Yesterday, on the first day of the first year of this new decade Abundant Life Church saw tangible evidence of the miraculous power of God moving in our midst through the prayers of the saints! We are going to see much more of this in the days to come…

Here is what happened… A Paralympic skier who is a member of the family of one of our flock was hit in his wheelchair at an intersection by a car going 45 miles an hour on New year’s Eve and was knocked out of his wheelchair and up onto the windshield. He was rushed to the ER. As soon as that happened, our church member called for prayer to Pastor George and I and several other prayer warriors on a text chain. The Lord, through His Spirit, gave me specific words to speak on that chain which turned out to be prophetic.

In His Grip of Grace and Love,

John Henry

When I was in the world, before giving my life to Christ, I would let the circumstances of any troubling situation drive my direction and decisions.  It was my human nature, based in my PHYSICAL reality, that caused me to REACT to whatever was going on around me.  Call it fight or flight.  When good things were happening, I was happy, but when I perceived that bad things were happening, or about to happen, I became UNhappy and fearful, so I reacted, often making the situation worse.

When I said yes to Jesus’ Lordship over my life at age 43, I understood, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and His revelation through the Word of God, that I no longer had to REACT to the circumstances that were bringing change to  my life, but that these circumstances were being PROVIDED for my good and if I RESPONDED in my spirit to what the Holy Spirit wanted to do in my life, I would see true growth in my relationship with God and the people He had put in my life.

Romans 8:28 was one scripture that enlightened me on this point.  “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Unfortunately, now that I have been mostly delivered from these fear-based reactions, I know many Christians who, when faced with life challenges, react in their fleshly understanding instead of believing God’s Word and embracing the situation in faith.  They too, are driven by fear and fear-based perceptions.  The Apostle Paul illuminates for us the solution to this.  We must make the choice to believe God and we will then know how to be CONTENT in whatever circumstances we find the Lord has allowed in our lives.  GOD HAS A PLAN.

Paul was chained between two Roman guards for two years when he wrote this.  His circumstances were dire, but he knew that God had allowed whatever Paul was experiencing for His Glory and Paul’s benefit.  He wrote…

Philippians 4: 6,7 “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Phil. 4:11-13 “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:  I know how to [d]be abased, and I know how to [e]abound. Everywhere, and in all things, I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Remain blessed, in all you do acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

John Henry

Today, I had a mentoring session with a long-time Christian brother who only recently gave his whole life to the Lord and has begun to take up his cross daily and follow Him.  I am always joyful when a person who identifies as Christian but is seeking true relationship with God, comes into Abundant Life Church and gets what I lovingly call “switched on”.  This particular fellow, upon asking Jesus to be the Lord of His life, began praying and reading the Bible daily, seeking regular fellowship with the Body of Christ, and began meeting with me weekly as Care Pastor for Abundant Life.

After a few months of attending Abundant Life Church and our weekly Men’s Bible Study, shortly after we began our weekly sessions, he revealed to me that the Lord had put the poor on his heart and he knew he wanted to do something about it.  This was remarkable, he said, because he had not before been one who particularly cared about homeless or disadvantaged people one way or the other, and had, he said, been more likely to look away when confronted by, or was forced to be in the proximity of, “those types” of people on the street.  As he revealed this to me, we prayed for the Lord to open a door for him to use his newfound passion. The following Saturday morning, at our weekly men’s Bible study, I hooked him up with a good brother and fellow soldier of mine who goes to a different church and has a monthly Skid Row ministry where he takes volunteers to get an orientation at the Dream Center in Los Angeles and then takes them to the streets of Skid Row to bring the love of Christ, and give water, food and clothing to the people who are living there in miserable conditions.

In our meeting today he was telling me, now that he has been going to Skid Row monthly for about six months, he wants to start up a weekly meal for the homeless in Simi Valley.  He is on fire and it is all Glory to God!  As we were praising Jesus for the work of the Holy Spirit in my friend, I was reminded of how amazing God has revealed Himself in my life and that even though we who serve don’t need validation for the work, we do often receive it through God’s incredible generosity and love.

