Category Archives: Overcoming

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NOT just any port in a storm….

We’re heading back to the spot just before Jesus lead Peter back into the boat.
Last time, we discussed how Peter had battled through a dark tempestuous night out in the middle of the wide open sea, at a time when it was truly man versus nature, without any of the modern nautical equipment around today and at the height of his terror, Jesus came to the rescue, but Peter’s new-found bravery as he walked with the Lord on water, was short-lived thanks to that terrorizing gusting wind.
We also have Jesus by our side in our storms and yet all of us have those moments when that wind blows just a little too hard and that fear of its howl is immobilizing and like Peter we freeze and those waves start dragging us under till we cry “LORD! SAVE ME!” 
So what about the time between those moments?
When the winds blow and howl and scream in our ears so loud that the voice that we had just heard so strong, as Peter did when he heard the Lord say “Come” we now question. Is it really HIS voice we hear over the sound of the storm. 
We are so deafened by the storm by this point that we are not really sure of anything and we just want to freeze in that fear of the unknown and uncertainty, and if allowed to IT WILL drown us right where we are.
We never even realize that we are so close to being back in the safety of that boat and the end of that storm.
Riding out storms can devastate even the strongest of sailors, it will knock the wind out of your sails, shiver your timbers and if you are not paying very close attention it will make you head to “any port in a storm” the nearest, closest spot available to you to dock that boat and get out of that storm.
Once your there you could turn from being an honorable first mate to becoming a scurvy sea dog, because all the “hail” and high water can make people do funny things.
When the going gets rough our flesh wants comfort, we want safety, we want this to end and to know all is accounted for and that our losses are minimal.
As Jesus said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

We want  to run to the safest spot and into the nearest boat,  BUT the problem with this is that Jesus DID NOT led Peter back to any old boat, it was the boat that he was SUPPOSED to be in. 
Jesus has ALL POWER, he could have just materialized a different boat, he could have translated them to shore.
HE DIDN’T because Peter had to go through that storm and get back IN the SAME boat he just got out of, BEFORE THE STORM WOULD STOP!
Now you could ask WHY????? But ask yourself, and we really have to speculate on this, but how many times do you think Peter drew courage and renewed faith by remembering that journey?
I love to point out the fact that Peter carried out his commission from Jesus under the brunt of KNOWING HE WOULD BE CRUCIFIED at the end of his mission.
We all know that he, like all the disciples were persecuted, beaten, and tormented all while the power of God poured from them, miracles, healing, and leading the lost to Christ.
COULD Peter have went on to carry this out faithfully had he not took that walk and GOT back in that boat?
Had he not let Jesus help him overcome all that fear and let Jesus lead him back to the boat that you know he would not have wanted to be back in, had he not overcame it through Christ, would he have ever had the faith and courage to know that death would not be the winner in the end?
Could he have had the courage to go to that cross at the end of his life?
I will leave that for you to answer, but Jesus was teaching Peter in that storm.
Jesus does not send storms on us but when we are allowed to continue through one, IT IS because he wants us to have victory, true victory, not a cop-out running from it kind of thing, but true taking the head off a giant victory in that area of our life.
Anyone can run, he will not allow us to run, He created to “having done all to stand” “STAND.”
Our “boats” are no different from Peter’s and sometimes we feel like whoo-hoo I’m finally outta that boat! 
Only to discover we got to get back in it if we are to see the storm end.
So to help us hear the right voice and find the way back to our boat till that storm ends, we’ll use our compass:

Psalm 77:6 “I call to remembrance MY SONG IN THE NIGHT: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search”
Now the wonderful thing about the Psalms are that they ARE SONGS!

Such as:  Psalm 69 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim (set to The Lilies), A Psalm of David.

” SAVE me, O God; for the WATERS are come in unto my soul (neck).
I SINK in the DEEP mire, WHERE THERE IS NO STANDING: I AM come into DEEP WATERS, where the FLOODS OVERFLOW ME.
I am weary (worn out) of my CRYING; my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I WAIT FOR MY GOD.”

“DELIVER ME out of the mire, and LET ME NOT SINK: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and OUT OF THE DEEP WATERS.
Let NOT the WATERFLOOD OVERFLOW ME, neither let the DEEP SWALLOW ME UP, and let not the pit shut up her mouth on me.”
                      Psalm 69:1-3,14,15

Just as Peter answered Jesus, when asked if he to would leave him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the WORDS of eternal life.”
Jesus is the voice and the one port in our storm, get back in the boat, the storm will end and this storm may very well be the catapult to a level of faith you never would have imagined possible or a deeper relationship with the Lord that you can not fathom, but of a surety, one day, remembering this storm, and the quieting of it WILL BE YOUR SONG in another night and this storm will be proof positive that night too will end, the wind will cease and morning will yet again come.
Φλογιζω/ All rights reserved/NBJ 2015  ***REVISTED 08/27/2022 Praying it will be an encouragement today!

 

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RESURRECTION PEACE/ Part 2

2 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first…”

The fundamental of the Gospel of Peace.
Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, completely sinless, crucified and rose from the dead three days later to reign forever in all of heaven and earth.
This is our hope and confidence, our Savior lives and reigns forever and of His kingdom shall be no end.

His name alone being the only name by which anyone can be saved and He is the only way to the father, any who try to come any other way, other than through the precious blood of the Lamb is nothing more than a thief and robber.

Maybe it does weird out those who don’t understand it, just a little, but again how can you voice an opinion against something you have never experienced nor understand?

Without this promise we would surely be hopeless and what would the hope of our salvation be?
But we that are his know that this is real just as He is real.
This does not mean, as some doctrines teach, that it is instant, kill us and we will pop right back up kind of thing. 

This will take place in the great resurrection when time shall be no more.
But it is our hope and confidence, I want to give you an extreme example:

Job 19:25,26:  “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter-day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” 
                        
What is this power? Dead, been dead, bodies destroyed by natural processes but yet those bodies will be made new?
The same power that created them and can recreate them regardless of damage.

Once we wrap our heads around letting go of the fear of losing these lives then the remainder and “the rest” will be peaceful!

The prophet Elisha who had been given double the anointing of God that Elijah held and remember Elijah had prayed for fire from heaven and for resurrection of another, rain and for the Jordan to let him cross, not to mention being divinely fed by a raven and an angel of God.

So the miracles he could ask for, the faith to move anything and ask for the impossible, Elisha carried double that in his body and the Bible tells the strength in that anointing and the fact that it is eternal:

 2nd Kings 13: 20,21: “And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast (tossed) the man into the sepulcher of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, HE REVIVED, AND STOOD UPON HIS FEET.”

My favorite example of this has not yet happened, oh, but it will!
As people get more and more evil and the true word of God becomes harder and harder to come by He will actually send back two that have been here before.
I personally believe this will be Moses and Elijah because of the description of their gifts.

Revelation 11:3,5-11:  “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, (around three and one half years) clothed in sackcloth.
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth  out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies: and if any man hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
These have power to shut heaven, that it not rain in the days of their prophesy: And have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with ALL PLAGUES, as often as they will.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and KILL THEM.
And their DEAD bodies shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations (all people) shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer (permit) their dead bodies to be put in graves.
And they that dwell upon earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall sends gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.
And after three days and an half, The Spirit of life, from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” 
           
Once upon a time, this was hard for people to understand, how could the whole world see this, but we know now don’t we?

All of our technology that had not even been imagined when this was written, but now we can instantly view anything, anywhere, the world over.

Most of us today couldn’t even stand even near these two with the anointing and the level of sheer holiness they will carry.
And as the world will continue to become more blind and hate all things of God when they come in sackcloth, urging repentance, pronouncing judgments the world will be so happy to see them dead because they will no longer hear the voice of truth, that they will in fact have a world-wide celebration.
But as we know, once they are resurrected and taken, the real party is just getting started!

To read first post, please click here:Resurrection Peace part 1
Φλογίζω/All rights reserved NBJ 2015 Original post 06/04/2015 Revisited 03/16/2022

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RESURRECTION PEACE / Part 1

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

What is the most natural human fear?
Death and the fear thereof, the questions of how and when?
As we discussed in a past post, this is Satan’s number one weapon.

Just as he dared challenge God that if He would only remove his protection from Job that he would lose his faith, because in his belief that humans would give anything in exchange for their lives.

Now about peace, Jesus said His peace He left with us, not as the world gives, but His peace.

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

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”  John 20:20,21

As He prayed in the garden before His arrest and crucifixion: “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world.”  John 17:13-18

“These things have I spoken unto you, that IN ME ye might peace. In the world ye  shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”    John 16:33

So what is this peace, the gospel of peace which protects the feet of the warriors of the Lord.

This peace in the knowledge of salvation also pertains to the helmet but the main function is to cover the feet travelling to proclaim that gospel and stand in battle without fear because of the peace of the knowledge of the truth of the resurrection.

The ultimate peace, removal of the fear of death and the knowledge through the Holy Ghost and glory of God’s word that your peace is this, just as they killed Him and He rose, that same power through the Holy Ghost will resurrect you.
I know there are scoffers and that is dangerous and that is between them and God in judgment.

But I, like the disciples testify to what I know and I know the resurrection power of God.
We may have breath and a beating heart and function daily and yet be as dead as any in the grave.

Spiritually dead, without repentance or the knowledge of God, or chained up in a prison of our past and never having been freed or made alive in Him.

I spent twenty-seven years of my life trying to outrun”me”, trying every self-destructive behavior possible to deaden the pain that consumed my soul and anything to just feel normal and accepted.
And so many of us have been held in bondage by the enemy.

God does not cause it but it is used to make us run from the only one who can free us.
But God already knows, no matter what people think or how they tried to figure us out.

He already has the answer and once we have surrendered that pain, that one part of our hearts that we are so careful to hide, and He fills us with his Holy Ghost and the power of His resurrection, in the blink of an eye, everything changes.

We know God loves us and we know that he protects us and we are given peace that we truly, truly have never known.

The peace that He is our Savior, and He is our life, He is our protector and that we will never, ever have to be alone without him again.

Which is precisely why I chose Φλογιζω  as the name of my ministry, it is a nod to something that Satan intended to use destroy me with. God used to save me and that would be one weapon that the enemy could never terrify me with again, I would also be filled with His fire.

And that is what we all need, to make ourselves consciously aware of that fact and the remembrance of that power, His power because the truth is that not death, not demons or all the forces of hell can ever hold our spirits down.

As we go into the unknown of the last days, hold onto that, nothing, nothing can stop that power or the peace you will have once you let that knowledge renew your mind.
Because truly the grave will have no victory.

Because we can only die one time and that is more than enough to make any warrior want to run… but run like David, not away from the enemy but to meet him head on because you know that through Jesus, you will win the battle, even if it is ultimately won in the resurrection!

Part 2: Resurrection Peace part 2

Φλογίζω/ Rights Reserved NBJ/ 2015  *Original post date: 05/30/2015 Revisited 03/14/2022

 

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MADMEN, MARTYRS AND MAIDS / PART 3

The fire which burned in all these was so bright, so strong that not even death could extinguish it.
About 200 A.D. when the persecution was at full force and Christians were being persecuted left and right. If they would not renounce Jesus Christ, they were often burned or thrown to lions or other animals to be slaughtered.
It is said that near the end of the Roman persecution that so many had died this was that the beasts had grown fat and would no longer consume them.
A young woman named Perpetua lived during this time in Carthage, North Africa. The account of the deaths of her and two others is grisly and extremely disturbing.
But God had prepared her in advance for all that she would face, after being stripped and thrown to a mad heifer, ultimately dying after having her throat slashed, her testimony lives on eighteen hundred years later.
The true voice of her victory can be read in her own words, much like Ann Frank she had kept a diary, the details of her death later added.
She had embarked on her death march by singing hymns, she went to the aid of a young girl name Felicitas who had been sentenced to death with her, they kissed good-bye, and she is quoted as saying to her brother, these words, which still ring as true and pure as the day they went from her lips.
“You must all stand fast in faith and love one another and do not be weakened by what we have gone through.”
Mirror this to another fascinating lady, Jael, from Judges 4,
She probably invented the old adage that you catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar, while Sisera was busy terrorizing everyone, he made the bad mistake of thinking that her home would be a safe haven, after making him comfortable and providing greater than he had asked for, verse 22 tells us this, “Then Jael, Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary, so he died. There is a wonderful song about her in Judges Chapter five.
So what’s with all the ancient history? Ecclesiastes 1:9
” The thing which 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.”
According to one source. one out of three girls and one out of four boys are sexually assaulted during their childhood, according to 2010 research every seven minutes a woman is raped, countless children sold into slavery, countless animals are tortured and abandoned, abortions are responsible for millions of sanctioned murders every year.
Leaving also in the wake the soul stripped child mothers who were coerced into this “easy fix” for their “problem”.
Elder abuse, rampant domestic violence, not to mention homelessness, hunger, the list to go on forever.
So many hurting, lost people in our world who feel so helpless and so hopeless.
What can we do? Do not turn a blind eye to them, pray for awareness, through the indwelling of the Holy spirit your prayers can cover people you will never meet.
The blood of the Lamb you can pray over all these. God called us to be intercessors.
 I am not suggesting nailing people’s heads to the ground or radical empowerment, I am suggesting this:
2 CORINTHIANS 3:4:” FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE DO NOT WAR AFTER THE FLESH: FOR THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL, BUT MIGHTY THROUGH GOD TO THE PULLING DOWN OF STRONG HOLDS.
Think of the faith and courage these and others had, let God rise up in all of us and lead us into a prayer that will change the world!
Original Date:01/19/2013. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson  2015 REVISITED 02/09/22 Φλογιζω  Also listen to podcast at https://anchor.fm/phlogizo

Also for complete series: OF MADMEN, MARTYRS AND MAIDS/ PART1 and OF MADMEN, MARTYRS, AND MAIDS/ PART 2

 

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Sticks and Stones #3 “Blood Transfusion”

Family night at Ye Olde Drama Ville Theater is never a one-act play and no one wants tickets to that dreadful show anyway. The script is just too predictable, the outcome a certainty, someone is always gonna go away hurt while another revels in their glory of being alpha male, or dominant female,while everyone stands by as helpless “extras” with nothing they can do, nothing they can say, just waiting it out until the dramatic star chooses to go away.

 Angry at the aggressor and too sympathetic in wanting to tend the wounds of the victim, sometimes it only feeds the  feelings of helplessness and personal anger for what they feel as personal weakness in “not standing up for themselves”, I said feel  because reacting on the aggressors level is never what you should do.

But in reality the reason most don’t argue back is because they fear what they, themselves may be capable of if they allow those pent-up emotions to burst out in a blinding fury and it is one step across that invisible line to becoming the very thing that has tormented them.  

But if you have in times past, fell  into that trap, don’t beat yourself up, the Bible says for us to “live peaceably with all men, as much as lieth within you.”, Keeping peace as best as we can, but sometimes we don’t quite hit the mark when we are under attack. 

Proverbs 18:14: “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity: but  a wounded spirit who can bear.”

Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”                                  

Proverbs 12:18: “There is that ( one who) speaketh like the piercing of a sword.”                                      

Proverbs 15:13: “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance but by sorrow of  the heart, the spirit is broken.”

This repetitive play will without a doubt leave someone’s heart pierced and their very spirit broken.

The good news is you are not required of the Lord to continue to play the starring role, as the enemy and sometimes other family members would try to sway you into believing. 

The bad news, because it is the truth that is more hard to hear is this, it is up to you to quit the troop and fire the Director.

 In “Blood Brothers” we discussed some biblical brothers and how a couple of them, in my opinion, did not even realize that the others really did hate them.

We all want family approval, it is inborn need to belong and be accepted by our siblings and the most painful enlightenment that we will ever go through is coming to terms with the fact that they truly do not like us as a person and that there is nothing within our mortal grasp that will change that.                                                                

Often we do not understand why the Lord doesn’t just change these things on our behalf, but the truth in that is again God only deals in free will and he will not go above what a person asks of him and even though we want them to change so that we can have a good, healthy, loving relationship with them, as God intended, if they don’t see a problem and have no remorse or repentance and no desire to change, then that is their free will and God will not go above that.     

Jesus said that they hated him without a cause and a servant cannot be above his master, if they hated him they will hate you.          The secret is in emulating his behavior, when you bless those that curse and pray for them, they have no accusation against you, as you have only been kind to them, when the Holy Spirit begins to deal with their heart and their actions start coming back to mind, they can find no justification through your behavior toward them to explain to God their own actions. God then uses this to bring about repentance, true remorse for their actions so they then may be saved and that is our goal.                                                                                                                                                                                          

Now digging the blood transfusion, when we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we are covered by his blood, we are made partakers with his blood and become new creatures, adopted through that blood into the household of God himself.

We become heirs and joint-heirs with Christ and even though we still have an earthy family, our main family is heavenly and the only dinner we have to be sure to make an appearance at is the wedding supper of the Lamb!                  

Just as Abram had to leave his family in order to fulfill God’s purpose, sometimes we also have to “forget those things which are behind and press toward the mark of that high calling”. When we must “leave” (emotionally) our families or friends it is then, that the word of God promises us that God will pick us up, Jesus said he will be our mother, brother, sister, whatever family position that is broken and empty, Jesus himself will fill that void.

He is a friend that will stick closer than a brother.                                      

So accept that transfusion freely, be diligent, when you find your mind running through the past, replace those thoughts with scripture and things of God, And lean on your church family for support.                                                                        

Before I had even be called I had been in  a battle, a fierce unbelievable battle and I went to church and heard words that I still cling to today, a brother had been singing and he stopped, this guy is on the quite side as far as speaking and I think that made it hit home even more, but he said that we should always remember no matter what we are going through or how alone we feel that someone else is either going through the same thing or has already been through it.                                              

We often look at others as “perfect” people who haven’t a care in the world and that freak show stuff just happens to us but you will never find a Christian who does not have a testimony that will nine times out of ten leave you in tears, it is part of the overcoming we all must endure, the very reason your church family is a major factor in walking away from relationships you just don’t need in your life and being accepted by Christ is the only acceptance we need.                                              

But never give up on them, pray for them, and as I said before once you give that gentle answer back when they are attacking you, just walk away, you have to, and when you have been in a very terrible argument and maybe threats have been made or your feelings are just really hurt, here are some scriptures that I believe will help, but again lean on your church family, talk to your Pastor or trusted prayer partners, pray together, there is strength in that but please don’t jeopardize your personal safety by continuing in it.

Psalm 56:3,4: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. In God will I praise his word, In God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh (people) can do unto me.”

Psalm 118:6 :”The Lord is on my side; I will not fear:What can man do unto me.”                                          

 Psalm 56:9 : “When I cry unto thee, then shall my enemies turn back: This I know, for God is with me.”

Romans 8:31:”What shall we then say to these things? “If God be for us, who can be against us?”                    

Psalm 56:8 :”Thou tellest ( you know) my wanderings; Put thou my tears unto thy bottle: are they not written in thy book?”  

God sees and keeps record of our pain, one day all the tears that we have shed, that He is very aware of will be returned to us in pure joy !  

James 1:2,3:”My brethren, (brothers and sisters of Apostle Paul through Christ) count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations (various trails) knowing this, that the trying of ( relying on) your faith worketh (produces) patience.”                                                                                                                                                                                  

Just say no, just walk away, don’t play the game and don’ star in that role!                                

“Proverbs 23:24,25: “Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou shalt not go (stay away from them); Lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul.”

Anger will “jump” and it is like an infectious disease and it is contagious and you do not want to catch it.                                

2 Samuel 22:47,49:“The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock; and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation .  And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.”                                                                                                

 Psalm 140:1,4: “Deliver me O Lord, from the evil man: Preserve me from the violent man: keep me  from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from the violent man, who has purposed to overthrow my goings (tried to cause us to stumble).”                                                                                                         

Isaiah 12:2:”Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the lord Jehovah is my strength and my song: He also is become my salvation .”                                                                                 

It is my sincerest prayer that for all who may be in holiday dread because of theses things will find comfort in God’s word, remember as you study these for yourself, use a reference Bible that will lead you to other scriptures dealing with the same subject.

God often uses this to lead us to other scripture, which will be perfect for whatever our battle is at that present time and it is in the quite times that God will speak to you through his word and send you comfort and peace.                              

Remember Jesus said for us to be of good cheer, because he had overcome the world and sometimes for us, we must overcome those we actually hold dear. May God bless you and keep you and give you true peace this season.                    

Φλογιζω NBJ 2015   Original post: 11/2015     

REVISITED 11/19/2021, I wanted to revisited several of these posts, as I had originally written them to address the topic dysfunctional and toxic relationships and the dread it can make of holidays approaching.I will be revisiting this series over the course of this week, but several are linked below, which link to the others in that particular series.

I do pray if you are wrestling with this dilemma that these posts will be not only a comfort, but an encouragement to you. Jesus is the Prince of Peace and peace is exactly what he wants for you, so have your joy in a relationship with him and do not allow yourself to be treated as less than the precious life that he created you to be. Φλογιζω NBJ/2021 Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Also consider these posts:“Raised by wolves”    “EXPOSURE”   “Daddy’s shoes… “  “Misplaced pearls”   Regeneration of Generations

For more in this series, please check out the following posts: Bad Blood, Blood Brothers, Anger Danger, Strangle Hold   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                            

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WITH FRIENDS LIKE THAT…

I love old sayings, people long ago learned lessons and passed that wisdom down to forewarn future generations.
Ministers are like front line soldiers discovering what’s in the enemies arsenal and reporting back to the troops what weapon is needed to take them down.
Some of the wisest words ever spoken were, “With friends like that, who needs enemies.”
As Paul said “when he thought to do good, evil was ever-present with him.” Sometimes it is difficult for us to see just who our real enemies are.
Think about it, the Bible says that Satan himself “can transform into an angel of light” and we know that he is well versed in the scripture and loves nothing more than to try to twist the word of God to snare, trap, and pervert us.
Genesis 3:1(a) “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made…” and most know this story, through convincing Eve that she really, really wanted this and she should just trust him, it would all be okay, he deceived her into making a decision that we all paid for and Jesus gave his life to repair the damage that “friend” caused.
David, not even trying to resist his lust for Bathsheba ( I know it was lust because he had tried to get Uriah to go home, hoping he would sleep with her and think he had fathered the baby and let them all live a lie) when all of his plans failed, he in effect had Uriah “murdered by war” using him to deliver his own death warrant.
The wages of sin are death, this brought it down on his entire family. Nathan the Prophet went so far as to deliver the judgment handed down from God that the sword would never leave David’s house.
So that voice as the serpent rose again, David’s son Amnon became completely possessed by a spirit of incestuous lust toward his half-sister Tamar. As Satan purposed all this in Amnon’s heart he sent his messenger with just the reassurance Amnon’s flesh needed to act upon that lust.
2 Samuel 13:2,3 ” And Amnon was so vexed (distressed) that he feel sick for his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her ( knew it was wrong ). But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shiva David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.”

His “friend” talked him into raping her, destroying her and filling her brother(his half) Absalom with such hate that it mirrors the rebellion Lucifer led in his attempt to overthrow the Kingdom of Heaven.

He had Amnon murdered and led a rebellion against David and died trying to flee David’s army, when his long beautiful hair became caught and tangled on a tree branch leaving him helpless against the sword.
Snared and tangled up, some prophetic symbolism in that, what unchecked bitterness and hate will do to us.
That is what happens when one person chooses to listen to the wrong voice. A girl’s life was completely devastated, two brothers were dead, two mothers, a father, and an entire kingdom was left to mourn and to never be the same.

One more example, sometimes the enemy wants to take you down so bad that he will send a multitude of voices, because after all, how can so many be so wrong?

The story of Queen Esther tells us of Haman, the King’s power-hungry, right hand boy who hated the Jews especially Esther’s uncle, Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow to him.

So Amidst his whining over the injustice of the situation,

Esther 5:14 “Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and on the morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go merrily with the king unto the banquet. and this thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.”

Long story short, Haman was hanged on his own gallows and Mordecai got his job.
God tells us “surely they shall gather together, but not by me, no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.”

Haman fell into his own trap, a trap laid at the urging of those closest to him, who supposedly had his best interests in mind, telling him exactly what his blackened, sin-laden heart wanted to hear.

So like those collect calls from Egypt, you don’t realize the price until you get the bill and if you knew the cost you would have never agreed to accept those charges, it may be a bill like David’s, that his family ended up having to pay.
Your true friends may not understand your faith, but they will respect it and be happy for you.
Read Luke 15:8,9 the parable of the lady who found her lost silver and her friends rejoiced with her.
Steer clear of “friends” who only want to drag you back to “Egypt”, because misery loves company and if they are not free they surely don’t want you to be.
Just as with Adam and Eve, once the blinders were off and their eyes were opened to the truth,they knew the sin and the shame.

Amnon, when his “love” immediately turned to complete disgust and hatred once he had achieved his desire.

That is what sin does and no matter how good they make it sound or tell you just how much you are missing, if you give in to them, when the day comes, and it will come, like Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened, yours will be also and I promise you that your are not going to like what you see.

The truth is that not only are friends like these a danger to your soul, they also endanger theirs by tempting you as a child of God.

As the Bible teaches us, if we as believers defile this temple God will destroy it (us).
Daniel 5 tells the story of Belshazzar, who had the bright idea that it would be fun to defile the vessels of the Lord which had been taken from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.

He and all with him drank from them, while praising their false pagan gods and having the equivalent to a big drunken feast, within an hour,  his eyes beheld with horror and his knees actually shook with terror as a hand appeared from nowhere and proceeded to write out his death warrant on his own wall, when Daniel interrupted it he would soon learn that no one could save him from the judgment of God and he was dead that night.

We are vessels, holy unto the Lord, set aside for his use and anyone who wishes to defile us will truly have hell to pay.
Friends like these you don’t need. Pray and ask the Lord for real ones. And while you are waiting, remember he is the best friend you will ever have!

Companion post: COLLECT CALL FROM EGYPT. WILL YOU ACCEPT THE CHARGES?

Φλογίζω / 05/24/2014. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2015 

REVISTED 08/07/2021

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COLLECT CALL FROM EGYPT, WILL YOU ACCEPT THE CHARGES?

Ever wonder what Moses went through? You know, being a prince of Egypt, brought up as an Egyptian, taught by them, trained by them and having close family bonds with them.
Moses had all of Egypt laid at his feet all that was required of him in order to live a lavish life of riches and unimaginable power was to deny his own lineage and turn his eyes away from the suffering of those in bondage.
He couldn’t do it because he was cut from a different cloth, he would forsake all of Egypt, its power and wealth bought by the blood of his true people. That he would not overlook.
He would rather go into bondage with them, than to enjoy his good life at the expense of their freedom. How many times did he hear, “You are one of us, you need to just calm down and forget this nonsense, just stay where you belong.”
Pharaoh tried his different tactics, my favorite is Exodus 10:10,
“And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.”
Classic Satan and classic control. “Oh, you don’t really want to be out there on your own, what about your loved ones? The world is a bad place and bad things will happen if we aren’t there to protect you. It is not so bad here in Egypt, just stay where you belong.”
Anyone ever felt this kind of pressure? Pretending to wish you well but letting you know that not only will you not make it in your new walk of faith but neither will those you hope to lead with you.
How can you ever leave the Egypt of this world and all you have known to follow Christ into the land he has chosen?
So as we know this story, Pharaoh decides when his logic fails, he will just get rough with them. His heart so hardened that he failed to see the hand of the one true living God at work in all this. And he failed to see all of its strength, ready to come down on him, and he failed to see the anguish it would to his own people.
Once God had forced his hand by sending the plagues ending it with the deaths of the first-born of Egypt, he finally released the Hebrew slaves, but in his stubbornness and pride he could not leave well enough alone and decided to mount his army and set out after them to bring them all kicking and screaming back to Egypt.
As the Israelite’s stood horrified as the Egyptian army grew closer and the Red Sea stood as a formidable obstacle against them. The enemy trying to convince them that they were never even meant to be free, they cried out to the Lord, who was their ever-present help.
Exodus 14: 13, 27&28: And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew you to day: For the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. and Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remaineth not so much as one of them.”
Sometimes in life when the Red Sea in view and freedom is almost certain, the spirit of Pharaoh will rear its ugly head and spew out a warning cry to try to force you to stay in Egypt, in sin, in bondage,and misery, to try to convince that you will never be free.
Remember the words of our Lord, the word that is the double-edged sword given you from God, to cut through all the powers of hell, as Jesus said, the which will never, ever prevail.
“Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm”
Serve notice on the Pharaoh in your life, tell him to send his messengers, rally his troops, mount his chariot and prepare his battle against your soul because soon you will see the salvation of your God and Pharaoh and his host will perish in the sea as they try to pursue you.
When Egypt tries to call you back, do not accept those charges, don’t even bother picking up the phone to answer their call because the price for one conversation with them could lead to a bill you will be trying to pay off for the rest of your life!
It would be better to be speared through the back running away than to submit to life under servitude under a spiritual Pharaoh.
Let that old Navy  motto about dealing with torpedoes motto ring true in our battles today, full speed ahead.
Φλογίζω /original Post   05/03/14. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2015 REVISITED 08/07/2021

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"GO FOR THE GOLD BUT PLEASE, HOLD THE JADE"

Ah, Jaded. What a lovely word, normally a beautiful stone used to adorn beautiful things. but in the right context, not quite so lovely on us.
We are to press toward the mark, to earn the crown of righteousness to one day lay at the Master’s feet, beautiful I am sure, pure gold just like His word and His truth that refines our souls purer than the purest of all gold.
But if that crown happens to be embellished with a little jade, what’s it going to hurt?
Well what was to be made of precious metal will now consist of hardened stone.
What should have shone with heavenly brilliance and reflected the Fathers light will now dull and now have an odd color and an indifferent feel.
That crown will be inferior and will tarnish and once that happens it will never be presentable before a King.
All that work, all that heartache, tears,and sacrifices, whatever had been involved in winning that crown will now be useless and disallowed and burned with the stubble in the fire in which all things must be burned away in that purification process of the soul.
So what causes us to go from that ecstatically exuberant joy that we are bathed in the day of our salvation to the “j” word over the course of that salvation?
I have pondered it, in myself and in others and I have come up with a couple of reasons.
In my circle our favorite subject is “Christendom of Yore” I know that they had problems, I know they had battles, and that females were to sit quietly and express no thoughts or opinions, to which I am thankful to be in the present day or otherwise my heart would explode!


Jaded: Deadened, injured, weary, tired, apathetic, blunted, blasé (indifferent or unimpressed) dispassionate, half hearted. Remember apathetic.
So how does our beautiful golden crowns become inlaid with flat, dulled jade?


#1 Fatigued, battle weary
We are in or nearing, in my belief, “the wearing out of the Saints” it seems no matter who they are, rich, poor, married or single that Christians are being constantly bombarded with a steady stream of attacks from the enemy unlike ever before.
Usually people would face one battle at a time but now it seems many fight multi battles on different levels and I am reminded of Nehemiah 4:17: “They which builded on the wall, and they which bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work (working) AND WITH THE OTHER HAND HELD A WEAPON.”
Trying to “work” on our building for the Lord, and whatever he has called us to do being carefully on guard against attacks at all time, never a moment to rest, never a moment of ease by not having to look over our shoulders because this work must be done and many want it to cease.


#2 Blasé and unimpressed 
 “Heard it, believed it, didn’t happen, not buying it again”
I want to be very, very careful how I say this, but one huge problem running amok over the last few years is “Believe it, receive it, Doubt it and do without it” I am ALL for faith, and I know what scripture teaches on believing for what we do not see, but miracles and healings are in a special, special league all their own.
Miracles are instantaneous and the moment that you are healed you know and there has been such a free for all of proclaiming healings over people and “feeling” like the “Lord is saying” that some teach that all you have to do is proclaim it and “believe” (which is actually different from faith, belief is in your heart and faith is knowing come what may He is God and He is sovereign) and when people are hurting, love ones are dying and they are told this and someone actually proclaims that they are healed then they die and the bewildered family are told they just did not have the faith or that they received the ultimate healing.
And no one admits to maybe having misspoke or trying to pray “in faith”, often people want to reach out to others but in this area it is best to pray the Lord’s prayer, “deliver them”.
( I do understand that Paul perceived that the man had faith to be healed BUT Paul was filled with the HOLY GHOST, he KNEW when the anointing came that GOD would grant his request FOR THE GLORY TO THE LORD, not so he could win preacher of the year!) 
BUT NO,NO,NO, NO! When they have believed based one what they were told by Christians that they trusted and if it DOES NOT happen, this leads to apathy and causing them to lose more faith than what would have been lost if they had known the truth, this has caused many to leave church completely.
But IF GOD truly says it, it will come to pass.
#3 Apathetic and Blunted:
“They don’t care, why should I?”
The beginning of the journey all fired up, feeding off on another’s anointing, iron sharpening iron, the spirit bearing witness.
Now that is good, but when things start to change and the one you once loved to listen starts coming against you for whatever reason, what was once a beautiful flow will become a dangerous hindrance in the spirit world.
Two swordsmen fighting each other with equally dangerous weapons and that unspoken carnage will spill over onto the entire congregation.
And the swordsmen are prime to have the Lord to take both their swords. 
And that once sharp iron will become dull and blunt rendering it absolutely ineffective against the enemy.
That apathetic “blah, blah, blah” attitude will breed into so much more than a covering of jade.
When this hit me, I knew the meaning of jaded, I wanted a clearer list and broader understanding and as I kept defining meanings, two fascinating words appeared,
stemming FROM the jaded definition of apathetic, LUKEWARM and LAODICEAN.
Yeah, and we all know what that means, so all these things left unchecked will lead to being lukewarm and we also know that is the condition in which Jesus said he will spue us out.
So how do we clean that jade off before it takes hold of the gold?
Renewing, renewing and renewing  our minds, “let this mind which is in Christ Jesus be in you also” renewing our minds through scripture back into the word of God. Reminding ourselves repeatedly of every single promise that we have been given.
As Nehemiah prayed that God would “strengthen the work” of his hands so must we.
He will never allow us to break, when we are weary, it is His right hand that holds us up, when our heads are bowed in discouragement it is His left hand that lifts our face.
When we desperately, desperately need a word to hang onto or a glimmer of hope, remember “What time that I am afraid I will trust in thee” and that He will be with us “even unto the end of the world” and sometimes that can be when we feel that our world is ending, but He will never leave us.
Remember our first love and “remember thy love more than wine” and know that even though we don’t always feel it, the only approval we need is His.
 No one can zap us into heaven and no one can deny us heaven if we don’t let them, no matter who has hurt us it is still up to us to “work out” our “own salvation” if that means finding another church, then do it because God is not the author of confusion.
Forgive those that have hurt you, just let it go and go on and don’t even try to understand it, God doesn’t want us to waste time over analyzing and ever analyzing what went wrong yesterday, because He already knows what tomorrow will bring.
I have found in my own life that every painful path that I have had to walk down led me to a more beautiful place and at the end of that road I may not have liked the circumstances that lead me there but I have always been thankful for the journey because of the  blessings in that valley that He has given me and I know that I would never received that on a mountain top.
Sharpen that sword and  get that crown polished because no matter how tired, how weary, lethargic or depressed you may feel, you’ve been furnace fired to be pure gold and that jade is just never gonna look good on you!
Φλογίζω / NBJ/ All rights reserved 2015    REVISTED 07/29/2021






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“Stoned…so you’ll be sure to miss it…”

“Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. 

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR:

Whom RESIST steadfast in the faith. KNOWING that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that ARE in the world.

BUT the God of all grace, WHO HATH CALLED YOU UNTO HIS ETERNAL GLORY BY JESUS CHRIST, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect (blameless before God) , stablish (establish), strengthen, settle you.

To him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever . Amen” 1 Peter 5:6-10

Familiar verse there again, but the word is the word and sometimes we NEED to hear it more than once. I want to expound on this passage just a little bit. Peter was giving his fellow companions instructions on how to survive in their terrible time, a time when the church was being persecuted and believers rejected, hated, and martyred.

He encouraged them to look past the sufferings and injustices of this world and place their trust in Jesus knowing and resting in the assurance that he would, when the time was perfectly right, according to His perfect will uphold them and present them above their enemies,a s He will prepare that feasting table for you in their very presence. He warned them also, as that same warning has been for every single believers since Peter penned it, even to us NOW that we are to be SOBER, serious minded CONCERNING our salvation, our walk with the Lord, and SERIOUS in KNOWING and respecting the fraility of our own human condition, that we can if not constantly monitoring our own hearts and intentions, can be destroyed by the enemy while our attentions that should be focused on God and things concerning the kingdom, are instead focused on things of this world.

And we are told to RESIST the devil by standing in the faith of God and have comfort in the fact that none of us are ever alone, and if you must fight against a temptation, or a mindset, that you should know and have assurance in the knowledge that you are not alone and that your brothers and sisters in Christ have many fought that same battle that you fight. And we are given the promise that holding onto to that faith and that reassurance that God himself, who has CALLED us to himself, to be his children, his heirs, and citizens of his holy kingdom, will indeed help us by settling all the turmoil, internal and eternal, strengthen us through the building of that faith in him, and he will give you peace in all things.

So by this point, you may be asking yourself, Well, there now woman, what’s up with that title?

So glad that you asked!

Anyone who was not raised on church music or has any lyrical association with all thing nineteen seventies would recognize that as a play on an old standard, absolutely no copyright infringement intended, well now that I have written my dutiful disclaimer, I shall tell you.

Most know that I am located in the states and live in the South, not terribly South but south enough to be “accented” with the Bell lingo, quite a conversation point at time, and while I do try to hit across the globe when I write, painfully aware of what my international brothers and sisters suffer, this post is aimed at my own countrymen.

While watching the news I had to sit back in wonder as it was reported the new “changes” that would be taking place in my state, just as all the “changes” that will be taking place in the nation as a whole, as while the details of new way to fight Corona, and all about how people who were “hurting” from the economy and all the woes Corona has brought would not be forgotten, along with mentions of other most mediocre legislations that would come,of course, for the betterment of us all and one point just astounded me, the legalization of marijuana for “RECREATIONAL” use.

Yeah those are six words that should NEVER be linked together in a single sentence.

Especially considering that the area I live in is one of the highest in opioid addiction,overdoses not only through opioid but other substances, not to mention alcohol abuse, meth, and the poverty, and absolute destruction of families and lives that go along with those trappings.

So when I heard those words delivered with what appeared sheer glee, as the state will reap the rewards of that “harvest with a niffy tax, I could not help but wonder what are our lives even worth to our “leaders’, I can answer that for you also, NOT MUCH.

Just enough to endanger those who are not on guard against the dangers of ANY drug use or those who are already battling hell against addiction because that is a battle, and a hard fought battle that never really ends, those who have recovered from alcohol or drug addiction must ALWAYS fight against that lure to try to pull them back into that pit of destruction and despair.

So for the powers that be to decide that during the pandemic, while people ARE feeling isolated and alone, which by the way, isolation is one of the biggest threats to a recovering person, that the time has come to make it pot perfectly legal, and not just legal for medical use, but adding the word “recreational”.

Think about the very meaning of”Recreational” : “relating to or denoting activity done for enjoyment when one is not working.” and think about “Recreational drug use” :”relating to or denoting drugs taken on an occasional basis for enjoyment.”

KNOWING full well that it does induce effects, why else do we call it “Being fried”, pot is not just some sort of “Herbal supplement”. it has very real effects and those effects are addictive.

So in my thinking, I’m like, okay, we have people who are hurting and we are in a pandemic and economy crash, we already have people dying everyday from overdoses, so sure, why NOT give the one more obstacle to overcome and why NOT make it so easy to obtain and so PERFECTLY legal, so that they will have no problem whatsoever obtaining it or run the risk of getting caught with and being charged with possession.

Why NOT even let be said that it is solely for the purpose of their enjoyment, to use ta their discretion.

It is simply this, they do NOT care if you become addicted, they DO NOT CARE if it ruins you, your family, your life.

They only care that it will further their agendas of popularity and revenue increase and people this is just the iceberg tipping, and Satan has always used entrapment as one of the biggest tricks in his bag of many.

The enemy has always played the game of making it easy, putting all those temptations laid out nicely before you to choose as you will but never telling you the price you will pay in the long run, when your life, your health, and nine times out of ten, your family is destroyed and then, the damage is so great that God and God alone is the only one capable of cleaning up the mess that addictions leave of a life.

So on we go on with these new changes, and believe me there will be many more coming, please, for the love of God, do not make the mistake of truly believing that because it IS legal, and because everyone else is doing it, that you should also.

We are responsible for our own lives and the choices we ourselves make and we are warned against “Spiritual wickedness in high places” and a true leader will do what is in the best interest for the health and safety of those they are alleged to be in service to, not to legastite laws that will in fact become a burden to be born on the backs of those who partake of those new “freedoms”.

People often refuse to follow Christ and detest the Gospel based on their beliefs that they are “hindered”, prevented from doing things that they desire to do, but in reality, God gives us his words and his commandment to PROTECT us from those things that while they may be pleasurable, for  a season, they will lead to our destruction.

Remember these words? Hebrews 11: 24,25: “By faith, Moses, when he was come to years (reached adulthood), refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;  Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (short time);”

We often forget when we think of those from Bible times, they WERE human, with the same feelings, emotions, and temptations of us all, and Moses could have been the ruler of ALL of Egypt and at that time Egypt was one of the greatest powers on earth, if not the greatest.

Moses had it all laid at his feet, to do with whatsoever he chose, but what he chose was to WALK AWAY from that sinful nation that had in fact ENSLAVED his people and went on to hear the voice of the Lord CALLING him to lead those same people out of that terrible bondage with the mighty hand of God.

We make those choices and so many today are in bonadage an with new snares and trap set daily to ensnare them even farther, and why? What could be a possible motive?

Dependance, my dear friends, dependance, just as the story when Moses was leading the Hebrews, and they begin to complain that he was leading the out to die in the desert and then they actually complained,complained about the food that GOD HIMSELF WAS FEEDING THEM and complained of missing the foods that they had when they were enslaved?

Numbers 11:4-8:” And the mixt multitude that was AMONG them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel ALSO wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this MANNA, before our eyes. 

And the manna was as coriander seed, and the colour thereof as the colour of bdellium.

And the people went about, and gathered it, and ground it in mills, or beat it in a mortar, and baked it in pans, and made cakes of it: and the taste of it was as the taste of fresh oil.”

Had they so easily forgotten being worked mercilessly, dawn to night, had they forgotten being beaten, had they forgotten the sight of the backs and bodies of their loved ones marred by striped raw flesh from those beatings?

Had they forgotten the heartache and helplessness of being able to come to the defense of others as they witness those atrocities?

Had they forgotten that they were under the absolute control of Egyptians to do with what they would, including, thinking back to the degree to slaughter all the Hebrew baby boys, a decree that without the intervention of God would have annihilated Moses at birth.

How they had forgotten all these things at the simple thought of cucumbers, fish, and melons that had been eaten, without a doubt, in haste and fear, as they would need to hurry to continue their toil, an absurd thought, a ludicrous trade,a whispering of Satan, convincing them just how “good” they had it in Egypt!

Notice how this complaint actually got started with the “mixt multitude” those who had came out of Egypt with the Hebrews, not necessarily Hebrews, think of the weeds that the enemy plants along side the “wheat” that has been planted by the Lord. Basically these people start to murmur and complain, soon God’s children hear and then they start to cry and complain ALSO.

Why? Because it is so easy to follow the crowd and do what everyone else is doing  and the enemy knows that and that’s what he is banking on, that we will rather run with the crowd that risk rejection by that crowd.

So they forgot all about the food God was giving them, the sheer MIRACLE of eating food from heaven itself, food that actually tasted of FRESH OIL,fresh oil symbolically fresh oil, that they needed to become new, in their new freedom.

But they chose to listen to the crowd and forgot God’s goodness and they forgot the terrors of Egypt, and if we forget where we have been, and if we forget just how awful and bad that place was, and if we forget how we had prayed to NEVER have to be in that place again, we will

Another secret here:

Psalm 9:17: ” The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”

Comparing apples and oranges, you can see how easily Satan tried to twist the minds of the freed Hebrews, to turn them against God’s call and against Moses, trying to lure them back into captivity with the mere promises of leeks and garlic, HOW MUCH MORE CAN HE LEAD PEOPLE BACK INTO BONGAGE OR WORSE BONDAGE WITH THE PROMISE OF DRUGS?

Do you see what the design is now? If every desire is attainable, if every ounce of the flesh is catered to, Where is your eternal salvation in this? Where is your quality of life?

That life will lead you into bondage and into dependance on the very powers that offer you that “luxury of living” and that is the ultimate goal.

Realize today that if you are in Christ, or even if you are not in Christ, but realize that you do not want enslaved to a substance that WILL control and DESTROY you, don’t fall for it, you are not being offered freedom you are being offered bonaged in a pretty package and if we play with fire we will be burned.

The enemy wants you to be “stoned” so that you will completely “miss it”, that you will miss the gentle sound of conviction God speaks to your heart, that you will completely miss the call he has on your life, and that you will miss the hope, peace, and joy that you could have as you trade it for his broken promises  and in effect trade your promises of eternal life for eternal destruction if you do not escape his clutches in time.

Love and peace to you till next time, keep on praying and keep on believing that your tomorrow can be so much better than your today!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2021/ Reverend Nina Brown Johnson

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Tallying of time

 

“To EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time to EVERY PURPOSE under the heaven:

A time to be born (to bear), and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and  a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; and a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get (gain), and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend (tear apart), and a time to sew (repair); a time to keep silence, and  a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. What profit (gain) hath he that worketh in that in that wherein he laboureth? ” Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

That ending verse being reminiscent of what was spoken by Jesus in Mark 8:36,38:

“For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Maybe going  a little in reverse.. but I want to take that scripture first. Jesus warned also in another parable of the man who had EVERYTHING and chose to concentrate on building his earthy empire even bigger WHILE neglecting the fact that these things are temporary. Check it out, Luke 12:16-20:

 “And he spake a parable unto them, saying,  The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow (store) my fruits?

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow (store) my fruits (crops) and my goods.

And I will say unto my soul, Soul, thou hast much good goods laid up for many years: take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” 

Work and excelling in the world and chosen professions mean very little in the grand realm. Of course God wants us to do well but we can never use any worldly successes as a key toward entering the kingdom of heaven.

Likewise we can not use our worldly cares and obligations to make us exempt from fulfilling our duties to that kingdom. Jesus Christ and His kingdom and the ASSURANCE that we have made every preparation required of us for the “storage “of our soul in Him is to be the number one priority. 

And this is not even about “work”or”works” it is about the preciousness of time and the ever ticking clock counting DOWN our time on this world. Many, who are at the end of their lives, through terminal illness often say the same chilling words… “wasted time” a celebrity who recently passed had told his family this.

Why do we have to be out of time to realize how blessed we are for EVERY day that we have.  And why do so many wait and wait… and wait… REFUSING to accept salvation, BELIEVING in God, but also falsely believing that they have “all the time in the world” when we are NOT promised tomorrow or even the next breath.

Which is why God told us in His word, “SEEK ye the Lord WHILE he may be found.” And others, while saved and have the promise of ETERNAL salvation forget the promise of the goodness we receive in THIS world when we do go after the things of God and forsake all that hinders us in serving Him.

Mark 10: 29,30: “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, and sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake,and the gospel’s,

But HE SHALL RECEIVE AN HUNDREDFOLD NOW IN THIS TIME, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, WITH PERSECUTIONS; AND IN THE WORLD TO COME ETERNAL LIFE.”

 People get so hung up on what they are LOSING that they don’t realize that they are NOT LOSING ANYTHING except a life that is running out, and maybe people who are hindering and harming their life and they have been given an opportunity to GAIN one hundred times over in joy, family, by being brought into the extended family of Christ, and spiritual riches and blessings that they could not even begin to imagine.

But like contestants on a bad game show they are willing to settle for the not so great consolation prize that is available to all participants in the game of life, when that prize could have been traded up for a grand prize of cosmic proportions.

And in the end, time wasted, time that no one is getting back. Time that could have been used to lighten another’s burden. Time that could have been spent making someone smile and in cheering up their lives you will find that you cheer up your own.

Everyone suffers, everyone goes through heartache. It IS seasons and times on earth, it IS the purpose of earth. But the surest way to overcome our own pain is by lessening the pain of another.

We overcome the darkness that tries to enclose on us through sadness, grief, illness by doing unto others and shining a candle into someone else’s dark world. This is why the Lord said that all these things come WITH persecutions. As long as we are in this world, we will have sorrow, we will have rain, we will have storms, and giants to face.

As we are TOLD that ALL of these things are for a TIME.

A TIME to die and LET things die.

A TIME to pull up and change our plans.

A TIME to kill, things that are just not working by walking away from those things.

A TIME to break down and destroy spiritual strongholds.

A TIME cast away stones. A TIME to be serious, be stern, be somber.

A TIME TO LOSE. A SEASON OF WEEPING and MOURNING, sorrow and tears.

A TIME to tear apart, hate, and be silent.

BUT with all these painful trying times of this world, we have these precious times and seasons of promise.

A TIME for birth of something new, a birth of new fruits, new joys, new endeavors.

A TIME to plant,and sow in hope of a good harvest, love, kindness, friendships.

A TIME build again, gather stones, spiritual altars of praise and worship.

A TIME to laugh, dance, and embrace.

A TIME of healing, repair, and restorations.

A TIME to speak in love, peace, and prosperity.

BUT in it ALL, It IS life and it is the life unto which we ALL have been appointed. God’s word also says that without a vision His people would perish.

I do practice what I preach and I have many regrets, regrets of wishing I had talked more to this one or should have done that differently but that IS also part of life.

And as the year comes to an end I challenge everyone to take stock and for all of us to ask ourselves, if we knew, like the man in Jesus’s parable, that our time was EVEN shorter than we thought (because in reality, IT always IS) what could we have done differently?

How many times would we have made ourselves press upward rather than giving into the downing spirits of this world?

How many times could we find that ever elusive silver lining and just how bright and majestic would that rainbow had been IF we could have seen it through the downpour of our tears?

And as His word also promises that IN HIS TIME… He makes ALL things beautiful, ask ourselves have we really traded in all those ashes for the beauty that STILL lies ahead or have we given ourselves up already dying to a past that can never been brought back, holding onto memories, that while joyful and precious have taken such precedence over our present that we are deadened to exploring the possibilities of making new ones.

When we live in an emotionally downward state, and God knows there are many reasons, WORTHWHILE reasons that cause this to happen, but when it happens, we are becoming oblivious to the joy that STILL surrounds us in the form of all those we love. Time is precious, don’t forget that and LIVE everyday like it was your last. TIME is a gift, IT is precious and given to us from God and we have to stop KILLING time because like it or not TIME itself is already killing us.

God Bless you in your upcoming week!

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω  NBJ 2017    

Original. Post 11/2017

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If you only knew…

“Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it IS that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 4:19

Pretty familiar story there, she stopped by the well and Jesus ran a quick perception test on her. Technically,  she “knew her place” as a Samaritan, and for the intent and opinion of “man” and she knew that the Jews (which Jesus was and still is) had a complete distaste and contempt for the Samaritans and would not want, let alone actually ask  for anything from her or her people.

So hopefully now that we are thinking in that vein, we’ll back this train up and backtrack to the beginning of the story. 

“When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John, ( Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples.) He left Judea, and departed again into Galilee.

And he must needs go (he needed to go) through Samaria.  Then he cometh to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave his son Joseph.

Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied in his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water; Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat (food.) 

Then saith the woman unto him, How is it, that you being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” John 4:1-9 

That brings us up to speed on the starter verse.

So many in the Bible, story after story of those who were approached by what they would feel was an unapproachable God.

Think about it, He came and walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening while they still inhabited Eden.

My all time favorite (that I have probably used far too many times) but Genesis chapter 18 tells the story that so perfectly captured just how perfectly, and supremely gracious God is, when he and the angels came down to check out Sodom and Gomorrah and he wanted Abraham to feel “kept in the loop” as to what would soon happen and as Abraham knowing what went on in those cities and wanting to save the life of his nephew Lot who lived there, he started his “bargaining” with God, asking him “if they be fifty righteous found in the city” would God spare it? And each time God answered, “Yes.”

Each time Abraham asked God again, lowering the number because he knew how bad they were but desperately wanted to save Lot, so he went all the way down to twenty. And finally Genesis 18:32-33: “And he (Abraham) said, Oh let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak yet but this once. Peradventure (perhaps)  ten shall be found there. 

And he (God) said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.  And the Lord went his way, as soon as he had left off communing  (speaking with) Abraham: and Abraham returned to his place.”

All through the Bible, through miracles (like with Moses), through angelic visitations such as, Jacob, Joshua, Hagar, Manoah and his wife,  John’s father Zacharias, Mary, and many others. Through spoken encounters, and by dreams and visions to his prophets, ALL through the span of time, he has made himself to be approachable to us.

And it is up to us to be obedient to that approach.

I love the story of Elijah and the widow, (1 Kings 17:8-16), we are told that this takes place during the famine, a famine God had been sustaining Elijah through by having  ravens feed him and a brook provide water, but when the brook was allowed to dry, it meant it was time for Elijah to move on, comfortable or not, time to go, again obedience.

So God tells him where to go and that he had commanded a widow to take care of him, if you notice in that story, when he met the widow she was gathering sticks for a fire, so he asks for a drink, and as she is going to get him a drink,  he then called to her to ask for food, she tells him she has basically nothing but a tiny bit of flour and oil, and that she was going to prepare the last of their food and her and her son were going to eat it and then die.

So once he asked her to make his food first and then for her and her son, she agreed, I personally believe that was the moment when her obedience to the prompting of God in her heart brought forth a miraculous blessing from God from that obedience.

For her and her house, not to mention the prophet, God supernaturally sustained her and her house until the barren times were over.

But think of that, what if she had not been open to prompting of God in her spirit? God had told Elijah in advance taht she would take care of him and yet she told Elijah she was going to prepare food and die. God had already put the blessing their and god has already prepared her heart to act upon his will.

Now to the lady at the well, she is a good example of this, and I truly feel that many of us suffer from our OWN self-image issues, feeling that we would never be good enough are kinda like the lady at the well when Jesus approached her, her first response was shock, shocked that he would even speak to her and more shocked again, that he would ask anything of her, because the treatment she had received from his “people” had been anything but kind.

Sometimes I truly think many have a hard time coming to Christ and accepting salvation, not because of him or salvation itself but because of the ridicule and mistreatment they have suffered from others.

And wrestling with the “good enough-ism” when we will NEVER be good enough, nor are we expected to be, because HE IS more than good enough to cover all of our sins.

So maybe up to this point your life has held a kind of  “snap before you are snapped”, and “get them before they get you”, kinda philosophy because when you buy into the lies of satan and convince yourself, in your own pain, that “the God-stuff” and all that “Jesus loves me” business is just not real… or that he is not approachable for you, it is very easy to throw away your today, your future, and your eternity and for what?

He IS real, but how could you possibly KNOW the reality of an invisible being while your mind is trapped in a blinded, cynical world?

How can you possibly KNOW whether or not He does love you IF you have never opened the door and let him in long enough for him to tell you that he does?

Just like this lady, who didn’t begrudge the water she just couldn’t believe she was approached for it by someone whom she mistakenly believed hated her.

How many do you think prejudge God’s thoughts toward them?

Without ever understanding that we can NEVER even know his thoughts or understand his ways, because as the Bible teaches us “His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts” and all the human attributes of grudges and prejudices that we ascribe to him, without KNOWING him are just wrong and are not even in his character.

Just as this lady THOUGHT she would be naturally misjudged and automatically hated, she did not have a clue WHO she was talking to. And so many today are falling to that same misguided mindset!

Jesus KNEW who she was! He KNOWS who you are, and He KNOWS who we all are!He went on to tell her all about her life and save her.

He KNEW what was going to have to happen to those sinful city’s when he spoke with Abraham and he KNEW exactly how many he would find there, and just like all the other references, and many others that could be used as examples, HE KNEW the answers BEFORE he asked the questions.

He is God, He knows all these things, he knows the beginnings, the endings, and all that goes in between.

He knows the number of the hairs on our heads and the moment that our hearts will beat the final beat.

And he is so different from us because he created us, not the other way around and even though he came to earth as human, he is still NOT a human.

And it in is that graciousness, beauty, and mercy that he does approach us in life, he sends his word, he sends his messengers, and even now in this present day, he STILL sends his angels, and he will send his own Spirit. 

And Psalm 19:3: “The heavens DECLARE the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.”

All the heavens, all of creation bears proof of a magnificent Creator and despite all the intelligence insulting nonsense taught contrary to this truth, we are still are born with a need to reconnect and an internal knowledge in our hearts and our souls that scream out that there IS more to this existence and that there IS more to life than simply death!

Who would ever want to believe that there is nothing more?

IF THIS, these lives, blessed or not, rough or not, was ALL we would ever know as existence, no one should EVER get out of bed, they should lay there and simply give up because that would be the most morbid, depressing state!

Believing that there is no hope, no love. nothing eternal!

BUT there is so much more!

And until you know Jesus you will never understand what is it to truly be ALIVE.

Until you know him, his peace, his supernatural provision (which never ceases to amaze me in my own struggles) and most importantly his plan for your joy, you ARE missing everything.

And you are missing a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with the absolute King of heaven and earth, who wants to heal you, deliver you, and let you know that no matter who you are, what you have done, or what others have said about you THAT he loves you and wants to show you things that the human mind cannot even begin to comprehend!

IF you only KNEW the one who can turn your night into day, scatters every demon, and breaks every chain, turn your ashes and tears to beauty and laughter.

He will rock your very soul and he will restore you and his mercy will turn your upside world perfectly upright.

IF you only KNEW who were missing… you wouldn’t miss out on him.

Young or old, black or white, all nations, all people, there ARE none who have not been approached and offered this blessed gift, the gift of Jesus Christ, we are not promised the next breath, but we ARE promised an eternal existence, either in heaven or in hell.

Like it or not we ARE forever, we WERE created to be eternal and eternal we WILL be. And maybe you still feel like, “crazy Jesus fanatics” (as we are often called), “think they know everything” but you know what, we ARE not fanatics.

Have you ever thought about this, everyone that witnesses Christ to you now, was once on the other side of that fence!

No one is born saved! We have all sinned, most of us also have thought once or twice about that “crazy Jesus fanatics” talking to us about God in our pasts!

But now the only separation between us is that we CHOSE to listen to them and took to heart the thought of “Hey, maybe there is more, maybe there is hope.”

And invited him into our life and accepted that salvation and now we thank him for those people who loved us enough to share the GOOD NEWS of the Gospel. 

So as he stands knocking at the door of your heart, as creation bears witness to his majesty, and his messengers, and witnesses are sent to you, know this, HE IS approaching you, accept him, get to know him before you decide whether or not you need him in your life.

We are nothing without him, we will never know TRUE freedom, true joy, or true peace until we are connected back into the one who breathed our very life into us. Don’t miss out on that because you will have missed it all.

1 John 4:19: “WE LOVE BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US.”

Love & Peace till next time, have a blessed week!

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NB 2018

 

 

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Tallying of time

“To EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time to EVERY PURPOSE under the heaven:

A time to be born (to bear), and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and  a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; and a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get (gain), and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend (tear apart), and a time to sew (repair); a time to keep silence, and  a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. What profit (gain) hath he that worketh in that in that wherein he laboureth? ” Ecclesiastes 3:1-9

That ending verse being reminiscent of what was spoken by Jesus in Mark 8:36,38:

“For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 

Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Maybe going  a little in reverse.. but I want to take that scripture first. Jesus warned also in another parable of the man who had EVERYTHING and chose to concentrate on building his earthy empire even bigger WHILE neglecting the fact that these things are temporary. Check it out, Luke 12:16-20:

 “And he spake a parable unto them, saying,  The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow (store) my fruits?

And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow (store) my fruits (crops) and my goods.

And I will say unto my soul, Soul, thou hast much good goods laid up for many years: take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?” 

Work and excelling in the world and chosen professions mean very little in the grand realm. Of course God wants us to do well but we can never use any worldly successes as a key toward entering the kingdom of heaven.

Likewise we can not use our worldly cares and obligations to make us exempt from fulfilling our duties to that kingdom. Jesus Christ and His kingdom and the ASSURANCE that we have made every preparation required of us for the “storage “of our soul in Him is to be the number one priority. 

And this is not even about “work”or”works” it is about the preciousness of time and the ever ticking clock counting DOWN our time on this world. Many, who are at the end of their lives, through terminal illness often say the same chilling words… “wasted time” a celebrity who recently passed had told his family this.

Why do we have to be out of time to realize how blessed we are for EVERY day that we have.  And why do so many wait and wait… and wait… REFUSING to accept salvation, BELIEVING in God, but also falsely believing that they have “all the time in the world” when we are NOT promised tomorrow or even the next breath.

Which is why God told us in His word, “SEEK ye the Lord WHILE he may be found.” And others, while saved and have the promise of ETERNAL salvation forget the promise of the goodness we receive in THIS world when we do go after the things of God and forsake all that hinders us in serving Him.

Mark 10: 29,30: “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, and sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake,and the gospel’s,

But HE SHALL RECEIVE AN HUNDREDFOLD NOW IN THIS TIME, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, WITH PERSECUTIONS; AND IN THE WORLD TO COME ETERNAL LIFE.”

People get so hung up on what they are LOSING that they don’t realize that they are NOT LOSING ANYTHING except a life that is running out, and maybe people who are hindering and harming their life and they have been given an opportunity to GAIN one hundred times over in joy, family, by being brought into the extended family of Christ, and spiritual riches and blessings that they could not even begin to imagine.

But like contestants on a bad game show they are willing to settle for the not so great consolation prize that is available to all participants in the game of life, when that prize could have been traded up for a grand prize of cosmic proportions.

And in the end, time wasted, time that no one is getting back. Time that could have been used to lighten another’s burden. Time that could have been spent making someone smile and in cheering up their lives you will find that you cheer up your own.

Everyone suffers, everyone goes through heartache. It IS seasons and times on earth, it IS the purpose of earth. But the surest way to overcome our own pain is by lessening the pain of another.

We overcome the darkness that tries to enclose on us through sadness, grief, illness by doing unto others and shining a candle into someone else’s dark world. This is why the Lord said that all these things come WITH persecutions. As long as we are in this world, we will have sorrow, we will have rain, we will have storms, and giants to face.

As we are TOLD that ALL of these things are for a TIME.

A TIME to die and LET things die.

A TIME to pull up and change our plans.

A TIME to kill, things that are just not working by walking away from those things.

A TIME to break down and destroy spiritual strongholds.

A TIME cast away stones. A TIME to be serious, be stern, be somber.

A TIME TO LOSE. A SEASON OF WEEPING and MOURNING, sorrow and tears.

A TIME to tear apart, hate, and be silent.

BUT with all these painful trying times of this world, we have these precious times and seasons of promise.

A TIME for birth of something new, a birth of new fruits, new joys, new endeavors.

A TIME to plant, and sow in hope of a good harvest, love, kindness, friendships.

A TIME build again, gather stones, spiritual altars of praise and worship.

A TIME to laugh, dance, and embrace.

A TIME of healing, repair, and restorations.

A TIME to speak in love, peace, and prosperity.

BUT in it ALL, It IS life and it is the life unto which we ALL have been appointed. God’s word also says that without a vision His people would perish.

I do practice what I preach and I have many regrets, regrets of wishing I had talked more to this one or should have done that differently but that IS also part of life.

And as the year comes to an end I challenge everyone to take stock and for all of us to ask ourselves, if we knew, like the man in Jesus’s parable, that our time was EVEN shorter than we thought (because in reality, IT always IS) what could we have done differently?

How many times would we have made ourselves press upward rather than giving into the downing spirits of this world?

How many times could we find that ever elusive silver lining and just how bright and majestic would that rainbow had been IF we could have seen it through the downpour of our tears?

And as His word also promises that IN HIS TIME… He makes ALL things beautiful, ask ourselves have we really traded in all those ashes for the beauty that STILL lies ahead or have we given ourselves up already dying to a past that can never been brought back, holding onto memories, that while joyful and precious have taken such precedence over our present that we are deadened to exploring the possibilities of making new ones.

When we live in an emotionally downward state, and God knows there are many reasons, WORTHWHILE reasons that cause this to happen, but when it happens, we are becoming oblivious to the joy that STILL surrounds us in the form of all those we love. Time is precious, don’t forget that and LIVE everyday like it was your last. TIME is a gift, IT is precious and given to us from God and we have to stop KILLING time because like it or not TIME itself is already killing us.

God Bless you in your upcoming week!

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω  NBJ 2017    

Original. Post 11/2017

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OPIOID OOPS ….

What can you say? What can you about the pharmaceutical industry and a medical field that through greed and absolute contempt for human life, families, and our nation has in effect created a population with addiction and overdose rate that are absolutely staggering and now in a moment of “OOPS, our bad, we may have made a mistake” they NOW want to force feed their victims “cure” drugs, Methadone, Naltrexone, and Suboxone at an even MORE EXPENSIVE price.

Was it REALLY all just in innocence, that they were simply UNAWARE that these drugs were addictive?

Yeah, and as the old song goes “I’ve got some ocean front property…. I want to give you a little down low on just what is going on with this and I live in a part of the country that has some of the highest addiction rates to be had and the neighboring states can back us up with stats all their own.

This is NOT an accident, you can call it greed, call it “clinical trial” call it “get rich at the cost of the hurting and desperate”, call it “bilking the insurances”, call it whatever you want, but it already HAS a name and its name is PHARMAKEIA.  

Opioids and many other PRESCRIPTION medication IS currently the devils choice “mind control agent” as he operates in the exact way the Bible tells us that he does by “BLINDING the MINDS” of people.

Many people who become addicted are addicted BECAUSE they were given a prescription by a person in the medical field that they felt secure, confident in TRUSTING with their life, only not knowing that that trust would unwittingly be betrayed and they would be led to a far greater problem than the aches and pains and often less than chronic medical woes that prompted their first visit.

And MANY who are addicted through perfectly “innocent” prescriptions of their own are then “cut-off” after becoming dependant on that medication and “take to the streets” to find a replacement to kill the pain that they are left with, now only INTENSIFIED because their mind and their body is craving the drug.

Families DESTROYED, mother’s burying their children, children burying their parents, countless children sent into foster care, and do you think the one who prescribed the drugs are losing any sleep?

Tell you a few more DISTURBING facts, again in my area, a “help wanted” advertisement for a “drug counselor”, one of the requirements.. you MUST be a recovering addict, yeah, great idea, put one just coming through with one going through, sure that will work out great!I do understand AA and Al-Anon, and so on for self-help and the buddy system but NOT as your source counselor.

And I do not mean to sound harsh, some physicians that may THINK they are helping people, and maybe are TRYING to help by opening up Methadone and Suboxone clinics, but they are NOT.

They are STILL addicted, they have only changed “pushers” and if they do not have the money to shell out for this “help” and it often involves WEEKLY office visits, not to mention the cost of the “medication” (conveniently enough, COUPONS are available) and much of this “helpful drug”ends right back out on the streets, being sold so others can get high.

But anyway, if they are looking for help from kind hearts, who are helping out of the kindest of that heart… well,sadly tough luck to them.

Still a game of pay to play and those with the addictions are the losers in that game.

And WE ALL LOSE, FAMILIES, LOSE, CHILDREN LOSE, THE NATION LOSES, and AMERICA HAS THE HIGHEST RATES OF PRESCRIPTION DRUG USE IN THE WORLD!  

Are we just in chronic pain? NO, actually according to the CDC site, one in five people visiting their PCP with non-cancer pain related issues are prescribed OPIOIDS.  PCP’s account for one half of all opioids prescribed.

With one in four of these becoming addicted after being prescribed these drugs for long-term use, but yet it is the main prescribed recommended option for pain relief.

Pain medication comes in at number one with a forty-nine percent rate of being the FIRST choice of patient care, opposed to surgery and rehabilitation, and other types of medications.

WHO are their targets of prime prescribing? WOMEN, WHITE WOMEN in the above forty age group, with whites between the ages of twenty-five and fifty-four being highest in the opioid group.

WHY is this? could it be like the “generational” cancer that hits certain families and certain groups mid-forties?

Could it be a great take out plan between “gap” group that linked the older God-fearing generation to the new liberal, darwin taught generation that so desperately needs those in the middle to bridge that gap with the truth of the Word of God?

Call it conspiracy but the Bible teaches to compare natural to natural, spiritual to spiritual, and NO ONE can convince me that there is anything NATURAL about PRESCRIPTION OPIOID  DEATHS QUADRUPLING SINCE 1999 (and of course as the CDC site states, so have the profits)!

 More than HALF A MILLION AMERICANS DEAD BETWEEN 2000-2006 FROM OPIOID OVERDOSES (including Heroin).

Every DAY over A THOUSAND people are treated in Emergency departments for failing to use drugs as directed.

Every DAY NINETY-ONE DIE FROM OPIOID OVERDOSE. Truly disturbing is that statics starting at twelve years old.

According to the 2017 census, which changes every second if you use the government census “clock”  we have three hundred, twenty-five million, eight hundred, and seventy-thousand, six hundred and seven citizens and in 2010 alone there were two hundred and fifty-four MILLION prescriptions written bringing in  revenue for the pharmaceutical industry of ELEVEN BILLION DOLLARS!

 That was SEVEN years ago!   Does it SHOCK anyone that NOW the recommend you “SUB” a “cure” drug for the opioids and go BELOW the addiction to a NEW addiction that will make everyone even richer? 

The CDC has a new report for 2017, it’s around eighty-three pages including graphs and charts and complete state and age breakdowns.

I encourage you to PLEASE read it, you can find it at https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/pdf/pubs/2017-cdc-drug-surveillance-report.pdf you can also copy and paste from that site and it is where my information came from, or can can just go to cdc.gov and search it out, but there are also many other good sources.

Another major problem with all of this is certain states that are listed as prescribing three times the amount of opioids PER person without any indication of differences in pain from other states.  

Again, I would NEVER belittle ANYONE’S pain, I suffer from chronic pain, every single day, and I have for years and God has healed me from some conditions that will still show on a report but that I no longer feel the effects of and I know that there are different levels of pain, but please note above that one out of five are prescribed unnecessarily.

So we have to wake up and realize a few things, we sometimes think because someone is in the medical field that we are to take EVERYTHING they say and EVERYTHING they recommend as right and that is not always the case.

God gives us wisdom and we should always PRAY before beginning any treatment or medication because even “basic” medications can have serious side effects that once you listen carefully, risks can far outweigh any benefit you would receive by taking it.

But we have been so brainwashed by ad after ad cheerfully telling us to GO, ASK for this medication or that medication that we do exactly as we are told.

NEVER questioning their question of “Ask your doctor or pharmacist today if _____ could be right for you.”

If  then we did decide that God and our own intuition is a far better judge of that, we would answer “NO! That is not right for me!”

It’s kinda like, “Hey, do you wanna trade that skin condition for lymphoma,or would you prefer kidney failure?” or “Having trouble sleeping? Try our new drug______ it hasn’t been tested very well , so essentially YOU ARE our research specimen, so keep up your insurance premiums because there is a SLIGHT risk of death when using this product.”

And even IF they have to recant their wondrous claims about their NEW drugs by the time all is said and done and the bodies counted, lawsuits settled, they are STILL filthy rich.

The entertainment industry has been “priming” us for YEARS with this nonsense,and once it opened the floodgate especially with a certain insanely popular show a few years back, whose main BELOVED character was a drug addicted, jerk weed doctor who happened to be a genius,

America was “hooked” because the background plied into the plot to make you SYMPATHIZE with this character.

Character after character IDOLIZED working, living, and of course “loving” all the while stoned out of their heads, the sky never falling and the walls never caving in on them.

And countless celebrities living out their addictions in the spotlight and as with it all, it BECOMES “normal”, it BECOMES “natural” and when we can list drug use as “recreational” on healthcare information forms, WHAT ON EARTH DO WE EXPECT TO HAPPEN?

When we continue to coddle these spirits, WELCOME them into our lives, our homes, our families. satan proved a long time ago in the garden that humans are NOT as smart as they think, HE JUST HAS TO LET YOU THINK YOU ARE.

And as this was all forming in the belly of the beast, I saw it coming long ago, and one of the things that really told the tale, was the usage of the word “prescription” it was GIVEN a new, hip term “SCRIPT” yeah, let’s make it casual, see how many that appeals to. It is no longer considered addiction, it is life management, EVERYONE IS DOING IT.

It has been seeping into brains through music FOR years, the OLD british boys, coming in with all their freak show lsd songs and one group that I’m just not  naming because I wouldn’t give the devil the “Satisfaction” but noticed years ago, they glorified mother’s “little helpers” to get her through the day, and so many to the advice to be “medicated” to “tolerate” daily maternal life that now how many mothers ARE NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO SEE THEIR OWN CHILDREN?

Any one remember the disco era’s beloved master, cocaine? Of course you’re gonna have to be on something to get into the groove of all the one night stands that generation brought in play.

Oh we could go on, and on, and it is STILL going. 

LOOK BACK.. EVERY SINGLE GENERATION HAS FELL FARTHER AND FARTHER, WHAT DO THEY HAVE IN COMMON? MUSIC TO SET THE “MOOD”, MEDIA, PUSHING THE NEW BEHAVIORS AND GIVEN REASSURANCE THAT IT IS ALL NORMAL, SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE AND GOOD FOR YOU, A DRUG OF CHOICE, THE PHARMAKEIA, THE SORCERY, THAT CONTROLS YOUR MIND, MOOD, AND EMOTIONS SO NO ONE WILL EVER REALIZE THAT THEY ARE KILLING THEMSELVES.

The devil has been around a long time and he knows he has to get people in agreement with him to accomplish what he wants, and what he wants is your destruction and he will LET you THINK you are calling the shots, you are your own boss, making your own decisions but you wake up one day and you will realize that you are ENSLAVED to the task master that is STRAIGHT FROM THE MOUTH OF HELL. 

That is going to be hard pill to swallow for America.

So please do not allow your mind to be blinded by the spirit of pharmakeia  that has taken over America.

With the rates of eighty-percent of Americans taking some type of prescription medication, it is of little importance of what classification of drugs it belongs to.

If it is prescribed long-term and it CONTROLS something in your mood, your thinking, sleeping habits, or the “pain” family, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but one way or another IT HAS CONTROL OVER YOU.

And please pray before you let anyone prescribe anything for you or your children.

ASK questions, How long will I need this? What are my other options (YES AMERICA, THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS) Why did you chose this particular drug? How will this benefit my long-term health goals? What is the addiction rate?

And don’t take their word for it, research it YOURSELF, my mom and my sister both have turned down “new” medications after doing their own research, and deciding that THE RISK IS NOT WORTH ANY POSSIBLE BENEFIT.

Back to the crisis at hand, if we have an eighty percent now, what will we have within five years? If rates have quadrupled that fast? If we do not get a handle on this, we will be hitting ninety-nine percent in the country.

WHY? Because through pharmakeia, which is the word for SORCERY, minds are being completely deadened, no shock people don’t care about their souls, they can’t function enough to be dealt with, or kept awake long enough to feel conviction or the need for repentance, or THINK about anything of merit, or other humans, only the concern of getting the next high, and with those long-term plans, the more you take, the more you need and the less effect it is going to have, as also with that research, people being prescribed far greater dosages, much higher than the recommended guidelines.

To then be OFFERED the next step, the “fix” from the addiction is MORE addiction, HOW much do you want your intelligence insulted? To be a little more forward, DO YOU EVEN REALIZE WHAT THEY ARE PLAYING YOU FOR?

They are only taking people lower and lower and NO ONE is getting clean, NO ONE is getting better, and NO ONE is getting healed.  

People are only allowing unethical medical professionals to sacrifice them to the god of pharmakeia and NOT EVEN PUTTING UP A FIGHT.

If you don’t have  a problem, don’t get one and if you have one get rid of it, but get rid of it the Bible way, this is bondage that only God can break, there is nothing you can do in yourself and you have to admit there is a problem and this is when Jesus was talking to the disciples about another demonic problem.

Matthew 17:24: “ Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” God is the ONLY way this is going to break and until we REALIZE that we do have to be kind and show mercy and not be judgmental BUT we have to quit coddling this problem, and pretending people are fine, when they are NOT.

And until we ACCEPT what is really happening to us, as a nation, then nothing will change and we will just keep burying the bodies, the pharmaceutical will just keep getting richer, and the orphans will just keep multiplying.

But if you do see and you do want change to happen, either for you or loved one, start NOW, quit swallowing the secular view on it.

God still heals, Jesus healed the lady with the issue of blood for twelve-years, He healed the lady that had been bent completely over for eighteen years, He healed the man that could not walk for thirty-eight years, talk about long-term illnesses!

And in John 5:6 Jesus asked “Wilt thou be made whole?”  Meaning, Do you want to be well?  No more quick fixes, no more miracle cures, the only healing, the only true deliverance will we have is in and through Jesus Christ and if we want to see this spirit break, we are gonna have to want it and THEY are gonna have to admit they NEED it and WANT IT ALSO.

We are gonna have to fast and pray for this nation and pray for those who do want to be well and “faith up” and get ourselves right to see the healing that Jesus said would FOLLOW us, but we can not continue to pretend that this is all good because it is ANYTHING but.

Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017

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“Stealing fields…”

“Yea, mine own familiar friend in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me (acted as a traitor against me). But thou , O Lord, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite (repay) them.” Psalm 41:9,10

As we know that first verse was also in reference to Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, most know that story painfully well, but we also know at the end of that story, Jesus ROSE victorious and Judas hung himself, and Jesus actually said that it would have been better FOR Judas, if he were NEVER even born.

I pray about many things but one that never ceases is for all who have been hurt and offended to come back to God. This is rampant today there are more people OUT of churches for this reason than there is for ANY other reason. Once someone has been hurt, trashed, and alienated because of the lies, jealousy, and sheer evil will of another, it is very hard to convince them that NOT all believers act like that and if someone treats others this way, then that person is NOT even a true child of God anyway, but to win them back is another matter, just as stated in this verse:

Proverbs 18:19: ” A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city: and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.”

That hurt and that offense WILL forge bars stronger than that of any fortified castle and hold that soul perpetually in a state of lock down. As the clock ticks louder sounding into the last days and the wolves and the false prophets work to root out and move out of their way the true ones of God, the battle against this is NOT going to end until THE END.

So I want to offer a little food for thought to anyone who is going through this. First you must REALIZE that as always the force at work here, IS still the same old force whose accusations you had to overcome in order TO EVEN COME TO THE CROSS.

He never changes, he is NOT going to shut up, or let UP on you UNTIL you ask the Lord to shut him up. He is what he is, the ACCUSER, and you have to just get into that place to not put so much emphasis on what others say about you, and concentrate on what GOD says.

And people will steal your, hopes, your dreams, and even try to “steal” your ministry” and your “life”. Just as a co-worker whom was supposedly your BFF and suddenly they have a promotion that was guaranteed yours and you are unemployed, sometimes people just want what you have and don’t care how they get it, it is called coveting and it is alive and well, and some of them will just sell you out to the highest bidder whose grass looks just a little greener.

Now how to climb over those prison bars. Remember God IS sovereign, He IS faithful, what HE has started in you, HE WILL finish it and He promises that they will come against you but IT IS NOT by Him and NO weapon that they have formed against you will prosper, and that HE will work ALL things to your good, just as Joseph’s brothers selling him into foreign bondage WAS used of God to catapult him into power over ALL of Egypt, and finally God PROMISES that only “with thine eyes shalt thou behold the REWARD of the wicked” and I know it hurts, and it hurts bad but if you stay in that self-made cell, well, your just going to stay in that self-made cell!

The person who hurt you is free to just have a good old-time and it IS not hurting them at all! But to overcome”them” and get out of that cell and on with your life and SERVING the Lord opens up the door for a little divine justice, in the form of “do unto others” to come knocking at THEIR door, because I promise you, whatever they have taken from you is so NOT going to be as great as they thought.

Gotta give you a good Bible example: 1 Kings 21: 1-25:  ” And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite, had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria, And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, GIVE ME THY VINEYARD, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give unto thee a better vineyard than it; or if seems good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.

And Naboth said to Ahab, The lord FORBID it me, that I should give the INHERITANCE OF MY FATHERS UNTO THEE.

 And Ahab came into his house heavy (sullen) and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said,  I will NOT give thee the inheritance of my fathers, And he laid him down upon his bead, and turned his face, and would eat no bread. 

But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give the another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I WILL GIVE THEE THE VINEYARD OF NABOTH THE JEZREELITE.

So she wrote letters IN AHAB’S NAME, and sealed them with his seal, and SENT LETTERS UNTO THE ELDERS AND  TO THE NOBLES that were dwelling in his city, DWELLING WITH NABOTH.

And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set (seat) Naboth on high (at the head) among the people. And SET two men, SONS OF BELIAL, before him, TO BEAR WITNESS AGAINST HIM,saying, THOU DIDST blaspheme God and the king, and THEN carry him out, and STONE HIM, THAT HE MAY DIE.

 And the men of the city, EVEN the elders and the nobles who were inhabitants in his city, DID as Jezebel had sent unto them, and AS it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.

They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. And there came in two men, CHILDREN OF BELIAL, and sat before him: and the men of Belial WITNESSED AGAINST HIM, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king.

Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, NABOTH IS STONED, AND IS DEAD. 

And it came to pass, When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, TO TAKE POSSESSION OF IT.

And THE WORD OF THE LORD CAME TO ELIJAH THE TISHBITE, SAYING, Arise, Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria; behold he IS in the vineyard of Naboth, whiter he is gone down to possess it.

And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, THUS SAITH THE LORD, HAST THOU KILLED, AND ALSO TAKEN POSSESSION?

And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, THUS SAITH THE LORD, IN THE PLACE WHERE DOGS LICKED THE BLOOD OF NABOTH SHALL DOGS LICK THY BLOOD, EVEN THINE.

And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? and he answered, I HAVE FOUND THEE, BECAUSE THOU HAST SOLD THYSELF TO WORK EVIL IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD.

BEHOLD, I WILL BRING EVIL UPON THEE, and I will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, (all males) and him that is shut up and left in Israel.

And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for THE PROVOCATION WHEREWITH THOU HAST PROVOKED ME TO ANGER, and made Israel to sin.

And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, THE DOGS SHALL EAT Jezebel BY THE WALL OF JEZREEL. HIM THAT DIETH OF AHAB IN THE CITY THE DOGS SHALL EAT; AND HIM THAT DIETH IN THE FIELD SHALL THE FOWLS OF THE AIR EAT.

BUT THERE WAS NONE LIKE AHAB, WHICH DID SELL HIMSELF TO WORK WICKEDNESS IN THE SIGHT OF THE LORD, WHOM JEZEBEL HIS WIFE STIRRED UP (incited).” 

Some stuff going on there… serious covetousness and pouting and then add Jezebel, determined to make her honey feel all better, notice the superiority, when she asked was he not king?  Notice also that she managed to get all the elders and nobles in agreement with her plan of having Naboth lied on and accused, especially by people who were pagan, and of course no one questioned it, they just did as she said.

But the beauty is GOD knew and HE knew right where to find Ahab, which is one of the many beauties of the Lord. I think you can apply the lesson of this story exceptionally well to “ministry” or a “vineyard” that the Lord had given you to work and notice how he even tried to exchange vineyards telling Naboth that he would give him a much better one… but Naboth vineyard WAS his and notice EVEN after he was dead, the Lord referred to it AS NABOTH”S VINEYARD.

And Naboth was CONSIDERED the worst because he SOLD himself out, but he did plead for mercy from the Lord, but the fulfillment of the word of the Lord came:

1 Kings 22:37,38: “So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. And one washed the chariot in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the Lord which he spake.”

Now for the demise of the mastermind behind the plot:

2 Kings 9:30-37: “And when Jehu was come to Jezreel, Jezebel heard of it: and she painted her face, and tired (adorned) her head, and looked out at a window. And as Jehu entered in the gate, she said, Had Zimri peace (Is it peace), who slew (murdered) his master? And he lifted up his face to the window, and said, Who is on my side? who?  And there looked out to him two or three eunuchs.

And he said, THROW HER DOWN. SO THEY THREW HER DOWN AND SOME OF HER BLOOD WAS SPRINKLED ON THE WALL, AND ON THE HORSES, AND HE TRODE HER UNDER FOOT.

And when he was come in, he did eat and drink, and said, Go see now this cursed woman, and bury her for she is a king’s daughter.

And THEY WENT TO BURY HER; BUT THEY FOUND NO MORE OF HER THAN THE SKULL, AND THE FEET, AND THE PALMS OF HER HANDS.

Wherefore they came again, and told him, And he said, This IS the word of the Lord, which he spake by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the portion of Jezebel shall dogs eat the flesh of Jezebel. And the carcase of Jezebel shall be as dung upon the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel; so that they shall not say, This is Jezebel.” 

No matter what you feel that you have lost, please know it IS not lost in the Lord, and whoever has intentionally hurt you and tried to steal or destroy the vineyard that BELONGED to you absolutely has not go anything past the eyes of the Lord and it is no wonder Jesus told us that if someone takes what is ours don’t ask for it back, because once they get it it may be like Ahab and Jezebel and the vineyard that cost much more than they knew they were going to pay.

Or perhaps like the story from 2 Kings, chapter 5, of  Naaman’s leprosy and how that Elijah’s servant had run after Naaman to take the “payment” that Elijah knew better than to accept because it was the LORD’S POWER that had healed Naaman, all Elijah did was the asking on Naaman’s behalf and what Gehazi came away with was the leprosy that Naaman had been healed of…

It will never work out quite the way they are thinking. Please don’t give up, and don’t think anything is over, rest in the comfort of this KNOWING that IT IS GOD who defends His children and in Him you can trust!

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2017

 

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Regeneration of Generations

” But YOU ARE A CHOSEN GENERATION, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar (special) people; that ye should shew (show) forth the praises of him WHO HATH CALLED YOU OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS MARVELOUS LIGHT.” 1 Peter 2:9

CHOSEN, how blessed is that term? Jesus himself in John 15:16a said this: “Ye have not chosen me, but I HAVE CHOSEN YOU..”

There is a major difference between going after something for ourselves, of our will and our desires and being chosen for a very specific purpose. Notice this verse is for a chosen GENERATION, meaning a preordained, predestinate group  CHOSEN to be the polar opposite of what came before. 

To allow the Lord to break chains forged over many generations by those who came before us. A chosen generation that would turn back to the Lord, who would choose the paths of righteousness rather than the broken roads of abuse and alcoholism, and addictions. A generation willing to allow God to shape their lives and repair the breaches in the protective walls of salvation, and that would hear God’s voice calling them out of the darkness that has formed over the ages.

Darkness passed on from generation to generation, until that faithful day that God’s voice is heard and centuries of darkness and cursing, poverty, abuse, and sorrow will be transformed by His marvelous light.

 A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a generation called to be the messengers, priests to their families and peers on behalf of the heavenly King to tell of the goodness of God and the freedom He offers. And as Jesus tells us, we are CHOSEN for the job. Because through Him, with Him and by the power of His blood we can overcome and to have to be chosen indicates that of a certainty that job, that calling, is not going to be an easy task.

I knew a lady who once told me that she had been baptized as a child, but when she grew up, really late in life, she choose to be baptized again, not because she questioned her salvation but salvation was all she had ever known and wanted to do it as a token to her love of Jesus. I have always thought these people were so blessed, to grow up in the Lord, to be taught scriptures and know of God.

But I do think as “first generations” we can witness to those in the world and understand things that they face and struggle a little better, because we really do understand those feelings.

Now to understand the dynamics of some of those battles “first generations” endure, and it is a battle royal of endurance but I hope by the end of this, you will feel refreshed in your battle and the fire and need to continue and fight hell till the last breath.

Satan knows scripture, he knows every word ever written and he is as sly as he was when he beguiled Eve and he knows to corrupt the plant, to blight it, he would also blight the seed of that plant and so with his temptations and snares he pulls down a plant from the garden of the Lord knowing that he has destroyed the future also.

When God gave the Ten Commandments and the warnings of serving other gods, this verse really jumps out: Exodus 20:5: “Thou shalt not bow down to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the children unto the third and fourth generation of them who hate me.”

So for me, I think to cause this, the ancestors had to really, really turn against God in a most dreadful way, because He is so loving and merciful and to hate him would require such violation and paganism, I can’t fathom.

The hardest concept to wrap our heads around comes when we see Christians who seem to really never have problems while we struggle in areas that never even seem to come to their door, we wonder what is wrong with us? Why do we go through the things but they don’t.

All people have problems, but it is true that some do seem to face battles that are harder, fiercer, and sometimes even bizarre but here is the reason, YOU HAVE BEEN CALLED OUT.

Satan wants you back in that darkness because he knows if he can defeat you, he will defeat EVEN MORE GENERATIONS that come from you. He doesn’t want you leading others to the light and liberty of God.

It is hard to be the “first” on a path, not having a strong spiritual foundation, and to try to understand what you’re doing, where you are going, or how your supposed to get there. And you can see this in the story of the Hebrews being brought of Egypt, most died in the wilderness because they had only known bondage and slavery and could never get into the mindset of true freedom, BUT the NEXT GENERATION went into that land NEVER knowing the horrors of Egypt.

“First Generationers” often feel overwhelmed because their issues are so numerous that it is a process because each issue must be dealt with one at a time or we would be like those who didn’t make it out of the wilderness, we could not handle the rest of our journey with the needed faith and trust life requires, because even coming out of Egypt, the roads ahead could still be sometimes rocky.

Exodus 23:29,30: “I WILL NOT drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee, By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, UNTIL thou be increased and inherit the land.” 

If everything were suddenly conquered, we would no longer build faith or trust and we would soon be destroyed by the vanities of our minds and leisure.

If you doubt that, read just how many times ancient Israel would prosper and then turn from the Lord thinking they had all they would ever need and how David became so complacent that he didn’t go into battle with his army but chose to have the affair with Bathsheba that brought anguish down on his GENERATION, and Solomon, who had all, peace, all prosperity still rebelled against God in taking pagan wives and worshiping with them.

No, you don’t want to trade in a perfectly good vehicle that may not look great to you right now but is taking you EXACTLY where you need to go for something that appears sharper, faster, but will in the end only drive you had head first into a bad accident. 

Recognize WHO you are and why you fight and why you CAN NEVER give up that fight. Psalm 22:30,31: “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation (accounted of the Lord to the NEXT generation) They shall come, and declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born that he hath done this.”

PSALM 102:28: “The children of thy servants SHALL CONTINUE, and THEIR SEED (descendants) SHALL BE ESTABLISHED BEFORE THEE.” 

Isaiah 54:13: “And all thy children shall be taught if the Lord; and GREAT SHALL BE THE PEACE OF THY CHILDREN.”

See, sometimes the one being fought is not even who the fight is really against. And a good tool to use, as cliché as it may sound, truly is counting blessings, make a list of what you came from and make a list of where you are now, you may just be very surprised.

Hold on to God’s promises and know that you fight and you have to fight for the rights of your parents, your siblings, your children, and your grandchildren, and all that will come after you. You may be hurting now but your trust in the Lord will mean your child will NEVER know what is to hide terrified from a drunken or stoned parent, your child or grandchild will never know the shame and embarrassment of being mentally or verbally abused, the NEXT generation will never know the humiliation of poverty and the pain of hunger and there is no need for me to continue into the places many of you have suffered and tell you, NEVER AGAIN. NEVER AGAIN will you suffer those things and NEVER will your generations.

When God breaks chains, they ARE BROKEN unless we chose to chain ourselves and our families, and our futures  back to Satan’s whipping post. And God has CHOSEN you and He will little by little bring you through all the areas, past all the stumbling blocks set in your way. And He will restore and bless you but don’t give up when you are almost there. Here are some of His promises:

Psalm 22:24,25: ” For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; NEITHER hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.” 

“The meek shall eat and be satisfied; they shall praise the Lord that seek him, your heart shall live forever.” Psalm 25:10: “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

Isaiah 54: 14: “In righteousness (right standing with God) shalt thou be ESTABLISHED: thou shalt be far from oppression: for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee.”

Revelation 7:17: ” For the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living waters; and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes.”

Romans 10:11: “For the scripture saith, WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH ON HIM SHALL NOT BE ASHAMED.”

Proverbs 10:22: “The blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.“

We could go on and on with wonderful promises and God’s awesome encouragement of “Be not afraid nor be dismayed”, God is with us and for us and He will take you step by step. Just hold and remember all those who will someday be very glad you did!

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

If you have never heard this song, please take a minute and let it minister to your soul and let the power of God break the chains and break them forever!

 

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“Swimming Practice”

Like most, I have been spending many evenings during this big nasty heat wave checking out the Olympics. Last night an American broke a world record and of course won gold.

What was fascinating is that if you walked in late during the race it would have appeared that she was actually BEHIND the others because she was using a new strategy that gave her a lead. She and her coach had spent time reviewing footage of the style and techniques used by another Olympic great and evidently the extra “studying” paid off quite nicely. An action plan I think we could all benefit from in the kingdom.

2 TIMOTHY 2: 14,16: ” Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they STRIVE NOT about words to no profit, but to the subverting (ruin) of the hearers. 

STUDY to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings (worthless talk) for they WILL increase unto MORE UNGODLINESS.” 

My new favorite song is “What you want” I posted with my last post, the reason for this is the simple truth of too many leaders and not enough followers in the Kingdom.

Everyone IS a leader, everyone HAS a title, and YET the GIFTS are not flowing, because we can’t choose our titles and our jobs, it has to be WHAT GOD HAS CHOSEN. And often what GOD wants is NOT exactly what we had in mind!

The other problem is that no one wants to complete the course of spiritual “schooling”these ministries require. And I DON’T mean Seminary! And of course there are those who KNOW everything anyway, and they are right and everyone else is wrong. Those I think are quite hopeless.

One who has stepped on my toes time after time leaps to mind, I had made a suggestion, something I knew WAS NOT of my own thinking, because I had been under such an anointing when the thought came, and it took so much courage to make the suggestion AND I have never REGRETTED anything so much in my life.

They absolutely lined me out and even accused me of wanting to do something BECAUSE other churches did it! And I took a bath in spiritual reproach coming off this person and after much prayer, trying to figure out why on earth they got so angry, I KNEW the reason they became so angry was NOT the suggestion. IT WAS because the suggestion CAME FROM ME and they felt SUPERIOR and was actually INSULTED that I would DARE suggest anything to THEM.

And it did create enough static to shut down the work I felt God had me in that place and at that time to do. But God is a good God and this is where “being approved” come into play. Maybe someone has hurt you or discouraged you, or like me, you ALMOST become  convinced that somehow you jumped the gun, when actually sometimes we need to re-evaluate who we truly are “workers together” with in the kingdom.

I think sometimes we view people differently than they really are and God has to let us see, what we do not want to see, so we will move on into the direction HE WANTS. But again God is God and He will never leave us twisting in the wind, if it is of Him, IT WILL COME TO PASS.

It was so funny, close to a YEAR later, I was still receiving page notifications from this particular place, and you can imagine when one popped up that they were having a “special” service incorporating the very thing, I had been spiritually keel-hauled over!  It took every single ounce of restraint I have to not comment on it, to the effect of “Sounds familiar, thought for sure I asked about that… Well good luck with that… but next time you may want to try it when THAT DOOR is open!”

But I didn’t and I don’t know it could have went great but…. People like that, because this one has a way of offending the anointing, and I say that because IT IS NOT MINE, it belongs to God and when people demand things such as gender based laying on of hands, it pretty much sums up to this. If whoever is doing the laying on, IS NOT the one God chooses, well all they are doing is “praying” their own will over that person and without the power of God performing those things, IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

But I see a future change in that also because God has a way of teaching people humility and correcting their own biases. I truly believe the day will come when that person needs something major from God and it will not come they way they THINK it should and the will be required to learn the fine art of humility.

But that is where we are running into obstacles, too many people with THEIR agenda, and way too many leaders who still should be learning how to follow. One comes to mind that needs to get themselves right before they play Pied Piper, but since that is the game they are playing… where did those children go in that story again? Oh yeah, right..  the story ended with no one EVER knew where they ended up.

IT is not a game, you can’t just decide that you are this or you are that and jump head first in the pool to drown because you will drown a lot of others with you, when you get into the deep end and find out you really don’t know how to swim as well as you THOUGHT you could, because that lesson was one you bothered not to show up for!

 No one WILL EVER know “everything” we ARE to be workers together and together means just that. one mind one accord working for the good of the kingdom, not a race to see who’s best and who can reach that finish line with the greatest moves.

The words mentioned in our verse, words if they are not seasoned, if they are not tempered by the spirit of God WILL RUIN others. Words spoken without the power of God and the timing of God are just that words and they only cater more and more to worthless, human vanity, which is why we now have so many claiming to be representatives of Christ, who are so far AWAY from the truth that the have deceived THEIR own mind by THEIR OWN words into their own damnation and are committing things that are true abominations to God and yet believe they have punched ticket straight to heaven.

Truly believing within themselves that they can just proclaim and claim every chosen blessing from the book and yet ignore all scripture that provides the BREAD for that sandwich they are attempting to eat. And we know if they are to still be fed with milk THEY WILL choke to death on the meat of God’s true Holy doctrine.

And the problem is ALL the others who follow after them, never questioning, never allowing their conscious to feel conviction that leads to repentance and again we know this leads to having their conscious seared with a hot iron.

How did we ever become so vain and high-minded that we can “choose” our gifts, choose our callings? When God CHOOSES for us! We have no word in these matters. None, read the Bible, read those who tried to argue out of these calls.

Abraham LEARNED to follow God. Moses LEARNED to listen to God and spent real time in His presence, so much time, that his face shined to the point that he had to cover it because it SCARED the Hebrews.  Maybe learning to flow in the gifts and presence of God will cause people to be uncomfortable around you.. maybe that is a hold up, but do you really want to please God or would you rather fit it?

Your never going to fit in under the anointing of God, a friend to the world (and this does also mean candy coat fake Christians) will make you an enemy to God.

 John the Baptist dwelled in the wilderness. Apostle Paul studied THREE years and also participated in the vow of the Nazarite. And we all know Peter’s trails, struggles and most of all his overcoming all these things. Peter was learning, being educated in the disposition required to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ. We ALSO KNOW the end of that story, Peter, in dying to himself, and making the kingdom of heaven HIS Goal became so filled with the power of God that not only were prayer cloths taken from him, to heal diseases and cast out devils BUT that the sick were brought outside his home that EVEN THE SHADOW OF HIM PASSING BY might heal them.

STUDY, study the word, study the history, STUDY an elder, one that you know for certain, lives, breathes and sleeps for the kingdom. We have problems with that also, and we should never follow anyone if we do not know their life, know HOW they live in their own home, outside of a church house. Jesus IS our example, but just as the lady mentioned earlier, there is no harm in learning how an elder has “made” it, how they coped, how they gained strength and use that as part of our training manual.

Never be discouraged,of course, it will come, there will always be those who try to make you give up, and often they are the ones who you really believe will encourage you the most, when I first started training in ministry, my Pastor gave me some excellent advice, he told me that it was NOT “those” out there that we had to worry about, as far as picking apart your every word and saying mean hurtful things, it was those inside the church, and those in the family, they are often the ones who will discourage us the most. I found that to be true.

God places His call upon you and His gifts inside of you, but after that it is up to YOU, to nurture those gifts. Remember when God asked Moses why was he crying to Him, He had ALREADY given Moses what he would be equipped with, it was up to Him to have faith and use that gift. The Anointing does not come easy, nor does it come cheap. You will give up some things, and probably a few people, your desires and your flesh and it will cost you, time, and some trips to that refining furnace, and it will require diligence, and it will require PATIENCE.

ROMANS 12:7: ” Or Ministry, let us WAIT on our ministering…” nothing, nothing is going to happen outside the perfect timing of God, and we can not go off all half cocked and try to rush what can not be rushed. God works in His time and when that time is right, no matter how many have hurt or discouraged you, that time will not be stopped.  The ONLY person who can destroy the call on your life is YOU!

ISAIAH 43:13:” Yea, BEFORE the day was I AM he; and THERE IS NONE THAT CAN DELIVER OUT OF MY HAND: I WILL WORK, AND WHO SHALL LET IT ( who shall REVERSE His work)?“

NO ONE, NO ONE overrules the preordained plan of God. They can try but they will only succeed, IF YOU let them. And to pursue the call you may as well learn to fight now, because THERE will never be a time when the fight for that calling will cease. As a soldier you are required to fight UNTIL the Captain calls you off the field, which in this army is when you leave this world.

 REVELATION 3:7:  “And to the angel (messenger) of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that IS holy, he that IS true, HE THAT HATH THE KEY OF DAVID, HE THAT OPENETH, AND NO MAN SHUTTETH; AND SHUTTETH, AND NO MAN OPENETH.”  

 Don’t worry if your technique looks backward to your teammates, Don’t worry if sometimes, it looks like your not even swimming in the right direction, because in due time the Captain will perfect your moves. Just wait for HIS guidance, Keep learning, keep studying, never give in and never give up and never let anyone keep you from that finish line!

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

Is ONCE really ever enough?

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“Fruit flavored drinks”

Lemonade, the classic, refreshing summer time drink, pretty groovy during a monster heat wave, like the one many of us have going on right now. Even better pink, in a pretty glass with a ton of ice.

Fruit flavored drinks, on the other hand, not quite as refreshing, for two main reasons:

#1. THEY CONTAIN NO REAL FRUIT. THEY ARE OF NO REAL VALUE TO YOUR BODY.

#2. THEY ARE PRODUCED WITH FAKE SUGAR TO HIDE THE NASTY CHEMICAL POISON THAT THEY ARE REALLY MADE OF.

 I, myself prefer an old-fashioned iced coffee, not the jacked up sissy versions sold nationwide because delicious or not all I care about it REAL.  I suppose, all things considered, fruit flavored drinks pair pretty nicely with candy coating.

Maybe that is why the churches are running over with sticky, sweet-smelling fluids to be given to those who seek and desire and desperately NEED the water of life.

When you need real refreshing, they just aren’t going to do the job, and the sickly sweet, nasty aftertaste is just going to leave you more thirsty than you were before for something real.

Sure, they are “sweet” sure they “care” but only to the point of convenience for them. After that, you can just choke on that sweetness they have just poured down your throat, they really don’t care, nor will they.

Talking about fake, artificial friends and “brethren”, definitely NOT talking about the world. I could have people actually write testimonies to their own experiences with this, because IT IS so common. That is truly, truly a sad statement.

But who cares? Seriously, who cares? They don’t. The world has no stake in it and would never come in if they had a clue as to how people are really treated once they are down. So who cares? Well, I tell you, one that does, the same one who cares about everything else:

“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the GREEN herb.

 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily shalt thou be fed. Delight thyself in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as light, and thy judgment ( justice for you) as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: Fret not thyself because of him (any person) who prospereth in HIS way, BECAUSE of the man ( person, male or female) who bringeth WICKED DEVICES (schemes) to pass.  

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise (way) to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: But those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea. thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth ( back biting and two facing ). The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming. ( he knows the wicked shall soon fall and laughs at their attempts to harm others).

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay (kill) such as be of upright conversation (conduct).  Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

Wait upon the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt SEE IT. I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a GREEN bay tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.”                                                                PSALM 37:1-15,34-36

 What I want to point out about these verses is this: IT APPEARS as though the wicked have the upper hand, that is why they are spreading THEMSELVES and the green being that they ARE thriving while doing so. We are not to envy the position they have weaved themselves into. We are not to “fret”, you know worrying and staying upset because of what they have cost us, or question whether or not they will answer to God for those actions, or lack thereof.

They hurt the innocent, they backbite, spread lies and try to destroy others but as you see, God laughs, HE LAUGHS while they are running about pretending to give a “cold drink” to the little ones, when the poisonous fruit flavoring clearly proves what is really being served.

While they may seem to grow and prosper, they will soon dry and wither away. We all know people like this, the world is full of them, and that should be no surprise because after all it is the world. The true testing of this comes when these people are supposed to be your friends and you can really get into what Jesus said with this, If someone takes what is yours DO NOT ask for it back.

And we all know what a “friend” Jesus had in Judas and those are exactly those of which I speak.  He also commands us pray for those who hurt us, USE us, and PERSECUTE us, and SPEAK EVIL AGAINST US. He tells us to forgive our brothers and sisters in Him. But you know what? These people ARE NOT REALLY our brethren! THEY ARE THE EQUIVALENT TO FRUIT FLAVORED DRINKS.

The reason we are to do good to them is that in by doing so, we are “heaping coals of hell fire on their heads”!

People who use other people and just pretend to care for them in order to gain whatever it is that they are after are not of God. I don’t care how often they go to church, what amount of tithes they pay, or how helpful they may seem or whatever else they can produce as a sign of being “green” in the fruitful sense. I guess that is where ceasing from anger comes in pretty handy.

I just can not stand fake Christians and I would rather have someone curse me to my face then pretend to be something they are not. I respect people who can look you in the eye and tell you the truth,EVEN if that truth is that they would love to see you six feet under, not hide their hate behind lies and drama and the beauty in it all in waiting upon the Lord, trusting in the Lord, resting in the Lord, knowing that soon the truth you know of them will also be made known to all.

So if life “gives you lemons” wait on the sweetness of the Lord, even though the base fruit may TASTE bitter and unpleasant, and very undesirable, as are many of the things that we must go through in life, once the Lord adds his sweetness to the mix that lemonade made from those awful lemons will be much sweeter and refreshing than the watered down fruit flavored drink you had been given because even though the lemons began as bitter, The end product WILL HAVE BEEN  PRODUCED WITH REAL FRUIT!

Be Blessed and stay cool! Seriously, it is really hot out there and go for the real lemonade!!!It will keep you cooler and help you keep your cool;) !

Φλογιζω Σαλπιζω NBJ 2016

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I WILL…..

“I will bless the Lord at all times……” PSALM 34:1.

All times, times of joy because the joy of the Lord is our strength. Times of rejoicing when our souls have rejoiced in His presence and He has made us rejoice over our enemies.

Times of patient waiting because in waiting He will renew our strength and we will rise as eagles. Times of sickness because  He will “make” our sick bed and He is our healer.

In times of raging seas because He is the calm in the storm. In time of fleeing from the attacks and troubles of the world because He is our high tower.

In times of anguish because He is our High Priest who knows how our pain. In times of persecution, aggravation, and dealing with the condescending attitudes of others and it is ever so hard to not let our flesh just have at it and this is the time that I will…. because no one is worth our relationship with Christ and Jesus proves out all works in his time and it is in these moments that remembering that we will bless HIM in all things, even while others are trying to get under our skin and when we don’t understand what we see around us and how this all pans out:

Psalm 37: 1-13  : Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed (feed on His faithfulness). Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Commit ( roll off onto) thy way unto the Lord: trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.  And he shall bring forth thy righteousness (right standing with God) as the light, and thy judgment (justice) as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man that bringeth wicked devices (schemes) to pass. Cease from anger and forsake wrath: fret not in any wise (any way) to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off (destroyed) but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

For yet a little while, (in a little while), and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider (look for) his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in peace. The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.  The Lord shall laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is coming.”

Three times we are reminded to “fret not” which means to just not let it get to us, obviously if the Lord had it written three times that is a good indication that these are going to be situations and attitudes of others that are really going to try our patience in not getting angry or rather not keeping that anger. And to not be jealous or resentful of how it seems that they constantly prosper and get by with it and are never called out on it. But as you see we are trust, delight in Him, rest, and wait on his judgment. And in ALL times bless Him and He will bless you and no one can take that away.

Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω  Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2016

 

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NUMBERED

CHICKS LOG: STAR DATE: DECEMBER 27 2015.  Sentimentally looking for the  approaching 2016 and as most of us welcome a new year. One more shot to get right things that maybe did not go as planned. Another chance to make something right and do the work of the kingdom. A New Year filled with perhaps golden opportunities that may never come again.

We all know that with all the new beginnings also come new challenges and often new heartaches and then we tally up those numbers into lists of credits, debits, and accounts that may never be settled in our hearts. We take those numbers with losses high-lighted and throw them down at the feet of old man time, as we desire old acquaintance be forgot. And give to baby new year a clean slate and look to the future and hope the baby treats us a little kinder than the old dude did and that we all will have a better year.

As humans we ponder the events of the past year and we set goals and make resolutions for our hopes and dreams for the new one. I don’t make resolutions but I do have hopes, dreams, and goals.  I pondered all this yesterday as my pre-Christmas cold had returned with a bloody vengeance and my dripping nose had me feeling like the guy from the hot dog commercial when his kid asked him to cook something and the room starts spinning and “cook something” echoes repeatedly. But with me it was like “write something, write something” my nose won that battle but here I am today! 

My lessons from 2015 is simple, a reinforcement of the knowledge that God is sovereign, storms come, winds blow, life hurts and it hurts bad but Jesus is still walking that water with us. He will go with us to the end of this world IF we will allow Him.

 How we view our circumstances and how we allow it to work into our relationship with Him is completely up to us but it is the deciding factor of the numbers game that will either make us or completely break us. I have been to eight funerals this year, there have been more pass away but those are the ones I have made it to. My daughters best friend lost her Mom in June. One Church sister lost her Dad, another lost her husband and I watched my  own Dad preach two funerals, I watched him lose friends, church family, his niece and then this month his sister. My husband lost his Dad two weeks before my Aunt passed away. His death leaving his family absolutely devastated beyond words because his condition had improved and appeared that he was going to be fine.  Two of these had lost their lives after battles with cancer. Watching all the tears and seeing all the pain, and all those who suffer, especially with prayer requests being to pray for God to please let them not suffer. It can overwhelm everyone, everyone involved. Knowing the entire time that the ones who will be left behind truly need the prayers more.

This is where we all learn dependence on the Lord and I want to share a story that was told at my Aunt’s funeral. The man who preached it has been an Evangelist for over 40 years and his ties to our family are truly God sent, he and another preacher prayed faithfully with our family and my brother when he was terminal, they preached his funeral and in the midst of all those visits he told Mom and Dad that he had prayed the salvation prayer with my eldest brother, either the day he died or the day before. This was in 1973 and had been a torment to my family for years, but see even in the middle of the suffering and ordeal of losing one child, God gave them comfort about the salvation of another.

Silver linings in those dark clouds and rainbows in between the storms. Anyway, he preached my Aunt’s funeral and he is so humble and uses God’s word to comfort all who hear him. His wife had battled cancer for years and years, in the meantime a man had asked him to promise that if he passed away before him would he preach his funeral, and of course he agreed. The way it all went down was like this, the man passed and his wife lost her battle, he had to preach his friends funeral at 2:00 pm and his wife’s services were at 4:00 the same day. He shared that story with everyone as proof of God’s love and mercy even in the worst possible situation. The same God who carried him through would also carry those who asked him.

It is all seasons of this life and some years you will have to add every flower, every rainbow, and every sunny day, and most of all every single morning that He has allowed us breath, into that credit column to prove that all in all the good DOES outweigh the bad. IT IS ALL HOW YOU CRUNCH THOSE NUMBERS.

Mention of numbers, here’s some good ones. 

GODS LOVE AND CARE TOWARD US: 

MATTHEW 10:28-31:  “And fear NOT them which kill the body, but ARE NOT able to kill the soul; but rather fear him which is able to destroy both the soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthling? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. BUT THE VERY HAIRS OF YOUR HEAD ARE NUMBERED. FEAR YE NOT THEREFORE, ye are more valuable than many sparrows.”

GOD WATCHES OVER US:

PSALM 56:8: ” Thou tellest (counts or takes into account) my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are the not written in thy book?” 

JOB 14:16: For now thou NUMBEREST my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin?”

LEARNING TO LEAN UPON THE SURE MERCIES OF GOD: 

PSALM 90:12,14: “So teach us to NUMBER our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may REJOICE AND BE GLAD ALL OUR DAYS.”

WISDOM FROM THE WORD:

ECCLESIASTES 12: 1-8:” REMEMBER now thy Creator IN THE DAYS OF THY YOUTH, WHILE THE EVIL (VEXATION, TROUBLES) DAYS COME NOT, NOR THE YEARS DRAW NIGH (while in your prime) when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

While the sun, or light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain: (good days) In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease (stand idle) because there are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened (grow dim), and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up the voice of the bird, and the daughters of musick shall be brought low;

Also when they shall be AFRAID of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail, BECAUSE MAN GOETH TO HIS LONG HOME (DIES, ETERNAL HOME),and the mourners go about the streets: Or ever THE SILVER CORD BE LOOSED, OR THE GOLDEN BOWL BE BROKEN, OR THE PITCHER BE BROKEN (SHATTERED) AT THE FOUNTAIN, OR THE WHEEL BROKEN AT THE CISTERN.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and THE SPIRIT SHALL RETURN TO GOD WHO GAVE IT. VANITY OF VANITIES, SAITH THE PREACHER; ALL IS VANITY.”

HOPE IN GOD:        ROMANS 8:36-39:    “As it is written, FOR THY SAKE WE ARE KILLED ALL THE DAY LONG; WE ARE ACCOUNTED AS SHEEP FOR THE SLAUGHTER. Nay, (NO) IN ALL THESE THINGS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERERS THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US. For I am persuaded, that neither DEATH, nor LIFE, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, NOR THINGS PRESENT, NOR THINGS TO COME, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, WHICH IS in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

LAMENTATIONS 3:21-23:   THIS I RECALL TO MY MIND,THEREFORE HAVE I HOPE. It is of the Lord’s mercies THAT WE ARE NOT CONSUMED, because HIS COMPASSIONS FAIL NOT. THEY ARE NEW EVERY MORNING: GREAT IS THY FAITHFULLNESS.”

That is MY HOPE,   WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERERS when He allows us to laugh through the tears and leap while lame, and shout when we are so emotionally drained that we no longer have words and are just speechless. I see the rainbows and hear the birds and even through the bad we had a beautiful, new little family edition and my sister started a beautiful new chapter in life,  my friend Michelle and our husbands attended a spring formal with our daughters only weeks before her death and even with stage four cancer, she danced and those, those are the memories that will forever shine. My Aunt Evelyn will forever be in my heart, I will forever miss her and miss talking to her and miss her always being there with us but I know one day we will dance on those streets of gold. I know just as He did for Brother Joe, God will strengthen all who ask and I know in the end when all numbers come up God allows us to hold the winning hand. From my heart to yours, may you and your family have a Blessed New Year in Jesus’ name. Amen!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2015

 

by

Sticks and Stones #3 “Blood Transfusion”

Family night at Ye Olde Drama Ville Theater is never a one-act play and no one wants tickets to that dreadful show anyway. The script is just too predictable, the outcome a certainty, someone is always gonna go away hurt while another revels in their glory of being alpha male, while everyone stands by as helpless “extras” with nothing they can do, nothing they can say, just waiting it out until the dramatic star chooses to go away.

 Angry at the aggressor and too sympathetic in wanting to tend the wounds of the victim, sometimes it only feeds the persons feelings of helplessness and personal anger for what they feel as personal weakness in “not standing up for themselves”, I said FEEL because reacting on the aggressors level IS NEVER WHAT YOU SHOULD DO.

But in reality the reason most don’t argue back is because they FEAR what they, themselves may be capable of if they allow those pent-up emotions to burst out in a blinding fury and it is one step across that invisible line to becoming the very thing that has tormented them.  

But if you have in times past, fell  into that trap, don’t beat yourself up, the Bible says for us to “live peaceably with all men, as much as LIETH WITHIN YOU“, keeping peace as best as we can, but sometimes we don’t quite hit the mark when we are under attack. 

Proverbs 18:14: “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity: but A WOUNDED SPIRIT WHO CAN BEAR?”                  

Proverbs 17:22: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”                                  

Proverbs 12:18: “There is that ( one who) speaketh LIKE THE PIERCING OF A SWORD.”                                        

Proverbs 15:13: “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance but by SORROW of THE HEART THE SPIRIT IS BROKEN.”  

This repetitive play will without a doubt leave someones heart pierced and their very spirit broken. The good news is you are not required of the Lord to continue to play the starring role, as the enemy and sometimes other family members would try to sway you into believing. The bad news, because it is the truth that is more hard to hear is this, IT IS UP TO YOU TO QUIT THE TROOP AND FIRE THE DIRECTOR.

 In “Blood Brothers” we discussed some biblical brothers and how a couple of them, in my opinion, did not even realize that the others really did hate them. We all want family approval, it is inborn need to belong and be accepted by our siblings and the most painful enlightenment that we will ever go through is coming to terms with the fact that they truly do not like us as a person and that there is nothing within our mortal grasp that will change that.                                                                

Often we do not understand why the Lord doesn’t just change these things on our behalf, but the truth in that is again God ONLY deals in FREE WILL and he will not go above what a person asks of him and even though we want them to change so that we can have a good, healthy, loving relationship with them, as God intended, if they don’t see a problem and have no remorse or repentance and no desire to change, then that is their free will and God will not go above that.     

Jesus said that they hated him without a cause and a servant cannot be above his master, if they hated him they will hate you.                                       The secret is in emulating his behavior, when you bless those that curse and pray for them, they have no accusation against you, as you have only been kind to them, when the Holy Spirit begins to deal with their heart and their actions start coming back to mind, they can find no justification through your behavior toward them to explain to God their own actions. God then uses this to bring about repentance, true remorse for their actions so they then may be saved and that is our goal.                                                                                                                                                                                          

Now digging the blood transfusion, when we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we are covered by his blood, we are made partakers with his blood and become new creatures, adopted through that blood into the household of God himself.

WE BECOME HEIRS AND JOINT HEIRS WITH CHRIST and even though we still have an earthy family, our main family is heavenly and the only dinner we have to be sure to make an appearance at is the wedding supper of the Lamb!                  

Just as Abram had to leave his family in order to fulfill God’s purpose, sometimes we also have to “forget those things which are behind and press toward the mark of that high calling”. When we must “leave” (emotionally) our families or friends it is then, that the word of God promises us that God will pick us up, Jesus said he will be our mother, brother, sister, whatever family position that is broken and empty, JESUS HIMSELF WILL FILL THAT VOID, HE IS a friend that will stick closer than a brother.                                      

So accept that transfusion freely, be diligent, when you find your mind running through the past, replace those thoughts with scripture and things of God, And lean on your church family for support.                                                                        

Before I had even be called I had been in  a battle, a fierce unbelievable battle and I went to church and heard words that I still cling to today, a brother had been singing and he stopped, this guy is on the quite side as far as speaking and I think that made it hit home even more, but he said that we should always remember no matter what we are going through or how alone we feel that someone else is either going through the same thing or has already been through it.                                              

We often look at others as “perfect” people who haven’t a care in the world and that freak show stuff just happens to us but you will never find a Christian who does not have a testimony that will nine times out of ten leave you in tears, it is part of the overcoming we all must endure, the very reason your church family is a major factor in walking away from relationships you just don’t need in your life and being accepted by Christ is the only acceptance we need.                                              

But NEVER give up on them, pray for them, and as I said before once you give that gentle answer back when they are attacking you, just walk away, you have to, and when you have been in a very terrible argument and maybe threats have been made or your feelings are just really hurt, here are some scriptures that I believe will help, but again lean on your church family, talk to your Pastor or trusted prayer partners, pray together, there is strength in that but please don’t jeopardize your personal safety by continuing in it.

Psalm 56:3,4: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. IN GOD will I praise his word, IN GOD I HAVE PUT MY TRUST; I WILL NOT FEAR WHAT FLESH (people) CAN DO UNTO ME.”                                                                            

Psalm 118:6 :”The Lord IS ON MY SIDE; I WILL NOT FEAR: What can man do unto me.”                                          

 Psalm 56:9 : “WHEN I CRY UNTO THEE, then shall my enemies turn back: This I know, FOR GOD IS WITH ME.”        

Romans 8:31:”What shall we then say to these things? IF GOD BE FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US?”                    

Psalm 56:8 :”Thou tellest ( you know) my wanderings; Put thou my tears unto thy bottle: are they not written in thy book?”   God sees and keeps record of our pain, one day all the tears that we have shed, that He is very aware of will be returned to us in PURE JOY !  

 James 1:2,3:”MY BRETHREN (brothers and sisters of Apostle Paul through Christ) COUNT IT ALL JOY when ye fall into divers temptations (various trails) KNOWING this, that the trying of ( relying on) your faith worketh (produces) patience.”                                                                                                                                                                                  

Just say no, just walk away, don’t play the game and don’ star in that role!                                

“Proverbs 23:24,25: “MAKE NO FRIENDSHIP WITH AN ANGRY MAN; AND WITH A FURIOUS MAN THOU SHALT NOT GO (STAY AWAY FROM THEM);  LEST THOU LEARN HIS WAYS AND GET A SNARE TO THY SOUL.”                          

Anger will “jump” and it is like an infectious disease and it is contagious and you do not want to catch it.                                

2 Samuel 22:47,49:“The Lord liveth, and blessed be MY ROCK; and exalted be the God of THE ROCK OF MY SALVATION.  And that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.”                                                                                                

 Psalm 140:1,4: “DELIVER ME O LORD, from the evil man: Preserve me from the violent man: KEEP ME from the hands of the wicked; Preserve me from the violent man, WHO HAS PURPOSED TO OVERTHROW MY GOINGS (SETS STUMBLING BLOCKS BEFORE US).”                                                                                                         

Isaiah 12:2:”BEHOLD, GOD IS MY SALVATION; I WILL TRUST, AND NOT BE AFRAID: for the LORD JEHOVAH IS MY STRENGTH AND MY SONG: HE ALSO IS BECOME MY SALVATION.”                                                                                 

It is my sincerest prayer that for all who may be in holiday dread because of theses things will find comfort in God’s word, remember as you study these for yourself, use a reference Bible that will lead you to other scriptures dealing with the same subject.

God often uses this to lead us to other scripture, which will be perfect for whatever our battle is at that present time and it is in the quite times that God will speak to you through his word and send you comfort and peace.                              

Remember Jesus said for us to be of good cheer, because he had overcome the world and sometimes for us, we must overcome those we actually hold dear. May God bless you and keep you and give you true peace this season.                    

Φλογιζω NBJ 2015                  For more in this series, please check out the following posts: Bad Blood, Blood Brothers, Anger Danger, Strangle Hold   

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                         

                                                                                            

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NOT just any port in a storm….

https://open.spotify.com/episode/3y9Qzcs7lSYxdBRZ5VlFwz?si=sFkDTFe7S7O6iT4u49YPEg

We’re heading back to the spot just before Jesus lead Peter back into the boat.
Last time, we discussed how Peter had battled through a dark tempestuous night out in the middle of the wide open sea, at a time when it was truly man versus nature, without any of the modern nautical equipment around today and at the height of his terror, Jesus came to the rescue, but Peter’s new-found bravery as he walked with the Lord on water, was short-lived thanks to that terrorizing gusting wind.
We also have Jesus by our side in our storms and yet all of us have those moments when that wind blows just a little too hard and that fear of its howl is immobilizing and like Peter we freeze and those waves start dragging us under till we cry “LORD! SAVE ME!” 
So what about the time between those moments?
When the winds blow and howl and scream in our ears so loud that the voice that we had just heard so strong, as Peter did when he heard the Lord say “Come” we now question. Is it really HIS voice we hear over the sound of the storm. 
We are so deafened by the storm by this point that we are not really sure of anything and we just want to freeze in that fear of the unknown and uncertainty, and if allowed to IT WILL drown us right where we are.
We never even realize that we are so close to being back in the safety of that boat and the end of that storm.
Riding out storms can devastate even the strongest of sailors, it will knock the wind out of your sails, shiver your timbers and if you are not paying very close attention it will make you head to “any port in a storm” the nearest, closest spot available to you to dock that boat and get out of that storm.
Once your there you could turn from being an honorable first mate to becoming a scurvy sea dog, because all the “hail” and high water can make people do funny things.
When the going gets rough our flesh wants comfort, we want safety, we want this to end and to know all is accounted for and that our losses are minimal.
As Jesus said the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

We want  to run to the safest spot and into the nearest boat,  BUT the problem with this is that Jesus DID NOT led Peter back to any old boat, it was the boat that he was SUPPOSED to be in. 
Jesus has ALL POWER, he could have just materialized a different boat, he could have translated them to shore.
HE DIDN’T because Peter had to go through that storm and get back IN the SAME boat he just got out of, BEFORE THE STORM WOULD STOP!
Now you could ask WHY????? But ask yourself, and we really have to speculate on this, but how many times do you think Peter drew courage and renewed faith by remembering that journey?
I love to point out the fact that Peter carried out his commission from Jesus under the brunt of KNOWING HE WOULD BE CRUCIFIED at the end of his mission.
We all know that he, like all the disciples were persecuted, beaten, and tormented all while the power of God poured from them, miracles, healing, and leading the lost to Christ.
COULD Peter have went on to carry this out faithfully had he not took that walk and GOT back in that boat?
Had he not let Jesus help him overcome all that fear and let Jesus lead him back to the boat that you know he would not have wanted to be back in, had he not overcame it through Christ, would he have ever had the faith and courage to know that death would not be the winner in the end?
Could he have had the courage to go to that cross at the end of his life?
I will leave that for you to answer, but Jesus was teaching Peter in that storm.
Jesus does not send storms on us but when we are allowed to continue through one, IT IS because he wants us to have victory, true victory, not a cop-out running from it kind of thing, but true taking the head off a giant victory in that area of our life.
Anyone can run, he will not allow us to run, He created to “having done all to stand” “STAND.”
Our “boats” are no different from Peter’s and sometimes we feel like whoo-hoo I’m finally outta that boat! 
Only to discover we got to get back in it if we are to see the storm end.
So to help us hear the right voice and find the way back to our boat till that storm ends, we’ll use our compass:

Psalm 77:6 “I call to remembrance MY SONG IN THE NIGHT: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search”
Now the wonderful thing about the Psalms are that they ARE SONGS!

Such as:  Psalm 69 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim (set to The Lilies), A Psalm of David.

” SAVE me, O God; for the WATERS are come in unto my soul (neck).
I SINK in the DEEP mire, WHERE THERE IS NO STANDING: I AM come into DEEP WATERS, where the FLOODS OVERFLOW ME.
I am weary (worn out) of my CRYING; my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I WAIT FOR MY GOD.”

“DELIVER ME out of the mire, and LET ME NOT SINK: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and OUT OF THE DEEP WATERS.
Let NOT the WATERFLOOD OVERFLOW ME, neither let the DEEP SWALLOW ME UP, and let not the pit shut up her mouth on me.”
                      Psalm 69:1-3,14,15

Just as Peter answered Jesus, when asked if he to would leave him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the WORDS of eternal life.”
Jesus is the voice and the one port in our storm, get back in the boat, the storm will end and this storm may very well be the catapult to a level of faith you never would have imagined possible or a deeper relationship with the Lord that you can not fathom, but of a surety, one day, remembering this storm, and the quieting of it WILL BE YOUR SONG in another night and this storm will be proof positive that night too will end, the wind will cease and morning will yet again come.
Φλογιζω/ All rights reserved/NBJ 2015

 

by

“GO FOR THE GOLD BUT PLEASE, HOLD THE JADE”

Ah, Jaded. What a lovely word, normally a beautiful stone used to adorn beautiful things. but in the right context, not quite so lovely on us.
We are to press toward the mark, to earn the crown of righteousness to one day lay at the Master’s feet, beautiful I am sure, pure gold just like His word and His truth that refines our souls purer than the purest of all gold.
But if that crown happens to be embellished with a little jade, what’s it going to hurt?
Well what was to be made of precious metal will now consist of hardened stone.
What should have shone with heavenly brilliance and reflected the Fathers light will now dull and now have an odd color and an indifferent feel.
That crown will be inferior and will tarnish and once that happens it will never be presentable before a King.
All that work, all that heartache, tears,and sacrifices, whatever had been involved in winning that crown will now be useless and disallowed and burned with the stubble in the fire in which all things must be burned away in that purification process of the soul.
So what causes us to go from that ecstatically exuberant joy that we are bathed in the day of our salvation to the “j” word over the course of that salvation?
I have pondered it, in myself and in others and I have come up with a couple of reasons.
In my circle our favorite subject is “Christendom of Yore” I know that they had problems, I know they had battles, and that females were to sit quietly and express no thoughts or opinions, to which I am thankful to be in the present day or otherwise my heart would explode!


Jaded: Deadened, injured, weary, tired, apathetic, blunted, blasé (indifferent or unimpressed) dispassionate, half hearted. Remember apathetic.
So how does our beautiful golden crowns become inlaid with flat, dulled jade?


#1 Fatigued, battle weary
We are in or nearing, in my belief, “the wearing out of the Saints” it seems no matter who they are, rich, poor, married or single that Christians are being constantly bombarded with a steady stream of attacks from the enemy unlike ever before.
Usually people would face one battle at a time but now it seems many fight multi battles on different levels and I am reminded of Nehemiah 4:17: “They which builded on the wall, and they which bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work (working) AND WITH THE OTHER HAND HELD A WEAPON.”
Trying to “work” on our building for the Lord, and whatever he has called us to do being carefully on guard against attacks at all time, never a moment to rest, never a moment of ease by not having to look over our shoulders because this work must be done and many want it to cease.


#2 Blasé and unimpressed 
 “Heard it, believed it, didn’t happen, not buying it again”
I want to be very, very careful how I say this, but one huge problem running amok over the last few years is “Believe it, receive it, Doubt it and do without it” I am ALL for faith, and I know what scripture teaches on believing for what we do not see, but miracles and healings are in a special, special league all their own.
Miracles are instantaneous and the moment that you are healed you know and there has been such a free for all of proclaiming healings over people and “feeling” like the “Lord is saying” that some teach that all you have to do is proclaim it and “believe” (which is actually different from faith, belief is in your heart and faith is knowing come what may He is God and He is sovereign) and when people are hurting, love ones are dying and they are told this and someone actually proclaims that they are healed then they die and the bewildered family are told they just did not have the faith or that they received the ultimate healing.
And no one admits to maybe having misspoke or trying to pray “in faith”, often people want to reach out to others but in this area it is best to pray the Lord’s prayer, “deliver them”.
( I do understand that Paul perceived that the man had faith to be healed BUT Paul was filled with the HOLY GHOST, he KNEW when the anointing came that GOD would grant his request FOR THE GLORY TO THE LORD, not so he could win preacher of the year!) 
BUT NO,NO,NO, NO! When they have believed based one what they were told by Christians that they trusted and if it DOES NOT happen, this leads to apathy and causing them to lose more faith than what would have been lost if they had known the truth, this has caused many to leave church completely.
But IF GOD truly says it, it will come to pass.
#3 Apathetic and Blunted:
“They don’t care, why should I?”
The beginning of the journey all fired up, feeding off on another’s anointing, iron sharpening iron, the spirit bearing witness.
Now that is good, but when things start to change and the one you once loved to listen starts coming against you for whatever reason, what was once a beautiful flow will become a dangerous hindrance in the spirit world.
Two swordsmen fighting each other with equally dangerous weapons and that unspoken carnage will spill over onto the entire congregation.
And the swordsmen are prime to have the Lord to take both their swords. 
And that once sharp iron will become dull and blunt rendering it absolutely ineffective against the enemy.
That apathetic “blah, blah, blah” attitude will breed into so much more than a covering of jade.
When this hit me, I knew the meaning of jaded, I wanted a clearer list and broader understanding and as I kept defining meanings, two fascinating words appeared,
stemming FROM the jaded definition of apathetic, LUKEWARM and LAODICEAN.
Yeah, and we all know what that means, so all these things left unchecked will lead to being lukewarm and we also know that is the condition in which Jesus said he will spue us out.
So how do we clean that jade off before it takes hold of the gold?
Renewing, renewing and renewing  our minds, “let this mind which is in Christ Jesus be in you also” renewing our minds through scripture back into the word of God. Reminding ourselves repeatedly of every single promise that we have been given.
As Nehemiah prayed that God would “strengthen the work” of his hands so must we.
He will never allow us to break, when we are weary, it is His right hand that holds us up, when our heads are bowed in discouragement it is His left hand that lifts our face.
When we desperately, desperately need a word to hang onto or a glimmer of hope, remember “What time that I am afraid I will trust in thee” and that He will be with us “even unto the end of the world” and sometimes that can be when we feel that our world is ending, but He will never leave us.
Remember our first love and “remember thy love more than wine” and know that even though we don’t always feel it, the only approval we need is His.
 No one can zap us into heaven and no one can deny us heaven if we don’t let them, no matter who has hurt us it is still up to us to “work out” our “own salvation” if that means finding another church, then do it because God is not the author of confusion.
Forgive those that have hurt you, just let it go and go on and don’t even try to understand it, God doesn’t want us to waste time over analyzing and ever analyzing what went wrong yesterday, because He already knows what tomorrow will bring.
I have found in my own life that every painful path that I have had to walk down led me to a more beautiful place and at the end of that road I may not have liked the circumstances that lead me there but I have always been thankful for the journey because of the  blessings in that valley that He has given me and I know that I would never received that on a mountain top.
Sharpen that sword and  get that crown polished because no matter how tired, how weary, lethargic or depressed you may feel, you’ve been furnace fired to be pure gold and that jade is just never gonna look good on you!
Φλογίζω / NBJ/ All rights reserved 2015







by

"GO FOR THE GOLD BUT PLEASE, HOLD THE JADE"

Ah, Jaded. What a lovely word, normally a beautiful stone used to adorn beautiful things. but in the right context, not quite so lovely on us.
We are to press toward the mark, to earn the crown of righteousness to one day lay at the Master’s feet, beautiful I am sure, pure gold just like His word and His truth that refines our souls purer than the purest of all gold.
But if that crown happens to be embellished with a little jade, what’s it going to hurt?
Well what was to be made of precious metal will now consist of hardened stone.
What should have shone with heavenly brilliance and reflected the Fathers light will now dull and now have an odd color and an indifferent feel.
That crown will be inferior and will tarnish and once that happens it will never be presentable before a King.
All that work, all that heartache, tears,and sacrifices, whatever had been involved in winning that crown will now be useless and disallowed and burned with the stubble in the fire in which all things must be burned away in that purification process of the soul.
So what causes us to go from that ecstatically exuberant joy that we are bathed in the day of our salvation to the “j” word over the course of that salvation?
I have pondered it, in myself and in others and I have come up with a couple of reasons.
In my circle our favorite subject is “Christendom of Yore” I know that they had problems, I know they had battles, and that females were to sit quietly and express no thoughts or opinions, to which I am thankful to be in the present day or otherwise my heart would explode!


Jaded: Deadened, injured, weary, tired, apathetic, blunted, blasé (indifferent or unimpressed) dispassionate, half hearted. Remember apathetic.
So how does our beautiful golden crowns become inlaid with flat, dulled jade?


#1 Fatigued, battle weary
We are in or nearing, in my belief, “the wearing out of the Saints” it seems no matter who they are, rich, poor, married or single that Christians are being constantly bombarded with a steady stream of attacks from the enemy unlike ever before.
Usually people would face one battle at a time but now it seems many fight multi battles on different levels and I am reminded of Nehemiah 4:17: “They which builded on the wall, and they which bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work (working) AND WITH THE OTHER HAND HELD A WEAPON.”
Trying to “work” on our building for the Lord, and whatever he has called us to do being carefully on guard against attacks at all time, never a moment to rest, never a moment of ease by not having to look over our shoulders because this work must be done and many want it to cease.


#2 Blasé and unimpressed 
 “Heard it, believed it, didn’t happen, not buying it again”
I want to be very, very careful how I say this, but one huge problem running amok over the last few years is “Believe it, receive it, Doubt it and do without it” I am ALL for faith, and I know what scripture teaches on believing for what we do not see, but miracles and healings are in a special, special league all their own.
Miracles are instantaneous and the moment that you are healed you know and there has been such a free for all of proclaiming healings over people and “feeling” like the “Lord is saying” that some teach that all you have to do is proclaim it and “believe” (which is actually different from faith, belief is in your heart and faith is knowing come what may He is God and He is sovereign) and when people are hurting, love ones are dying and they are told this and someone actually proclaims that they are healed then they die and the bewildered family are told they just did not have the faith or that they received the ultimate healing.
And no one admits to maybe having misspoke or trying to pray “in faith”, often people want to reach out to others but in this area it is best to pray the Lord’s prayer, “deliver them”.
( I do understand that Paul perceived that the man had faith to be healed BUT Paul was filled with the HOLY GHOST, he KNEW when the anointing came that GOD would grant his request FOR THE GLORY TO THE LORD, not so he could win preacher of the year!) 
BUT NO,NO,NO, NO! When they have believed based one what they were told by Christians that they trusted and if it DOES NOT happen, this leads to apathy and causing them to lose more faith than what would have been lost if they had known the truth, this has caused many to leave church completely.
But IF GOD truly says it, it will come to pass.
#3 Apathetic and Blunted:
“They don’t care, why should I?”
The beginning of the journey all fired up, feeding off on another’s anointing, iron sharpening iron, the spirit bearing witness.
Now that is good, but when things start to change and the one you once loved to listen starts coming against you for whatever reason, what was once a beautiful flow will become a dangerous hindrance in the spirit world.
Two swordsmen fighting each other with equally dangerous weapons and that unspoken carnage will spill over onto the entire congregation.
And the swordsmen are prime to have the Lord to take both their swords. 
And that once sharp iron will become dull and blunt rendering it absolutely ineffective against the enemy.
That apathetic “blah, blah, blah” attitude will breed into so much more than a covering of jade.
When this hit me, I knew the meaning of jaded, I wanted a clearer list and broader understanding and as I kept defining meanings, two fascinating words appeared,
stemming FROM the jaded definition of apathetic, LUKEWARM and LAODICEAN.
Yeah, and we all know what that means, so all these things left unchecked will lead to being lukewarm and we also know that is the condition in which Jesus said he will spue us out.
So how do we clean that jade off before it takes hold of the gold?
Renewing, renewing and renewing  our minds, “let this mind which is in Christ Jesus be in you also” renewing our minds through scripture back into the word of God. Reminding ourselves repeatedly of every single promise that we have been given.
As Nehemiah prayed that God would “strengthen the work” of his hands so must we.
He will never allow us to break, when we are weary, it is His right hand that holds us up, when our heads are bowed in discouragement it is His left hand that lifts our face.
When we desperately, desperately need a word to hang onto or a glimmer of hope, remember “What time that I am afraid I will trust in thee” and that He will be with us “even unto the end of the world” and sometimes that can be when we feel that our world is ending, but He will never leave us.
Remember our first love and “remember thy love more than wine” and know that even though we don’t always feel it, the only approval we need is His.
 No one can zap us into heaven and no one can deny us heaven if we don’t let them, no matter who has hurt us it is still up to us to “work out” our “own salvation” if that means finding another church, then do it because God is not the author of confusion.
Forgive those that have hurt you, just let it go and go on and don’t even try to understand it, God doesn’t want us to waste time over analyzing and ever analyzing what went wrong yesterday, because He already knows what tomorrow will bring.
I have found in my own life that every painful path that I have had to walk down led me to a more beautiful place and at the end of that road I may not have liked the circumstances that lead me there but I have always been thankful for the journey because of the  blessings in that valley that He has given me and I know that I would never received that on a mountain top.
Sharpen that sword and  get that crown polished because no matter how tired, how weary, lethargic or depressed you may feel, you’ve been furnace fired to be pure gold and that jade is just never gonna look good on you!
Φλογίζω / NBJ/ All rights reserved 2015    REVISTED 07/29/2021






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RESURRECTION PEACE/ Part 2

2 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first…”

The fundamental of the Gospel of Peace.
Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, completely sinless, crucified and rose from the dead three days later to reign forever in all of heaven and earth.
This is our hope and confidence, our Savior lives and reigns forever and of His kingdom shall be no end.

His name alone being the only name by which anyone can be saved and He is the only way to the father, any who try to come any other way, other than through the precious blood of the Lamb is nothing more than a thief and robber.

Maybe it does weird out those who don’t understand it, just a little, but again how can you voice an opinion against something you have never experienced nor understand?

Without this promise we would surely be hopeless and what would the hope of our salvation be?
But we that are his know that this is real just as He is real.
This does not mean, as some doctrines teach, that it is instant, kill us and we will pop right back up kind of thing. 

This will take place in the great resurrection when time shall be no more.
But it is our hope and confidence, I want to give you an extreme example:

Job 19:25,26:  “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter-day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.” 
                        
What is this power? Dead, been dead, bodies destroyed by natural processes but yet those bodies will be made new?
The same power that created them and can recreate them regardless of damage.

Once we wrap our heads around letting go of the fear of losing these lives then the remainder and “the rest” will be peaceful!

The prophet Elisha who had been given double the anointing of God that Elijah held and remember Elijah had prayed for fire from heaven and for resurrection of another, rain and for the Jordan to let him cross, not to mention being divinely fed by a raven and an angel of God.

So the miracles he could ask for, the faith to move anything and ask for the impossible, Elisha carried double that in his body and the Bible tells the strength in that anointing and the fact that it is eternal:

 2nd Kings 13: 20,21: “And Elisha died, and they buried him. And the bands of the Moabites invaded the land at the coming in of the year.
And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast (tossed) the man into the sepulcher of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, HE REVIVED, AND STOOD UPON HIS FEET.”

My favorite example of this has not yet happened, oh, but it will!
As people get more and more evil and the true word of God becomes harder and harder to come by He will actually send back two that have been here before.
I personally believe this will be Moses and Elijah because of the description of their gifts.

Revelation 11:3,5-11:  “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, (around three and one half years) clothed in sackcloth.
And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth  out of their mouth and devoureth their enemies: and if any man hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
These have power to shut heaven, that it not rain in the days of their prophesy: And have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with ALL PLAGUES, as often as they will.
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and KILL THEM.
And their DEAD bodies shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified.
And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations (all people) shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer (permit) their dead bodies to be put in graves.
And they that dwell upon earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall sends gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwell on the earth.
And after three days and an half, The Spirit of life, from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them.” 
           
Once upon a time, this was hard for people to understand, how could the whole world see this, but we know now don’t we?

All of our technology that had not even been imagined when this was written, but now we can instantly view anything, anywhere, the world over.

Most of us today couldn’t even stand even near these two with the anointing and the level of sheer holiness they will carry.
And as the world will continue to become more blind and hate all things of God when they come in sackcloth, urging repentance, pronouncing judgments the world will be so happy to see them dead because they will no longer hear the voice of truth, that they will in fact have a world-wide celebration.
But as we know, once they are resurrected and taken, the real party is just getting started!

To read first post, please click here:Resurrection Peace part 1
Φλογίζω/All rights reserved NBJ 2015 Original post 06/04/2015 Revisited 03/18/2022

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RESURRECTION PEACE / Part 1

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

What is the most natural human fear?
Death and the fear thereof, the questions of how and when?
As we discussed in a past post, this is Satan’s number one weapon.

Just as he dared challenge God that if He would only remove his protection from Job that he would lose his faith, because in his belief that humans would give anything in exchange for their lives.

Now about peace, Jesus said His peace He left with us, not as the world gives, but His peace.

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

Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”  John 20:20,21

As He prayed in the garden before His arrest and crucifixion: “And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I sent them into the world.”  John 17:13-18

“These things have I spoken unto you, that IN ME ye might peace. In the world ye  shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”    John 16:33

So what is this peace, the gospel of peace which protects the feet of the warriors of the Lord.

This peace in the knowledge of salvation also pertains to the helmet but the main function is to cover the feet travelling to proclaim that gospel and stand in battle without fear because of the peace of the knowledge of the truth of the resurrection.

The ultimate peace, removal of the fear of death and the knowledge through the Holy Ghost and glory of God’s word that your peace is this, just as they killed Him and He rose, that same power through the Holy Ghost will resurrect you.
I know there are scoffers and that is dangerous and that is between them and God in judgment.

But I, like the disciples testify to what I know and I know the resurrection power of God.
We may have breath and a beating heart and function daily and yet be as dead as any in the grave.

Spiritually dead, without repentance or the knowledge of God, or chained up in a prison of our past and never having been freed or made alive in Him.

I spent twenty-seven years of my life trying to outrun”me”, trying every self-destructive behavior possible to deaden the pain that consumed my soul and anything to just feel normal and accepted.
And so many of us have been held in bondage by the enemy.

God does not cause it but it is used to make us run from the only one who can free us.
But God already knows, no matter what people think or how they tried to figure us out.

He already has the answer and once we have surrendered that pain, that one part of our hearts that we are so careful to hide, and He fills us with his Holy Ghost and the power of His resurrection, in the blink of an eye, everything changes.

We know God loves us and we know that he protects us and we are given peace that we truly, truly have never known.

The peace that He is our Savior, and He is our life, He is our protector and that we will never, ever have to be alone without him again.

Which is precisely why I chose Φλογιζω  as the name of my ministry, it is a nod to something that Satan intended to use destroy me with. God used to save me and that would be one weapon that the enemy could never terrify me with again, I would also be filled with His fire.

And that is what we all need, to make ourselves consciously aware of that fact and the remembrance of that power, His power because the truth is that not death, not demons or all the forces of hell can ever hold our spirits down.

As we go into the unknown of the last days, hold onto that, nothing, nothing can stop that power or the peace you will have once you let that knowledge renew your mind.
Because truly the grave will have no victory.

Because we can only die one time and that is more than enough to make any warrior want to run… but run like David, not away from the enemy but to meet him head on because you know that through Jesus, you will win the battle, even if it is ultimately won in the resurrection!

Part 2: Resurrection Peace part 2

Φλογίζω/ Rights Reserved NBJ/ 2015  *Original post date: 05/30/2015 Revisited 03/14/2022

 

 

 

 

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HOLY WAR

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

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

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WITH FRIENDS LIKE THAT..

I love old sayings, people long ago learned lessons and passed that wisdom down to forewarn future generations.
Ministers are like front line soldiers discovering what’s in the enemies arsenal and reporting back to the troops what weapon is needed to take them down.
Some of the wisest words ever spoken were, “With friends like that, who needs enemies.”
As Paul said “when he thought to do good, evil was ever-present with him.” Sometimes it is difficult for us to see just who our real enemies are.
Think about it, the Bible says that Satan himself “can transform into an angel of light” and we know that he is well versed in the scripture and loves nothing more than to try to twist the word of God to snare, trap, and pervert us.
Genesis 3:1(a) “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made…” and most know this story, through convincing Eve that she really, really wanted this and she should just trust him, it would all be okay, he deceived her into making a decision that we all paid for and Jesus gave his life to repair the damage that “friend” caused.
David, not even trying to resist his lust for Bathsheba ( I know it was lust because he had tried to get Uriah to go home, hoping he would sleep with her and think he had fathered the baby and let them all live a lie) when all of his plans failed, he in effect had Uriah “murdered by war” using him to deliver his own death warrant.
The wages of sin are death, this brought it down on his entire family. Nathan the Prophet went so far as to deliver the judgment handed down from God that the sword would never leave David’s house.
So that voice as the serpent rose again, David’s son Amnon became completely possessed by a spirit of incestuous lust toward his half-sister Tamar. As Satan purposed all this in Amnon’s heart he sent his messenger with just the reassurance Amnon’s flesh needed to act upon that lust.
2 Samuel 13:2,3 ” And Amnon was so vexed (distressed) that he feel sick for his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her ( knew it was wrong ). But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shiva David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.”
His “friend” talked him into raping her, destroying her and filling her brother(his half) Absalom with such hate that it mirrors the rebellion Lucifer led in his attempt to overthrow the Kingdom of Heaven.
He had Amnon murdered and led a rebellion against David and died trying to flee David’s army, when his long beautiful hair became caught and tangled on a tree branch leaving him helpless against the sword.
Snared and tangled up, some prophetic symbolism in that, what unchecked bitterness and hate will do to us.
That is what happens when one person chooses to listen to the wrong voice. A girl’s life was completely devastated, two brothers were dead, two mothers, a father, and an entire kingdom was left to mourn and to never be the same.
One more example, sometimes the enemy wants to take you down so bad that he will send a multitude of voices, because after all, how can so many be so wrong?
The story of Queen Esther tells us of Haman, the King’s power-hungry, right hand boy who hated the Jews especially Mordecai ( Esther’s uncle ) because Mordecai refused to bow to him. So Amidst his whining over the injustice of the situation, Esther 5:14 “Then said Zeresh his wife and all his friends unto him, Let a gallows be made fifty cubits high, and on the morrow speak thou unto the king that Mordecai may be hanged thereon: then go merrily with the king unto the banquet. and this thing pleased Haman; and he caused the gallows to be made.”
Long story short, Haman was hanged on his own gallows and Mordecai got his job.
God tells us “surely they shall gather together, but not by me, no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper.”
Haman fell into his own trap, a trap laid at the urging of those closest to him, who supposedly had his best interests in mind, telling him exactly what his blackened, sin-laden heart wanted to hear.
So like those collect calls from Egypt, you don’t realize the price until you get the bill and if you knew the cost you would have never agreed to accept those charges, it may be a bill like David’s, that his family ended up having to pay.
Your true friends may not understand your faith, but they will respect it and be happy for you.
Read Luke 15:8,9 the parable of the lady who found her lost silver and her friends rejoiced with her.
Steer clear of “friends” who only want to drag you back to “Egypt”, because misery loves company and if they are not free they surely don’t want you to be.
Just as with Adam and Eve, once the blinders were off and their eyes were opened to the truth,they knew the sin and the shame.
Amnon, when his “love” immediately turned to complete disgust and hatred once he had achieved his desire.
That is what sin does and no matter how good they make it sound or tell you just how much you are missing, if you give in to them, when the day comes, and it will come, like Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened, yours will be also and I promise you that your are not going to like what you see.
The truth is that not only are friends like these a danger to your soul, they also endanger theirs by tempting you as a child of God.
As the Bible teaches us, if we as believers defile this temple God will destroy it (us).
Daniel 5 tells the story of Belshazzar, who had the bright idea that it would be fun to defile the vessels of the Lord which had been taken from the temple by Nebuchadnezzar.
He and all with him drank from them, while praising their false pagan gods and having the equivalent to a big drunken feast, within an hour,  his eyes beheld with horror and his knees actually shook with terror as a hand appeared from nowhere and proceeded to write out his death warrant on his own wall, when Daniel interrupted it he would soon learn that no one could save him from the judgment of God and he was dead that night.
We are vessels, holy unto the Lord, set aside for his use and anyone who wishes to defile us will truly have hell to pay.
Friends like these you don’t need. Pray and ask the Lord for real ones. And while you are waiting, remember he is the best friend you will ever have!

Companion post:COLLECT CALL FROM EGYPT. WILL YOU ACCEPT THE CHARGES?
A theme song for you, “Satisfaction” David Phelps

Φλογίζω / 05/24/2014. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina BrownJohnson 2015

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COLLECT CALL FROM EGYPT. WILL YOU ACCEPT THE CHARGES?

Ever wonder what Moses went through? You know, being a prince of Egypt, brought up as an Egyptian, taught by them, trained by them and having close family bonds with them.
Moses had all of Egypt laid at his feet all that was required of him in order to live a lavish life of riches and unimaginable power was to deny his own lineage and turn his eyes away from the suffering of those in bondage.
He couldn’t do it because he was cut from a different cloth, he would forsake all of Egypt, its power and wealth bought by the blood of his true people. That he would not overlook.
He would rather go into bondage with them, than to enjoy his good life at the expense of their freedom. How many times did he hear, “You are one of us, you need to just calm down and forget this nonsense, just stay where you belong.”
Pharaoh tried his different tactics, my favorite is Exodus 10:10,
“And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.”
Classic Satan and classic control. “Oh, you don’t really want to be out there on your own, what about your loved ones? The world is a bad place and bad things will happen if we aren’t there to protect you. It is not so bad here in Egypt, just stay where you belong.”
Anyone ever felt this kind of pressure? Pretending to wish you well but letting you know that not only will you not make it in your new walk of faith but neither will those you hope to lead with you.
How can you ever leave the Egypt of this world and all you have known to follow Christ into the land he has chosen?
So as we know this story, Pharaoh decides when his logic fails, he will just get rough with them. His heart so hardened that he failed to see the hand of the one true living God at work in all this. And he failed to see all of its strength, ready to come down on him, and he failed to see the anguish it would to his own people.
Once God had forced his hand by sending the plagues ending it with the deaths of the first-born of Egypt, he finally released the Hebrew slaves, but in his stubbornness and pride he could not leave well enough alone and decided to mount his army and set out after them to bring them all kicking and screaming back to Egypt.
As the Israelite’s stood horrified as the Egyptian army grew closer and the Red Sea stood as a formidable obstacle against them. The enemy trying to convince them that they were never even meant to be free, they cried out to the Lord, who was their ever-present help.
Exodus 14: 13, 27&28: And Moses said unto the people, fear ye not, stand still, see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew you to day: For the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. and Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remaineth not so much as one of them.”
Sometimes in life when the Red Sea in view and freedom is almost certain, the spirit of Pharaoh will rear its ugly head and spew out a warning cry to try to force you to stay in Egypt, in sin, in bondage,and misery, to try to convince that you will never be free.
Remember the words of our Lord, the word that is the double-edged sword given you from God, to cut through all the powers of hell, as Jesus said, the which will never, ever prevail.
“Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm”
Serve notice on the Pharaoh in your life, tell him to send his messengers, rally his troops, mount his chariot and prepare his battle against your soul because soon you will see the salvation of your God and Pharaoh and his host will perish in the sea as they try to pursue you.
When Egypt tries to call you back, do not accept those charges, don’t even bother picking up the phone to answer their call because the price for one conversation with them could lead to a bill you will be trying to pay off for the rest of your life!
It would be better to be speared through the back running away than to submit to life under servitude under a spiritual Pharaoh.
Let that old Navy  motto about dealing with torpedoes motto ring true in our battles today, full speed ahead.
Φλογίζω /original Post   05/03/14. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina Brown Johnson 2015 REVISITED 08/07/2021

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MADMEN, MARTYRS AND MAIDS / PART 3

The fire which burned in all these was so bright, so strong that not even death could extinguish it.
About 200 A.D. when the persecution was at full force and Christians were being persecuted left and right. If they would not renounce Jesus Christ, they were often burned or thrown to lions or other animals to be slaughtered.
It is said that near the end of the Roman persecution that so many had died this was that the beasts had grown fat and would no longer consume them.
A young woman named Perpetua lived during this time in Carthage, North Africa. The account of the deaths of her and two others is grisly and extremely disturbing.
But God  had prepared her in advance for all that she would face, after being stripped and thrown to a mad heifer, ultimately dying after having her throat slashed, her testimony lives on eighteen hundred years later.
The true voice of her victory can be read in her own words, much like Ann Frank she had kept a diary, the details of her death later added.
She had embarked on her death march by singing hymns, she went to the aid of a young girl name Felicitas who had been sentenced to death with her, they kissed good-bye and she is quoted as saying to her brother, these words, which still ring as true and pure as the day they went from her lips.
“You must all stand fast in faith and love one another and do not be weakened by what we have gone through.”
Mirror this to another fascinating lady, Jael, from Judges 4,
She probably invented the old adage that you catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar, while Sisera was busy terrorizing everyone, he made the bad mistake of thinking that her home would be a safe haven, after making him comfortable and providing greater than he had asked for, verse 22 tells us this, “Then Jael, Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary, so he died. There is a wonderful song about her in Judges Chapter five.
So what’s with all the ancient history? Ecclesiastes 1:9
” The thing which 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.”
According to one source. one out of three girls and one out of four boys are sexually assaulted during their childhood, according to 2010 research every seven minutes a woman is raped, countless children sold into slavery, countless animals are tortured and abandoned, abortions are responsible for millions of sanctioned murders every year.
Leaving also in the wake the soul stripped child mothers who were coerced into this “easy fix” for their “problem”.
Elder abuse, rampant domestic violence, not to mention homelessness, hunger, the list to go on forever.
So many hurting, lost people in our world who feel so helpless and so hopeless.
What can we do? Do not turn a blind eye to them, pray for awareness, through the indwelling of the Holy spirit your prayers can cover people you will never meet.
The blood of the Lamb you can pray over all these. God called us to be intercessors.
 I am not suggesting nailing peoples heads to the ground or radical empowerment, I am suggesting this:
2 CORINTHIANS 3:4:” FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH, WE DO NOT WAR AFTER THE FLESH: FOR THE WEAPONS OF OUR WARFARE ARE NOT CARNAL, BUT MIGHTY THROUGH GOD TO THE PULLING DOWN OF STRONG HOLDS.
Think of the faith and courage these and others had, let God rise up in all of us and lead us into a prayer that will change the world!
Original Date:01/19/2014. All rights reserved. Rev. Nina BrownJohnson  2015

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REST IN THE RECKONING

I can’t seem to get the image of James Foley out of my head, and it’s not just him… it is all of them.
Abducted, unmercifully tortured, and paraded off to be savagely executed by demonic, twisted sadistic butchers to gain media attention for their truly hopeless cause.
Hiding their faces behind their masks of death black reminiscent of the dunce hat wearing, cross burnin’ boys of the south, But you know at least the Nazi’s would show their faces.
What does it all mean? John the Baptists head severed and served on a platter as an appreciative token for the undoubtedly sleazy dance of a pagan princess.
Apostle Paul practically writing his last will and testament to all believers as his beheading approached.
Peter carried out the brunt of his ministry under complete awareness that not only would he die, he would die by crucifixion, Jesus himself telling Peter that this would happen and Peter deciding that it was a price he would be willing to pay to see the Kingdom of God come.
It is as if they believe by taking the heads of God’s servants the are in some way, taking the head from the body of Christ, which will never happen.
The Prophet Isaiah was sawn in half. Steven’s face became as an angel as the anointed words straight from the heart of God proceeded from his mouth hammering the hearts of his enemies with unwanted conviction, and even as they stoned him, Steven did not stop, even praying that they not be held accountable for his death.
Polycarp, the eighty-six year old martyr, whose boldness and courage given from the Lord allowed him to meet his fate with the same acceptance, God had  shown him in a dream what was to come and he met it head on, because he knew that they could only kill him once and after that he would be resurrected by the Lord eternally.
Hebrews 11:36,39: “They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented, (OF WHOM THE WORLD WAS NOT WORTHY)
they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise.” 
                                    
The most outstanding words in that passage point to the fact, that this world was not good enough for their presence!
And they were successful in doing the work of the Lord and yet they died before seeing the final result of the what would now be their accomplished  life’s work.
The world was not worthy, nor is it now. How do we survive these last days, when all we hear is terror upon terror in every given report?
As Jesus forewarned us that the days would come that those who killed his followers would think  that they were doing the service of God.
But in all these things we are to keep our souls focused on him and in his rest, and as scary as this is,  NOT FEAR THEM.
Matthew 10:26,28: “Fear them NOT therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that ye speak in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach upon the housetops. And FEAR NOT them which are able to kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather FEAR HIM which is ABLE TO DESTROY BOTH SOUL AND BODY IN HELL.”
                                     
In our patient wait for him, we are to rest in the blessed reassurance that our “redemption draweth nigh” he will make his enemies his footstool and in his blessed reckoning.
He will not hide his face they will know exactly who He is!
Psalm 45:3-5: “Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, most mighty, with thy glory and thy majesty ride prosperously because of thy truth and thy meekness and righteousness;  and thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the hearts of the king’s enemies; whereby the people fall under thee.”
                                      
Revelation 19: 11-16:  “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. AND HE WAS CLOTHED WITH A VESTURE DIPPED IN BLOOD: AND HIS NAME IS CALLED THE WORD OF GOD. AND THE ARMIES WHICH WERE IN HEAVEN FOLLOWED HIM UPON WHITE HORSES, CLOTHED IN FINE LINEN, WHITE AND CLEAN. AND OUT OF HIS MOUTH GOETH A SHARP SWORD, THAT WITH IT HE SHOULD SMITE THE NATIONS: HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON: AND HE TREADHETH THE
WINEPRESS (BLOODBATH) OF THE FIERCENESS AND WRATH OF ALMIGHTY GOD. AND HE HAD ON HIS VESTURE (ROBE) AND ON HIS THIGH (SWORD SHEATH) A NAME WRITTEN, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
                                 
So amidst all the Hades breaking loose on earth, keep your eyes focused on the heavens, let your soul rest in the arms of a beautiful, merciful, gentle creator and pray for deliverance for all from evil and when reckoning comes, all bets will be off and they will find there is no fighting him.
Regardless of news broadcasts, or constant worldwide threats, I will tell you how this story shall end:
Romans 14:11:  “For it is written: AS I LIVE SAITH THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.”
                                  
Maybe hiding behind and pleading the names of the pagans gods they worship will help them, ah, no I don’t think so…
Philippians 2:9-11: “WHEREFORE GOD HATH ALSO EXALTED HIM AND GIVEN HIM A NAME WHICH IS ABOVE EVERY NAME:
THAT AT THE NAME OF JESUS EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW OF THINGS IN HEAVEN, AND THINGS IN EARTH, AND THINGS UNDER THE EARTH. AND THAT EVERY TONGUE SHOULD (WILL) CONFESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.”
                                 

All rights reserved. Rev. Nina BrownJohnson 2015 Φλογίζω Σαλπιζω

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