“Intercession of Christ”

“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth (does) he yet hope for it?

But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Likewise the Spirit helpeth with our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which can not be uttered.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

And we know that all things work together  for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom he did predestinate , them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified, them he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also give us freely all things? Who can lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifeth.

Who is he that condemeth?  it is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again. who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Who shall separate from love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,  or peril, or sword?

As it is written, FOR THY SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL THE DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR SLAUGHTER.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquers through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:24-39

This is one of the most beautiful and comforting passage of scripture in the entire Bible, and so perfect for the time we find ourselves in.

In our world our brothers and sister are being martyred the world over, with Nigeria being targeted yet again with fifty saints including children being killed at a Pentecost service, and that is only one of the recent, common occurrences  and tragedy upon tragedy is in our streets with senseless murders having become an everyday thing,

Events that we will never understand this side of heaven, evil and hate laying waste, not only in homes plagued with domestic violence but now in our schools, theaters, workplaces, and churches.

Our society has left God and people who have no belief in anything higher than themselves and believe that death is only a dark hole to sleep forever, have no recourse when satan troubles them and in that evil they themselves become evil and the innocent suffers for that.

Only God can give us hope through the blackness of this world, and as the scripture above tells us, that when we get so discouraged, wounded, and overwrought by living in this war-zone, we call earth, that the Spirit himself makes intercession for us, knowing what we need because we can’t even determine what we should pray.

Jesus Himself also makes intercession for us, praying for us, comforting us and all who trust in him.

While we are not  promised that we will never go through these things, we are promised that none of it, not trials, troubles, hunger, persecution, violence, not even the angels or the devil himself, life, and certainly not even death can ever separate you from Him and his love.

“…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20 (b)

If you ever find yourself feeling, down, discouraged, and in doubt, remember  this verse.

Isaiah: 46:4: ” And even to your old age I am he; and even to your hoar (gray) hairs will I carry you; I have made and I will bear: even I will carry and deliver you.”

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson Revisted 04/15/2023, some older events are referenced as this is a repost, but prayerfully an encouraging Word today!

*Undeniable* On Earth as in Heaven

“Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou (Are you) The King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it to thee ? (Are you asking or did someone ask you to) Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

Jesus answered, 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 unto the Jews: BUT MY KINGDOM IS NOT FROM HENCE (here).

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou SAYEST (rightly state) THAT I AM A KING. TO THIS END (completely for this purpose) WAS I BORN, AND FOR THIS CAUSE CAME I INTO THE WORLD, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Pilate sayeth unto him, What IS the truth? And when he had said THIS, he went back out unto the Jews, and SAITH unto them, I FIND IN HIM NO FAULT AT ALL.

But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover, will ye therefore that I release unto you THE KING OF THE JEWS? Then therefore cried they all again, saying, Not this man, But Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.” John 18:33-40 

Think about a little something here, the plan becomes so obvious with the fact that the Jews CHOOSE a robber to live rather than Jesus, because Jesus had said, if anyone tried to come to the Father ANY other way than through Him, they WERE a thieves and a robbers! and you can see that crystal in this verse, they WERE attempting to CHOOSE another way into heaven. 

John 19: 1-22: ” Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him (whipped with a Roman scourge) And the soldiers platted (twisted) a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe.

And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote (struck) him with their hands. Pilate forth again, and said unto them, BEHOLD, (pay attention) I bring him forth to you, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM.

Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying Crucify him, crucify him, Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: FOR I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM.

The Jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he hath made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard THAT saying, HE WAS MORE AFRAID.

And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? ( WHERE ARE YOU FROM?) But Jesus gave him no answer.

Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power (authority) to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

Jesus answered, Thou couldest (would) have NO power AT ALL AGAINST ME, EXCEPT it were GIVEN THEE FROM ABOVE: therefore he that hath delivered me UNTO thee hath the greater sin. {He spoke of Judas’ betrayal of him, being greater sin against Him, than Pilates} And from henceforth (that time on) Pilate SOUGHT TO RELEASE HIM:

But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art NOT Caesar’s friend: whomsoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgement seat in a place that is called Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

And it was the preparation for the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he SAITH unto the Jews, BEHOLD YOUR KING! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify YOUR KING?

The chief priests answered, We have NO king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

Where they crucified him and two other with him, on either side one, and JESUS IN THE MIDST (center). And Pilate WROTE a TITLE, and put it ON THE CROSS.

And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: And IT WAS WRITTEN IN HEBREW, GREEK, AND LATIN.

Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write NOT, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN I HAVE WRITTEN.”

So much going on there,  the same old routine just as when they REFUSED God as their King and insisted on an earthly king over them and now again they denied and rejected Him, so desperate, that they even used the old scare tactics of “if you were a real friend of Caesar”, but scripture would be fulfilled, even with the Lord hanging in the center.. as known when two agree on anything, HE IS in the middle, agreeing with them and the fulfilling of that in the three-fold cord of the writing itself and the three major languages in order, of which  languages are derived and the languages that OUR Bible would come forth.

Pontius Pilate who is well documented for his cruelty and dolling out crucifixions with the ease of a kid on a bike doling out Sunday morning newspapers, and YET HE WAS AFRAID.. not only because of the warning of his wife having been troubled through dreams, but HE, HIMSELF AFRAID because HE KNEW THIS WAS INDEED THE SON OF GOD.

And as powerful as he was, HE KNEW that he was in the presence of ALL power and as bloody as his hands were, HE DID NOT WANT THIS BLOOD… THE BLOOD OF THE SON OF GOD ON HIS HANDS and he washed them. 

And as he had WRITTEN.. JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS now became FULFILLED ON EARTH AS IT ALREADY WAS PROCLAIMED IN HEAVEN.

Very soon HE WILL RETURN TO THIS EARTH AND SET UP HIS KINGDOM, we’ll look at that in part three of our series. But TODAY, this HOLY DAY, as we think and reflect on what our Saviour did for us, HIS suffering, His humiliation, and pain BEYOND human comprehension, so horrific that angels CAME to strengthen Him in the garden, because it would be humanly unbearable WITHOUT that strength.

I know there is a long-standing disagreement over the number of his stripes, many say because the Jews had a forty-stripe save one rule, but people.. this was NOT just the Jews.. this WAS the force of HELL itself, ON EARTH, coming down on Him.,

There WERE NO laws protecting Him, NO MERCY WAS SHOWN HIM and He was beaten to the point that He was unrecognizable as Himself, it was so much MORE than any thirty-nine stripes.

There is also the standing argument that He was pierced through his wrists NOT his hands because the hands would not hold up, but IT WAS  his palms that were nailed through and I will leave that right there, and instead of all the debate over who thinks what happened we need to bear in mind, ONLY this.. IT DID HAPPEN and as He asked Peter, “Whom do ye say that I am?” I want to echo HIS question today, if I may.. TO YOU.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT HE IS? Pilate answered it for Himself and answered it to the Jews, even though they did not want that answer, He was NOT making fun of Jesus, when he asked the Jews IF they want him to crucify THEIR King, He was getting that answer confirmed, that THEY did it and he told them THREE TIMES that HE DID NOT FIND FAULT WITH JESUS and never once did he argue WHO Jesus Is, but he confirmed His identity by refusing to change the title.

So if you have never accepted Him, I could truly not think of a better time than right now, right where you are…and please don’t fall to false religions, there is only ONE way, so don’t be like the Jews of that day, who rejected their own King and instead of accepting salvation they CHOSE a robber, because the themselves were robbers in thinking they were coming to God any other way.

Today.. INVITE HIS WILL TO BE DONE IN EARTH… (IN THE EARTH THAT IS YOU).. AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

Blessings and peace to you and may you know the power of His glorious resurrection this Holy season!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω  NBJ 2017  **REVISTED 02/27/2021** And also 04/16/2022 & 04/06/23

Blessed Day

“After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, SALVATION TO OUR GOD WHICH SITTETH UPON THE THRONE, AND UNTO THE LAMB.

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God.

Saying, AMEN: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. AMEN”  Revelation 7: 9-12 

Just to know that joy that is yet to come! The sadness and terror of this world will one day fade away and those who have trusted the Lord Jesus WILL be in this innumerable number who stand actually before the throne of the living God, in the presence and fellowship with the angels and  the host of heaven.

We will be gathered together, those from every nation ever created upon the earth, every language which has ever been spoken with one common purpose to raise our palm branches in the kingdom of God, the Living God, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and praise Him Forever and Ever!

And I know what we face and I know the Word of God as to things which are to come but today let this be your hope

God gives us these words of future  so that these times will not overcome our faith because this world is not the end, but what seems like then the end of this world must come to bring in the birth of the world without end, and this is but a glimpse into that glorious world, so stay focused, because Jesus gave us a word to comfort us through all fear. 

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up , and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 

And he spake to them a parable;  Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see, and know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand.

So likewise ye when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.”  Luke 21:38-31 

If you have never accepted Jesu as your Saviour, please do not put it off another moment, what a  better time than today, what a more perfect day to give your heart to Him and to trust Him through these dark days.

We are in the last days and one day that trumpet will sound and those who know Christ will be spared many horrors during the tribulation days, those who are left here can be saved but it will be a very painful, dreadful time on earth and anyone left on earth will wish there were not. 

And I know there are those who refuse to accept God and there are those also who think, “Well I have heard that all of my life.”

Well that is why you have heard it, that is why Jesus and ALL He sent since the fall of man have preached it.

Because God wants people to be saved and you don’t have to change because He changes you, He does it all He just wants you to you be saved so that you will not be afraid and you will not be eternally lost and that’s it, all He asks is that you keep His Word and trust Him, and let Him save you. 

There could  be the thought that we are just all trying to scare people into salvation, no, my ministry has always leaned toward the apocalyptic, does not bring me joy, has brought me many tears knowing the things that will come to pass and that is why Jesus himself gave us those verse above, so that we would know, and be forewarned so that we could have his peace and guidance when all those things he spoke comes to pass.

If you get a moment please go back and read that chapter and also read Luke chapter seventeen or pull it up online and read it for yourself. Jesus only wants the best for you, me, and all of us but we have to accept that best from Him, He will not just come and takeover your life, you have to invite Him into your life.

And people would dare say, “You mean God would just let you be lost, forever?” if we refuse to accept what He is trying to give us, that is not Him letting us do anything, that is us refusing to live as God wants us to live, not willing to give up things that He will not allow for His children, and holding our thoughts, and desires higher than our respect toward God and that is idolatry, we are our own gods at that point and this attitude proves it.

And asking ‘What has he done for me?” same point, What have you did for God? Have you served God? have you even committed to God?

It is that mentality that has spread like wildfire actually convincing people that God should honor them not vice versa, God is Holy  and owes us nothing and yet gave us everything in giving Jesus to DIE for us and we still think we have some sort of right to ask “What has he done for us” that is something that has taken the world by storm and must be repented of.

If you know Him Trust Him, Praise Him and ” look” for Him in the midst of all the uncertainty.

If you don’t know Him, please do not wait another second, don’t throw away what you can not even understand, because we can understand none of this, none of the dynamics of what takes place when we except Jesus. 

And I am not afraid to admit that before I knew Jesus,I didn’t get it either and I did not understand why all these Christians “pick” on people trying to get them saved.

But the moment Jesus saved me, I was completely overwhelmed by just how truly senseless I had been to Him and completely blown away by His presence and completely humbles by the fact that He would save me and heartbroken at just how long I had waited, realizing how much different my life AND the lives of those around me could have been had I accepted Him sooner, so please don’t make that mistake.

Your salvation WILL be a light, a HOPE, and a BLESSING to ALL those around you. It is A  BLESSED DAY, let it be the day that we forever BlESS the Father’s heart for you! 

Φλογιζω NBJ 2020/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson REVISITED 04/03/2023

KINGDOM COME

Proverbs 29:18 “Where there is no vision ( prophetic vision or revelation), the people perish (cast off restraint): but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
Candy coating and watering down has led us to this state and we have truly seen the lack of any restraint among people.
For all who do continue to hold on and strive for the prize, I thought I would send out a little reminder:
“And I John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are all passed away.” Revelation 21:1-4
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and THE LAMB IS the light thereof.
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
and they shall bring the glory and honour of nations into it.
And there in no wise (no way) enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh (causes) abomination, or maketh a lie: but (only) they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:22-27
“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
And THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE; and his name shall be in the foreheads.
And there shall be no more night there; and they need no candle (lamp), neither the light of the sun: for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.
And he said unto me, These sayings ARE faithful and true; and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which shortly must be done (take place).
Behold, I come quickly: BLESSED is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”    Revelation 22:3-7
The revelations to John, now that is a vision to hold onto, peace, joy, love unspeakable and rest, rest, rest from all our cares and tears.
So when the darkness tries to sway your thoughts hold onto that.
Malachi 4:1-4 “For, Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, SAITH the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
BUT UNTO YOU that fear (respect) my name shall the Sun of righteousness ARISE with healing in HIS wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked: for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet IN THE DAY THAT I SHALL DO THIS, saith the Lord of hosts.
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statues and judgments.”
Keep looking up and holding on!
Φλογιζω/ all rights reserved. nbj/2015 *REVISITED 03/31/2023 Rev. N. 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.

 Φλογίζω  Original Post Date : May 03, 2014 FOWC/Avenue .All Rights Reserved N. Brown Johnson / Baresoulphlogizo 2015

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

Revisited yet again 03/30/2023

 

“THIS IS THAT”

“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all were in one accord in one place.

And suddenly  there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave the utterance.

Now when this was noised abroad (told), the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.

And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans?

And how hear we every man in our own tongue (language), wherein we were born?

Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia.

Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews, and proselytes.

Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?

Others mocking said, These men are filled with new wine,

But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words.

For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.

But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Act 2: 1-16

I am sure everyone has seen reports of the great revival that is manifesting as all the woes. and troubles,  and terrors are bringing the birth pains of this world to an excruciating deliverance.

We have been seeing for years now those events which Jesus told us were the beginning of the sorrows, and as the world is in that spiritual labor with pain and suffering on all sides, but the beauty to be revealed will far outweigh the pain

So many of us have lived for this very moment in time, the fulfillment of all that Jesus promised and the fulfillment of those promises.

And all this will go hand in hand, as the troubles increase so will the number of salvations.

But, as the old saying goes, “You ain’t seen nothing yet!” I know I had included this in a post once but I can’t remember which one, I have almost six hundred on here, so I am clueless what I titled it,as I do get funky with those sometimes:)

I used the passage above to correlate with this, I know I have used it before but it had to be again, I wanted to share this.

I want to share what I believe is coming with this, I believe we are in the realm of what we have been waiting for, and many that believed that also, and have went on home now, but like those of Hebrews chapter eleven, they died still believing this would one day come.

And it has been stirring, I had an absolute divine revelation of such, May 19,2012, I had an appointment to preach and those of us there were worshipping and the Spirit fell in an incredible way,  now this was a Spirit filled church, there were two, one of which was my late sister, who had the awesome gift along with tongues that allowed them to sing in tongues, which is a sound unlike anything you could ever imagine,we had a wonderful pastor, who has also went on now, but God blessed our services, but this particular night was profound.

As we worshipped the Spirit just came and every person’s gift manifested, and this was simultaneously, the entire group with different manifestations of the Spirit, and I heard  crystal clear a portion of that verse above.

And when I got home, I went to Book of Joel, but I had to go to the Book of Acts to find what was spoken to me, it referenced Joel, but it was stated in Acts.

I was so amazed by what I had saw and what I had heard that I wrote down the date, I couldn’t even tell you now what my sermon was on that night, but I can tell you what really held the importance of that moment.

And I believe that is what we are going into, as the harvest is coming in, we will see manifestations of the gifts and miracles unlike anything this world has ever seen or will ever see again.

The simplistic truth of miracles is this, they are for those who do not believe, they are to show onlookers that what has transpired has no human explanation and are of the supernatural realm, that is why the disciple prayed  for the signs and wonders to follow them and as Jesus told us they do follow those who believe.

I don’t want to get into that too much, but it’s been quite clear why  we hadn’t seen those things as we should in the American churches

There has been some much animosity in ministry at least from my prospective  there is so much one-upmanship, and “Anything you can do I can do better” attitudes that go on behind the scenes that it’s no shock the false doctrines have taken such a hold, but that’s all over now, because we are in the days that there will be that separation and the works will be done through those who are now being prepared while those who couldn’t get past a false sense of competition will be in for a sad realization, think of that as when Moses realized his disobedience prevented him from entering the promised land.

The fire now is for them who are falling at the feet of Jesus, with true humility and repentance, desiring only His forgivenessmercy, and grace.

When we truly have Christ, it is no longer about us, or even this world, it is about bringing all we can to Him, for His glory and for the Kingdom, and to see souls who were tormented made free, and the greatest goal, to witness his Kingdom come to this earth and Him take His rightful place as King

To sum it all up, hold on to your hats, as the saying goes, the crazy is just going to get crazier, the woes are going to grow dreading more woeful, but as the manifested glory falls, it will be unparalleled in wonder.

Joel 2:1-31: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is at hand;

A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains; a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even the years of many generations.

A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.

The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.

Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.

They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:

Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.

They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.

The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withhold their shining.

And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?

Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:

And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Who knoweth is he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him: even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the LORD your God?

Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly:

Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chambers, and the bride out of her closet.

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine inheritance to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?

Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.

Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine,a nd oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen.

But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savor shall come up, because he hath done great things.

Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.

Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

And I will restore to you the years the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD you God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.

And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.”

All winding up, all coming together, and as always if you have not received the salvation of the Lord as yet, do not hesitate and if you desire more of him, pray and seek His face and you will never be the same!

Blessing and Peace till next time!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2023/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

 

 

Soul Focus 1 “Didn’t Work For Babel…So, Good Luck With That”

By”Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” Romans 1:22

Sometimes you just really have to wonder what people are thinking when they come up with some of the far out plans, plots, and schemes, especially some of those we hear about today.

Lord’s will, over the next little bit, we’ll take a look at a few of these master plans that are being concocted by those who are revered as being of above average intelligence in matters of science, safety, the environment, and let’s not forget our new go-to term, health care.

Whom society views as the voice of reason in all we say, think, and do.

And whose advice is sought after, paid for, and even sometimes forced upon those who really don’t share their visions of good for one, good for all socialism, whether it’s really good for us or not.

What I find actually comical, is that in many of these instances, the remedy to the current issue that ails, is already laid out in the word of God, and for a world whose majority decries and denies the existence of an eternal sovereign being, known to us as Jehovah God, yet they are hellbent on formulating plans to counter Bible prophecies and prevent their fulfillment.

Kinda reminds of another group of individuals, only now the plans are to the infinite extreme.

“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.

And they said one to another, Go to (Come), let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.

And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 

And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they all have one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Go to, let us go down, and there confound (confuse) their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.

The Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and the left off to build the city(quit).

Therefore is the name it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence (then) did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of the all the earth.” Genesis 11:1-9

You know, maybe someone even could have spoke up, and said something like, “Well, that obviously didn’t work!” But the others couldn’t have understood what they were saying anyway,

So… and think about this, their reasoning for doing this was the fear of being scattered, and they brought on the reality of that fear by concocting this grand plan rather than trusting the plan of God.

So now lets get on to another human devised plan that “makes you go hmmm?”. Can you tell that I was a Freedom Williams fan back in the day? Wonder if I need a no copyright infringement intended statement?

Well, hopefully if I did , that will suffice, I am using it as a phrase not a new song title. Well enough of my ramblings let’s get to it, shall we?

Scientist believe with relative certainty that earth is endanger of someday being plummeted by a Mac Daddy of an asteroid and they would like to prevent this, if possible, and save an untold number of lives, and probably even earth as we know it, so as all of you already know through news outlets that they have devised their plan to redirect potential earth bound asteroids.

Even sounds kinda noble doesn’t it? I am sure there were probably a builder or two on the tower that thought it was a good ideal for the betterment of all and good of all. But we know, it really wasn’t a good idea, it didn’t make anything better and hurt them in the end through the judgment of consequence that will remain in effect until the Kingdom of Jesus in which all language will again be one.

So they knows it’s coming, and they want to set up a defense against it, and the problem with that is that this is Bible prophecy, there is only one defense against those things prophesied and that is through a personal relationship with Jesus, only through salvation can any of us escape the inevitable and there is no preventing it from happening.

There is no redirecting the course for all of earth, we can only redirect our personal, individual course and then Jesus is our defense, he takes his children out of the path of harm.

But there is nothing mortal man can do to prevent these things from coming to pass.

My question is Why do they still refuse to believe? Why will they not believe something that written close to eighteen hundred years ago?

They will believe absolute lies, such as Evolution and Darwinism, and that our universe is all there is, and that death is a peaceful state of sleep, with no afterlife, they will believe everything except the truth that stares them in the face,

They will believe that murder is a punishable crime and yet that same act of taking a life given from God, becomes a healthcare choice if the murder victim is a baby.

They believe that the center of the earth is possibly as hot as the surface of the sun, but yet they refuse to believe in the existence of Hell.

And they will believe that an asteroid will inevitably hit earth, bringing catastrophic destruction such as humankind has never known, yet they refuse to believe the foretelling of this event found in Holy scripture.

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

And another angel came and stood at the altar; having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all  saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth; and there were voices and thunderings, and lightenings, and an earthquake.

And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.

The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire,mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth; and the third part of the trees were burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea; and the third part of the sea became blood. And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life,died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;

And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.”  Revelation 8:1-11

Many things are coming and nothing in human invention and planning can rival the power and strength of Almighty God.

These event will happen, but they happen as judgments upon unrepentant sin and refusal to accept Christ and accept divine deliverance.

Science know it’s coming, Christians have always known it’s coming.

Defense is noble, but never put your trust in human invention, put your trust in the only one who truly saves, and sets all things in motion.

Blessing and Peace to you and yours! Till next time!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

 

 

“Possessed Politicians, Bloodthirst, & Judgments of Separation To Come”

Revelation 18:1-8: “And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened (illuminated) with his glory. 

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is (has) become the habitation of devils (demons), and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every hateful and unclean bird. 

For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies (luxury).

And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, ye my people, and be not partakers of her plagues.

For her sins have reached unto the heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.

Reward her even as she has rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works, in the cup which she hath filled fill her to the double. 

How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, (luxuriously),so much torment, and sorrow give her, for she hath said in her heart. I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall not see sorrow.

Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire; for strong is the Lord God, who judgeth her.”

That verse should be very familiar to us by now, but I could not think of more perfect description for what we have right now.

Politicians who have sold their souls for power and prestige, two different news report reporting on Biden’s comments from 2006, in which he referred to abortion as a tragedy and now he is referring to the Supreme Court decision that will save the lives of untold babies, as a “sad day”.

Mention of which bless those who choose to stand for truth, the constitution never guaranteed us the right to kill unborn children, the thought of this would have been outlandish at that time, no one would have dreamt that we would become so desperately wicked and cruel.

But back to those who have sold their souls for the demonic agenda now taking center stage, people don’t change their core beliefs unless they have been changed at their core. once upon a time, evil hid, tried to lay low in the shadows, but as we grow closer to the end the more evil reveals its true self, as we are told that the devil has come down among us, having great wrath.

It seems to be a running story with them, like Clinton bringing psychics in while her husband was president, not too hard to imagine why she now supports full term abortion, you don’t play with the devil and not become like the devil.

You can literally see the changes in many of them over the last decade, you can literally see the darkness in their eyes, and yet they still insist that they are “Godly” people and care so deeply about the country while doing everything in their power to destroy it.

All these celebrities whose influence is not only unnatural but quite damning leading all who follow into rampant sin and self-willed idolatry.

Disney who once upon a time, was heralded as being a children outlet, I, however often wondered about a few things that just did not sit right with me over the years, the tale now telling the tale that Mickey is truly being controlled by the forces of hell, with their sexualized agenda and now that employee travel expenses and abortions will be paid for, again, what about the children that Disney was supposed to be created entertainment for?

Anyone ever wonder about the new downward spiral in children’s mental health that we have been hearing so much about?

How can children hear all this, see all these protests on tv and media, confusing and outright vulgarity concerning things they should not even been exposed too at these ages, much less being badgered with making decisions about and to constantly hear adults on and on about their right to kill a baby, and not have emotional reactions?

How on earth much fear is all this constant abortion bombardment causing them?

“The kings drinking the wine”, international leaders also putting in their two cents worth, Boris Johnson expressing his disgust by the decision and the Canadian prime minister expressing his grief for the women effected by the decision.

So much about all of this just irks me, the sheer hypocrisy of it all, they are the same jokers who want to line up to get vaccines to prevent them from getting  a virus, they want gun control because they are “horrified” by the violence of people killing each other, (which is sad and wrong) but yet the lives of unborn babies, the majority of which are what they classify as “lower income” and minority children, mean absolutely nothing to them.

And I am so sick of the signs and screams referencing coat hangers, I loved what the ruling also noted, birth control is readily available.

Abstinence with the exception of rape is one hundred percent effective in preventing pregnancies.

Yeah, you don’t hear that one taught anymore, do you?

No shocker the Bible uses the world fornication in reference to the country and its international cohorts.

As long as they are all making money. why should they care about anything other than themselves, and people are so deceived that they follow after them screaming in agreement for the destruction of their own kind?

Mention of which, now that America has reached her prophetic state, we can see quite clearly the venomous hatred and blood thirst spewed at anyone with a different opinion and organizations, and now churches are even under attack.

I have written for years leading up to this moment in time, and time has been winding, just as those spiritual birth pains that Jesus warned us about, as the beginning of sorrows, and right now the world is in its last push.

You are getting ready to witness a time of separation and judgements starting to come, and there really is nothing left that can be said, people have chosen what they want, and it is self, and they will not receive God because their hearts are blackened just as they are those hateful birds.

Those who want to be savedshould have already made that decision or perhaps, will make it as they see God’s judgment start to be unleashed on this earth.

As I said, at this moment there is nothing else I can tell you that you cannot read for yourself in the Book of Revelation, so this is it for a while,

If America had chosen repentance and the world followed, if we had sought the old paths as instructed of God and returned to those paths.

If we had preached the truth  of the Gospel, caring more about souls than popularity.

If we had protected the children rather than giving them over to devils as the schools had free reign to destroy their innocence and completely scarring what God had intended childhood to be, by forcing adult thoughts and decisions upon them, that God never intended them to make.

If marriage and family had been kept in its holy proper place, children with a male father and a female mother, brought up under the nurture of God.

If life had been precious, not an “unfortunate” circumstance of having unrestrained sex, sex for the sole purpose of sex, not based in love or marriage and then that precious life that is a result of that action being exterminated away.

Think God is not aware of all this?

Think he has not been more than patient in giving us time to realize the error of our ways? He has given us more than enough time, and not only have we not repented, but we also now have abortion rights activists blaspheming the death of Jesus as part of their rhetoric.

The sickening images of girls smearing themselves with paint to represent blood, not wanting to lose their life but shouting for their right to murder their own child without endangering their own.

natural instinct, even in the animal kingdom is protect your offspring and even give your life to save them, if necessary, these things show just how far we have fallen, we have fallen so far as a civilization that there is no remedy.

Once thoughts, and hatred infiltrates the new generation, it has no place to go except on into the following generations and it is now down to the babies, there is nowhere else for it to seep.

So, there is nothing that can be done or said to spare this world from the wrath to come,

America will not come back from her provocation of God.

So, from this point on, we will see that separation with the judgments, and we will see some repentance.

But the prices, the unrest, the Covid, the monkey pox, all the troubles and turmoil will pale in comparison to what is to come.  

If you are in Christ, fear none of these things that are coming, just as he told us to not be afraid,

Think of the separation of the Hebrews from the plagues of Egypt.

And this Independence Day, I can only think how sad, that such a great land has been destroyed by those who wish to do just that through their constant disregard for God, his laws, and his truth which this country was founded on, and just basic common decency, courtesy. and goodwill we once had for one another.

We may have won freedom from Britain, as we celebrate now but what did we do with that freedom?

All those who have fought and suffered lifelong wounds, physically and mentality so that we could remain free, to have their sacrifices simply threw away as our biggest enemy now is the enemy within, true patriotic pride is now considered something to be tossed aside as we are told what we should think, feel, and be the good little mindless social citizens many would wish us to be,

Ah, but people don’t always get want they want, and the socialists will never take away the true American spirit from true Americans, it’s like the separation by judgments.

America, as it stands is spiritual Babylon, but true Americans are not Spiritual Babylonians and just as we were led to this country to serve God in freedom and peace, God will one day move us (and the rest of his children) from this world, so that once and for all, we can live and worship him in truth, peace, and freedom.

I want to end it with a “picture” of what real independence is going to look like.

Revelation 11:15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there was great voices in heaven, saying, THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.”

And this will be true freedom, no more fighting against evil, no more anyone telling him what they will and will not do, no more atrocities.

And if I have never mentioned it before, now is a great time but there will also be no cars, cell phones, phones, internet, or any kind of technology, 

Thank God, no Facebook, Tik Tok, Instagram, no social or media platforms at all, which all have been used to help usher in the downfall of humanity.

It will be as it was originally.

Everyone, or at last everyone that is left, will adhere to God’s commands and the self righteous, God hating, murderous, adulterous, cruel, wicked behaviors as we know them now, will be a thing of the very distant past.

And we’ll take a quick look at life at the onset of and after the apocalypse, during the thousand-year reign of Christ.

Also please note that the instruction to flee into the mountains is being spoken by him to Israel only, his people in that area, this does not apply to America, as if we are saved will  be raptured and then brought back with the Lord to Jerusalem, but those who have not repented at the time of the destruction of “Babylon the Great” will be eternally lost in that destruction, as the destruction comes swiftly and without warning, if they are unrepentant they will no longer have time to repent once this occurs.

“BEHOLD, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil (plunder) shall be divided in the midst of thee.

For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.

Then shall the Lord God come forthand fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.

And his feet shall stand in that day on the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem of the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst (split in two) thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove (move) toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah the king of Judah; and the day of the Lord shall come, and all the saints with thee.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark (there will be no light);

But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass that at evening time it shall be light.

And it shall be that day, that living waters shall go from Jerusalem; half of them together toward the former sea (Dead Sea), and half of them toward the hider sea (Mediterranean): in summer and in winter it shall be.

And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

And all the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.

And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.

And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume (rot) away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes (sockets), and their tongue shall consume (rot) away in their mouth.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult (panic) from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold (grab hold) every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

And Judah shall also fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beast that shall be in these tents, as this plague.

And it shall come to pass, that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feats of tabernacles.

And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.

And if the family of Egypt go not up and come not. that (they will) have; no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feats of tabernacles.

This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feats of tabernacles.

In that day shall there be bells upon the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD…”  Zechariah 14:1-20 (a)

Whole different ballgame going on there!

Everyone will bow and everyone will know, and that will truly be our Independence Day, when we are truly delivered from evil.

I will be taking a wee break, but my site will remain, if you are interested in more on any of these subjects, just check out the side menu on desktop or click a post title to open in new tab on mobile and scroll to the main bottom for titles, or use the “Digging a certain something” option for a category list, there is slightly over five-hundred posts, help from God’s Word on most subjects we wrestle with.

Be blessed and keep looking up.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“And Yet… ” PART 1, Playing with paganism

*Original Post 08/27/2016 Revisited to bring to remembrance scriptures as we lead in our last post for our last days*

“And the rest of the men (generic term for ALL humans) which were not killed by these plagues YET THEY REPENTED NOT  of the works of their hands, that they SHOULD NOT worship devils (demons), and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see nor hear, nor walk;

NEITHER REPENTED THEY of their MURDERS, nor of their SORCERIES, nor of their FORNICATION, NOR of their THEFTS.” REVELATION 9:20,21

To me that IS the most horrifying verse in the entire Bible. This IS stated AFTER the Lord starts pouring down vials of wrath on earth.

They KNOW that Jesus IS REAL, they ARE falling dead under His wrath and yet they still refuse to repent and turn away from the forces of darkness. There is quite a list there and I want to tackle first things first. works of their hands, worshiping devils, pagan deities that people believe to be gods, when they are made of wood, and some crafted from silver, pottery, and covered in gold.

It is still an idol, made with human hands or more so machinery in modern times, nevertheless, WORTHLESS creations thought from human minds inspired by demonic beings and they fall down and WORSHIP these idols.

THERE IS NO GOD except JEHOVAH GOD, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB, THE I AM THAT I AM, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, AND THE ONLY SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. Period, everything else is a cheap demonic attempt to sway unstable minds who WANT a god that can be “served” amidst their own desires.

ISAIAH 40:18-25: ” To whom then will you liken God? (who can be compared to Him) or what likeness will you compare unto him? The workman melteth (moulds) an IMAGE, and the goldsmith spreadeth over it gold, and casteth silver chains ( silversmith casts it). He that is so impoverished (SO POOR) that he hath no oblation (can not afford to purchase idol) choosest a tree that will not rot; he seeketh a cunning workman (skilled craftsman) TO PREPARE A GRAVEN IMAGE, that shall not be moved (totter). 

Have ye NOT known? have ye NOT heard? hath it not been TOLD you from the beginning? have ye NOT understood FROM THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH? 

It IS HE that sitteth upon (above) the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that strectcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth the out as a tent to dwell in:

That bringeth (reduces) the princes to nothing: he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity (useless). Yea, they shall not (scarcely) be planted; yea, they shall not (scarcely) be sown: yea, their stock shall not (scarcely) take root in the earth: and he SHALL BLOW UPON THEM, and they SHALL WITHER, and THE WHIRLWIND SHALL TAKE THEM AWAY AS STUBBLE.

TO WHOM THEN WILL YE LIKEN ME, OR SHALL I BE EQUAL? SAITH THE HOLY ONE.”

I love how He dead nails how they create those things that they will worship, many old timers believed this was against the tradition of having a Christmas tree, but it is clearly  against their hewing idols out of every imaginable material.

I also love the fact that he starts with WHO? Who may anyone DARE to compare with Him?

And the added THEN, THEN after all these things come to pass, WHO will they dare compare to be His equal in might, strength, or power?

Certainly not dead tree trunks that have been dressed in even the finest of gold and silver. They will still be exactly as they are.. DEAD.

Having not eyes, ears, or speech. They cannot see man, They can not hear cries, and certainly they shall never speak even an utterance of deliverance.

The Lord who SAW what He had SPOKEN into creation as good.

He came down and SPOKE and WALKED with Adam and Eve in the garden, He SAW that they were naked.

He SPOKE with ABRAHAM, He and His angels met with him there because the Lord HEARD the cries of Sodom.

The Lord who SAW Hagar crying in the wilderness, and she named that place Lahairoi, The well of “HE WHO LIVES, sees and hears ME.”

He SAW what Moses held in his hand upon his commission, He HEARD the cries of the Hebrews against their oppression. He heard all the cries of Israel during their many times of obedience mingled with disobedience and each time they were about to be swallowed up by their enemies, he HEARD those cries. He heard the futile arguments of every prophet He sent forth and SPOKE encouragement to them.

He SAW the abominations the wicked priests committed in HIS temple and he SPOKE forth the orders of their executions. He Spoke to the disciples and all the crowds that followed as he WALKED upon earth, and upon sea.

He SPOKE to the demons that they would flee. He SPOKE to disease that it should be no more. He HEARD as the crowds screamed for His death and He SPOKE of forgiveness.

 The entire Bible is comprised about a LIVING,SEEING, HEARING, SPEAKING GOD!

 He STILL sees all earth, including you and me. He STILL speaks to those who will listen. He STILL WALKS upon the circle of the earth and in heaven and one day soon, upon His earthly return will stand upon Mount Olives and will Walk His city of New Jerusalem.

So, WHO will you compare Him to? His IS the only true, LIVING GOD, and as HE said “there IS no other”. Idols can not save, pagan beliefs will never deliver. and all the devil wants is to take you to hell with him because he KNOWS he is already condemned for all of eternity to burn there and he will be suffering eternally with all he deceived, he will be NO king in hell, and as scripture states, those he has deceived will ask him if he has become as weak as they. It is no fairy tale and all of earth declares His glory, but HE WILL NOT give that glory to another. It is not about tolerance or keeping peace, it is about souls and eternity and you HAVE a choice NOW, a choice you will not have when all these things come to pass. Today IS the day of salvation, CHOOSE whom you will serve and choose wisely.

COMMANDMENT #1 “THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.”  Jesus NEVER changes, His word does NOT change, COMMANDMENTS DO NOT CHANGE. No matter what you have been taught or thought NOTHING will change the events in the book of Revelation, not believing WILL NOT change it because God DOES NOT NEED US TO BELIEVE IN HIM TO EXIST.

If you have been lured into these pagans thoughts and pagan religions, don’t by the tolerance line as a reason for not speaking against false beliefs either, just remember that Eve thought that eating the fruit would make her wise! The enemy lures us with the promise of knowledge when it is reality deception and we become wise only in our own eyes!

The pagan idols is but a drop in the bucket to the real idolatry that this verse speaks of. Especially in our modern culture, I always loved the term “teen idol” the name alone should strike a nerve of what this star worship really implies.

Our world has idols of money, houses, vehicles or social status and prestige. Idols of sex,  did all the crazed men really worship Monroe or Betty Page because they thought they would make fine mothers for future children? How about women flocking to see male “exotic” dancers? Is the attraction there because those huge muscles  would come in handy doing yard work at their future love nest?

Even denominations, and “spiritual” movements can become idols, Anyone wanna question whether Jim Jones “congregation” was following him and WORSHIPING HIM or were they really following the true God?

When the denomination is worshipped rather than the creator, and the cult mentality and pounding music of a certain new “spiritual” movement taking over peoples mind and completely brainwashing them to the truth and it never speaks a word of wisdom only the lull of “listen to the music and fall into worship”.

SCARY, SCARY business right there, and what scares me the most is seeing it go on right under  Pastor’s noses and they never even notice that something is not quite right.

We can WORSHIP anything and ANYTHING that has a higher ranking than God does in our lives IS an IDOL, and it is not always sex, drugs, alcohol, and gambling and with most idolatry, we seem to think God would approve because it makes us happy and makes us feel good! And yet.. another thing in the list of many that just does not quite get it with God.

Maybe you have even never heard the true word of God, whatever the case may be. If you serve and worship ANY other than Jesus Christ, I am pleading with you to please, please take time to rethink your position, ask why you believe what you believe and the what is the evidence for that belief and THEN discover the TRUTH for yourself before it is too late.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016   REVISITED 01/16/2021

As I felt impressed to “revisit” this post, I am also reminded of a scripture, used in a newer one, please consider this today, “For the time WILL come when they will not ENDURE sound doctrine”, that day was to come, and that day has been coming as the lines of what is and is not acceptable according to the true Word of God have become more and more blurred as so many have chosen to believe doctrines and teachings that are in complete contrast to true Biblical teaching, and that day has come.

If you know Jesus Christ hold on to your faith and never let anyway persuade you that there is any other way to Heaven, there isn’t, that is why Jesus said No man cometh to the Father except by Him. And if you have never made that decision, I plead with you today, if you feel that conviction, that tugging on your hear to accept Jesus, accept him before it’s too late, we are never promised another day.

Please join me next time for part 2

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

And Yet… #2                         And Yet… Part 3

“Enough for Today”

“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought (Do not worry) for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat (food), and the body more than raiment (clothing)?

Behold the fowls of the air; for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are you not much better than they? 

Which of you, by taking thought can add one cubit to his stature? And why take ye thought (worry about) for raiment?

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

And yet I say unto you, Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed (clothed) as one of these.

Wherefore if God so clothed the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought (do not worry) , saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil (trouble) thereof.” Matthew 6:25-34

I love birds, all birds, it fascinates me to no end how God used the dove to bring back the olive branch to Noah to let him know it was now safe to resume life on earth, and that he used the ravens to feed Elijah during the famine. and the Holy Spirit in the bodily form as a dove resting on Jesus, and now forever the world’s symbol of peace, and even the super scary bird supper that takes place as the book of Revelation is fulfilled.

They are simply beautiful and to just listen to their songs in the morning and some even sing at night. 

Today I looked outside and noticed on my steps a darling little brown bird, I have no idea what kind, maybe a sparrow, I know some of them super well but others, not so much 🙂 and this little bird had hanging dried weeds out on both side of its beak, just bouncing on the step, looking around, making sure no predators were watching, quite obviously in the process of making a nest, planning for its future family.

I on the other hand, like most of us, had been pondering the craziness of our government (as I do often) and after reading that it had been recommended to start stockpiling food, I started seriously questioning whether or not people should start buying in bulk and stockpiling food and other items for their families and to have it to share if the worst case scenario should occur.

And then I thought about the literal starvation the world over much thanks to Putin who is determined to go down in history, but he is sure not going to go as he thinks, his will evil be remembered, not as the Great Czar he so wished to be, but as a diabolic monster that destroyed millions, maybe billions of lives by the time all is said and done.

The constant threat of nuclear weapons over our heads, food will be a moot point.

How can we worry about all these things? Jesus said it best, as Gentiles, this is our logic.

We all are worried and concerned, gas prices, food prices, sickness, babies not even having formula in what is supposed as the richest country on earth, and looming threats of biological, chemical, and possible nuclear assaults is trying enough to make the most optimistic person think twice.

Then the scripture hit, “consider the ravens” which is how it is written in Luke 12:24, we worry and we worry, and often as my Mom always said, over things that never even happen.

As Jesus said, tomorrow will take care of itself.

We often buy trouble worrying about tomorrow and worrying about tomorrow causes us to lose the joy, and peace of mind that we could have today.

We can do very little in the natural world to change these things, we can give, and we can try to be an encouragement.

But ultimately, we have to pray and trust God, just like Jesus told us too and remember what he has already done  and be like that little bird and get on with life and get on with making future plans and setting goals and having hope. 

And even though the world may be saying that it would be wise, the moment we start to give in to those voices, and stockpile unnecessary food and supplies, gas, we are setting ourselves up for the worst form of worry and anxiety,

Will it be enough? How much would ever be enough?

What happens will it is all used up? It would eventually be all used up. 

Doesn’t take long to realize why Jesus told us not to fall into this trap. Even if we worried ourselves into having it all, we would then be worried about keeping it!

Because He knows what we all have need of and He will take care of every need, but He commanded us also to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” and that is exactly what he meant!

And of course, I am not talking about if God is leading you to do it, or you are buying up for food banks or anything like that or buying a few extras at a good price and I am talking about the anxiety that tries to sneak into all our minds from time to time.

One of my favorite old sayings is this. “If it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it.”

We will all know when it breaks and believe me, God will take care of it all then.

ENJOY your day! 

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson REVISTED 10/09/22

“Intercession of Christ”

“For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope; for what a man seeth, why doth (does) he yet hope for it?

But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Likewise the Spirit helpeth with our infirmities; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which can not be uttered.

And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 

And we know that all things work together  for the good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom he did predestinate , them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified, them he also glorified.

What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also give us freely all things? Who can lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifeth.

Who is he that condemeth?  it is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again. who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 

Who shall separate from love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,  or peril, or sword? As it is written, FOR THY SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL THE DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR SLAUGHTER.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquers through him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:24-39

This is one of the most beautiful and comforting passage of scripture in the entire Bible, and so perfect for the time we find ourselves sin.

In our world our brothers and sister are being martyred the world over, with Nigeria being targeted yet again with fifty saints including children being killed at a Pentecost service, and that is only one of the recent, common occurrences  and tragedy upon tragedy is in our streets with senseless murders having become an everyday thing,

Events that we will never understand this side of heaven, evil and hate laying waste, not only in homes plagued with domestic violence but now in our schools, theaters, workplaces, and churches.

Our society has left God and people who have no belief in anything higher than themselves and believe that death is only a dark hole to sleep forever, have no recourse when satan troubles them and in that evil they themselves become evil and the innocent is who suffers for that.

Only God can give us hope through the blackness of this world, and as the scripture above tells us, that when we get so discouraged, wounded, and overwrought by living in this war-zone, we call earth, that the Spirit himself makes intercession for us, knowing what we need because we can’t even determine what we should pray.

Jesus Himself also makes intercession for us, praying for us, comforting us and all who trust in him.

While we are not  promised that we will never go through these things, we are promised that none of it, not trials, troubles, hunger, persecution, violence, not even the angels nor the devil himself, life, and certainly not even death can ever separate you from Him and his love.

“…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Matthew 28:20 (b)

If you ever find yourself feeling, down, discouraged, and in doubt, remember  this verse.

Isaiah: 46:4: ” And even to your old age I am he; and even to your hoar (gray) hairs will I carry you; I have made and I will bear: even I will carry and deliver you.”

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

“Witness to the Light”

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God,

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended (apprehended) it not. 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light. that all men through him might believe.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 

He came unto his own and his own received him not

But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons (children) of God, even to them that believe on his name;

Which were born not of blood, nor the will of man, but of God. 

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake (spoke), He that cometh after me is preferred before me (ranks higher than I):for he was before me.

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. 

No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias?  And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give answer to them that sent us, What sayest thou of thyself? 

He said, I AM THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD, as said the prophet Esaias (Isaiah).

And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. And they asked him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not: 

He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me (ranks higher than I) whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan where John was baptizing.

The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world. 

This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 

And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth  with the Holy Ghost. 

And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God. Again, the next day John after stood, and two of his disciples; 

And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!  And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.” John 1:1-37

Safe to say, John rocked their world!!They had never seen anyone, anything quite like John.

He was the complete opposite to everything the religious crew of the day could comprehend.

John had been sent here on his mission, equipped with everything he needed to do the job, already inside of him.

We will take a closer look at the prophecy and birth of John in our next post, so that we can see the requirements that are so often conveniently over-looked today.

He did not look like them, as being described wearing camel’s hair and a leather belt, while they had their priestly robes.

He certainly did not feast as they, with the best, most prestigious seat at the tables of the wealthy, No, his meals were of locust and wild honey.

And he certainly did not preach like them, he did not white-wash over actions and attitudes that kept the money flowing while producing hearts black as coal, even if it meant taking on Herod and letting him know that he was in sin, this leading to his arrest.

Can you imagine? He was doing something no one had ever done, or had ever heard of doing!

He was proclaiming the King of the universe, and he was proclaiming him to “common” people, he was not condemning those who came to him, he was not putting himself on a religious pedestal as the Pharisees.

He constantly humbled himself, letting all know that he was not even worthy to touch even the sandal of the one he exalted.

He warned them that the road must be prepared for the arrival of the true King and that all the exalted places must be lowered, and all the rough places made smooth, and warned that even though he preached, and he baptized them with water, that the King would also himself, baptize those who believed, and that his baptism would be unlike anything they had ever known or understand.

This baptism would be of fire and the Holy Ghost, and that as the king came into the world, his great light would manifest to all.

All that was or would ever be created, created by him and for him, and he came to redeem us all.

Isaiah 60:1-3: “ARISE, shine for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.

For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and the kings to the brightness of thy rising.”

Let’s go back to one of our earlier verses.

John 1:11: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

As they of the day rejected him, we, the Gentiles, all other peoples of the earth then had access to his salvation.

Never let anyone try to harden you against the Jews, they are his chosen people, we are just adopted in, but in the end we will all be one in his kingdom.

Here is the explanation.

Romans 11:1-28: “I SAY then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid (certainly not). For I am also an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot (Know) ye not what the scripture saith of Elisas (Elijah)? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,

LORD, TEHY HAVE KILLED THE PROPHETS, AND DIGGED (torn) DOWN THINE ALTARS; AND I AM LEFT ALONE, AND THEY SEEK MY LIFE.

But what saith the answer of God unto him? I HAVE RESERVED TO MYSELF SEVEN THOUSAND MEN , WHO HAVE NOT BOWED THE KNEE TO THE IMAGE OF BAAL.

Even then so at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

And if by grace, then it is no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but the election (elect of God) hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded (hardened)

(According as it is written, GOD HATH GIVEN THEM THE SPIRIT OF SLUMBER {stupor} EYES THAT THEY SHOULD NOT SEE, AND EARS THAT THEY SHOULD NOT HEAR;) UNTO THIS DAY.

And David saith, LET TEHIR TABLE BE MADE A SNARE, AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLINGBLOCK, AND A RECOMPENSE UPON THEM. LET THEIR EYES BE DARKEND THAT THEYMAY NOT SEE, AND BOW DOWN THEIR BACK ALWAY.

I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid (Certainly not); but rather through their fall (trespass) salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Now if the fall (trespass) of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing (failure) of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office (my ministry).

If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead.

For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump also is holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 

And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert (were) graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and the fatness of the olive tree;

Boast not against the branches, But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee (remember you do not support the root, it supports you)

Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. 

Well: because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear:

For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed, lest he also not spare thee.

Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again. 

For if thou wert (were) cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

For I would not, (do not want) brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits (opinion); that blindness (hardening) in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

AND SO ALL OF ISRAEL SHALL BE SAVED: as it is written: THERE SHALL COME UP OUT OF SION THE DELIVERER, AND SHALL TURN AWAY UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB;

FOR THIS IS MY COVENANT UNTO THEM, WHEN I SHALL TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.

As concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching (concerning) the election (elect’s), they are beloved for the fathers’ sake.”

We can understand by Paul’s comparison that in the end we will all be one, all the families of God, and we should be grateful that we were adopted into the Lord’s first family.

And this is why it is so important to remember what God said i the Old Testament, he will curse anyone who curses Israel and he will bless those who bless them. We are to pray for their peace and help them in anyway that we can.

That light has shone, As this world grows ever darker, our Lord wonderous light will shine even brighter!

John 8:12: “Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

*Also, I am not shouting! Some scripture is capitalized as it is the Bible to denote it being recited from another passage.

Φλογιζω  NBJ 2022/Rev. N. Brown Johnson

“WILL FOREVER BE”

FOR EVER, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Thy faithfulness IS  unto all generations; thou hast established the earth and it abideth. They continue unto this day ACCORDING to thine ordinances: for ALL are thy servants.” Psalm 119:89-91

Isaiah 9:2: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the LAND of the shadow of death, UPON them hath THE LIGHT SHINED.”

John 8:12: “THEN spake JESUS AGAIN unto them, saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the LIGHT OF LIFE.

1 John 1:5:  “THIS then IS the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God IS light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” 

This post is the absolute cumulative message of my entire ministry. If no thought were ever provoked, no scripture heart embedded, no sword ever given, not one seed planted, nothing watered, if every word fell upon deaf ears and blinded eyes, I do pray that this one will be received with spiritual hearing and the spiritual sight given to the saints.

I had asked the Lord once to allow me to just be, even to one person, the difference that the words of another had been to me. When I was seeking, as I always refer to it (and I have many times) “trying to be saved”, I would listen and listen to Christian programs and ministers and finally one hit something that stayed with me, a word that I desperately needed and a Bible story that I had NEVER ever heard, changed my life and gave me something I had not been able to find, HOPE.

The story was about Abraham taking Isaac to be sacrificed and the ram being caught in the thicket as the “replacement” sacrifice and the name JEHOVAH-JIREH because the Lord ALWAYS provides and He provided HIS OWN SON as sacrifice for our sin, my sin, your sin, the sin of the entire world, every sin ever committed or ever to be committed.

HE bore it all and the HOPE in that message, the HOPE that God really DOES see and He really DOES care and no matter what we have been through or are going through or the future holds.

Once I was saved and knew Him, something came flooding back to my mind, one of those moments of  “I wish I knew then what I know now”, I had a dream, and the Bible does say, if it was a dream, tell it as a dream because we have to be so careful as to what we attribute the Lord’s name to, so anyway, I was probably around eleven, maybe twelve and I had the strangest dream, it was solid black, no color, no light, just solid blackness, and I heard a voice and the voice said, “I am the I am that is” and that was it. I woke up and I was so disturbed and troubled and told my family.

After I was saved I was praying and I was like God why didn’t you tell me that was you, and as quick as that went through my mind, it came back to my mind, that I HAD been told. Even the name of the person who told me came flooding back, I had this dream during like an afternoon nap and my brother had a friend who came right after I woke up and was telling my family and he said, “Maybe it was God.” and I was like “Why on earth would God be in darkness?” and wouldn’t God say He was God, and why would He talk to me? The friend went on to tell me that He referred to Himself as “I AM” in the Old Testament, anyway, I truly just didn’t think anymore of it until I got saved.

And I think we ALL do that sometimes when God is trying to get our attention in the world and we have our thoughts as to what these encounters would be like. I now have no question about it and it has been my ministry message mission.

I was only STILL stumped by one fact. WHY was it dark? Tried to figure that one out for years and I do believe I know now. IT IS DARK.

It was NOT this dark when I was saved, but everyday it gets darker and darker and we can all attest to the fact that there is things going on that no one would have ever believed would be allowed to be called Christian and atrocities committed so far beyond our comprehension that we should be grateful for the desensitization from some of it, or our minds would fry.

This world IS covered in darkness, peoples hearts are dark, their thoughts are dark and EVEN in the face of absolute darkness, ONE TRUTH remains, JESUS IS.

He IS the voice in the darkness, HIS IS the voice that will shout with the TRUMP of God, HIS IS the voice that in unison with His bride will send out that FINAL invitation of salvation before and it IS HIS voice of judgment the entire world will hear upon His return.

And for all the thoughts and sermons done on the marvelous works of old and His great overthrows of Pharaoh and all the hosts of enemies who troubled His chosen throughout the ages, we need to remember something, HE IS NOT ONLY THE GOD WHO WAS…HE IS THE GOD WHO STILL IS!

And though the world is much worse and we are much less sensitive to his “voice” because our ears can never get away from the noises, sounds, and confusions of this world, HE STILL IS and only in calling on WHO HE IS in these times are we going to see change and deliverance and I promise you, for every single trouble or situation, demon, or foe, there IS a scripture of “God IS….” to counter every attack and make His voice known even in the pit of blackness and we know that there has never been such a time as this for the night watchmen and all those who sit captive to that darkness.

We sometimes become temporarily “blinded” in that darkness and smoke of the enemies pit and we are so busy groping, trying to find our way through that, that we can fail to hear the voice calling out the direction back into the places of light and clarity. That is the importance of following Him, as He said we will have the LIGHT of LIFE, His light, the LIGHT we can share with others, as His light shines upon them also.

One thing will NEVER change, HE WAS. HE IS. AND HE WILL FOR EVER BE. “He is the I AM that Is”, I really want to drive that message home.

This world IS dark, He IS light, this world hurts, He IS comfort, This world is uncertain, He IS peace, This world is death, He IS the resurrection from the dead. This world will betray you, He IS the one who will never leave or forsake you.

And He IS Blessed forevermore. And HE IS the Blessing, the hope, the security of those in the darkness of this world.  HIS name IS the ointment poured forth and it IS HE who has risen with healing in His wings and it IS His name whose proclamation will make seas roar and mountains tremble and HIS name whose power sets the captive free and as you pray for those captives :

Psalm 124:6-8: “ BLESSED  be the Lord who hath NOT given us as prey to their teeth; Our soul IS escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; The snare IS broken, and we ARE escaped. Our help IS in the NAME of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

His name holds ALL power: John 17:4-6:  “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus saith them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 

As SOON then as HE HAD SAID UNTO THEM, I AM HE, they went backwards (drew back) and fell to the ground.”

Many times Jesus told them exactly who He WAS and IS. The book of John starts with the verse: “IN THE BEGINNING  WAS the Word, and the WORD WAS WITH GOD, and the WORD WAS GOD.”

Just in this one Book, not to mention the other books, He makes these statements, to the woman at the well, I that speak unto thee, am he.” When he came walking on the sea to the disciples, he said, “It is I, be not afraid.” He also stated, “For the bread of God IS he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” And as they asked for the bread He responded, ” I am  THE bread of life”  and again, “I am THAT bread of life” and  “I am the LIVING bread” 

So many statements it would be impossible to list them here, so we’ll wrap it up with the wrap up of the revelation, the disclosure of it all, and if you will notice in your Bible the word Revelation is capitalized in the first verse, meaning that this word is NOT just a title, it is so much more, it IS the revelation that Jesus had and gave of all that would be!

Revelation 1: 1-18: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew (show) his servants things which shortly (quickly) come to pass; and he sent and confirmed it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Blessed is he that readeth, and THEY THAT HEAR the words of this prophecy, and KEEP those things which ARE WRITTEN therein: for the time is at hand.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace for him which IS and which WAS and which IS TO COME: and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who IS the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.  And hath made us kings and priest unto God and his Father; TO HIM BE GLORY AND DOMINION FOR EVER AND EVER. A-MEN’.

BEHOLD HE COMETH WITH THE CLOUDS; AND EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM, AND THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM: AND ALL KINDREDS OF THE EARTH SHALL WAIL BECAUSE OF HIM. Even so, A-men I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY. 

I John, who ALSO am your brother, and the companion in tribulation(persecutions), and IN the kingdom and patience (perseverance) of Jesus Christ, was in the isle of Patmos, for the word of God (banished for preaching) and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I was IN the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and BEING turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt (girded) around the paps (chest) with a golden girdle (band).

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire: And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned (were refined) in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars; and OUT of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and HIS COUNTENANCE WAS AS THE SUN SHINETH IN HIS STRENGTH. And when I saw him, I FELL AT HIS FEET as dead.

And HE LAID HIS RIGHT HAND UPON ME, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. A-men; and have the keys to hell and of death.”

It is hard not to notice that John, like Moses, WAS TURNED to pay attention to what God wanted to enlighten them too. And we also see that John suffered great persecutions because of the testimony and word of Christ, and he held to the promises of an eternal reward for that present suffering, which serves as a great reminder that if you want the promises of God on your life, you must be completely given to him, none of the candy coat business or seeking God when we need him, no, it has to be everything to Him.

And we end on the same note that we started, and as God spoke the very light into existence, He will speak it into this darkness of earth:

Revelation 22:12-16:And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward IS with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Blessed ARE they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the city. For without (outside) are dogs (depraved men, and sorcerers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie (liars).

I Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto YOU these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

Remember two things in life, if everything else fades away, HE IS and HE WILL FOREVER BE.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017          Related posts:  Majesty    HE IS THE I AM     Undeniable  

Original post date: 07/05/2017*    Revisited  07/25/2019 Revisited 03/13/2022 My 22 years with the Lord!

                                                                                         

DOUBLE-EDGED PART 3 / LOVESICK….

As the love saga in the Book of Solomon plays out we find that the couple are madly in love, the common thread that weaves the story is her proclamation that “His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me” now that is pretty close, the left hand being the tenderness and gentleness and the right hand in reference to the protection and justice of God, she is completely covered.

As we know she get to comfy and refuses to answer his call and once she does decide to drag herself out of bed, he’s gone.

Now the embrace that was becomes the embrace that should be, she is no longer in his arms, she is no longer under his protection.

Desperate to get him back, she frantically runs through the city, and as compared to our backslidden states and the rude awakening of the lukewarm, sleeping church, in the frenzied hunt she is wounded, she is hurt, and her dignity is taken away but she doesn’t give up.

As lovers often do, she begs her friends to please relay a message if they were to run into him and she is met with the question that we as believers are often met with.

Song of Solomon 4:7-9: “The watchmen that went about the city found me, they smote (struck) me, they wounded me, the keepers of the walls took my veil from me.

I charge (beg) you, O daughters of Jerusalem, If you find my beloved, THAT YE TELL HIM, that I AM SICK OF LOVE (lovesick).
Her friends reply: “ WHAT IS THY BELOVED MORE THAN ANOTHER BELOVED?…

What was it about him again? What was it that made her proclaim “Draw me, we will run after thee”…
Our main thought from part two, so what does that mean?

Well we need a reason, something that we desire that propels us to “press toward the mark.”

So how does he draw us, what is it about him that makes us follow?

Hosea 11:5: I DREW THEM WITH CORDS of a man (gentle cords), WITH BANDS OF LOVE; I was to them as they  that take off the yoke on their jaws (heavy burdens off their neck), and I laid meat unto them (STOOPED AND FED THEM).

His Mercy, His Grace, but as He himself stated, His gentleness, coming down to care for us.

Psalm 85:10: “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
His mercy meeting us in our sin stricken state and the truth of his love and forgiveness washing us white as snow, right standing and peace of God, peace in God, and the peace of God forming a beautiful union.

Psalm 18:35:“Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden (held) me up, AND THY GENTLENESS HATH MADE ME GREAT (victorious).”

Matthew 11:29: “Take MY yoke upon you, and learn of  (from) me; for I AM meek and lowly in heart (gentle and humble) ; and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

So when did she find him? We’ll get his answer:

Jeremiah 29:13:“And  ye shall SEEK ME, and FIND ME,WHEN YE SHALL SEARCH FOR ME WITH ALL YOUR HEART.”

I  so totally wanted to end that with an exclamation point but…. I don’t want in trouble!

But as we wrap this up please hold onto that thought, remember that love, that drew you to him and rekindle that flame, remember who HE IS.

He draws us with his gentleness and that love. 
Next time we’ll see why that love, that mercy, and above all that gentleness that forgives, that saves, and heals also turns to the other side of that double-edged sword.
It will bring justice, judgment, and unimaginable horror beyond human comprehension to this earth.
Without the understanding of that love and being embraced in that love and without the acceptance of his will and our place in the midst of it all, we will lose that love and that love and that love alone is all that can keep us through these days.
Φλογιζω/ NBJ/ 2015 Original post date: 10/05/2015 REVISTED 2021/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson & 02/09/2022





THE WORD

 “I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING, SAITH THE LORD, WHICH IS, AND WHICH WAS, AND IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY.” Jesus is.

He Is the beginning: “In the BEGINNING was the WORD. And the WORD was with God, and the WORD WAS God. ALL things were made BY HIM; and without him was not anything made that was made. IN HIM was life: And the life WAS the light of men. And the light shineth into the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.”

” That WAS the TRUE Light, which lighted every man that cometh into the world. HE WAS in the world, and the WORLD WAS made by Him, and THE WORLD KNEW HIM NOT.”

“He came unto his own, and his own received him not (rejected him). But as many as received him (accepted him) to them he gave power (the right) to become sons (children) of God, even to them which believe on his name. Which were born, NOT of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, BUT OF GOD. AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH (became flesh, a human), AND DWELT AMONG US, ( and we beheld HIS GLORY, the glory as THE ONLY begotten of the Father) full of truth and grace.” John 1:1-5,9-14.

John was the foretold voice crying in the wilderness, preparing the way for the Lord. When answering those who questioned his own identity , “John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; HE it IS, who coming after me is PREFERRED before me, whose shoe latchets I am not worthy to unloose. The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD, which taketh away the sins of the world.” John 1:27,29

I wish I could just put the entire chapter here!  John explains his own call and explains that no one has ever seen God at anytime, BUT they had seen the Son.” For whosoever is born of God overcometh the world; and THIS IS the victory that overcometh the world, even our FAITH. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that JESUS IS the Son of God?  THIS IS HE that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood, And IT IS the spirit that beareth witness, because the spirit is truth. FOR THERE ARE THREE THAT BEAR RECORD IN HEAVEN, THE FATHER, THE WORD, AND THE HOLY GHOST: THESE THREE ARE ONE. AND THERE ARE THREE THAT BEAR WITNESS IN EARTH, THE SPIRIT,AND THE WATER, AND THE BLOOD: THESE THREE AGREE AS ONE.”  1 John 5:4-8.

Jesus said those who come to him, must BELIEVE that HE IS and HE IS a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  So much deception in the world today, so many trying to say there is another way. “Who is  a liar but he that denieth that Jesus IS the Christ? He is an anti-Christ ( anyone who denies that JESUS IS the SON of God is ANTI CHRIST), that denieth both the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: {BUT} HE THAT ACKNOWLEDETH THE SON HATH THE FATHER ALSO.” 1 John 2:22,23.

 HE IS our Savior, He IS our Beginning, He will be our Ending, everything that has been or will ever be IS created by Him, through Him, and for His pleasure. Heaven IS his throne and earth is His footstool. He IS our ever present help, He IS our Redeemer, HE IS the only way to eternal life. He accepts us and saves us as we are and our first task is know him as IS, our first encounter with Him, when he saves us, cleanses us, makes us new. Then must go on to understand Him as WAS, all the mighty deeds from the beginning, as HE WAS and to the best part of all, that which will be and those things that are to come. 

Ephesians:4:3-6: Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. THERE IS one body, and ONE SPIRIT, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM. ONE GOD, AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS ABOVE ALL, and through all, and in you all.” Zechariah 14:9 :And THE LORD SHALL BE KING OVER ALL THE EARTH; IN THAT DAY SHALL THERE BE ONE LORD, AND HIS NAME SHALL BE ONE.”

Be ready because the King may just be coming back soon!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω Original post 01/02/2016 REVISITED 01/06/2021 Blessed Epiphany!

“Assurance…Guaranteed”

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, HE THAT HATH THE KEY OF DAVID, HE THAT OPENETH, AND NO MAN  SHUTTETH; AND SHUTTETH, AND NO MAN OPENETH;

I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience (my command to PERSEVERE) , I also will keep the from the hour of temptation (trial), which shall come upon ALL THE WORLD, to try (test) them that dwell upon the earth.

Behold, I come quickly; hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 3:8-11

Jesus gave us these words as comfort and assurance, Jesus as he taught us in the Gospel Luke 21;19: “In your patience possess ye your souls.” And what is patience? It means perseverance, it means to hold on and to look not at this world or what is around you.

But to look ahead, forward, so much so in fact that you are looking toward heaven and the life that ONLY begins when this earthly life ends.

For those who have been with loved ones who were afflicted with terminal illness, you may understand this well, often those in Christ are prepared for their journey to meet Jesus, while us the family are distraught and heart broken,never desiring to be separated form those we love, but God in his blessed compassion gives them peace, peace that allows them to look ahead and not see it as the death of this life but as the rebirth of an eternal life with no sorrow, no pain, no suffering, no want, no lack, no hunger, and no thirst.

But a life that will be FOREVER in the presence of Jehovah God, Jesus, the host of heavenly angels and loved ones that have already arrived in that heavenly location.

He gives peace to make that crossing as he himself prayed from the cross, Luke 23:46: “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT; and having said this, he gave up the ghost (he breathed his last).

Stephen, the martyr, echoed those words as he was stoned because the truth he proclaimed convicted and angered the evil crowd, they felt is easier to kill him that to admit their own evil trespasses.

Acts 7:54-69: ” When they heard these things, they were cut (furious) to the heart, and they gnashed on (at) him with their teeth. 

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and SAW the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man, standing at the right hand of God. And they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord (attacked him as one mob). 

And cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

And they stoned Stephen, calling (as Stephen called on God), and saying, LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge (please don’t hold this them).

And when he had said this, he fell asleep (died). 

As Jesus referenced the church in Philadelphia, it is noteworthy to mention to key facts, this church would have been at Turkey during Bible times but the name literally means “brotherly love” and in my belief, it can be even as with denominations, we can belong to a”church” meaning that sheepfold, and not necessarily be in that exact geological location, just as we are brothers and sisters in Christ the world over, even though we may NEVER meet each other in this life, we will in the next, because the Kingdom of God is comprised of his children from “all nations, and kindreds (tribes), and people, and tongues, (languages)”

Jesus also gave us that blessed hope in knowing that perseverance is the key, and perseverance means “do not give up, no matter what, do not give up” and as he also warned to let anyone take your “crown’, just as he also promised to keep you from all the terrible,terrible things that are coming to this world, he did not at any time say how he would keep you. It could be through the rapture, of the saints, or it could be as with Stephen, and so many others, who have died in Christ and for the Word of Christ.

His promise is all that even matters, and his promise is that you will be protected and preserved, and what I feel is one of the most awesome promises,a promise that will be fulfilled not only to those who have already suffered persecution and death through the ages, but for a blessed promise to those who are suffering now for the word of Christ and their choice to serve the one true God, the maker of heaven and earth, who will NEVER leave you or forsake you, I want to remind you of this, what will one day happen as Christ is REINTRODUCED to this earth. 

Revelation 6:9-17: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain (murdered) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and AVENGE our blood on them that dwell on earth?

And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season (while), UNTIL their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be (will be) killed as they were, should be fulfilled (happens).

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo,  there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs (drops it’s late fruit) when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

And THE HEAVEN DEPARTED AS A SCROLL WHEN IT IS ROLLED TOGETHER (the sky split apart); and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens (caves) and in the rocks of the mountains;

And said to the mountains and rocks, FALL ON US, AND HIDE US FROM THE FACE OF HIM THAT SITTETH ON THE THRONE, AND FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to abide (stand) in it?” 

This is what Jesus referenced when he said this in Luke 21:27: “And then shall THEY see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” 

This is not just those who believe or just a wake up call for those who don’t, this will be the entire earth beholding their creator, and those who rejoice at his return, his children who know him as he is, lovely, beautiful, holy, and kind, gentle, and forgiving and mercy divine.

Those who have prayed for deliverance shouting for joy that that deliverance has come, mirrored to those who have hated him, hated the good, and fought and martyred the faithful, hated his chosen Israel and tried to take and destroy his chosen city of Jerusalem, either way we shall all see him and see him in his glory.

Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he cometh with clouds,  and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and ALL the kindreds of the earth shall wail (mourn) because of him. Even so, Amen.”

Which fulfills the promise in Philippians that even those who pierced him will see him, this is because ALL, those in heaven, those in erath, and those under earth.

ALL from ALL time will see him.

And all who have hated him, his word, and all who have hated you because you are his child and you bear his word, will suddenly be faced with him and his return, and the beauty is this, they can hate us, they can kill us but they will NEVER kill Jesus again, they will NEVER stop the Gospel, and once they are faced with the horrifying realization that He is indeed real, as they watch the sky itself LITERALLY open up to reveal Jesus and the host of heaven that none of us can even begin to fathom and I believe many will repent at that moment but those who have hated and made their threats and their claims and tormented and killed his people will know assuredly one thing, there is nothing, absolutely nothing in their power that will stop Him or His will and all those with their great threats of annihilation will now be begging to die rather than face Almighty God.

It’s easy to oppress other humans but not quite going to get it when trying to oppress the one WHO CREATED HUMANS including them.

As God had promised by his word that this will take place, Romans 14:11: For it IS written, AS I LIVE, SAITH THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.” 

I don’t even propose to know what you face today but I do believe that God wants you to rest in him and just hold on, hold on to the PROMISE that he has given you and that the God who will strike terror in their hearts at his return is the same God who will also hold you close comfort you, and dry every tear and he will, in that day, make your enemies to know that you are loved by him, the very beloved of him.

Finally keep your mind on this and this hope, REMEMBERING in your own mind the hope Jesus kept in his, as this passage encourages us to think as Jesus thought as his Father’s promises allowed him to keep focused on the joy ahead.

Philippians 2:5-11: “Let THIS MIND be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

But made himself no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men;

And being found in fashion (appearance), he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 

THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, OF THINGS (those) IN HEAVEN, AND THINGS (those) IN EARTH, AND THINGS (those) UNDER THE EARTH;

AND THAT EVERY TONGUE SHOULD CONFESS (admit and acknowledge)THAT JESUS CHRIST IS  LORD, TO THE GLORY OF THE FATHER.”  

God bless you today and just keeping looking up, help is on His way.

Also please take a moment to listen to this song posted below,  I believe it will bless you today.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2020/ Reverend Nina Brown Johnson    REVISITED 11/11/2021  Original post date: 09/03/2020

“BLESSED”/ THE BETROTHED, AND THE BEHEADED / PART 2

Revelation 6:9-11: “And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for word of God, and for the testimony which they held; and they cried with a loud voice, saying How long, O long, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on earth?

And white robes were given unto every one of; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be (will be) killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” 
                                

So much for not remembering being on earth, not only do they remember, they know they were murdered and they want justice.
I think the preppers have the right ideal they just need a little guidance. 

They know something is coming and are attempting to prepare for it, they know they will not be able to buy what they need and will need to protect themselves.

They just don’t know exactly why, yet, the answer to that question can be answered with nine words, the anti Christ and the mark of the beast.

It is imperative that we really start getting THIS Gospel out.

The chapters of the book no one wants to preach, because it usually scares people, which can run them away and for money churches that is not a viable option, because money and prestige  are far more important than saving souls.
For others they just do not want to have to deal with it.

But who does? It is scary and anyone who thinks I enjoy this part of my job, you better pray and think again.

I have spent years studying these scriptures and crying countless tears because I KNOW what is coming and people can blow me off or laugh, but as with the prophets of old, the day came that they found out that it wasn’t so funny anymore.

But I am sure you do your job, and this is mine.

I often use this analogy that I feel is very accurate, If you saw someone who you knew to be completely deaf standing on a railroad track, facing backward to a speeding freight train, that they could not hear or see coming, would you try to pull them out-of-the-way or would you just stand and watch them die?

I see a world full of people on that track! I see the freight train speeding toward them and I am very, very afraid that there is not much time left to pull them from that track. 

Then those who laugh because they find this so funny so outrageous, because their deafened ears can’t hear the sound of that train, in their pride and arrogance they choose to believe that it is not coming, and this is when the laughter will stop.

The laughter will stop when millions of people disappear without a trace from the face of the earth.
The laughter will stop when world events others had tried to warn them of begins to unfold all around them.
The laughter will stop when what everyone thought was a prosperous peace for all deal goes south after three and a half years.
The laughter will stop when the anti-Christ reveals his true plans demanding that everyone in the world must worship him.
The laughter will stop when all must pledge allegiance to him by taking his mark. (Satan’s counterfeit to the sealing of the servants of God)
The laughter will stop when those who wish to resist will suddenly find that no amount of money, no credit cards, not even pure gold bars will purchase food, medicine anything they may need because without his mark you will not be able to sell or buy.

How long can you live without food, water, shelter, heat. What if a loved one is sick, what about medicine, or baby diapers or milk?
Now would be a good time to ask the church you found so amusing for help, but wait the church is no longer there.

It has been taken, those who trusted God are now protected against the fulfillment of these days.

Maybe you can hold out for a while with the goods you have on hand, but the days will follow shortly after most have been marked and it will be a little harder to hide, then they will give you one final choice, you take this mark or you die.

Think this is bad, well it can get worse, because if you happen to live in “Mystery Babylon the Great”  you will not even have the option of beheading.

It will be destroyed from the face of the earth in a separate judgment and once all this begins those living there, will just simply be dead, and never have the chance to repent again.
By this point all laughter will have ceased.

But I still want to give hope, I  do believe the mark will get a lot of them, because lets face it people are so sold out to Satan now and they’ll bust your head over a good deal at Christmas, so why would half of them even resist?

I know there are those who worry about being tricked or chipped into taking it. 

But I promise you this can not happen.
Jesus loves us all too much to let us be tricked into losing our souls and he has  angels proclaim this.  Everyone will be conscious of their decision.

Revelation 14: 6-11: “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto the earth, and every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give him glory: for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

And there  followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture (meaning full force) into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”                                          
                      
Jesus said in Luke 21:17-19: “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. But there shall not an hair on your head perish. in your patience possess ye your souls .

Revelation 2:10,11:Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: Behold, the devil shalt cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit sayeth unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.”
He tells us to keep our patience, don’t give up your soul, because you will arise just as he did, death will have no power over you and no matter what they do, not one hair will be lost upon resurrection.

Giving us peace in that resurrection.

Revelation 14:12,13: “Here in is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And I heard a voice out of heaven saying unto me, Write. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord  henceforth ( from this point forward): Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them in them.”  
                                    
This is their blessing: 
Revelation 20:4-6: “And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark in their foreheads or hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

This is the first resurrection. Blessed and Holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him one thousand years.
                                     
As these things take place, and the signs are all around, with many already being martyred as those who have been martyred through the ages,  God will then begin to rain judgment on this earth, upon all who did not heed the call of the angels, but that is a subject for another day.

“Blessed” Part 1  

Original Post Date: 09/19/2014. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina BrownJohnson 2015

Edited and new links added 2019 REVISITED 08/22/2021 now more than ever we need to keep faith that this world is only temporary but one day we will reign with the eternal King!

“BLESSED” / THE BETROTHED AND THE BEHEADED PART 1

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Then those that are alive and remain (are saved) shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  Wherefore COMFORT one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18

The rapture of the church, the return of the Lamb to retrieve his Bride, having paid her bride price with his own blood.
Giving his life that she may live, the ancient Jewish customs proving faithful as the souls of believers confess “You are my Savior” echoing “I am my beloveds and he is mine.”
Having gone away to prepare a place for her, being  reminiscent of the protective, seclusion of the wedding canopy.
He will now return with the army of his companions to take her away to the “secret dwelling place of the Most High” until all things can be fulfilled on earth.
 And he does this because we could not bear to witness the carnage and bloodshed that will overflow this earth.
As in Ezekiel, when those who were supposed to be his servants  filled his temple with filth and abominations, at the cries of his people who could not stand seeing his temple defiled, he then determined that the end for them had come, he called forth his angel

Ezekiel 9:4-6 “Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men ( humans) that sigh and cry for the abominations that are done in the midst thereof. And to the others he said in mine hearing (so I could hear), Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: Slay utterly old and young, both maids and little children, and women: but  come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary.”
Just as judgment must begin at the house of the Lord.
He always deals with his people first and we shall see one day just as with this story, what will become of those who hold doctrines not quite true to the word of God.

Lets do a little mirror image on this and see the reflection.
Revelation 7:2,3 “And I saw another angel ascending from the east,  having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea. Saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,  till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” 

As all things foreshadow those which are to come, only it will come on a much grander scale.

Revelation 9:4 “And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.” 

We who are alive and have remained faithful to our bridegroom and kept our faith, will be removed from this earth just as he protected Noah and his family from the flood.
Lot and his daughters were spared from the destruction of Sodom, on behalf of the intercession by Abram.

This is what the Lord speaks over us: Isaiah 26:19,20
“Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.

Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs,  and the earth shall cast out her dead. 
 Come my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut the doors about thee: hide  thyself as it were, but for a moment, until the indignation be overpast.”
We must be ready when that call comes, because only those who have accepted Christ will be in this gathering.
 Those who remain on this earth after the rapture of the church will only be saved by refusing to worship the anti-Christ and refusing the mark of the beast, and being beheaded for that refusal. 

Maybe people who may not yet be ready to commit will soon see, all we need to do is watch the news. Israel is almost completely surrounded by enemies as the Lord said would happen and the heart breaking beheading of the first two journalists revealing an eerie clue, the first a Christian, the second a Jew.
Facts probably unknown at the time to their captors, all things are prophetic when you look at what is really there.
So to all who are not saved, please do not wait, if you feel the tug of God, please accept him before it is to late. You do not want to be left on this earth.

His promise to us: Revelation 19:7-9  “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

And he said unto me.  Write. Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.  and he said unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

Please accept his invitation, because this is one dinner you do not want to miss.

Original Post Date: 09/19/2014. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2015  REVISTED 08/21/2021 This is one of the subjects people always wonder about when dealing with scripture, and now more than ever when you look at this world you can see just how close this day is dawning.

“Kingdom of Christ” Part 1 *Responsibility*

Original post 04/09/2017, I wanted to revisit this thought as we go into Easter, but there is a reference to something that had happened at the time I wrote this, so please don’t think I’m tripping and not knowing what date today is 🙂

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE BECOME (are now) THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.” Revelation 11:15 

Since the dawn of our existence, our most confusing and heavily debated aspect of Christianity has been death, the “rapture”, Heaven, hell, and the second coming of Jesus Christ to earth and “where” exactly it is that believers will go.

In honor of Holy week, I wanted to do something a little different and I know for me personally, I have never heard very much teaching on these subjects, so I will hopefully take the next few posts and prayerfully do just that.

And as today is Palm Sunday and there has already been attacks against our Egyptian brothers and sisters in Christ as they worshipped this morning and many gave their lives for that worship and now have become more in the list of Martyrs that do have a special place of honour under the altar of the throne of God.

And as we get deeper into this series, Lord will, I will give you scriptures to back up every word that I write, it is imperative that we keep ever fresh on our hearts and minds, “setting our affections on things above” WHOM we serve and why we serve Him and most importantly that even though at the present moment, satan is the “god” of this world, the day soon approaches when ALL things WILL be fulfilled and Jesus Christ will take His rightful position as KING OF THIS EARTH.

Many have always heard, get saved and go to heaven when you die.. well that is partially true and we will deal that later in our series. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are given ABSOLUTE promises from God, that we ARE HIS, that nothing can change that:

“And I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE: and THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND. My Father, which gave them me IS GREATER THAN ALL; and NO MAN is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand. I and my Father ARE ONE.” John 10:28-30 

We CAN NOT be taken from Him unless we are WILLING to be taken:

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye ARE SEALED unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

So we know that our souls are sealed by HIS Holy Spirit, and as we do not grieve Him by turning our backs on Him, and committing acts that we KNOW are sinful, never asking Him for forgiveness, and taking the good gift of His SPIRIT and His SALVATION as a light thing and taking it FOR GRANTED and arguing against one another when all time is at hand:

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, (basic discussion) let us go on to perfection (maturity): not laying AGAIN the foundation of repentance from DEAD works, and of faith toward God, Of the DOCTRINE of baptisms, and of the laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this WE WILL DO, IF GOD PERMIT.

For it is IMPOSSIBLE for those who were ONCE enlightened, and HAVE TASTED OF THE HEAVENLY GIFT, and WERE MADE PARTAKERS OF THE HOLY GHOST, and HAVE TASTED THE GOOD WORD OF GOD, AND THE POWERS OF THE WORLD TO COME.

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the SON of God afresh (again), and put him to an open shame.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft (often) upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet (useful) for them by whom it is dressed (cultivated) receiveth blessing from God:  But that which beareth (brings forth) thorns and briers IS rejected, and is nigh unto cursing (being cursed); whose end is to be burned.

BUT beloved, WE ARE PERSUADED (confident about) BETTER THINGS OF YOU, and THINGS THAT ACCOMPANY SALVATION, thus we speak.” Hebrews 6:1-9

Proof positive that we HAVE been given the greatest gift receivable, as being vessels INDWELT by the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD!

How much greater a gift could we receive? We are also taught the extreme NEED for us to honor, and cherish, and protect the gift we have been given. As we see the mirror to the scripture, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”, we are warned and comforted by the fact that, better is thought of us, that we will not be guilty of this. So once we have accepted Christ, we MUST understand, and accept the responsibility that comes with it. 

As scripture also states, “We are bought with a price” therefore we are no longer our own, and understanding that will help us understand what is expected of us.

This is His prayer before His crucifixion, and through it we can understand better WHO WE ARE in HIM and WHO He expects us to be and so much encouragement knowing, that just as He prayed this prayer almost two-thousand years ago, HE STILL PRAYS FOR US today!

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also might glorify thee: As thou hast given him power (authority) over ALL flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, that they might KNOW THEE, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, WHOM THOU HAST SENT.

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me (alongside) with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee BEFORE THE WORLD WAS. I have manifested (revealed)  thy name  unto the men (humans) which thou gavest me OUT OF THE WORLD: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and THEY HAVE KEPT THY WORD.

Now they have KNOWN that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.  FOR I HAVE GIVEN UNTO THEM THE WORDS WHICH THOU GAVEST ME; and they have received them, and have KNOWN surely that I came out from thee, and THEY HAVE BELEIVED that thou didst SEND ME.

I PRAY FOR THEM; I pray NOT for the world, BUT for  THEM which thou hast given me; FOR THY ARE THINE (yours).And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I AM glorified in them.

And NOW I AM no more in the world, but these ARE in the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father, KEEP THROUGH THINE OWN NAME those whom thou hast given me, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS WE ARE.

While I was with them in the world, I KEPT THEM IN THY NAME: those that thou gavest me I HAVE KEPT, and NONE of them is lost (destroyed) , but (except for) the son of perdition (destruction) {referencing Judas Iscariot} that the SCRIPTURES MIGHT (would) BE FULFILLED.

And now I come to thee; and THESE THINGS I SPEAK IN THE WORLD,that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.  I have given them thy word; AND THE WORLD HATED THEM, because THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.

I pray NOT that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil (evil one). They ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD. 

SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH; THY WORD IS TRUTH. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Neither Pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;  That they all may be ONE: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US: THAT THE WORLD MAY BELEIVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE.

I IN THEM, AND THOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BE MADE PERFECT IN ONE; that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, BE WITH ME WHERE I AM; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou hast loved me BEFORE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WORLD.

O righteous father, THE WORLD HATH NOT KNOWN THEE, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: THAT THE LOVE WHEREWITH THOU HAST LOVED ME MAY BE IN THEM, AND I IN THEM.”  John 17

So now we understand our relationship to Him and that our allegiance is NOT to this world, because we are NOT of the world but of the Kingdom of God., and the Kingdom of Christ which is YET to come!

 Please join me for part two when we will look at the invitation and just where we are invited to.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω  NBJ 2017

This will be our song… pay special attention to the ending… beautiful worship!

*Undeniable* On Earth as in Heaven

“Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou (Are you) The King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it to thee ? (Are you asking or did someone ask you to) Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

Jesus answered, 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 unto the Jews: BUT MY KINGDOM IS NOT FROM HENCE (here).

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou SAYEST (rightly state) THAT I AM A KING. TO THIS END (completely for this purpose) WAS I BORN, AND FOR THIS CAUSE CAME I INTO THE WORLD, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Pilate sayeth unto him, What IS the truth? And when he had said THIS, he went back out unto the Jews, and SAITH unto them, I FIND IN HIM NO FAULT AT ALL.

But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover, will ye therefore that I release unto you THE KING OF THE JEWS? Then therefore cried they all again, saying, Not this man, But Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.” John 18:33-40 

Think about a little something here, the plan becomes so obvious with the fact that the Jews CHOOSE a robber to live rather than Jesus, because Jesus had said, if anyone tried to come to the Father ANY other way than through Him, they WERE a thieves and a robbers! and you can see that crystal in this verse, they WERE attempting to CHOOSE another way into heaven. 

John 19: 1-22: ” Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him (whipped with a Roman scourge) And the soldiers platted (twisted) a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe.

And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote (struck) him with their hands. Pilate forth again, and said unto them, BEHOLD, (pay attention) I bring him forth to you, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM.

Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying Crucify him, crucify him, Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: FOR I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM.

The Jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he hath made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard THAT saying, HE WAS MORE AFRAID.

And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? ( WHERE ARE YOU FROM?) But Jesus gave him no answer.

Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power (authority) to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

Jesus answered, Thou couldest (would) have NO power AT ALL AGAINST ME, EXCEPT it were GIVEN THEE FROM ABOVE: therefore he that hath delivered me UNTO thee hath the greater sin. {He spoke of Judas’ betrayal of him, being greater sin against Him, than Pilates} And from henceforth (that time on) Pilate SOUGHT TO RELEASE HIM:

But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art NOT Caesar’s friend: whomsoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgement seat in a place that is called Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

And it was the preparation for the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he SAITH unto the Jews, BEHOLD YOUR KING! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify YOUR KING?

The chief priests answered, We have NO king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

Where they crucified him and two other with him, on either side one, and JESUS IN THE MIDST (center). And Pilate WROTE a TITLE, and put it ON THE CROSS.

And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: And IT WAS WRITTEN IN HEBREW, GREEK, AND LATIN.

Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write NOT, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN I HAVE WRITTEN.”

So much going on there,  the same old routine just as when they REFUSED God as their King and insisted on an earthly king over them and now again they denied and rejected Him, so desperate, that they even used the old scare tactics of “if you were a real friend of Caesar”, but scripture would be fulfilled, even with the Lord hanging in the center.. as known when two agree on anything, HE IS in the middle, agreeing with them and the fulfilling of that in the three-fold cord of the writing itself and the three major languages in order, of which  languages are derived and the languages that OUR Bible would come forth.

Pontius Pilate who is well documented for his cruelty and dolling out crucifixions with the ease of a kid on a bike doling out Sunday morning newspapers, and YET HE WAS AFRAID.. not only because of the warning of his wife having been troubled through dreams, but HE, HIMSELF AFRAID because HE KNEW THIS WAS INDEED THE SON OF GOD.

And as powerful as he was, HE KNEW that he was in the presence of ALL power and as bloody as his hands were, HE DID NOT WANT THIS BLOOD… THE BLOOD OF THE SON OF GOD ON HIS HANDS and he washed them. 

And as he had WRITTEN.. JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS now became FULFILLED ON EARTH AS IT ALREADY WAS PROCLAIMED IN HEAVEN.

Very soon HE WILL RETURN TO THIS EARTH AND SET UP HIS KINGDOM, we’ll look at that in part three of our series. But TODAY, this HOLY DAY, as we think and reflect on what our Saviour did for us, HIS suffering, His humiliation, and pain BEYOND human comprehension, so horrific that angels CAME to strengthen Him in the garden, because it would be humanly unbearable WITHOUT that strength.

I know there is a long-standing disagreement over the number of his stripes, many say because the Jews had a forty-stripe save one rule, but people.. this was NOT just the Jews.. this WAS the force of HELL itself, ON EARTH, coming down on Him.,

There WERE NO laws protecting Him, NO MERCY WAS SHOWN HIM and He was beaten to the point that He was unrecognizable as Himself, it was so much MORE than any thirty-nine stripes.

There is also the standing argument that He was pierced through his wrists NOT his hands because the hands would not hold up, but IT WAS  his palms that were nailed through and I will leave that right there, and instead of all the debate over who thinks what happened we need to bear in mind, ONLY this.. IT DID HAPPEN and as He asked Peter, “Whom do ye say that I am?” I want to echo HIS question today, if I may.. TO YOU.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT HE IS? Pilate answered it for Himself and answered it to the Jews, even though they did not want that answer, He was NOT making fun of Jesus, when he asked the Jews IF they want him to crucify THEIR King, He was getting that answer confirmed, that THEY did it and he told them THREE TIMES that HE DID NOT FIND FAULT WITH JESUS and never once did he argue WHO Jesus Is, but he confirmed His identity by refusing to change the title.

So if you have never accepted Him, I could truly not think of a better time than right now, right where you are…and please don’t fall to false religions, there is only ONE way, so don’t be like the Jews of that day, who rejected their own King and instead of accepting salvation they CHOSE a robber, because the themselves were robbers in thinking they were coming to God any other way.

Today.. INVITE HIS WILL TO BE DONE IN EARTH… (IN THE EARTH THAT IS YOU).. AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

Blessings and peace to you and may you know the power of His glorious resurrection this Holy season!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω  NBJ 2017  **REVISTED 02/27/2021** And also 04/16/2022

“And Yet… ” PART 1, Playing with paganism

“And the rest of the men (generic term for ALL humans) which were not killed by these plagues YET THEY REPENTED NOT  of the works of their hands, that they SHOULD NOT worship devils (demons), and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see nor hear, nor walk;

NEITHER REPENTED THEY of their MURDERS, nor of their SORCERIES, nor of their FORNICATION, NOR of their THEFTS.” REVELATION 9:20,21

To me that IS the most horrifying verse in the entire Bible. This IS stated AFTER the Lord starts pouring down vials of wrath on earth.

They KNOW that Jesus IS REAL, they ARE falling dead under His wrath and yet they still refuse to repent and turn away from the forces of darkness. There is quite a list there and I want to tackle first things first. works of their hands, worshiping devils, pagan deities that people believe to be gods, when they are made of wood, and some crafted from silver, pottery, and covered in gold.

It is still an idol, made with human hands or more so machinery in modern times, nevertheless, WORTHLESS creations thought from human minds inspired by demonic beings and they fall down and WORSHIP these idols.

THERE IS NO GOD except JEHOVAH GOD, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB, THE I AM THAT I AM, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, AND THE ONLY SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. Period, everything else is a cheap demonic attempt to sway unstable minds who WANT a god that can be “served” amidst their own desires.

ISAIAH 40:18-25: ” To whom then will you liken God? (who can be compared to Him) or what likeness will you compare unto him? The workman melteth (moulds) an IMAGE, and the goldsmith spreadeth over it gold, and casteth silver chains ( silversmith casts it). He that is so impoverished (SO POOR) that he hath no oblation (can not afford to purchase idol) chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh a cunning workman (skilled craftsman) TO PREPARE A GRAVEN IMAGE, that shall not be moved (totter). 

Have ye NOT known? have ye NOT heard? hath it not been TOLD you from the beginning? have ye NOT understood FROM THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH?  It IS HE that sitteth upon (above) the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth the out as a tent to dwell in:

That bringeth (reduces) the princes to nothing: he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity (useless). Yea, they shall not (scarcely) be planted; yea, they shall not (scarcely) be sown: yea, their stock shall not (scarcely) take root in the earth: and he SHALL BLOW UPON THEM, and they SHALL WITHER, and THE WHIRLWIND SHALL TAKE THEM AWAY AS STUBBLE.

TO WHOM THEN WILL YE LIKEN ME, OR SHALL I BE EQUAL? SAITH THE HOLY ONE.”

I love how He dead nails how they create those things that they will worship, many old timers believed this was against the tradition of having a Christmas tree, but it is clearly  against their hewing idols out of every imaginable material.

I also love the fact that he starts with WHO? Who may anyone DARE to compare with Him?

And the added THEN, THEN after all these things come to pass, WHO will they dare compare to be His equal in might, strength, or power?

Certainly not dead tree trunks that have been dressed in even the finest of gold and silver. They will still be exactly as they are.. DEAD.

Having not eyes, ears, or speech. They cannot see man, They can not hear cries, and certainly they shall never speak even an utterance of deliverance.

The Lord who SAW what He had SPOKEN into creation as good.

He came down and SPOKE and WALKED with Adam and Eve in the garden, He SAW that they were naked.

He SPOKE with ABRAHAM, He and His angels met with him there because the Lord HEARD the cries of Sodom.

The Lord who SAW Hagar crying in the wilderness, and she named that place Lahairoi, The well of “HE WHO LIVES, sees and hears ME.”

He SAW what Moses held in his hand upon his commission, He HEARD the cries of the Hebrews against their oppression. He heard all the cries of Israel during their many times of obedience mingled with disobedience and each time they were about to be swallowed up by their enemies, he HEARD those cries. He heard the futile arguments of every prophet He sent forth and SPOKE encouragement to them.

He SAW the abominations the wicked priests committed in HIS temple and he SPOKE forth the orders of their executions. He Spoke to the disciples and all the crowds that followed as he WALKED upon earth, and upon sea.

He SPOKE to the demons that they would flee. He SPOKE to disease that it should be no more. He HEARD as the crowds screamed for His death and He SPOKE of forgiveness.

 The entire Bible is comprised about a LIVING,SEEING, HEARING, SPEAKING GOD!

 He STILL sees all earth, including you and me. He STILL speaks to those who will listen. He STILL WALKS upon the circle of the earth and in heaven and one day soon, upon His earthly return will stand upon Mount Olives and will Walk His city of New Jerusalem.

So,WHO will you compare Him to?

His IS the only true, LIVING GOD, and as HE said “there IS no other”.

Idols cannot save, pagan beliefs will never deliver.

And all the devil wants is to take you to hell with him because he KNOWS he is already condemned for all of eternity to burn there and he will be suffering eternally with all he deceived, he will be NO king in hell, and as scripture states, those he has deceived will ask him if he has become as weak as they.

It is no fairy tale and all of earth declares His glory, but HE WILL NOT give that glory to another.

It is not about tolerance or keeping peace, it is about souls and eternity and you HAVE a choice NOW, a choice you will not have when all these things come to pass.

Today IS the day of salvation, CHOOSE whom you will serve and choose wisely.

COMMANDMENT #1 “THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.”  Jesus NEVER changes, His word does NOT change, COMMANDMENTS DO NOT CHANGE.

No matter what you have been taught or thought NOTHING will change the events in the book of Revelation, not believing WILL NOT change it because God DOES NOT NEED US TO BELIEVE IN HIM TO EXIST.

If you have been lured into these pagans thoughts and pagan religions, don’t buy the tolerance line as a reason for not speaking against false beliefs either, just remember that Eve thought that eating the fruit would make her wise! The enemy lures us with the promise of knowledge when it is reality deception and we become wise only in our own eyes!

The pagan idols is but a drop in the bucket to the real idolatry that this verse speaks of. Especially in our modern culture, I always loved the term “teen idol” the name alone should strike a nerve of what this star worship really implies. Our world has idols of money,houses, vehicles or social status and prestige. Idols of sex,  did all the crazed men really worship Monroe or Betty Page because they thought they would make fine mothers for future children? How about women flocking to see male “exotic” dancers? Is the attraction there because those huge muscles  would come in handy doing yard work at their future love nest?

Even denominations,and “spiritual” movements can become idols, Anyone wanna question whether Jim Jones “congregation” was following him and WORSHIPING HIM or were they really following the true God? When the denomination is worshipped rather than the creator, and the cult mentality and pounding music of a certain new “spiritual” movement taking over people’s mind and completely brainwashing them to the truth and it never speaks a word of wisdom only the lull of “listen to the music and fall into worship”. SCARY, SCARY business right there, and what scares me the most is seeing it go on right under  Pastor’s noses and they never even notice that something is not quite right.

We can WORSHIP anything and ANYTHING that has a higher ranking than God does in our lives IS an IDOL, and it is not always sex, drugs, alcohol,and gambling and with most idolatry, we seem to think God would approve because it makes us happy and makes us feel good!

And yet.. another thing in the list of many that just does not quite get it with God.

Maybe you have even never heard the true word of God, whatever the case may be. If you serve and worship ANY other than Jesus Christ, I am pleading with you to please, please take time to rethink your position, ask why you believe what you believe and the what is the evidence for that belief and THEN discover the TRUTH for yourself before it is too late.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016   REVISITED 01/16/2021

As I felt impressed to reshare, “revisit” this post, I am also reminded of a scripture, used in a newer one, please consider this today, “For the time WILL come when they will not ENDURE sound doctrine”, that day was to come, and that day has been coming as the lines of what is and is not acceptable according to the true Word of God have become more and more blurred as so many have chosen to believe doctrines and teachings that are in complete contrast to true Biblical teaching, and that day has come.

If you know Jesus Christ hold on to your faith and never let anyway persuade you that there is any other way to Heaven, there isn’t, that is why Jesus said No man cometh to the Father except by Him. And if you have never made that decision, I please with you today, if you feel that conviction, that tugging on your hear to accept Jesus, accept him before it’s too late, we are never promised another day.

Please join me next time for part 2

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

And Yet… #2                         And Yet… Part 3

“Useless Resistance”

“And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? And to what are they like?

They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you (played the flute for you) , and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.

For john the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil.

The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans (tax collectors)  and sinners!

But Wisdom is justified in her children.” Luke 7:31-35 

Most ministers, teachers, and believers can certainly identify with his statement and now more so that ever and rightfully so. Many of us have been calling it for years, I myself often at times feeling like “Chicken Little’ when trying to warn the world that things were coming and and all that glitters is not gold and when it comes to the written word of God and all that has been foretold, has, is, and will come to pass, just as he said that it would.  And through it al people have scoffed, pondered, and tried to logically reason, just how they could not see how any of these things could take place.

Well they have,and they are, and they will continue to do so, so I am not even going down the list of all the woes because all we need to do is watch the news to know all about it and you already do.

And when it comes to sharing the Gospel and trying to win souls and in my case, trying to  enlighten people to all the dangers seen and unseen and those that dangers that they just do not want to acknowledge, you know the “little foxes” that the Bible warns us of.

We do tend to like what works for us and we are super efficient at justifying behaviors, actions, and thoughts whether or not we can line those up with the word. Which is what has led us to where we are now, when the Gospel is often watered down and very user friendly and that’s the deal, right there.

Our human nature is quite the beast and since the rebellion in the garden it has been on.

Check out this passage from 1 Samuel 15:22,23, we’ll pick it at Samuel’s reply to Saul after Saul had disobeyed God and quickly justified himself while blaming his people for that disobedience, and trying to convince Samuel that that act of disobedience was actually intended  for good,and it was going to cost, and it was going to cost him his crown.

“And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken (listen) than fat of rams.  

For  rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.  Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected the as king.” That one verse covers it so well, rebellion, just good old fashioned,  attitude, nothing more than an attitude of “I don’t have too and you can’t make me”.

This has been our issue since the garden, afterall, that was exactly what Eve did, the serpent convinced, she’d be fine, she’d be smart and there wasn’t anything bad really gonna happen if she just took a bite.

And we also know she took the bait, and she took the bite, and that ONE SINGLE ACT, even though all three of them were in trouble with God and Adam very much alos sinned and was just as guilty, still it was ONE moment, ONE act of disobedience and look at the price that has been paid to repair the damage that ONE action had caused. But what I want to focus on is this, God told them to destroy these things because these things would be dangerous to them.

God,as we all know told Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit because He knew what the outcome would be, it destroyed everything they had known and people upon people to us, even today are still in our state because of that failure to take him at his word and trust that his way is best and that whatever he is telling us to do or not to do it I ALWAYS for our good.

He is God, we do not add anything to him, he has NO pleasure in anything bad befalling us, quite the opposite, He tells us these things because  He love us and wants good for us. He has absolutely NO pleasure in us being hurt, lost, sad, or destroyed by sin, alcohol, or pagan beliefs.

He is pure love and pure mercy and He  loves us and his command to obey him is that we listen to his word, listen to that little voice inside that warns us of bad decisions and dangers ahead, not because he power trips, and Oh my, who could have better reason to?

Who would ever have more right to display their absolute power over life, death, heaven, hell and all of eternity, than the one who CREATED all these?

He is God, He CREATED everything, everything that was, is, or ever will be! Why would he need to “torment’ humans to feel powerful? He IS all the power!

BUT God is NOT like that and those who believe their rebellion against him is justified only do not realize that they are helplessly deceived and that Satan is feeding them with that same food he had Eve swallow.

So as Jesus said so beautifully, as is ever word that flows from his lips, utter perfection, the maturity level not quite there, wanting to be catered to, self desires and self willed, and all about them, so they are offered music, joyous music to lift them but no, they will not dance, no matter how the Gospel is “packaged” and I don’t think it should be, BUT I do understand the thought behind it, and as Paul said he “became” all things to win some, so I dig the need to connect to wins souls, but I think we can all admit, it has went way too far, and in that produces the candy coats, because we took the Gospel completely out of it in order to get people in “churches’ and there is absolutely no salvation without repentance and you can not have repentance while in constant state of sin.

So we played those “flutes”, we tried we showed the beautiful, the exciting aspects of serving God and still they “danced” not, they did not accept the joy, the freedom that surrender to Christ would have given them.

So we cried, we cried and we have wailed, howled, begged, and pleaded, Please, please wake up,please take notice of all we say, and please acknowledge your mortal soul,because the days are numbered and even if we had all the time in the world (which we don’t) still none have the promise of the next breath.

We cried out for years to be careful in your steps, we cried to stop killing the innocent and slaughtering the babies, we have cried that judgment would come if repetenace did not come soon, we have cried that Babylon the Great will be destroyed from the face of earth and we have wailed that all the destruction  detailed in the Book of Revelation will surely come upon this earth and yet, not one tear, because they scoff, laugh, and absolutely refuse to believe, but God does not need us to believe in him.

That has always amazed me when people are so adamant that they do NOT believe in God, and yet that does NOT prevent his existence.

And one day they will understand that whether they choose to believe or not, he  will make believers of them all, and that is not to say they will serve him or surrender to him, but that is saying that they day is coming that they will NO longer have the option of  saying that “don’t believe” when the are faced with his rule over this earth.

So all, in all, no matter what we say, or how we present there will be those who will not be happy with any of it.

So we have piped, we have cried, and now it is time for us to offer a very simple proposal to the world, it is useless to resist, think of it as the old saying, “We can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way” and to put that in perspective, we lay down some facts.

We all belong to Jesus anyway, even if we rebel, even if we never come to him, never convert, never acknowledge him, we will be condemned in that state but we STILL belong to him and we are all responsible for our choices, as we will be only responsible for our decisions to accept him NOT whether or not anyone else does, or whether or not anyone else in our lives will be happy with that decision.

“The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying, What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children teeth are set on edge?

As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel, BEHOLD, ALL SOULS ARE MINE; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine; the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”Ezekiel 18: 1-4   

That is where that rebellion comes into play,people rebel against God because they want to think their in control and that their logic is far superior to ancient wisdom, and that all that is is what they perceive life to be but we can never know the joy of the Lord or the peace or the fulfillment of the very desire of our soul UNTIL we know the Lord, but that rebellion inside prevents us from coming to that place because we can’t feel it or logically analyze it because we have never known it and the biggest thing we need to stress here is again, we are born carnal then we BECOME spiritual, so it can’t be based on what we think we know because once we are in the family of Christ we realize really fast that that no matter  what we thought we knew, we had actually known nothing!

But we ALL were created and HE is our Creator and there is nothing, nothing, no belief system, no scholar, no philosophy, NOTHING that can EVER change that fact.

So here we are, one of my favorite accounts in the Bible, very familiar,Paul, (whose name was still at the time Saul, God later changed it) in the height of his persecution of the church, he is prepared, fully legally authorized to bring the men and women of God, bound, beaten, whatever he chose back to Jerusalem, but this was not going to be quite the trip he bargained for, God was going to make a believer of the very one one who sought to destroy the believers.

“And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus; and SUDDENLY there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth (fell down on the ground), and HEARD a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou Lord?  and THE LORD said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest; it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”  Acts 9:3-5

Love that! Jesus was basically telling Paul that it was “useless to resist”, He had him, there was nothing, absolutely nothing or anyone else could do to deliver him from the hand of Jesus, so it would be in his best interest to surrender.

And remember, now, that Paul had truly believed that the followers of Christ were deranged heretics, he thought he was doing something good by ridding the world of them! That’s the point, we can believe lots of things, we can be very intelligent, and have what we feel are honourable intentions and still be so far off point and be so very wrong and such as in Paul’s case, we can be in very dangerous territory. Jesus could have destroyed him at any time, he could have destroyed him at birth, never even let him make it that far.

He could have destroyed him at  any time as he persecuted God’s people but Jesus wanted Paul to KNOW his real purpose in life and as we know that purpose was a mighty mighty ministry complete with his writing much of the Bible we have today!

Paul at that point became  a believer and went on to know the beauty, mercy, love of Jesus that he could not understand by seeing it in others, he had to be made to know it for himself, but once he knew it, he NEVER wanted anything more.

Because once you have encountered Jesus, and believe me, encountered is a very accurate word, you will NEVER be the same and you will NEVER want to be the same. Paul went the “hard way”, many of us have, myself included, had to have my life destroyed to the point, as all I can ever say is that, Jesus saved me when there wasn’t much left to save and so many of us do go the hard way and that is our biggest regret, Oh if we had only knew, not what we were missing but WHO we were missing!

But that’s what happens when we run, and run from God, we miss out on so many blessings and a love and peace that can’t even be described, you are complete because you are reconciled to the one who holds your very soul in his hand.

And it is in this you realize that he really does love you and only wants the absolute best for you and died and rose again so that you could have it!

So to sum it up, we got a lot going on around us but the focus should be this, Jesus Christ IS returning to this earth, He WILL set up his Kingdom, New Jerusalem, which will be brought DOWN FROM HEAVEN, and He WILL reign over the nations and ALL the people that are left of this world.

The most exciting words written:  Revelation 11:15: “And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE BECOME THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.”

It is highly recommended to do it the easy way, you will be so glad you did! but either way, everyone will know that HE IS and THAT HE IS GOD and it is absolutely useless to resist him.

Φλογιζω 2020 NBJ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

I love this song and I can only imagine the beautiful, beautiful praise that will one day flow from New Jerusalem throughout this earth!

“Assurance…Guaranteed”

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, HE THAT HATH THE KEY OF DAVID, HE THAT OPENETH, AND NO MAN  SHUTTETH; AND SHUTTETH, AND NO MAN OPENETH;

I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience (my command to PERSEVERE) , I also will keep the from the hour of temptation (trial), which shall come upon ALL THE WORLD, to try (test) them that dwell upon the earth.

Behold, I come quickly; hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 3:8-11

Jesus gave us these words as comfort and assurance, Jesus as he taught us in the Gospel Luke 21;19: “In your patience possess ye your souls.” And what is patience? It means perseverance, it means to hold on and to look not at this world or what is around you.

But to look ahead, forward, so much so in fact that you are looking toward heaven and the life that ONLY begins when this earthly life ends.

For those who have been with loved ones who were afflicted with terminal illness, you may understand this well, often those in Christ are prepared for their journey to meet Jesus, while us the family are distraught and heart broken,never desiring to be separated form those we love, but God in his blessed compassion gives them peace, peace that allows them to look ahead and not see it as the death of this life but as the rebirth of an eternal life with no sorrow, no pain, no suffering, no want, no lack, no hunger, and no thirst.

But a life that will be FOREVER in the presence of Jehovah God, Jesus, the host of heavenly angels and loved ones that have already arrived in that heavenly location.

He gives peace to make that crossing as he himself prayed from the cross, Luke 23:46: “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, INTO THY HANDS I COMMEND MY SPIRIT; and having said this, he gave up the ghost (he breathed his last).

Stephen, the martyr, echoed those words as he was stoned because the truth he proclaimed convicted and angered the evil crowd, they felt is easier to kill him that to admit their own evil trespasses.

Acts 7:54-69: ” When they heard these things, they were cut (furious) to the heart, and they gnashed on (at) him with their teeth. 

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and SAW the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

And he said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man, standing at the right hand of God. And they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord (attacked him as one mob). 

And cast him out of the city, and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

And they stoned Stephen, calling (as Stephen called on God), and saying, LORD JESUS, RECEIVE MY SPIRIT. And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge (please don’t hold this them).

And when he had said this, he fell asleep (died). 

As Jesus referenced the church in Philadelphia, it is noteworthy to mention to key facts, this church would have been at Turkey during Bible times but the name literally means “brotherly love” and in my belief, it can be even as with denominations, we can belong to a”church” meaning that sheepfold, and not necessarily be in that exact geological location, just as we are brothers and sisters in Christ the world over, even though we may NEVER meet each other in this life, we will in the next, because the Kingdom of God is comprised of his children from “all nations, and kindreds (tribes), and people, and tongues, (languages)”

Jesus also gave us that blessed hope in knowing that perseverance is the key, and perseverance means “do not give up, no matter what, do not give up” and as he also warned to let anyone take your “crown’, just as he also promised to keep you from all the terrible,terrible things that are coming to this world, he did not at any time say how he would keep you. It could be through the rapture, of the saints, or it could be as with Stephen, and so many others, who have died in Christ and for the Word of Christ.

His promise is all that even matters, and his promise is that you will be protected and preserved, and what I feel is one of the most awesome promises,a promise that will be fulfilled not only to those who have already suffered persecution and death through the ages, but for a blessed promise to those who are suffering now for the word of Christ and their choice to serve the one true God, the maker of heaven and earth, who will NEVER leave you or forsake you, I want to remind you of this, what will one day happen as Christ is REINTRODUCED to this earth. 

Revelation 6:9-17: “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain (murdered) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and AVENGE our blood on them that dwell on earth?

And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season (while), UNTIL their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be (will be) killed as they were, should be fulfilled (happens).

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo,  there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs (drops it’s late fruit) when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

And THE HEAVEN DEPARTED AS A SCROLL WHEN IT IS ROLLED TOGETHER (the sky split apart); and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens (caves) and in the rocks of the mountains;

And said to the mountains and rocks, FALL ON US, AND HIDE US FROM THE FACE OF HIM THAT SITTETH ON THE THRONE, AND FROM THE WRATH OF THE LAMB. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to abide (stand) in it?” 

This is what Jesus referenced when he said this in Luke 21:27: “And then shall THEY see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” 

This is not just those who believe or just a wake up call for those who don’t, this will be the entire earth beholding their creator, and those who rejoice at his return, his children who know him as he is, lovely, beautiful, holy, and kind, gentle, and forgiving and mercy divine.

Those who have prayed for deliverance shouting for joy that that deliverance has come, mirrored to those who have hated him, hated the good, and fought and martyred the faithful, hated his chosen Israel and tried to take and destroy his chosen city of Jerusalem, either way we shall all see him and see him in his glory.

Revelation 1:7: “Behold, he cometh with clouds,  and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and ALL the kindreds of the earth shall wail (mourn) because of him. Even so, Amen.”

Which fulfills the promise in Philippians that even those who pierced him will see him, this is because ALL, those in heaven, those in erath, and those under earth.

ALL from ALL time will see him.

And all who have hated him, his word, and all who have hated you because you are his child and you bear his word, will suddenly be faced with him and his return, and the beauty is this, they can hate us, they can kill us but they will NEVER kill Jesus again, they will NEVER stop the Gospel, and once they are faced with the horrifying realization that He is indeed real, as they watch the sky itself LITERALLY open up to reveal Jesus and the host of heaven that none of us can even begin to fathom and I believe many will repent at that moment but those who have hated and made their threats and their claims and tormented and killed his people will know assuredly one thing, there is nothing, absolutely nothing in their power that will stop Him or His will and all those with their great threats of annihilation will now be begging to die rather than face Almighty God.

It’s easy to oppress other humans but not quite going to get it when trying to oppress the one WHO CREATED HUMANS including them.

As God had promised by his word that this will take place, Romans 14:11: For it IS written, AS I LIVE, SAITH THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.” 

I don’t even propose to know what you face today but I do believe that God wants you to rest in him and just hold on, hold on to the PROMISE that he has given you and that the God who will strike terror in their hearts at his return is the same God who will also hold you close comfort you, and dry every tear and he will, in that day, make your enemies to know that you are loved by him, the very beloved of him.

Finally keep your mind on this and this hope, REMEMBERING in your own mind the hope Jesus kept in his, as this passage encourages us to think as Jesus thought as his Father’s promises allowed him to keep focused on the joy ahead.

Philippians 2:5-11: “Let THIS MIND be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God.

But made himself no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men;

And being found in fashion (appearance), he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 

THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, OF THINGS (those) IN HEAVEN, AND THINGS (those) IN EARTH, AND THINGS (those) UNDER THE EARTH;

AND THAT EVERY TONGUE SHOULD CONFESS (admit and acknowledge)THAT JESUS CHRIST IS  LORD, TO THE GLORY OF THE FATHER.”  

God bless you today and just keeping looking up, help is on His way.

Also please take a moment to listen to this song posted below,  I believe it will bless you today.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2020/ Reverend Nina Brown Johnson

PREPARED Part 4… what you are really being prepared FOR

“And IF THE RIGHTEOUS SCARCELY BE SAVED, WHERE SHALL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?” 1 Peter 4:18

This verse should be the sound of the alarm bells ringing on that ticking clock of the return of Christ that should be a wake up call to all.

“Sinners or saints, young or old, black or white, meaning your views are dead set and you see no other “colors” in between.  Even green or grey,  just trying your best to find the way, meaning, whether we are newbies, “green” in the Gospel or have the “grey head” of wisdom from years in His service, we all should hear the terrifying WARNING of that verse. 

My sister and I have discussed this in great detail over the years. If you really dissect this verse, it really ASKS us to think long and hard about the very simple truth that IF the righteous, those who have exchanged the “filthy rags of their own righteousness” for the PERFECT covering of the righteousness of God himself stated  Isaiah 54:17(b) “…And their righteousness IS of me, saith the Lord.”

There is NO righteousness outside the righteousness of God. It is not possible for any human, or any other pagan belief system to offer righteousness to us. 

Our righteousness will only be found through the acceptance of Jesus Christ and in the washing of our souls in His blood. This verse tells us that bearing ALL that, if we do the VERY BEST we can do, we will still SCARCELY be saved, which means just barely making it in.

And yes, I do realize there is a whole doctrine of once in grace, always in grace. I realize even more painfully the current movement is “Repentance? What repentance?” 

What I personally believe this line to mean is this, even though we ARE saved and our salvation is ASSURED (Romans 8:35-39) BUT being human and subject to all things human, all the snares of trying to live “holy” in an incredibly unholy world.

A world that not only encourages every kind of imaginable sin, but CELEBRATES those sins and even alienates others for NOT participating in those sins. The deception IS so strong, just as Jesus warned us of the false Christs, and false prophets.

Matthew 24:24: “For there SHALL arise false Christs, and FALSE PROPHETS, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that IF IT WERE POSSIBLE, they shall deceive the very elect.”

False teachers and false prophets that lie and deceive those who want a “commandment free” RELIGION and choose deception over true SALVATION. And he is warning us that this deception is so meticulously convincing that IF IT WERE NOT FOR HIS DIVINE INTERVENTION, HIS VERY CHOSEN WOULD BE DECEIVED! HE WILL NOT ALLOW US TO BE DECEIVED… UNLESS WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE.

Which also brings in two more verses. Matthew 16:24: ” Then said Jesus unto his disciples, IF any man will come after me, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Notice the denial, denial of all the desires and whims of the flesh and of this world. Taking up that cross, having “crucified our flesh DAILY” through the renewing of our minds in his word, and following in HIS footsteps and HIS teachings and CHOOSE to be led by God, who does truly KNOW everything rather than a world who likes to think they KNOW more than even God, who CREATED it all, including them!

Forsaking ALL their high browed arguments against God, and against the very laws and commandments he himself designed FOR OUR OWN GOOD, and against the truth of his existence, trusting in their genetic frailty and decay because they simply REFUSE to acknowledge that their pompous minds could be wrong and that their souls could actually be subject unto a higher being, and that there could be a standard that they will be measured against.

And it is just easier for them to DENY his existence rather than to ADMIT their guilt.

Even though there is no “escape clause” in the Bible excusing us from the penalty of eternal hell and damnation because of our unbelief, quite the opposite, gotta have FAITH in him and in his existence. 

Hebrews 11:5: “But without faith it is impossible to please him;  for he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS, and that HE IS a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

These pressures and these forces that make it so hard for US, that we SCARCELY slide by their traps, the traps of the temptations to sin, the traps of false doctrines whispered in our ears and bombarding us by television and media.

I, for one, think we need to stay away from even listening to these lies, I know others may “study” other “religions” but in doing so, they are opening themselves up to the “doctrine of devils” and allowing those polluted thoughts inside their minds, we are told specifically that all these teachings are AGAINST God and this will get you on the wrong side of the boat, fast.

James 4:4: ” Ye adulterers, and adulteresses, know ye not that THE FRIENDSHIP OF (with) THE WORLD IS ENMITY WITH GOD? WHOSOEVER THEREFORE WILL (wants to) BE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD IS THE ENEMY OF GOD (makes himself the enemy of God).”

All the nonsense of learning each other and fellowship of “tolerance” is just more of Satan’s deceptions. God never said to hate others or mistreat them because of differences BUT his word tells us to STAY AWAY from all of it.

NONE of us EVER grow so much or climb so high that we are above temptation, snares and traps, as long as we are human and on this earth we can, do and will stumble, that is why we are told SCARCELY, but we repent, get up, go on and TRY it again!

One of the innumerable beauties of Christ is that HE IS faithful to forgive us, over and over, and over, when our hearts are sincere, his grace is endless. 

But for those who do err and teach sin and absolute contempt for his commandments and yet proclaim salvation to all whether they repent or accept Christ or not that somehow they are under a magical umbrella, teaching the complete OPPOSITE of repentance and salvation.

Matthew 15:8,9: “THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS; BUT THEIR HEARTS IS FAR FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN THEY DO WORSHIP ME, TEACHING FOR DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.” 

He warned us right there! We are warned many times of the deception, that they WILL use his name, they WILL shout to the whole world that he is great, all this comes from their lips but in their heart, remember, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so IS he”, so their HEART, the truth of their belief is far, far from God or the things of his kingdom.

I believe that the false teachers DO NOT even believe in his existence.

I truly do not think anyone could believe in him and not fear teaching the things they teach. They teach the things people want to hear, to give them a false sense of eternal security never converting them to that actual security, in order to gain financially and in popularity. 

Sometimes it is hard to win people to the Lord, but truthfully, I think some of the greatest words we will ever hear in doing so, is these “I don’t want to be a hypocrite”, when someone acknowledges that they are not interested in serving the Lord, and that they FEAR the Lord and do not want to allow others to believe that they are while still unrepentant, that PROVES that there is HOPE for that person!

As long as they BELIEVE that HE IS, there is hope, as Jesus also told us, John 3:18-20“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 ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD.

And THIS IS THE CONDEMNATION, that light is come into the world, and MEN LOVED THE DARKNESS RATHER THAN THE LIGHT, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that DOETH EVIL HATETH THE LIGHT, NEITHER COMETH TO THE LIGHT, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed).” 

This ANSWERS Peter’s question, WHERE will they stand at his coming? WHERE will the ungodly, those who deny, ridicule, and scoff at God, his statues, and his very existence?

WHERE will the sinners, I know everyone hates that word now, used to make people THINK, now just makes them angry, HOW dare anyone CALL THEM A SINNER?

That is a big one right there! Self-willed and prideful, lust of life, refusal to acknowledge that we could POSSIBLY do wrong!

We do not need to beat people over the head but when they are running the “reprobate risk” we need to give the a wake up call.

Sin is sin, and well, certain things ARE sin, you do those things, guess what, makes you a sinner! We have ALL been sinners! We ALL STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN!

That is part of SCARCELY! ME, you, EVERYONE fights sin! 

Again JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, THE MESSIAH, said THIS, point-blank, period, no ifs, no ands, and no buts. THIS is THE LIST of those who will NOT be allowed in his kingdom.

Revelation 21:5-8: “And HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE said, Behold, I make ALL things new, and he said unto me, Write: FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL.

And HE said unto me, It is done, I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. I will give unto him that is athirst of the  fountain of the water of life FREELY. 

He that OVERCOMETH shall inherit all things: I WILL BE HIS GOD, and he shall be my son.

BUT THE FEARFUL (cowards), AND THE UNBELIEVING, AND THE ABOMINABLE (despicable, obnoxious, etc.), AND MURDERERS, AND WHOREMONGERS (sexually immoral), AND SORCERERS, (psychics, witchcraft, etc.), AND IDOLATERS (putting EVERYTHING before God), AND ALL LIARS, SHALL HAVE THEIR PART IN THE LAKE WITH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE: WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH.”

These are the words of Jesus, It is NOT written in red because John was writing to us what Jesus spoke to him, and we KNOW this is indeed Christ by His reference of Alpha and Omega.

Just to be so clear of WHOSE words these are, and the words of Christ are written in red, so Revelation 1:8: ” I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, the beginning and the ending, SAITH THE LORD, which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY.” 

He reveals his complete identity in this verse, HE IS the beginning of all things, HE IS the end of all things, HE IS everything in between.

He WAS, John:1-17In the beginning WAS the Word, the Word WAS with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD. 

The same was in the beginning with God. ALL things were MADE by him: and without him was not any thing made that was made.

IN HIM WAS LIFE; And the life WAS the light of men. AND THE LIGHT SHINETH INTO DARKNESS; AND THE DARKNESS COMPREHENDED IT NOT.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light. 

THAT WAS THE TRUE LIGHT, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He WAS in the world, and the world WAS made by him, and the world knew him not.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME;

WHICH WERE BORN, NOT OF BLOOD, NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH, NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, BUT OF GOD.

AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US, (and we beheld his glory, the glory, as the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This WAS he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me IS preferred BEFORE me; FOR HE WAS BEFORE ME.” 

All that Jesus had said of himself. 

Humans can not look on the face of God, when Jesus came here, he came AS the Son of God, HE IS the Son of God, HE IS the Word, which did truly dwell among us and at his resurrection we were given the gift of that resurrection power which allowed the death of our flesh and spiritual birth in him because he actually DWELLS in us through the Holy Ghost.

But HE IS also God, which is why he referred to himself as IS and IS YET TO COME, meaning his return to earth and his kingdom that will be very much ON earth, precisely in what is now Jerusalem, soon to be NEW Jerusalem.

And as far as his Word, which HE IS, he left us all we need to know in the pages of his Holy Word, The Bible.

STUDY it for yourself, or get the audio version of the King James and listen to it. DO NOT take others words as his word, we are in such a time of deception and there IS only one way to heaven and the return to New Jerusalem and assurance of eternal life, and that IS through Jesus Christ.

1 john 2:22-23: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is an anti-Christ that denieth the Father and the Son.

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath NOT the Father: [but] HE THAT HATH ACKNOWLEDETH THE SON HATH THE FATHER ALSO.”

We have to have Jesus and we have to have his salvation and his forgiveness, and we will not have to ask ourselves WHERE shall we appear, when this world hears something similar to those spoken by the Lord in the Book of Amos, when they are told to “prepare to meet thy God”.

He’s coming back, ready or not, and we better be prepared to meet him.

Love & peace to ya, till next time! Thanks for reading!

Φλογίζω Σαλπίζω NB 2018

Posts in this series: PREPARED Part #1

PREPARED Part#2

PREPARED Part #3

More of the deceptions being taught about hell: RESERVATIONS FOR HELL

Original post series 2018/ Revisited 08/14/2020

Bringing it forth…

“Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me; and, Because I go to my Father? 

They said therefore, What is this that he saith? A little while ? We cannot tell what he saith (understand what he is saying)

Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do you enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. 

A woman when she is in travail (labor) hath sorrow, because her hour is come; But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man (human being) is born is born into the world.” John 16:17-20 

Now when  Jesus spoke this to them he was referencing his death, that very soon they would no longer see him or be with him but that again, soon, they would surely see him again. 

That they would indeed over the days soon coming face sorrow, and dread being inexplicably confused as to how this could happen to him and not even beginning to be able to understand much less comprehend that this could be not only the will of God for Jesus to suffer and die on the cross but to fathom this is was his actual plan.

As Jesus encouraged them that as surely as those things would come, but again, in a little while, something so much sweeter, would also come, again.

That, again, those sands would slowly but surely sift their ways again through the hourglass of time and all those times of heartache and doubt would turn to unimaginable joy as those moments sifted through all the little whiles to fall perfectly into a single moment in time when He would resurrect leaving death conquered behind and had they known for but a second as He tried to warn them to this and to give them hope that it was again, a little while, would they have have begged him not to go?

Surely, but He would have answered them, No, as scripture tells us of Jesus, “…Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 

Just as Peter tried to to believe that there had to be another way, that this could not possibly be what was meant to be.

Curious it would be know the mental torment of the others or the one who ran away, not because they should have had regrets and second thoughts but you know that being human that they did.

Peter was going to fight against the arrest of Christ proving this as he cut off the servant of the high priest’s ear.  Jesus’ reprimand to him as he replaced the severed ear letting Peter know this was not the way that Jesus would have him go.

But soon the were scattered, alone, and scared, how often do you suppose over the period of those, what would had to have seemed never ending, three days the thoughts of “We should have hid him” or “We should have stayed” raced through their minds?

As we think about His words as he had tried to prepare them and assure them that this was the will of God. Jesus also encouraged them to the joy that would come after all the pain, he used the comparison of a mother in the process of giving birth.

As a mother I can truly attest to this, as I am sure the ladies reading very well can too.

There is nothing as beautiful, as wholesome, and as pure as when we are expecting, nothing as gentle or as precious.

And as we decorate in expectation with blues, purples, yellows, and greens. Adorning the walls with little boy blue, the cow jumping over the moon, rabbits, rainbows and everything in between, everything bright peaceful and clean, teddy bears, ribbons, and kittens gracing nurseries with cradles prepared for the new arrival as mobiles dance overhead.

The excitement, the joy, and the expectation are soon overshadowed as labor sets in and as the pain comes, thankfully, only a little at a time, but each contraction grower harder and lasting longer than the last.

There is an absolute knowing during the process of giving birth that you are helpless, there is nothing you can do to stop this and that you are either going through this process or you will die.

Only two choices and you have control of neither.

This is why, in my belief, Jesus chose this comparison to give us so that we would understand and that we would understand the differences, just as when Pharaoh demanded the Hebrew boys be killed at birth the midwives informed that him the Hebrew women gave birth fast and we know Jacob’s wife Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin and as we like to say here in the south women have “laid in labor” for days suffering desperately needing to be delivered of that child and yet the baby for whatever reason unable to come. Thank God we do have medical resources today that have saved the lives of countless mothers but still not all and the  birth still have to take place.

Paul in his writing referencing childbirth with the statement that she “shall be saved in childbearing” he is not referring to being saved spiritually he is referring to not dying in the process. 

Birth is painful, there are not words that can even come close to describing it, birth is bloody BUT birth brings about something so beautiful, so pure, innocent, and magnificently renewing that as Jesus said the anguish of that sorrow, the sorrow of needing to be delivered of that child, not the child needing delivered but the mother’s body needing to escape that dreadful travail is forgotten because immediately it is replaced by joy, a joy that mirrors the pain, as the pain is inexplicably indescroble SO IS that joy.

A  joy that completes you, a joy of looking into a tiny little face and as my late mother explained to me, the overwhelming feeling that this tiny little person that you have never met until this day you feel as though somehow you have known forever. 

Jesus referred to unsettling times and events that would take place before his return (painting the baby’s room a cheerful pink with that delicate wording) as the beginning of sorrows, which translates to birth pangs, we are in very, very uncertain times and everyone just wants life to get back to normal, but we are not going to ever experience the “normal” that once was but we can look forward, which requires looking past the pain, look forward to lives that can be even better, as families are reconnecting and many are taking time to actually realize what is truly important and cherishing those things that alone are worthy of being truly cherished and those who maybe have never given God, his existence or the afterlife a second thought may now be seriously pondering those questions.  And as far as churches it is coming down to who’s left standing. People are regaining their compassion for each other again and with compassion comes respect and a chance to love each other again forgoing the senseless hatred

Being in the same boat together now reminding us that we are all human, we all love, we all cry, we all experience the same feelings because we were all created in the same image and that and that was in His image. And that is the good you gotta hold on to,

And of course as He told us long long ago the  labor will be quite unpleasant to put it in the mildest “dreft” scented terms but once the deliverance has come there will be nothing that can even come close to the beauty of that glorious “baby” that will come.   

We are all praying and we have to continue to pray and pray that those”labor pains” those “sorrows” as Jesus warned us would one day come are covered by his mercy, and that what is to be brought forth through that process will birth fast.

God bless you and your loved ones during this season, praying that He will cover you and yours under the shadow of his wings and that through it all you will find a joy and a peace and a renewing of His Spirit with you that knowing that joy will see you through.

Φλογιζω Rev.Nina Brown Johnson / NBJ 2020

 

Blessed Day

 

“After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

And they cried with a loud voice, saying, SALVATION TO OUR GOD WHICH SITTETH UPON THE THRONE, AND UNTO THE LAMB.

And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces and worshipped God.

Saying, AMEN: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. AMEN”  Revelation 7: 9-12 

Just to know that joy that is yet to come! The sadness and terror of this world will one day fade away and those who have trusted the Lord Jesus WILL be in this innumerable number who stand actually before the throne of the living God, in the presence and fellowship with the angels and  the host of heaven.

We will be gathered together, those from every nation ever created upon the earth, every language which has ever been spoken with one common purpose to raise our palm branches in the kingdom of God, the Living God, the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and praise Him Forever and Ever!

And I know what we face and I know the Word of God as to things which are to come but today let this be your hope

God gives us these words of future  so that these times will not overcome our faith because this world is not the end, but what seems like then the end of this world must come to bring in the birth of the world without end, and this is but a glimpse into that glorious world, so stay focused, because Jesus gave us a word to comfort us through all fear. 

“And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up , and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. 

And he spake to them a parable;  Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; When they now shoot forth, ye see, and know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand.

So likewise ye when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.”  Luke 21:38-31 

If you have never accepted Jesu as your Saviour, please do not put it off another moment, what a  better time than today, what a more perfect day to give your heart to Him and to trust Him through these dark days.

We are in the last days and one day that trumpet will sound and those who know Christ will be spared many horrors during the tribulation days, those who are left here can be saved but it will be a very painful, dreadful time on earth and anyone left on earth will wish there were not. 

And I know there are those who refuse to accept God and there are those also who think, “Well I have heard that all of my life.”

Well that is why you have heard it, that is why Jesus and ALL He sent since the fall of man have preached it.

Because God wants people to be saved and you don’t have to change because He changes you, He does it all He just wants you to you be saved so that you will not be afraid and you will not be eternally lost and that’s it, all He asks is that you keep His Word and trust Him, and let Him save you. 

There could  be the thought that we are just all trying to scare people into salvation, no, my ministry has always leaned toward the apocalyptic, does not bring me joy, has brought me many tears knowing the things that will come to pass and that is why Jesus himself gave us those verse above, so that we would know, and be forewarned so that we could have his peace and guidance when all those things he spoke comes to pass.

If you get a moment please go back and read that chapter and also read Luke chapter seventeen or pull it up online and read it for yourself. Jesus only wants the best for you, me, and all of us but we have to accept that best from Him, He will not just come and takeover your life, you have to invite Him into your life.

And people would dare say, “You mean God would just let you be lost, forever?” if we refuse to accept what He is trying to give us, that is not Him letting us do anything, that is us refusing to live as God wants us to live, not willing to give up things that He will not allow for His children, and holding our thoughts, and desires higher than our respect toward God and that is idolatry, we are our own gods at that point and this attitude proves it.

And asking ‘What has he done for me?” same point, What have you did for God? Have you served God? have you even committed to God?

It is that mentality that has spread like wildfire actually convincing people that God should honor them not vice versa, God is Holy  and owes us nothing and yet gave us everything in giving Jesus to DIE for us and we still think we have some sort of right to ask “What has he done for us” that is something that has taken the world by storm and must be repented of.

If you know Him Trust Him, Praise Him and ” look” for Him in the midst of all the uncertainty.

If you don’t know Him, please do not wait another second, don’t throw away what you can not even understand, because we can understand none of this, none of the dynamics of what takes place when we except Jesus. 

And I am not afraid to admit that before I knew Jesus,I didn’t get it either and I did not understand why all these Christians “pick” on people trying to get them saved.

But the moment Jesus saved me, I was completely overwhelmed by just how truly senseless I had been to Him and completely blown away by His presence and completely humbles by the fact that He would save me and heartbroken at just how long I had waited, realizing how much different my life AND the lives of those around me could have been had I accepted Him sooner, so please don’t make that mistake.

Your salvation WILL be a light, a HOPE, and a BLESSING to ALL those around you. It is A  BLESSED DAY, let it be the day that we forever BlESS the Father’s heart for you! 

Φλογιζω NBJ 2020/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

 

“Stay”

“And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God .

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but by my Father which is in heaven.

And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou bind on earth shall be bound in heaven and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Then charged (commanded) he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.

From that time forth began Jesus to shew (reveal) unto his disciples, how that he must  go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again on the third day.

Then Peter took him (took him aside), and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, (God be merciful unto you) Lord; this shall not be unto thee.”

But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou art an offense unto me: for thou savorest not (are not mindful of) the things that be of God.” Matthew 16:16-23

Very understandable that Peter would have this reaction once Jesus keyed them on on the fact that not only was he not going into hiding, but quite the opposite, he instead, would in deed stay the course, stay on the path that would lead him into Jerusalem and that he would not only be arrested and tortured by that he would also die and the words that they couldn’t quite “hear” were that he would rise on the third day. Peter couldn’t quite “hear” that victorious ending because the process that would lead to that victory was too dreadful for him hear and to dreadful for his “heart” to understand and Peter loved Jesus and he knew, as he had Jesus affirmed, that Jesus was indeed the promised one, the hope of all mankind sent from heaven itself to save us all and free us all and establish the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven on this earth.

Peter also knew that Jesus was blessed of God and carried a power clearly not of this world and that he was indeed exactly whom he claimed to be, the Son of the only living God.

So Peter could not understand, much less dare to believe that this things would befall Christ.

Also note that Jesus had just reaffirmed to Peter, and even to all of us who now read their exchange, one very important fact, Peter was blessed and yet a few passages down Jesus would have to rebuke, the line out and correct the thoughts of Peter, the one who was truly blessed of God but through his human understanding and love and compassion could express thoughts and ideals that were so contrary to the word and will of God that if Jesus could have (and he could not) have possibly been swayed by his friend into a different path, choosing a different course, it would not only negated and made void his entire ministry work and even his purpose for coming to earth but would have benefited the enemy, which is why Jesus pointed out clearly where this thought originated.

The devil would have loved this, if Jesus had changed paths, if he had “ran” that would have meant that there would have been no going back to Jerusalem, there would have been no arrest, there would have been no torture, no cross, and certainly no death upon that cross but also there would have been no way in the desert for those who are lost, there would have been no freedom for those in prisons of bodies, minds, and demonic bondage, there would be no healing bought by those stripes that he endured, there would be no peace for us all given to us because he hang on that cross, bearing our shame and sin and without his death there would be no salvation and certainly no hope for any of us because without his death which had to come, it had to happen, just as he said because it was the only way we could be restored unto him and his death was the only way to bring resurrection. 

We are experiencing a time in our world like nothing ever seen before, there have since the fall of man times of famine, peril, and plague but nothing that could be seen the world over, we as a people, globally connected as humankind, have found ourselves facing for the past weeks and continue to face with every day bringing uncertainty as numbers fall and rise and those that govern us try their very best to lead us and guide us safely as possible through a maze, that they themselves must also navigate, their own health and the health of their families and loved ones as vulnerable as for us all.

We are truly in this together as the virus has no prejudice, no politics, and it cannot be bought or sold, meaning the rich, the poor, anyone and everyone, it cares nothing of who we are or what we are because it only has one purpose to invade, to infect, and to spread.

And we are all faced with one very real and inevitable truth, ONLY God knows where this will stop or when it will end. And only God has the peace and the comfort that can protect our minds and our hearts and most of all our souls during this.

And only by focusing on what can come of it, even if it does not come for us, to be happy for those that can and will find fruits in the most horrendous, lowest, and darkest valleys. Families that once were the backbone of society and should be this was God’s plan, for families to be just that, a family, to stick together, be together, love one another and be bonded in that love but overtime and the “need” for both parents to work because governments have allowed inflation and prices to rise to the point that multiple incomes are often a necessity for families to survive, and this has came at a great price, the price of parents who really do not know their children and children who are missing out on a deeper relationship with the very people God chose to be the forefront of their lives, to teach them, guide them and love them.

And that is one thing that is going to come form this nightmare. A re connection of families, a re connection of what is truly important and time to get to know and really appreciate one another for who they truly are as a person not just the “title” they have in our lives.

And I want to give a couple of scripture to show just how important the family unit is in the opinion of God and this is one of the many reasons Jesus came to earth, he wants those relationships to built on love, respect, kindness, and above gentleness which are some of his attributes.

He doesn’t want families to built on iron fists, control, belittlement, and fear of retributions for making mistakes or “coming up short” in the view of over zealous parents.

And more than ever it is time to seek the Lord and it is good for people to have hope and encouragement but the only way we can access the promises of God is to serve God, and I mean truly serve God.

I do believe that that is something else that will become clear as we proceed through these times.

The true Gospel has has became so watered down that some really believe that the promises of God are just that, promises and that it requires nothing on our part but that is absolutely not true.

We must repent, we must be saved, and that means a conversion for our “old ways” into  a newness and a real relationship with Christ when also means keeping his commandments and keeping his word, all of that word, and then we are heirs to all his promises and can seek him, his shelter and his peace in these times.

God sent us his word as instruction to want he wanted to take place in the family unit.

Malachi 4:6: “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statues and judgments.

Behold, I will send Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:  

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come a smite the with curse.”

This prophecy went down over John the Baptist, as we”listen’ to the words that were spoken to his father Zacharias by the angel Gabriel, as he foretold the conception, and birth and divine calling upon the life of John as John would preach the Lamb of God.

Luke 1:10-17: ” And as the whole multitude of the people were praying without (outside) at the time (hour) of incense.

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell on him.

But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

And thou shalt have great joy and gladness; and many people shall rejoice at his birth.

For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy ghost from his mother’s womb.

And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF THE FATHERS TO THE CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make a people ready (PREPARED) for the Lord.” 

John preached a revolutionary new (to them) message, He was to introduce them to their God, not as they had perceived him to be, with fury and judgement, but a God that was love, gentleness, and forgiveness a God that they we meet as a Lamb, the perfect sacrifice but also showing humans, himself what exactly it is that he expects us to be and how he wants us to behave with each other. That is why he wanted the hearts of children to parents and parents to children, this is how the family of God works.

If you read this for the beginning you will notice so very important facts, Zacahrias was alone praying and offering incense but there were many, many outside the temple praying at the time he was to offer that incense. God’ s timing is as he, perfect, always perfect, and in the midst of every trail, torment, that comes upon this earth God is there. God knew all of these things would come, God told Noah to build the ark, God told Abraham that his descendants would go into bondage and God told Moses that he would deliver the children.

No one liked any of those circumstances but we can read about the miraculous hand of God in each account.

The only difference is today we have so much, so much to do, so much technology and the ability to know and see through the internet the devastation that has came that it has brought a new level of fear and uncertainty and it is hard to remember when faced with numbers, graphs, and charts one truth that is timeless, ageless,a and will never  ever change, GOD IS STILL THE SAME.

God has always been and God will always be. Thousands of years have came and gone, rulers, kings, powers, and kingdoms , but it is still the same Jehovah God that created it all.

So to get to the title and make an end of this post (you were beginning to wonder, Is it ever going to end? 🙂 weren’t you?) Just kidding, laughter is merry medicine.

But seriously, we will make it, holding on to God, that does not mean that we not suffer losses but it means we will make it, we will make it home.

We will make it by staying the course God has given us through his word. According to the handy dandy Wikipedia, this was probably an old nautical saying, and here it is as copied directly from the internet “encyclopedia”, (better known as Wikipedia), it means this: “Stay the course” is a phrase used in the context of a war or battle meaning to pursue a goal regardless of any obstacles or criticism

And the flip side to staying the course was this, the vessel had the option to “cut and run” meaning to hurry off by cutting the ropes and cutting free of the anchor.

We must stay anchored.

Hebrews 6:10-19: “But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.

For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints and do minister.

And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end.

That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. 

For when God made promises to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself. Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiply I will multiply thee.

And so, after he had endured, he obtained the promise.  for men verily swear by the greater; and an oath for confirmation is to them an an end of all strife. 

Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability (unchangeableness) of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath.

That by two immutable (unchangeable) things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consultation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope THAT IS SET BEFORE US. WHICH HOPE WE HAVE AS AN ANCHOR OF THE SOUL, BOTH SURE AND STEADFAST, AND WITH ENTERETH INTO THAT WITHIN THE VEIL (Presence behind the veil).” 

Φλογιζω NBJ 2020/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

 

“Iron Mask”

“O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get the up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid: say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God!

Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand (strength), and his arm shall rule for  him: behold his reward is with him, and his work (wage) before him.

He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead  those that are with young.” Isaiah 40:9-11

I love Dumas, I love the Musketeers, I love the sword fights , I love the Chivalry, justice, honor, and especially mercy in mercy out policies that were a must for his heroes and use them a lot in my writing.

But my all time favorite is “The Man in the Iron Mask”, and the intrigue behind the actual person behind that legend. But my thought with it comes from a line from the movie version, my total favorite version of the movie is the one from the seventies starring Richard Chamberlain, I was ten and thought he was the most handsome man on earth, whom I was totally going to marry one day when I grew up 🙂

But anyway in the newer version after the foiled coup the good guy is captured again and as he makes his pleas to his sadistic psychotic brother to just kill him instead of putting him back in that mask and to which his evil twin rants and screams with no mercy.

And as strange a comparison that this may be it just reminds me of how the enemy and even ourselves can try to put us back into the iron mask that that God has delivered us from.

The mask that we either were fitted when we were bound by the shackles of that are sometimes just part of being born into this world, just as Jesus always taught us, and this world is full of evil and only through accepting his salvation , and his peace, can we allow his grace to guide our lives and above resting in the assurance that through him we can overcome and live for him so that we will with  him.

The mask that we sometimes find ourselves in when we are faced with difficulties so far beyond our control and pain that we just can’t deal with so we try our best to hide the hurt, the grief and function through life, at work at home or sometimes even at church. When we try our best to smile and “go on” when secretly inside, behind that mask we really just want to lay down and cry.

But God and life has a way of bringing us out of that because we tend to see “hiding” our emotions, “working past the pain” somehow as “protecting” ourselves, our hearts, when it truth it is the opposite of that, it is not about being “courageous” it is actually about fear and not so much as being brave but rather our human fear of being broken.

Jesus specializes in broken, in fact we have to be broken, broken from our thinking and our false sense of self reliance so that we can accept him and him he desires for us, which is to live a life authored and finished by him.

Trusting him in everything and trusting him in our pain and trials and being who he has created us to be and that can require moments and times of revealing our vulnerabilities to others around us and most of us are not ever entirely comfortable with that. And that uncomfortableness leads to fear and fear makes us want to hide.

2nd Timothy 1:7,8: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be thou not ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner; but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the Gospel with me according to the power of God.”

God gave us liberty through his salvation, because as Jesus told us, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

And that truth is knowing in his word and knowing in him that this world and the suffering, pain, and sorrows is just a little while as Paul had described a “thorn in his flesh”, that the messenger of Satan had come to buffet (beat) him, as Paul went on to explain what translates to this, if he never went through troubles or faced difficulties or things he could not handle he would have became cold and exalted, and he would have never been effective as a representative of Christ.

 But because Paul did not hid from us (his future readers) or from those around him, his troubles and his pain, and most of all his vulnerabilities, he effectively allowed the power of God to manifest in his life and that power to effect others.

I want to remind us all again with 2 Corinthians 12:8-10: “For this thing I besought (PLEADED with) the Lord thrice (on three separate occasions) that it might depart form me.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness. 

Most gladly therefore will glory in my infirmities (weaknesses) that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distress for Christ’s sake: for When I am weak, then I am strong.” 

Of course was by no means saying he loved trouble or going through all the turmoil that he did, but he is saying, to us, that by embracing the things he had no control over and seeing them in a different light and doing as we were commanded and “counting it all joy” that he discovered the true meaning of Christ with him and he and all around him saw the evidence of God’s power on his life.

And he wrote these words, and Jesus had him record these words to give hope and encouragement to those of the time, those who came before us and us now.

When God stripped away the “mask” of Saul, as Saul persecuted Christians and sought to destroy the church through violence, hatred, and self righteous, he became Paul and the power of God gave him the ability to show the vulnerability of his true face, the man God had created him to be and God removing that hard, unyielding, “iron” covering  allowed him to effectively minister to others through the revealing of his own struggles.

This was the “pleasure” he took in that, he knew God would prove strong and he knew that this would encourage others to embrace who they were and embrace the Gospel for the truth that it is.

Jesus brought us out of darkness into his glorious light so that we could be light and once that light has broken those “iron masks” that use we hid behind, we must be very careful to not allow the devil, the world, and most of all, our own flesh to cover us again with that unyielding iron.

Embrace who you are, embrace all the struggles of life that have made you who you are, don’t ever feel like you have to be “strong” and don’t ever let anyone make you feel “weak” for being vulnerable, because we you are at your breaking point or if you have already broke that it when you are shielded, covered, and surrounded by the absolute glory and absolute power of the only, living, Holy God and this is why scripture refers to God making our face to shine, in doing so you will shine his light to others giving them hope and courage to embrace the freedom to take off their own masks.

John 8:36: “IF the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” And your freedom will inspire others.

2 Corinthians 3:17: “Now the Lord is  that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

But we all, with open face (uncovered, bare face) beholding as in a glass (as looking in a mirror) the glory of the Lord, are changed (being transformed) into the same image from glory to glory, even, as by the Spirit of the Lord.”

You can see from these verses that God is telling us that as we are saved we are changed through his Spirit giving us freedom as we are being processed, changed, through the process of life, and all the difficulties that come with that are actually being used for our good to transforms us as God desires. 

We have to consciously remember his word and  keep that word on our mind and apply that word to our hearts, for example when Jesus said that He would never forsake us, that means  he will never forsake us.

When the Bible promises that no weapon formed against will prosper, that means that no scheme or plot has power to destroy you, it may feel like you are going to be, but you will not be, because God sees  with the eyes of eternity. And we must apply his promises to our lives every single day.

If we fail to do that, we can easily get off course and forget what we once knew.

We go to James 1:23-25: “For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass (looking in a mirror).

For he beholdeth himself and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was (glances in the mirror, leaves and forgets what kind of man he even is).

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty (freedom), and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man is blessed in his deed.”

God gave us two views of  the same issue, we can look honestly or we can give it a quick glance  a note that we are after all, “just human” and go our way and completely forgetting who God called us to be and forgetting his promises and just give up and be quickly lead into the temptation of not particularly liking “what” we see staring back at us and putting ourselves back into a mask that God  had already removed. And that is not his desire or his purpose for any of us.

So today I want to encourage you to BE who God says you are. And LIVE how he told you to live, and this one is a hard one, when everyone around you is fitting in and hiding their faces behind the masks they feel comfortable in, let Jesus shine through you and let the pain, the scars, be visible because someone else NEEDS to see them.

Let them see his gentleness lead you in his paths!

Rev. Nina Brown Johnson  2019 / Φλογιζω NBJ 2019

If you have never heard this please do, I believe it will bless you, probably make you cry but those tears are precious to God!

 

 

 

 

“He will forever be”

FOR EVER, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Thy faithfulness IS  unto all generations; thou hast established the earth and it abideth. They continue unto this day ACCORDING to thine ordinances: for ALL are thy servants.” Psalm 119:89-91

Isaiah 9:2: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the LAND of the shadow of death, UPON them hath THE LIGHT SHINED.”

John 8:12: “THEN spake JESUS AGAIN unto them, saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the LIGHT OF LIFE.

1 John 1:5:  “THIS then IS the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God IS light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” 

This post is the absolute cumulative message of my entire ministry. If no thought were ever provoked, no scripture heart embedded, no sword ever given, not one seed planted, nothing watered, if every word fell upon deaf ears and blinded eyes, I do pray that this one will be received with spiritual hearing and the spiritual sight given to the saints.

I had asked the Lord once to allow me to just be, even to one person, the difference that the words of another had been to me. When I was seeking, as I always refer to it (and I have many times) “trying to be saved”, I would listen and listen to Christian programs and ministers and finally one hit something that stayed with me, a word that I desperately needed and a Bible story that I had NEVER ever heard, changed my life and gave me something I had not been able to find, HOPE.

The story was about Abraham taking Isaac to be sacrificed and the ram being caught in the thicket as the “replacement” sacrifice and the name JEHOVAH-JIREH because the Lord ALWAYS provides and He provided HIS OWN SON as sacrifice for our sin, my sin, your sin, the sin of the entire world, every sin ever committed or ever to be committed.

HE bore it all and the HOPE in that message, the HOPE that God really DOES see and He really DOES care and no matter what we have been through or are going through or the future holds.

Once I was saved and knew Him, something came flooding back to my mind, one of those moments of  “I wish I knew then what I know now”, I had a dream, and the Bible does say, if it was a dream, tell it as a dream because we have to be so careful as to what we attribute the Lord’s name to, so anyway, I was probably around eleven, maybe twelve and I had the strangest dream, it was solid black, no color, no light, just solid blackness, and I heard a voice and the voice said, “I am the I am that is” and that was it. I woke up and I was so disturbed and troubled and told my family.

After I was saved I was praying and I was like God why didn’t you tell me that was you, and as quick as that went through my mind, it came back to my mind, that I HAD been told. Even the name of the person who told me came flooding back, I had this dream during like an afternoon nap and my brother had a friend who came right after I woke up and was telling my family and he said, “Maybe it was God.” and I was like “Why on earth would God be in darkness?” and wouldn’t God say He was God, and why would He talk to me? The friend went on to tell me that He referred to Himself as “I AM” in the Old Testament, anyway, I truly just didn’t think anymore of it until I got saved.

And I think we ALL do that sometimes when God is trying to get our attention in the world and we have our thoughts as to what these encounters would be like. I now have no question about it and it has been my ministry message mission.

I was only STILL stumped by one fact. WHY was it dark? Tried to figure that one out for years and I do believe I know now. IT IS DARK.

It was NOT this dark when I was saved, but everyday it gets darker and darker and we can all attest to the fact that there is things going on that no one would have ever believed would be allowed to be called Christian and atrocities committed so far beyond our comprehension that we should be grateful for the desensitization from some of it, or our minds would fry.

This world IS covered in darkness, peoples hearts are dark, their thoughts are dark and EVEN in the face of absolute darkness, ONE TRUTH remains, JESUS IS.

He IS the voice in the darkness, HIS IS the voice that will shout with the TRUMP of God, HIS IS the voice that in unison with His bride will send out that FINAL invitation of salvation before and it IS HIS voice of judgment the entire world will hear upon His return.

And for all the thoughts and sermons done on the marvelous works of old and His great overthrows of Pharaoh and all the hosts of enemies who troubled His chosen throughout the ages, we need to remember something, HE IS NOT ONLY THE GOD WHO WAS…HE IS THE GOD WHO STILL IS!

And though the world is much worse and we are much less sensitive to his “voice” because our ears can never get away from the noises, sounds, and confusions of this world, HE STILL IS and only in calling on WHO HE IS in these times are we going to see change and deliverance and I promise you, for every single trouble or situation, demon, or foe, there IS a scripture of “God IS….” to counter every attack and make His voice known even in the pit of blackness and we know that there has never been such a time as this for the night watchmen and all those who sit captive to that darkness.

We sometimes become temporarily “blinded” in that darkness and smoke of the enemies pit and we are so busy groping, trying to find our way through that, that we can fail to hear the voice calling out the direction back into the places of light and clarity. That is the importance of following Him, as He said we will have the LIGHT of LIFE, His light, the LIGHT we can share with others, as His light shines upon them also.

One thing will NEVER change, HE WAS. HE IS. AND HE WILL FOR EVER BE. “He is the I AM that Is”, I really want to drive that message home.

This world IS dark, He IS light, this world hurts, He IS comfort, This world is uncertain, He IS peace, This world is death, He IS the resurrection from the dead. This world will betray you, He IS the one who will never leave or forsake you.

And He IS Blessed forevermore. And HE IS the Blessing, the hope, the security of those in the darkness of this world.  HIS name IS the ointment poured forth and it IS HE who has risen with healing in His wings and it IS His name whose proclamation will make seas roar and mountains tremble and HIS name whose power sets the captive free and as you pray for those captives :

Psalm 124:6-8: “ BLESSED  be the Lord who hath NOT given us as prey to their teeth; Our soul IS escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; The snare IS broken, and we ARE escaped. Our help IS in the NAME of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

His name holds ALL power: John 17:4-6:  “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus saith them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 

As SOON then as HE HAD SAID UNTO THEM, I AM HE, they went backwards (drew back) and fell to the ground.”

Many times Jesus told them exactly who He WAS and IS. The book of John starts with the verse: “IN THE BEGINNING  WAS the Word, and the WORD WAS WITH GOD, and the WORD WAS GOD.”

Just in this one Book, not to mention the other books, He makes these statements, to the woman at the well, I that speak unto thee, am he.” When he came walking on the sea to the disciples, he said, “It is I, be not afraid.” He also stated, “For the bread of God IS he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” And as they asked for the bread He responded, ” I am  THE bread of life”  and again, “I am THAT bread of life” and  “I am the LIVING bread” 

So many statements it would be impossible to list them here, so we’ll wrap it up with the wrap up of the revelation, the disclosure of it all, and if you will notice in your Bible the word Revelation is capitalized in the first verse, meaning that this word is NOT just a title, it is so much more, it IS the revelation that Jesus had and gave of all that would be!

Revelation 1: 1-18: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew (show) his servants things which shortly (quickly) come to pass; and he sent and confirmed it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Blessed is he that readeth, and THEY THAT HEAR the words of this prophecy, and KEEP those things which ARE WRITTEN therein: for the time is at hand.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace for him which IS and which WAS and which IS TO COME: and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who IS the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.  And hath made us kings and priest unto God and his Father; TO HIM BE GLORY AND DOMINION FOR EVER AND EVER. A-MEN’.

BEHOLD HE COMETH WITH THE CLOUDS; AND EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM, AND THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM: AND ALL KINDREDS OF THE EARTH SHALL WAIL BECAUSE OF HIM. Even so, A-men I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY. 

I John, who ALSO am your brother, and the companion in tribulation(persecutions), and IN the kingdom and patience (perseverance) of Jesus Christ, was in the isle of Patmos, for the word of God (banished for preaching) and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I was IN the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and BEING turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt (girded) around the paps (chest) with a golden girdle (band).

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire: And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned (were refined) in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars; and OUT of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and HIS COUNTENANCE WAS AS THE SUN SHINETH IN HIS STRENGTH. And when I saw him, I FELL AT HIS FEET as dead.

And HE LAID HIS RIGHT HAND UPON ME, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. A-men; and have the keys to hell and of death.”

It is hard not to notice that John, like Moses, WAS TURNED to pay attention to what God wanted to enlighten them too. And we also see that John suffered great persecutions because of the testimony and word of Christ, and he held to the promises of an eternal reward for that present suffering, which serves as a great reminder that if you want the promises of God on your life, you must be completely given to him, none of the candy coat business or seeking God when we need him, no, it has to be everything to Him.

And we end on the same note that we started, and as God spoke the very light into existence, He will speak it into this darkness of earth:

Revelation 22:12-16:And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward IS with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Blessed ARE they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the city. For without (outside) are dogs (depraved men, and sorcerers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie (liars).

I Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto YOU these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

Remember two things in life, when everything else fades away, HE IS and HE WILL FOR EVER BE.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017          Related posts:  Majesty    HE IS THE I AM     Undeniable  

Original post date: 07/05/2017*    Revisited  07/2019                                                                                         

First fruits first

Romans 8:15-25: “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. 

For I reckon the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 

For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity (futility), not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope

Because the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption (decay) into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we also groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.  

For we are saved by hope; but hope  that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for it?  

But if we HOPE for what we see not, then do we with PATIENCE (perseverance) wait for it.

One of the main threads used to weave scripture into the beautiful tapestry of life is this, the assurance, confidence, and encouragement that this life and this world is not all there is to the story.

Let’s think about what the Bible tells us about “firsts” and think of all the “firsts” the Bible contains, the beginning of all creation and those whose stories fill the pages telling the stories of their lives, stories of many firsts and completely new beginnings and a pilgrimage to a land clearly not of this earth:

Hebrews 11:8-10: “By faith Abraham when he was called of God to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance ,obeyed, and he went out, not knowing whiter he went (not knowing where he was going). 

By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange (foreign) country, dwelling in tabernacles (tents) with Isaac, and Jacob, the heirs with him in the SAME promise;

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker IS God.”

So knowing these firsts we have fruits of those firsts, the wonderful things produced as God prompted these journeys of faith and with the birth of Jesus Christ, the first and only of the kind, the Son of God, born of a virgin and He chose and would choose those to be His firstfruits in the giving of the indwelling of His Spirit and by His resurrection power. He made us the first adopted in the Kingdom of God and His blood making us kindred with Him.

Think about what John tells us from Revelation 1:5,6: “And Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten (born) of the dead, and the prince  (ruler over) the kings of the earth.

Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and dominion  for ever and ever. Amen.” 

James 1:18: “Of his own will begat he us (he chose us) with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

Ephesians 1:3-14:“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places in Christ.

According as he hath chosen us in him BEFORE the foundations of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before in love.

Having PREDESTINATED us into the adoption of children by Christ to himself, according to good pleasure of his will.

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of HIS GRACE.

Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence (understanding). 

Having made known to unto us the mystery of his will,  According to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times (when all things are fulfilled and New Jerusalem descends) he might GATHER TOGETHER IN ONE ALL THINGS IN CHRIST, BOTH WHICH ARE IN HEAVEN, AND WHICH ARE ON EARTH, even in him;

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: In WHOM also after that ye believed, ye were SEALED with that holy Spirit of promise.

Which IS the earnest (down payment) of  OUR inheritance UNTIL the redemption of the PURCHASED POSSESSION,unto the praise of HIS glory.”

And that a greater life and a new story yet to be written is waiting just on the other side of that door that separates our physical earthly bodies from their true home in the eternal realm. And as he so eloquently put it, the fear we often associate with this crossing was not given to us from God.

God did not give us the bondage that comes from being chained in fear and chained by fear. God gave us hope and that hope is in the knowing that we are already adopted into a greater family, a heavenly family, and a royal priesthood, the hope in the knowledge that God is our Father, that He does hear us and most assuring that our home is not of this earth, but our true home is with him.

Our inheritance, and Jesus sealing us through himself as our “down payment”, our assurance that we do have a right through him, through that adoption into the bloodline of the King, a right to that country, yet to come.

We are given this assurance and reassurance as we do groan and we do suffer pain and heartache on this earth and yearning for that day when all will be made new, the day when peace will be as a river, kindness, love, and mercy will rule everyday life and even the animals and all living creation from the smallest microbe to largest beast will live in absolute harmony, scripture telling us that nothing shall hurt or destroy in his Holy mountain, a child will play atop a snakes den and the lion will eat straw and the serpent will eat dust.

No more pain, no more sorrow, no more dying for ANY of his creation. And that beautiful feeling of peace and hope and comfort given us by Him is only but a small sample of, as they have written, the glory which is to be revealed. We all need encouragement and a little extra zeal sometimes to get through this world and to keep us focused but sometimes I think we need to focus a lot less of this world and focus much more closely on the next.

Just as Jesus told us to not lay up treasure on this earth but to store our treasure in heaven, sometimes we need to take a peek at that treasure and remember the wonderful things waiting there and of course none of us know what we have stored up but we do know we will see loved ones who have gone on, rejoice with old friends and beloved brothers and sisters if old, we know that we will have joy unspeakable and love that never ends, heavenly choirs as we all sing to the Lord and as he did we the disciples, we may even get to hear His beautiful songs. But all the pain and all the sorrows of this creation will be forgotten and we will rejoice evermore.

So indulge me if you will, and think of me as your travel agent for just a bit, and let me give you the description of your homeland and the country you will be travelling to.

“And I saw a NEW heaven and a NEW earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make ALL things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of LIFE freely

He that overcometh shall INHERIT all thingsI will be his God, and he shall be my son. 

But the fearful (cowardly), and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

And there came unto me on of the seven angels which had the seven vials of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither (here), I  will shew thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.”

{That was the background on our country, now for the scenic description and wonders to be found there}

“And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me a great city, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God.

Having the glory of God and her light was like unto a tone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;

And had a great wall and high, and twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel; On the eats three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in (on) them the names of the twelves apostles of the Lamb.

And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

And the city lieth foursquare (is laid out as a square), and the length is as large as the breadth; and he measured the city with a reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel (he used human measurements).

And the building (construction) of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished (adorned) with all manner of precious stones.

The first foundation was jasper, the second, sapphire, the third, a chalcedony, the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx, the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eight, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh,a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several (individual) gate was of one pearl; and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. 

And I saw NO temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb ARE the temple of it. And the city had NO need of the sun, neither the moon, to shine in it: FOR THE GLORY OF THE LORD DID LIGHTEN IT, AND THE LAMB IS THE LIGHT THEREOF.

And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour unto it. 

And the gates thereof shall NOT be shut at all by day FOR THERE SHALL BE NO NIGHT THERE. 

And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.

And there in no wise (way) enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh (causes an) abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

And he shewed me a pure river of water of water of LIFE, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the Lamb.

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 

And there shall be NO more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 

And there shall be NO night there; and they need NO candle (lamp), NEITHER sun; for the Lord giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” Revelation 21 & Revelation 22:1-6

Now that is a destination not to be missed!

Isn’t it amazing to know that you are firstfruits hand-picked to be part of that glorious Kingdom?!

Thanks for reading! Until we meet again may God bless you and yours!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2019

 

 

PREPARED Part 4… what you are really being prepared FOR

“And IF THE RIGHTEOUS SCARCELY BE SAVED, WHERE SHALL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?” 1 Peter 4:18

This verse should be the sound of the alarm bells ringing on that ticking clock of the return of Christ that should be a wake up call to all.

“Sinners or saints, young or old, black or white, meaning your views are dead set and you see no other “colors” in between.  Even green or grey,  just trying your best to find the way, meaning, whether we are newbies, “green” in the Gospel or have the “grey head” of wisdom from years in His service, we all should hear the terrifying WARNING of that verse. 

My sister and I have discussed this in great detail over the years. If you really dissect this verse, it really ASKS us to think long and hard about the very simple truth that IF the righteous, those who have exchanged the “filthy rags of their own righteousness” for the PERFECT covering of the righteousness of God himself stated  Isaiah 54:17(b) “…And their righteousness IS of me, saith the Lord.”

There is NO righteousness outside the righteousness of God. It is not possible for any human, or any other pagan belief system to offer righteousness to us. 

Our righteousness will only be found through the acceptance of Jesus Christ and in the washing of our souls in His blood. This verse tells us that bearing ALL that, if we do the VERY BEST we can do, we will still SCARCELY be saved, which means just barely making it in.

And yes, I do realize there is a whole doctrine of once in grace, always in grace. I realize even more painfully the current movement is “Repentance? What repentance?” 

What I personally believe this line to mean is this, even though we ARE saved and our salvation is ASSURED (Romans 8:35-39) BUT being human and subject to all things human, all the snares of trying to live “holy” in an incredibly unholy world.

A world that not only encourages every kind of imaginable sin, but CELEBRATES those sins and even alienates others for NOT participating in those sins. The deception IS so strong, just as Jesus warned us of the false Christs, and false prophets.

Matthew 24:24: “For there SHALL arise false Christs, and FALSE PROPHETS, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that IF IT WERE POSSIBLE, they shall deceive the very elect.”

False teachers and false prophets that lie and deceive those who want a “commandment free” RELIGION and choose deception over true SALVATION. And he is warning us that this deception is so meticulously convincing that IF IT WERE NOT FOR HIS DIVINE INTERVENTION, HIS VERY CHOSEN WOULD BE DECEIVED! HE WILL NOT ALLOW US TO BE DECEIVED… UNLESS WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE.

Which also brings in two more verses. Matthew 16:24: ” Then said Jesus unto his disciples, IF any man will come after me, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Notice the denial, denial of all the desires and whims of the flesh and of this world. Taking up that cross, having “crucified our flesh DAILY” through the renewing of our minds in his word, and following in HIS footsteps and HIS teachings and CHOOSE to be led by God, who does truly KNOW everything rather than a world who likes to think they KNOW more than even God, who CREATED it all, including them!

Forsaking ALL their high browed arguments against God, and against the very laws and commandments he himself designed FOR OUR OWN GOOD, and against the truth of his existence, trusting in their genetic frailty and decay because they simply REFUSE to acknowledge that their pompous minds could be wrong and that their souls could actually be subject unto a higher being, and that there could be a standard that they will be measured against.

And it is just easier for them to DENY his existence rather than to ADMIT their guilt.

Even though there is no “escape clause” in the Bible excusing us from the penalty of eternal hell and damnation because of our unbelief, quite the opposite, gotta have FAITH in him and in his existence. 

Hebrews 11:5: “But without faith it is impossible to please him;  for he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE THAT HE IS, and that HE IS a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

These pressures and these forces that make it so hard for US, that we SCARCELY slide by their traps, the traps of the temptations to sin, the traps of false doctrines whispered in our ears and bombarding us by television and media.

I, for one, think we need to stay away from even listening to these lies, I know others may “study” other “religions” but in doing so, they are opening themselves up to the “doctrine of devils” and allowing those polluted thoughts inside their minds, we are told specifically that all these teachings are AGAINST God and this will get you on the wrong side of the boat, fast.

James 4:4: ” Ye adulterers, and adulteresses, know ye not that THE FRIENDSHIP OF (with) THE WORLD IS ENMITY WITH GOD? WHOSOEVER THEREFORE WILL (wants to) BE A FRIEND OF THE WORLD IS THE ENEMY OF GOD (makes himself the enemy of God).”

All the nonsense of learning each other and fellowship of “tolerance” is just more of Satan’s deceptions. God never said to hate others or mistreat them because of differences BUT his word tells us to STAY AWAY from all of it.

NONE of us EVER grow so much or climb so high that we are above temptation, snares and traps, as long as we are human and on this earth we can, do and will stumble, that is why we are told SCARCELY, but we repent, get up, go on and TRY it again!

One of the innumerable beauties of Christ is that HE IS faithful to forgive us, over and over, and over, when our hearts are sincere, his grace is endless. 

But for those who do err and teach sin and absolute contempt for his commandments and yet proclaim salvation to all whether they repent or accept Christ or not that somehow they are under a magical umbrella, teaching the complete OPPOSITE of repentance and salvation.

Matthew 15:8,9: “THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS; BUT THEIR HEARTS IS FAR FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN THEY DO WORSHIP ME, TEACHING FOR DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.” 

He warned us right there! We are warned many times of the deception, that they WILL use his name, they WILL shout to the whole world that he is great, all this comes from their lips but in their heart, remember, “as a man thinketh in his heart, so IS he”, so their HEART, the truth of their belief is far, far from God or the things of his kingdom.

I believe that the false teachers DO NOT even believe in his existence.

I truly do not think anyone could believe in him and not fear teaching the things they teach. They teach the things people want to hear, to give them a false sense of eternal security never converting them to that actual security, in order to gain financially and in popularity. 

Sometimes it is hard to win people to the Lord, but truthfully, I think some of the greatest words we will ever hear in doing so, is these “I don’t want to be a hypocrite”, when someone acknowledges that they are not interested in serving the Lord, and that they FEAR the Lord and do not want to allow others to believe that they are while still unrepentant, that PROVES that there is HOPE for that person!

As long as they BELIEVE that HE IS, there is hope, as Jesus also told us, John 3:18-20“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 ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD.

And THIS IS THE CONDEMNATION, that light is come into the world, and MEN LOVED THE DARKNESS RATHER THAN THE LIGHT, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that DOETH EVIL HATETH THE LIGHT, NEITHER COMETH TO THE LIGHT, lest his deeds should be reproved (exposed).” 

This ANSWERS Peter’s question, WHERE will they stand at his coming? WHERE will the ungodly, those who deny, ridicule, and scoff at God, his statues, and his very existence?

WHERE will the sinners, I know everyone hates that word now, used to make people THINK, now just makes them angry, HOW dare anyone CALL THEM A SINNER?

That is a big one right there! Self-willed and prideful, lust of life, refusal to acknowledge that we could POSSIBLY do wrong!

We do not need to beat people over the head but when they are running the “reprobate risk” we need to give the a wake up call.

Sin is sin, and well, certain things ARE sin, you do those things, guess what, makes you a sinner! We have ALL been sinners! We ALL STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN!

That is part of SCARCELY! ME, you, EVERYONE fights sin! 

Again JESUS CHRIST OF NAZARETH, THE MESSIAH, said THIS, point-blank, period, no ifs, no ands, and no buts. THIS is THE LIST of those who will NOT be allowed in his kingdom.

Revelation 21:5-8: “And HE THAT SAT UPON THE THRONE said, Behold, I make ALL things new, and he said unto me, Write: FOR THESE WORDS ARE TRUE AND FAITHFUL.

And HE said unto me, It is done, I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, THE BEGINNING AND THE END. I will give unto him that is athirst of the  fountain of the water of life FREELY. 

He that OVERCOMETH shall inherit all things: I WILL BE HIS GOD, and he shall be my son.

BUT THE FEARFUL (cowards), AND THE UNBELIEVING, AND THE ABOMINABLE (despicable, obnoxious, etc.), AND MURDERERS, AND WHOREMONGERS (sexually immoral), AND SORCERERS, (psychics, witchcraft, etc.), AND IDOLATERS (putting EVERYTHING before God), AND ALL LIARS, SHALL HAVE THEIR PART IN THE LAKE WITH BURNETH WITH FIRE AND BRIMSTONE: WHICH IS THE SECOND DEATH.”

These are the words of Jesus, It is NOT written in red because John was writing to us what Jesus spoke to him, and we KNOW this is indeed Christ by His reference of Alpha and Omega.

Just to be so clear of WHOSE words these are, and the words of Christ are written in red, so Revelation 1:8: ” I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA, the beginning and the ending, SAITH THE LORD, which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY.” 

He reveals his complete identity in this verse, HE IS the beginning of all things, HE IS the end of all things, HE IS everything in between.

He WAS, John:1-17In the beginning WAS the Word, the Word WAS with God, and THE WORD WAS GOD. 

The same was in the beginning with God. ALL things were MADE by him: and without him was not any thing made that was made.

IN HIM WAS LIFE; And the life WAS the light of men. AND THE LIGHT SHINETH INTO DARKNESS; AND THE DARKNESS COMPREHENDED IT NOT.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light. 

THAT WAS THE TRUE LIGHT, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He WAS in the world, and the world WAS made by him, and the world knew him not.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, EVEN TO THEM THAT BELIEVE ON HIS NAME;

WHICH WERE BORN, NOT OF BLOOD, NOR OF THE WILL OF THE FLESH, NOR OF THE WILL OF MAN, BUT OF GOD.

AND THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH, AND DWELT AMONG US, (and we beheld his glory, the glory, as the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This WAS he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me IS preferred BEFORE me; FOR HE WAS BEFORE ME.” 

All that Jesus had said of himself. 

Humans can not look on the face of God, when Jesus came here, he came AS the Son of God, HE IS the Son of God, HE IS the Word, which did truly dwell among us and at his resurrection we were given the gift of that resurrection power which allowed the death of our flesh and spiritual birth in him because he actually DWELLS in us through the Holy Ghost.

But HE IS also God, which is why he referred to himself as IS and IS YET TO COME, meaning his return to earth and his kingdom that will be very much ON earth, precisely in what is now Jerusalem, soon to be NEW Jerusalem.

And as far as his Word, which HE IS, he left us all we need to know in the pages of his Holy Word, The Bible.

STUDY it for yourself, or get the audio version of the King James and listen to it. DO NOT take others words as his word, we are in such a time of deception and there IS only one way to heaven and the return to New Jerusalem and assurance of eternal life, and that IS through Jesus Christ.

1 john 2:22-23: “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is an anti-Christ that denieth the Father and the Son.

Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath NOT the Father: [but] HE THAT HATH ACKNOWLEDETH THE SON HATH THE FATHER ALSO.”

We have to have Jesus and we have to have his salvation and his forgiveness, and we will not have to ask ourselves WHERE shall we appear, when this world hears something similar to those spoken by the Lord in the Book of Amos, when they are told to “prepare to meet thy God”.

He’s coming back, ready or not, and we better be prepared to meet him.

Love & peace to ya, till next time! Thanks for reading!

Φλογίζω Σαλπίζω NB 2018

Posts in this series: PREPARED Part #1

PREPARED Part#2

PREPARED Part #3

More of the deception of hell: RESERVATIONS FOR HELL

Original post series 2018/ Revisited 08/14/2020

O Jerusalem 2 “Pots calling….”

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the Morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst WEAKEN THE NATIONS

For thou hast said in thine heart, I WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN, I WILL EXALT MY THRONE ABOVE THE STARS OF GOD:

I WILL ALSO SIT UPON THE MOUNT OF THE CONGREGATION in the sides of the north:

I WILL ASCEND ABOVE THE HEIGHTS OF THE CLOUDS; I WILL BE LIKE THE MOST HIGH.” Isaiah 14:12-14 

You know, it is such a hoot when the UN keeps accusing Israel of being the worst human rights violator in the known universe. I was having my morning coffee, listening to international news on the radio and one story was about a survivor of last years Rohingya atrocities. 

Which had included beatings, gang rapes, village burning, and of course mass executions with people thrown in graves with acid to literally “burn the faces off the bodies” all of this PROVEN by a sim card from a survivors cell phone that he had smuggled wrapped in plastic and taped to his leg, when he fled from the horror.

If you need a glimpse of the true extent of these crimes and their true prevalence in the world, just check out some RELIABLE sources on the subject, Reuters has a site dedicated only to human rights violations and awareness.

So pardon me, while viewing the world as largely polluted and corrupted, perverse, and repulsive due to the proverbial stench of human trafficking, slave labor, oppressed women and enslaved children, chained and neglected, and never forget “laboratory” animals,and as I have said a million times, the list goes ON and ON…. so again, pardon me, if I find the accusations against Israel by the UN, in the NEXT news story I heard, just a trifle  BIASED, to say the very least.

Actually my first thought was to roll around on the floor and laugh hysterically at the mere fact that two stories back to back, one of brutality beyond brutality and another of a country refusing settlements on their OWN GOD-GIVEN land and yet they were DEEMED the greater of the evil.

Kinda like… “Hello, Pots, are you seriously calling those kettles black?”

Also VERY reminiscent of the conversation between the Lord and Jeremiah.

 Jeremiah 1:13 ” And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething (boiling) pot; and the face of it is toward the north.” 

And we certainly have one set on the stove right now. And man, it is just about to boil completely over.

So back to WHY, and I really want to take this opportunity to ask a question to anyone who made be reading this with skepticism and debate as to the REALITY of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

If you question any of this, I want to challenge you, DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH and ASK yourself a couple of questions.

Number one being WHY, WHY would the majority of the world’s countries be so vehemently AGAINST the TINY nation of Israel?

WHY would one people be so hated, so persecuted THROUGHOUT HISTORY?

WHY the accusations that THE well documented facts of the Holocaust NEVER EVEN TOOK PLACE?

WHY have leaders been even KNOWN to echo the VERY words of the Bible, with the statement that they wanted Israel WIPED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH?

WHY? WHY has there ALWAYS been such turmoil and hatred aimed at one TINY little country?

Well, our answer is found in the above verses. Satan’s LAST attempt at an IMPOSSIBLE overthrow.

Revelation 12:7: ” And there was war IN heaven: Michael and his angels FOUGHT AGAINST the dragon (one of Lucifer’s many names), and the dragon fought and his angels, And PREVAILED NOT; NEITHER WAS THEIR PLACE (dwelling) found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon WAS CAST OUT, that old serpent, CALLED the Devil, and Satan, WHICH DECEIVED THE WHOLE WORLD: HE WAS CAST OUT INTO THE EARTH, and HIS ANGELS WERE CAST OUT WITH HIM.”

The reference to HIS angels, his demons that are STILL very active, are the third of the angels of heaven who chose to rebel against God, thus becoming demons on earth.

The Bible gives us many pictures of his attempted overthrow, he was very beautiful and was a protecting angel, one of the three arch angels, he was also the angelic worship leader, which his instruments actually CREATED inside his body. 

But this great beauty brought him a great fall, he became filled with pride and self-will and no longer wished to serve and honor the very God who CREATED him, but in his arrogant pride felt that he should be worshiped above his own master. 

As his MANY names listed above, he is The prince of the kingdoms of Persia, The Pharaoh, The Assyrian, The great cedar,(Daniel 10:3) (Ezekiel 28:12-19) (Ezekiel 31:3-18) and of course, Isaiah chapter 14,  The bright star (angelic being) whom Jesus beheld him as lightning from their presence in heaven, as he was cast to earth  (Luke 10:18) during that great war.

And as he is  referenced so many ways in the Bible, you can see also the mirroring of his image in so many in THIS world, just as Jesus so often told those of his day, that they could not “hear” him because they WERE of THEIR father, the devil.

So as he was thrown from heaven he sought to control this earth and as Jesus referred to him as the “prince of THIS world” when the time came for his arrest, death, and sacrifice to establish absolute power over the devil, death, and hell.

Paul referred to him as the “god of THIS world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) as he spoke to those in the world who are spiritually blind and reject God’s truth because they have believed the lies of the devil. 

And I do want to stress that he is NOT a prince nor is he a “god” but those who refuse and reject the truth are actually accepting him as such.

People often want to argue the point of his power BUT the truth is he is still a very powerful being, he WILL NEVER have the power of God! 

But a human should never mistake him for an adversary that they can defeat, through their own strength (such as so-called “ghost busters” and paranormal researchers, and any wannabe exorcism specialists, such as those told of in Acts 19:13-16) ONLY THE TRUE God, The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, The I AM THAT I AM, Jehovah God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Ghost, have that power!

And we ONLY have power over the enemy and the works of darkness BECAUSE God dwells in us and HIS power works within us and our lives.

And if you see that differently, you can complain to me in person and I will give you scripture to prove this.

But the BIBLE warns us to “BE ON GUARD”, “BE DILIGENT” “BE SOBER” because OUR adversary walks about SEEKING whom he may devour” that is telling us to watch out for him and his snares.

And to argue otherwise is like saying to someone, “Hey, be careful when you leave your house because a wanted serial killer was spotted.” WITHOUT giving them a DESCRIPTION of that person and TELLING them the area that they should avoid.

It would be useless information to them.

Same deal.

So I said all that to get to this… He TRIED to overthrow the throne IN heaven.

He TRIED to make all the angels worship him.

He then TRIED to establish his kingdom on earth but Jesus overruled that plan with His resurrection.

The last place that he has in his ATTEMPT at his IMPOSSIBLE overthrow IS Jerusalem. Because God has CHOSEN Jerusalem as His special place (read part one to help understand this O Jerusalem….. “ROUND ABOUT” and NEW JERUSALEM will be the crowning jewel of FUTURE earthly reign of Jesus Christ. I hope to get into that, Lord’s will, when part 3 comes around.

But until then LOOK at this for what it is… as God said in the scriptures above, the enemy has “weakened the NATIONS” the latest accusations against Israel (they are but a drop in the bucket) are all leading the nations to that great and faithful day.

And we need to be aware of what is “cooking on the stove” and be especially AWARE of who is truly stirring that pot.

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω ΝΒ 2018

 

“WILL FOREVER BE”

FOR EVER, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven.

Thy faithfulness IS  unto all generations; thou hast established the earth and it abideth. They continue unto this day ACCORDING to thine ordinances: for ALL are thy servants.” Psalm 119:89-91

Isaiah 9:2: “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the LAND of the shadow of death, UPON them hath THE LIGHT SHINED.”

John 8:12: “THEN spake JESUS AGAIN unto them, saying, I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the LIGHT OF LIFE.

1 John 1:5:  “THIS then IS the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God IS light, and in him there is no darkness at all.” 

This post is the absolute cumulative message of my entire ministry. If no thought were ever provoked, no scripture heart embedded, no sword ever given, not one seed planted, nothing watered, if every word fell upon deaf ears and blinded eyes, I do pray that this one will be received with spiritual hearing and the spiritual sight given to the saints.

I had asked the Lord once to allow me to just be, even to one person, the difference that the words of another had been to me. When I was seeking, as I always refer to it (and I have many times) “trying to be saved”, I would listen and listen to Christian programs and ministers and finally one hit something that stayed with me, a word that I desperately needed and a Bible story that I had NEVER ever heard, changed my life and gave me something I had not been able to find, HOPE.

The story was about Abraham taking Isaac to be sacrificed and the ram being caught in the thicket as the “replacement” sacrifice and the name JEHOVAH-JIREH because the Lord ALWAYS provides and He provided HIS OWN SON as sacrifice for our sin, my sin, your sin, the sin of the entire world, every sin ever committed or ever to be committed.

HE bore it all and the HOPE in that message, the HOPE that God really DOES see and He really DOES care and no matter what we have been through or are going through or the future holds.

Once I was saved and knew Him, something came flooding back to my mind, one of those moments of  “I wish I knew then what I know now”, I had a dream, and the Bible does say, if it was a dream, tell it as a dream because we have to be so careful as to what we attribute the Lord’s name to, so anyway, I was probably around eleven, maybe twelve and I had the strangest dream, it was solid black, no color, no light, just solid blackness, and I heard a voice and the voice said, “I am the I am that is” and that was it. I woke up and I was so disturbed and troubled and told my family.

After I was saved I was praying and I was like God why didn’t you tell me that was you, and as quick as that went through my mind, it came back to my mind, that I HAD been told. Even the name of the person who told me came flooding back, I had this dream during like an afternoon nap and my brother had a friend who came right after I woke up and was telling my family and he said, “Maybe it was God.” and I was like “Why on earth would God be in darkness?” and wouldn’t God say He was God, and why would He talk to me? The friend went on to tell me that He referred to Himself as “I AM” in the Old Testament, anyway, I truly just didn’t think anymore of it until I got saved.

And I think we ALL do that sometimes when God is trying to get our attention in the world and we have our thoughts as to what these encounters would be like. I now have no question about it and it has been my ministry message mission.

I was only STILL stumped by one fact. WHY was it dark? Tried to figure that one out for years and I do believe I know now. IT IS DARK.

It was NOT this dark when I was saved, but everyday it gets darker and darker and we can all attest to the fact that there is things going on that no one would have ever believed would be allowed to be called Christian and atrocities committed so far beyond our comprehension that we should be grateful for the desensitization from some of it, or our minds would fry.

This world IS covered in darkness, peoples hearts are dark, their thoughts are dark and EVEN in the face of absolute darkness, ONE TRUTH remains, JESUS IS.

He IS the voice in the darkness, HIS IS the voice that will shout with the TRUMP of God, HIS IS the voice that in unison with His bride will send out that FINAL invitation of salvation before and it IS HIS voice of judgment the entire world will hear upon His return.

And for all the thoughts and sermons done on the marvelous works of old and His great overthrows of Pharaoh and all the hosts of enemies who troubled His chosen throughout the ages, we need to remember something, HE IS NOT ONLY THE GOD WHO WAS…HE IS THE GOD WHO STILL IS!

And though the world is much worse and we are much less sensitive to his “voice” because our ears can never get away from the noises, sounds, and confusions of this world, HE STILL IS and only in calling on WHO HE IS in these times are we going to see change and deliverance and I promise you, for every single trouble or situation, demon, or foe, there IS a scripture of “God IS….” to counter every attack and make His voice known even in the pit of blackness and we know that there has never been such a time as this for the night watchmen and all those who sit captive to that darkness.

We sometimes become temporarily “blinded” in that darkness and smoke of the enemies pit and we are so busy groping, trying to find our way through that, that we can fail to hear the voice calling out the direction back into the places of light and clarity. That is the importance of following Him, as He said we will have the LIGHT of LIFE, His light, the LIGHT we can share with others, as His light shines upon them also.

One thing will NEVER change, HE WAS. HE IS. AND HE WILL FOR EVER BE. “He is the I AM that Is”, I really want to drive that message home.

This world IS dark, He IS light, this world hurts, He IS comfort, This world is uncertain, He IS peace, This world is death, He IS the resurrection from the dead. This world will betray you, He IS the one who will never leave or forsake you.

And He IS Blessed forevermore. And HE IS the Blessing, the hope, the security of those in the darkness of this world.  HIS name IS the ointment poured forth and it IS HE who has risen with healing in His wings and it IS His name whose proclamation will make seas roar and mountains tremble and HIS name whose power sets the captive free and as you pray for those captives :

Psalm 124:6-8: “ BLESSED  be the Lord who hath NOT given us as prey to their teeth; Our soul IS escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; The snare IS broken, and we ARE escaped. Our help IS in the NAME of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

His name holds ALL power: John 17:4-6:  “Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus saith them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them. 

As SOON then as HE HAD SAID UNTO THEM, I AM HE, they went backwards (drew back) and fell to the ground.”

Many times Jesus told them exactly who He WAS and IS. The book of John starts with the verse: “IN THE BEGINNING  WAS the Word, and the WORD WAS WITH GOD, and the WORD WAS GOD.”

Just in this one Book, not to mention the other books, He makes these statements, to the woman at the well, I that speak unto thee, am he.” When he came walking on the sea to the disciples, he said, “It is I, be not afraid.” He also stated, “For the bread of God IS he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world” And as they asked for the bread He responded, ” I am  THE bread of life”  and again, “I am THAT bread of life” and  “I am the LIVING bread” 

So many statements it would be impossible to list them here, so we’ll wrap it up with the wrap up of the revelation, the disclosure of it all, and if you will notice in your Bible the word Revelation is capitalized in the first verse, meaning that this word is NOT just a title, it is so much more, it IS the revelation that Jesus had and gave of all that would be!

Revelation 1: 1-18: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew (show) his servants things which shortly (quickly) come to pass; and he sent and confirmed it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

Blessed is he that readeth, and THEY THAT HEAR the words of this prophecy, and KEEP those things which ARE WRITTEN therein: for the time is at hand.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace for him which IS and which WAS and which IS TO COME: and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who IS the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.

Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.  And hath made us kings and priest unto God and his Father; TO HIM BE GLORY AND DOMINION FOR EVER AND EVER. A-MEN’.

BEHOLD HE COMETH WITH THE CLOUDS; AND EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM, AND THEY ALSO WHICH PIERCED HIM: AND ALL KINDREDS OF THE EARTH SHALL WAIL BECAUSE OF HIM. Even so, A-men I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which IS, and which WAS, and which IS TO COME, THE ALMIGHTY. 

I John, who ALSO am your brother, and the companion in tribulation(persecutions), and IN the kingdom and patience (perseverance) of Jesus Christ, was in the isle of Patmos, for the word of God (banished for preaching) and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

I was IN the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, and BEING turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt (girded) around the paps (chest) with a golden girdle (band).

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire: And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned (were refined) in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars; and OUT of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and HIS COUNTENANCE WAS AS THE SUN SHINETH IN HIS STRENGTH. And when I saw him, I FELL AT HIS FEET as dead.

And HE LAID HIS RIGHT HAND UPON ME, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. A-men; and have the keys to hell and of death.”

It is hard not to notice that John, like Moses, WAS TURNED to pay attention to what God wanted to enlighten them too. And we also see that John suffered great persecutions because of the testimony and word of Christ, and he held to the promises of an eternal reward for that present suffering, which serves as a great reminder that if you want the promises of God on your life, you must be completely given to him, none of the candy coat business or seeking God when we need him, no, it has to be everything to Him.

And we end on the same note that we started, and as God spoke the very light into existence, He will speak it into this darkness of earth:

Revelation 22:12-16:And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward IS with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

Blessed ARE they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the city. For without (outside) are dogs (depraved men, and sorcerers, and whoremongers (sexually immoral), and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie (liars).

I Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto YOU these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.”

Remember two things in life, if everything else fades away, HE IS and HE WILL FOREVER BE.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017          Related posts:  Majesty    HE IS THE I AM     Undeniable  

Original post date: 07/05/2017*    Revisited  07/25/2019 Revisited 03/13/2022 My 23 years with the Lord!

                                                                                         

Taken

“Until the day in which he was taken up , after that  through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: To whom also he shewed (presented) himself alive after his passion (suffering) by many infallible (unmistakable) proofs, being seen of the forty days, and speaking to them of things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

And being assembled together with them, commanded that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but WAIT for the PROMISE of the Father,  which, saith he, ye have heard of me.

For john truly baptized with water; be ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. (not many days from now).

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou (will you) at this time restore again the kingdom of Israel? 

And he said unto them, It is NOT for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. (authority) BUT ye shall receive power after when the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received (covered) him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly TOWARD heaven, behold, two men stood BY THEM in white apparel;

Which also said, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? THIS SAME JESUS, WHICH IS TAKEN FROM UP FROM YOU INTO HEAVEN, SHALL SO COME IN LIKE MANNER AS YE HAVE SEEN HIM GO INTO HEAVEN.” Acts 1:2-11

Undoubtedly the scariest subject for most humans, the second coming, the rapture, and all the horror that shall befall earth in the end days. God has done some seriously major work in me.. If I were not me, I would not believe that I am the same person who was so horrified by these events and even being a believer and eagerly awaiting His return, I would still be in terror if it were not His hand and His grace over me.

And for most it is very fearful to think about it, much less talk about these events. As I say, I did not grow up in church, but I know I was blessed to receive serious divine intervention, but my Dad was in and out of church and my Mom had been raised in church but as a family, the snares of the enemy had run roughshod over what could have been and we were left with what was.

So even though my Dad tried, he did not have the support of a family to help him stay the course and as a family, his often stern behavior did not make us want to go running to service with him. And that is not a blame thing.. that is reality.. we ALL need a support system and as Christians, we are to shine a light to our unsaved family members.

We all NEED each other, if we are going to make it home. But all is well now and when I was saved it was my sister and Him that came and prayed with me when I received the Holy Ghost and we were baptized (well his second) on the same day, so we all try to help one another stay the course and we have been blessed in that.

Back to my point, even though I was not in church with my Dad, we would read together often, and I thank God so much NOW for the blessing I was being given at the time that I did not even realize was anything other than doing what I was asked, a good lesson in NEVER taking for granted something that may seem common, it may be so much more, that will one day actually CHANGE your present and certainly impact your FUTURE and your divine destiny.

I was about thirteen and we had been reading and I still had his Bible in my room and for some reason i just went to the book of Revelation and I always had this thing, that I really, really “got” Jesus but reading the stories of the Old Testament, GOD ABSOLUTELY SCARED ME TO DEATH!

And once I read some of Revelation, I just looked out of my window and it was just this overwhelming feeling of “it is already here” and I just was horrified and I just put the Bible away and tried to block it out. And so when I tell people that I really REALLY understand how scary it can be, I really do!

That is why we need the Holy Ghost, only He can enlighten us to things so far BEYOND our comprehension and only He can ease those fears of the future, and only He can show us the necessity in these things and help us understand that the fulfillment of all scriptures is NOT the END but it is rather THE BEGINNING.

Scriptural references in comparison to childbirth as absolute right on the mark because labor IS sorrow, labor IS painful, and birth IS a very bloody process BUT once that child is born, the JOY, PEACE, and CONTENTMENT is well worth every single moment of it.

And rather than fear scaring people about the return and the tribulation, we must begin to TEACH on these things so they will be ready, as He is coming for a “bride who hath made herself ready” and view it as the beautiful birth of the “firstfruits” of a kind” and look forward to that expected end and not be so caught up in anticipating and dreading the pain. 

Romans 8:19-23: “For THE EARNEST EXPECTATION of the creature (creation) WAITED for the manifestation of the sons of God.

For the creature (creation) was made subject to vanity (decay),not willing BUT BY REASON OF HIM WHO HATH SUBJECTED the same IN HOPE.

Because the creature (creation) ITSELF shall BE DELIVERED from THE BONDAGE OF CORRUPTION (futility) INTO GLORIOUS LIBERTY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD.

For we know that the whole creation GROANETH AND TRAVAILETH (suffers birth pangs) TOGETHER until now.

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan, within ourselves, WAITING (EAGERLY AWAITING) FOR THE ADOPTION, TO WIT (be sure to understand) the REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY.” 

So to be certain that as the Bible tells us, ALL these things MUST come to pass before that Glorious and wondrous day. And Jesus told us many times, so shouldn’t we also tell others? And then also tell them about what also comes NEXT?

Matthew 24:30,31:  “And THEN shall appear the SIGN of the Son of man in heaven: and THEN shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall SEE the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and shall GATHER together his elect  (chosen ones)  from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

 Mark 14:61,62 : ” But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and he said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?

 And Jesus said, I AM and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and COMING IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” 

Luke 21:27,28:  “THEN shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things come to pass, THEN look UP, and LIFT up your heads; for YOUR REDEMPTION draweth nigh.” 

That redemption that ALL of creation longs for and we are to eagerly await. So don’t be afraid, just believe, and rejoice in knowing that in that day, as He said, ALL things will be made new!

I did not want to get repetitive.. so there is a list below of much more on the rapture and the signs Jesus spoke of, and that we’ll get us ready for the final part of this on His earthly reign and what a beautiful, beautiful time that will be!

 

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017

For more teachings on end time please read: 

   ANCIENT, BUT NOT ALIEN / The deception

   ARRHYTHMIA (HEART SERIES PART 1)

   HEART FAILURE ( HEART SERIES PART 2)

   FLAT LINED ( HEART SERIES PART 3)

   CARDIAC SHOCK (HEART SERIES PART 4)

 

 

Hell held hostage

“Wherefore he saith, WHEN HE ASCENDED UP ON HIGH, HE LEAD CAPTIVITY CAPTIVE, AND GAVE GIFTS UNTO MEN. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far ABOVE the heavens, that he might fill (fulfill) ALL things).” Ephesians 4:8,9

We know the story, when all the forces of hell thought they had managed to kill the Prince of Peace and even with the Romans standing guard there was NOTHING, NOTHING in this universe, no power strong enough that the grave could harness to hold the King of Glory and we know on the third day, HE AROSE…

I AM HE that liveth, and WAS DEAD; and behold, I AM ALIVE FOR EVERMORE. A-men; and HAVE THE KEYS TO HELL AND DEATH.” Revelation 1:18

Jesus’ suffering and death allowed us to be forgiven of our sins and allowed us to have a personal relationship with Him, whereas the priests of Israel had to offer sacrifice and only the high priest was allowed in the Holy of Holies and even he would DIE if his heart was not right in the sight of the Lord.

But at the moment death came to Jesus, the temple veil was torn into, prophetically tearing down the partition between Christ and His followers. This allowed for the resurrected Christ to spiritually indwell believers, making our bodies the very temples of God, which is why we are warned by scripture diligently against defiling these temples.

He ransomed us in life and IN DEATH from the enemy and from all the power and sorrow death and the grave held over us.

As even Satan tried to put dibs on the dead body of Moses, whom God Himself had buried, Jude verse 9: “Yet Michael the archangel when contending (disputing) with the devil he disputed (discussed) about the body of Moses, durst (dared) not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

So obviously Satan thought he had some sort of right to the body and there ARE many occult practices tied into bones and such things, but that is not what this one is about, so I’m not getting into that. But it would be awesome to take lessons from Michael and just calmly, cooling respond to those who the devil comes through to argue and aggravate us, and just be able to rest in the power of God KNOWING that it IS God that rebukes them.

Jesus having those keys to hell, now controlling the very door to it can now prevent us from going there and these best descriptive of hell is a few of the following verses, but to be assured, IT IS REAL, and IT IS ETERNAL, and there ARE NO SECOND CHANCES, once death has come.

I want to use a couple of the Lords teachings on it, Jesus taught OFTEN and VERY VOCALLY about Hell, and yet today so many preachers are scared to use the word, for fear of running off their flock.. are you really doing them any favors with that? Jesus taught hell TO PREVENT PEOPLE FROM GOING THERE, think maybe we should also?

Gonna pick this up during His teaching on sin and that if ANYTHING causes us to sin, GET RID OF IT, so we can escape hell:

Mark 9:43-48:  And if thy hand offend thee (makes you sin), cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life (eternal resurrected life) maimed, than having two hands TO GO INTO HELL, INTO THE FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED;

Where THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. 

And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt (lame) into life, than to have two feet TO BE CAST INTO HELL,INTO THE FIRE THAT NEVER SHALL BE QUENCHED:

Where THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, AND THE FIRE IS NOT IS NOT QUENCHED.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee TO ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD with one eye, THAN HAVING TWO EYES TO BE CAST INTO HELL FIRE.

Where THEIR WORM DIETH NOT, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.”

Please notice that three times, verbatim He used Where THEIR WORM DIETH NOT AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.” Since it is verbatim scripture, it appears in all capital letters, the reference is to this passage: Isaiah 66:24:

“And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men (people) that have transgressed against me FOR their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”

And as He spoke again to the Jews, and of those who SHOULD have come to Him and refused, and those who tried to “enter in another way”, in proclaiming Christ with their mouths and yet rejecting His commands for their lives, and He told them of the sorrow of bitter tears and gritting of their teeth in agony for what will never be changed.:

Luke 13:24-29: ” STRIVE to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

When once the master of the house is RISEN UP, and hath shut the door, and ye begin to stand without (outside), and knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know not whence ye are (where you are from): THEN shall ye begin to say, we HAVE eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

But he shall say, I tell you, I KNOW NOT whence ye are (where you are from)depart from me, all ye workers of inquiry.

THERE SHALL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETHwhen ye shall SEE Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, IN the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.

And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and SHALL SI DOWN IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.”  

Now for the eternal AWARENESS of the inescapable torment of hell:

Luke 16: 19-31: ” There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously (lived in luxury) every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

and it came to pass that the beggar DIED, and WAS CARRIED BY THE ANGELS into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also DIED, AND WAS BURIED;

And IN HELL HE LIFT UP HIS EYES, BEING IN TORMENTS, and SEETH ABRAHAM AFAR OFF, and LAZARUS IN HIS BOSOM. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, HAVE MERCY ON ME, and send Lazarus that HE MAY DIP THE TIP OF HIS FINGER IN WATER, AND COOL MY TONGUE; FOR I AM TORMENTED IN THIS FLAME.  

But Abraham said, SON, REMEMBER THAT THOU IN THY LIFETIME RECEIVEDST THY GOOD THINGS, AND LIKEWISE LAZARUS EVIL THINGS: But NOW HE IS COMFORTED, AND THOU ART TORMENTED.

And beside all this, BETWEEN US AND YOU THERE IS A GREAT GULF FIXED: SO THAT THEY WHICH WOULD PASS FROM HENCE (here) TO YOU CANNOT, NEITHER CAN THEY PASS TO US, THAT WOULD COME FROM THENCE (there).

Then said he, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; THAT HE MAY TESTIFY UNTO THEM, LEST THEY ALSO COME INTO THIS PLACE OF TORMENT.

Abraham saith unto him, THEY HAVE MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, LET THEM HEAR THEM. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: BUT IF ONE WENT BACK FROM THE DEAD, THEY WILL REPENT,

And he said unto him, IF THEY HEAR NOT MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, NEITHER WILL THEY BE PERSUADED, THOUGH ONE ROSE FROM THE DEAD.” 

That is so eerie and sad, STILL today, there are those who refuse to believe, EVEN though Lazarus WAS resurrected by Jesus, and the Jews planned to kill as they plotted to kill Jesus, and though CHRIST ROSE THE DEAD, THERE ARE THOSE, WHO LIKE THE RICH MAN, WILL ONLY BELIEVE, WHEN THEY AWAKE TOO LATE.

As Jesus tells us, He rose victoriously with the keys to hell and now for the description of death. The shadow of death often referred to as “gross” darkness, completely void of light and Job described as this:

Job 10: 21,22 ” Before I GO whence (where)  I shall NOT RETURN, even TO the LAND OF DARKNESS and THE SHADOW OF DEATH;

A LAND OF DARKNESS, AS DARKNESS ITSELFand of the SHADOW OF DEATH, WITHOUT ANY ORDER, and WHERE THE LIGHT IS AS DARKNESS.”

As Jesus came to earth as a human, the SON of God, but still human and by doing so, died as the sacrifice for ours sins and once He entered into death, he removed the sting, the pain out of it for us, we as believer are CARRIED, just as Lazarus was by the angels, but we are carried INTO THE PRESENCE of God.

And as He overthrew hell, dying as a human does, but being the Son of God, He then could take control and ALL the power it held over humans, because ONLY GOD HAS THE POWER TO DEFEAT the devil, and therefore sparing ALL that accept Him form that terrible place of torment the rich man found himself in.

I hope this helps anyone who has questions, and again please don’t buy the politically correct demonic lies of this world… ONLY ONE WAY TO HEAVEN AND ONLY ONE WAY TO ESCAPE THE TORMENTS OF HELL AND THAT IS THROUGH THE ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS SAVIOR AND THE WASHING OF YOUR SOUL IN HIS PRECIOUS BLOOD.

Please join me next time, when, Lord will, we will look at the second coming of Christ to earth and the battle of Armageddon, the rapture of the saints, and finish up with the earthly reign of Christ and the final destruction of hell and death in the lake of fire. Till next time, I’ll leave you with this:

1 Corinthians 15: 42-57: ” So also is the resurrection of the dead. It IS sown in corruption (perishable state): it IS raised in incorruption (imperishable):

It IS sown in dishonour; it IS raised in glory; it IS sown in weakness; it IS RAISED IN POWER:

It IS sown a natural body; it IS RAISED A SPIRITUAL BODY.

There IS a natural body, and there IS a spiritual body.

As it is written, THE FIRST MAN ADAM WAS MADE  A LIVING SOUL; THE LAST MAN ADAM WAS MADE A QUICKENING SPIRIT.

Howbeit, that was NOT first which is spiritual, BUT that which s natural: AND AFTERWARD THAT WHICH IS SPIRITUAL.

The first man IS of the earth, earthy: such as they also that are earthy: and as in the heavenly, such as they also that are heavenly. And as we HAVE borne the image of the earthy, WE SHALL ALSO BEAR THE IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY.

Now This I say, brethren, FLESH AND BLOOD CANNOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD; NEITHER DID CORRUPTION INHERIT INCORRUPTION.

Behold, I shew (show) you a mystery; We shall not all sleep (die) but WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED.

In a moment, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, AT THE LAST TRUMP: FOR THE TRUMPET SHALL SOUND AND THE DEAD SHALL BE RAISED INCORRUPTIBLE, AND WE SHALL BE CHANGED.

For this corruptible must put on incorruption, AND THIS MORTAL MUST PUT ON IMMORTALITY. SO when THIS corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and THIS mortal shall have put on immortality,

THEN shall BE BROUGHT TO PASS THE SAYING THAT IS WRITTEN, DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY.

O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?

O GRAVE, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY?

The sting of death IS sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But THANKS BE TO GOD WHICH GIVETH US THE VICTORY THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.”

Love and Peace! Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017

***REVISITED 10/30/2019***

 

*Undeniable* On Earth as in Heaven

“Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou (Are you) The King of the Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it to thee ? (Are you asking or did someone ask you to) Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?

Jesus answered, 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 unto the Jews: BUT MY KINGDOM IS NOT FROM HENCE (here).

Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou SAYEST (rightly state) THAT I AM A KING. TO THIS END (completely for this purpose) WAS I BORN, AND FOR THIS CAUSE CAME I INTO THE WORLD, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

Pilate sayeth unto him, What IS the truth? And when he had said THIS, he went back out unto the Jews, and SAITH unto them, I FIND IN HIM NO FAULT AT ALL.

But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the Passover, will ye therefore that I release unto you THE KING OF THE JEWS? Then therefore cried they all again, saying, Not this man, But Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.” John 18:33-40 

Think about a little something here, the plan becomes so obvious with the fact that the Jews CHOOSE a robber to live rather than Jesus, because Jesus had said, if anyone tried to come to the Father ANY other way than through Him, they WERE a thieves and a robbers! and you can see that crystal in this verse, they WERE attempting to CHOOSE another way into heaven. 

John 19: 1-22: ” Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him (whipped with a Roman scourge) And the soldiers platted (twisted) a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe.

And said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote (struck) him with their hands. Pilate forth again, and said unto them, BEHOLD, (pay attention) I bring him forth to you, THAT YE MAY KNOW THAT I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM.

Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying Crucify him, crucify him, Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: FOR I FIND NO FAULT IN HIM.

The Jews answered him, we have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he hath made himself the Son of God. When Pilate therefore heard THAT saying, HE WAS MORE AFRAID.

And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? ( WHERE ARE YOU FROM?) But Jesus gave him no answer.

Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power (authority) to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?

Jesus answered, Thou couldest (would) have NO power AT ALL AGAINST ME, EXCEPT it were GIVEN THEE FROM ABOVE: therefore he that hath delivered me UNTO thee hath the greater sin. {He spoke of Judas’ betrayal of him, being greater sin against Him, than Pilates} And from henceforth (that time on) Pilate SOUGHT TO RELEASE HIM:

But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art NOT Caesar’s friend: whomsoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar. When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgement seat in a place that is called Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha.

And it was the preparation for the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he SAITH unto the Jews, BEHOLD YOUR KING! But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify YOUR KING?

The chief priests answered, We have NO king but Caesar. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And. And they took Jesus, and led him away. And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

Where they crucified him and two other with him, on either side one, and JESUS IN THE MIDST (center). And Pilate WROTE a TITLE, and put it ON THE CROSS.

And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: And IT WAS WRITTEN IN HEBREW, GREEK, AND LATIN.

Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write NOT, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am the King of the Jews. Pilate answered, WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN I HAVE WRITTEN.”

So much going on there,  the same old routine just as when they REFUSED God as their King and insisted on an earthly king over them and now again they denied and rejected Him, so desperate, that they even used the old scare tactics of “if you were a real friend of Caesar”, but scripture would be fulfilled, even with the Lord hanging in the center.. as known when two agree on anything, HE IS in the middle, agreeing with them and the fulfilling of that in the three-fold cord of the writing itself and the three major languages in order, of which  languages are derived and the languages that OUR Bible would come forth.

Pontius Pilate who is well documented for his cruelty and dolling out crucifixions with the ease of a kid on a bike doling out Sunday morning newspapers, and YET HE WAS AFRAID.. not only because of the warning of his wife having been troubled through dreams, but HE, HIMSELF AFRAID because HE KNEW THIS WAS INDEED THE SON OF GOD.

And as powerful as he was, HE KNEW that he was in the presence of ALL power and as bloody as his hands were, HE DID NOT WANT THIS BLOOD… THE BLOOD OF THE SON OF GOD ON HIS HANDS and he washed them. 

And as he had WRITTEN.. JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS now became FULFILLED ON EARTH AS IT ALREADY WAS PROCLAIMED IN HEAVEN.

Very soon HE WILL RETURN TO THIS EARTH AND SET UP HIS KINGDOM, we’ll look at that in part three of our series. But TODAY, this HOLY DAY, as we think and reflect on what our Saviour did for us, HIS suffering, His humiliation, and pain BEYOND human comprehension, so horrific that angels CAME to strengthen Him in the garden, because it would be humanly unbearable WITHOUT that strength.

I know there is a long-standing disagreement over the number of his stripes, many say because the Jews had a forty-stripe save one rule, but people.. this was NOT just the Jews.. this WAS the force of HELL itself, ON EARTH, coming down on Him.,

There WERE NO laws protecting Him, NO MERCY WAS SHOWN HIM and He was beaten to the point that He was unrecognizable as Himself, it was so much MORE than any thirty-nine stripes.

There is also the standing argument that He was pierced through his wrists NOT his hands because the hands would not hold up, but IT WAS  his palms that were nailed through and I will leave that right there, and instead of all the debate over who thinks what happened we need to bear in mind, ONLY this.. IT DID HAPPEN and as He asked Peter, “Whom do ye say that I am?” I want to echo HIS question today, if I may.. TO YOU.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT HE IS? Pilate answered it for Himself and answered it to the Jews, even though they did not want that answer, He was NOT making fun of Jesus, when he asked the Jews IF they want him to crucify THEIR King, He was getting that answer confirmed, that THEY did it and he told them THREE TIMES that HE DID NOT FIND FAULT WITH JESUS and never once did he argue WHO Jesus Is, but he confirmed His identity by refusing to change the title.

So if you have never accepted Him, I could truly not think of a better time than right now, right where you are…and please don’t fall to false religions, there is only ONE way, so don’t be like the Jews of that day, who rejected their own King and instead of accepting salvation they CHOSE a robber, because the themselves were robbers in thinking they were coming to God any other way.

Today.. INVITE HIS WILL TO BE DONE IN EARTH… (IN THE EARTH THAT IS YOU).. AS IT IS IN HEAVEN!

Blessings and peace to you and may you know the power of His glorious resurrection this Holy season!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω  NBJ 2017  **REVISTED 02/27/2021** To get us all thinking about the upcoming Holiday, in it and all and through it all one thing remains, Jesus is L:ord and He is always there for you all you have to do is ask!

 

“Kingdom of Christ” Part 1 *Responsibility*

 

Original post 04/09/2017

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, THE KINGDOMS OF THIS WORLD ARE BECOME (are now) THE KINGDOMS OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST; AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.” Revelation 11:15 

Since the dawn of our existence, our most confusing and heavily debated aspect of Christianity has been death, the “rapture”, Heaven, hell, and the second coming of Jesus Christ to earth and “where” exactly it is that believers will go.

In honor of Holy week, I wanted to do something a little different and I know for me personally, I have never heard very much teaching on these subjects, so I will hopefully take the next few posts and prayerfully do just that.

And as today is Palm Sunday and there has already been attacks against our Egyptian brothers and sisters in Christ as they worshipped this morning and many gave their lives for that worship and now have become more in the list of Martyrs that do have a special place of honour under the altar of the throne of God.

And as we get deeper into this series, Lord will, I will give you scriptures to back up every word that I write, it is imperative that we keep ever fresh on our hearts and minds, “setting our affections on things above” WHOM we serve and why we serve Him and most importantly that even though at the present moment, satan is the “god” of this world, the day soon approaches when ALL things WILL be fulfilled and Jesus Christ will take His rightful position as KING OF THIS EARTH.

Many have always heard, get saved and go to heaven when you die.. well that is partially true and we will deal that later in our series. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we are given ABSOLUTE promises from God, that we ARE HIS, that nothing can change that:

“And I GIVE THEM ETERNAL LIFE: and THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH, NEITHER SHALL ANY MAN PLUCK THEM OUT OF MY HAND. My Father, which gave them me IS GREATER THAN ALL; and NO MAN is able to pluck them out of my Fathers hand. I and my Father ARE ONE.” John 10:28-30 

We CAN NOT be taken from Him unless we are WILLING to be taken:

“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye ARE SEALED unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

So we know that our souls are sealed by HIS Holy Spirit, and as we do not grieve Him by turning our backs on Him, and committing acts that we KNOW are sinful, never asking Him for forgiveness, and taking the good gift of His SPIRIT and His SALVATION as a light thing and taking it FOR GRANTED and arguing against one another when all time is at hand:

“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, (basic discussion) let us go on to perfection (maturity): not laying AGAIN the foundation of repentance from DEAD works, and of faith toward God, Of the DOCTRINE of baptisms, and of the laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this WE WILL DO, IF GOD PERMIT.

For it is IMPOSSIBLE for those who were ONCE enlightened, and HAVE TASTED OF THE HEAVENLY GIFT, and WERE MADE PARTAKERS OF THE HOLY GHOST, and HAVE TASTED THE GOOD WORD OF GOD, AND THE POWERS OF THE WORLD TO COME.

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the SON of God afresh (again), and put him to an open shame.

For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft (often) upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet (useful) for them by whom it is dressed (cultivated) receiveth blessing from God:  But that which beareth (brings forth) thorns and briers IS rejected, and is nigh unto cursing (being cursed); whose end is to be burned.

BUT beloved, WE ARE PERSUADED (confident about) BETTER THINGS OF YOU, and THINGS THAT ACCOMPANY SALVATION, thus we speak.” Hebrews 6:1-9

Proof positive that we HAVE been given the greatest gift receivable, as being vessels INDWELT by the SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD!

How much greater a gift could we receive? We are also taught the extreme NEED for us to honor, and cherish, and protect the gift we have been given. As we see the mirror to the scripture, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God”, we are warned and comforted by the fact that, better is thought of us, that we will not be guilty of this. So once we have accepted Christ, we MUST understand, and accept the responsibility that comes with it. 

As scripture also states, “We are bought with a price” therefore we are no longer our own, and understanding that will help us understand what is expected of us.

This is His prayer before His crucifixion, and through it we can understand better WHO WE ARE in HIM and WHO He expects us to be and so much encouragement knowing, that just as He prayed this prayer almost two-thousand years ago, HE STILL PRAYS FOR US today!

These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also might glorify thee: As thou hast given him power (authority) over ALL flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And THIS IS LIFE ETERNAL, that they might KNOW THEE, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST, WHOM THOU HAST SENT.

I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me (alongside) with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee BEFORE THE WORLD WAS. I have manifested (revealed)  thy name  unto the men (humans) which thou gavest me OUT OF THE WORLD: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and THEY HAVE KEPT THY WORD.

Now they have KNOWN that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.  FOR I HAVE GIVEN UNTO THEM THE WORDS WHICH THOU GAVEST ME; and they have received them, and have KNOWN surely that I came out from thee, and THEY HAVE BELEIVED that thou didst SEND ME.

I PRAY FOR THEM; I pray NOT for the world, BUT for  THEM which thou hast given me; FOR THY ARE THINE (yours).And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I AM glorified in them.

And NOW I AM no more in the world, but these ARE in the world, and I come to thee, Holy Father, KEEP THROUGH THINE OWN NAME those whom thou hast given me, THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, AS WE ARE.

While I was with them in the world, I KEPT THEM IN THY NAME: those that thou gavest me I HAVE KEPT, and NONE of them is lost (destroyed) , but (except for) the son of perdition (destruction) {referencing Judas Iscariot} that the SCRIPTURES MIGHT (would) BE FULFILLED.

And now I come to thee; and THESE THINGS I SPEAK IN THE WORLD,that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.  I have given them thy word; AND THE WORLD HATED THEM, because THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.

I pray NOT that thou should take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil (evil one). They ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD. 

SANCTIFY THEM THROUGH THY TRUTH; THY WORD IS TRUTH. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

Neither Pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;  That they all may be ONE: as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US: THAT THE WORLD MAY BELEIVE THAT THOU HAST SENT ME. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; THAT THEY MAY BE ONE, EVEN AS WE ARE ONE.

I IN THEM, AND THOU IN ME, THAT THEY MAY BE MADE PERFECT IN ONE; that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, BE WITH ME WHERE I AM; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou hast loved me BEFORE THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE WORLD.

O righteous father, THE WORLD HATH NOT KNOWN THEE, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: THAT THE LOVE WHEREWITH THOU HAST LOVED ME MAY BE IN THEM, AND I IN THEM.”  John 17

So now we understand our relationship to Him and that our allegiance is NOT to this world, because we are NOT of the world but of the Kingdom of God., and the Kingdom of Christ which is YET to come!

 Please join me for part two when we will look at the invitation and just where we are invited to.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω  NBJ 2017

This will be our song… pay special attention to the ending… beautiful worship!

 

THIS day…

I often ponder how we wish our lives away. Anyone else who just could not wait to turn the magical eighteen, as teens often do because we are always in a hurry, striving to reach some momentous peak in our aging process that, as in a fairy tale world will change our lives and fill us with wonder and awe.

We wish our childhood away, we wish our school years away and like an old country song, we wish it away until there is nothing else left to wish away. Some people have OCD, I have GHACH, “Gotta have a clean house” I think sometimes this is all in order to please some imaginary visitor who peradventure may pop in during the wee hours of the morning and horrifically gasp at my most untidy kitchen.

My hips were hurting, my back was aching, battling a long standing incurable dental condition, struggling as I put clothes away in the closet, almost complaining to myself that I will surely fall over dead one day, right there on the floor, something else dawned on me. If I live long enough, there WILL be a day when I will think back and yearn for one more visit to this time in my life. My beautiful daughter, my beautiful husband, my “wild kingdom friends” and my parents, we have a prayer meeting each week and I started really realizing how blessed I am (not that I ever questioned it) but there is something so endearing about sitting on a couch with your feet not quite touching the floor with two “well seasoned” seniors, (although quite vivacious) and each time them insisting that I spit out my gum and do not swallow it, before we pray, we go through this every time and each time it is just as sweet as it was the last time and I still really don’t believe that I have a giant ball of gum inside my body that will one day be my doom, however If I die that way please know that I had been warned!

I know I am blessed with every single moment that I have with them and everyone else I love because I know far too many who have had to say goodbye to their parents far too soon. My friend Genia and I have often discussed this.. approaching fifty and the days of our inseparability and constant companionship of my late brother with us seems ONLY mere years ago, although we JUST couldn’t wait to grow up, be our “own” women, make our own decisions and yet either of us would gladly time travel back for just a second too laugh one more time, to not have a care in the world, and to have never knew the true growing pains that come with being a grown up.

In our good times, happy times, and bad times as in the Books of Jeremiah and Job, when they wrote of times they felt such pain they wished that they were never even born.

Times of tragedy and heartache, why and what ifs but it is all woven in a one of a kind tapestry of time crafted by the master Himself and as we know there WILL also be a day “when TIME shall be no more” endless and infinite and time WILL be just a word, no real meaning because it will no longer exist.

EPHESIANS 5:16-20: “Redeeming the time, because the days ARE evil. Wherefore be ye NOT unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the spiritSpeaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in YOUR heart to the Lord. Giving thanks ALWAYS for ALL things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 Redeeming the time, making good use of every day, every second and every breathe in that new day because the days are “evil” …bad world, bad times and time itself as an enemy against mere mortals in this realm where we are subjected to its harsh, unyielding, authoritative rule over us.

“Give us THIS day our daily bread” Spiritual Bread of life,  natural bread for nourishment and the breaking of that bread with those we love and hold dear.

PSALM 90:12-17: ” So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to our wisdom. Return, O Lord, how long? Let it repent thee concerning thy servants (have compassion on us).

satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN ALL OUR DAYS. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear into thy servants,and thy glory unto their children. 

And LET THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD OUR GOD BE UPON US:  and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands ESTABLISH thou it.”

Only the Lord can take our yesterday, our hurts, our joy, our memories our pain, all the things that are woven into that tapestry that is the Master’s piece of OUR personal time and fashion it into sometime so beautiful, so complex and ours and ours alone. Forget the past, don’t cry for the days that have long since passed, try not to question the losses of relationships and seasons that were seemingly blessed more than others.

ECCLESIASTES 7:10-14: Say thou NOT, What is the cause that the former days WERE BETTER than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this (do not ask why the “good old days” were better, we are not using wisdom when we ask this)

For wisdom is a good WITH an inheritance: and by it there is a profit to them that see the sun. For wisdom is a defence , and money is a defence: but the excellency (advantage) of knowledge IS that wisdom GIVETH LIFE to them that have it.

CONSIDER the work of God, for who can make that straight which he hath made crooked? In the day of posterity be joyful, BUT IN THE DAY OF ADVERSITY ( rough days)  CONSIDER: GOD HATH ALSO SET UP THE ONE OVER AGAINST THE OTHER, (surely has appointed the one as well as the other) TO THE END THAT MAN SHOULD FIND NOTHING AFTER HIM.

So life happens, but every single day IS blessed, God is WITH US in all things IF we will allow him to be. Don’t worry quite so much about yesterday, let it go and be thankful for the moments that were had, and remember as the other old saying goes, yesterday was once tomorrow and all you truly have is TODAY, THIS DAY.

If today is full of  sorrow and uncertainty, and pain, know that it will soon be over, hold to God’s promise that we will never be forsaken or forgotten and every tear will be away by HIS own hand. If you are having a good day, be glad, be thankful, savor every single moment of that precious time.

PSALM 118:24 ” This IS the day which the Lord hath made; WE WILL BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN IT.” Never take for granted what will never be again and never count on time that we may not have, serve Jesus, enjoy what is to be enjoyed and live and love as though it were the very last thing you will ever do.

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ2016

“As the music slowly fades……”

“But the Pharisees and lawyers (experts in the law) rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken this generation? and to WHAT ARE THEY LIKE? 

They are like unto CHILDREN sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, we have piped (played the flute) unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine: and ye say, he hath a devil, The Son of Man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebidder, a friend of publicans (tax collectors) and sinners! But wisdom IS justified in her children.”  LUKE 7:30-35.

We can surely attest to this. Trying to win the lost to the Kingdom, trying to win the offended back to the house of God, trying to sway the self-righteous thinking of the holier than thous and trying to convince those whom satan has blinded to the truth that yes, they really NEED salvation and trying to sway delicate, wounded minds and souls that yes, God does love them and will save them from all their heartache.

Jesus in determining what could even He compare them to, came up with this, they are childlike in maturity and anyone wanna argue the point that our modern society tends to go backward when it comes to growing up and taking responsibility for our lives and more importantly our own actions?

Got problems, go on a talk show, tell the whole world, blame everyone and often that IS true, but at the end of the day we are accountable for ourselves, numeral Uno and will stand alone with that when all is said and done. Maybe you are a jerk because someone was a jerk to you first or you were raised by a pack of wild jerks but when your middle-aged and kill over you are still, on your own, making your own decisions and you have consciously decided to just be a jerk too!

We ALL know that there is a major, major lacking in this society. So ministers have “played music”for these “children”… sweet songs of hymns and salvation, and glory unspeakable, peace everlasting, who would NOT want that?

But NO! Beautiful tune, sounds sweet and lovely, maybe even soothing to the savage beast which lurks inside..but NO! They NOT going to dance to it,they flat-out refuse and NO ONE will dare tell them what they should do!

Because as the Lord referred to a certain ‘stiff-necked” (meaning unyielding) group, as “sottish” children, meaning helplessly spoiled. They want God to cater to them, and win THEIR approval and they must receive all the attention or else they will just go serve another God, HE REALLY DOES NOT PLAY THAT!

So we try mourning… delivering the cold hard truth and reality of the woe, upon woes which is to come and offering an escape route. But again NO! WE WILL HAVE our own way and if that means hell.. well then.. FINE. And there ARE those who have stated that they KNOW they are on their way to hell but will they repent? Again NO! They would rather toast than submit to a higher power, (of course it is a lack of believing.. but they WILL believe) but for the point it is a chant of No! No! No!

Which is where “repented not” came into play, but of course if they continue in this rebellion, which the Bible states is “as the sin of witchcraft”, well, all we can say is that like the rich man lifted up his eyes in hell and was told that the was nothing more that could be done for him, they will also and I really don’t think they will be many “Oh, well’s” uttered in hell, when the Bible describes it as gnashing of teeth and gnawing their tongues because they are in so much agony.

They didn’t like John, he was too scary and his cry to REPENT was “too stern” for their tender little ears, he was too on fire and it curdled their blood, so they decided he must just be crazy!

Jesus came gently, meekly, loving all he met, not judging or condemning and sharing His Gospel with all who would hear, but No, He wasn’t “strict” enough for the holier than thous because of course, they were special and would never be in the same group as those “prostitutes, and peasants” and heaven forbid they set next to the poor.

My favorite quotable scripture: “Nothing new under the sun” but I’m going to tell you something that will be “new” to these people. “WISDOM IS JUSTIFIED IN HER CHILDREN.” As the saying goes “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink”, they act like this because they have NO desire whatsoever to repent. We can’t change minds that do not want to be changed, those who refuse to hear, do not want to hear. But those who DO WANT to hear, WILL HEAR, because they ARE the children of wisdom and they hear “her” and attest to the fact that what wisdom speaks is true.

Those who do not want to hear, those who wish it would all go away and we would all just shut up, will ONE DAY get that wish granted, BUT it will be to their destruction NOT to their relief.

 ISAIAH 59: 4-14: “None calleth for justice (seeks what is right) NOR any pleadeth for the truth: they trust in vanity (empty words), and speak lies, they conceive mischief, and bring iniquity.

They hatch cockatrice eggs (hatch out vipers) and weave the spider’s web: he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. (Their sin spreads and infects all it touches) Their web shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves in their works: (They can not hide their sin from God) their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands.

 Their feet RUN to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction IS in their paths. The way of peace THEY KNOW NOT; and there is NO JUDGEMENT (justice) in their goings (tracks) THEY HAVE MADE THEM CROOKED PATHS: WHOSOEVER SHALL GOETH THEREIN SHALL NOT KNOW PEACE.

Therefore judgment (justice) is FAR from us, neither dost justice (righteousness) overtake us: WE WAIT FOR A LIGHT, BUT BEHOLD OBSCURITY (darkness); FOR BRIGHTNESS, BUT WE WALK IN DARKNESS. We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: We stumble at noon day as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men. 

We roar like bears, and mourn (moan sadly) like doves: we look for judgment (justice) but there is none; FOR SALVATION BUT IT IS FAR FROM US.

For our transgressions as multiplied before thee, and OUR SINS TESTIFY AGAINST US: for our transgressions ARE with us; and as for our iniquities, we KNOW them.

IN TRANSGRESSING AND LYING AGAINST THE LORD, AND DEPARTING AWAY FROM OUR GOD, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. And JUDGMENT (justice) IS TURNED AWAY BACKWARD, AND JUSTICE (righteousness) STANDETH AFAR OFF: FOR TRUTH IS FALLEN IN THE STREET.” 

Basically, truth will be trampled in the street, they did not want it so… when they SEEK it, it will be too late. When Hades starts to break loose upon earth, they rethink their stubborn self-righteous views and hunger and thirst for relief:

AMOS 8:9-12 ” And IT SHALL come to pass in THAT DAY saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I WILL DARKEN THE EARTH in the clear day (broad daylight):  

And I WILL TURN YOUR FEASTS INTO MOURNING, and ALL YOUR SONGS INTO LAMENTATIONS (weeping and wailing);and I will bring sackcloth upon every head: and I will make it as the mourning (grieving for) my only son, and THE END THEREOF AS A BITTER DAY.

BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME, SAITH THE LORD GOD,THAT I WILL SEND A FAMINE IN THE LAND, NOT a famine of bread, NOR a thirst for water, BUT OF HEARING THE WORDS OF THE LORD:

And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro TO SEEK THE WORD OF THE LORD, AND SHALL NOT FIND IT.”

Those feasts that were chosen to be so much more joyous than the invitation to the marriage supper of the Lamb, turned to heartache. The songs that were held so much worthy for joyful dance as the songs of Zion and those piped by the heralds of the King, turned to wails of sorrow and tears.

And the ultimate of all things lost, those who have scoffed at his words, closed their ears, mocked and hid their heads to avoid hearing, will beg to hear it one more time and it will not be found.

REVELATION 18:23 a,b): “And the Light of the candle (lamp, word of God) shall SHINE NO MORE AT ALL IN THEE; AND THE VOICE OF THE BRIDEGROOM (JESUS CHRIST) and THE BRIDE (HIS CHURCH) WILL BE HEARD NO MORE AT ALL IN THEE:…..”

 I strongly suggest today to listen to that music, don’t march to beat of your own drum, do not be wise in your own eyes, all souls will do one of two things, no more, no less, either hear the sweet sounds of Jesus calling our souls to rest and life eternal or we will hear the sound of that death march that will soon be sounded upon this earth.

ISAIAH 55:6: “SEEK YE THE LORD, WHILE HE MAY BE FOUND, CALL YE UPON HIM WHILE HE IS NEAR: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him RETURN TO THE LORD, AND HE WILL HAVE MERCY UPON HIM; AND TO OUR GOD WHO WILL ABUNDANTLY PARDON.”

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

“And Yet… ” PART 1, Playing with paganism

*Original Post 08/27/2016 Revisited to bring to remembrance scriptures as we lead in our last post for our last days*

“And the rest of the men (generic term for ALL humans) which were not killed by these plagues YET THEY REPENTED NOT  of the works of their hands, that they SHOULD NOT worship devils (demons), and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see nor hear, nor walk;

NEITHER REPENTED THEY of their MURDERS, nor of their SORCERIES, nor of their FORNICATION, NOR of their THEFTS.” REVELATION 9:20,21

To me that IS the most horrifying verse in the entire Bible. This IS stated AFTER the Lord starts pouring down vials of wrath on earth.

They KNOW that Jesus IS REAL, they ARE falling dead under His wrath and yet they still refuse to repent and turn away from the forces of darkness. There is quite a list there and I want to tackle first things first. works of their hands, worshiping devils, pagan deities that people believe to be gods, when they are made of wood, and some crafted from silver, pottery, and covered in gold.

It is still an idol, made with human hands or more so machinery in modern times, nevertheless, WORTHLESS creations thought from human minds inspired by demonic beings and they fall down and WORSHIP these idols.

THERE IS NO GOD except JEHOVAH GOD, THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB, THE I AM THAT I AM, THE CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE, AND THE ONLY SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST. Period, everything else is a cheap demonic attempt to sway unstable minds who WANT a god that can be “served” amidst their own desires.

ISAIAH 40:18-25: ” To whom then will you liken God? (who can be compared to Him) or what likeness will you compare unto him? The workman melteth (moulds) an IMAGE, and the goldsmith spreadeth over it gold, and casteth silver chains ( silversmith casts it). He that is so impoverished (SO POOR) that he hath no oblation (can not afford to purchase idol) choosest a tree that will not rot; he seeketh a cunning workman (skilled craftsman) TO PREPARE A GRAVEN IMAGE, that shall not be moved (totter). 

Have ye NOT known? have ye NOT heard? hath it not been TOLD you from the beginning? have ye NOT understood FROM THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE EARTH? 

It IS HE that sitteth upon (above) the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that strectcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth the out as a tent to dwell in:

That bringeth (reduces) the princes to nothing: he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity (useless). Yea, they shall not (scarcely) be planted; yea, they shall not (scarcely) be sown: yea, their stock shall not (scarcely) take root in the earth: and he SHALL BLOW UPON THEM, and they SHALL WITHER, and THE WHIRLWIND SHALL TAKE THEM AWAY AS STUBBLE.

TO WHOM THEN WILL YE LIKEN ME, OR SHALL I BE EQUAL? SAITH THE HOLY ONE.”

I love how He dead nails how they create those things that they will worship, many old timers believed this was against the tradition of having a Christmas tree, but it is clearly  against their hewing idols out of every imaginable material.

I also love the fact that he starts with WHO? Who may anyone DARE to compare with Him?

And the added THEN, THEN after all these things come to pass, WHO will they dare compare to be His equal in might, strength, or power?

Certainly not dead tree trunks that have been dressed in even the finest of gold and silver. They will still be exactly as they are.. DEAD.

Having not eyes, ears, or speech. They cannot see man, They can not hear cries, and certainly they shall never speak even an utterance of deliverance.

The Lord who SAW what He had SPOKEN into creation as good.

He came down and SPOKE and WALKED with Adam and Eve in the garden, He SAW that they were naked.

He SPOKE with ABRAHAM, He and His angels met with him there because the Lord HEARD the cries of Sodom.

The Lord who SAW Hagar crying in the wilderness, and she named that place Lahairoi, The well of “HE WHO LIVES, sees and hears ME.”

He SAW what Moses held in his hand upon his commission, He HEARD the cries of the Hebrews against their oppression. He heard all the cries of Israel during their many times of obedience mingled with disobedience and each time they were about to be swallowed up by their enemies, he HEARD those cries. He heard the futile arguments of every prophet He sent forth and SPOKE encouragement to them.

He SAW the abominations the wicked priests committed in HIS temple and he SPOKE forth the orders of their executions. He Spoke to the disciples and all the crowds that followed as he WALKED upon earth, and upon sea.

He SPOKE to the demons that they would flee. He SPOKE to disease that it should be no more. He HEARD as the crowds screamed for His death and He SPOKE of forgiveness.

 The entire Bible is comprised about a LIVING,SEEING, HEARING, SPEAKING GOD!

 He STILL sees all earth, including you and me. He STILL speaks to those who will listen. He STILL WALKS upon the circle of the earth and in heaven and one day soon, upon His earthly return will stand upon Mount Olives and will Walk His city of New Jerusalem.

So, WHO will you compare Him to? His IS the only true, LIVING GOD, and as HE said “there IS no other”. Idols can not save, pagan beliefs will never deliver. and all the devil wants is to take you to hell with him because he KNOWS he is already condemned for all of eternity to burn there and he will be suffering eternally with all he deceived, he will be NO king in hell, and as scripture states, those he has deceived will ask him if he has become as weak as they. It is no fairy tale and all of earth declares His glory, but HE WILL NOT give that glory to another. It is not about tolerance or keeping peace, it is about souls and eternity and you HAVE a choice NOW, a choice you will not have when all these things come to pass. Today IS the day of salvation, CHOOSE whom you will serve and choose wisely.

COMMANDMENT #1 “THOU SHALT HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.”  Jesus NEVER changes, His word does NOT change, COMMANDMENTS DO NOT CHANGE. No matter what you have been taught or thought NOTHING will change the events in the book of Revelation, not believing WILL NOT change it because God DOES NOT NEED US TO BELIEVE IN HIM TO EXIST.

If you have been lured into these pagans thoughts and pagan religions, don’t by the tolerance line as a reason for not speaking against false beliefs either, just remember that Eve thought that eating the fruit would make her wise! The enemy lures us with the promise of knowledge when it is reality deception and we become wise only in our own eyes!

The pagan idols is but a drop in the bucket to the real idolatry that this verse speaks of. Especially in our modern culture, I always loved the term “teen idol” the name alone should strike