This was what the Lord brought to my mind as I remembered.  At a weekly church feeding in Van Nuys, about 12 years ago, there was a regular client named Virginia.  She was a sweet, disheveled and very dirty older woman who looked to be in her late 70s (but may have been younger).  She was always very appreciative of the food we served, and also of the Word that was preached.  When I first met her, she would always sit by herself and seemed fearful of the others, especially the homeless men.  I would always try to strike up a conversation with her, and she was very kind and grateful, but closed to much interaction. Whenever I asked her if she needed anything other than the food we were serving, she would always say “no thank you” and that was pretty much all. One day, we did begin to talk and I asked her why she was so afraid to be around the others.  She revealed to me that she had been raped several times on the street.  When I learned of this, I made a point of introducing her to some of the other women.  Over the course of about a year, she began to form friendships with a couple of other women who had had similar experiences on the streets and eventually, the three of them pooled their meager resources and were able to stay together in a local motel.  As she was able now to shower and dress in privacy, Virginia began to take more pride in her appearance, and she was always clean.

Now that she was not ashamed of her condition, she began to seek out conversation with me every week.   I soon learned that although things for her were much better, she was riddled with guilt because she had walked out on her family when the children were in their teens because of depression and because her husband had been abusive.  She had been homeless, she said, for over thirty years.

I asked her about her children.  She said that they had gone to live with her sister in Indiana after she left and that a short time later her husband had died.  She would call her sister twice a year to see how the kids were doing but would never tell her sister where she was or ask to speak with the kids because she was too ashamed for leaving.  She lost track of her two sons and her daughter completely six years ago, she said, when her sister passed away.  I asked her if she wanted to pray for her kids.  At the suggestion she began to cry and was clearly terrified, but she agreed.  As we prayed, the Holy Spirit came on me in power and spoke reconciliation and restoration over her relationships with her children.  It was clear that Jesus wanted to give Virginia back the “years the locust had eaten”.  Joel 2:25

After we prayed, I asked Virginia if she knew where any of her kids had gone.  She said that the last time she knew, before her sister had died, the two boys had gone to live in Texas, but her daughter had stayed in Indiana.  I asked her if she wanted to speak with her children now.  She said that as we were praying, the thought has burned in her mind and heart that she wanted desperately, to reconnect with her daughter, the oldest child.  She was in tears as she said to me that she had no idea how to reach out to her.  I asked her to tell me her daughter’s name and last known location. She said that the last thing she knew was that her daughter had married a man and told me his name.  I tried to look him up on my cell phone and came up with a few possible numbers which I called but to no avail, as all those numbers were disconnected.  I then tried her daughter’s name with the man’s last name.  Many of the same numbers came up but one was different.  I felt the Spirit on me when I called that number.  I got a voicemail.  It was her.  I left a message saying that I was a Pastor and a friend of a woman named Virginia who had been homeless in California and that I needed to speak with her.

Virginia’s daughter called me back in 5 minutes.  The first thing she said to me, in fearful tones, was “Is my mother dead?” She had been home listening to my message when I called and was so shocked that it took her that 5 minutes to compose herself enough to call back.  I told her, happily, that her mom was not dead, and was in fact, standing right next to me.  I asked if she wanted to speak with her and she said, in tears, “Oh yes, that would be wonderful!  As I handed the phone to Virginia to speak to the daughter with whom she had not been in communication for thirty years, I thought she was going to faint, so I brought her a chair and they started to talk.  Here is where the Lord gave me a great gift!  I got to be a witness to God’s incredible generosity as Virginia’s face went from abject fear to unspeakable joy in the course of 15 minutes!

As it turned out, her daughter had been actively searching for her mother since her aunt had died.  She was recently divorced from her husband (who was also abusive) and was a successful business owner with a beautiful home and two kids and a beautiful extra bedroom all set up for her mother, should she ever be fortunate enough to find her.  With a look of stunned happiness, Virginia handed my cell phone back to me and said that her daughter had something to say.  Her daughter thanked me in tears and we prayed together, thanking the Lord for all He had done that day!  Her daughter was a believer who had been praying for her mother to return!  She then asked if she could make a donation to my ministry and I told her to send her offering to the Rescue Mission.

