April 1, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Sorrow and Praise”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 15, 2023 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Starting Fresh

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts:.” Psalms 139:23

You know to me, that is a scary prayer, to be honest, it probably is for most of us.

And I like many have prayed that and asked the Lord to rid me of all the self-inflicted fleshly thoughts and attitudes that we, as humans often suffer from.

I want to take a break from that thought for a minute to lighten up a bit and ask that you please forgive any misspellings you happen across in my posts, I threanen myself often in my own mind, that one day I will write a post and title it “Fun with Dyslexia”, not making fun of it, but I seriously have it! And it can making writing quite interesting, more like comical in my case.

Now that I got that out of the way and corrected many a word up to this point, let’s think about starting fresh!

Despite the cold, and the snow in my part of the world, I always make it through the winter by holding on to one single statement, “It’ll be spring soon.” sometimes we have to remind ourselves spiritually of that fact.

Back in the day, I loved it, being out the cold and walking in the snow, the Laplander in me I suppose, but after I got some age on me, I can’t quite go it. I still love to see it but now from the inside rather than out.

And on that note, sometimes the hardest sight for us to see if what is on the inside, others see us from the outside and we can present many different images, such as being brave in the face of danger when inside we are truly afraid.

Others professing us as strong, when we ourselves feel weak, and breaking.

Others may tell us we are smart, and inside we don’t even feel anything close to even being competent.

And then life has a way of bringing challenges that stretch us to our limits and push us to points we feel are past return.

Those times make that verse all important, when we invite God to examine us, and help us understand why we feel the emotions we feel, why a simple or comment can bring a reaction from us, that we had never saw coming nor could have imagined, these are the signals that the issues are in us, not necessarily all those goes on around us.

It’s getting to the root of why do they make me feel so inept? Why did that hurt me so bad? Why do I struggle with this over and over?

All emotions, all usually reactions rooted deep inside, hurt, and lack of self-worth looming, leftover from something long past.

We all have issues, I, myself have had plenty of them, like many, been through many rough spots in life, the most damaging of course, being held over the fire of an open stove at the age of five years, being threatened to be burned alive,

And that my dear friends took the power of the Holy Ghost to deliver me from the horror of that, and to say I don’t struggle at times would be comical.

But God has taught me how to look to Him and ask for His guidance in why I am experiencing something that I was shocked to feel, and He never fails to help us and guide us, and most of all heal us and make us new,and give us a fresh new start each and every day,all we have to do is ask and be willing to not only look within ourselves but allow him to advise us concerning what He already sees.

I want to give you another passage to help on this journey, if you feel this would be for you.

Song of Solomon 4:6:“Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and the hill of frankincense.”

This is our Biblical instruction on accomplishing this very task.

When we desperately need that spiritual day break, from the gloomy days, dark evenings, and long nights life sometimes brings.

Notice if you will the use of shadows, What are shadows?

Shadows of everything past, shadows of hurt, regret, sorrow, and pain, even shadows of joyful times since gone, memories lingering playing a sorrowful song, longing of times and departed loved ones, seasons long past, seasons that changed far too fast and whispering fear and dread, threatening the emptiness that lies ahead.

Shadows, shadows that must acknowledged, shadows, whose purpose is only to attempt to block that glorious light , the light that wants to shine ,the only force that has the power to send those shadows away, leaving clarity, peace and the hope for the dawning of a new spiritual day.

Inviting the light to conquer the shadows requires us to take action also, we start by having an honest conversation with Jesus, complete honesty about what prompted the shadows to loom, and complete honesty about what is going in our hearts, He already sees it, He knows, and He will help us, but we have to be willing to die to all those wrong thoughts and attitudes that the enemy has left us falsely believing from our time dwelt in the land of gloom.

The myrrh being the mountain, that one is the toughest, that myrrh representing the process of dying to ourselves, our old thoughts, and allowing God to minister in us His thoughts concerning us, which is love, mercy, kindness.

He only wants joy, peace, and hope for us, that is not to say bad things will never happen, that is to say, He will deliver you from the damage that has already been and help you through the what may be’s.

