{"id":676,"date":"2009-12-28T08:13:34","date_gmt":"2009-12-28T12:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/Correspondence\/?p=676"},"modified":"2009-12-28T08:13:34","modified_gmt":"2009-12-28T12:13:34","slug":"drunk-and-sober-for-the-new-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/676\/drunk-and-sober-for-the-new-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Drunk AND Sober for the New Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi pastor John,<\/span><\/p>\n

I have been really enjoying the things I have been learning and feeling over the last couple of weeks.\u00a0 When I think of some of the things that have been said, the words \u201csobering\u201d, \u201cpeace\u201d, \u201csafety\u201d and \u201corder\u201d come to mind.\u00a0 This seems to be the overall theme of what I have been feeling from you and others lately.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really know how to put what I have been thinking & feeling into words, but it feels clean and right.\u00a0 Your messages on \u201cJust one plural \u2018you\u2019\u201d, on being free to be either a wise or foolish virgin (but not free to sin), on eating & drinking unworthily; and the songs and dreams people have had about pride (Token, Amy); and the corrections and reproving that some have been receiving.\u00a0 Just to name a few \u2013 there is so much bread from Jesus I feel like I\u2019m not able to eat it all!<\/span><\/p>\n

I listened to the Tithes and Offerings CD the other day, and after I was finished, I had such strong thoughts of \u201cclean\u201d, and \u201cpure\u201d, and \u201cauthority\u201d, and feelings of thankfulness, that I had to jump up and shout and dance.\u00a0 After a few minutes I felt drunk!\u00a0 It felt so good, and sobering at the same time.\u00a0 I spent most of my teen and early adult years trying to be a rebel, and scoffing at authority, and despising government..but Jesus has begun to show me that I was really just rebelling against who he really created me to be.\u00a0 I\u2019m finding out that I actually like being under authority, and that it brings such a feeling of peace and safety.\u00a0 It was so much work trying to be that person!<\/span><\/p>\n

Another thing \u2013 about a week ago I had a good conversation with sister Margaret on the phone.\u00a0 I was updating her on the previous Skype meetings and she was telling me how things were going with her.\u00a0 We were talking about eating & drinking unworthily and she said something that I felt like was a word from the Lord for me.\u00a0 I had just been praying for God to speak to me in some way \u2013 to teach me something new or let me know something \u2013 when Margaret called.\u00a0 She said something like, \u201cYou know, when we show up for the meetings on Skype, it\u2019s the same as showing up for the meeting in person.\u00a0 You have to have a clean heart and be living clean with a clear conscience to be worthy to be there.\u00a0 They can feel us in the Spirit when we are there.\u201d\u00a0 This was so good to me.\u00a0 \u201cSin will not be allowed in that place\u201d doesn\u2019t mean a physical place \u2013 it\u2019s a spiritual place.\u00a0 There had been some things in my life that I just wasn\u2019t sure about, like having a wrong attitude towards people (such as my wife & kids) who have not come to understand the changes that God has made (and is making) in me.\u00a0 What Margaret said made me step back and examine myself and my attitude.\u00a0 I have just enough knowledge from God to be dangerous or hurtful to someone, if I have the wrong attitude.<\/span><\/p>\n

And speaking of having a wrong attitude, I have had at least two dreams lately that were sort of similar to brother Tim\u2019s dream of having a wrong attitude towards Christians and others who have not come to know\/understand the truth.\u00a0 I wish I had written them down, because I forget the specifics now.\u00a0 Basically, there were several instances in my dreams in which I was mistreating a person whenever they were opening up to me.\u00a0 They were being honest with me and sharing their thoughts and feelings, and I would scoff, or sneer, or roll my eyes, or ignore them and walk away, or something like that, to show my disapproval of the things they believed.\u00a0 I can remember waking up and having such a bad feeling after treating them that way.\u00a0 It was as if I was \u201cslapping them in the face\u201d for what they believed, and Jesus was letting me feel the hurt that they felt for my attitude towards them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sorry for the book, but I wanted to share some of what I\u2019ve been thinking and feeling lately.\u00a0 I am so very thankful that Jesus rescued me and led me to a man who teaches things that feel right and clean and holy.\u00a0 This work and this group of people that God has put under your care is a HUGE thing.\u00a0 It is the tiniest little thing on the planet (when you think of the billions of people out there worshiping God in thousands of different ways), and yet, because of what God has done, it is the BIGGEST thing on the planet from what I have seen!\u00a0 He truly has chosen the \u201cfoolish\u201d and \u201cbase\u201d and \u201cweak\u201d and \u201cdespised\u201d things of the world to confound the wise and the things which are mighty.\u00a0 Praise God!<\/span><\/p>\n

Vince<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi pastor John, I have been really enjoying the things I have been learning and feeling over the last couple of weeks.\u00a0 When I think of some of the things that have been said, the words \u201csobering\u201d, \u201cpeace\u201d, \u201csafety\u201d and \u201corder\u201d come to mind.\u00a0 This seems to be the overall theme of what I have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-netmail"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/676\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastorjohnshouse.com\/mailbag\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}