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  • The law of liberty

    Hi Pastor John,

         The morning reading of Paul’s letters have been full of so many wonderful feelings and understanding from Jesus.

         When Jesus gives us the Spirit, he is writing the law of liberty on our hearts.  God is jealous over His children and He loves us too much to share our hearts with anything on this earth that is going to pass away. 

         Paul didn’t know what he was doing was going to be so meaningful for God’s family for centuries to come; he was wholeheartedly obeying God, trusting no man and especially not himself!  He went through all the persecutions that Jesus said he would go through.  He preserved, obeying God’s will to carry the gospel of Christ, even when he discerned that each congregation and some of his beloved brothers were slowly falling away to false doctrines and opinions.  What disappointment he had to overcome and what hurt he felt for Jesus, but look at how much God blessed him through it all!  What heavenly treasures Paul has to look forward to, and I want to see him enjoying them!  If we have the law of liberty written on our heart, He always wanted us!  If your heart was put here; believe 100% that God wanted you here with us and we have a purpose together, even when — like in Paul’s time — our purpose is not yet fully revealed. 

       Reading the Revelation book (https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_books.html?tname=revelation) has made me realize there is no fence.  What clarity Jesus brings with that reality!  There is a godly way to think, to live, and to work towards fellowship together in and through Christ.  You’re overcoming the world, including your flesh and the powers on this earth that will be destroyed in the end, to live in the hope of eternal salvation.  We will always be His, eternally, and God never wanted eternal damnation for us.  There’s plenty of space for all of us on the new earth.  No matter what God used on this earth to get us here and there — things that have earthly form, like Christianity, specific biological families, etc. — we can be thankful for whatever means He used because it all belongs to Him and lovingly brought us to Him.  When overcoming the world, we are free to die daily in our hearts to all of its forms and laws (including the ones He used to get us to where we are today) so we can truly live wholeheartedly in God’s law of liberty for us. 

         I’m so thankful He chose us!  It is the eternal blessing.  Let us make God happy that He chose us! 

    Wendy

     

  • Ephesians

    Good evening, John,

    I have loved reading these letters from Paul in the mornings!  In them, we are learning more about who we are!  Who Jesus created us to be!  Ephesians was packed with so much richness this morning, and there was not one wasted word in the whole letter!  I could feel Paul exhorting us to move into a place with Jesus where we could experience the “breadth and length and depth and height” of His love.  I told Ben yesterday that Jesus has blessings he wants to give us, but we have to at least make ourselves available to receive them!  If we are running here and there, constantly consumed with the cares of this life, then we are going to miss out on something precious that Jesus has waiting for us, and I have told Jesus that I don’t want to leave anything He has for me on the table! 

    I loved Tom’s song from yesterday, “I Want My Lord to Be Satisfied With Me”.  That last verse has been my prayer:

    Lord give me strength, give me courage, make me bold,
         that I may lead some lost sheep into the fold,
         that I might stand unafraid and work for thee,
         that you might be fully satisfied with me.

    But Jesus has been teaching me through Paul’s writings that the boldness I am seeking is not something that He will sprinkle on me like fairy dust.  I am learning that the key to having the kind of boldness that I desire is to simply fall in love with the Truth so much that the Truth becomes who I am.  As Damien says, “It’s in the man.”  So then, whatever I say or do is just right!  The boldness is in there.  It doesn’t have to be loud.  It doesn’t even need a voice.  It’s just who I am!  Just be who Jesus has created me to be, and that’s all the boldness I will ever need!  I believe it’s all part of growing in God.  Growing into that new creature He created me to be.  I love it.  If we stay available, God will teach us and we will continue to grow!  Thank you, Jesus!

    Lee Ann

     

  • The Love of God

    Hi Pastor John,

    I loved this morning’s reading, so good!  I didn’t want to leave!

    Reading about Paul and getting to know the man has stirred something in me.  It’s put a prayer in my heart for more of the love of God.  When we get full of the love of God, we’ll speak right, act right, and treat people right, no matter what that looks like.  It takes the worry out of life.  Paul could correct Peter because of the love of God.  Paul could withstand being in prison because of the love of God.  Paul could go where the spirit led him because of the love of God!  I love that!  That is liberty!

