Category Archives: God’s promises

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“Holy Ghost and Fire, Promise Fulfilled”

“Let your heart not be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, i would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and ye know the way. 

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest (where you are going); and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth (now on) ye have known him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord shew (show) us the Father, and it sufficeth (will satisfy) us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but of the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Believe me that I am in the father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also: and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

And whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If ye ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And I willl pray the father, and he shall give you another Comforter (helper) that he may abide with you for ever. 

Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: 

But ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest (reveal) myself to him. 

Judas saith unto, not Iscariot (not Judas the betrayer), Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him,  and we will come unto him, and make our abode (home) with him. 

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 

These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things back to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  John 14:1-27

The baptism of fire that John proclaimed, As scripture tells us God is a consuming fire.

That fire being sent and consuming the sacrifices of old, now accepting our souls given in obedience to his Son and the eternal kingdom.

God’s holy fire purging us that all impurities be burned away to refine us as gold is refined,

Jesus is explaining to us the greatest mystery of all, how he through his death and resurrection reconciled us not only back to God, but as believers we have the Father and the Son dwelling is us.

And the Holy Ghost, the manifestation of himself to us, teaching us, leading us, and comforting us and best of all actually living inside of us.

Now these, my friends are those things that the world can’t handle. They don’t understand it, they don’t believe it, and they want no part of hearing the truth of it.

Just as Jesus told us, they can’t receive him because they do not know him.

Acts 2:1-39: “And the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (one purpose of mind) in one place.

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

And there appeared unto cloven (divided) 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 (languages) as the Spirit gave utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised aboard (sound occurred), the multitude came together; and were confounded (confused) 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 his own tongue, wherein we were born?

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

Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome (visitors in Rome) Jews, and Proselytes,

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

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

Others mocking said, These men are full of 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, let this be known unto you, and hearken (pay attention) to my words.

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

But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel; AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAITH GOD, I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH: AND YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

AND ON MY SERVANTS AND MY HANDMAIDENS I WILL POUR OUT IN THOSE DAYS OF MY SPIRIT; AND THE SHALL PROPHESY.

AND I WILL SHEW WONDERS IN HEAVEN ABOVE, AND SIGNS IN THE EARTH BENEATH; BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOUR OF SMOKE: 

THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD COME:

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL ON TEH NAME OF TEH LORD SHALL BE SAVED.

Ye men of Israel. hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden to (held by) it. 

For David speaketh concerning him, I FORESAW THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE MY FACE, FOR HE IS ON MY RIGHT HAND, THAT I SHOULD NOT BE MOVED (shaken): 

THEREFORE DID MY HEART REJOICE, AND MY TONGUE WAS GLAD: MOREOVER ALSO MY FLESH SHALL REST IN HOPE;

BECAUSE THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HELL, NEITHER WILT THOU SUFFER THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION. THOU HAST MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; THOU SHALT MAKE ME FULL OF JOY WITH THY COUNTENANCE (in thy presence).

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre (tomb) is with us unto this day.

Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruits of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.  he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption (decay).

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 

For David is not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself, THE LORD SAID UNTO MY LORD, SIT THOU ON MY RIGHT HAND. 

UNTIL I MAKE THY FOES THY FOOTSTOOL.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Seek Him, Seek His Indwelling, You will never be the same!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson Revisited  Revisted 03/03/2023 *05/28/2023

by

“Holy Ghost and Fire, Promise Fulfilled”

“Let your heart not be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, i would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and ye know the way. 

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest (where you are going); and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth (now on) ye have known him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord shew (show) us the Father, and it sufficeth (will satisfy) us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but of the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Believe me that I am in the father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also: and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

And whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If ye ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And I willl pray the father, and he shall give you another Comforter (helper) that he may abide with you for ever. 

Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: 

But ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest (reveal) myself to him. 

Judas saith unto, not Iscariot (not Judas the betrayer), Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him,  and we will come unto him, and make our abode (home) with him. 

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 

These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things back to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  John 14:1-27

The baptism of fire that John proclaimed, As scripture tells us God is a consuming fire.

That fire being sent and consuming the sacrifices of old, now accepting our souls given in obedience to his Son and the eternal kingdom.

God’s holy fire purging us that all impurities be burned away to refine us as gold is refined,

Jesus is explaining to us the greatest mystery of all, how he through his death and resurrection reconciled us not only back to God, but as believers we have the Father and the Son dwelling is us.

And the Holy Ghost, the manifestation of himself to us, teaching us, leading us, and comforting us and best of all actually living inside of us.

Now these, my friends are those things that the world can’t handle. They don’t understand it, they don’t believe it, and they want no part of hearing the truth of it.

Just as Jesus told us, they can’t receive him because they do not know him.

Acts 2:1-39: “And the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (one purpose of mind) in one place.

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

And there appeared unto cloven (divided) 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 (languages) as the Spirit gave utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised aboard (sound occurred), the multitude came together; and were confounded (confused) 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 his own tongue, wherein we were born?

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

Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome (visitors in Rome) Jews, and Proselytes,

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

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

Others mocking said, These men are full of 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, let this be known unto you, and hearken (pay attention) to my words.

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

But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel; AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAITH GOD, I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH: AND YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

AND ON MY SERVANTS AND MY HANDMAIDENS I WILL POUR OUT IN THOSE DAYS OF MY SPIRIT; AND THE SHALL PROPHESY.

AND I WILL SHEW WONDERS IN HEAVEN ABOVE, AND SIGNS IN THE EARTH BENEATH; BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOUR OF SMOKE: 

THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD COME:

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL ON TEH NAME OF TEH LORD SHALL BE SAVED.

Ye men of Israel. hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden to (held by) it. 

For David speaketh concerning him, I FORESAW THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE MY FACE, FOR HE IS ON MY RIGHT HAND, THAT I SHOULD NOT BE MOVED (shaken): 

THEREFORE DID MY HEART REJOICE, AND MY TONGUE WAS GLAD: MOREOVER ALSO MY FLESH SHALL REST IN HOPE;

BECAUSE THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HELL, NEITHER WILT THOU SUFFER THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION. THOU HAST MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; THOU SHALT MAKE ME FULL OF JOY WITH THY COUNTENANCE (in thy presence).

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre (tomb) is with us unto this day.

Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruits of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.  he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption (decay).

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 

For David is not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself, THE LORD SAID UNTO MY LORD, SIT THOU ON MY RIGHT HAND. 

UNTIL I MAKE THY FOES THY FOOTSTOOL.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

Seek Him, Seek His Indwelling, You will never be the same!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson Revisited  Revisted 03/03/2023

by

“Holy Ghost and Fire, Promise Fulfilled”

“Let your heart not be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, i would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and ye know the way. 

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest (where you are going); and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth (now on) ye have known him, and have seen him.

Philip saith unto him, Lord shew (show) us the Father, and it sufficeth (will satisfy) us.

Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself: but of the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

Believe me that I am in the father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also: and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

And whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If ye ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And I willl pray the father, and he shall give you another Comforter (helper) that he may abide with you for ever. 

Even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: 

But ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. 

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. 

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. 

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest (reveal) myself to him. 

Judas saith unto, not Iscariot (not Judas the betrayer), Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him,  and we will come unto him, and make our abode (home) with him. 

He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me. 

These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things back to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”  John 14:1-27

The baptism of fire that John proclaimed, As scripture tells us God is a consuming fire.

That fire being sent and consuming the sacrifices of old, now accepting our souls given in obedience to his Son and the eternal kingdom.

God’s holy fire purging us that all impurities be burned away to refine us as gold is refined,

Jesus is explaining to us the greatest mystery of all, how he through his death and resurrection reconciled us not only back to God, but as believers we have the Father and the Son dwelling is us.

And the Holy Ghost, the manifestation of himself to us, teaching us, leading us, and comforting us and best of all actually living inside of us.

Now these, my friends are those things that the world can’t handle. They don’t understand it, they don’t believe it, and they want no part of hearing the truth of it.

Just as Jesus told us, they can’t receive him because they do not know him.

Acts 2:1-39: “And the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord (one purpose of mind) in one place.

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

And there appeared unto cloven (divided) 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 (languages) as the Spirit gave utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised aboard (sound occurred), the multitude came together; and were confounded (confused) 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 his own tongue, wherein we were born?

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

Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome (visitors in Rome) Jews, and Proselytes,

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

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

Others mocking said, These men are full of 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, let this be known unto you, and hearken (pay attention) to my words.

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

But this is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel; AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LAST DAYS, SAITH GOD, I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT UPON ALL FLESH: AND YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS;

AND ON MY SERVANTS AND MY HANDMAIDENS I WILL POUR OUT IN THOSE DAYS OF MY SPIRIT; AND THE SHALL PROPHESY.

AND I WILL SHEW WONDERS IN HEAVEN ABOVE, AND SIGNS IN THE EARTH BENEATH; BLOOD, AND FIRE, AND VAPOUR OF SMOKE: 

THE SUN SHALL BE TURNED INTO DARKNESS, AND THE MOON INTO BLOOD, BEFORE THAT GREAT AND NOTABLE DAY OF THE LORD COME:

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, THAT WHOSOEVER SHALL CALL ON TEH NAME OF TEH LORD SHALL BE SAVED.

Ye men of Israel. hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden to (held by) it. 

For David speaketh concerning him, I FORESAW THE LORD ALWAYS BEFORE MY FACE, FOR HE IS ON MY RIGHT HAND, THAT I SHOULD NOT BE MOVED (shaken): 

THEREFORE DID MY HEART REJOICE, AND MY TONGUE WAS GLAD: MOREOVER ALSO MY FLESH SHALL REST IN HOPE;

BECAUSE THOU WILT NOT LEAVE MY SOUL IN HELL, NEITHER WILT THOU SUFFER THINE HOLY ONE TO SEE CORRUPTION. THOU HAST MADE KNOWN TO ME THE WAYS OF LIFE; THOU SHALT MAKE ME FULL OF JOY WITH THY COUNTENANCE (in thy presence).

Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre (tomb) is with us unto this day.

Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruits of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne.  he seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption (decay).

This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are all witnesses.

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 

For David is not ascended into the heavens; but he saith himself, THE LORD SAID UNTO MY LORD, SIT THOU ON MY RIGHT HAND. 

UNTIL I MAKE THY FOES THY FOOTSTOOL.

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.

Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 

For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

 

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

by

A change of heart….

“And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” JEREMIAH 24:7 

A few days and it will be Valentines Day, always, always has been one of my favorites, I was born a helpless romance junkie and think it should be a crime for anyone to not celebrate the one day set aside to celebrate the greatest of all gifts… LOVE.

And I do NOT mean it in the context of the world standards with their absolutely perverse notion of what love even means, although this time of the year it is hard to escape, especially this year with all the hype about the new even more twisted sequel to a certain movie.. but enough of that

Funny how we humans can dress up the devil and sell him as the best thing that ever happened to us.

Satan will try, he doesn’t care if it has been twenty years, thirty years, whatever, he never gives up and that is why we have to always be on guard and the biggest threat to your salvation is always gonna be your “old friends” and maybe that little throw in there will help someone who may be having “a blast from the past” that the enemy has sent to knock the wind out of your sails.

Remember what Jesus said “Let the dead bury the dead” go on with your life.

Back to love.. real love… the best part of any good romance movie is when the love question comes and one says to the other “If you could only look into my heart…” and we know the correct mushy Hallmark ending to that sentence is “you would KNOW just how much I love you” and all the other mushy love stuff.

So, I want you in honor of true spirit of Valentine’s Day to answer me a question. well actually you will be answering it to you, since I am obviously pretty far outta earshot… If someone were to look deep into your HEART, what would they see?

Would they see tattered, torn, broken, and left feeling forsaken by friends, and family? 

Would they see all the damage, stress, and strain of the trails you have been through in your life and all the rips and shreds left by lost loves and lost loved ones?

Would they see regret, and remorse, and guilt so severe over things you cannot change that have left you with the inability to forgive YOURSELF?

Would they see wounds and scars from a lifetime of deceptions and many bad decisions?

Would they see sorrow, grief, and pain and the worry over the tragedies of others?

The true beauty in having a “damaged” heart is that only a heart that has known true agony can fully give itself to others and most of all to God because only He can revive, renew, and repair all that we think is eternally lost and only he can take a heart too afraid to be loved or show love and make it overflow with the purest of love, to flow out so strong that it can even flow onto those you think are incapable of love and convert them. 

That is why He tells us that He will GIVE us a heart to KNOW Him, but we must come to Him with our whole heart.

And in doing this we have to admit what we see and be willing to trade in our hearts of stone, hardened through life, hardened against faith, hardened in unbelief because of the things we have suffered, and we have the argument that our wounds are too deep, too much water under the bridge and we can’t give our lives to Christ because we just “can’t live it” right now, but that is such self-deception! 

We only have to give Him those stone hearts and let Him tell us what He sees. 

Ezekiel 36:26,27: “A NEW HEART also WILL I GIVE YOU, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I WILL TAKE AWAY THE STONY HEART out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep judgments, and do them.”

He does the work! He gives US the new heart and once He gives us His spirit, HE leads us, guides us, and CAUSES us to walk in His paths!

There is NOTHING that we can do for ourselves! And I for one thank God for that, I personally could have never “fixed” myself, no one or not the greatest team of any super brains on earth could have “fixed” me and you know what?

They can’t fix anyone else either!

Only Jesus, because we have to have a heart transplant that only ONE physician in the universe knows how to perform!

So if you are looking and not liking what you see, and be honest, that is the groovy thing with this blog, NO ONE knows you while you are reading it!

I don’t know it, your friends don’t know it and NO ONE sees you, so you can be honest, right there where you are, LOOK… what do you see?

Joel 2:12,13: “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 (tear open) 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….“

I promise you, you can trust Him with ALL your heart, and I also promise you, if you could only look into the Father’s heart, you would truly see just how much He ALREADY LOVES YOU!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017

Original post date 02/10/2017 REVISTED 02/12/2022 Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

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“ASCENSION” PART3 / CLIMB

Song of Solomon 4:6: “Until the day break, and the shadows flee, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.”
Mountain climbing, some saying simply “because it is there” but that really doesn’t get it in the spirit world now does it?
That verse tells us a couple of things, we are going somewhere, to the mountain of myrrh, where we will die to our flesh and shed all the excess junk we are carrying on this trip, because the higher we climb the more junk and baggage we will toss to lighten the load and make it easier to climb.
The hill of frankincense, the place of effective spiritual intercession is our goal and we have determined that we will get there and we will stay there until day breaks over the spirit world and the shadows of death and hell flee away.
The myrrh is a mountain and the hill is frankincense because the hardest part of dying to our own flesh and coming to the place of purification that we can stand in that place of prayer, it is NOT about being a great person or most “spiritual” it is about having a heart for God.
As David said, the one thing he would seek after to inquire in the temple and worship God in the beauty of HIS holiness, (not ours) once that is accomplished the intercession isn’t quite daunting a task.
It takes a determination, a very wise man once chatted with me about a very simple biblical truth, “many are called but few are chosen” many are saved and are happy right where they are and that is perfectly okay, but God is looking for those who seek more, who are aware of the needs of others and KNOW there are greater works to be done in these precious, blessed last days.
They have the heart as Isaiah’s which echoes “Here am I Lord, send me” and those will be his chosen vessels to accomplish the works and bring in the harvest.
There are nine spiritual gifts, and I do believe there will be people who the Lord flows these gifts through on an as needed basis.
So many have chosen not to seek the gifts God has given them, but the work still has to get done and I do believe it will be by a multi-tasking army.
So some may start climbing that mountain and decide it is a little too steep and the trip is just not worth it, and ask “How do we even know anything is up there anyway?”
Some may have to stop on the way and reach down to help another back up and there may be times that we are carrying each other until strength returns.
You have to know why you want to climb that mountain, I determined long ago that I’d climb the bloody thing or I would die on the way up, because I know my motivation, I know my prayers to the only one who holds it all in his nail scarred hands, when I just want to tell him just how much I can’t do this, how I just simply cannot go one more step, I remember, I remember he was completely stripped, beaten beyond recognition and brutally nailed to a cross and displayed for the whole world to ridicule and he did it because he had a mountain to climb, the hill of the ultimate intercession, a hill named Calvary, the intercession to save all of mankind, and the only way for him to do that was to climb that hill.
Then I remember, he forever holds me, I have no strength in me, but through him I can do all things, and I ask myself what am I climbing for anyway?
I climb on behalf of every child that lives in horror and abuse, I climb for every animal tortured, I climb for every victim of ethnic cleansing after seeing the hollow soul stripped eyes on CNN of the genocidal rape victims of the Taliban, I climb for every elderly person that lives at the complete mercy of others in nursing homes and privately.
I climb out of my pain, the awareness that there are stripe scars on my soul so deep that they are my cross to be borne, and a very personal vendetta against hell itself, to see it brought to its knees and maybe the chance to scream a list of “things that are just not nice to do to people” at Satan when Jesus casts him and his angels into an eternal fire of hell.
If you could see this mountain in the spirit world, I think you would have to compare it to stairs, the light of that place being the soft glow of lamplight and a single file journey, an ascension upward of prayers, starting with the gathering censers of incense ( prayers of the saints) and as they persist, maybe feeling like they aren’t getting anywhere at first, oh, but it is, as they climb higher and higher, a change takes place, that cumbersome clothing will become robes, symbolic of the covering of the righteousness of God.

The censers of incense will become the effectual, fervent spoken prayer of the righteous offered up in the presence of God unlike anything some of them have ever known.
The Holy Spirit leads us, the Holy Ghost overtakes us, and while you know all that, there is a manifestation of his presence, just as when he came to the disciples and Paul, you may not see him but you will know he is standing right there.
On that mountain top, or after the ascension of those spiritual “stairs”, however you choose to relate to it, it will be “Ask and it shall be given” And if this is your desire, get your motivation, remember those you “climb” for, keep climbing till you reach the top.

Psalm 65:4:“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts; we will be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple.”

Psalm 12:7: “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord: I will set him in safety from him that puffeth (torments) at him.”
Remember why you climb, and climb.

Φλογίζω/original post:01/17/2015. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2015 REVISTED 08/20/2021

Ascension Part1 Night watchmen     Ascension part 2 Intercession

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ASCENSION PART 1 “NIGHT WATCHMEN”

The sun may be shining, but it is night. The birds may be singing but it is night. For most, everything may appear well-lit and crystal clear but in the spirit world it is night.
For the addict who is one hit away from the mouth of hell, it is night. For the prostitute who is one trick away from the wrong John, who will be the devil incarnate come to assure her entrance into hell, it is night.
For the bullied teenager who is one razor blade away from ending it all, it is night. For those widowed and alone, whose loneliness eats away at their souls more viciously than any cancer, it is night.
For those persecuted and imprisoned for their beliefs or simply for the sick pleasure of the forces of hell, still the brightest of days with the greatest, blinding magnification of the sun is the suffocating blackness of the  most darkest of nights.
Night Watchmen, those hired to protect and oversee the goods and properties of their employer.
These particular watchmen actually being the biblical laborers hired in at that vital eleventh hour, because as dusk starts closing in, that harvest must not only be gathered, it must also be protected from the beasts of the field that attack to destroy it, even while the laborers work exhaustively to gather it.
As it is the eleventh hour, this work must be done in complete unity, all while following one light that will light their way through the rows, showing both the ready crops and revealing the awaiting dangers.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
These are the night watchmen of the Lord, they stand in the night hours when destruction and mischief are most common, and sin tries to take cover under the darkness of night.
While the rest of the world “sleeps”, these are they who will keep vigil, pray down strong holds, plead the blood of the Lamb over ones they have never even known and through intercessory prayer they will make a difference between life and death. They will through that prayer under the unified anointing of God will stand in the gap and make up the hedge around those who are unable to do it for themselves.
Their petitions before the throne of grace will break chains of abuse and addictions and the anointing of God will break the chains of abuse and addictions.
“BEHOLD, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord.” Psalm 134:1
Watchmen know who they are, and Night watchmen even more so.

Be vigilant, do not get discouraged and know that the power of the anointing of the secret prayers you pray alone are known of God, “who sees in secret, and will reward you openly”.

Ask that your prayers be accepted in agreement of unity with all those who are called as you are.
Know this also that as this is the last Psalm in the “Songs of Degrees” (steps, stairs) and just as being “compassed about with songs in the night”, this is going somewhere, it is blessed and it is beginning of the “prayers of the saints.”
Φλογίζω/ Original Post:01/01/2015. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

**REVISITED 03/05/2021**   REVISTED again 08/17/2021 because now more than ever we need to

stand in prayer for those who are suffering persecution.

Please consider reading the remainder in this series, the links are below.

ASCENSION Part 2 INTERCESSION

ASCENSION Part 3 CLIMB

AWAKENING / THE FORGOTTEN CHILD

Resurgence of Ruth/

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“REVIVED”

DALETH Psalm 119:25-32: “My soul cleaveth unto (clings to) the dust; quicken (revive) thou me according to thy word.

I have declared my ways, and thou heardest (answered) me; teach me thy statutes.

Make me to understand thy precepts; so shall I talk of (meditate on)  thy wondrous works.

My soul melteth (weeps) for heaviness (grief); strengthen thou me according to thy word.

Remove from me the way of lying; and grant me thy law graciously.

I have chosen the way of truth; thy judgments have I laid before me. I have stuck unto (cling to) they testimonies; O lord, put me not to shame.

I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.”

I want to tell you something today, you may feel hopeless, lost, not lost without Jesus, but lost as in alone not knowing which way to turn because so many things have came against you.

I want to assure you that God always sees, he always knows and when you are at your weakest point that is when the POWER of God rests on the strongest! This is the gleanings and the heart cries that open the ears of heaven to send forth miracles in answer to your prayers. Jesus is so close to us in those sorrows, those tears, and I want to give you a passage of scripture from Apostle Paul as he came to this realization himself.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10: “And I lest I be exalted above measure through the abundance of revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet (beat) me, lest I be exalted above measure. 

For this thing I besought (pleaded with) the Lord thrice (three times), that it might depart from me.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength (power) is made perfect in weakness. 

Most gladly therefore I will rather 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 distresses for Christ’s sake: FOR WHEN I AM WEAK, THEN AM I STRONG.”  

He came to understand that if he never suffered, never struggled that he would take for granted all the gifts God had given him, because God had called Paul to a tremendous task for the kingdom and with that call he had been gifted with tongues, prophecy, healing, and miracles, he had even prayed for resurrection of the young man that had fallen from the window and died, God answered Paul’s prayer by sending life into the man again.

So it would have seemed a bit strange to him, I am sure, that when he has God to deliver him from that that was a torment and God did not, buta after the third prayer when Jesus SPOKE to him, assuring him that HIS GRACE was all Paul needed, BECAUSE the more Paul needed the more POWER Jesus shined on him. He knew the more life, or the devil, or circumstance “threw at him” the closer Jesus would be.

And that “quickening” from God, as we are also given this verse describing the work that God does in us, the same Spirit, that resurrection Power that raised Jesus from the dead.

Romans 8:11: “But if the Spirit of him that raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you, HE THAT RAISED UP JESUS FROM THE DEAD SHALL ALSO QUICKEN YOUR MORTAL BODIES BY HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLETH IN YOU.”

Pray the verse above over yourself, your circumstance, “Quicken thou me according to thy word.”

Which is simply praying for God’s revival in us as he has already promised in his word.

Mention of promises, I want to leave you with this, from our beautiful, Holy Lord and very soon coming King, who left us these words, so we would have HOPE during dark days and know that the darkness will not last forever but will one day be replaced with his glorious light, and in New Jerusalem, God’s holy city, where his children will dwell with him, there will be no night, no darkness, just forever in His holy presence and his glorious light, no tears, no hunger, no pain.

Never again the struggles of this earth. And this IS Jesus’ promise to you.

John 14:12-18: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go to my Father.

And whatsoever ye ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. 

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (helper) that he may abide with you for ever.

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, AND SHALL BE IN YOU.

I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU COMFORTLESS.”

Blessing and Peace until next time.

Also for a little more encouragement please check out:

“In the pits?”        “In the den”

Making it through the night……          “The patience of Job”

Φλογιζω NBJ 2020/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

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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)

 

 

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BELIEVE

“And not long after there AROSE against it a tempestuous wind, called Eurocyldon. And when the ship was caught, and could not bear (head) up into the wind, we let her drive ( BE DRIVEN).

And running under (under the shelter of) a certain island which is called Claudia, we had much work to come by the boats ( to secure the ship’s skiff); Which when they had taken up (taken it on board), they used helps (cables) undergirding the ship; and fearing lest they should fall (run aground) into the quick sands, strake sail, and SO WERE DRIVEN.

And being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship; And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship. And when NEITHER sun nor stars in MANY days appeared, and no small tempest lay (beat) on us, ALL HOPE THAT WE SHOULD BE SAVED WAS TAKEN AWAY.

But after a long abstinence (from food) Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm (disaster) and loss.

And NOW I exhort (urge) you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.  For there stood by me this night, the angel of God, WHOSE I AM, and WHOM I SERVE, saying, FEAR NOT, Paul; THOU MUST BE BROUGHT BEFORE CEASAR: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer (take heart): For I BELIEVE GOD, that it SHALL BE even as IT WAS TOLD ME.” Acts 27:14-25

Now, Paul was a prisoner on this ship that was caught in this massive storm a storm who had a name, Eurocyldon, which pretty much means wind stirring up waves. Many are in the midst of storms, the storm in your life that IS stirring those waves up against you as they try to blow you completely off course. I am also quite sure your storm also has a name, as they always do.

The storm of despair, the storm of sickness, the storm of recurring circumstances, the storm of financial woes, whatever the storm you are going through, it is the name of your worst enemy at the moment.

But here is where we are going to take a turn in this storm business. I know so many of God’s children who just keep getting hit, over and over. I write quite a bit about it and I truly hope this will be of encouragement.

First off, they did not try to control the ship during the storm, there are just things in life that no matter how much we wish we could, we simply have no control over some things and in the grand realm of all things, we really have no control over anything, so they let the ship BE driven and just simply tried to hold on.

Secondly, they lightened the ship, tossing off every thing that was not vital to survival, often, that is what storms do in our lives, they have a way of making us realize what is truly important and what we can and can not live without.

Finally, as the storm STILL beat down in the darkness, ALL hope SEEMED lost and they really thought they were all going to die. Paul had seen this coming and warned all that they should not go but go they did, after reminding them of fact so that they WOULD now take his next statements with seriousness, he tells them to cheer up, because even though the ship will be lost, they would live.

An angel had appeared to him to comfort him with a VERY POWERFUL fact, Paul WOULD go to Caesar, so NO storm, NO action on earth COULD PREVENT WHAT GOD HAD SPOKEN, and you know what? IT STILL CAN’T!

So I want to stir up your thinking a little, get you concentrating on the blue skies and smooth sailing that are just beyond this latest barrage of woe.  As children of God, we have the promises of God on our lives and I want to you to think about the word God has given to you FOR your life, a word of knowledge or a word of prophecy of His plans for your future and your work and if at all possible make a list of the things that God has spoken over you and KNOW that as long as you have “unfinished” business for the Kingdom, or a direct promise from God concerning something yet to take place, you are under “NO WEAPON THAT IS FORMED AGAINST YOU SHALL PROSPER” umbrella, if you will. 

Just as in another scripture Apostle Paul wrote of a great and effectual “door” the Lord had for him, but that there were MANY adversaries to try to prevent him from entering that door. The battle you have faced could very well be the same set-up. I am not saying that it always is, but when you read God’s word, you clearly see it is not always easy to stand against the “wiles of the devil” but we are encouraged to STAND. 

Let me give you a few more examples of Paul being encouraged through the dark nights by being reassured that he still had work to be accomplished.

“Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be NOT afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace; For I AM WITH THEE, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.” Acts 18:9,10

Jesus gave Paul comfort that he would not let anyone hurt him because Paul would preach to many and he stayed there for a year and six months after the Lord gave him this reassurance.

And again as his life was being threatened, the Lord appeared, as this was reference to the work he would do.

“And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so MUST thou bear witness also in Rome.” Acts 23:11

God always encouraged Paul by assuring him that he would be okay because he had a job to do and just as our starting verses, PAUL SAID ALL THAT NEEDS SAID when he said “I BELIEVE GOD”

He believed because he believed what had been told him on behalf of God.

Believe, Believe, Believe… “While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter IS dead; trouble NOT the MASTER. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, FEAR NOT: BELEIVE ONLY, and she SHALL be made whole.” Luke 8:49,50

Just as death had no right to Jairus’ daughter when Jesus said she could not be taken, nothing has any right over you unless the Lord allows that right and as long as you have a word, a hope, and a confidence of His promises you can rest assured, it is not over until He says it is over.

May God Bless and encourage you! Love and Peace until next time!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017

 

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Relinquishing Regret

“Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to thy mercy remember me for thy goodness’ sake O Lord. Good and upright IS the Lord: therefore he will teach sinners in the way. The meek (humble) will he guide in judgment(justice): and the meek he will teach his way.

ALL the paths of the Lord are MERCY and TRUTH unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies. For thy name’s sake, O, Lord, pardon mine iniquity, for it is great.” Psalm 25: 7-11

Nothing can eat away our life, our health, and our soul quite like guilt. The most self destructive of all human emotions and the biggest of all burdens that are to be brought and LEFT AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. 

It is often the binding tie that satan uses to hold his prisoners captive, convincing them in themselves that they DO NOT deserve to be free from the chains of actions taken yesterday whose consequences are forever now written.

He uses it on Christians, who even though they have come to the cross, they have failed to lay down that burden and continue to beat and badger themselves over and over again, not accepting the truth of forgiveness and allowing that guilt and regret to taint and rob the joy and peace that Jesus provided at the cross.

When we are constantly emotionally punishing ourselves over and over, the enemy has little to fear because we are doing his job for him. Why does he need to accuse the brethren when the brethren accuse themselves?

Regret WIIL make you sick, it WILL make you miserable, and it can very well lead you to hell, IF you allow guilt and regret to prevent you from accepting God’s salvation.

We can think we are not worth but Jesus thought we were VERY MUCH WORTH IT and He gave His life for ALL our sins. ALL of our mistakes, shortcomings, and failures and to hold the guilt rather than accepting forgiveness is making our guilt our god.

Regret is just guilt’s enabler, a life spent pondering things we could have and should have done is again a life, precious, given of God, completed wasted in endless analytical thoughts of how things could have been different.

Guilt and regret have no place in your life, they are past tense only and to bring them with you in the present is only sabotaging your future and the well-being and futures of all you interact with and have influence with.

As we know I am BIG on preaching influence because WE all have influence, even if you live alone, you have the POWER to impact others, someway, somehow, or maybe due to your availability, there is a ministry of service and outreach with “your name written all over it”, just waiting in the background, until you are ready to shed guilt and regret, send them packing, and spread your spiritual wings and let God lead you where HE ALREADY PREDESTINED FOR YOU TO GO!

But if your holding guilt and regret, He is NOT going to just reach down and jerk them out of your hands, YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO LET THEM GO! Then He can give you all the good things of His mercy and His Truth that HE WANTS TO GIVE YOU.

The verses above, for me is the absolute guide to repentance, quoted them many, many times myself and when I was first saved it was reading these verses over and over through floods and rivers of tears.

We have ALL messed up, we have ALL sinned, we have ALL been best friends with guilt and regret, but Jesus is faithful and HE wants us to let them go and TRUST in Him and forget all those things and press on, IN HIM.

And the ONLY way to true freedom IS found in Him and His blood and the washing by that blood, we can’t drink them away, can’t snort them away, and your sure not going to wish them away, all the methods people use in attempt to dull their inner pain always ends the same, once your down and the crash comes your only more messed up and deeper and deeper in that sinking pit and NOTHING is going away, more regret is just being added.

Continuing in Psalm 25:12-22: ” What man (human) is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose. HIS SOUL SHALL DWELL AT EASE (in goodness) and his seed (descendants) shall inherit the earth.

The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew (cause them to know) his covenant. Mine (my) eyes are ever toward the Lord; FOR HE SHALL PLUCK MY FEET OUT OF THE NET. Turn thee unto me, (please come to me) have mercy upon me; for I am desolate (lonely) and afflicted.

THE TROUBLES OF MY HEART ARE ENLARGED (burdened with worry, guilt, regret) ;O BRING THOU ME OUT OF MY DISTRESSES. LOOK UPON MINE AFFLICATION AND MY PAIN; AND FORGIVE MY SINS. Consider mine enemies (negative emotions and even ourselves ARE enemies); for they hate me with a cruel hatred.

O keep my soul, and DELIVER ME: let me not be ashamed; for I put my TRUST IN THEE. Let integrity and uprightness preserve me; for I WAIT ON THEE (wait IN FAITH on thee). Redeem Israel, O, God, out of ALL his troubles.”

Jesus is more than willing to heal us in these places, if we only ask. So many are trapped in prisons of heartache, regret, and remorse but PLEASE, PLEASE, as a minister of HIS GRACE, I am pleading with you, DON’T STAY THERE.

We ALL have those spans of time we dearly wish would could go back and change.. but we can’t. What we CAN change is how those times can be used to propel you into your destiny and in to the kingdom where you can maybe one day use those lessons learned to help another NOT make the same choices.

As my very wise sister always says, it really is like burying something dead and going back and digging up rotten old bones.Take them to the cross and leave them there and never think about them again.

God gives us beauty for ashes, to produce ashes something has had to burn. Don’t wait another moment, You can talk to God anywhere,  you don’t have to be in a church house, HE WILL MEET YOU WHEREVER YOU ARE.

STOP being your own enemy and unwittingly sabotaging your own life, lay guilt and regret, and all that hurts you today, on HIS altar and let it all be burned away. Let a NEW day unfold because you will never EVER know freedom until you are FREE in Him. Blessing and Peace to you in Jesus’ name.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017     Original Post 02/27/2017 Revisited 02/14/2021 Praying this will be a blessing to someone today! Also my beautiful sister who is referenced above as since went home to be with Jesus, two years now on the 16th, but her love,words, and wisdom live on, so today, please don’t let anything, anything keep you away from funding peace in Jesus, He is there, and He is only a heartbeat away.

 

 

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“How shall I come….”

“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train (skirts of garment) filled the temple, Above it stood the seraphims (a type of angel) each one had six wings; with twain (two) he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: The whole earth is full of his glory. And the post of the door moved at the voice of him who cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone (surely to be destroyed) because I am a man of unclean lips; for mine eye have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” Isaiah 6:1-5

Now, ever think this is the SAME God we tend to get a little too chummy with when we choose to attribute to Him purely human qualities, attitudes, and thoughts?

Please do not get me wrong, this is sincerely designed to just be a little thought-provoking not to hit people over the head with the heretic stick! So please, hear me out.  There is no need for me to point out what a fight the true church is having… between dealing with Satan and the forces of hell, spiritual wickedness in our high places, and the onslaught of the candy coats who completely trash God’s word in favor of  humanism, with their doctrine of “if it feels good, it must be good” leading people into destruction and yet PROMISING them they are saved, when any true Bible reader KNOWS it says otherwise.

I think somewhere along the way, another philosophy has also manifested itself, the thought that God can be on OUR level again, do not get me wrong, we NEED the personal relationship with Him and we have to have that, the oneness, closeness, and togetherness but when we start to view Him as our BBF we may be getting a little TOO chummy.

HE IS our best friend, but HE IS HOLY. He is STILL God over heaven and earth, HE IS still a supernatural BEING while we are well.. just beings! Yes, even though He did say He has called us friends and WE ARE, I still think there is a major need to turn back into reverence and Holiness.

I am a huge advocate of POURING your heart out, your innermost fears, thoughts, and all that you are to Him and will ALWAYS stand by that and teach that but we must always remember there is a fine line between allowing Him to heal us and console us and taking Him for GRANTED.

Once we gain that assurance, that love, and that place of being completely engulfed in His presence, we can be very easily swayed in OUR thinking that we can become lax and write off the wrong behaviors as simply thinking “He understands”.  With a calling on you life and His gifts bestowed on you for the use of edifying the church.. I would not automatically assume that He is just going to understand your failure to use any of it.

Notice the first thing that happened to Isaiah, horrifying fear BECAUSE in the presence of the glory of the Lord, he immediately felt conviction for his sin, as he said a man of “unclean “lips and in that presence he knew the possibly that he could be completely destroyed.

One of our biggest issues of today, a lax in the fear of the Lord’s Holiness. Again this is not to beat or badger, it is to prompt thinking, the Glory is coming, NOTHING is stopping that, it is actually already here but whether or not one will be able to stand in it is another question.

Isaiah 6:6,7: ” Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from of the altar; And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath TOUCHED thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged (atoned for, covered).”

So think about THAT, Isaiah had RECEIVED A VISIT FROM THE LORD, allowed to see into the heavenly places, allowed to see THE ABSOLUTE GLORY of the Lord so strong, it became as smoke and YET, AFTER this, he had to undergo the cleansing fire of God, to “clean up” his mouth and consecrate it, in order to receive his commission from the Lord.

That fire that we are often so fearful of approaching, because often we as humans are comfortable right where we are in our salvation, if many were to be honest they simply do not want to undergo the purification process because it can be very “painful” and once we have accepted that process we are then required and bound to a higher level of responsibility.

As I have said before and will probably say again..and again.. I believe this is why there are people God will bestow multi-gifts and talents upon, NOT because they are special but because THEY ARE WILLING and His work will be done.

Think about the statement Jesus made.. “Many are called but few are chosen” as a very new Christian, my first pastor explained this to me and he was a wonderful man of God, whose advice that early in my walk, forever holds impact for me, many ARE called, they ARE saved but FEW ARE chosen.. chosen vessels…

Think of Paul, when Jesus said that he was “A chosen vessel”, now think about a vessel.. what is that?

A vessel IS a COMPLETELY EMPTY CONTAINER, it has NOTHING of itself.. it does not plan its own use…it does not have an agenda.. it does not REFUSE to be used… it only has ONE purpose.. TO BE FILLED with whatever IS CHOSEN BY THE MAKER OF THAT VESSEL.

The reason it is FEW is due to the refusal to be “emptied” and allow Him, through the Holy Spirit, to do whatever He wants.

Like Isaiah, we must be willing once He has presented us with that glory to allow Him to purify, sanctify, and burn everything that hinders out of us until we are a suitable vessel, and then the callings and gifts can be manifested AS HE WILLS.

Now to “word-out” that THIS is a “Christian” condition. Luke 12:43-48 deals with the parable of the servants, the servants are left with the tasks given by the Lord and instead of doing as they have been commanded, they party, drink, and BEAT the others because the think they will not get caught because they think he is not coming back, and this is the clincher;

“And that servant which KNEW his lord’s will, and PREPARED NOT HIMSELF, NEITHER DID ACCORDING TO HIS WILL, shall be beaten with MANY stripes,

BUT HE THAT KNEW NOT, and did commit such things, shall be beaten with FEW stripes, FOR UNTO WHOMSOEVER MUCH IS GIVEN, OF HIM, SHALL BE MUCH REQUIRED; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.”

The operative word’s there, KNEW and prepared NOT, and then greater mercy shown to the one who did not know. 

James 3:1: “My brethren, be not many masters (let not many of you be teachers) knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation (stricter judgment).”

That really needs no explanation.. bad news for the candy coats and prosperity teachers though! We are responsible for EVERY word we have taught in His name.

And the final one, that I think maybe was going on in Isaiah’s  thoughts, he HAD to know because it was what terrified him as far as things he could fall under.

James 4:17: “Therefore, TO HIM THAT KNOWETH TO DO GOOD, AND DOETH IT NOT, TO HIM IT IS SIN.”

That is about as close as it can cut, so the choice is ours but please NEVER take for granted the Lord, his goodness, His mercy, and HOW INCREDIBLY BLESSED it is to be chosen of Him and never forget we are still accounted, as those servants, for doing those jobs, or failing to do those jobs.

The job has been given, the rest is up to us but the final reward/reprimand is up to Him, don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise, that is a human thought! The glory of the Lord to be revealed as never before and it is HIS glory, our job is to JUST LET HIM DO HIS WILL THROUGH WILLING VESSELS.

“Wherewith (HOW) shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God?

SHALL I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?

 WILL the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

SHALL I give my firstborn for my transgressions, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; And what doth the Lord require of thee, But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.” Micah 6:6-8

Reverence and Respect HIS HOLINESS! Submit yourself, ALL of yourself HUMBLY unto Him!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

 

 

 

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A change of heart….

“And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.” JEREMIAH 24:7 

A few days and it will be Valentines Day, always, always has been one of my favorites, I was born a helpless romance junkie and think it should be a crime for anyone to not celebrate the one day set aside to celebrate the greatest of all gifts… LOVE.

And I do NOT mean it in the context of the world standards with their absolutely perverse notion of what love even means, although this time of the year it is hard to escape, especially this year with all the hype about the new even more twisted sequel to a certain movie.. but enough of that

Funny how we humans can dress up the devil and sell him as your best friend.

Know a little something about dressed up  “old friends” lately too, you know the ones who keep coming and coming to torment you, yet according to them they are your FRIEND. 

But it does prove a point..

Satan will try, he doesn’t care if it has been twenty years, thirty years, whatever, he never gives up and that is why we have to always be on guard and the biggest threat to your salvation is always gonna be your “old friends” and maybe that little throw in there will help someone who may be having “a blast from the past” that the enemy has sent to knock the wind out of your sails.

Remember what Jesus said “Let the dead bury the dead” go on with your life.

Back to love.. real love… the best part of any good romance movie is when the love question comes and one says to the other “If you could only look into my heart…” and we know the correct mushy Hallmark ending to that sentence is “you would KNOW just how much I love you” and all the other mushy love stuff.

So I want you in honor of true spirit of Valentines Day to answer me a question.. well actually you will be answering it to you, since I am obviously pretty far outta earshot… If someone were to look deep into your HEART, what would they see?

Would they see tattered, torn, broken, and left feeling forsaken by friends, and family? 

Would they see all the damage, stress, and strain of the trails you have been through in your life and all the rips and shreds left by lost loves and lost loved ones?

Would they see regret,and remorse,and guilt so severe over things you can not change that have left you with the inability to forgive YOURSELF?

Would they see wounds and scars from a life time of deceptions and many bad decisions?

Would they see sorrow, grief, and pain and  the worry over the tragedies of others?

The true beauty in having a “damaged” heart is that only a heart that has known true agony can fully give itself to others and most of all to God because only He can revive, renew, and repair all that we think is eternally lost and only he can take a heart too afraid to be loved or show love and make it overflow with the purest of love, to flow out so strong that it can even flow onto those you think are incapable of love and convert them. 

That is why He tells us that He will GIVE us a heart to KNOW Him, but we must come to Him with our whole heart.

And in doing this we have to admit what we see and be willing to trade in our hearts of stone, hardened through life, hardened against faith, hardened in unbelief because of the things we have suffered, and we have the argument that our wounds are too deep, too much water under the bridge and we can’t give our lives to Christ because we just “can’t live it” right now, but that is such self-deception! 

We only have to give Him those stone hearts and let Him tell us what He sees. 

Ezekiel 36:26,27: “A NEW HEART also WILL I GIVE YOU, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I WILL TAKE AWAY THE STONY HEART out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statues, and ye shall keep judgments, and do them.”

He does the work! He gives US the new heart and once He gives us His spirit, HE leads us, guides us, and CAUSES us to walk in His paths!

There is NOTHING that we can do for ourselves! And I for one thank God for that, I personally could have never “fixed” myself, no one or not the greatest team of any super brains on earth could have “fixed” me and you know what?

They can’t fix anyone else either!

Only Jesus, because we have to have a heart transplant that only ONE physician in the universe knows how to perform!

So if you are looking and not liking what you see, and be honest, that is the groovy thing with this blog, NO ONE knows you while you are reading it!

I don’t know it, your friends don’t know it and NO ONE sees you, so you can be honest, right there where you are, LOOK… what do you see?

Joel 2:12,13: “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 (tear open) 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…..“

I promise you, you can trust Him with ALL your heart and I also promise you, if you could only look into the Father’s heart, you would truly see just how much He ALREADY LOVES YOU!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017

Original post date 02/10/2017 

 

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“RESULTS NOT TYPICAL”

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof is death.

Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful; and the END of THAT mirth is heaviness (grief).” PROVERBS 14: 12,13

I just love the infomercials and TV ads that have someone giving a glowing product review, they are so happy, so confident, and persuasive that THIS product will be just great for YOU!

Crow’s feet? They gotcha covered, wrinkle cream guaranteed to take off at least TWENTY YEARS! Back pain? they have a miracle cure, so secret, that even the medical field doesn’t know about it yet!  In debt? Well, now you too can be debt free and own three homes, a beach house and your own jet, IF you call RIGHT NOW and order their secret guide to making money!

The best part, that I love, is that at the very, very bottom in tiny little letters, usually in a color designed to fade into the background, are these words “RESULTS NOT TYPICAL” Your results may vary”.

So you got someone, glowing, staring the camera dead in the eye and confessing to you that the ware they are touting WILL FOREVER CHANGE YOUR LIFE! Yes, it will, you will be poorer for the product price and the varied results could end in nasty, little side effects you’d never bargained for or noticed in that same fine print.

Same deal in the world that we live in, the world that serves two purposes, natural world and the unseen spirit world that surrounds us at all times and never was a painter as talented in painting us those beautiful picture as the devil himself.

Our walks can be quite grueling, and our crosses can grow sometimes heavy and the swaying of those voices that whisper, “Come, this way is easier” can sometimes overshadow the voice of the Lord, as He encourages us that is just a little farther up that hill, have faith, have courage, and press on.  But those opposing voices will say, “No, We KNOW a secret path, an EASY way, a BETTER way to success, happiness, and the fulfilment of ALL your dreams and desires.” That voice, just as the ad voices comes with its own disclaimer. Because the results they promise will not be typical, only you will not find that out, until it is just a little too late.

Notice, with our verse, The WAY seems right, seems genuine, that “friend” or even self-proclaimed “mentor” that has your best interest in mind, as they control every aspect of your life, where you go, who you can be friends with, what you wear, what you eat and make decisions for you, they are only looking out for what’s best for YOU, right?

And when their thoughts and desires for your life overtake your own, well that is just part of the process, right? Wrong and wrong! That road may seem like a clear path with least resistance to get you to the happy Neverland waiting at the end but it is just a fairytale and you should not expect the results that you have been lulled into believing!

Nothing worth anything in this life will ever come easy and the Kingdom of God is the most precious of all will NEVER, EVER come to you without hades to fight! They can promise you the world but the world you will be left with after having lost all those you care for and lost everything that ever meant anything to you, will be a world full of tears and sorrow, and bridges so burned that you will never be able to cross those in hopes of going back where you belong!

The problem is with us and who can be blamed for wanting things a little easier? But again, nothing worth having is going to come easy and the greatest test of faith is endurance. No one can argue the endurance Jesus possessed, no home, not much rest, not a moment’s peace from the mouths of his enemies and in his darkness night, not one friend to stand by Him.

But He made it, He made it because He knew that He fought for something bigger than Himself, He fought for the salvation of us all. He could have quit at any moment, He could have called heaven to earth and destroyed all His enemies, He could have completely annihilated earth and created Himself a new one, but He chose to save what He had already created and He knew the path He took was the absolute of hardest and He knew that death, a terrible death was waiting at the end of that road, He never shed one tear for Himself, His tears were for the broken hearts of His friends and tears of unrepentant Jerusalem, who could not even see at the time that they were visited by the very one they awaited.

What right do we have to complain again? What do we have to complain about in comparison to His struggles? Seeing as the servants can never be above the master, why do feel that we must have it all and have it given on, as it were, a silver charger? (dig that?) We may fly very high and grasp that fabled brass ring but our laughter in that moment will be only a miserable smile to hide a heart-broken. As our verse also states, EVEN with the laughter the heart is BROKEN. Why? Because we have sold out ourselves, our friends, our families and most of all, OUR SELF RESPECT and DIGNITY  by not reading that fine print. Forgetting the path “less trod” and running headlong into that wide open field of destruction.

Matthew 7:13,14 “Enter ye in at (narrow) the strait  gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and MANY there be which go in thereat:

Because STRAIT IS the gate, and narrow (difficult, confined) IS the way which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it.” 

Jesus Himself, who suffered all that any human could possibly endure and passing each and every test of being human and of temptation by the devil during His time in the wilderness, and He is telling us, CHOOSE the difficult path!

Because in doing so you will laugh real laughter and even through the pain your heart will be filled with REAL joy, the joy of the Lord THAT IS your strength. In our verse the “end of THAT mirth (happiness) IS GRIEF, because it is not real happiness, it is a life purchased without reading the fine print but with Jesus, our path is Blessed of God and He leads us in the paths of righteous, where GOODNESS AND MERCY shall follow us ALL the days of our lives here on this earth but also we are given the promise to DWELL in the house of the Lord FOR EVER!

So if you are feeling this and as our year once again comes to a close and you are regretting the paths you have chosen, talk to the Lord, get back on that path that He had for you and it may get rough, you may be persecuted and have to fight against those who wish to keep you under their thumb of control, but you will not fight alone, the Shepherd ALWAYS protects His flock and He will lead to that good ground, trust and follow, be strong, and be brave. God DOES not call cowards. He calls soldiers and the greatest reward of a solider is a job well done and pleasing to the Captain and He has no fine print, no disclaimers, His word is faithful and true and easy enough for us all to understand.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

 

 

 

 

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“Shaking off shackles of shame”

I am really seriously trying to avoid the news, all news. World news, internet news, people relying the news I missed to me, because after the stories that are being reported everyday, it is truly hard for, I believe ANYONE not to become a wee bit disturbed by all of it. It started off with a page feed on my Facebook about a beast who had been sentenced to fifty-five years in prison and a twelve million dollar fine for his crime. I can’t even bring myself to get into the details of his reign of absolute horror.

It seriously made me rethink my anti-death penalty stance. I have never understood how we can be against abortion and yet justify the killing of someone else, but, then again I seriously do not believe the person is human. He is demon possessed, which led me to the question about the demons begging Jesus not to send them to the abyss, to send them into the swine, then the pigs ran into a river and drown. So either way, it ended that story.

But I know that God holds ALL justice and couldn’t help but notice in the case of Ariel Castro and a few others how fast that justice comes. My soul screams justice and deliverance for the oppressed, wounded, and hurt and yet if that is not carefully tempered with the word of God, the need for seeing that justice come to pass can quite easily turn into a bad case of running a marathon with scissors and that will help no one.

So with a weeks worth of murder, mayhem, and just sick twisted cruelty which also included a story of a Tennessee man who was the caregiver of his seventy-nine year old cancer stricken mother, decided for some reason that it would be a great idea to beat her to death, a four-month old baby dying after being given Benadryl at daycare, a man arrested for “disciplining” his children with a stun gun, more police dead, a beautiful dog who appeared on someones porch that had his teeth filed down and his tongue cut out, evidently used a dog fighting bait dog ( YES, the end time reign of plagues and judgment on these monsters is starting to sound right on cue, once upon a time I could not understand why the Lord would send such terror, oh believe me, I now understand clearly) more senseless attacks, including one at a club hosting a teen party, ending a twelve-year-old life and I know heaven itself is weeping at the sight of all these things.

 Those subjects I can not touch because what am I going to say, that will even be hopeful or thought-provoking?

It all ends with the scripture in which God tells us that those who show mercy will be shown mercy and those who have shown no mercy will be given judgement without mercy, so the full force of an angry, Holy God pouring out on peoples heads needs no human intervention or explanation.

The story I did choose to go with, that we can all pray about and think about is this one. Most have seen it or heard about it, my husband enlightened me to it while reading his CNN news feed.

A mother (?) decided to embarrass, beat, terrorize, and humiliate her sixteen year old daughter live on Facebook. Here is this woman in a cami top and tight pink shorts up to her butt, slapping and verbally bashing her daughter for what she had posted online, while having someone else film her beating this child.

Like, Hello? What are you wearing yourself there? Queen Mother?

This poor child is trying to cover her face from the hits and this goes on for five minutes and then this person (and I use that term very loosely) takes the camera, FIXES HER HAIR, and tells everyone to send it viral.

Pretty obvious to know what that was all about, get some attention by beating her kid and acting like she is so bad.

Love to see her live feed taking on someone who hits back! This girl was left in the corner whimpering as her mother(?) proudly proclaims that there would be more posts to come.

My heart broke for this girl and my heart breaks for the sadness of just how many are treated like this by those who are supposed to encourage them and protect them and help them deal in the right way with the changes in their lives and all the peer pressure they endure.

What really kills me is the mindless idiots that are complimenting her and saying god bless her, I did not capitalize that because GOD WOULD NEVER,EVER BLESS THAT!

They like to try to change Him and His thoughts to fit in with their own sick behaviour, as a justification attempt.

Jesus whom allowed himself to be humiliated, stripped, and ridiculed SO WE WOULD NOT BE.

Jesus who taught us to turn the other cheek, not to attack a grown up who attacks us first.

Jesus who said that it would be better to have a millstone hung around your neck and drowned AS TO HURT ONE OF HIS LITTLE ONES.

Jesus who lined all the naysayers out when Mary cried at His feet and when the woman accused of adultery was brought to Him.

And now they want to insist that He is okay with slapping around on your kid or anyone else or even animals for that matter.

They DO NOT KNOW HIM nor do they know anything about Him.

But they will soon discover His thoughts on the subject for themselves and in the meantime they will reap what they have sown and be judged by their own judgment so maybe someone can live feed us them being beaten and talked to like trash.

Well, I am obviously getting dangerously close to running with those scissors on this but these people really bring out something unpleasant in many of us and I know I am not the only one that is enraged by it.

I know that as the scripture states when someone is saved and comes back into the household of God, that the ANGELS IN HEAVEN REJOICE, they are so happy that they REJOICE at our salvation. I know the tears that they surely cry as they watch the senseless cruelty on earth.

They cry as humans and animals and all the living are being hurt and wounded. And I also know this is the reason for the thirty minutes of silence which will happen in heaven as the Lord prepares His judgment and return upon earth.

They are praying and weeping for US, they are weeping for the hurt, and oppressed. They are praying for those who have been stubborn, prideful, and self-willed to admit that they need a Saviour. They are praying about the blood of the innocent that covers the earth and the price that blood will cause the wicked to pay.

But to deal with it as humans, while on this earth requires understanding and faith in God.

The beating is really the lesser of the damage done here, the shame, the humiliation  that was caused and the painful memories that will last that child a lifetime and without divine intervention the pain trying to deal with that damage will cost her.

Shame, even the word is unpleasant, we have all felt shame, that feeling that starts in your stomach and somehow covers your face as if to show the world that you are lesser than they. That you have messed up and now you are fit to be placed in the village stocks for the villagers to gaze upon and throw things at.

It is MORE than any emotion, it is a snare that Satan uses to cover his victims, think about the term often used “shame ON you”.

Shame is worn and once the initial episode of that shame has been forgotten by those that “put it on you” that shame IS STILL THERE, it is in your mind and affects everything you do.

Because our first instinct is try get it off of us. To hide it, so no one will see “it” that we can function and be accepted while deep down inside, we are still covered in humiliation and hurt, which can also turn to some serious rage. If you doubt that, think about stories of bullied teens and abused children who have finally took all that they can take and become violent.

And as much as I hate to quote anything from the world, it can best be summed up with some lyrics from an old rock song, “till you end up like a dog that has been beat too much, and spend half your life just trying to cover it up”. That is what shame does and it DOES NOT belong to us.

It is a snare like all the other traps that try to convince you that you can never “belong” to the kingdom of God, when actually you DO belong.

That is why all these things have been set against you, to try to prevent you from knowing your identity in Christ.

When I started feeling prompted in my writing ministry to share certain things about my own pain, it was hard, because none of us want to feel like people will run from us or that we are “damaged”.

The the biggest lie told to us by the enemy or our human “enemies”, (the ones who intentionally make us feel embarrassed and ashamed) is that because we have been mistreated that somehow it is our fault, that we caused it.

The truth is evil ALWAYS calls itself good and it always pretends to be right and that is why these particular things damage our spirit and only God can remove it.

But once God gave me reassurance that even if it helped one person overcome and to know it is really, really okay that He has seen it all anyway and that He is never going to look us with the contempt we may have been subjected to, but He looks us with mercy and love and ONLY HE can take away the reproach of shame.

There is nothing, nothing we can do, no drugs, no drinking, and there is not enough therapy in the world to take off what can only removed on  spiritual level.

I have painfully learned that being saved was only my beginning, I spent almost thirty years trying to forget and just live with a broken soul, and discovered that once I allowed Jesus to take care of that, when I allowed Him to “look” at all that was broken, smashed, and chained up in shame that it would be the beginning of a process of healing, dealing with all those unpleasant emotions that still, made me who I am, exactly who He knew I would be.

Not always good, but still, me.

We are over-comers by our testimony and the hardest for me to ever overcome, which He had to divinely get me through was having been held over a fire with the threat of being burned alive, I tell you when you’re a little kid, there is nothing that will define your self-worth quite like that.

I am sure that once knowing that, many found my fire symbol very disturbing, believe me I asked myself that question, but you know what? For me, the fire is VICTORY. The whole deal with that was this, I was specifically told that “the devil comes and takes “bad” people to hell” and you are threw in a fire, so I spent most of my life really, really believing that the devil CONTROLS who goes to hell and that I was pretty much all ready done for.

So imagine when I received the baptism of fire and learned through scripture that “GOD IS a consuming fire”.

Satan NEVER controlled hell or fire, he is cold as ice and WILL BE IN HELL, Hell is RESERVED FOR HIM AND HIS ANGELS!

After serving Christ many years and receiving my calling I couldn’t help but notice something, if the enemy made certain that I would be terrified of it and believe that he controlled it, than obviously there was a reason he wanted to make sure I would never, ever go near it.

Once I realized that, I KNEW the fire is to be embraced, not earthly fire, but the fire of God because I know, I know who really controls it and I know WHO pulled me out of it and WHOSE arms held me and let my soul know without a doubt that I never had to be afraid of that awful place again.

This is good to remember when you deal with what has been set a stumbling block in your path, there is a definite reason he chooses what he chooses to attempt to destroy you and usually you will find it is tied into the calling that GOD PLACED ON YOUR LIFE BEFORE YOU WERE EVEN BORN. 

Read that for yourself in Romans 8:29,30, you will see things in a different light.

Shame comes “on us” in many forms, words and actions of others, being mocked and laughed at because of our looks or clothes,or our speech, it can come many ways but it comes and it is the most dangerous snare of them all.

So whatever you may have been hurt by, shamed with, and are still trying to overcome I want to encourage you.

Jesus CAN take it completely away, the memory may hurt but that feeling, the shame WILL be completely erased from your mind, your soul, and your life.  I believe that if I could show you just a little of my “shame” you can surely show yours to Jesus.

You NEVER have to tell a human anything but you can share your most painful wound with Him and I promise, once you do, He will heal you and remove those heavy chains from your soul.

He does NOT laugh at you, your pain or your humiliations. Actually this is what the word says about Him.

ISAIAH: 50:6 ” I GAVE my back to the smitters (those who struck), and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair:

I HID NOT MY FACE FROM SHAME AND SPITTING.” He suffered THIS to remove it from us! Trust Him, let Him take it away.

PSALM 25:2,3: “O my God,  I TRUST IN THEE:  LET ME NOT BE ASHAMED: let not mines enemies triumph over me. Yea, let none that wait upon thee be ashamed: let them that be ashamed which transgress (deal treacherously) without cause.”

PHILIPPIANS 1:20: ” According to my earnest expectations and MY HOPE, that IN NOTHING I SHALL BE ASHAMED…”

 1 PETER 4:16: ” But if any man suffer as a Christian, let him  NOT BE ASHAMED;  but let him glorify God on this behalf.”

JOEL 2:26,27: “And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: 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 YOUR GOD, AND NONE ELSE: AND MY PEOPLE SHALL NEVER BE ASHAMED.”

ISAIAH 25:8: “He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God WILL WIPE AWAY TEARS FROM OFF ALL FACES; AND THE REBUKE (embarrassment and shame) OF HIS PEOPLE SHALL HE TAKE AWAY FROM OFF ALL THE EARTH: FOR THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT.”

So many other wonderful scriptures of God’s love and mercy, and His cleansing power that truly washes it all away.

So today if you are struggling with these issues, turn to Him, REMEMBER the scripture said he did not hide His face from it and you have His promise that He will never embarrass or hurt you.

Please pray that eyes will be opened, that people will realize this is NOT the way to prove anything.

Pray that those who are mortified with shame, which literally means unable to move, crippled by that shame will be touched of the Lord to leap as never before and pray that the ears who are only hearing harsh, damning words will hear the soft whisper so much greater that they ARE loved, they are accepted and that they are NEVER ever to be ashamed.

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

I chose this song because of the testimony of the lead singer. so powerful and so free.

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EAGLE #3 “Gathering”

As Eagle lie on the ground twisted and snared by the colorful flowing material, his ears attentive to the soft, gentle, distant strains of “Glory, glory, Hallelujah ..” waving through the dark night air, all of his strength draining as he gasped his last bit of air and as the song grew closer and closer becoming louder as his ears strained to hear that soothing melody, he caught a glimpse of the fire glow growing brighter and a strange thing began to happen to him.

His heart started to beat a little faster and words came flooding to his mind, words he had heard as the old timers had gathered around those campfires long ago, he remembered that Abraham had looked for a country whose maker and builder was God.

As this thought rushed through his mind, he felt strength start to stir deep inside him, he felt the will to live, the will to go on, the will to fight for what he had long known.

As his breath began to return and he found his second wind he struggled against what held him captive, his sharp beak pulling and shredding the thin, cheap material to bits as he struggled to freedom. He had fought too hard and had lived too long, and seen much too much to die conquered on the ground.

“His truth is marching on….” continued to fill the night sky as the camp lanterns grew brighter and brighter as those who watch in the night went on their journey. Soon he was free from that tangled snare and he sat for a bit, regaining more of his massive strength, the new-found joy in his heart, that it was not the end, there was yet a place, a country, a nation of nations where the Fathers true rainbow shone of His glory.

But where? Where was that place? As he brought back to his thought all the words quoted by those of long ago, who quoted the true words not words that man wanted to hear but the word of the Father of lights, the Father who created and controlled the entire universe.

He remembered how they warned, they preached with fire and conviction “that the days would surely come that men would no longer endure sound doctrine” that the days would surely come “that men would be lovers of themselves more than of God” that the days would come that “they would call evil good and good evil” and that “the way of truth would be evil spoken of” and Eagle knew those days had truly come.

He soon remembered the word spoken with power and authority that bellowed out in the night as the preacher quoted from the book of Revelation, “COME  OF HER, MY PEOPLE, THAT YE BE NOT PARTAKERS OF HER SINS, AND THAT YE RECEIVE NOT OF HER PLAGUES. FOR HER SINS HAVE REACHED UNTO HEAVEN, AND GOD HATH REMEMBERED HER INIQUITIES.”

Eagle knew that day as the days warned of long ago had now came to pass, that day also soon approached. Eagle knew he had to seek that new country, that country that is fashioned and formed and built of God himself. But how would he find it? How could he navigate there with his body still weakened form all he had endured. He thought, he thought about something they had preached that the Son had said, ” Wheresoever the body is, thither shall the eagles gather together.” His body, His physical body that would be offered as a sacrifice for all, but also the symbolic meaning that where His body, His followers would be gathered unto Him. 

Eagle mustered enough strength to start his flight, he flew and he flew trying to fly through the darkness, through the night, becoming stronger and stronger as his determination grew that he would go to that country, he would see that land. He thought what would it be like when all the eagles, all those who through strength only given from God had “fought the good fight” who had run their race with courage and boldness and would be given crowns for doing so.

He thought of a country where love, joy, and true peace would be the norm. A country so full of the love and light of the Lamb of God, that there would never be another night. He thought of a country where the lion would lay down by a lamb, the serpents food would be dust, and no one or no creatures would ever hurt one another again. There would be no more cruelty, no more starvation, no more pain, and “God himself shall wipes all tears away”  As he flew these words rang out through the now turning dawn night, he heard the description of that country to be sought, as one quoted the words written by John in Revelation 21:1-3,9-27:

“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 there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew the thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife.

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. Having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

And had a wall great and high, and has twelve gates, and at the gates were twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

On the east 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 them the names of the twelve 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, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the 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.

And the building of the wall of it was as jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished 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 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 the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” 

Eagle is freedom, Eagle is truth and justice, and liberty and as those who truly seek these things must now “set their affections on things on high” and seek that heavenly country and remember the truth that is as old as time itself, we truly are strangers and pilgrims in this world and we are to leave the things of the world behind and be as eagles and soar above these troubles resting in the spirit of God and of the eternal hope that we are not quite home yet and as we strive to reach that heavenly shore, it is well on its way, New Jerusalem coming down to meet those who wait.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

 

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“Shall NOT”

PSALM 23:1: “The lord IS my shepherd; I SHALL NOT WANT”

 Our world, our messed up, ripped up, tore up from the floor up world that we all must call home, at least for a little while, as those clay feet of the mighty world has began to crack and crumble under the heavy weights of sin that has been hard and unyielding to the oppressed as the bronze and iron it has been forged of.

As we all have witnessed the news of the Orlando nightclub massacre, it is just another reminder of this truth. Those feet are made of clay and these weights they will not withstand and as we are told we will either be built upon the rock that is Jesus Christ or we will be washed away as the sand gives way under the blowing winds and crashing waves.

Even as you watch these things come to pass, as Jesus said that they would, we still can’t help but to be overwhelmed with the sadness and senselessness of the actions of those who are agents of the hate that is as old as the world itself, the hate that tried to even spread itself through the heavens and has not be cast down upon the earth. That hate IS not going to cease, it WILL only grow worse.

REVELATION 12:12(b) “WOE unto the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea!  For the devil is come down upon you, HAVING GREAT WRATH (ANGER) FOR HE KNOWTEH HE HATH BUT A SHORT TIME.”

Watching an especially poignant first hand account of a victim who had survived by hiding in a bathroom, tearing flowing and sorrow beyond sorrow as he told of those outside the door that they could not let in, those who died outside that door, the account of one woman who hid under dead bodies and we know that ONLY, ONLY God can heal this kind of hurt, this kind of sorrow and these lives will never be the same.

But it is a wake up call for US ALL that time does truly draw nigh and we are not promised the next breath and every moment of that time should be spent sharing the Gospel, the TRUE Gospel, not watered down candy coated fluff that has no real staying power and no real sustenance when it comes to dealing with tribulation, remember Jesus said that IN THIS WORLD we will have tribulation. 

The only way out for any of us IS the Gospel. The only way to survive these days without being desensitized by all the horror we see, or our human minds trying to process those things which can not be processed leaving us cold, numb, and defeated. As one who was given a divine intervention when death came to call, I do understand and I also understand that in these atrocities God will heal, make new, and free people into Himself and that they will understand the mercy they were given and will show it to others.

But it time to get serious and to really seek the Kingdom of God, LIVE by HIS word, not the candy coats code of conduct which is an abomination to God, but He will save those who are sincere and will show them the true way, and that is His way.

This was something He dropped in my spirit concerning a situation, well, actually a couple of situations, in my own journey and that one long waged battle in the war would be taken care of the very next day, and it was. And the thought became so profound in my spirit that I want to share it.

IT is how we will make it in these days, as Jesus told us that in “Patience possess ye your souls” that is to wait, and wait, and keep waiting in faith and perseverance knowing that ALL things will work together, and as He told us in the book of Revelation, that some WILL DIE but NOT ONE HAIR SHALL PERISH.

He is telling us just how serious we are to be, in all things and it is wonderful to have a good time, free our minds, let loose or whatever but THAT TIME IS OVER for the church, it is now time to watch and pray that not only us but that others, those who are lost and those who are being misguided, that ALL of us may be accounted worthy to stand in that soon coming day.

So if we remember nothing else, remember every day that as His children we shall not want and our prayer should be “we shall not”. “The Lord is my shepherd; I SHALL NOT WANT.” Period. It stops and it stops right there, so what does that mean? It means want or lack any good thing or any thing WE NEED to finish the race before us.

Because HE IS the shepherd and the secret of the joy of the Lord is OUR strength, but what about the joy He HAS when His children act right and His lambs choose to follow His paths and the paths He set before them.

His Joy in “enter in my good and faithful servant” the joy as a Father when his children ARE a reflection of His values and represent His family in honor and integrity, kindness, and mercy. We will be happy and we will be filled with joy when we make bringing joy to Him our first priority.

NEHEMIAH 8:10: “Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions to them for WHOM NOTHING IS PREPARED: for this day is HOLY unto our Lord: NEITHER be ye sorry,for the JOY OF THE LORD is YOUR STRENGTH.”

JOHN 16:24: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ASK, AND YE SHALL RECEIVE, THAT YOUR JOY MAY BE FULL.”

 JOHN 17:13: “And now I come to thee; and these things I speak IN THE WORLD, that THEY MIGHT HAVE MY JOY FULFILLED IN THEMSELVES.” 

Jesus PRAYED this and He prayed it while facing His death, as Hebrews 12:2 tells us it was FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM, joy that WOULD later come, joy that would ONLY come through obedience in the midst of tribulation, terror, and suffering. We SHALL NOT want for that joy.

We live in the “shadow of the VALLEY of death, always, death is always an ever present possibility and times of terror and fear make us painfully aware of that fact.

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 A GREAT 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.” In the blackest of nights we SHALL NOT WANT for the light.  

When fear comes calling, classic PSALM 91:5-7: “Thou SHALT NOT be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrows that flieth by day; Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday; A thousand shall fall at thy side; and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.”

When the winds blow and the floods rage: ISAIAH 43:2: ” WHEN thou passest through the waters, I WILL be with thee, and through the rivers, they SHALL NOT overflow thee, WHEN thou walkest through the fire, thou SHALL NOT  be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.”

Notice, there is no if there, it is not a question of whether these things come, it is WHEN they come.

 Looking for those things which are to come, you SHALL NOT lose your hope, your faith and your confidence in the Lord.

PSALM 16:5-9 ” The Lord IS the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup; thou maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage (inheritance).

I will bless the Lord, who hath given me counsel: my reins (heart) also instructs me  IN THE NIGHT SEASONS.  I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at my right hand, I SHALL NOT be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh shall also rest (dwell securely) in hope.” Don’t give up the fight, whatever you need you SHALL NOT lack, SIN SHALL NOT reign and my all time favorite, the gates of hell SHALL NOT prevail! Have a blessed week! 

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

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HOLY WAR

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and the rest of the Apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord shall call. And with many other words he did testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward (perverse) generation.” Acts 2:36-40
Holy War. The day has come that others had scoffed at for eons. The day when those who claim to act on behalf of their “god” decide to slaughter all those who don’t share their pagan beliefs.
I have one big question with this, although I already know the answer, how does a “religion” tout itself as peaceful, while constantly screaming, bloody jihad? It is no different that the Spanish inquisition and forced Catholicism, and innumerable forced conversions to pagan religions and it has existed since Satan, the mastermind of it all was flung to earth.
He runs on the theory that humans will do anything to save their skin, just as when he  discussed Job with God, and Satan asked that God would remove his protective hedge from Job and he would convince him to curse God.
“And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.” Job 2:4. That is how he thinks and we know God allowed him full control over Job’s life, only that he could not kill him. And we also know that Job passed this horrific test of his true faith between the powers of the universe with flying colors and God blessed him beyond measure in doing so.
We also know that the Apostles and many, many gave their lives for the Gospel. As the church is built on the blood of Christ, the Holy Lamb of God, the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs.
“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent shall take it by force.” Matthew 11:12
We are in a war, whether the candy coats want to hide their heads in the clouds and attempt to ridicule the word of the true messengers of God or not. It is what it is and what it has been since the dawn of time.
I tell you how it’s gonna come down. The anti-Christ comes into WORLD power, the number one voice over all nations, he is a dragon  that appears as a lamb. The carnage is  well underway and more threats are made everyday and the day is coming that in a desperate attempt for someone to stop the “holy war” and end the killings, the leaders will be begging to join that one world order to stop it.
Enter the anti-Christ, I’ve been trying to really hammer this, through peace he will destroy many.
A seven-year peace deal will be signed and he will call off his boys (of course the world does not know they are his) three and a half years will be groovy and then he decides to unveil himself and all who refuse to worship him will be beheaded, this is when he calls his troops back into action.
I have had quite an awakening, sooner than I had anticipated, once Satan busted my groove and forced me out from under the secluded, veiled protection of hiding behind the church. When I posted my beheading series and the follow-up. I suddenly had Muslims follow that site.                                       

Now I may not be the sharpest crayon in the box but I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck either. I know these guys aren’t reading because they find my funk jive exhilarating and my run on sentences delightfully refreshing.
I know they believe what they believe as passionately as I believe what I believe, but there is one huge difference. Jesus draws others to him, he wants those who worship him to do so in truth and spirit and of freewill and because they want to know him and serve him. He does not force people to worship him. And you never see Christians trying to kill others for their beliefs, because Jesus calls us his children of true light and true peace and we are not to be as the children of the world, full of violence and hate toward all who do not believe as we do.
HE IS the holy, self-existing creator who does not need to be worshipped to the point of killing those who refuse to do so.
And Yeah, Paul said it wasn’t a question of whether or not he preached the gospel, it was woe unto him if he did not. It’s not that this stuff doesn’t bother my human mind a little but as a watchman, if I fail to send out these warnings, I will be held accountable personally to God and found guilty of the blood of those I failed to warn. So I am running on “we ought rather obey God than man”.
So I’ll throw this out, calling heaven and earth to record this day, “touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm.”
Now, the question of what we must do to be saved was answered, what must we do to war successfully, “For thou we walk in the flesh, we do not war after (according to)the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations (arguments); and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Sides must be chosen or one will be chosen for you. There is no middle ground and we serve one or the other, whether we want to admit that or not.
If you are not saved and covered by the blood of Jesus, you already belong to Satan. And choosing not to believe in either of them won’t help at all. It’s like looking at the sun and saying you really don’t believe it’s there, it’s not going to make it go away, keep staring at it and you will believe it is real once it has blinded you, but then it will be a little too late.
But to really be effective, you need the Holy Ghost and the Baptism of fire. You need God living in you to fully navigate your way in these last days, remember, Jesus told us to be “Wise as a serpent but harmless as a dove.” He also promised that he “would bring back to your remembrance” all things he has taught you” and finally “For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist” Luke 21:15
” But when they shall lead (arrest) you and deliver you up, take no thought before what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for IT IS NOT YE THAT SPEAK, BUT THE HOLY GHOST.” Mark 13:11
If you have never received the gift of the Holy Ghost or fire baptism, start praying for it. Fast in secret, pray in your closet, take communion and seek the indwelling of Him.
If you have received them please pray that others would also. (The great outpouring)
The war is in no way nearing an end, it has only just begun but we have comfort in this, we know how the book ends and we know who wins and we will be citizens of the world without end.
Φλογιζω. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina BrownJohnson 2015

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“ASCENSION PART3 / CLIMB”

Song of Solomon 4:6: “Until the day break, and the shadows flee, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.”
Mountain climbing, some saying simply “because it is there” but that really doesn’t get it in the spirit world now does it?
That verse tells us a couple of things, we are going somewhere, to the mountain of myrrh, where we will die to our flesh and shed all the excess junk we are carrying on this trip, because the higher we climb the more junk and baggage we will toss to lighten the load and make it easier to climb.
The hill of frankincense, the place of effective spiritual intercession is our goal and we have determined that we will get there and we will stay there until day breaks over the spirit world and the shadows of death and hell flee away.
The myrrh is a mountain and the hill is frankincense because the hardest part of dying to our own flesh and coming to the place of purification that we can stand in that place of prayer, it is NOT about being a great person or most “spiritual” it is about having a heart for God.
As David said, the one thing he would seek after to inquire in the temple and worship God in the beauty of HIS holiness, (not ours) once that is accomplished the intercession isn’t quite daunting a task.
It takes a determination, a very wise man once chatted with me about a very simple biblical truth, “many are called but few are chosen” many are saved and are happy right where they are and that is perfectly okay, but God is looking for those who seek more, who are aware of the needs of others and KNOW there are greater works to be done in these precious, blessed last days.
They have the heart as Isaiah’s which echoes “Here am I Lord, send me” and those will be his chosen vessels to accomplish the works and bring in the harvest.
There are nine spiritual gifts, and I do believe there will be people who the Lord flows these gifts through on an as needed basis.
So many have chosen not to seek the gifts God has given them, but the work still has to get done and I do believe it will be by a multi-tasking army.
So some may start climbing that mountain and decide it is a little too steep and the trip is just not worth it, and ask “How do we even know anything is up there anyway?”
Some may have to stop on the way and reach down to help another back up and there may be times that we are carrying each other until strength returns.
You have to know why you want to climb that mountain, I determined long ago that I’d climb the bloody thing or I would die on the way up, because I know my motivation, I know my prayers to the only one who holds it all in his nail scarred hands, when I just want to tell him just how much I can’t do this, how I just simply cannot go one more step, I remember, I remember he was completely stripped, beaten beyond recognition and brutally nailed to a cross and displayed for the whole world to ridicule and he did it because he had a mountain to climb, the hill of the ultimate intercession, a hill named Calvary, the intercession to save all of mankind, and the only way for him to do that was to climb that hill.
Then I remember, he forever holds me, I have no strength in me, but through him I can do all things, and I ask myself what am I climbing for anyway?
I climb on behalf of every child that lives in horror and abuse, I climb for every animal tortured, I climb for every victim of ethnic cleansing after seeing the hollow soul stripped eyes on CNN of the genocidal rape victims of the Taliban, I climb for every elderly person that lives at the complete mercy of others in nursing homes and privately.
I climb out of my pain, the awareness that there are stripe scars on my soul so deep that they are my cross to be borne, and a very personal vendetta against hell itself, to see it brought to its knees and maybe the chance to scream a list of “things that are just not nice to do to people” at Satan when Jesus casts him and his angels into an eternal fire of hell.
If you could see this mountain in the spirit world, I think you would have to compare it to stairs, the light of that place being the soft glow of lamplight and a single file journey, an ascension upward of prayers, starting with the gathering censers of incense ( prayers of the saints) and as they persist, maybe feeling like they aren’t getting anywhere at first, oh, but it is, as they climb higher and higher, a change takes place, that cumbersome clothing will become robes, symbolic of the covering of the righteousness of God.

The censers of incense will become the effectual, fervent spoken prayer of the righteous offered up in the presence of God unlike anything some of them have ever known.
The Holy Spirit leads us, the Holy Ghost overtakes us, and while you know all that, there is a manifestation of his presence, just as when he came to the disciples and Paul, you may not see him but you will know he is standing right there.
On that mountain top, or after the ascension of those spiritual “stairs”, however you choose to relate to it, it will be “Ask and it shall be given” And if this is your desire, get your motivation, remember those you “climb” for, keep climbing till you reach the top.

Psalm 65:4:“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts; we will be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple.”

Psalm 12:7: “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, NOW WILL I ARISE, saith the Lord: I WILL set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.”
Remember why you climb, and climb.

Φλογίζω/original post:01/17/2015. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina BrownJohnson 2015

Ascension Part1 Night watchmen     Ascension part 2 Intercession

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ASCENSION PART 1 “NIGHT WATCHMEN”

The sun may be shining, but it is night. The birds may be singing but it is night. For most, everything may appear well-lit and crystal clear but in the spirit world it is night.
For the addict who is one hit away from the mouth of hell, it is night. For the prostitute who is one trick away from the wrong John, who will be the devil incarnate come to assure her entrance into hell, it is night.
For the bullied teenager who is one razor blade away from ending it all, it is night. For those widowed and alone, whose loneliness eats away at their souls more viciously than any cancer, it is night.
For those persecuted and imprisoned for their beliefs or simply for the sick pleasure of the forces of hell, still the brightest of days with the greatest, blinding magnification of the sun is the suffocating blackness of the  most darkest of nights.
Night Watchmen, those hired to protect and oversee the goods and properties of their employer.
These particular watchmen actually being the biblical laborers hired in at that vital eleventh hour, because as dusk starts closing in, that harvest must not only be gathered, it must also be protected from the beasts of the field that attack to destroy it, even while the laborers work exhaustively to gather it.
As it is the eleventh hour, this work must be done in complete unity, all while following one light that will light their way through the rows, showing both the ready crops and revealing the awaiting dangers.
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
These are the night watchmen of the Lord, they stand in the night hours when destruction and mischief are most common, and sin tries to take cover under the darkness of night.
While the rest of the world “sleeps”, these are they who will keep vigil, pray down strong holds, plead the blood of the Lamb over ones they have never even known and through intercessory prayer they will make a difference between life and death. They will through that prayer under the unified anointing of God will stand in the gap and make up the hedge around those who are unable to do it for themselves.
Their petitions before the throne of grace will break chains of abuse and addictions and the anointing of God will break the chains of abuse and addictions.
“BEHOLD, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord.” Psalm 134:1
Watchmen know who they are, and Night watchmen even more so.

Be vigilant, do not get discouraged and know that the power of the anointing of the secret prayers you pray alone are known of God, “who sees in secret, and will reward you openly”.

Ask that your prayers be accepted in agreement of unity with all those who are called as you are.
Know this also that as this is the last Psalm in the “Songs of Degrees” (steps, stairs) and just as being “compassed about with songs in the night”, this is going somewhere, it is blessed and it is beginning of the “prayers of the saints.”
Φλογίζω/ Original Post:01/01/2015. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

**REVISITED 03/05/2021**

 

 

Please consider reading the remainder in this series, the links are below.

ASCENSION Part 2 INTERCESSION

ASCENSION Part 3 CLIMB

AWAKENING / THE FORGOTTEN CHILD

Resurgence of Ruth/

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EL ROI….. The well in our wilderness

“And Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, PUTTING IT ON HER SHOULDER, and the child and sent her away: and she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.” Genesis 21:14
                                      
I can only imagine the torturous thoughts that played out in Hagar’s mind as she attempted to take her child and embark on what she believed would be their death march to die a slow agonizing death of dehydration and starvation, if they even survived the wild animals that they could be attacked by at even given moment.
Yet again, this was Sarah’s plan, she was quite a character and could have taught Samson a thing or two about manipulation and self righteousness.

She is probably the gene donor responsible for the cattiness, jealousy, and vanity that have plagued women’s relationships one to another since the dawn of time, much more so than anything we inherited from Eve.
How had it come to this? That question surely  flooded her mind, I am sure there were many, many times that she wanted to see both of them suffer, as they had made her suffer.

And now, as he put the bread and water on her shoulder, sending her and the child he was responsible for out into a formidable land to make their way back to Egypt, he was laying the entire burden of the enormous mess on her shoulders to be born alone.
But she WAS NOT alone, she only felt that way. 

She had been down this road before, as a servant subjected to Sarah’s insane idea to force her to bear a child to Abraham, once accomplished Sarah’s jealousy kicked in and she mistreated Hagar, Abraham refused to intervene, BUT God let Hagar know that it was THE CRIES OF HER HEART that he heard, not necessarily Sarah’s.

 Genesis 16:7-14 tells us: “And the ANGEL of the Lord FOUND her  by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.  And he said, HAGAR, SARAI’S MAID, whence cometh thou? and whither wilt thou go (why are you here and where will you go?) and she said I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply THY seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude.

And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael (God hears) BECAUSE THE LORD HATH HEARD THY  AFFLICTION.  And he will be as a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of his brethren.

And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God (EL ROI) seest me: for she said, have I also looked after (saw) him that seest me? wherefore THE WELL was called Beerlahairoi (well of one who lives and sees me); behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.”

She did as she had been told, even submitting to the humiliation of giving birth to her son while sitting on Sarah’s knees to appease Sarah’s misguided  belief  that somehow this would really make the child hers.

But now they had Isaac and the very child they had forced her to bear and then taken from her, they have now given back, as if he were an unwanted pet replaced by one of a more valued breed and have sent them both on their way to an unknown fate.

But one thing Hagar was not aware of , this plan, although it had come from the mouth of Sarah, who didn’t care if they both died she just wanted them out of her face, God had given permission for this to happen and it WOULD NOW BE USED FOR HER GOOD.

God was going to use this, as He does all things, to her benefit, as when the angel told her to go back, this was a wilderness walk that she had to take, regardless of the pain and the injustice, this walk WOULD NOT LEAD TO THE DESTRUCTION OF HER AND ISHMAEL, BUT IT WOULD LEAD TO THEIR FREEDOM.
She would never again be slave to Abraham or Sarah and her maker would in fact now be her husband and a father to her son, who was now fatherless.

And just as her son was rejected by his own people and sent to Egypt, there would be another son called forth out of Egypt only to face the same rejection by his kindred.

But when all we can see is the wilderness in front of us, the hunger, the thirst and the fear of what is waiting down that road starts to set in, we forget the promises we have been given, what the angel has spoken and sometimes we need to be reminded.
Genesis 21:15-21 “And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs, And she went, and sat down over against (across) him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she had said Let me not see the death of the child. and she sat over against him and lift up her voice and wept.

AND GOD HEARD THE VOICE OF THE LAD; and the ANGEL OF THE LORD CALLED OUT TO HAGAR OUT OF HEAVEN, and said unto her, What aileth thee, Hagar? ( THIS TIME HE DID NOT CALL HER SARAI’S MAID) fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad, WHERE HE IS.

Arise, lift up the lad, hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and SHE SAW A WELL OF WATER; and she went and filled the bottle with water and gave the lad drink. And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the wilderness of  Paran: and his mother took him a wife out of the land of Egypt.”

I know the wilderness is a rough place, I don’t like it myself.
But you know had God not led Hagar on that journey and she had not agreed to trust Him on that trip she would have never realized the power and intimacy of God on her and her son’s life, remember the second time all she could do was cry, God heard Ismael’s prayers, HEAVEN ITSELF ANSWERED!  

She would have never known freedom. Just as Jesus was led by the spirit into the wilderness, and successfully resisted the devil and John the Baptist was prepared for his work and grew strong in the wilderness, it grows us.
There are required traits that we only acquire  in the wilderness, those barren, desolate places, sparse pastures that barely keep us alive, the side paths that are so lonely, we feel like tears are our only companion.
It is in those places, the wilderness, the deserts, the almost uninhabitable lands that the roses bloom and the fountains of living water burst forth out of that parched ground.
If you never had to go there, you would never know the sweetest of that water or the scent of a rose so strong and determined to live that it grew up through sand , pushing the rocks past, as the blazing sun-scorched down on it.

So don’t fight it, don’t even try to resist it, just take that trip with EL ROI, because He does live and He does see and He wants you to know you can depend solely on him, you may be like Hagar, alone in the middle of nowhere feeling like everything you love is about to die, have faith, He sees and He will show up and He will bless that which you thought was hopeless and prosper it and make it something so mighty it will beyond your wildest dreams.
Once you have been given these waters, you will never fear the wilderness quite so much again, I’m sure you won’t be excited to visit there again, but take along an empty suitcase, I promise you will return with a souvenir so rare, so priceless that you will never part with it.
Apostle Paul said “he glorified in his affliction” because he knew the sweet Holy spirit would rest on him and that was worth the brier scratches, the harder the enemy hit him, the greater the power of God would bathe him.
Go, you will be glad you did!
Original Post: 09/05/2014 & 03/28/2015 all rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson/ baresoulphlogizo 2015/ revisited 05/02/2021 

Truly beautiful song.. As close as I could find to the thought of this post! Love and Peace!