You are never too young, never too old for a brand new start, or even just a refreshing after a particularly tough season.

Here’s His promise.

Isaiah 46:4: “And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar (gray) hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

Allow Jesus to take care of all those things that you can’t on your own and find a joy and peace unlike any you have ever known in submitting yourself into His perfect will for you life and I promise you will never regret it and you will never be the same and when you look back over the years, one day you will see just how those shadows fled and how futuristic dread was turned to joy in hope of the days now ahead.

Jesus strengthens us, He holds us up when we can not stand on our own and Him living inside of us and when others see you, the will still see you, but they will see you decorated with a beauty and grace that only comes from him!

Blessings & peace till next time!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2023/ Rev N. Brown Johnson

October 1, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Watching your two-step……

“Enter ye in at the strait (narrow) gate: for WIDE IS THE GATE, AND BROAD IS THE WAY THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION, and many there be which go in thereat (through it): Because strait is the gate, and narrow (difficult or confined) is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” MATTHEW 7:13,14

The spiritual dance of stepping into the will of God and His call upon the life of every believer. The true test in this is trying to always move two steps forward while being careful to not slide the three steps back. During times of testing, crisis, and uncertainty we can quickly give up on trying to learn the new step and be easily swayed into sashaying back to that same old waltz with the world that we have grown accustomed to. We are creatures of habit and sometimes slow learners.

But we never dance alone and often we don’t realize that there are others who watch us and our moves, and sometimes our faulty footwork can not only harm them, it can ultimately destroy them.

Pressure from the world, Pressure from the enemy (constantly reminding us that we may fail) and the most dreadful one, pressure from our self. Pressure that tells us we must get this right, that we have one shot and it is over. This “performance” pressure does not come from the Lord. HE IS merciful and HE IS patient, even if we are quite challenged with the tempo and have two left feet.

I want to give a few examples of why it is imperative to wait on the Lord, go forward but be careful to not let our flesh and need to excel “outrun” Him and His desires to teach us those steps himself. Because if we do, we will run head on into disobedience and that carries a hefty price that no one can afford.

Lesson #1 TRUST NO OTHER INSTRUCTOR:

1 KINGS 13 tells, what to me is one of the scariest stories in the entire book, and of course, I’ll have to highlight, but if you have a moment please read it. God had called forth a Prophet, who is just referred to as “The man of God” He had sent him by His word and with signs to “cry” against a pagan altar at Bethel. After Jeroboam had asked him to pray to the Lord on his behalf he invited him to dinner, and that is where we will pick it up:

1 KINGS 13:7-9: “And the King said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the King, if thou wilt give me half thine house, I WILL NOT go I with thee, NEITHER will I eat bread nor drink water IN THIS PLACE; FOR so WAS IT CHARGED ME (COMMANDED TO ME) BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, SAYING, EAT NO BREAD, NOR DRINK WATER, NOR TURN AGAIN BY THE SAME WAY THAT THOU CAMEST.”

So the story goes on and the man did as he had been commanded and went another way. Meanwhile, there dwelt “an old Prophet” whose sons had came and relayed the entire story to him. The old man asked the sons which direction the prophet travelled in and pursued after him.

Now, this is what I really want to point out in this story: verses 14-17: “And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under and oak { not going forward}: and said unto him, Art thou (are you) the man of God that camest from Bethel? { if he were legit he should have KNOWN} and he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread.

And he said, I MAY NOT RETURN WITH THEE, NOR GO IN WITH THEE; NEITHER WILL I EAT BREAD NOR DRINK WATER WITH THEE IN THIS PLACE: for it was said to me BY THE WORD OF THE LORD, THOU SHALT EAT NO BREAD NOR DRINK WATER THERE, NOR TURN AGAIN TO GO BY THE WAT THOU CAMEST { NO GOING BACKWARD}.

Now for the deception, the “old” prophet speaking, verse 18-26:” He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an ANGEL spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water: BUT HE LIED UNTO HIM.”

So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the Lord came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, THUS SAYETH THE LORD, FORASMUCH AS THOU HAST DISOBEYED THE MOUTH OF THE LORD, AND HAST NOT KEPT THE COMMANDEMENT WHICH THE LORD GOD COMMANDED THEE. But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers ( your corpse will not come to the tomb).

And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, (so you will know) for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, A LION MET HIM BY THE WAY (ON THE ROAD), AND SLEW (KILLED) HIM, AND HIS CARCASE WAS CAST IN THE WAY, AND THE ASS STOOD BY IT, THE LION ALSO STOOD BY THE CARCASE.

AND behold men passed by, and saw the carcase cast (laying) in the way, and the Lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt (lived). And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It IS THE MAN OF GOD, WHO WAS DISOBEDIENT UNTO THE WORD OF THE LORD: therefore the Lord hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake unto him.”

#2 DANCING A LITTLE TOO FAST….

JUDGES 11:29-31: ” Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed over Gilead, and Manasseh, and passed over Mizpeh of Gilead, and from Mizpeh of Gilead he passed over unto the children of Ammon.

And Jephthah VOWED A VOW unto the lord, and said, If thou shalt without fail deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands, THEN IT SHALL BE THAT WHATSOEVER COMETH FORTH OF THE DOORS OF MY HOUSE TO MEET ME WHEN I RETURN IN PEACE FROM THE CHILDREN OF AMMON, SHALL SURELY BE THE LORD’S, AND I WILL OFFER IT UP FOR A BURNT OFFERING.”

As our story continues he has an awesome victory but as we pick it up with verses 34,35 we will see that his OWN words ensnared him to a terrible price:

” And Jephthah came to Mizpeh unto his house, and behold, HIS DAUGHTER came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: she was his ONLY child; beside her he had neither son nor daughter.

And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent (tore) his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! Thou hast brought me very low, and art one of them that trouble me: FOR I HAVE OPENED MY MOUTH (GIVEN MY WORD) UNTO THE LORD, AND I CANNOT GO BACK. (go back on it).”

Now, by that scripture, God WAS already with him and God did not ask him to make this vow. But sometimes people can fall into the trap of questioning their relationship with God and feel that they must “bargain” with him to gain victory. God only asks that we trust him to lead us and guide us. He NEVER asks for us to bargain anything with him for his goodness toward us. The Bible states God “maketh rich and addeth no sorrow with it” of course that means fruitful in many things and he does not hurt us in doing so.

#3 NEVER TRY TO OUTDANCE THE MASTER:

Saul, Saul, Saul, an endless volume of books could be written dealing with King Saul. One of whom, yet again, Israel was warned about. They wanted a King because everyone else had a king, God was like, I AM your King and they were like no, we want a king like they have. So even after being warned by Samuel the prophet about just how bad this guy was gonna be, they still wanted him, he was tall, striking and looked like a king to them, what if had a few undesirable personality traits?

So we know that he was a bad king and very disobedient to God in always doing it his way and doing his own thing and so the time comes when God had commanded that all who practiced witchcraft be destroyed out of the land and of course, Saul being Saul did not live up to this command. God grew tired of all of it and took his spirit away from Saul and had David anointed as his successor. As Saul’s sanity vanished farther and farther away as he was filled with hatred and jealousy, he would commit one final act that would also hurt those who were innocent and cost the lives of his sons.

1 SAMUEL 28, to break it down, the Lord was no longer with Saul and Samuel had died, so instead of accepting his state, Saul full of self will took one more shot at trying to out maneuver the master, with yet again more disobedience.

1 SAMUEL 28:7 ” Then said Saul unto his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit (psychic, medium) that I may go and enquire of her. And his servants said unto him, Behold there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.”

So here he is, disguising himself, as if he can really sneak this one by an all seeing God, and he goes to this witch, who points out that KING SAUL has called for the death of them all, and realizes that he IS Saul. He reassures that no harm will come to her, but little does he know the harm that is coming to him and his entire house. He calls for Samuel, God ALLOWS one final message: verse 16-19 :

Then said Samuel, WHEREFORE THEN DOST THOU (WHY DO YOU) ASK OF ME, SEEING THE LORD IS DEPARTED FROM THEE, AND IS BECOME THINE ENEMY?

Because thou OBEYEDST NOT the voice of the Lord, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day.

MOREVER the Lord will deliver Israel with thee INTO THE hand of the Philistines: and TO MORROW SHALT THOU AND THY SONS BE WITH ME { Saul and his sons would be dead by the next day}…..”

1 SAMUEL 11 recounts the battle, verse 6: “ So Saul DIED, and HIS THREE SONS, and HIS ARMOURBEARER, and ALL HIS MEN, THAT SAME DAY TOGETHER.”

All of this tells us some simple truths that we need to always keep hold of, God is faithful. God calls us, and you do not have to beg Him your job. He equips us as we need equipping, with whatever we need to do our work for the Kingdom and to follow Him and do His will we need only to TRUST. He opens doors in HIS TIME and when he opens them no one can shut those doors.

So be patient and walk as He has called you and wait on those answers, don’t be tempted to run ahead or go sliding back, you will miss the entire dance and all the wonderful moves he wants to teach you!

PROVERBS 3: 5, 6: “ TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART: AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING. IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS.”

Φλογίζω Εαλπιζω NB 2016 ***Original post date: 2016/04/09, REVISTED 10/01/2022.

Also available as podcast.

September 7, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“In the Pits?”

“He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings (steps). And he hath put a new song in my mouth, EVEN praise unto our God; MANY SHALL SEE IT; and fear (BELIEVE) and SHALL TRUST IN THE LORD.” Psalm 40:2,3

Nothing quite like being “down in the pits” spiritual pits, life pits, stress and aggravation pits, the path we walk can often be riddled with pit after pit carefully placed there by the enemy and those who are our earthly enemies to trip, trap, and send us tumbling down into that pit and the funny thing with pits is this, you are going to never free yourself from a pit.

No one can climb their way out of a pit, nothing to hold onto, nothing to hoist them upward, nothing to stand on. Just trapped, with only one way out, straight up.

And sometimes we we are in a pits we must be very very careful when it comes to how we get out of that thing, what may look like a rescue line thrown down into that pit, a blessing, even guised as an answered prayer can actually be an even bigger snare that once you are freed leaves you running headfirst into an even more sinister trap.

Which explains the necessity of seeking with our soul rather than thinking with our head, logic is not always what it appears. I’m gonna give you to examples of two men of God, two pits, two “rescues and then you’ll dig where I’m coming from about it.

Most know the story of Joseph, he was the son of Jacob and Jacob loved him dearly, because he loved his mother dearly and Joseph had the nature of his mother, he was gentle and kind and his father favored him and this caused some serious jealousy, resentment, and hate spewed at him from his brothers.

To put it mildly, his older brothers were really some rude, crude, and loud dudes whose hearts were in no way right. And if you have never read the story of Joseph, PLEASE read it, but for now we will pick it up here, when he has been sent out by his father to feed them (boy, you could get into some symbolism with that, maybe we will one day)

Genesis: 37:18-29: “And when they saw him AFAR off, even before he came near unto them, THEY CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM TO SLAY HIM. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into SOME pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what shall become of his dreams.

And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid (rescue) him out of their hands, to deliver him (take him) to his father again.

And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethre, that they strip Joseph out of his coat, his of many colors that was on him; And they took him and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

And THEY SAT DOWN TO EAT BREAD : and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a company (group) of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his death?

Come, and let us SELL him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and THEY DREW (pulled him up) AND LIFTED JOSEPH UP OUT OF THE PIT, AND SOLD JOSEPH FOR TWENTY PIECES OF SILVER: AND THEY BROUGHT JOSEPH INTO EGYPT.

And Reuben RETURNED UNTO THE PIT; AND BEHOLD, JOSEPH WAS NOT IN THE PIT; and he rent (tore) his clothes.”

Man, now that was some bad blood.

Let’s see what we got going on here, well they hated him and they were so enraged and jealous that their Dad had made a special tunic for Joseph and God had blessed Joseph with a dream and that just really added fuel to the fire. And notice that they were already plotting his murder and had decided his fate before he even reached them.

To get into a little spiritual insight here, think about what they said about “seeing what becomes of his dreams” people will secretly hate you and want nothing more, often because of sheer jealousy (which IS a spirit BTW) and want nothing more than to destroy your hopes and “dreams”.

Let’s talk about Reuben, He KNEW this was wrong, he COULD have stopped this, but he DIDN’T because he would not stand up for what was right, he wanted to do it on the down low.

He planned to go back and rescue Joseph and take him back home, but through his cowardice he talked them out of killing Joseph only to have him thrown into a pit from which he would be drawn up only to go into slavery.

Reuben could’ve, should’ve but didn’t and that made him just as guilty as his brothers.

This pit was in the “wilderness”, we all know what that means, wilderness, scary places that we have never been nor know anything about and certainly don’t know how we will survive there.

And to top it all off they feel so good about what they have done to their brother they sit down and eat while he is terrified in a pit trying to figure out why on earth they hate him. Then the greed kicks in and they decide a little profit is better than blood on their hands as if this were really a lesser sin, talk about self-deception!

I am sure Joseph felt relief being pulled up out that pit, even not knowing what fate would await him, but just getting out of it and his “freedom” from the pit gained his brothers twenty pieces of silver but in the spirit world prophetically purchased the future slavery of the Hebrews by the Egyptians, the land into which Joseph was sold.

Let no one ever deceive you, every action has consequence and often those consequences linger and they linger for generations.

Jeremiah is known as the prophet of doom, he had a job and he had to do his job and absolutely at no time was anyone happy about anything that came out of Jeremiah’s mouth.

But Jeremiah was blessed and he was a prophet of God and as they could hate he and they could try to kill him, they could never silence or kill the Word of God which came forth from him.

He went through so much that he even wished for a second that he had not been born, he proclaimed that he would no longer speak nor make mention of God’s name… but oh that fire, who can stop that fire?

God would raise His Spirit up and Jeremiah would once again regain focus. We are coming in on the story where they are mad, so mad because he has once again advised them with words they do not want to hear, and the saddest reality with the Book of Jeremiah is the same reality we have now, they could have listened, they could have obeyed God, but they didn’t.

Just like Reuben, a bad case of Could’ve, Should’ve but Didn’t. Had they repented and turned from their evil ways, God would have turned his wrath and spared them, let’s see how that went.

Jeremiah 38:1-13, 38: ” Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur, the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying,

Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey (prize) and shall live.

Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.

Therefore the princes SAID unto the king, We beseech thee, LET THIS MAN BE PUT TO DEATH; for thus he weakeneth the hands of (is discouraging) the men of war which remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt (harm).

Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, He is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.

THEN THEY TOOK JEREMIAH, AND CAST HIM INTO THE DUNGEON of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, THAT WAS IN THE COURT OF THE PRISON: AND LET DOWN JEREMIAH WITH CORDS, AND IN THE DUNGEON THERE WAS NO WATER, BUT MIRE: SO JEREMIAH SUNK IN THE MIRE.

NOW WHEN EBEDMELECH THE ETHIOPIAN, one of the eunuchs which was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;

Ebedmelech went forth out of the king’s house, and SPAKE unto the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he like (likely) to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.

Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and TAKE UP JEREMIAH THE PROPHET OUT OF THE DUNGEON BEFORE HE DIE.

So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the the house of the king under the treasury, and TOOK THENCE OLD CAST CLOUTS (old clothes) AND ROTTEN RAGS, AND LET THEM DOWN BY CORDS INTO THE DUNGEON TO JEREMIAH.

AND EBEDMELECH THE ETHIOPIAN SAID UNTO JEREMIAH, PUT NOW THESE OLD CAST CLOUTS AND ROTTEN RAGS UNDER THINE ARMHOLES (armpits) AND JEREMIAH DID SO.

SO THEY DREW UP JEREMIAH WITH CORDS (ropes) AND TOOK HIM UP OUT OF THE DUNGEON: AND JEREMIAH REMAINED IN THE COURT OF THE PRISON.

So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison UNTIL the day that Jerusalem was taken and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.”

As with Reuben, the king could’ve stopped this, Jeremiah was a prophet and the king knew this, so he should’ve stopped this but just like Reuben, he didn’t.

But Ebedmelech had compassion, and courage and he could, he knew he should and he did!

And a eunuch and his use of old clothes and rotten rags is also very interesting because sometimes we can be pulled up out of pits by some very unexpected people using some very humble things, things that may not look so rescue worthy, maybe not quite what we were thinking of but yet perfect for the job of rescuing us and making the pull up a little less painful.

Notice neither of these pits had water, Joseph’s was empty and Jeremiah sunk up as he also would be “stuck” in bondage until Jerusalem was taken. Both were “free” from the pits,but they still were not quite “home free” and in life certain things can look good, they can look like a way out, people can seem to be your friends and be coming to “save” you out of the pit and in truth only be saving you because it will profit them something.

So you have to be careful when you reach up to hold onto that rope that has been dropped down to you and make certain it is the one that will lead to true freedom. Pay close attention to who is on the other end of it.

And if you know someone is in danger of “being thrown into a pit”, meaning someone cooking up plans against them, or if you see someone already “in a pit”, PLEASE don’t EVER allow yourself to be the one who SHOULD’VE, COULD’VE, BUT DIDN’T!

And only God can put a NEW song in our mouth and once others see us come UP OUT OF A PIT OF CERTAIN DEATH AND DESTRUCTION, A PIT OF NO RETURN, AS OUR SCRIPTURE TELLS US, THEY SEE IT, THEY THEN BELIEVE, THEY THEN TRUST GOD BECAUSE THEY HAVE SEEN THE PIT WE HAVE BEEN DELIVERED FROM!

Blessing, Love & Peace till next, keep your eyes on the prize! Love Sister Nina

Φλογιζω NBJ 2017 ***Original post: 2017/10/24*** REVISTED 09/07/2022

August 24, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

Making it through the night……

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

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

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

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

Awesome song, hope it will encourage you Shared from YouTube

August 20, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Gazingstock”

1 CORINTHIANS 4:9-13: “For I think that God hath set forth (displayed) us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to the angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake (the world opinion) but ye are wise in Christ; we ARE weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we ARE despised.

Even unto the present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked (poorly clothed), and ARE buffeted (beaten) and have no certain dwelling place; and labour, working with our own hands: BEING reviled, we bless; BEING persecuted, we suffer (endure) it. BEING defamed (slandered) we entreat (encourage): we ARE made the filth of this world and ARE the offscouring of all things unto this day. “

We often think of the Apostles as almost superhuman, almost as if, had they needed to, they could have run through stone buildings.

We are half right, considering that they, with the exception of Paul hung out with Jesus and SAW Him ascend into heaven and combined they were FREED by angels, SAW demons cast out and SAW the dead resurrected back to life.

BUT the super part belonged to the LORD the other is just human!
As we read the verse above, nothing about that sounds glamorous, or remotely desirable as a lifestyle and these are the things we often forget.

I truly believe that this is what causes so many “new” Christians to slip and some seasoned ones to misplace their robes and end up wearing a coat made of jade

For the most part it is preventable.

Once we accept Christ, and especially if we have been given the gift of the Holy Ghost, we have that wonderful newness.

Everything IS brand new; WE ARE New but then life, emotions, and the enemy come and often no one has ever told the “new” person that what they are going through is NORMAL for the course and no one helps them through that maze, and they end up lost in it and give up even trying to find their way home.

The second group comes into play, as often having a fight with hell all the way to the altar and sometimes passed the altar and into the water because they have a call on their life.

And once they do make it “in” that fight only intensifies and I really, really wish I could give a “one word will make it all go away” answer right here.

BUT it does not exist.
Once this particular spiritual warfare has been engaged, it cannot be disengaged because:
#1. The calling of God on lives is determined before birth and “they do not expire until we do.”
#2. Giving up is not an option, you will lose your salvation, and everything you have ALREADY fought through will have been for nothing.
#3. Outside of the will of God and without His protection, satan will chew you up and spit you out.
#4 Your fall will affect every single person you love and all those whom you were to minister to.
#5 THE most important reason is that JESUS died for you and saved you and He will NEVER let you be tested beyond what you can handle, and a servant cannot be above His Master, to reign with Christ we must suffer with Christ.
“Think It not strange…” sometimes battles are so fierce and dark that you cannot even see daylight, but you must remember you war against principalities and powers of the air.

I don’t know how I would have ever made it had God not blessed me with the people he did in my life and ministers that would share their own personal battle stories and some so hard to fathom, that my problems would pale in comparison.

Without the knowledge that these things happened to people whom I knew were Godly and doing their best in their walk, I could have never kept my head above water, I held onto every single word and would remember their stories and how they got through it and that they were still standing and that I serve the same God.

HEBREWS 10:32,33: “But call to remembrance the former days, in which after ye were illuminated (enlightened), ye ENDURED a GREAT FIGHT OF AFFLICTIONS (struggle with sufferings); partly, (in part) whilst ye were made a GAZINGSTOCK (SPECTACLE) BOTH BY REPROACHES AND AFFLICTIONS (tribulations) and partly (in part) whilst YE BECAME COMPANIONS OF THEM THAT WERE SO USED (treated).

What can we say there?

The days after your salvation, such a GREAT FIGHT with sufferings and troubles. You were as one that the world would look at and stare upon, as one in medieval stocks for the entire village to mock and ridicule.
Reproaches of those who laugh at your salvation and the enemy who questions “Where is your God now?”

But it is due in part so that YOU CAN become who you are to become in Christ.

1 PETER 1;4-8,10: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding GREAT and PRECIOUS promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

And beside (along with) this, giving ALL DILIGENCE, ADD to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge: AND to knowledge temperance (self-control); AND to temperance patience; AND to patience godliness; AND to godliness brotherly kindness; AND to brotherly kindness CHARITY (love).
FOR if these things be in you (are yours) and abound, they make you that YE SHALL NEITHER BE BARREN NOR UNFRUITFUL IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. Wherefore the rather brethren, GIVE DILIGENCE TO MAKE YOUR CALLING AND ELECTION SURE: FOR IF YOU DO THESE THINGS YE SHALL NEVER FAIL.”

So, you have heard it from Paul, and you have heard it from Peter, now they are some pretty reliable sources!!!

All these things WILL work to your good and all these things WILL produce every quality needed to be productive in the Kingdom of God.
If you are “new” please stay close and active in a good Bible believing church, read along with them, find ministers that you enjoy hearing and enjoy the word, don’t pressure yourself or let anyone else pressure you, the only opinion of you that should matter is God’s and He is awesome and will teach you all things.

Find a good prayer partner that you can trust, that can pray with you when life comes at you or temptation comes calling and if you fall of the boat, repent and get back on the boat!

And keep trying, IT WILL GET BETTER, and IT WILL GET EASIER.
If you are in group two, seek the old paths and surround yourself with prayer warriors and try to spend time with older ones who have been there and done that and they WILL encourage you and give you godly advice that is imperative to stay on track in your calling.

And the best news is this, once you successfully war against an attack of the enemy, he will no longer use that same weapon, because it is no longer effective.

Once you make it through a tough battle you will soon find that the battle made you stronger and you will be able to stand against attacks that would have put you out earlier in your ministry.

You will also be better at seeing attacks coming and be prepared more easily, not to say there will never be blind sides, but when it is said and done, you will be glad you stayed the course, because medals are not just given, they must be won.
Φλογιζω NB/2016 REVISITED 08/15/2021 Praying someone will be encouraged by this thought TODAY! **REVISTED 08/20/2022** God’s Word is forever the same.

April 9, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Sorrow and Praise”