May 13, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

MOTHERS, THE BEJEWELMENT TO THE CROWN OF THE KING

Mothers, we are formed in their bodies, they feed us, diaper us, love us and nurture us. They dry our tears and relieve all our fears. They chase the boogey men away. Spend sleepless nights by our bedside when we are sick.

#1. Things always look brighter after a good night sleep. We often worry about bad things that never actually happen.

#2. No matter how bad that day may seem, one day we really do look back and whatever it was that almost broke us will seem like a nightmare that never really even happened.

#3. An old, old one which is true and will always be true, whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

You know she was right on all counts, and she still is!

I always thought if I could even be “half the woman” that she is I would do well. She is beautiful inside and out and has such a dignity and grace about her that is almost regal and loves Jesus more than life itself.

Mothers are like beautiful jewels, they come in a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. Each one exquisitely crafted by the master’s hand.

Maybe your birth mother or maybe the mother God chose just for you by joining you together through adoption.

Maybe He chose your grandmother or Aunt as the defining maternal hand to guide you, love you, teach you, and above all nurture you in Him.

Nevertheless, we all know there is no one, no one like our mother.

The relationship between Mary and Jesus is such a beautiful example of this one-of-a-kind bond.
We know the story, Mary the blessed virgin, to whom an angel came to proclaim that she would give birth to the Son of the Almighty God, who had in fact created her.

Without a doubt she was scared to death, how do you conceive without a mate? An answer which came when she was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost.

How do you knowingly carry the Son of God inside your body?

How do you tell your future husband and your family that this is true, and it really happened to you?
How do you travel ninety miles on a donkey and give birth in a stable surrounded by his beautiful animal creations knowing this child is the one to save all of creation?

How do you accept the gifts of frankincense, gold, and myrrh brought from faraway lands by wise men on bended knee who have been led there by a star to pay honor and tribute to the King of all Kings?

How do you give the offering of the poorest of poor when dedicating him, never, ever worrying about providing for him?

How do you hear a prophecy from one who had been promised he would not see death until he beheld the face of this promised child, when that prophecy is that “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also”?

As this child grows and maternal instincts take over, as he is held, loved, learns to crawl, walk and says his first words, has his first bumps and bruises and one day decides to stay behind and talk with the elders rather than join the caravan his family traveled with.

How do you understand, when you ask why he did this and he asks you “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?”,

I will tell you how, he was her baby, even though he was divine, she knew he was God’s Son, but she was human, and she was his mother and like all of us, that was her baby and as she watched him grow, he became what he was…her son whom she loved more than life itself.

Fast forward twenty-one years after pondering what did he mean by this, as he begins his ministry and watching his miracles (she had to know he held this power because she asked him to do something for her friends at the wedding when he turned the water into wine, which was his first public display of this power) she watched as her own people hated him and threatened his life, she watched as his ministry grew.

She knew of his arrest and public torture and finally seeing him bloody, beaten beyond recognition and carrying a wooden beam to his execution, his battered body falling under the weight of it. And unable to go to him, to hold him, to touch his face, to tell him everything would be okay and this was still her baby and there was nothing in the universe she could do to stop it because it was the piercing of her soul. There would be no words to describe her sorrow.

How could her beautiful son who hung nailed to a cross, nearing death look down and want to be sure his mother would be cared for before dying, because he was her firstborn son.

John 19:25-27 “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, (John) he saith unto his mother Woman, behold thy son!

Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.”

They seriously wrote the book, the ultimate story of love between a mother and child, and a wonderful example to us about the love and respect we should have for own mothers.

I hope all have a blessed Mother’s Day and if you have lost your Mother, rejoice in knowing just as Jesus and Mary we reunited and are together forever and ever, you will be also. And if you know a lady who maybe has lost her children or they are “too busy” for her, please, please consider “adopting” her for Mother’s Day.

A card, flowers or just a visit can change her world. Because loneliness is one “disease” we can cure!

Remember Jesus said if you do it for one of his little one’s (saints) you’ve done it for him!
Because He is the King and these ladies are precious, precious jewels that help make up his Majestic crown! They are precious to him!
Φλογίζω 2014 Revised 2019 & 2020/ May 08, 2022,& 05/13/2023

*Post Note: My beautiful mother mentioned above has since went home to be with Jesus, I was blessed beyond words to be her child.

March 31, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

KINGDOM COME

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

August 24, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Making it through the night……

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, TOSSED with waves: for the WIND was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night (the blackest, darkest hour) JESUS WENT UNTO THEM, WALKING ON THE SEA.”
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they CRIED OUT FOR (because of) FEAR.
But STRAIGHTWAY (Immediately) JESUS SPAKE unto them, saying, BE OF GOOD CHEER (have courage) IT IS I ( I AM ); BE NOT AFRAID.” Matthew 14:25-27
Through the journey of this life many times we find that we are that ship, the waves crashing and tossing us about, unable to catch balance tossed with that horrible great wind that is blowing down on us in the worst possible hour.
The fourth watch, when we have been tossed by the raging waves of trails of life and circumstances that we have no control over.
Trails and troubles that comes just as a part of this life for us and for all others.
But when you add that horrid wind, that cold, fierce blowing of the fury of the enemy, because he loves to kick you when your down and it is always during last stretch of the night.
He thinks of it as this, you are already weak, tired, and completely exhausted, just worn out from the hours you have already battled through the dark and he knows if he can get you to lose focus that this night is never going to end, he will destroy your faith in God.
Notice Jesus came in that hour, Jesus knew where they were, he knew what they were battling and he knew at what point they would break IF he did not step in.
Being in an exhaustive state it is hard to see whose hand is whose and this was Jesus coming to their rescue but they were so mentally drained that they were afraid that he too was more trouble headed their way.
When they cried out (as we cry out to Him) it was then that he said IT IS I, and encouraged their faith.
Peter was so distraught, he needed reassurance, just as we too sometimes need to know that He is aware of what we are going through, that He really is there, and that He really is going to take us through the night.
“And Peter answered and him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come to thee on the water.
And he said, Come, And when Peter was down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
BUT when he SAW THE WIND boisterous (violent) HE WAS AFRAID, he cried, saying
Lord, SAVE ME.” Matthew 14:28-30

Jesus had given him that reassurance that he was aware and was completely on the scene, and at
the comforting voice of his Lord he began to walk on those horrible waves that had held him as their terrorized prisoner only moments earlier.
In life, we sometimes feel like we can’t catch a break.
We think we see the shimmer of the morning starting to break through and then the darkness
only returns with even more blackness and wind howling.
We feel like as soon as things are finally looking up something happens and it all crashes in on us.