    Michelle H.

    www.pastorjohnshouse.com

    www.goingtojesus.com

    www.songsofrest.com

  • Contributing to the Body of Christ

    Hey Pastor John 🙂

    I was going to say this in the meeting tonight, but didn’t get around to it!  Today I was working on some things and just talking to Jesus.  I heard Him tell me “You don’t eat unless you contribute.”  When I heard this, the first thing I thought was, “Well, yeah, that’s right; we need to contribute.”  When Uncle Billy was testifying tonight, I was able to learn more than just what he was testifying about.  I had what the Lord had told me earlier in the back of my mind, and tonight, He really showed me what He meant.  By Uncle Billy testifying, he was contributing to the body, and if God allowed us to, we were able to eat and apply it onto our hearts.  But it doesn’t end there.  Because Uncle Billy shared his testimony, when I go through a time of trouble, I can remember what he said and let it motivate me to have the attitude Uncle Billy did.  When my trial passes, if I handle it right, I will have a testimony to share with others and contribute to the body of Christ.  It is a wonderful never-ending cycle, if everyone does their part.  It showed me that our testimonies are not only for us, but for everyone in the Body of Christ.  We have to contribute and fulfill our part in the body of Christ; if we don’t, it just won’t work!  Everything about tonight felt so good and just full of life!  We don’t need to worry if we’ve got God! 

    Grace C.

    P.S. Sorry if that was confusing with all the words, I was just trying to get what was in my head down 🙂

     

  • Question: Romans 1:29

    Pastor John,

    Good Afternoon,

    I was just reading thru Romans again and in comparison to other traits discussed in this verse “gossipers” here sounds too soft to me. It’s probably correct, but I am thinking more on the order of slander. Perhaps it’s because of how the word gossip is used today’s society.

    1:29. being filled with all unrighteousness: fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, and full of envy, murder, strife, treachery, ungodliness. They became gossipers, 

    Just a thought,

    Wendell

    ==========

    Hi Wendell,

    I understand how you are thinking about it.  I looked up the word again, and here are the only two options for translation of that word that Mounce’s Greek dictionary gives us: “a whisperer, gossip”.  So, given those choices, we went with “gossipers”.  Also, this is the only verse in the New Testament where that particular word is used.

    Thank you for the observation.  We can go into more depth about it during our next translation session if you would like.

    Pastor John

     

  • Acts

    Reading in Acts today touched me.

    https://goingtojesus.com/gtj_translation.html?tname=acts

    I want to be like Stephen.  His mind was fixed on Jesus no matter what was happening to him.  I once saw a scene in a movie of a young woman being stoned, and it was horrific.  I had to turn it off after just a few stones were thrown.  I can’t imagine what it would truly be like.  But Stephen — being pummeled with rocks and still keeping his eyes on Jesus — that touches my heart.  He even prayed for the people throwing the stones!  To be so full of God that all he could see was God.

    It made me think of the dream I had recently where the whole point was to look past the storm and look for Jesus. 

    I want to be like Stephen. 

    And I really like what Wendy said.  It stirred my heart to think that the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection and did not want Jesus’ blood to be blamed on them, saw the signs that maybe they were wrong.  Maybe this man was from God.  It must have terrified them.  But instead of humbling down and crying out, what did their hearts do?  It really left me praying for a pure heart.  Whew. 

    51.O you stiff-necked men, and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the holy Spirit! As your fathers did, you do also.

    52.Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, of whom you have now become betrayers and murderers –

    53.you who received the law by the disposition of angels, but have not kept it!”

    ¶54. And when they heard these things, they were cut to their hearts and began gnashing their teeth at him.

    1. But he, full of holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

    And I love what you said about Jesus standing up for Stephen. 

    Love,

    Beth

     

  • Tears

    Good morning.

    Yesterday I was lying down with Jack and I noticed he had a little speck of dirt right in the corner of his eye. It would have hurt him if I tried to get it at that time so I left it alone but I also knew it would hurt him if it went into his eye. A little while later, he cried and I noticed that the speck had gone down to his cheek with his tears. It made me think about things we go through in life that bring sorrow and that make us cry, and that through that pain, Jesus washes out things about ourselves that shouldn’t be there and may otherwise hurt us if they stick around. There is a cleansing that can happen in painful life situations, and I think that’s the point.

    Love you.
    Anna

    ========

    That is so true, Anna.  I have seen it and I have experienced it.  The book of Hebrews (5:8) even says that Jesus learned through the things he suffered.

    Thank you for that.

    Pastor John

     

  • Question: Luke 2:49

    Hi Pastor John,

    The verses below tell about when Jesus was 12-years-old and he stayed in Jerusalem and his parents couldn’t find him and went looking for him. I do not understand where he was coming from when he responded with what he said in verse 49, about him being ‘about my Father’s business?’ At that young age, years before he was baptized in the Jordan by John and the spirit came on him, and he became the Christ, how was he able to say what he said?

    1. And the child grew and became strong in spirit, full of wisdom, and God’s grace was upon him.
    2. Now, every year, his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover.
    3. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem, as was the custom for the feast,
    4. and the days being completed, the child Jesus remained in Jerusalem when they started back, and Joseph and his mother did not know it,
    5. but assuming him to be among those traveling with them, they went a day’s journey, and then began searching for him among their relatives and acquaintances.
    6. And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him.
    7. And after three days, it came to pass that they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
    8. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
    9. And when they saw him, they were overwhelmed, and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you done us like this? Behold, your father and I have been in anguish, looking for you!”
    10. And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be about my Father’s business?”
    11. But they did not understand what he said to them.

    Thank you,

    Anna D.

    ==========

    Hi Anna.

    That is good question, one that most of us have pondered over.  The answer is either that Mary had told Jesus about how he was conceived of the holy Spiirt (thus making God his real father), or the boy Jesus just felt a special kinship with God  . . . or both!

    That’s the best I can do with that question.  Thanks you for asking.

    Pastor John

     

  • Thanks for our morning Bible readings

    John, 

    Thank you for all the time you have given to prepare these readings each morning.  I have been very blessed and humbled to go through the Old Testament and the Old Testament prophets (Going to Jesus.com – Bible Translations) especially, as amazingly quickly as we have.

    It’s been wonderful to go over these things together.  I have been extremely humbled especially to read the prophets over the past days because I am reminded (if I ever really knew it at all), just how much I DON’T understand about what these holy men got, and passed on, from Jehovah.  I don’t understand most of what they are talking about.  It has made me want to get still and learn more of God and the Spirit they had.  

    At one point these prophets, several at least, have said things like “woe to the shepherds who have abused and not taken care of the sheep, and have led them astray, etc.”  But we cannot say that John.  You have spent your life and much time teaching us truths that God has given to you, continually and faithfully.  Thank you for that, and for all that you do to get us ready for these readings and your teaching in general.  I feel renewed and  nourished, in being at these morning readings with everyone and I just wanted to take this moment to thank you.  It means a lot to my heart and I know of no better way to start each day than by what we’ve been doing.  I am thankful.

    Gary

    ===========

    Thank you, Gary.  I am so thankful for the us that Jesus has put together.  My hope is that Jesus is pleased with our work.  That is everything.

    jdc

     

  • Kind of life

    Good morning Pastor John,

    I am up reading in God Had a Son Before Mary Did 9 (Going to Jesus.com – God Had A Son Before Mary Did) about the different kinds of life, and something you wrote stopped me.  When you explained why the earth became so wicked after the flood — that angels lusted after the beautiful women on earth and abandoned the heavenly bodies with which they were created — it made me think about Matthew 22.  I’ve always thought that when we reach our eternal home, we will not be male or female.  But Matthew 22 doesn’t actually say that.  It only says that in the resurrection there will be no marriage, and that they are like the angels of God. That made me slow down and really read Galatians 3, but that is about us all being one in Christ.  It is striking that angels wanted to mate with women when that was not part of their created kind of life.  My question is this: Does the Bible say anywhere else that we will not be male or female in heaven?

     Matthew 22

    1. Then Jesus answered and said to them, “You are deceived, knowing neither the scriptures nor the power of God.
    2. In the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels of God in heaven.

    Galatians 3

    1. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor freeman, nor male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

    Beth

    ==========

    Jesus is the one who revealed that there will be no marriages in the life to come.  I assume that means that the glorified bodies God’s saints will receive after the resurrection will be neither male nor female.  Spiritually, it is true now that in Christ, there is neither male nor female, as Paul said, but life in the Spirit now is a foretaste, or “earnest”, of what the next life will be like.  Paul taught that, too (2Cor, 1:22; 5:5).

    Pastor John

     

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