Later that very day, Virginia’s daughter wired her the money to come to Fort Wayne and live with her and her children.

A few months later, I got a call from Virginia thanking me again for facilitating the great thing the Lord was doing and letting me know that she had been reconnected with all her children and that they understood why she had left and were in fact grateful to her for getting them to safety with their aunt before she left.  They were a family again!

Anyway… I related all this to my friend who was just beginning his life of ministry to the poor to let him know that whether he gets this kind of validation from the Lord or not (and I believe that everyone who truly serves does receive it), he should always be aware that every act of love done to the poor and broken is done unto Jesus and brings Glory to God!  Matt. 25:40

What is the Lord speaking to you today?  Ephesians 2:10 says that YOU are His workmanship, created IN Christ Jesus for good works that GOD has prepared beforehand that YOU should walk in them.  Let us walk joyfully in those good works as God is glorified in us.  THAT is what Jesus IS doing!

With Joy unspeakable and love for you, my brethren

In Jesus Mighty Name!

John Henry Raskin

Roadhouse Rabbi

“Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:  Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” Luke 2:8-14

Born in a humble manger where animals were kept, the helpless babe, the Son of Mary, grew up and lived as the sinless Son of Man, taught us how to live a life pleasing to God the Father, died on the Cross as the sacrifice for all of our sin, and rose triumphantly on the 3^rd day, the Son of God, Prince of Peace, King of Glory.

This is Jesus the Christ, Messiah, born of a virgin, God of the Universe Who made Himself man for us and died so that we might be saved in Him and live forever with Him in Paradise.

He is more than Santa Claus, better than presents, He is the Gift that keeps on giving, He is the Light of the world.  This Christmas remember to be thankful for what we have received.  If you have not yet received the free Gift of salvation and been set free from the POWER of sin and eternal death than give yourself and your loved ones the best Gift ever this year.  The gift of salvation.  Say yes to Jesus and let Him be Lord of your life.

Have a blessed and merry Christmas!

With Love, through His Holy Spirit,

John Henry Raskin

Roadhouse Rabbi

When I was in the world, before I knew Jesus, I was quite literally in prison, trapped in a world where I was the Lord of my own life.  Fear and uncertainty ruled everything I did.

When I said yes to Jesus at age 43, my eyes were opened and my perspective entirely changed.  I immediately began to read the Bible and pray to understand God’s Word.

As I read the Gospels, I realized it was as if God Himself had written a letter to the warden of my prison, where I sat on Death Row, giving me a full pardon and opening my cell.

In the 23 years I have walked with Jesus I have met and ministered to and with many believers.  Some, like me, walk in the freedom and certainty of the Power of the Gospel.  Others are still sitting in open Prison cells, afraid to move.  Some are walking in a kind of freedom but carry around the chains of condemnation, guilt and shame.  Today we are going to see what the Bible says about true freedom in Christ Jesus.           Prayer

John 8:31-36 – Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

When Jesus told these new believers that they could know the truth and the truth would set them free… SOME of those listening didn’t like what Jesus said, they were offended. Why? because they saw the meaning behind those words… Jesus was looking them straight in the eyes and was saying to them, “you guys are slaves…you’re not free at all.  AND they replied,” But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone on earth. What do you mean, `set free’?”  They said this in their PRIDE at being God’s “chosen” people

Many people respond the same way today, including some Christians – “what do you mean Jesus can set me free – I AM free – I’m an American, I live the way I want, I make my own choices, I do my own thing, I don’t need anyone to set me free, I am not a slave to anyone, …” AND Jesus says; “I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin.”

Sin is rebellion against God.  It is loving something or someone more than you love God.  God’s Word says that whoever commits sin is a SLAVE to sin.

QUESTION – is the person addicted to drugs free or a slave?

How about the person who drinks too much habitually -free or a slave?

Is the person tangled up in an adulterous relationship free or a slave?