“And IMMEDIATELY JESUS STRETCHED FORTH HIS HAND, AND CAUGHT HIM, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, Wherefore didst thou ( why did you) doubt?
And when they were come into the ship, THE WIND CEASED.” Matthew 14:28-30

So many troubled waters, waves of sickness, waves of financial woes, waves of worry about our children and their futures, waves of family issues, the winds of past hurts and unresolved heartaches and the stone cold blow of lack of closure to doors of the past. It all rocks, it tosses, and that wind will blow.
But Jesus came through in that darkest most tempestuous hour, even though they thought they couldn’t make it, HE KNEW when they couldn’t and by allowing Peter to walk on those waves, he was really showing him something.
People are so mean about Peter, they are always pointing out the fact that he temporarily slipped, but how many of them have ever been in Peter’s sandals?
We can look at others and think well, this or that, but until we have truly, truly been in their shoes we don’t know how we would react, but Jesus does and he knows what we can handle has nothing to do with what we FEEL like we can handle.
Storms to weather, giants to fight, crosses to bear, and no one likes it. I have yet to meet a Christian who jumps up in Church and shouts “Woo, hoo bring on the storm!”
I have fought some hellacious giants, there are battles that I am not sure that I will win in this earth but I know if I hold on and keep the faith, that even if it is at the feet of the Lord in New Jerusalem that the battle will have been won.
There have been times when warnings to church has come that storms were brewing and I’d be like, please, please no, no more storms.
We all go through it and some are worse than others and there is always someone else whose storm makes ours look like a sunny morn.
I never will forget the testimony of a certain preacher, I love to hear him, he straight shoots, preaches hell, fire, brimstone, mingled with love and compassion and all with a comedic edge that can make you dig where he is coming from without making you want to hide under the pew.
He often made remarks about his childhood that confused me, because his Mom is an awesome woman and I couldn’t figure out how all this happened to him.
One night he told us what God had brought him from, he had been born to stoned parents who had a house full of kids, and kept having kids, he told us about watching his baby sibling die, believing the baby may have frozen to death because there was a hole in the ceiling with snow actually falling in, and he kept a crew cut all the time and had a very visible scar on his head, he went on to tell us that he received that after opening a can of food without permission and being hit with the still attached to the can, jagged top.
When he and his siblings rescue came, he was eleven and his Mom later told me that he was barely dressed and wearing a ladies top.
And to know him now and to know that God stepped in and changed this child’s life and fulfilled HIS PURPOSE for him, placing him with a good family that would teach him of a God that loved him despite what that horrible storm he had lived in for eleven years had tried to convince him of.
Don’t try to wait out the storm to pursue the things of God for your life.
The young man who asked Jesus if he could “bury his father” before following him was answered by “Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
It will not always easy, but sometimes we have to stop fighting with things that are dead, and trying to change things that will never be changed, and accept them as such, and go on in our walk with the Lord.
Sometimes we have to take what we have and work with it, even if we think we are lacking what we “need” to get the job done.
In the story of Elisha, we are introduced to him as he is plowing a field having only eleven oxen, now we know that can’t be done and that is why we are told that HE HIMSELF IS THE TWELFTH OXEN!
Field needed plowed, he needed an ox, so he did what had to be done.
He could have said well, whenever we get another ox, I’ll take care of that field, but he didn’t.
So the giant you face is monstrous, the cross is growing might heavy, and that wind is threatening to smash your ship to smithereens, BUT JESUS IS RIGHT THERE.
He will slay that giant, He will give you His strength to make that cross lighter to bear, and He will lead you BACK TO SAFETY AND THAT STORM WILL CEASE.
Morning will come breaking through and at the end of it all, that little ship will be stronger, having weathered that dreaded storm, it will now be a proven sea worthy vessel, those giants won’t look quite so tall when you know the hand that is stretching out to catch you is the hand that controls it all.
Just so someone out there will know, this is NOT what I had planned for today, and He showed me things in this I had never noticed and I feel his presence with it, I will never pretend to know your pain or tell you life will be great, but one day the storm will pass and maybe sooner than you know!
I want to leave you with this, quote it, memorize and keep it to your heart:
Psalm 56:3 : “WHAT TIME I AM AFRAID, I WILL TRUST IN THEE.”
May God bless you and keep you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Φλογιζω/ all rights reserved. NBJ/2015 **REVISTED 08/24/20222**

Awesome song, hope it will encourage you Shared from YouTube

March 22, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

DWELLING PLACE

“Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them upon the face of the earth.” Amos 5:8

We know what could be said, I personally can never say it enough.
He is omnipotent and omnipresent, no matter where you are, He is with you.
He is holy, beautiful, complete in glory and majesty and yet having a gentleness and humility unlike anything of this world.

He is the Lord and beside Him, there is no savior.
Jeremiah 23:23″Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off ? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”

When he revealed himself to Saul, who was on his way to arrest all the Christians that he could round-up, Jesus told him it was useless to resist him, my question would be who could?

He then transformed Saul to his chosen vessel Paul, who would go preach the very gospel he had so adamantly fought against! With thirteen books of the New Testament having been authored by him.

Now that is a true transformation of mind and soul!
So many atrocities are committed in the name of God, but he is nowhere near of any it.
Jesus is gentle and merciful and does not condone beating children, animals or anyone.

He himself, suffered a horrific beating before His crucifixion, in our place, so why would He want us to beat others or be subjected to it?
Evil always pretends that it is for the cause of good, because Satan is a liar and the father of lies.

The Bible recalling work after work of the Lord with the heavens, the earth, and the seas, and all of creation declaring His glory.
His will and purpose for us equating into that plan when we should be so small, so insignificant, but the God of the universe has called His followers, His friends!
The nations are as but a drop of water in a bucket to Him and yet He has called us his peculiar treasure.

Maybe that is why we are a peculiar treasure, that He would think of us and walk with Adam and Eve in the garden, and speak with Moses, first from a burning bush and then face to face, visit with Abraham and spend time with the disciples before returning to heaven and cry when we cry and hear us when we call and heaven comes down to visit earth.

No matter how we profess our love for Him, the truth of the matter and the secret to it all, is HIS love toward us!

