April 17, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Never So Lost”

“Then drew (came) near unto him all the publicans (tax collectors) and sinners to hear him.

And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth (welcomes) sinners and eateth with them.

And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.

And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me: for I have found my sheep which was lost.

I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just (upright) persons which need no repentance.

Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently until she find it?

And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which was lost.

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:1-10

There is no comfort even close to the comfort in knowing that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and he will leave his flock and search the world over for that one little lamb.

And it does not matter to him, where that lamb has been, what that lamb has done, he doesn’t question the little lamb, harshly berating it and asking, “What is wrong with you!? as we sometimes fear because of human reactions we have endured.

No, He just puts the little lamb on his shoulders, not even willing to further weary it through having to walk back over treacherous terrain, and carries on his own shoulders back to safety among his flock.

Rejoicing with his friends, in our case, truly with the angels of Heaven, themselves who are rejoicing because they know the truth, they know all about the devil and they see all the evil of this earth, they see the little lambs run away, often not because of something they themselves did, but more often what had been done to them, running always because they have been deceived into falsely believing that God does not love them and God will not forgive them or that if God were real these things would not happen, not understanding that God does not cause these things and only God can undo the damage, giving beauty for ashes healing every hurt, making all things new.

If you are that little lamb today or if you are a little lamb that is struggling with doubts or troubles that are keeping you dangling on a spiritual ledge, please, talk to him, and just whisper his name, he knows where you are and he wants nothing more than to rescue you and I promise, he will never leave you and you will never be the same.

You are never so lost that you can’t be found by the one who created you!

Blessings & Love to you today!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson *Revisited 04/17/2023

March 30, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Majesty

He, who created the heavens and the earth. He who created the stars and flung them out into the universe calling each by name.
One special star destined to one day lead the wise travelers to the manger in which he was laid.
He visited the earth, which he had held in his hand, walking the dust-covered roads as a mortal man.
Shining his marvelous light into even the darkest night. His very name, being as an ointment poured forth caused mountains to fall, waves to roar and demons to flee.
When soldiers came to arrest him, he answered, “I AM HE” his spoken identity so powerful that it sent them falling to the ground.
Nations destroyed by his hand, kings brought to their knees, the mighty of the earth brought to absolute nothingness.
He, who sent plagues, hail, blackness, and death upon all of Egypt for the sake of his chosen. Yet the maidens and virgins, love struck forever follow to proclaim him in all his glory as the majestic King.
His garment perfumed with aloes, cassia, and myrrh symbolic of his purity, healing, and humility and a beautiful heart of servitude.
Hannah and Mary exalting him with almost identical prayers, because in his mercy and grace he had made them to rejoice and he who is Holy had done unto them mighty things.
The voice that spoke into existence the universe, the heavens, the earth and seas and all that was, is or ever will be.
The voice that thunders in the heavens and sounds of many waters, that same voice in a still small way gave courage to the discouraged prophet, that same voice reassured a distraught father that his daughter was not dead but only asleep.
The voice that cried out to his father in the garden that the cup might pass from him, the voice that cried out from the cross it is finished, will one day proclaim that it is done.
“He (God) is wise in heart, and mighty in strength: who hath hardened himself against him and hath prospered? Which removeth the mountains, and they know it not; which overturned them in his anger. Which shaketh the earth out of her place, and the pillars thereof tremble. Which commandeth the sun and it riseth not; and sealeth up the stars.
Which alone spreadeth out the heavens, and treadeth upon the seas.” Job 9:4-8
Commanding the waters and rivers to not overpass boundaries which he has set.
Commanding the wind and waves that they should cease, walking upon the sea he had created, stretching forth his hand to a frightened Peter, so he could lift him up yet again.
Those hands, that fashioned Adam from clay, that forms us in our mother’s womb, those hands forever reaching out as they as they touched and healed, opened blinded eyes, gave hearing to deaf ears, made the lame leap for joy and freed the prisoners of demonic forces on earth.
Then those beautiful outstretched hands were bound and brutally nailed to a cross.
The Feet that graced his gardens in Heaven and walked his palace floor, the feet Mary had washed with her tears and dried with her hair.
Those feet were then placed one atop the other and nailed completely through.
Those feet will soon one day stand atop Mt Olives, the mountains unable to bear the presence of their creator, will split helplessly into.
The breath, so powerful that at the creation of Adam, it held the ability to bring even dust to life. That breath gave itself over unto death on the cross because it was the price to be paid, that he might save us.
The angels of heaven proclaim his praise, the beasts around the throne never cease to cry “Holy, Holy, Holy,” and yet, he chose to call us friends.
John announced that he baptized with water but that a greater would come and baptize with fire and the Holy Ghost. Jesus himself, stating he had a baptism to be baptized with.
All the power of the universe manifesting at his resurrection, re-entering his dead body with enough force and heat to burn his image into the highly controversial shroud, which also bore the proof over one hundred lash wounds that had torn his flesh to shreds.
An image that no process or technology known to man, even to this day can reproduce.
John, trying to convey all the works he did after his resurrection before his ascension, finally conceded to this “And there are also many things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books which should be written. Amen.” John 21:25
As so beautifully written in Solomon, This is our beloved. Maybe that is why the angels keep it simple, “Praise Ye, Jehovah!”
The Lord himself stating “Ye are my witnesses saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he; before me there was no God formed; neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior. I have declared, and have saved, and I have shewed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are my witnesses saith the Lord, that I am God.” Isaiah 43:10-12
“To whom then will ye liken me or to whom shall I be equal? saith the Holy One”
Isaiah 40:25
“To whom will ye liken me, and make me equal, and compare me that we may be like.”
Isaiah 46:5
So I, like all of those that came before me, am at a loss for words, there are truly not enough words in any language, or enough books in the entire world that could ever fully describe his beauty, his complexity, his mercy or his grace.
If I may echo his words, who could be compared? Bar none in his perfection, splendor, and majesty he truly stands absolutely alone.