Is the person hanging out at porn sites on the web – slave or free? How about the person who plays video games 10 hours a day… slave or free?

Is the person who is immersed in materialistic pursuits or always worrying about money free or a slave?

Is the person who is trapped in anger, bitterness, slander, hatred and unforgiveness free or a slave?

Jesus says, “I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin.”

QUESTION – would you agree that sin is a major problem? WELL – just who has this problem?  Why do even those who have received Jesus and follow Him still stumble in sin?

The Apostle Paul tells us

Romans 3: 10-12

 As it is written:

“There is none righteous, no, not one;

There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

So… it’s established, try as hard as we might WE cannot FIX the problem of sin that we all have.  What can we do?

Now we know that if we are in Christ we are a new creation but how does that relate to our new-found freedom?  Just this… We are FREED from the POWER of sin.  As Pastor George teaches every week, if you are spending time IN THE WORD and getting alone with God in prayer first thing every morning, His Holy Spirit will guide you.

The Spirit of God LIVES in you. If you submit to Him, our Shepherd will lead you.  That is why we see in the 23^rd Psalm that His Rod and His Staff comfort us.  They both protect us against the lies of the enemy and they guide us “into paths of righteousness”.

Now the enemy is really good at his job and wants to TRICK YOU BACK INTO THE WEEDS OF LIFE AND draw you back again into fear and the slavery of sin.

So here is this scripture to remind you of your position in Christ…

Romans 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

Still feeling guilty and condemned?  Paul assures us…

Romans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

When Jesus said “it is finished” as He died on the Cross, what IT was He referring to?  Sin and Death?

No… People still die here.  …and even saved people still sin.

Jesus propitiation for our sins on the Cross made us free from the POWER of sin and the FEAR of death IF we choose to walk in it.

This was God’s Grace towards us in that “we are able to do ALL things through Christ Who strengthens us”. Phil. 4:13 This includes overcoming the sin “that so easily ensnares us.”

LISTEN – Grace means that salvation cannot be earned or deserved. Although God wants us to live good lives, we could never be good enough to earn salvation.

Grace is getting what we don’t deserve

In Jesus’ sacrifice we have received all the power and riches of the Kingdom of Heaven…  This is Grace…

GRACE – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense

UNDERSTAND BELOVED – God has already done His part to restore our relationship with Him, BECAUSE of His great love for us, God sent Jesus to take care of the sin problem that we all have…. God took the initiative. He offers the gift to us. AND – He waited for each of us to individually receive the gift.

Now how about that Freedom?  What does it look like?

• Consider for a moment these things from which we have been liberated.

1. .We have been delivered from the wrath of God

Rom. 5:8, 9 – “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him

2. We have been delivered from condemnation

Rom. 8:1 – “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus”

3. We have been delivered from death and Hell

John 5:24 – “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.  John 3:16 –  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

4. We have been delivered from the power of sin

Rom. 6:12-14 – Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

5. We have been delivered from the power of Satan

1 Pet. 5:8-9 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

If you truly desire to be free indeed, and to EXPERIENCE the joy of the Lord that is our strength when we truly walk in that freedom, it is going to require you to do a few things.  God’s Grace accomplished the finishing of the POWER of SIN over those who walk by faith and ended our FEAR of Death by assuring our salvation, but we have a part in the plan.

In James 4:6,7 The Apostle James, the brother of Jesus tells us, To those who love God …

– He gives more grace.

Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

This then, is the key to SEIZING the freedom we have in Christ Jesus!  BECAUSE He ended the POWER of Satan on the Cross we can do what James tells us.  We have only to humble ourselves before God and RESIST sin and it will have NO power over us.  That is freedom indeed!

WALK IN IT Beloved!  Be encouraged!  Press in to your relationship with God in Christ Jesus through the POWER of the Holy Spirit!  Today is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it!  It is for freedom that Christ made us free!!

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

These words of the Apostle Paul bring comfort to every true follower of Christ.  There are many church-goers however, who may be plagued or at the least concerned about two questions this passage raises…  Who are the called?  What is His purpose?  The following scripture clarifies this to a degree…

Romans 8:29-30 – For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.  Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

First, to me it is clear, that God works all things together for good BECAUSE we are being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ by going through trials (things which we would not desire but which God designs for us to reveal hidden resistance towards His sovereignty in our lives, giving us the opportunity to choose His way or our way).  Only by choosing His way in response to the trial (as opposed to REACTING in our flesh to the trial/problem) do we achieve victory which brings Him glory and therefore joy to us.

Many church-goers may become confounded by this passage but true followers of Jesus, who take up their cross daily as He commands, should understand that Paul is not talking about predestination in the natural, or human sense that supposes that whatever we do here in life on earth, if God called us, we are automatically with Him in paradise.  Everything we do here has eternal ramifications.  God calls but it is we who answer the call.

I maintain that we are foreknown and predestined only in the sense that in God’s TRANSCENDENT nature He is the Alpha and the Omega and so knows all within the time and space He created in a way that we, in our human perspectives, cannot.  In other words, He knew us then (before we were born) because He knows us in His eternal NOW because we have passed from death to eternal Life in Christ Jesus by the choices we make, have made, and are making here on earth in the time we have been given.

Most importantly, of course, is that in the time and life we are given, we come to believe in our inner person with faith (in our hearts) that Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected by God the Father, ruling and reigning right now from the Throne of Grace, and that we confess this with our mouths before men.  This action here causes our spirit to be awakened and allows the indwelling of His Holy Spirit.

It is through this process that we become (have become, are becoming) the “called according to His Purpose” and hearing from and obeying the inner voice of the Holy Spirit becomes our highest priority if we are truly His.  It is in God’s IMMINENCE (the Person of His Son Jesus through the Holy Spirit of God) that we can truly know Him and choose to do His Will.

And what does the Holy Spirit say?  Each of us are called by the way we are made and each of us is unique and special in God’s eyes.  Therefore, the Spirit speaks to each of us differently, but always consistent with His Word.  Here is what John the Beloved says…

1John 3:16-17- By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

If the love of God does not abide in a person, then the Holy Spirit does not abide in that person because “God is Love” as John also illuminates for us.  This leads me to think that there are many “Christians” who may have made a “confession of faith” in Jesus but do not believe in or know Him as Lord.  Jesus tells us in the Gospel of Matthew…

Matthew 7:16-20 – You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  Therefore, by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 

Why is this important to those who truly follow Jesus?  Because if we do not address let alone acknowledge, the issue of lip-service in our brothers and sisters with whom we attend church, they may never become useful members of the Body of Christ or worse yet, ever truly receive the salvation prepared for them as the called because they never in fact, answered the call, in truth.

Above all, press in and love with all you have those who God has put in your life.  It is never too late for even the hardest heart to repent and turn from their sin.

Luke 12:32 – “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Let us do His Will, His way, in truth and in Love.

Your brother and friend in Christ,

John Henry Raskin

Roadhouse Rabbi

Whenever I preach at homeless meals and love the flock, I find myself praying with anywhere from a few to dozens of people.  These people can run the gamut of faith from strong believers to people with active enmity toward God and no relationship, or positive awareness of Jesus.  When they ask for, or at least allow me to pray, it is usually because the Holy Spirit has revealed them to me as someone in need of prayer.  Typically, I will just roll up on them, look them in the eye, smile and extend my hand in fellowship.  99% of the time they will take it, sometimes even before they realize they have done so.  The believers who really have the Holy Spirit always recognize me as a fellow sojourner and so when we speak then, they immediately get to the purpose for which they want/need prayer.  Now, as I have been doing this for over twenty years and know some of these saints almost as long, we have not only this Kingdom relationship, but also a real personal relationship, so it is not surprising that they feel comfortable going before the Throne of Grace in their time of need with me.   This is also usually true of people I meet for the first time if they are truly walking with Christ.

There are those however, who take my hand almost before they realize it, and then are almost fearful when they realize that they have done so.  These are the lost homeless ones who have been traveling and existing in the darkness of the world for so long that they have almost forgotten what a positive human relationship looks like.  Much like Jesus ministered to the demoniac who lived among the graves and of whom all the others, including the disciples, were afraid, I have been given the gift of fearlessness because of the Love of God which compels this ministry.   Even these somehow know that the Hand of Grace is out to them and when I ask them if they would like prayer for their situation, they say yes (again, almost before they realize they have done so).

With both of these types of people, believers and unbelievers alike, as the Holy Spirit has drawn me to them, they are drawn to the Holy Spirit that resides in me.    I begin by asking simple questions (again as the Spirit leads me) to establish rapport, much as I have done for years as an Executive Recruiter with high level candidates and C-level hiring managers.  This establishment of rapport must be done on an equal footing, with the person that I am ministering to feeling important to me in that moment, and believing that I am not “talking down” to them (which I truly am not).  The fact that they are poor and mostly homeless only increases their value to God and to me.  Jesus said “as we have done unto the least of those among us, we have done so unto Him”.  That then, is how I will relate to each person I meet.  I let them know by my words, but also my demeanor, that it is my privilege to get to know them.

With that rapport established, and Spirit-led questions asked and answered, it is time to pray.  The “interview” has now united my soul and Spirit with God’s intention for this prayer and so when I pray, it is with the Mind of Christ, the purpose of God the Father and the Love of the Holy Spirit as the Son asks His Father for the Will of God to be done in the life of this person.  I rarely pray for what a person asks, but the prayer of the Spirit that comes from my lips answers the deeper need of their heart and THEY KNOW IT!  This is the true power of prayer as the Apostle James said “in faith, believing”.

My friends, I have seen many miracles because of God’s Grace toward the poor (and all who would come to Him in their need).  I know many pastors of large churches who languish to see the miracles among their flock that I see every day!  It is likely because they do not, in many cases, KNOW the flock as a true shepherd must.  When a church has thousands of members, it is understandable.  In the Kingdom, less is more and smaller is likely better for this reason.  I know many GREAT teachers of Scripture but very few tenderhearted and Spirit-led shepherds who take the time to know the flock.  Both teachers and shepherds are needed in every church family, and not only out in the mission field with the poor.

As I have said before, if you have received Jesus the Messiah as your Lord and decided to follow Him wherever He leads you, and then if you are also submitted to Him in real time (because that was what you asked of Him) then you too can do the things that I am doing in Christ.  Jesus Himself said that through the Holy Spirit’s guidance “the things that I have done, you will also do, and greater than these”.

With the Love and Truth of Christ,

John Henry Raskin

Roadhouse Rabbi

May 11th, 2017, my amazing mom, Janice, would have been 106 years old. I thank God for her every day. She brought me up to esteem others more highly than myself and was my relational role model as a Christian even though she was a Jewish woman. She said “yes ” to the Lord on her death bed at the age of 78. Hallelujah!

When I said yes to the Lord seven years later in 1995, my eyes were opened to the understanding that she had been operating under the Holy Spirit’s leading the whole time she was raising me.

He knows us intimately, far better than we know ourselves. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that He has prepared BEFOREHAND. that we should walk in them. ” My mom was someone who loved God, loved others and gave her gifts freely. She showed me what being a member of the Body of Christ looks like although she never went to church as a Christian. I am the child of God that I am today because of Jesus’ great love for me and what He did on the Cross. I am the servant of God that I am today in large part because of my mom’s faithfulness, love and Godly wisdom.

The Lord knows us as the called according to His purpose, as His even before we acknowledge Him. When we believe and say yes to Him the relationship is sealed.

Praise God my dad also said yes to the Lord three weeks before his death at 94 in 2008. I know that I will see them both again. God is love. Thank You Jesus for You loved us before we loved You.

Let us give our love freely to our earthly and spiritual mothers today and pray for all those whose eyes are yet to open.

I love you mom. See you soon!

Your son, John Henry

God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

In the Book of Judges, we see the story of Gideon. Gideon was an ordinary man from the tribe of Benjamin, the least of the tribes of Israel. Things were not looking good for the Israelites in the promised Land. It had been 200 years since Joshua led them over the Jordan into the land that God promised them. God had told them to utterly destroy the idolatrous and wicked peoples of the land. The Jebusites, The Hivites, the Ammonites and the Midianites. God led the Israelites into battle and blessed them and they prevailed over these peoples however they did not destroy them completely as God had said, but had allowed them to live among them.  Now 200 years later, the Midianites had the upper hand and were ruling over the people of Israel.

Gideon was hiding from the Midianites at a winepress in a cave, threshing a little bit of wheat to feed his household when an Angel of the Lord came to him and said… “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!” Gideon must have looked around and said… ”Who, me?” He certainly didn’t feel like a mighty man at that moment. But so it was that Gideon believed the Word of the Lord and by God’s Hand, was able to mobilize 3000 men of Benjamin to rise up against the Midianites. In the end, God told Gideon to take only 300 men and they still defeated the vast Midianite army. God put fear into the hearts of Gideon’s enemies and so once again God’s people were saved out of captivity. Gideon is even mentioned in the Apostle Paul’s “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11 as one of the Bible’s great faith heroes.

Why? Because Gideon took God’s Word by faith that he was a mighty man of valor and did not believe the reality of his situation or his own fear over God’s Word. God’s Word says that if we believe and follow Jesus as Lord, that the things He did in His ministry, we would do also. We are ordinary people, called by an extraordinary God to do extraordinary things for His Glory. As I have heard it said, “God doesn’t call the qualified, He qualifies the called”.

Beloved, God’s Word says “Be of good courage and I will strengthen your heart all you who hope in Me”.  When we choose to be of good courage, and walk with the faith that we have, believing His Word and not our own mind, God then is able to strengthen us so that we can do all things, over and above anything we can imagine. Above all, we will learn to trust Him because He is faithful and we have chosen to believe His Word. We can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us.

Blessings abundant,

John Henry

When we truly do what the scriptures teach us, AKA God’s Instructions for Living, I believe that they become unerringly true for us. Sadly, the reverse is also true for many people.

Yesterday, I reconnected with an old friend on the phone.  We had not spoken in 14 years.  He complained that while he said he believed in God, he did not believe that God actually cares about people or acts on their behalf.  I asked him why he believed that.  He said that it was because all he ever wanted was to be a lawyer and that he had prayed for God to let him pass the bar exam and he had failed it twelve times.  I suggested to him that perhaps it was not God’s plan for him and he said to me “well. If God didn’t want me to be a lawyer then He should have given me a sign I could understand.”  All I could say to him was, what is there about “no” that you didn’t understand?

Ironically, this same man had done other great things in his life.  He became a licensed pilot, and a certified SCUBA instructor and raised two kids who had turned out to be good adults.  The sad part was that he was looking at the fact that he couldn’t pass the bar, and his disappointment in that reality, as being the cornerstone of his life, and therefore the basis of his attitude towards God.  He had become so embittered by this, in fact, that despite the good things that God had given him, he ended up alienating his wife, who left him because she could no longer stand his negativity.  He told me however, that he blamed God for that too.

If only my friend would come to believe this Scripture…

Matthew 6:33 – But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

When we turn our will over to God’ Will then He begins to truly move in our lives so that we lack nothing…

Hence this next Scripture…

Philippians 4:6 – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

Then he could have seen the truth in this Scripture…

Romans 8:28 – And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

And finally realize the beauty in this one…

Eph. 2:10 – we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

It is my fervent prayer and true hope that my friend will yet come to align himself with the Lord’s perfect Will and find joy, maybe including the restoration of his marriage, which he says he wants.  I hope to be a part of his reconciliation with God in Christ and see him fully delivered from anger and regret.  May we all come to truly walk out the words of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane…

Not MY will Father, but YOUR Will be done.

It is the Father’s joy to give the Kingdom to His Son.  We become one with the Son when we do the Will of the Father.

In the Love of God, with hope in Christ Jesus,

John Henry