A love so far beyond our human comprehension and defying all our human logic.

And the best part is His word and His word will not return void, it will do what He sent it to do.
So no matter where you are on this earth, what persecution and ridicule that you may be suffering today, I want you to know He does love you and He sees all that you endure.
Hold onto to Him, don’t try to figure anything out on your own, give it all to Him and He will guide you in the way you need to go.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth him out of all their troubles.
The Lord is nigh (near) unto them that are of a broken spirit and saveth such as be of a contrite (crushed) spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.” Psalm 34:15, 17-19

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, HE IS my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
Thou shalt not be afraid for (of) the terror by night; nor the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence (trouble) that walketh in darkness; nor the destruction that wasteth( lays waste) at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee.” Psalm 91:1-6,11

“Because thou hath made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation (dwelling place);” Psalm 91:9

The Lord’s answer follows:
“Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will deliver him:
I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him.”

Again him, being a generic term for all humans.

Literally living, breathing, being kept hidden from the adversary under the protective presence of all-powerful, all-knowing God.

“For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me: he shall set me upon a rock.

And now mine head shall be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle (presence) sacrifices of joy:

I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.

Hear, O, Lord when I cry with my voice: have mercy upon me and answer me.

When thou saidst Seek ye my face: my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek.” Psalm 27:5-8

Life is never fair.

Things happen, it rains on the just and the unjust.

Trials and heartache come, but there is a presence of God, a place of safety, a place that assures you peace even in the midst of a storm raging all around you.
A reassurance that can only be found in His everlasting arms, under the shadow of his wings.

If you need this today, all you have to do is ask Him, He does understand, He created you in the palm of His hand and yet those wings spread so far that He can cover the entire world with them.

That is who HE IS and that is one of the many reasons we love Him and worship Him and He never forces us to do any of it.

“And ye will seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

My sincerest prayer for you today is that the Lord keep you, bless you and make his face shine upon you and give you peace, in the name above every name, Jesus of Nazareth. AMEN

Φλογιζω/ All rights reserved. NBJ 2015
Revisited 2019 * I wanted to revisit this post again as we still watch the heartache that plays out in our world, and it can cause feelings of helplessness and overwhelming hopelessness, but don’t lose heart, God always wins!

February 2, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

OF MADMEN, MARTYRS AND MAIDS/ PART1

Now that we are all awake, where’s the fire? Man, that’s a good question, especially when you consider scriptures such as “For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12:29
“Who maketh his angels spirits and his ministers (servants) a flaming fire.” Psalm 104:4
The fire Jesus refers to when he said “I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15,16
Lukewarm Christianity is like lukewarm anything.
It is a spineless, gutless attempt to lay claim to a massive inheritance of untold worth while denying the very one it is handed down by.
That is why the Lord tells them without question that he knows their works, and he wants to give him their all or give him nothing but don’t try to play the middle.
Today we have become so worried about offending people and being politically correct, that we will choke back anything while the true church is ran into the ground.
The prophet Jeremiah also went through this in his time.

But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing and could not stay.” Jeremiah 20:8,9
Jeremiah had absolutely the worst job in the Bible, he is often referred to as “the Prophet of doom”.
It was his job to proclaim the forthcoming judgment on his own people, the very people who instead of heeding his warnings would ridicule him, even to the point that he would have rather not have been born as to have to carry out this task.
But the fire of God and the holy calling on him, that had been placed on him before he had been formed in his mother’s womb, was so strong and burned so deep that it could not be contained and it prevailed.
God wants to use some people in these last days that are wiling to just let Him burn in them and do the work his has created them for.
People like Martin Luther who took on the entire church of his day, because a fellow named Tetzel had cooked up quite a money-making scheme, enough money to help build Saint Peter’s Cathedral, by selling what he called “indulgences”.
A get out of purgatory free certificate, ( purgatory being the Catholics belief in pre-hell, a place we know does not exist, because the rich man in the story of Lazarus had lifted up his eyes in hell) Luther being disgusted and knowing for himself the truth of God nailed his understanding of that truth to the church door.
John Brown, who finally became so tired of the injustice done to the slaves that he started his own movement, which regrettably became violent, bloody and cost lives.
One of the last photos taken of him before his execution, tells all there is to tell, as a small, black child hugs him as they lead him away to his hanging.
When he had been asked how he justified what he had done, this was his reply “Upon the golden rule. I pity the poor in bondage that have none to help them, that is why I am here, not to gratify any personal animosity, revenge or vindictive spirit. It is my sympathy with the oppressed and wronged that are as good as you and are as precious in the sight of God.”
Luther suffered excommunication and the threat of death but took his cause forward.
Brown paid with his life, I am sure he never wanted to see any lives lost, but I am equally as sure that the hug he received before going to his death was worth it all because he knew he had lived for something other than himself.
Two very different men, both having a common fire, burning for truth, justice and to see others truly free. That fire could be contained.

Nor should it today, pray for that fire.
If one voice can affect the entire world, what can we accomplish with our voices collectively speaking as one?

Original Post: 12/20/2013 FOWC/AVENUE Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2015 REVISITED 02/02/22 Φλογιζω Also listen as podcast at: https://anchor.fm/phlogizo

October 16, 2021 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“A Brief Intermission”

“Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, but when the desire is cometh, it is the tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

You gotta have hope! I love that verse because think about it, when we get discouraged and life throws everything at us, “but the kitchen sink”, as our Southern sayings go, we can lose hope and nothing is worse than feeling hopeless.

As that verse tells us it literally sickens our heart. It also destroys our health, peace, and withers away our very souls, but when the thing we had hoped for and almost given up hope on, finally comes to be, we have such joy, such newness, that brings a fresh breath not only to our life but to our very soul.

And you may be thinking,” Okay Lady, aren’t you supposed to be working on the judgements?’ To which I would surely answer, “Why yes, actually I am. But the really really tricky part with dealing with the judgments is to attempt to deal with it without being overwhelming, it is heavy and it is doom. destruction, and peril, and if not dealt with correctly could lead to a feeling of hopelessness for anyone studying it.

Which is maybe why many ministers have a hard time embracing the very necessary teaching of it. I love a good sermon myself, but God gave us the entire Bible, including the books that make people uncomfortable, or more like terrified.

So bearing all that as I was working on a little something about “climate change”, I felt that we may need to have a little intermission to restore our hope and remember the end goal and the beauty that will come after all the pain.

As I pondered which way to go with the thought, I was out walking yesterday and it was so absolutely beautiful as autumn has come and the leaves were brilliant with the sun peeking through the trees some still quite green but now mingled with golden yellows, flaming orange, and gorgeous shades of burgundy, the sky perfectly blue scattered with a cloud or two, enough fallen leaves to crackle underfoot as I walked, and the air so crisp with the unmistakable scent of hickory nuts, many of which are now scattered about.

And I love it! And it always amazes me how something so beautiful can be the result of its actual death, it is loveliest just before it finally falls to the ground, surrendering to the cold, snow, and ice to come.

Much like the judgments, their impending doom and destruction does indeed mean the end of what was known or what will ever be again but just as those trees will restore completely renewed after winters assault, so will earth and those who have chosen to serve Jesus, restoration and beauty, peace and eternal joy, as never experienced before.

And like in our own lives when seasons change, all things change in order to produce greater things.

To be restored something had to be lost or damaged, and God restores to conditions even better than before.

To be renewed something has to have grown tired, and weary or have been weakened.

To be revived something has to be on the edge of death.

So before we move on to more judgments we’ll look at what we have to look forward too.

My favorite, I have used it in many a post, it is a picture of the resurrection of the dead and the rapture of the church at the return of Christ, and it is actually compared to the seasons of earth.

Song of Solomon 2:10-13:“My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my fair one, and come away.

For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone;

The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the signing of the birds is come, and the voice of the turtle (turtledove) is heard in our land;

The fig tree putteth forth her green figs and the vines with the tender grape gives a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”

Jesus is our beloved and his church is his love, his fair one and what a beautiful picture of the times of trouble, the winter of earth over and all the rain of sorrows, fire, brimstone from the heavens that will come with the judgments will also with his reign over earth, be gone.

I was reminded of this verse a few weeks back, as I walked by my father’s grapevine, the aroma was heavenly, and these verses are such as blessed reassurance that one day, everything will be made new.

And you probably know these final verses well, but this is our hope and this is why we want to share not only the Gospel, but to share the judgments to come, because if they do not know what is coming and why, how can they possibly repent and be spared all those dreaded events that will come upon earth?

“And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first 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 wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow. nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new, And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of teh water of life freely.

He that overcometh shall inherit all things; And I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

But the fearful ( This usage means cowardly) and unbelieving, and abominable, and murders, and whoremongers (sexually immoral),and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is teh second death.

And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the last seven plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew 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 had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel.

On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates.

And the wall the city had twelve foundations, and in (on) them were 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 (;aid out as a square), and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs (fifteen hundred miles) The length, the breadth, and the height of it are equal.

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits 216 feet), according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

And the building (construction) of the wall of it was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

And the foundations of the wall city were garnished (adorned) with all manner of precious stones.

The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eight, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; and every several (individual) gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten(illuminate) 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 gates of it shall not be shit at all by day: for there shall be no night there.

And they shall bring the glory and honour of nations into it.

And there shall in no wise (no way) enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh(causes) abomination, or maketh a lie; but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

And the shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

And there shall be no night there; no need no candle (lamp), neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light; and they shall reign for ever and ever.

And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done (take place).

Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Revelation 21:1-27 & Revelation 22:1-7

You have to have hope in these things to endure the knowledge of those things which are to come. I do pray that this has been a pleasant intermission, please stay with as we go forward learning about the judgements from various books of the Bible and we will also talk about what life on the new earth and new Jerusalem will be like, and I promise you this, it will be beautiful beyond our wildest dreams!

Have a blessed week! Love & Peace to you and yours, thanks for reading!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2021/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

May 16, 2021 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“With these words…”

“But I would not have you to be ignorant (unaware) brethren, concerning them which are asleep (have passed away) that we sorrow NOT, even as others which have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, EVEN SO THEM ALSO WHICH SLEEP (have died) IN JESUS WILL GOD BRING WITH HIM.

For this we say unto you BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, that they which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep (the living will NOT make it to heaven before the dead in Christ).

FOR THE LORD HIMSELF SHALL DESCEND FROM HEAVEN WITH A SHOUT, WITH THE VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL, AND WITH THE TRUMP OF GOD; AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE FIRST.

THEN WE WHICH ARE ALIVE AND REMAIN SHALL BE CAUGHT UP TOGETHER WITH THEM IN THE CLOUDS, TO MEET CHRIST IN THE AIR;

AND SO SHALL WE EVER BE WITH THE LORD. WHEREFORE COMFORT ONE ANOTHER WITH THESE WORDS.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

No sorrow on earth can rival the agony that the death of a loved one.

Since the fall of Adam which brought the curse of death upon all mankind, it has been our worst fear and greatest enemy.

Psalm 23:4: ” Yea, though I walk THROUGH the shadow of the valley of death….”

This earth, this life, this place IS the valley of the shadow of death.

Death ever looming, its shadow trying to obstruct us from the light, ever stalking, ever to be feared, though God does not want that.

Death at any age is tragedy. Losing a mother or father at eighty years old is just as a devastating loss as it is for the person who lost a parent that had been in the prime of life. We love our parents, we are formed from them and taught by them, and even people who have had “bad” parents still suffer the hurt at the loss of that parent because the parent/child bond is inseverable.

Just as many parents have stated during troubling times with their grown children, “You ALWAYS love your children.”

And in turn people stating that even though their parents were not good parents “They are still (my) parents” ( I put that in quotes because I am using examples, I am NOT referring to my own parents, whom I love dearly).

So the loss is tragic no matter the age, for us it is much harder to see children lose a parent but still, even a sixty year old losing a Mom or Dad IS still at that moment a child in their grief.

A loss of a sibling comes with its own agony, as I understand very well. A brother or sister is a friend, a playmate, a companion, a person you can laugh with, be scared, with, and most of all be yourself with, they are made of you and you are made of them, same blood, same DNA, a competitiveness that will sometimes fight one another but a love and bond that would fight someone else over them, and once you have lost them, everything thing your life had been up to that loss will never be the same.

I had been planning on doing this several weeks ago but hadn’t quite made it, So today as I write this it is my brother’s sixth anniversary with Jesus and you can read that story at the link below.

I wrote it not only as a memorial and to deal with my own pain but I felt like my family’s story could help someone else get through times of absolute heartache, and trying to hold onto God in faith as we were having to let go of him.

When I think of grief and think of how much others have suffered through loss, I always think of the story the slaughter of the male babies when Herod had sent his soldiers out in an attempt to kill Jesus as a baby.

Herod ordered the slaughter of EVERY male child under the age of two and here is the scripture that sums it up:

Matthew 2:17,18: “Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy (Jeremiah) the prophet, saying,

IN RAMA WAS THERE A VOICE HEARD, LAMENTATION,(wails of sorrow and mourning) AND WEEPING, AND GREAT MOURNING,

RACHEL (symbolic of the entire city) WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN, AND WOULD NOT BE COMFORTED, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT (have been killed).”

I can not even fathom the horror of that loss and that verse that she would not be comforted means she could not. I still can not bear that story because I can not imagine the slaughter of all these babies or the anguish that these mothers suffered.

And again, your child is your child and as we do view it much worse to lose a little child, still to another that has lost her son in his prime it is just as devastating because again, to her that child will always be her child.

We believe and have faith and we struggle with how and why, when we suffer loss and I will absolutely admit that more than once I reminded the Lord that I loved my brother just as much as Mary and Martha loved Lazarus. But the resurrection of Lazarus was to show the glory of God and God spared my brother’s life when he coded and allowed him more time to be saved and accept salvation.

And imagine Mary as she watched her son beaten beyond recognition, bloody, hurting, and staggering under the weight of that cross, and being there when they nailed him to that cross and having heard the screams of the people, “Crucify him” and THIS was HER BABY.

Thirty three years old and even God, but for Mary at that cross, THIS WAS HER BABY and it fulfilled the prophecy that she had been given, Luke 2:35: “(Yea, a sword shall PIERCE thy own soul also) ..” And as that spear pierced through his side into his heart, the piercing of her soul would have been unbearable had all of heaven itself not strengthened her.

Death does pierce our souls and the are no words that will ever take that hurt away but there is comfort through the Word of God.

You must also be careful of this world, there are those who prey on the bereaved. Proclaiming themselves as “mediums” and “psychics” and for fee and the risk of one’s soul if trapped by their deception.

They pretend to speak to loved ones and some through WITCHCRAFT and divination (read Acts:16:16-19 for ONE example, there are many others) they offer to “communicate” with the deceased, but this is a lie.

It is lie from satan and they are communicating with demonic forces and they can tell you all that you WANT to hear but it is not true and it is not from God.

Others worry and seek an alternative way to heaven, seeking comfort about the eternal fate of that loved one whose salvation they are unsure of, seeking hope, hope from a hopeless source.

Touching that subject I want to say this, find your peace in Jesus Christ and this does require you to be saved.

I want to be careful how I say this, because when God calls we must answer and I never want to encourage anyone to wait until they are on their deathbed to ask for forgiveness.

BUT I personally believe that unless a person has just absolutely turned on God and been turned from God, that in those last moments of life, He does give them a final opportunity to accept him, because He is very merciful and as the Bible says “it is NOT his will that ANY should perish” but they are required to accept him but I do believe He asks, and “Whosoever shall CALL upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.”

And of course the classic, the thief on the cross, TO DAY, that VERY day in paradise with the Lord and Jesus saved him then and there and this man did not have time to do anything other than ask for forgiveness and as we know as Jesus promised him, that he IS with Jesus FOREVER,

So what I want to do is give some verses that I hope will be of comfort and blessed assurance, because death is a part of life and it will never be any easier but it IS NOT forever. It IS NOT the end and I will start it with my favorite,

2 Corinthians 5:8:” We ARE confident, I say, and willing rather TO BE ABSENT FROM THE BODY, AND TO BE PRESENT WITH THE LORD.”

And as the Lord was telling what happened when Lazarus died:

Luke 16:22: “And it came to pass, that , that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man died, and was buried.”

One died and was carried by the very angels of heaven and the other died and was simply buried later to open his eyes in hell. But that is not what this one is about but I couldn’t leave that alone because of false teachings that the grave is hell.

Psalm 116:15: “PRECIOUS in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

Jesus takes the pain out of the crossing and He takes control over the grave and it has no more power and those who have died in Him, do LIVE and will LIVE FOREVER.

1 Corinthians 15:55: “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

Jesus said, Matthew 5:4: “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” Which takes us to:

Revelation 21:4: “And God shall wipe away ALL tears from their eyes, and there shall be NO MORE DEATH, NEITHER SORROW, NOR CRYING, NEITHER SHALL THERE BE ANY MORE PAIN; for the former things are passed away.”

And let’s take a look at one more that Solomon had written, he had been so blessed, then he fell off the boat by worshipping false gods with his pagan wives, but then HE RETURNED to God and held the most inspired of the wisdom he had been given from God.

As he reflected on his life and the years he had wasted and all the years he could not bring back, as he knew death would someday come because it comes to us all.

Not because God doesn’t love us, God loves us very much, but God knows the number of our days on this earth before we even arrive here.

This IS not our home, This IS NOT the end. This IS only for a little while and then we will LIVE again.

All this is about death, it is poetic and it is deep, it is beautifully written and it has what we all need, HOPE.

Ecclesiastes 12: 1-7: “Remember now thy Creator, in thy days of thy youth ( think about God while you are young), while the evil days come not, NOR the years draw nigh (aging sets in), when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them.

While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be NOT darkened, NOR the clouds return after the rain.

In the days when the keeper of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, And those that look out of the windows be darkened.

And the doors shall shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and DESIRE (will to do anything) SHALL FAIL; BECAUSE MAN GOETH TO HIS LONG (eternal) HOME, AND THE MOURNERS GO ABOUT THE STREETS;

Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. (Descriptive of different ages and seasons people die) THEN SHALL THE DUST RETURN TO THE EARTH AS IT WAS: AND THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN TO GOD WHO GAVE IT.”

Death comes at many times, many seasons, and in many ways BUT we all suffer the effects the same but we have eternal hope in knowing this that even though those that are gone on can not come, we can go be with them.

King David had fathered a baby with Bathsheba, and he had fasted and prayed WHILE the baby was still alive, and this was backward to what people did in those days and when asked why, this is his answer, PLEASE think about what he is saying:

2 Samuel 12:22,23: ” And he said, WHILE THE CHILD WAS YET ALIVE, I FASTED AND WEPT; for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious to me, that the child may live?

But now he is dead, wherefore (why) should I fast? CAN I BRING HIM BACK AGAIN? I SHALL GO TO HIM, BUT HE SHALL NOT COME BACK TO ME.”

David knew that he would certainly be with his child.

And that is what we must remember and even if you do not know the state of your loved one’s soul when they passed, please, again don’t let the enemy lie to you.

God is a merciful and just God and you don’t even think anything else. Keep your eyes on heaven and on the hope eternal as our starting scripture stated, the souls which are with Jesus will be reunited with resurrected glorified bodies (and yes, he can make them again if needed) and together with those alive, gathered from earth, will meet in the air and it will be FOREVER.

Please have peace and comfort in that and as you seek God, He will give you peace and He will give you comfort, and often He gives us answers and THESE are the words, HIS WORD that we will find that comfort in.

Εξυπνιζω NBJ 2017 Original Post date: 10/24/2017, Revisited 05/16/2021, As so many have been lost to the pandemic and I myself faced grief several times since losing my brother, I pray God’s word will bring comfort to someone who is hurting today. REVISTED 09/19/2021, Praying God’s unchanging Word will comfort someone today.

September 9, 2020 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Bountiful Benefits”

Psalm 119:17-24 GIMEL: “Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

I am a stranger in the earth; hide not thy commandments from me.

My soul breaketh for (is crushed with) the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.

Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

Remove from me reproach and contempt; for I have kept thy testimonies.

Princes also did sit and speak against me; but thy servant did mediate in thy statutes.

Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.”

The joys of serving the Lord are beyond measure, but often in the midst of persecution or a season of lack we may not also feel blessed or feel like the chosen that we are. Which is why this verse reminds us that his testimonies are our delight and they are our “counselors”, helping us and giving us direction especially in the face of our enemies who ridicule and accuse us and God wants us to focus on Him, not on their actions especially when it seems like that have it “made” in life and it appears that they just run on forever being cruel, wicked, and unkind but God tells us often in his word that he sees all of this and even though it may appear that they are somehow rewarded, in reality if they do not change this life will be only life they have because they will be condemned to an eternal hell and in that thought you will actually feel sorry for them and here is his word on how to deal with that.

Psalm 37:1-18: “Fret not (do not be concerned with) thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

For they shall soon be cut down like grass, and wither as the green herb.

TRUST IN THE LORD, and do good; so shall thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

DELIGHT THYSELF ALSO IN THE LORD; AND HE SHALL GIVE THEE THE DESIRES OF THINE HEART.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment (justice) as noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; fret not thyself in any wise (way) to do evil.

For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed); but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth .

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall NOT be; yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

But the meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plotteh against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

The Lord shall laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and the needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation (conduct).

Their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken. A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

For the arms (forces of control) of the wicked shall be broken; but the Lord UPHOLDETH the righteous.

THE LORD KNOWETH THE DAYS OF THE UPRIGHT; AND THEIR INHERITANCE SHALL BE FOR EVER.”

Φλογιζω NBJ 2020/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

December 28, 2019 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“2020 Constant in continuance”

“As he spoke these words, many believed in him, If ye continue in my word, then ye are my disciples indeed: and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31,32

Going to be going back to those passages in just a bit, but I wanted to stop there and talk about that truth, His truth, the truth that this entire season is supposed to celebrate. Jesus arriving on earth as a perfectly innocent babe, just as Jesus always was and still is and will forever be.

That is the truth that He brought to us, his beauty, his humility, and most of His grace.

A grace to so compassionate and so extensive that instead of destroying us in judgment against our sins, He chose to save us, save us from sin, save us from the devil, and most of all save us from ourselves.

That is what I have always found so astounding and so amazing, not that everything about God and His majesty isn’t astounding, it is because He is supernatural while we are just barely natural!

But how a being who could speak everything that we know as the universe into existence, could separate the heaven from the earth and the heavens from the heavens and fling the starts, planets, sun, and moon into an endless space.

Created innumerable species on such a scale from the largest of beasts to the tiny little daphnia, who being only 0.01-0.20 inches in size has a beautiful little features including a perfect little heart that can be seen beating through its translucent body under a microscope, so tiny that this does not hurt them in anyway.

The SAME God who created the mammoths, the whales, also created the tiny little humming birds, the incredible assortment of color changing and electrically charge sea creatures and right down to the microscopic communities of absolute GOD GIVEN life.

And every single one with hundreds of types and varieties within their species, all intelligent, beautiful, and with uniquely their own social orders.

The birds who are especially brilliant with their dances of courtship and the bower-birds, the males building beautifully designed masterpieces of found art to impress potential mates, while other males seriously stake out his joint waiting for a chance to destroy it so that he can take out his competition for those potential mates.

And the male red birds who sing sweet songs as their “lady” birds set patiently on the eggs that will be their new family.

And all these much better parents and partners than their human counter parts on any given day.

And we could go on forever with example after example across the board of God’s creation.

And in all the splendor, all of the magnificent display of His creations, He came to save but one of all the kinds he created. the only species that ever questioned his existence, the only species that ever dared think itself quite so high, the only species that needed a Saviour!

You can “see” this uniquely human attitude as we return to our scriptures, now bear in mind that these guys are actually saying this to God, the very one who created them!

And yet they question him.

John 8:33-43:”They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, (descendants), and we were NEVER in bondage to any man: HOW sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?

Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.

And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever (forever). If the Son shall therefore make ye free, ye shall be free indeed.

I know that ye are Abraham’s seed: but ye seek to kill me, because my WORD has no place in you.

I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.

They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father, Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they unto him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word.”

They couldn’t hear, even though they probably had perfect hearing they still could not hear the word, even with the Living Word standing right in front of them.

And in our world today it is so easy to get side tracked to get out of focus with the truth of God’s word, as Jesus so simply stated as this, John 8:47: “He that is of God heareth God’s words…”

And that is not even about hearing the literal voice of God (which I am not disputing that some do) He means His written word, his commandments, his teachings and all that he had others write to us when giving us the Bible as our handbook to survival of this world.

2 Corinthians 3:1-17: “Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?

Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:

Forasmuch as ye manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God: not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.

And such trust we have through Christ to God-ward:

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.

Who also hath made us ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather (more) glorious?

For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

For if that which was done (passing) away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:

And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of that which is abolished.

But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.

Nevertheless when it (one) shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. NOW the Lord IS that Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord IS, there IS Liberty.”

So basically what he was saying with much of that is this, as Moses face actually shone from being in the presence of God, and that glory was there even though the Mosaic law called for strict punishment and when the law of Christ comes into our heart how much more is that glory because the glory of that is the promise and hope of ETERNAL freedom!

And if you have Jesus and have his word and keep his word as he told us multiple, multiple times then we will have that promise.

Not much for him to ask, is it? And why doers he ask? For the same reason he warns and advises on any other subject… it is for us, for our GOOD.

Psalm 119:11: “THY WORD HAVE I HID IN MINE HEART, THAT I MIGHT NOT SIN AGAINST THEE.”

Lack of his word leads to sin and as his word tells us “sin leads to death” and death without him leads to an eternity no one wants to think of.

So continue in him, in his word, and take him for his word and enjoy the goodness, mercy, and grace that he came to this earth to give us.

What better way to start our new year in him, a fresh commitment to staying in his word and true to the simplicity of his word, not mega ministers not theories or thoughts but JESUS, and his word at face value, just as he intended, one of the many reasons he came, prophet after prophet he sent, but then he came and he told us HIMSELF!

Think of that as we go into 2020…

Φλογιζω NBJ 2019/ REV. Nina BrownJohnson

August 1, 2019 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

AWAKENING / THE FORGOTTEN CHILD

“Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?

I raised thee up(awakened) under the apple tree:…” Song of Solomon 7:5

The wilderness the daughters of God have been very acquainted with since the dawn of time.
Since the fall of man, the enemy has ensured that we would be considered no more than property and every day countless of us are raped, abused, forced into prostitution and in many countries we are still property at the complete mercy of often unmerciful husbands.

While in other corners of the world, unable to carry lineage names daughters are aborted and others sold into slavery.
Christianity of old.

Tainted by MEN also seemed to teach that women are inferior but the truth is far from that.
My biggest struggle in coming to Christ was this very topic, I was like, Why are women always the bad ones? Misguided teaching of confused or intentionally biased doctrine has kept many away and who could blame them?
Many modern women who have been left to support their children completely alone, who have struggled to pay their bills, put food on their tables, educate themselves and their children, just barely surviving through the world.

And if they happen into the wrong church they will hear that they are of a lesser value to God than their male counterparts. To “fit in” they will need to change everything about themselves and sit down and above all shut up.
Even after God had enlightened me to the truth and helped me understand his word, I still had trouble wrapping my head around a few things.
I did most of intense studying before my child was school aged, after everyone was asleep and my house cleaned, I would stay up and read until I could not function any longer.

One night I happened upon Judges 19 which in my opinion contains the most disturbing and gruesome story in the entire Bible.
It mirrors the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, ironically found in Genesis 19, when Lot had offered his virgin daughters to the deviant, demon possessed pagans, who were demanding he turn over his male visitors to them, “that they may know them” translated, so they could gang rape them.

The Bible clear to point out that Lot offered these girls with a “do whatever you want to them” agreement to try to get them to take them instead of the male visitors.

To break Judges 19 down, a Levite had a concubine, it says she “played the harlot”.
I’m not sure how that worked since she was “kept” for that purpose, double standards of the day, which still equate in our culture as the difference between a guy being a “player” and a woman being a “slut”.

Another problem Jesus addressed when he came to earth, he wants two people married, period.
Enlightening them to their double standards when they wanted judgment against the adulterous woman, of course it takes two, but they seemed to have forgotten to bring her partner in this sin before the Lord, His answer to them translating to this, if they themselves had no sin, go ahead hit her.

Standing in front of a Holy God they couldn’t do it.

But at the time of Judges, men could have as many women as they wanted but it was never God’s plan.
To get on with the story, she went back to her father’s house, so he comes after her to talk her into coming back, finally she agreed, and after being detained several days they went on their way.

He refused to stay anywhere other than lands belonging to the tribes of Israel and insisted on traveling to a city of the tribe of Benjamin, they had nowhere to stay, so an old man invited them to stay with him, pleading that they not stay outside, soon just as with Sodom, there were men at his door demanding he turn over this man to them that they “may know him”.

Picture perfect to Sodom, only lacking the presence of the angels that saved Lot’s daughters. So the old guy offers his daughter and the concubine, again with the agreement to whatever they wanted to them, just do not touch the man.

They refused, they still wanted the man, so the guy just takes the concubine and throws her out to them and they repeatedly gang rape her until the morning and then they let her go.

She makes it to the door of the house where she collapses, she just lies there helplessly until he gets up, opens the door and finds her and he actually tells her quite simply, to get up they have to get going, needless to say she is dead.
He dismembers her body into twelve parts and sends a part to each of the tribes and war is waged.
It wasn’t that they raped her or that she was dead that bothered him, it was because they destroyed his property.

I read this and I was alone with my shock and absolute horror and knowing the Lord, I just asked “Why, Why are we of so little value?”
These “men” would not even try to fend off these monsters, not even try to muster up an ounce of anything remotely resembling courage to fight for themselves.

Forget chivalry, or protection, an ounce of some sort of compassion, but to just offer these women as less than nothing and to do it to save themselves. I just could not understand it.

I do understand that at the time the thought of this being done to men was so unthinkable that they were desperate to prevent it. But they could have tried to prevent it for happening to any of them.

The God I know would never sanction this stuff or ever condone it and I was in tears, and it just hit me to keep reading, the bottom line is this, at the very end of Judges, “In those days there was no king in Israel: Every man did what was right in his own eyes.”

This was never God!

He never put these things in men’s hearts and for years it was falsely taught and still is in many places.

Men still do what is right in their own eyes and only God can make them see the truth.
But it is time for the awakening of his daughters.

No matter what false beliefs that women have been brainwashed by, we have to let them know that this is not what Jesus is about.
He does not hate women and did not create us to be objects of amusement to fulfill the twisted lusts of men nor to be their gender indentured servants.

If we are ever to see those that are oppressed be saved and free, they have to know the truth about him and who he is and most of all who they are in him.

A forgotten child, much like David, when no one would even waste their time to call him to be presented before Samuel the Prophet, because in their eyes why would a prophet possibly want to speak with someone so unimportant and simple?

A forgotten child from the greatest of tribes, who just happened to be a woman, a sister to the twelve tribes of Israel, a forgotten child that no one bothers to mention because she was not as important as her brothers, or so they thought.

Dinah, the seventh child Leah bore to Jacob, a woman who also a thing or two about pain and substandard treatment, who had been raped and used as a bargaining chip which led to a mass slaughter.

Her bloodline STILL offering an inheritance. because she was one of the tribe.

The most prophetic beauty with Dinah is the meaning of her name, “JUDGEMENT.”

It is awakening time for the sisters, the beautiful, forgotten army who have a straight shot to the heart of the Father.

You are so strong, so powerful, and yet, you do not even know WHO YOU ARE in HIM, and so unaware of your predestined place in this end time end game.

You are the spiritual virgins and maidens forever following to proclaim the majesty, beauty, and holiness of the Kings of Kings.

It is the love and proclamations that Hannah, and Mary, and never forget Mary Magdalene, He came to her first because she needed him the most.

Take your place in the kingdom, it is not going to be accomplished with half an army.
The adoration and praises from hearts that have known sorrows and pain that men can never begin to understand.

A relationship to God who will bring justice for others on behalf of the cries of the souls of his daughters.
Unlike the time of Judges, unlike the women who are your sisters the world over, who are oppressed and in bondage.

You have access to a King, the King, and The King over heaven, and earth, and the entire universe, He will plead their cause if you bring them before his throne in that secret prayer closet.
He will bring justice for those your tears flood the altar for, when you allow your soul to be awakened under that tree, awakened by a love so strong, so powerful, so consuming that you wear that love as a covering for the whole world to see.

“I AM the rose of Sharon and the lily of the valleys. As the lily among the thorns so is my love among the daughters. as the apple tree among the trees of wood so it my beloved among the sons.

I sat down under his shadow with great delight his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me into the banqueting house and his banner of me was LOVE” Song of Solomon 2:1-4

Translated: KNOW HIM for who HE IS, allow his love to bloom in you, in spite of the valleys and thorns, breathe in his sweetness and lift you up out of those ashes and hide in the secret place of the Most High, under the shadow of his wings, taste the goodness of his salvation and let him bring you into his house of feasting and the love of Jehovah Nissi is his war flag over his daughters and the love is the secret to it all.

For later posts in the realm of all things feminine, check these out:

Resurgence of Ruth

“Misplaced pearls”

“Something needs to break”

“Grinding the ax” 1 “acknowledgement”

“Grinding the ax” 2… “Real Love?”

“Grinding the ax” #3 “Anger Danger”

“Grinding the ax” #4 “STRANGLE HOLD”

REVISTED:08/01/2019 I like to revisit these older posts, because sometimes we just need to be reminded of who Jesus REALLY is and who he has called us to be in him.

June 29, 2019 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

LIGHT TRANSCENDENCE

2 Corinthians 4:3,4: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them.”

Hidden gospel, hidden, showing proof that it is there, hidden to blinded minds, minds blinded by the very force that trapped them in that darkness.

Hidden in the dark, dark places where not as much as a single ray of sun dares shine.

I am not as concerned with the demonic forces that hold that darkness as I am with those who are their imprisoned, shackled victims.

Victims of abuse, systematic mental torture and twisted mind games.

I understand the feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, guilt, and shame and the effects of PTSD and it’s array of problems.

But I am still a fan, because I know that it is not a mental condition, it is a self-preservation tool given to us. Because the suffered trauma would be far more than our minds could deal with and we would not be able to.

And I know there is only one cure to it all.

Unbelievers say how can you believe in whom you can’t see, well if you never seek him, why would he reveal himself to you?

That is the cool thing, we are carnal before we are spiritual. It’s like thinking you are going to walk before you even learn to crawl.

But if your heart is already hardened to him, don’t even bother going any farther reading this. Because I know what I know, I’m not fluffy and have been very, very much in the world and I also know who saved me and freed me from the prison of my mind and picked me up out of the ashes of my life.

Disputing or trying to pick me or the word of God apart is not going to change any of it.

So this is for those who are cowering in that darkness, scared ,hidden, not wanting to die but too terrified to live.

So terrified that you hide the real you behind an appearance or attitude that will appear fearful to others to prevent any sign of vulnerability or gentleness or anything that others could possibly misinterpret as weakness.

God did none of these things to you.

But only he can heal you and help you, but you have to let him. He does exist and He is so much more than you can ever imagine and He already knows every hurt, every pain, and every tear you have ever cried.

But you have to realize who your enemy is and I promise it is not Jesus or the truth of the Gospel.

He came to set the captive’s free, to give you not only life, but life abundant.

To give you beauty that you can not even begin to understand for those ashes.

And to give you hope, peace, joy and deliverance from all those things you have come to believe are just a part of you. You do not have to carry it forever, you can be free.

This is not a Christian thing, or conversion thing. It is simply this, as the Disciples said “such as we have been given”.

If he did it for me he will for anyone and my journey started with “If you are really there, please help me” and I promise you if you are reading this through tears, it is a divine appointment.

Psalm 27:1:”The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the lord is my life; of whom shall I be afraid.”

Psalm 119:105:”Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

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.”

If you have tried it all, all the world offers and all the self-destruction tactics that go with it.

Please let me suggest trying the light, the true light, Jesus is that light, trust him and you will never walk alone and most of all, you will never, ever walk in that darkness again.

Original post: 05/19/2015 Revisited 06/29/2019

June 27, 2019 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

DWELLING PLACE

“Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them upon the face of the earth.” Amos 5:8

We know what could be said, I personally can never say it enough.
He is omnipotent and omnipresent, no matter where you are, He is with you.
He is holy, beautiful, full and glory and majesty and yet having a gentleness and humility unlike anything of this world.

He is the Lord and beside Him, there is no savior.

Jeremiah 23:23″Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off ? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.”

When he revealed himself to Saul, who was on his way to arrest all the Christians that he could round-up, Jesus told him it was useless to resist him, my question would be who could?

He then transformed Saul to his chosen vessel Paul, who would go preach the very gospel he had so adamantly fought against! With thirteen books of the New Testament having been authored by him.

No matter how we profess our love for Him, the truth of the matter and the secret to it all, is HIS love toward us!

A love so far beyond our human comprehension and defying all our human logic.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Because thou hath made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation (dwelling place);” Psalm 91:9
The Lord’s answer follows:
“Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will deliver him:
I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honour him.”

Again him, being a generic term for all humans.

Literally living, breathing, being kept hidden from the adversary under the protective presence of all-powerful, all-knowing God.

“For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me: he shall set me upon a rock.

And now mine head shall be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle (presence) sacrifices of joy: I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord.