April 1, 2021 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

THE LAMB “Pouring of the blood”

“Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.

To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord; I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread (trample) my courts?

Bring no more vain oblations (futile sacrifices); incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away (endure) with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.

Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me, I am weary to bear them.

And when ye spread forth your hands (pray), I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear, your hands are full of blood (bloodshed).

Wash you, make you clean; put away evil from your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;

Learn to do well; seek judgment (justice),relieve the oppressor (reprove, reprimand those who oppress others), judge (DEFEND, vindicate) the fatherless, Plead for the widow.

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.

If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 1:10-18

Since the dawn of time humans have had a twisted ideal of what God requires, some have believed falsely that He requires stern severity in our lives and in our relationships with others and this was often due to the hardness of their own hearts, using misinterpreted scriptures as a basis to justify their own evil actions.

Especially when it comes to mistreating children, ethnic groups not our own, women, and the most vulnerable of the world. And just as he pointed out in this passage, expressly mentioning the rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah the bloodshed, just as the blood of the aborted babies have spiritually stained this earth and the sickening irony is that in my state, here in America, the governor decided to do away with the death people but still scream out to be a slaughter state when it comes to murdering the unborn.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not pro death penalty either, I just can’t stomach the hypocritical “mercy” of the leaders we have here in “Sodom”, life is life and all life is created of God and is sacred.

In this passage, God is referring to what Jesus would echo when he said this, quoting prophecy of Isaiah, “THIS PEOPLE DRAWETH NIGH UNTO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HOUNRETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS; BUT THEIR HEARTS ARE FAR FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO TEHY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING FOR DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.” Matthew 15:8,9

Those who profess Christ in word or hide behind the label of Christianity and yet their actions prove otherwise.

The absence of mercy and gentleness, grace, and compassion is proof positive that they are not whom they claim to be just as when the Sanhedrim chose to accuse Jesus of blasphemy and the crowd cried fro his death, they professed to know God to worship God and yet they screamed for the crucifixion of his only Son.

As God sent his word, he sent prophet after prophet, their cries, such as this one from Hosea 6:6: ”

For I have desired mercy (faithfulness), and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” ringing through the earth and yet falling on deaf ears, because those ears chose their own deafness, for it was much more to their pleasure to refuse to hear the truth as they could continue in their own self righteous vain worship of a God who they did not even know.

If they refuse to know him in truth, but continue in their version of service and worship, choosing their own interpretations of what commandments or teachings they want to follow of they falsely believe that they will not be held accountable to him.

Jesus came to this earth to end this once and for all, his ultimate purpose to cleanse us from sin and reconcile us back to the father, but he also came to teach us the truth, the truth of what it was and is to be a child of the King, what it means to truly love others, and he gave us example of how we are to live, and most importantly LOVE

and the depths of his love for us a love that was willing to be the ultimate sacrifice for all mankind and by becoming that sacrifice his precious blood covering us making us clean in him.

“Now before the feast of passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simons’s son to betray him.

Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things unto his hands, and that he was from God, and went (was going) to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

After that he poured water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

Then cometh he to Simon Peter; and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet (Are you washing my feet)?

Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

Simon Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet, Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part of me.” John 13:1-8

Peter was really apprehensive, the thought of his Lord, subserviently washing his feet was just all kinds of wrong to him, and aren’t we like that sometimes, thinking that we don’t need a savior to clean us up that we’ll clean ourselves us up, in our time when we are “ready” and when we can “live it” then we will accept Jesus’ offer of salvation.

I wonder how many people are in hell today or how many people are chained in misery, choosing to wear those chains of bondage because they buy the lies of Satan or their own misguided thoughts of righteousness, like Peter, stating “Thou shalt NEVER was my feet”, we can never wash our own sins away, there is nothing we could ever do in our human power to scrub away the filth this world covers us in. There is nothing in any other religion, teachings, or pagan deities or the lack thereof, that would ever wash us. Only Jesus, only the blood if the perfect, sinless, spotless Lamb of God and the covering of his blood.

Just as the blood of a spotless lamb applied to the doorposts of the homes of the Hebrews when God visited Egypt with death and that first blessed Passover, that blood signifying to the death angel that those inside were the children of Jehovah God and they were not to be harmed as he went about extinguishing the lives of the firstborn as the judgments against Pharaoh’s enslavement of God’s chosen and his refusal of God’s demand for their release were carried out. And as Jesus kept that earthly passover with his disciples, he instructed them in that from this point forward it would be His blood that would offer cleansing and protection.

“And they went and found as he had said unto them; and made ready the passover.

And when the hour was come, he sat down, and the twelve apostles with him.

And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; For I say unto you, I will not eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.

And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves; For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you; this do ye in remembrance of me.

Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the cup of the new testament (covenant) in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:13-20

Now lets talk about his broken body and his blood that poured out for us all.

Isaiah 52:14 prophecy would read as this: “As many were astonied at thee; his visage (appearance) so marred more than any man, and his form (body) more than the sons of man.”

He was so beaten and his appearance so distorted, had you known him well, you still would not have recognized him, His face and body so savagely beaten unlike anything that would have been seen at any arrest or crucifixions.

And THIS, THIS is the account of his body being broken and his blood poured out, for you, for me, for us.

And as the cup that Jesus told them to take and divide among themselves, this is the truth of Gospel that we should be dividing, giving one to another and sharing, not the politics and drama of this world, but the eternal truth of what Jesus Christ did for us at the cross. Nothing else in this world matters and pales in comparison to greatest display of mercy the world will ever know. I remember encounter with the brutal truth of the cross, it was the night before Easter and I was tiny, probably about 7 or so and I was watching TV, and evidently, I realized later, it was “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, my Mom and Dad were in the kitchen and I had been watching this show it was so wonderful, He was so kind, and then it got to the part when they arrested him and I watched in horror as they , beat him, made fun of him, , shoved a crown of thorns on his head, striped the blood from his back with whips and t then they nailed him to the cross, and Mom had always told me when people died or whatever on a show we were watching for me not to get upset that it was just a movie and they weren’t really hurt or dead, so I had to know because this movie was different and I had heard about God and Jesus, so I ran crying into the kitchen and I cried ‘Mommy, is this real?” and she followed me back into the living room to see what i was watching, and she looked at Jesus on the cross, and with tears in her eyes, she said, “Yeah, Honey, they really did that to him.” so I cried and cried and kept watching in hopelessness but as the movie went on, at the end of those those three days a wonderous thing happened, He rose!

For sake of “time” in reading this we’ll pick this up after Judas had betrayed Jesus and he had been arrested and the crowd had screamed for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Jesus, and please keep in mind as the Bible uses the word scourged, scourged means that tied him to a whipping post and beat him with cat o nine whips, which is a whip made of multiple leather strips with metal or sometime bone attached to the end of each strip, so with every hit it cut and pulled pieces of actual flesh from his body and remember “By HIS stripes we are healed”, he suffered that for us.

“Then released he Barabas unto them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the WHOLE band of soldiers.

And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.

And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, Saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they led him away to crucify him.

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; him they compelled to bear his cross.

And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, this is to say, a place of a skull.

They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink.

And they crucified him, and parted his garments(divided his clothes), casting lots; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, THEY PARTED MY GARMENTS AMONG THEM, AND UPON MY VESTURE THEY DID CAST LOTS.

And sitting down they watched him there. And set up over his head his accusation written, JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left.

And they that passed by reviled (blasphemed) him, wagging their heads, and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest in again in three days, save thyself, if thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

Likewise the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others, himself he cannot save, if he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross and we will believe him.

He trusted in God ; let him deliver him now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God.

The thieves also which were with him, cast the same in his teeth (made the same comments)

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli lamasabachthani? that is to say, MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?

Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elisas.

And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.

The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.

Jesus, when he had cried with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost (died).” Matthew 27:26-50

You can read more details through studying the accounts of this in the four Gospels, including the salvation of one of the thieves, I encourage that, but as you read, you can see what he suffered and how these people did not fear God in the slightest, not only in crucifing Jesus but in their blasphemous words as he was dying.

We’ll check out the glorious resurrection next time and until then bless you, and if you have not accepted the gift Jesus has offered, what better time than now to accept him and accept the sacrifice of his blood that poured down.

Φλογιζω NBJ 2021/ Reverend Nina Brown Johnson

February 10, 2018 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Finding Paris

“The wilderness and the solitary (desert, lonely, desolate) place shall be glad for them, and the solitary place shall be glad for them and the desert SHALL rejoice and BLOSSOM AS THE ROSE.” Isaiah 35:1

Finding Paris, strange I know but trust me this is not going to be a world travel post but hopefully a travel to the inner space of ourselves and all those emotions and hopes, and dreams that old man time tends to run roughshod over and with the passage of time we forget that we even had those dreams.

The notion of “romantic” Paris is probably as old as dirt but the mention of the name usually brings to mind, roses, beauty, the Eiffel tower, whose reach toward the sky can be quite a reflection of reaching higher and the sheer romance of all it all will stir the feminine heart in a way unlike any other place on earth.

When as little girls do we first have those feelings that we are DIFFERENT, is in when we sneak into the perfumes, jewelry, and all the “womanly” treasures often found on the dressers of our mothers?

And for me there was nothing quite like the beautiful stationery that my big sister used when writing mushy love letters to her boyfriend who was in the army.

I’d watch her put the gold seal on the envelope and could not wait until I was big enough to have fancy gold seals and write mushy love letters!

And there was nothing quite like sitting playing with my doll watching her and Mom try new lipsticks and hairdo’s together because I SO was going to wear make up and do my hair just like them one day.

And I know you have your memories of when all things feminine, and beautiful stirred in you.

No matter what kind of a childhood you have had, even if it was not influenced by your own mother, there was still a lady, a grandmother, someone that you looked up as a what being female was all about.

There is always still some thread in time that influenced you and stirred thoughts in your heart and your soul that led to the journey of “finding Paris”, that beautiful place of womanhood that we are all eventually led to.

With me I really had to hold on, after my sister married and my mom started worked the majority of my time was spent with my brothers and that could be a whole other post series!

Hard to stay focused on future femininity with daily wrestling, name calling, and “gas” contests going on constantly between them, but thank goodness for afternoon television visits with Ginger Grant 😉

So WHAT were your hopes, dreams, and destination as you planned as a child? Bear them in mind.

Usually, we do find “Paris”, when we are around fifteen or sixteen, we blossom, discover our own style, we grow inside and become more self-aware, and often more assertive in being allowed who we want to be.

There is a freedom in knowing who we are as women but life changes so fast, especially when we are young.

As as the clock starts to tick the newness wearing off, things never quite measuring up to what our expectations had been, and real life sets in.

Soon the moon over the tower loses luster and doesn’t shine quite so brightly and the captivating scents of jasmine and lilac fade, and petals start to fall from those beautiful roses.

Life does that, bad relationships do that, like countless women who married young, married FOREVER, expecting the road ahead to be filled with happiness, family and Prince Charming only to find that Prince Charming was in reality, the Prince of Persia, (a Biblical reference to Lucifer) that lied, cheated, and battered them and always managed to convince them that they were to blame.

And choosing to leave, others have been faced with being single mothers, taking on the role of both parents, doing the back breaking work of often working two jobs to provide and the double duty task of feeding, clothing, laundry, housework, not one moment for themselves or to worry about what they may need or even want because their children come first.

Others, for a multitude of reasonings, become entangled in bad lifestyle choices and professions that leave you in place alright, but it certainly isn’t paris.

And those who have had good lives but have suffered loss of family, friends, and worse of their children, have actually lost parts of themselves and have a hard time trying to move forward because their hearts long for the happy days of the past, the days when the still had those who have gone on.

The dreams of long ago have but vanished and just making it through the day, week, or month becomes the focus.

No joy, no hope, and no more believing for a “magical” age or time when things will change because as we become jaded, we lose hope, we lose faith, and we lose the ability to see past circumstances to see that “paris” is still really there, it still exists, we just have to find our way back to it and we have to find a way to rekindle the desire to even want to go there.

Last time we talked about aging and the fact that TIME is NOTHING to God, AGE is nothing to God.

He has ALL power in heaven and earth, and time bends to his will.

The scripture above so perfectly reflects what goes on in so many of us, the wilderness, the places we find ourselves in but can’t find our way out.

The lonely deserts, lonely, barren times in life when it seems that nothing you have planted will ever grow and all your best efforts are met with scorching thirst.

But it is in journeying to this place that you will find refreshment, you will find joy, and your hard, dry places will blossom with a beauty you have never known, God created us to have all those wonderful feelings and He wants you to feel loved, beautiful, and precious, and priceless in Him and only He can renew, restore, and rejuvenate all the areas inside and out in each of us that need refreshed.

That really is what it all about, you are still you, you are still the same person you were when He created you, NOTHING can ever change your core being. If you find yourself in a desert you need to stop and take stock, don’t look at the desert, don’t beat yourself up or question how you ended up there.

Ecclesiastes 7:10: “Say NOT thou, What IS THE CAUSE that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.”

Which means that we are not to question that the past was better than our present and in doing so we are not asking the right question.

REMEMBER where you were going, what you wanted to accomplish, REVIVE your hopes, REMEMBER your dreams and ask God to show you what He wants you to see in that place.

It’s like the alabaster breaking, which will we soon get to, we have to want change, we have to be to the point that it is all or nothing and in that place your rose will again bloom and it will bloom abundantly and you will be made completely new.

Jesus NEVER touched or touches a life without that life being made COMPLETELY new, new thoughts, new joy, new peace, and a renewed hope that THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING and your life is a book not yet written.

Of course, He knows the plans, but for us it is ALL BLANK PAGES AND A CLEAN SLATE and with that you can dream again, you can hope again, and you can feel beautiful, feminine, and BE exactly WHO HE CREATED YOU TO BE!

Don’t be so sure life is “over” when it has even yet begun!

So go, go find Paris! If you thought the first time was good, the second time is going to blow your mind!

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

Have A Blessed Week! Εξυπιζω NBJ 2017

November 22, 2017 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Beautifully Broken

“While the king sitteth at his table, my spikenard sendeth forth the smell (fragrance) thereof. A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me….” Song of Solomon 1:12, 13 line 1.

The book of Solomon, a book that I think every woman in the world should read, should study, every single verse has something that will encourage, strengthen, and free us.

As I have said one hundred times and probably will say it at least one hundred more, you have to pray for spiritually interpretation and not get all hung up on the romantic comparison to human relationships.

And even the initials.. think about it.. Song of Solomon… S O S recognized the world over as a cry for help, immediate, desperate need for rescue. I was to post my personal testimony this go round, and actually I did last week.

After much prayer and a few hours of tears and consulting with two that lived it with me, I pulled it. Which I will share it some day, if even only in ‘live” environment. This is after all the world-wide web and there was no way of sharing it to my sisters without running a high risk of “stirring up a hornet’s nest” as the saying goes. But I still want to continue on with part of it.

My story basically came down to being in the world, as far into the world as one could possibly go and I point that out for this reason… God KNOWS where we are whether we are where we should be or not. And He knows how we were led there.

And as God has a plan for ALL of our lives, so does the devil. this is the reason so many women suffer abuses, whether physical, emotional, or sexual, many of those suffer LIFE-LONG.

Many coming from broken homes with abusive fathers marrying abusive, dominating men and NEVER breaking that cycle. NEVER knowing the freedom and love Jesus has for them and some are even brainwashed spending their entire lives in church while still suffering ungodly treatment at home.

And some of us.. well, we are so hurt, so wounded, so broken that we self-destruct because we will never allow anyone close to us again and settle neatly into lives of acceptance in our own circles, but often those circles are anything other than holy.

My story was such and while working at a specialty shop, I became a victim of acquaintance stalking which with the progression of time overshadowed even existence and damage that went far beyond anything anyone could have seen coming.

People can be truly evil and now being in Christ, I truly believe this particular person was truly demon possessed.

I also believe that the enemy sets up events to lead people right where he wants them and that is his pre planned point of destruction. And I can tell you assuredly that my very life was divinely and supernaturally spared.

And I can also tell you that these events and that supernatural intervention is the force that broke me. Joseph told his brothers that what they had meant for evil, God used for good. And had I not went through my ordeal I would not have come to Christ.

Anyone else out there have that problem?

BELIEVE in God, KNOW He is real, but your vessel is so full of hurt, rage, a false sense of guilt and shame, that you have became convinced that you are ALREADY condemned?

A good warning to anyone who feels the leading to change your life, don’t believe the lies of the enemy that God will not save you. Because when the enemy knows your under conviction and evaluating your life, he will hit you with everything he has if you do not run to Christ fast enough, which is what happened to me.

The only way my circumstances could have ever been different is had I never been on the road the enemy had me on.

And God knows I spent months and months crying as life had forced me to look at all the things inside myself that I did not want to look at and had spent a lifetime running from. And we can run but we can never outrun ourselves.

We can function, smile, try to live life but all the pain, hurt, and inner torment of our souls and all the negativity that goes with it starts to crack those alabaster boxes.

We can for a while patch those cracks with things of this world, put on our happy faces, tell ourselves that life is well, we are strong, and it is such a joke.

I promise those patches are only temporary and those vessels will leak again unless you surrender to Jesus.

BROKEN vessels can not be repaired they MUST BE MADE NEW.

So after being touched by what was undeniably divine, I was left with the fact that there was something so broken inside of me and that there was NOWHERE to run or hide and the only option had been to acknowledge the fact that I was absolutely helpless in the ability to free myself from the prison of myself and seek that freedom or die there.

I cried, and cried, prayed, and prayed, always felt like I was praying to a God in the middle of the universe whom had indeed spared my life but that I had no right to ask for anything, and I begged Him to just “fix me” and this was a long painful process. This wasn’t a just for a week or a day, this was constant and even though, I thought I was broken already, the moment, the true moment, that my soul absolutely broke, my Dad was praying with me and I was baptized with the Holy Ghost, and I did not know how to explain what I had experienced but I knew WHO I had experienced.

I had no idea this experience existed. He was no longer a God in the middle of the universe, He was my very present help.

My trauma went so deep that I had to be given the Holy Ghost before I could even deal with all of it. And the next day I was absolutely delivered and set free from chains that had bound me almost my entire life.

And I can also tell you that whoever I had been died right there on my floor and I was born again unto the presence of the God of the universe and freedom that I had never known.

Freedom, joy, and a peace that nothing would ever be the same because now I KNEW God, I KNEW that my sins were forgiven and I KNEW He was REALLY there and really accepted me.

But sometimes even knowing all that we still wrestle with the issue of the scars that have to be dealt with once and for all. For about two months even after I was saved, I struggled, I struggled with nightmares, and the same old lies the enemy had tried to whisper to me for years.

I went to church one Sunday night and at this time I knew nothing really about the word of God, just the very basics, and the sermon was out of the Book of Solomon and at the end the preacher kept saying that “someone” had been going through this, more or less, free but still needing to BELIEVE that freedom. They did this altar call about three of four times and I knew it was me and I was so scared, they made everyone close their eyes and keep praying and said that they were going to ask one more time for this person to come.

Finally I did make it up there and could not stop crying and my pastor at the time had one wrist and the preacher had the other because I was seriously considering running completely away.

Then I felt this presence next to me and there are no words to describe it, just the sweetest presence, and I was still crying with my thousands of reasons why I was not worth saving and the preacher told me, “He’s here” and I said “I know, He is standing right there” couldn’t see Him, but He was there.

And I know there is so many people would think that is just insane, but until you know Him for yourself, don’t be so sure about what you think is possible. Because NOTHING is impossible with God. The preacher gave me a very specific word about what I had been through and a certain word about the garden of God and as soon as I heard that word, I was just absolutely overwhelmed by this gentleness that had almost like a humility with it. It so hard to explain, I don’t think it can be explained I think you have to experience it for yourself.

But the moment my soul choose to BELIEVE and just surrender to a love that is so indescribable and I have never ever been the same and all the torment that the devil had put me through was absolutely washed so completely away by all I can even describe is a love that is NOT of this world, is nothing like we feel as humans and I was so overwhelmed by His Presence that honestly if He had manifested I could not have even made eye contact.

Again I know the world is full of naysayers and doubters but all I know is what I know and I know that I have a world full of sisters who need, just as my soul needed a manifestation of His presence to truly free them and make them new.

I also know that there are so many teaching that the miracles and wonders of old were for the disciples and stopped with the book of Acts. That is okay if those who believe that want to stop there. Just because they believe that does not make it true for everyone.

But I had been “IN” The world and had no idea the power and wonder of Jesus UNTIL I experienced Him. God is NOT a respecter of persons, as the Bible teaches, what He does for one HE WILL DO FOR ANOTHER. And it changes everything.

He takes every hurt, every wound, every sorrow and He replaces it with His love, His mercy, and still the one I still stand in awe of is His gentleness. As I said I did not understand the Holy Ghost or anything else, I just knew that there was nothing I could do for me.

And for some us that is what it takes, complete destruction to be made beautifully new. Many things can “break” us, I love the story of Hannah and her story has nothing to do with violence, her heartache resulted from her inability to bear a child.

It is not always violence, our hearts hold many secrets and fortunately we CAN dwell in secret place of the most High.

I’ll hit and miss verses in this, but please read it if you have a moment. 1 Samuel 1 tells us of Hannah’s heart.

This took place at that time men had multiple wives, (again multiple wives WERE NEVER God’s idea) and even though Hannah was the favored wife, she was unable to conceive so she was ridiculed and constantly tormented by the other wife, she suffered this year after year.

So 1 Samuel 1:10 tells us: “And she was in bitterness of soul, and wept sore.”

She then prayed a vow to God, promising him that if He gave her a son she would give him to the service of the Lord. As she prayed, she prayed in her heart but her lips moved,without audible words, so Eli the priest thought she was drunk.

This is a good thought for when people misjudge and accuse us when we are going through something they do not understand.

1 Samuel 1:14,15: ” And Eli said unto her, how long wilt thou be drunken? put away thy wine from thee.

And Hannah answered and said, No, my lord, I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit;

I have drunk NEITHER wine nor strong drink, BUT HAVE POURED OUT MY SOUL BEFORE THE LORD.”

The story goes on for a bit and he tells her to “go in peace” remember this is also what Jesus told Mary.

1 Samuel 1:18: “And she said, Let thine handmaiden find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way and did eat, and her countenance was NO more sad.”

She goes on to conceive and give birth to her son and when she returned him to the temple to honor her vow, she prayed this prayer of joy, rejoicing, and a proclamation of His power and majesty.

1 Samuel 2:1-10: “And Hannah prayed, and said, my heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn (strength) is exalted in the Lord: my mouth is enlarged over (smiles at) mine enemies; BECAUSE I rejoice in thy salvation.

THERE IS NONE HOLY AS THE LORD: FOR THERE IS NONE BESIDE THEE: NEITHER IS THERE ANY ROCK LIKE OUR GOD.

Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: FOR THE LORD IS A GOD OF KNOWLEDGE, AND BY HIM ACTIONS ARE WEIGHED.

The bows of the mighty men are broken: and they that stumbled are girded (clothed) with strength. They that were full have hired themselves out for bread; and they that were hungry ceased (had been fed): so that the barren hath born seven; and she that hath many children is waxed (has grown) feeble.

The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. He maketh poor, and maketh rich; he bringeth low, and lifteth up.

He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory, FOR THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH ARE THE LORD’S, AND HE HATH SET THE WORLD UPON THEM.

HE WILL KEEP THE FEET OF HIS SAINTS, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; FOR BY STRENGTH SHALL NO MAN PREVAIL.

The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces, out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: then Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and EXALT THE HORN (STRENGTH) OF HIS ANOINTED.”

So I know this is not for everyone, if you’re happy inside and have a great relationship with God, that is wonderful. But if are struggling with issues or you have never trusted Him as your Saviour and you KNOW that there is no “fixing” you, or the problem that weighs you down then please, please, seek Him, trust Him, and rest your tortured soul in His mercy.

Get His opinion of you before you throw one more moment of your life away. What better time than as we celebrate all the things we have to be thankful for.

Psalm 110:4,5: “ENTER into his courts with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: BE THANKFUL UNTO HIM AND BLESS HIS NAME. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.”

In his presence, we find that table at which the King sits and notice with our starting verse, our SOS, He sits at His table but it is our “spikenard” that gives the aroma. Just as Mary came to him and broke her flask .

We SEEK Him, He is already there but we have to seek Him because He will not just take us over, He does not work that way. We have to be willing to break our own flasks and once we do that precious oil flows forth.

We can NEVER purify ourselves which is why HE IS is the “bundle” of myrrh that forever dwells with us and in us, in our heart, in our soul.

Just as Esther bathed in myrrh for purification, we are washed IN Him, in His purification of us. And in that split second that TRUE surrender takes place and that we DIE to ourselves and are simultaneously reborn into him

And just as the sorrow and sadness of Hannah was replaced by joy and peace, and she was given victory over her enemy. You will be also once your pour out your soul to the only one who can pour His strength into you!

Εξυπνιζω NBJ 2017

October 7, 2017 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson