was staying at your home this weekend, I dreamed that I was visiting some saints at their home, along with a group of other saints. There was about 8 to 10 people gathered there, and we were sitting around talking about God and other things in general. Everyone there loved one another, and we had a good time. But when I left there, I felt like something was missing. Something did not feel right. I felt a little ashamed.

    Then the scene changed, and I was at another saint’s home. There was about the same number of people there, but different people, and you could feel the Spirit flowing from breast to breast, one to another. It was wonderful. We were doing the same thing as was the group in the first home, and we all loved one another as in the first home, but the feelings were so strong here! Even when we did not say anything, it was there.

    Then the scene changed again, and I was sitting in your office talking to you, and I was saying, “The Father loved the Son, and the Son loved the Father, and the love was going back and forth from the Son to the Father, and from the Father to the Son.” And then you said, “It takes more than just love; it takes fellowship.”

    And instantly, like a light bulb going off in my mind, I knew what God was showing me in the dream. I love a lot of people and would do whatever I can for any one of them, but love does not make fellowship. That is something that is only given by God, and I can’t tell anyone how to have fellowship any more than I can tell anyone who God is and make them understand it.

    Bro. Stuart 

    ==========

    Hi Brother Stuart.

    I like the way you said it to me here in my office. “Trying to explain fellowship is like trying to explain God.” That is true.

    Fellowship is when we have the same mind and share the same feelings and judgments about matters in this life. There have been people in my life whom I knew and loved for twenty or thirty years, or more; they were in prayer meetings many years; we went places and did things together; and yet, I never had fellowship with them. They never knew it, because they never knew God. Or me. Or even themselves, really.

    Fellowship includes loving people, but fellowship is not love. It is more than that. It is the unity that Jesus and the Father had and that Jesus prayed we would have, in John 17. And where there is that kind of harmony among the children of God, there is peace, healing, and sound judgment for the good of the body of Christ.

    Pastor John

    ==========

    Jammie

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