April 1, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Sorrow and Praise”

“The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he has taken under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh but the earth abideth for ever.

The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth, down and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind gently goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.

All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.

All things are full of labour (weariness); man cannot utter (express) it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing nor the ear filled with hearing.

The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done; and there is no new thing under the sun.

Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things: neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are now come with those that shall come after.

I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I gave my heart to seek and search out wisdom concerning all the things that are done under heaven; this sore travail hath God given the sons of man to be exercised therewith.

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and behold, it is all vanity and vexation of the spirit. That which is crooked cannot be made straight; and that which is wanting (lacking) cannot be numbered.

I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom then all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.

And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this is also vexation of the spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that exerciseth knowledge increaseth sorrow.” Ecclesiastes 1:1-18

That was the summation of Solomon. He had been blessed of the Lord to ask for whatsoever he desired, and he chose wisdom, above gold, silver, riches or rule. God in turn being pleased with his request added to him all the riches he could fathom and peace for his kingdom. Unfortunately,

Solomon resting in his leisure and wealth sinned in worshipping other gods with his pagan wives, but once he returned to the one true Jehovah God, he wrote this realizing that, just as he said, it is all vanity, uselessness that we humans strive for so many things on this earth that will mean nothing in the end.

The only things that will remain are those things which are eternal. And we see such a mirror of this in those things which are taking place in our world now, the more we know concerning the word and commands of God and understand those requirements the more we are accountable to God concerning those things.

And the more we know about what’s taking place in the world, the more we sometimes wish we didn’t.

And it all has been and mirrors what was or the response it will bring

The sorrow, the sorrow of seeing news clip after news clip of Ukraine being completely trampled by Russia. Anyone who wants to argue that it is nothing like the Holocaust is delusional, the Holocaust was certainly more barbaric and methodic, but the slaughter and absolute contempt of Ukrainian lives is just as horrific.

It just blows my mind every time I hear leaders toting their new and improved sanctions against Putin and others. It is such a bad joke, he doesn’t care about sanctions, and he certainly doesn’t care about committing war crimes, his agenda doesn’t involve him answering to anyone and unfortunately the nations are much to slow in realizing that Ukraine is only his starting point.

But again, all nations watch, as the slaughter continues. And I am sure all have saw news footage of the train station attack and the photo of a child’s little stuffed horse covered in blood, heart wrenching.

Human suffering is the hardest of all evils and even though enemies smirk thinking that they are winning, maybe they are on earth, but judgment day does come, as scripture states, “And as is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. one day,

I am sure no one questions whether or not hell is filled with the evils of all the ages, the Nazis, the slave traders and owners and all those who have persecuted, murdered, and enslaved others, scripture tells us that hell is, in fact, enlarged daily.

And those that remain at the Lord’s return and still refuse to repent will face his wrath, and be held accountable.

The blood of those who have destroyed these innocent lives that will be required by Jesus and most know that in that day the blood will be to the horse bridles .

As the Preacher said, nothing new under the sun, the same old evil.

The news story of the 115 aborted babies obtained by the anti-abortion group, the “medical waste” box on its way for the contents to be burned so that it could be converted to electricity. Five of the babies were late term, and it is now trying to be determined whether they were victims of infanticide, depending on whether air was taken in before they died.

If you have not saw this it is easily searched, Google DC aborted babies, I do not suggest watching the video, it is horrific beyond words and it will rip your heart out.

I do not even understand how any being professing to be human cannot see that this is so much more than wrong, it is literally demonic.

Reminds me of this from the book of Jeremiah which was and mirrors as which is also to come in the last days.

“But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction (instruction):truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouths.

Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the Lord hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the Lord: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by name to pollute it.

And they built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of Hinnom, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, which I commanded them NOT, neither it came into my heart.

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of SLAUGHTER; for they shall bury in Tophet till there be no place.

Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of the voice of mirth, the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.”

The shedding of innocent blood is murder under the law of God, and of course there are so many that reject him as God but that will not spare them, He is still God regardless of who believes and who does not.

This mirrors the world today, so perfectly with shoe that defile his house, committing absolute abominations and wishing to use his name, and the slaughter of the unborn, which is not going unnoticed by him, and finally the warning of the desolation of the land.

The warning he gave for our land today echoing his very words.

Revelation 18:23: “And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall not be heard no more at all in thee; for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.”

The sorrow of knowing is only bearable in the knowing that those things that have been, are now those things that are again,, the truths that were forgotten by the following generations allowing them to fall to the same self willed rebellion against God, and it is not just the sin, it is the total disregard for life that has sealed the nations fate.

How so many people can argue and fight to try to convince others that this is somehow okay. Now that is deception on an apocalyptical level.

And it has brought about the indignation of the Lord. He is Holy, He is righteous, and he requires only a reasonable service, and he forces no one to worship him or serve him but he will not allow this earth to continue to be covered in the blood of innocents.

To overcome the sorrows of what is taking place and to try to survive the emotionally overwhelming of those things we witness and those things that will come, we have to rest in praise and rest in knowing that it will come to an end and that end could be any day.

Thank God for the Senators who called for an investigation into the deaths of those precious babies.

Thank God for the leaders who continue to fight tooth and nail the forces of darkness and hell, because this is not about politics, this is an assault on human life itself.

Thank God for Slovakia giving all it had to give while all others stand still.

Thank God for his salvation and most of all the deliverance of this world soon to come.

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

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

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

Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What (Who) are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they (Where are they from)?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”

Have a blessed Palm Sunday, keeping it here, mirrors the future palm celebration. It gives us hope and encouragement by helping us to remember that even in the sorrows of this world that those innocently slain will be there and Jesus will wipe away every tear, as he said in the verse above, as they killed the children in Tophet, he did not command that, and it never entered his heart, notice heart, God’s very heart being broken by the atrocities being carried out.

No leader on this earth and certainly not Putin, No political party nor supposed religious party will stop the wrath to come, as they have broken his heart he will break them.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2022 REVISITED 04/02/23

March 5, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Moses, Esther, and Psalms 44”

“(To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil.) We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.

For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither sis their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.

Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.

For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.

But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.

In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.” Psalms 44:1-8

Now that all sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But als, wait until we get to the other verses.

When walking by faith, as we must, the hardest force to be overcame is what we view as setbacks or times when we feel that we were on the verge of breakthrough when suddenly the enemy tighten the noose even tighter.

This was what the writer was expressing as we go forward, first acknowledging the deliverance and wonder of God shown to past generations.

Praising God in the confirmation that victories had not been won by human hands, or human means but solely through the power, might, and most of all favor of God Himself,

And they could not understand why they now felt that they had somehow lost that favor, especially as they had boasted of the might of their God and even through their confusion of what seemed lost they still would praise Him forever.

Now for their complaint as they follow up their confession of praise.

“But thou hast cast off, and put to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.

Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.

Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.

Thou sellest thy people for nought, and does not increase thy wealth by their price.

Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.

Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.

My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,

For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.

All this is come upon us; yet we have not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely with thy covenant.

Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;

Thou thou hast sore broken us in th eplace of the dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;

Shall God not search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of of the heart.

Yea, for thy sake we are killed all the long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.

Wherefore thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?

For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.

Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies’ sake.” Psalms 44: 9-26

They clearly had felt that had honored God and His commands, they even acknowledged that even had they not kept everything as they should that He would search out their hearts and know this, so they just could not understand why they were experiencing the ordeal of the enemy seeming to have the victory over them.

We are given the passage concerning the voice of the enemy, the oppressor, think of that as if someone is persecuting you and treating you unfairly and then laughs in your face as you contend the faith that God will uphold and deliver you.

Paul echoed that feeling of being sheep for slaughter in Romans chapter eight, as he ended one of the most encouraging passages in the Bible.

The plea to wake up also echoed by the disciples when they were met with a fierce storm, while Jesus slept, prompting this verse: Mark 4:38: “And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?”

To which Jesus responded: Mark 4:39,40: “And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm, And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?”

To sum it up, we are all humans, and the enemy has a way of speaking doubt into us, when things are no going well, our first response is sometimes like the disciples in questioning God’s love for us. Jesus was comfortably sleeping because He has the universe in His hands and nothing was going to happen to the disciples without His knowledge, this is why He asked them why they did not have faith in that.

This is why we must always,and it can be hard at times, but we must always use our spiritual weapons, especially the helmet of salvation to protect our thoughts and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, choose a few verses that reallys peak to your heart and that apply to your particular battle and quote those, jeep them on your mind, and speak them aloud every time the enemy tries to plant that doubt, and remember you are not alone and even John the Baptist,, a man whom Jesus referred to ask the greatest prophet born, but once arrested and thrown in prison, and isolated heard that voice of oppressing doubt speak, making even him question had he understood correctly.

Remember this took place after John had preached,a nd baptized, and even baptized Jesus, proclaiming Him as the Lamb of God, and if John could question, we too, can sometimes face those moments of doubt when we need to hear the voice of assurance.

Luke 7:19-22: ” And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John the baptist haths ent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?

And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight.

Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way,and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached.”

John had fulfilled his commission, he just needed reassurance of that truth.

That’s one I have used many times, because it gave me so much encouragement to fight that doubt in my times of battle, once i had been enlightened to it.

As we those above, they also felt forsaken, and forgotten, but we know that He will never forget us, as He has promised.

So now, I want to give you a glimpse of two others that undoubtedly felt that things could not possibly be proceeding as God planned, but in reality, everything was right on the divine course.

I will have to highlight this for sake of your reading, but most know the story of Moses and how he had been divinely spared as a baby when Pharaoh had ordered the death of all the male babies. He had been rescued from the Nile and raised up in the house of Pharaoh

Once grown he had killed an Egyptian that he saw beating a slave and had fled into the desert, there he married and eventually had an encounter with God at the burning bush, two things, Moses had to be willing to turn aside, to go out of his way, to further investigate the bush and he had to be willing to hear the voice of God, and even though he trie dto persuade his way out of his commission, he did go on to do as God commanded, and even thug he went about it the wrong way, by killing the Egyptian, God did, later in his life, give him the desire of his heart, by allowing him to see his people freed.

So we’re just going to look at the verses concerning what happened at his first meeting with Pharaoh, you can read more about that test of wills,by clicking that link, but for this post will go to this passage, now, bear in mind, that Moses probably thinks he is going there and giving God’s command and the people will be freed, but it was not quite that simple.

Exodus 5:1-23: “And afterward Moses and Arron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us, let us go, we pray thee, three day’s journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall on us with pestilence, or with the sword.

And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore so ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore, let them go and gather straw for themselves.

And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof; (quota) for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake unto the people, saying, Thus saith Pharoah, I will not give you starw.

Go ye, get you straw where you can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore (before)?

Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants(Why are you treating us this way) ?

There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say unto us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten, but the fault is in thine own people.

But he said unto them, Ye are idle, ye rae idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.

Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet ye shall deliver your tale of bricks.

And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, ( a bad spot) after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharoah:

And said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to out a sword in their hand to slay us.

And Moses returned unto the LORD and said, Lord wherefore (why) has thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in they name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.”

So at that time, it appeared as tough not only would the Hebrews not be freed but that their lives had actually been worsened.

Moses could not even understand it, but as it all unfolded we know that God’s power would be displayed on the miraculous level, while protecting His people, He would prove to Pharaoh that He indeed would heed the command of God concerning His people and with that, Egypt as it had been was essentially destroyed, never again the empire it once, and the Egyptians under the wrath of God through the plagues were glad to see the Hebrews go.

Now to give you a glimpse of Esther, then I’ll give you then common denominator between the two and how it applies to you.

Hadassah, known as Esther, was an orphan who had been raised by her Uncle Mordecai, who had been in the captivity of Jerusalem by Babylon. The king Ahasuerus divorced his Queen Vashti because she had a rather bad attitude in refusing to come before him and all his friends, which you can kinda see her point but no one refuses a king’s request without penalty, so the king is advised to bring all the available virgins before him to choose a new queen and Esther was really thoughtful in asking advice of those who were appointed over the women in running, she did as they advised and she was indeed crowned queen, it says that she was loved by king Ahasuerus above all women and she found favor and grace in his sight more than all the virgins. And as the story goes, Mordecai had a mortal enemy named Haman, who just hated him and hated him because he refused to bow before him, there is a completely separate story about him having a gallows erected on which to hang Mordecai but he himself was hanged on his own gallows> God delivers swift justice at time and the enemy often suffers what they have intended against God’s children, but back to the point.

As part of his hatred Haman made a deal with the king, to pay him and in return the the king would decree a law that all Jews could be killed, now the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, as Mordecai had told her to keep it secret.

When Mordecai learned of the decree, he sat outside the gate, Esther had word sent to him, he sent word back informing her of all that had and was to take place and asked that she go to the king and ask for the lives of her people.

She sent word back that she could not go to him, because she had not been called and that time anyone approaching the king uninvited would be killed unless he held out his sceptre and he had not asked to see her in a month.

Now remember she is the Queen of Persia and he husband was obviously quite smitten wit her and she was not in the mood for dying.

Mordecai’s answer back: Esther: 4:13, 14: “Then Mordecai commanded to answer Esther, Think not with thyself that thou shalt escape the king’s house, more than all the Jews.

For if thou altogether holdest thy peace (don’t say anything) at this time, then shall there be an enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father’s house shall be destroyed: and who knoweth whether thou art come o the kingdom for such a time as this?”

Mordecai understood that even if Esther could not quite see it, that maybe God had intentionally put her on the throne, so that through her voice His people would be spared.

Her answer to Mordecai: Esther 4:16: “Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so I will go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.”

She took all her faith and all her courage and went in unannounced and she was given favor, all the while Haman making his plans to kill all her people starting with Mortdecai, she asked the king that he and Hamn attend a banquet she would give, and at the first she requested a second as the king promised to grant her anything “up to half the kingdom”

Her response: Esther 7:3-6: “Then Esther the queen answered and said, If I have found favour in thy sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me at my petition, and my people at my request.

For we are sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, t be slain, and to perish. BUt if we had been sold for bondmen and bondswomen, I had held my tongue, although the enemy could not countervail the king’s damage.

Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said to esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so?

And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is the wicked Haman. Then Haman was afraid before the king and queen.”

At this point the king being angry left for a second and Haman attempting to beg for his life had fallen on the bed Esther was on, the king cam eback seeing this thought he was attacking Esther and when told of the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai, the king commanded that he be hung there.

If you have never read this book, please do so, but to continue, the king could not reverse a decree once it had been decreed so instead they enacted a new one that the Jews could defend themselves against the attack of that day and there was a slaughter but not of the Jews but by them against their enemies, including the deaths of the ten sons of Haman, and their corpses displayed for all to see.

Such a victory that it led to the feast Purim, Esther 9:17: “On the thirteenth day of the month Adar; and on the fourteenth day of the same rested they, and made a day of feasting and gladness.”

Esther 9:26-30:” Wherefore they called these days Purim after the name of Pur. Therefore for all the words of this letter; and of that which they had seen concerning this matter, and which had come unto them.

The Jews ordained, and took upon them, and upon their seed, and upon all such as joined themselves unto them, so as it should not fail, and that they would keep these two days according to their writing, and according to their appointed time every year.

And that these days should be remembered and kept throughout every generation, every family, every province, and every city, and that these days of Purim should not fail from among the Jews, nor the memorial of them perish from their seed.

Then Esther the queen, the daughter of Abihail, and Mordecai the Jew, wrote with all authority, to confirm the second letter of Purim.

And he sent the letters unto all the Jews, to the hundred twenty and seven provinces of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, with words of peace and truth.”

They both had to have faith in the face of the enemy, when all appeared lost and hopeless, they had to have faith not only for themselves but they had to have have faith for all those they had been sent too.

They had to come to the understanding that even if it looked as if it was all over, God was very much in control and working all together for a glorious display and a victories that would be remembered for generations.

Hold true to your faith today, as a child of God, even when you don’t feel it, deliverance is on the way and others need to see His children stand when others would have given up hope.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2023/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

June 10, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“To Conquer Condemnation”

“And he shewed (showed) me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist (oppose) him.

And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord doth rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this the branch which was plucked out of the fire?

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.

And he answered and spake (spoke) unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with a change of raiment (rich robes).” Zechariah 3:1-4

Notice how the enemy, the adversary is standing right there to oppose this change that the Lord was making. Even though his clothing was filthy, God was in the process of changing it all.

Often when we commit to Christ, the enemy, others, and often our own minds have a way of trying to convince that we have not really been changed, that we just thought we were saved, and then comes the list of past sins, failures, or mistakes since salvation flooding to our minds and it is such a lie form the enemy, just as in our verse above, he opposes God’s children at that point of salvation.

The Book of Revelation spells it out with crystal clarity.

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.

And prevailed not; neither was there place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.” Revelation 12:7-10

That pretty much tells all their is to tell about the severity and persistence of the enemies constant accusations against God’s people.

I know this often quite a stumbling block for many Christians, especially new ones.

So let’s look at where we all have been.

“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith in Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe: for there is no difference.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:22,23

Isaiah 64:6: ” But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags: and we do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

We have all sinned, we all make mistakes and that is the supreme beauty of Jesus, he forgives us, not only for what we did in the past, or even yesterday, but also has grace and forgiveness for today.

“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18

Once we are committed to him, nothing can ever separate us, except us.

It is vital to fight against the feeling of condemnation that tries to hinder you, because it does not belong to you!

“For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

Once we have accepted Christ, everything is washed completely away, we are made new and the past, in God’s view, no longer even exists and if God is so gracious to us, why can we not be gracious to ourselves and accept his wonderful gift of forgiveness?

Finally, I want to leave you with the verse to use to combat the enemy, and even others who may be trying to bring your salvation into question, it does not matter what you did yesterday or even today, if you repented and ask Jesus to forgive you that transgression is now under the blood and does no longer exists, so believe that and have comfort in that and when mistakes happen, get it under the blood and never look back at it again, and use this verse as your standing ground.

Romans 8:1: “THERE is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

We are all works in progress, and even those who have been with the Lord fifty years, I am sure still have their moments of struggle and growth, we will never be perfect. He never asked us to be, He is perfect and he is the only one who will ever be.

Don’t let the joy and peace he wants you to have in him be stolen away by the trick of the enemy, just take it day by day.

Philippians 1:6; “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath began a good work in you will perform (complete) it until the day of Christ.”

Bless you and have a great night!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. N. Brown Johnson

June 1, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Epitome of Unassuming Grace”

“The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre (tomb), and seeth the stone rolled taken away from the sepulchre.

Then she runneth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him.

Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple (John), and came to the sepulchre.

So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.

And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the lines clothes lying, yet went him not in.

Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

And the napkin (face cloth), that was about 9around) his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together (folded) in a place by itself.

Then went in also, that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed.

For as yet, they knew (understood) not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.

Then the disciples went away again unto their own homes.

But Mary stood without (outside) at the sepulchre weeping; and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre.

And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been.

And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

And when she had thus said, she turned herself back (around), and saw Jesus standing there, and knew not that it was Jesus.

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seeketh thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto to him, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence (carried him away), tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus saith unto her, Mary, She turned herself, and saith unto him Rabboni, which is to say, Master (Teacher).

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the first day of the week, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

And when he had so said, he shewed (showed) unto them his hands, and his side. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.

Then Jesus said to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

And he when he had said this, He breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit (forgive) they are remitted (forgiven) unto them: and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained.

But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.

The other disciple therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except (Unless) I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.

And after eight days again his disciples were within (inside), and Thomas was with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.

Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.

And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.

Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet they believe.

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciple, which are not written in this book.

But these are written, that ye might (will) believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might (will) have life through his name.” John 20:1-31

Even with the millions, billions of words in our human language that could be used to describe Jesus, there are still none that would ever completely describe His grace.

The grace that He extends to us as we try to find our way, as our human thinking tries so unsuccessfully to understand the absolute miraculous

I love so much about the accounts above, they all suffered the same doubts, as all humans would, when faced with his death, a death that most witnessed with their own eyes, and as we are told, they had not at this time, understood, exactly what had been foretold to them.

It has often been asked why He revealed himself to Mary first, and I love what I believe to be the answer, and I love it because it is just such a perfect example of who He is.

Mary needed him the most,

Jesus sees us from day one, our entire life, all the pain, sorrow, and sufferings that many go through, and often some more so than others.

And some do seem to be stronger, while others carry wounds that in order to be healed require a touch so gentle, that it can only come from the Master’s hand.

I also love the verse taht tells us Jesus wept, he wept because Mary and Marth were crying, they were crying because there brother Lazarus died, but Jesus knew that He was going to resurrect Lazarus from the dead, He was crying because it broke his heart to see his daughter weep.

He wanted to comfort Mary and dry all those tears by letting her know that He indeed lived.

Notice also when He appeared to the disciples, he knew that they would be confused and afraid, the first word he says is peace, and while they did not ask for “proof”, He invited them to feel his hands and side.

He wanted them to be reassured in his peace.

And even though we quite often hassle Thomas in our day by calling him “Doubting Thomas”, many would have felt the same, again, knowing that Jesus had been crucified.

But Jesus knew what Thomas had said, and even more so He knew what Thomas needed in order to believe.

And at no time are we told in scripture that Jesus questioned them as to How could they not believe what they had been told, or that he in any way chastised them or belittled them for being human, and having doubt.

Quite the opposite, as scripture says this: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men (humans) liberally, and upbraideth not (without reproach): and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

That means wisdom and understanding of anything, any are, any question.

And that is with the promise that God will in no way make us feel silly, or chided for our need to understand or the need to have our faith strengthened.

Jesus is beautiful and Holy and there are so many stories in the Bible about just that, His grace toward us, so many examples of letting humans speak their minds, asking for something, while he all the while knows the desire of their heart that they are getting around to asking.

Because for some reason as humans we feel like we have to convince him of the reasoning why we are asking for whatever it is we are asking, but this is not what he asks of us, he just asks us to ask him and believe,

He is so gracious, just as the verses above that He will give us whatever it is that we need to believe, and to strengthen our faith or any other obstacle that need eliminated so that we are not hindered in our walk with him.

Have faith in that today and whatever you need, He has more than enough grace to give it.

Thank you for reading. Love & peace to you till next time! Mention of which, please join me over the next thirty days, as it was on my heart to do a short post, each day, on His teachings.

Starting with this one, so we’ll take a refresher on the Word, straight from The Word’s words!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/Rev. N. Brown Johnson

April 13, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Stories of Miracles & Provision”

Mark 9:23: “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believe.”

With so many dreadful happenings going on in the world at the moment, it was on my heart, after to do a post on a few of the storied of absolute wonder that are found in the Bible.

I hope it will be a nice companion to to my last post, while the divine deliverance of the Hebrews from the land of Egypt is still fresh in our minds.

Of course, it would be impossible to use all of them, because the Bible is truly a book of the miraculous, so I am going with stories of different human needs and the different miracles each person received from God to meet that need. The words in blue will take you to past posts dealing with specific miracles also.

MIRACLES OF PROVISONS

“And the Lord Children of Israel said to them, Oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord in Egypt, when we set by the pots of meat and when we baked bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.

Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not.

And the house of Israel called its name Manna. And it was like white coriander seed, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Exodus 16:3,4, & 31 NKJV

“Men ate angels’ food; He sent them food to the full.” Psalm 78:25 NKJV

Elijah the prophet proclaimed the three year drought, God gave him miraculous provision during that time.

1 Kings 17:2-6 NKJV: “Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into Jordan.

And it will be that you drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.

So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.”

Matthew 6:26:“Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, neither gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them, are ye not much better than they?”

1 Kings 17:7-16 (NKJV): “And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been now rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See I have commanded a widow a widow there to provide for you.

So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, and indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.

And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.

So she said, As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may it, and die.

And Elijah said to her, do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

For thus says the Lord God of Israel: The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.

So she went away and di according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.

The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah.”

Matthew 10: 40,41:(NKJV): “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward…”

1 Kings 19:1-8 (NKJV):”And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets (her false prophets of Baal) with the sword.

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.

And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servants there.

But he himself went about a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree and he prayed that he might die, and said, It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life for I am no better than my father’s!

Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”

Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.

And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”

So he arose, and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeh, the mountain of God.”

Psalm 91:11(NKJV): “He will give His angels charge over you.”

Matthew 14:15-21 (NKJV): “When it was evening, His disciples came to him saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”

But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away, You give them something to eat.”

And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”

He said, “Bring them here to Me.”

Then he commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.

So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.

Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Philippians 4:19(NKJV): “And My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

WATER IN THE DESERT AND PROVISIONS MADE SAFE IN TIMES OF FAMINE AND LACK.

Genesis 21:14-19 (NKJV): “So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting the on her shoulder, he gave it to the boy and Hagar, and sent her away.

Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba.

And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot, for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy,” So she sat opposite him, and lifted up her voice and wept.

And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.”

“Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.”

Exodus 15:23-25 (NKJV): “Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter, Therefore the name of it was called Marah.

And the people complained against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”

So he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree; When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet…”

Exodus 17:3-6 (NKJV): ” And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, “Why is it that you have brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

And the Lord said to Moses, Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.

Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.”

2 Kings 2:19-22(NKJV): ” Then the men of the city said to Elisha, Please notice, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord sees, but the water is bad, and the ground barren.

And he said, “Bring me a new bowl, and put salt in it.”

Then he went out to the source of the water, and cast in the salt there, and said, “Thus says the Lord: I have healed this water; from it there shall be no more death or barrenness.”

So the water remains healed to this day, according to the word of Elisha which he spoke.”

NESECITTYS, RESCUES,& RESURRECTIONS

2 Kings 4: 1-7 (NKJV): “A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.

So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

Then he said, “Go borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors, empty vessels, do not gather just a few.”

And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her sons, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased.

Then she came and told the man of God, And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

Matthew 17:24-27 (NKJV): “When they had come to Capernaum, those who received the temple tax came to Peter and said, “Does your Teacher not pay the temple tax?”

He said, “Yes.” And when he had come into the house, Jesus anticipated him, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers? Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.

Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first. And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money, take that and give it to them for Me and you.”

2 Kings 6:4-7 (NKJV): “So he went with them, And when they came to Jordan, they cut down trees.

But as one was cutting down a tree, the iron ax head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, master! For it was borrowed.”

So the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And he showed him the place. So He cut off a stick, and threw it in there; and he made the iron float.

Therefore, he said, “Pick it up for yourself.” So he reached out his hand and took it.”

Joshua 10: 12-14 (NKJV): “Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel.

“Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the valley of Aijalon.” So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped. Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is it not written in the Book of Jasher?

So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day. And there has been no day like that before it or after it, that the Lord heeded the voice of a man; for the Lord fought for Israel.”

2 Kings 4:38-44 (NKJV): “And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets.”

So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were.

Then they served it to the men to eat. Now, it happened, as they were eating the stew, they cried out and said, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

So he said, “Then bring some flour.” And he put it into the pot, and said, “Serve it to the people, that they may it.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.

Then a man came from Baal Shalisha, and brought the man of God bread of the firstfruits, twenty loaves of barley bread, and newly ripened grain in a knapsack. And he said, “Give it to the people, that they may eat.”

But his servant said, “What? Shall I set this before one hundred men? He said again, Give it to the people, that they may it; for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left over.’

So he set it before them; and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.”

Acts 12:5-10 (NKJ SV): “Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison.

Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and the angel struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands.

Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals.” and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.”

So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision.

When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to an iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.”

Acts 16:22-26 (NKJV): “And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into the prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains were loosed.”

Acts 9:36-42 (NKJV): “At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did.

But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.

And since Lydia was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them. then peter arose and went with them.

When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise!” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.

Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.”

1 Kings 17:17-23(NKJV): ” Now it happened after these things that the some of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.

So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God?” Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son? And he said to her, “Give me your son.”

So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him own his own bed.

Then he cried out to the Lord, and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”

And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.”

Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.

And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”

Now Elisha was Elijah’s protégé and replacement, as he had asked the Lord to take him and the Lord did. Elijah did not die, he was taken

Hopefully we’ll get into that in another post about the miraculous, but what I wanted to point out here is that Elisha has also asked for a resurrection and was granted it.

I hope this encourages you today, to believe for those miracles. God sent these when they were needed.

I want to leave you with this.

Psalm 34:17 (KJV): “The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.”

Blessings and Peace to you and yours! May God bless you and show you wonders in Him that you may have never seen before!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson For more concerning the rescue of Peter by the angel: “Behold your King”

April 9, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Sorrow and Praise”