REVISITED 02/17/2021 as we begin the Holy Days, May you be blessed in Him!

Revisited yet again 03/30/2023

November 25, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Abiding In The Field….”

Beautiful fields, prairie fields at the peak of the season flowing with wildflowers and butterflies.

Mown fields, lush green pastures as far as the eye can see just begging to be used as the ultimate reunion of love as two run toward each other to embrace.

Peaceful fields bordered by crystal clear flowing streams as sheep happily graze without a care in the world as their shepherd watches over them.

But there are other fields…. Fields of dry, brown grass withered by the scorch of the sun, patches of soil left exposed and cracked lacking the relief of gentle expected rains that did not come.

Fallow field that require the tedious backbreaking work of removing all the stone and working that ground until it can produce once again.

With the changing seasons of this life WE ARE THOSE SHEEP and those laborers. And we find ourselves in many different fields. The Prophet Jeremiah bought a filed for an inheritance, even though EVERYTHING was going to fall apart, this was the purchase of the FUTURE.

Jeremiah 32:14 : “Thus SAITH the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Take the evidences (deeds), this evidence (deed) of the purchase, BOTH WHICH IS SEALED, and THIS EVIDENCE WHICH IS OPEN; and put them in an EARTHEN VESSEL, that they may continue (last) many days. For thus SAITH the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; HOUSES AND VINEYARDS SHALL BE POSSESSED AGAIN IN THIS LAND.”

And we’ll go to another Bible account and visit Ruth, a lady who found herself in a “foreign” field and how that field held blessing beyond anything she could have imagined for her life at that time.

Ruth whose compassion and love for her grieving, widowed Mother in Law who was now also childless would not allow her to abandon her and run back to Moab in search of a new husband, soon found herself in an unknown foreign field, being advised as to what she must do in order for them to survive.

As she gleaned that field, working to take what had been left to feed those who were hungry, she unknowingly caught the eye of the one who owned the field!

Ruth 2:8,9: ” Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? GO NOT to glean in another field, NEITHER go from hence ( do not leave from here) BUT ABIDE HERE fast (close) by my maidens: LET THINE EYES BE ON THE FIELD THAT THEY DO REAP and go thou after them (follow them) : and have I not charged the young me that THEY SHOULD NOT TOUCH THEE? (they had been told to leave her alone and let her work ) and when thou art athirst (thirsty) GO UNTO THE VESSELS, and DRINK THAT WHICH THE YOUNG MEN HAVE DRAWN ( they were SUPPOSED to SHARE with her their water and allow her access to THEIR water jugs).

We’ll keep the advise Ruth had heeded in mind and we will journey on through the Bible and pay a visit to those who were also were also diligently minding the tasks of their field.

Luke 2:8-20 ” And there were in the same country SHEPHERDS ABIDING IN THE FIELD, KEEPING WATCH OVER THEIR FLOCKS BY NIGHT. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the GLORY OF THE LORD SHONE ROUND ABOUT THEM: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. FOR UNTO YOU IS BORN THIS DAY IN THE CITY OF DAVID A SAVIOUR, WHICH IS CHRIST THE LORD.

And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 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, GOD WILL TOWARD MEN.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them INTO HEAVEN, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and SEE this thing which is come to pass, which the LORD HATH MADE KNOWN UNTO US. and they came WITH HASTE, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when THEY HAD SEEN IT, THEY MADE IT KNOWN abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

BUT Mary kept all these things, and PONDERED THEM IN HER HEART.

And the SHEPHERDS RETURNED, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.”

So that promised redemption, those open deeds, the things made known and crystal clear and those deeds that had been sealed, the birth of a King coming in a way no one could see, born in poverty to parents whose offering would be two turtle doves, the offering given by the poorest of the poor, those deeds to the inheritance of all of eternity had been kept in that earthen vessel which would be born of a virgin and in the lineage of another who obeyed the field command.

As God allowed love to blossom in that field between Ruth and Boaz, a love whose embrace led to the birth of their great-grandson who would be King David whose bloodline would be honored in the ultimate fulfillment of those deeds, those promises of OWNERSHIP of a nation and the world that would come in that earthen vessel born in that humble manger in the body of Jesus Christ.

The shepherds who were doing their job watching over their sheep AT NIGHT (I’m not even getting it to that YET, oh, but it is coming) were rewarded by the proclamation of the news to ends all news given straight BY THE VOICES OUT OF HEAVEN ITSELF!

So about those fields, had Jeremiah took it upon himself to ignore the voice of the Lord and think well, why buy a place that will be destroyed?

What if Ruth had decided that another field with kinder maidens would be more enjoyable?

What if the young men tried to run Ruth away and hoarded all the water that she was dependent on to strengthen her during gleaning?

What if the shepherds had not abided by their flock? They would have NEVER heard from heaven!

Mary kept it and pondered it, she knew who her baby was and that was enough for her.

Whatever field you find yourself in today, please stay there, if it is beautiful and fertile, let the Lord lead you and bless that beautiful place and season in your life, don’t doubt it, run through that field and embrace!

If you find yourself being urged to “purchase” what appears dead or hopeless, heed the voice of the Lord, only He knows His plans and He alone will bring life back to what APPEARS hopeless.

If your field is stone and you have worked until your back breaks and your hands bleed and you have cried so many tears that you can’t even remember the last time you smiled, DON’T GIVE UP!

I promise when that last stone is ripped from the ground and that soil is soft and

God sends those refreshing rains of spring, what you have sown also watered by all those tears is going to spring up into a harvest so plentiful and beautiful that you will rejoice and thank Him for giving you the strength to not give up.

Shepherds take heed that stay by your sheep DURING THIS NIGHT, and don’t let the water boys hoard that which is meant to be shared with those God has sent to glean the leftovers FROM YOUR FIELD and never cease to hear the voice of that heavenly host praising God, they beheld His glory but I promise you, we who are faithful will also behold Him and it will be a glory unlike any that has been as of yet but we have to be listening in our field.

HE IS THE I AM THAT IS and me and my little fire baby Φλογιζω will stay in our field and you stay in yours, you will never regret it!

Φλογίζω / NBJ 2015 Original post date: 12/12/2015 *Revisited 12/07/2019 & * 12/04/2020 & Revisited 12/17/2021 & 11/25/22

August 7, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Parental guidance #2 “KNOW them”

1 Thessalonians 5:12: “And we beseech you, (urgently, fervently, implore) brethren , to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish (instruct) you;

Now of course if you are going to study the Bible, it is imperative that you read ALL verses before, after, and cross-reference to get the full meanings.

And another secret to it all it that often part of a thought or an account of something will be in one book and the “rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would have said, it to be found somewhere else.

Some can even go between the Old Testament and the New Testament, which is a killer for those who want to argue that the Old Testament is archaic and we do not have to live by any of it now… not quite true.

The other reason I believe that God had it arranged this way it to actually fulfill part of what He said as recorded in Matthew 13:13: “Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”

He went on to expound on what had been written by the Prophet Isaiah as to the reasoning behind this. And this arrangement becomes quite a formidable foe to those who attempt to twist the word of God and use HIS own scripture to seemingly contradict itself.

Years ago I was watching a “History” show on Sodom and Gomorrah ( I KNOW better but sometimes I just do it to see how far out they can go) and the thing with this particular take was that they were NOT disputing the destruction of Sodom, they WERE disputing the REASON it was destroyed.

So the “expert” reads the Old Testament account and concludes that the Bible NEVER states that the destruction was due to sexual immorality.

BUT actually the Bible DOES state it only it is found in the NEW Testament and in the Book of Jude. And unfortunately the untold MILLIONS of people who watched this show and took the “expert” opinion on the subject viewed this as the Gospel and were now given even MORE free range to sin at will with no expected Divine repercussions for that sin.

And THAT is the ONLY reason so much as been done on the subject over the last twenty years. it is NOT to promote the kingdom it is to attempt to pacify those who believe and know that God does truly exist but still want to hang onto sinful lifestyles, and these “experts” have done a marvelous job of it!

Which why there are so many false, pagan churches today who claim the name of Jesus Christ but would not know Him if He “walked into the room” actually as soon as He started to teach repentance, hell, and judgment, just as He DID while He walked earth, He would be escorted to the door, accused of sedition and running off the congregation… HEY, doesn’t THAT sound rather familiar?

And the leaders would quickly apologize to those who had been OFFENDED by those hurtful words regarding the REQUIRED standards of KINGDOM living.

Something else sounds quite familiar also… when Jesus spoke into confirmation more words prophesied of old and as with THAT generation, they ring ever so true AGAIN in ours…

Matthew 15:7-9: “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophecy of you, saying, THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS; BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN THEY DO WORSHIP ME, TEACHING FOR DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.”

Now THAT is an expert opinion on the subject!!!

Notice HE did say that they WORSHIPPED Him but because it was not worship of the heart and it was NOT of His teaching BUT of man’s own thoughts TAUGHT as doctrine, that worship WAS and STILL IS in vain.

Making it absolutely WORTHLESS.

So now that we have that covered. KNOWING those who labor among you, KNOWING their LIVES, how they live AT home, HOW they treat their families and friends. That is a kind of knowing that we need NOW more than ever.

I truly believe that there is a shift that God wants for the “church” we NEED to turn back to Him in the type of service and worship that He intended.

Seek those “old paths” as the Bible instructs of us. I still fail to completely understand why there was ever a need felt to “fix” something that was NEVER broken.

I am talking about “youth groups” and before you get all mad at me and stop reading… Just WAIT and HEAR me out!

I am NOT talking about kids services provided by ONE church with ONE pastor who is over the ENTIRE FLOCK and KNOWS what they are being taught and more so WHO is teaching them. I am talking about the “youth” craze and culture of huge conferences of music and “worship” by travelling “youth leaders” and organizations that kids and teens are being herded off to.

I had a conversation with a person who had a horrible experience at a youth conference, most chilling thing was what they said about it, that “parents NEED to go with their kids and see what is going on and what is being taught.”

With parents and I personally believe half the time church leaders THEMSELVES knowing NOTHING about these people other than rave reviews and mass numbers of attendance Satan has really ran a gambit with that one too, so much has become about the NUMBERS not the souls.

Anyone remember David getting into some serious trouble with God for NUMBERING Israel?

It is NOT the quantity it is the QUALITY. We ARE to be rearing up a generation for the Lord, to take over ministry reins and why do we want to trust those babies to people and DOCTRINES that may NOT even be the same truths that we as a family hold?

And I will admit it can be quite groovy when a parent who does NOT attend church sends their kid’s to summer Bible school, but tell you a little secret.. that child is LEARNING the most important lessons of life from YOU.

You want them saved the best thing you can do is accept Christ yourself. Parents who also treat church as a secondary life choice, you know go when it is convenient or there isn’t something else planned are also setting their children up to have this same attitude, when the Lord said that He would “spew” us out of His mouth for being lukewarm.

And people who “discipline” children during church, I will admit that I have left services because of this, the me in me wants to shake the parents and tell them to try hitting someone who hits back.

Sorry, it is the truth.. if all a kid knows the house of God to be is a place where you must sit and be a soldier or else get spanked WHY on earth would they want to go there when they grow up and NEED to feel safe and loved during tough seasons of life?

No. all they will associate it with is discipline and as Paul said “When I was a CHILD, I THOUGHT AS A CHILD” and Jesus LOVES those babies!

As parents we have ALL made mistakes, I have made A LOT and I am sure most everyone has too but these are things we can CHANGE!

We know that we are in the “great falling away” we also know that we are PROMISED the last day outpouring, so we also KNOW that these two have to meet in the middle.

As the old song says… “Give me that OLD TIME religion.. it WAS good enough for Momma, it is good enough for me…”

Get back to basics, worship TOGETHER as a FAMILY as God intended.

And if you have been blessed to be called as an overseer of a flock remember a little something GOD CALLED YOU OVER THAT FLOCK, HE DID NOT TELL YOU TO HIRE IT OUT.

TAKE YOUR FAMILY BACK!

Εξυπνιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2018 *REVISTED 08/07/2022* We are now more aware than ever of the demonic influence that has also taken over public systems, as the Bible teaches us, please be vigilant concerning what your children are being taught be it in school, a “church”, a social group and make certain that those are the values you wish for your child because once the damage has been done, we as parents can never go back and protect our children from those whom we would have never believed that they needed protective from. Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

Part one / Parental Guidance Highly Suggested

July 3, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Unshakeable

“That your faith should not stand (be) in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:5 One of my all time favorite Bible verses is Romans 3:23, which says this: “For ALL have sinned, and come (fell) short of the glory of God.”

ALL is the key word there, ALL of us, whether we have been saved fifty years or even if we have only been saved a few days. ALL of us. It is not based on looks, character traits, morals, no of that is comes down to one simple truth.

Psalm 51:1:” Behold, I was shapen (brought forth) in iniquity: and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

This verse has nothing to do with anything to do with anyone’s mother or lineage. This verse IS all of us. ALL of us, EVERY SINGLE HUMAN ON THIS EARTH, with the only exception of this being the birth of Jesus Christ whose conception was by the Holy Ghost overshadowing Mary the Virgin and just supernaturally placing this child in her womb.

And Mary remained a virgin until after Jesus birth. Even though her had Joseph had married, that marriage was not consummated until Jesus. Matthew 1:24,25: “Then Joseph being raised from sleep did and the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not (kept her a virgin) till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”

My sincerest desire is to address a COMMON issue facing believers today. The first being those who do believe in God but refuse to surrender to Him because they have fallen to the totally FALSE belief that in order to be saved, we must somehow “make ourselves right”.

Listen my dears, this is impossible. God put it this way to the prophet Jeremiah, 13:23: “Can the Ethiopian change the colour of his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”

We can not change ourselves. We are what we are and to believe in God, knowing that Jesus himself said this, undoubtedly the most quoted scripture of all time, John 3:16-18: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the son of God.”

That is the secret, it is all what WE believe and if we BELIEVE in God but also BELIEVE we can never be saved through pure faith, guess what we will never be saved and that we not be because God would not save us that would mean that we would rather hold onto our guilt and shame, convinced by the enemy that we must be punished and pay a price for hat sin that we are UNABLE to pay.

It IS self-righteousness. It maybe isn’t like hypocritical self-righteousness that we find in churchgoers who look down on everyone else through the holier than thou attitudes and are a smoke in the nostrils of God, because of it. But it is self-righteous in an even worse way, it in effect saying, “Well, I know I need saved, I KNOW Jesus is real but if it all the same, I think I’ll SAVE MYSELF.”

And it can not be done. Jesus Christ IS and WILL always be the only one who came here without sin and remained sinless. As asked in Jeremiah, can ANY of us change what we are BORN as?

No, we admit, ask forgiveness and the next part is the hardest to overcome when we are new to Christ.

The first and most important fact you have to know and get so deep in your soul is this, GOD DOES NOT EXPECT ANYONE TO BE PERFECT. We will ALL have days, we will ALL sometimes stumble, Proverbs 24:16 (a):” For a just man (person) falleth seven times, and RISETH UP AGAIN…”

We are saved, we are covered by the blood but we are STILL human, still in human bodies that ARE genetically PRONE to sin.

Just as birds instinctively, meticulously build nests, baby turtles instinctively know to head out to the ocean, and as humans, we have feet that instinctively “run to destruction.” and we must ACCEPT that.

Stop TRYING to make ourselves perfect and stop trying to live up to expectations of our behavior that God NEVER placed on us and most importantly stop beating ourselves to death over the mistakes of the past or even the makes of yesterday!

The Lord IS our help. He IS our strong tower, and he IS our salvation, we are not our own and we can not be ANY of these things to ourselves.

Micah 7:7,8:”THEREFORE, I will LOOK unto the Lord: I will WAIT for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

Rejoice NOT against me, O mine enemy, WHEN I FALL, I SHALL ARISE; WHEN I SIT IN DARKNESS, THE LORD SHALL BE A LIGHT UNTO ME.”

And that mercy that does not beat us down or condemn us when we come short, we mess up, and that mercy IS for life, not just the moment of salvation.

Lamentations 3:21-23:” THIS I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It IS of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, BECAUSE HIS COMPASSIONS FAIL NOT (never end).

They ARE new every morning; GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS.”

So if you’ve been wrestling with this, just let it go. Yes, that simple, let it go. It is not God’s that is putting you through that and you alone have to change your OWN thinking and you change that by just LETTING IT GO.

Anyone who has read my testimony knows that I struggled a lot coming to Christ, mainly due to these issues, and there was quite a bit of time between the point that I like to call “trying to get saved” which means that I HAD asked, HAD prayed but I still did not feel the change that I needed, until I was delivered and filled with the Holy Ghost.

And we are all different, but I really believe this will help anyone going through this. and I think this is a really cool story and especially the timing, I am a hopeless romantic, I love Valentine’s Day and every mushy romantic thing you can think of. So Valentine’s Day 2000, my sister gave me what she said was an odd gift for valentine’s day, it was a beautiful personalized Bible, and one month later, I was filled with the Holy Ghost and Thank God, my life has never been the same.

So what she had actually given me was the greatest love story ever written and the author of that story being pure love Himself, which IS perfect for the occasion! So that is my main Bible, but prior to this I had ordered one believe it or not, from an Avon lady when I was in the process of “trying” to GET MYSELF RIGHT 🙂 many of us have been guilty of it.

Anyway, the back has a section for help and I found a heading titled “Jesus’s idea of prayer” and it is actually when they asked him how to pray and he told them the Lord’s prayer, so you know, I thought, that works!

I memorized it and would call my sister every night and ask her to pray with me and I would pray it, and even now when we pray together, we often start out with that prayer.

I was so scared trying to pray out loud and even after I was saved, if they call on me in church to testify, I was honestly so shy and scared that I would shake.

So please don’t ever think that you’re too scared, too shy, too nervous, God gives us boldness and courage AS we step out in faith in these areas. So I want to give you this very well-known prayer, but I want to break it down and show why it is essential to memorize this by heart and pray it EVERY day and how each verse can be used individually to pray over any need you may have.

Matthew 6:9-13: “After this manner therefore pray ye.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done, in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory for ever. Amen.”

This prayer starts with acknowledging God in heavenly realm, it offers to Him the respect and honor due unto his name. Psalm 93:2:” Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.” Isaiah 66:1:” Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool….”

Remember Jesus also told us that “Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven.” So this prayer asks for His kingdom to come for that purpose.

It asks for His will. 1 John 1:14: “And THIS is the confidence we have IN HIM, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.”

But also for His will to be done IN earth, not only ON earth but in the earth of these vessels we call bodies that became known as humans the moment He created Adam from the dirt of the ground. And it asks AGAIN for that connection between heaven and earth to be established.

Next we are seeking not only our material needs for that day, but ALSO and more importantly our spiritual needs as Jesus also spoke, during His time of temptation by the devil, “It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.” And that is WHY we must LIVE by these words.

And of course forgiveness, as we forgive we are forgiven and this includes the mercy, and kindness that He shows us that we are to show others. If we forgive someone their shortcomings, or even something they owe us, or in mercy look over something that had been said or done, God will return the same to us.

This is where we get into, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:” Debts are not always financial or material, we can also be indebted through action and emotion.

And of course praying NOT to go into temptation, remember what he told the disciples in the garden, “Pray that ye not enter into temptation.” This is another area, we ALL can fall to temptation, again we are human. James 1:11-13: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried (tested), he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Let NO man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God can not be tempted with evil, NEITHER TEMPTETH HE ANY MAN. But EVERY man (person) IS tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and ENTICED.”

So the devil knows what to send your way to try to entice us away from God, so we are to pray not to go into temptation, BUT deliver us from evil, deliver us from those temptations, and also from all our hurts, pains, and sorrows, and I believe this can prayed over the multitudes on a higher scale.

And it ends with a three-fold acknowledgement, “a three fold cord is not easily broken” and this gives honor and allegiance, not to this world and the powers that be, but honor and allegiance to Him and His kingdom, as He also said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not hence.”

Hence translating to here, but it one day be as we are told in Revelation 11:15…” The kingdoms of THIS world are become (have become) the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ, AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.”

His power, which has no rival or equal, as Jesus also said, “All power is given unto me in heaven and earth.” He expounds on the full reach of that power, Luke 12:5: “But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”

Habakkuk 2:14:”For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.”

And the need to ALWAYS bear that glory in mind, speaking of FUTURE New Jerusalem Revelation 21:23: “And the city had no need of the sun, neither the moon, to shine in it: FOR THE GLORY OF GOD DID LIGHTEN IT, AND THE LAMB IS THE LIGHT THEREOF.”

This prayer covers it all. of course you still need to study and learn all you can but I hope this comforts someone by helping you realize that GOD IS FOR YOU! He is ever present and ever merciful. Jesus is the only person who has died to save us from our sins, why on earth would He not help us overcome our own flesh? No one wants you to make it to heaven more that him! TRUST THAT!

Just ENJOY that salvation and rest knowing that “he who started a good work in you will finish it”!

Wishing you love, peace, and a blessed week!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2017 Original Post Date: 11/19/2017 Revisited 07/03/2022/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson * My sister referenced in this post has since went home to be with Jesus.

June 11, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Leaving it all Behind”

“And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed (crowded) upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret,

And he saw two ships standing by the lake, but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets.

And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would (asked him to) thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship.

Now when he left (finished) speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught (catch).

And Simon answering, said unto him, Master (Teacher), we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing (caught nothing): nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net.

And when they had this done, they inclosed (caught) a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake (was breaking).

And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled their ships, so that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me: for I am a sinful man, O Lord.

For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught (catch) of the fishes which they had taken.

And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not: from henceforth thou shalt catch men.

And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook (left behind) all, and followed him.” Luke 5:1-11

Peter caught on pretty quickly, not only did he get the catch of a lifetime, but he caught on to who exactly it was that he was dealing with, and he knew by this absolute miracle that this was the work of the divine,

At the very moment he realized that Jesus was not your ordinary teacher, he fell to his knees, and he was convicted in his heart by Jesus’ presence, Jesus did not have to say a word about Peter’s life or anything he needed to change, his holiness itself stirring that need to repent in Peter.

Some of saddest reasons we ever hear from those who know they need salvation but never actually take steps to make that commitment, are “I want to wait until I can live it.” and behaviors in their lifestyles that they feel that they are unable to “give up”, never realizing that their next breath could be the last and that they could quite possibly miss eternal salvation.

Jesus referred to this state in the parable of the Sower, they hear and they know that God is real and his word is true,

Mark 4:18,19: “And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word,

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”

We have discussed in great detail the watering down and outright misrepresentation of the Gospel running rampant in these last days, and this is why, they refuse to give up the things of this world, such as in our passage above, after they had encountered Jesus, they left behind all that they had known before and followed in trust, and faith, and obedience.

Once we truly seek him and he makes his presence known we are absolutely unable to do the things we had once done, the sin we once enjoyed becomes a frightful charge that we need exonerated.

Which is exactly why Christ shed his blood for us.

We need not worry about changing ourselves or being “able to live it”, we can do neither, that is the work that God does in us through his Holy Spirit.

” And they shall come thither, and they shall take away all the detestable things thereof and all the abominations thereof from thence.

And I will give them one heart to, and I will put a new spirit within you (them) and I will take stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh:

That they may walk in my statues, and keep mine ordinances (judgments), and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way (repay) their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord God.” Ezekiel 11:18-21

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/Rev. N Brown Johnson

June 8, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson