July 26, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

The Immeasurable Magnitude of Mercy…

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36

Mercy, the greatest gift one can show another and none could ever come close to the kind of mercy Jesus shows and has shown.

Likewise no mercy will ever compare to the mercy shown us when He took our place on the cross and took all the punishment, pain, and torture for the wrong of all mankind.

Which means to tolerate beyond any reasonable expectation the behavior of another, and can be equated also to what Jesus spoke of when He said, “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”

Which means in Old English means two, but for the record Jesus didn’t speak Old English, of course being God He certainly can speak any language He wants, but I point that out also in this mercy post, because they are some who get really upset if you leave out a “thee” or “thou” when trying to relay messages from the word.

Dealing with that issue really teaches the double edge of mercy.

Being merciful in not brow beating another for an innocent infraction and flip it over and forbear when we are browbeaten for that misquote.

We seem to be running a little crazy in society right now, we have mercy only in the areas that mean something to us.

I am so thankful that so many have joined the causes of anima rights and believe wholeheartedly in that and believe that God’s word is very clear on HIS thoughts on the subject, since the angel in the Bible story that you can read in the link above, clearly expressed great anger to the wicked Balaam because he had beat the donkey, so I certainly do not want to dismiss mercy shown by ANYONE to ANYTHING because the world needs help in ALL areas.

But I do not understand how people can feel that strongly and protective of the others of God’s creation and how they can literally fight for the environment, I firmly believe in and support that also, I have never written on it but think about these words from Revelation 11:18, it deals with the wrath of God and the ends goes like this “…and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”

It was all gifted to us from God and we have destroyed it and ourselves through wickedness.

But I fail to understand how one can love the trees, the wilderness, flowers, and butterflies and yet have no problem whatsoever with the slaughter of millions of babies, our own species, a year.

And I can’t understand how anyone in the name of science can say they want to cure diseases and save lives and find cures and yet can be so evil and unmerciful to torture animals in researching those cures and even worse the cosmetic industry, like, “Oh, I love your long lashes, wonder how many animals were blinded in the process of coming up with that lengthening formula?

Certainly can’t understand the concept, which can be pretty predominant in certain crowds of “don’t kill those babies, but string that murderer up” folks, we can’t have both.

And I will show you why in just a bit.

As a society these lines are becoming more and more blurred and the fight for perceived mercy and acceptance toward some is causing absolute merciless and hatred spewed at others that have different thoughts on the subject at hand.

What is this leading up to?

Well, often the thought is the ends justify the means and people can become absolutely obsessed with their “cause” so much so, that cause becomes more of a militant mission and what can start off as a heart in the right place can turn very dark when met with anger and intolerance from the opposition, Regardless of what those disagreements pertain to.

Because right and wrong can only be truly measured by the Word Of God and His standards of behavior and justice, everything else is OUR human opinions and PERSONAL standards.

As my favorite saying goes, “All that glitters is not gold” and just because someone says that are a “Christian” does in no way mean that they are following Christ.

Jesus told us that we would know them by their fruit a good tree can not bear bad fruit nor a bad one good, so we KNOW by their actions, which truly speak louder that words, where they really stand with God.

The devil can quote Bible scripture, he tried to use them against Jesus when Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days, he knows more about the word, probably than many of us, because he has been around since creation.

And the Bible gives us warning after warning about “false preachers'” and “false teachers” and those who are “wolves in sheep clothing” the devil himself, we are told, “can transform into an angel of light” and that “IF it were possible”, the very elect, God’s CHOSEN “would EVEN be deceived” but God will not allow that.

So when people fall to the wrong beliefs and TURN on God this is what FILLS that place in their heart and soul that should be filled by Him.

Romans 1:22, 28-32: “Professing THEMSELVES to be wise, they became fools.

And even as they did NOT like to retain God in their knowledge, God GAVE them over to a reprobate MIND, to do those things which are NOT convenient (fitting);

BEING FILLED WITH ALL UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; FULL of envy, murder, debate (strife), deceit, malignity (evil-mindedness),whisperers,

Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful (violent), proud, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents.

WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING, covenantbreakers, WITHOUT natural affection, implacable (unforgiving), UNMERCIFUL;

Who KNOWING the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

Sound familiar? If not, try turning on the television sometimes and check out the news and you will see plenty of it.

Mercy is OUR choice and once we lose sight of just what mercy entails will are in for a world of hurt.

Mercy and truth co-exist and you can not truly have one without the other.

Psalm 85:9-13: “Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set US in the way of his steps.”

Hopefully you can see by the bold and underlined where this is going, once mercy comes into play it brings forth truth because in order to show mercy we must look at our own actions and based on the GOLDEN RULE X2 we realize many truths.

Especially the endless mercies that God has shown us in our lifetimes. Mercy and truth help produce righteousness (right-standing with God) and peace, that peace that also allows for that forbearing mercy.

Then we can be blessed of God and he will direct our paths in Him.

So whether it is resisting the temptation to spread some juicy gossip, or the need to take ten and calm down that last nerve someone is getting on, or being proactive in choices that represent your conviction of mercy, or even as a far greater act of mercy, when it is in your power, one form or another to destroy another person, be it their reputation, their job security, or whatever it may be and you choose NOT to, because THAT is the kind of mercy Jesus has shown us,.

He could have destroyed this entire universe and simply spoke another into existence. He could have left us all to die in our sins, He could have chosen NOT to cast those forgiven sins “into the sea of forgetfulness” and He could have reminded us every single day of what we had done wrong.

But He doesn’t, and our sins, once forgiven are “as far as the east is to the west”.

And mercy is what He expects us to show if we EXPECT mercy from Him.

He is just and absolutely fair in His judgments toward us and we truly are returned what we are willing to give another, with no room for self-righteous condemnations of others.

Just as the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector Luke 18:10-14, the Pharisee was all up on himself TELLING God how fabulous he had been and how much better he was than “THAT tax collector” and tax collector confessed his sins and ASKED for mercy and Jesus commended Him in His Word, that he was the one that actually was right with God that day.

What counts with God is the things that NO ONE sees, that is just as important, being diligent when no one else even knows, because someone DOES KNOW and that someone is God. So go that extra mile even when you don’t feel like it, look over thoughts and actions that you may not necessarily agree with when there is nothing to be harmed by looking over that.

Be merciful at every opportunity, to give love, kindness, and show mercy, even in the little things, don’t get mad at the dog, don’t squish that bug just because it is there, don’t throw out the cat, don’t punish your child out of simple anger, the things we put so much stock in is not even going to matter in the end.

All that is going to matter is the choices you have made, not that society made for you, but you made for yourself.

I told you I’d show you why, Psalm 18:24-26: “Therefore the Lord hath recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright:

With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; with the froward (devious) thou wilt shew thyself froward (shrewd).”

He WILL mirror back to use our own image in these things and sometimes that is not very pretty, we NEED all the mercy we can get.

James 2:12,13:” So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

For he shall have JUDGEMENT WITHOUT MERCY, THAT HATH SHEWED NO MERCY; AND MERCY REJOICETH AGAINST JUDGEMENT..” Which means mercy is gentle, kind, and forgiving and does NOT seek retaliation or to harm simply because it is socially acceptable to do so.

Such as, in my state, it was perfectly legal for a man to beat his spouse until the nineteen eighties, but do you think this made it okay?

Do you think that God is going to look over that if they do not repent?

No, He is not, just because we “can” do something does NOT make it right.

But how many guys do you think probably took full advantage of that “right” to abuse spouses, run roughshod over families, destroy lives, and be cock of the roost.

My point. and will end it right here:

Hosea 6:6: “ For I DESIRED mercy (faithfulness) , and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.“

Thanks for reading! Thanks for your patience with me and thank you to my followers, I appreciate every single person who takes time out of their life to read this blog. God bless you till next time! Love & Peace! Φλογιζω NBJ 2019

Original post date : 03/05/2019 REVISTED & links added 07/26/2022 Rev. N. Brown Johnson

January 27, 2022 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

VIEWPOINTS “It’s all how you choose to see it.”

“Then the king of Syria warred against Israel, and took counsel with his servants, saying, In such a place shall be my camp.

And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, Saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place; for thither (there) shall the Syrians come down.

And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there, not once or twice (watched there multiple times).

Therefore the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for (because of) this thing; and he called his servants, and he said unto them, Will ye not shew me which of us is for the king of Israel, (who is the spy)?

And one of his servants said, None, my lord, O king: but Elisha, the prophet that is in Israel. telleth the king of Israel the words taht thou speaketh in thy bedchamber.

And he said, Go and spy where he is, that I may send and fetch him. And it was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan.

Therefore sent he thither horses, and chariots, and a great host (army); and they came by night, and compassed the city about (surrounded the city).

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed (surrounded) the city both with horses and with chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master (teacher)! how (what) shall we do?

And he answered, Fear not for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about (surrounding) Elisha.

And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord, and said, Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness according to the word of Elisha.

And Elisha said unto them, This is not the way, neither is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom ye seek, but he led them to Samaria.

And it came to pass, when they were come into Samaria, that Elisha said, Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria.

And the king of Israel said unto Elisha, when he saw them, My father, shall I smite (kill) them? shall I smite them?

And he answered, Thou shalt not smite them, wouldest thou smite (would you kill) those whom thou hast taken captive with thy sword and thy bow? set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master (leader).

And he prepared great provision (a large meal) for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master (leader). So the bands (armies) of Syria came no more into the land of Israel.” 2 Kings 6:8-23

Now that is a story with many different viewpoints, viewpoint literally meaning, “The position from which something is observed or considered.’

The king of Syria wanted to set an ambush so he advised his army and yet his plans were made known to those he wished to attack with his secret plot.

The king of Syria’s viewpoint, his own logic, convincing him that there must surely be a spy among his men, revealing his secret plots to Israel, but much to his dismay, this was no human revelation, this was the hand of God divinely protecting his chosen Israel by revealing to his prophet Elisha, all that was spoken in the king’s most secret of strategic planning’s.

As he sent his army forth to bring Elisha to him so he could answer this question himself, but again God intervened and as Elisha’s servant was horrified at the sight of what he saw in natural, he was shown a supernatural viewpoint, he was allowed to see into the spirit realm, which revealed the host of heaven which had been sent on their behalf.

The sight of the armies of Syria paling in comparison to the chariots of fire which surrounded Elisha, have you thought about the Lord’s protection that surrounds you in your own life?

Moving through these viewpoints, one was given supernatural vision while those of the army’s natural vision was taken, and as they were led to the very one in whom they were to attack, whose first question was whether or not they should be killed, they were considered the enemy, and not just an enemy but an aggressive enemy whose plan was to ambush and destroy them, so it would probably have been strange to the king of Israel when he was asked to consider yet another point of view, would he have treated these prisoners differently had the circumstance been different or should he just destroy them because they were now helpless before him.

The Syrian army now being given the viewpoint of mercy, as their eyes were opened before they face of whom they considered an enemy, who held the power to destroy them, but instead they were shown kindness and grace, even given a good meal before being freed, sound like something Jesus may have taught us?

“Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.” Luke 6:28

And here’s why, Romans 12:17-21: ” Recompense (repay) to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

If it be possible, as much, as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, VENGEANCE IS MINE; I WILL REPAY, saith the Lord.

Therefore IFTHINE ENEMY HUNGER, FEED HIM; IF HE THIRST, GIVE HIM DRINK; FOR IN DOING THOU SHALT HEAP COALS OF FIRE ON HIS HEAD.

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

By being supernaturally rendered helpless and shown undeserved mercy and kindness, the point of view was changed for the Syrians and as we read the armies of Syria no more tried to ambush or trouble Israel.

As we are told in our scriptures, which by the way, that is the capitalization from the Bible, to pray for them and to feed them if they are hungry, showing that mercy and that kindness we are turning that over to God.

And again, as with all these teaching posts that is not to encourage us to to be doormats as it is often mistaught.

I do not believe that God wants us to continue in unsafe situations, but I understand these passages as just as happened in the story above.

If God allows you to know of an impending “plot” or even if you are blindsided by one, and then he allows that enemy or those who would plot and scheme against you, to suddenly be bare and vulnerable before you, giving them a whole new point of view, when they have maybe persecuted you, lied on you, or just treated you terribly in general, and you are now they one in position to show that mercy and that grace, the grace of God in you proving to be bigger than the malice that have shown to be in them can and will bring about an entirely new viewpoint in them.

An example, maybe not a good one, but such as you knew the person who tormented you was having an affair or some other situation you find yourself in concerning them where you have the opportunity to really mess up their world and while that would be tempting and probably well deserved, look at it this way, the same God who allowed Elisha’s servant’s eyes to be opened allowed you to be in the position to take that vengeance against someone who hurt you, but just because you are in that position, does not mean that that is what he would want you to do.

We are blessed when we trust his word and trust that he repays all, and once mercy is shown, especially to those who would never expect if from you because they know the hurt they caused, that opens the door for conviction from God to come into their lives, leading to repentance, and finally into as the Syrian army toward Israel, that never again will they come against you.

Is that easy? Of course not!

It’s tempting to “sock it to them” when they have tried to sock it to you, but don’t do it, God will reward your mercy and your compassion on those who have shown you none.

And as Elisha’s servant saw all the help that help that surrounded them, I hope this encourages you to see the the help that surrounds you today, and that help is not only the host of heaven and the angels that God promised to us, to surround us and to protect us, but also, more importantly, the help that you have in God, himself.

” I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help comes from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved (allow you to fall) he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is my keeper (protector): the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve the from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.” Psalm 121

Whatever it may look like today, check out another point of view and ask God to allow you to see his way.

Blessing and peace till next time! Thanks for reading!!

Φλογιζω NBJ 2022/ Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

August 20, 2021 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“ASCENSION” PART3 / CLIMB

Song of Solomon 4:6: “Until the day break, and the shadows flee, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense.”
Mountain climbing, some saying simply “because it is there” but that really doesn’t get it in the spirit world now does it?
That verse tells us a couple of things, we are going somewhere, to the mountain of myrrh, where we will die to our flesh and shed all the excess junk we are carrying on this trip, because the higher we climb the more junk and baggage we will toss to lighten the load and make it easier to climb.
The hill of frankincense, the place of effective spiritual intercession is our goal and we have determined that we will get there and we will stay there until day breaks over the spirit world and the shadows of death and hell flee away.
The myrrh is a mountain and the hill is frankincense because the hardest part of dying to our own flesh and coming to the place of purification that we can stand in that place of prayer, it is NOT about being a great person or most “spiritual” it is about having a heart for God.
As David said, the one thing he would seek after to inquire in the temple and worship God in the beauty of HIS holiness, (not ours) once that is accomplished the intercession isn’t quite daunting a task.
It takes a determination, a very wise man once chatted with me about a very simple biblical truth, “many are called but few are chosen” many are saved and are happy right where they are and that is perfectly okay, but God is looking for those who seek more, who are aware of the needs of others and KNOW there are greater works to be done in these precious, blessed last days.
They have the heart as Isaiah’s which echoes “Here am I Lord, send me” and those will be his chosen vessels to accomplish the works and bring in the harvest.
There are nine spiritual gifts, and I do believe there will be people who the Lord flows these gifts through on an as needed basis.
So many have chosen not to seek the gifts God has given them, but the work still has to get done and I do believe it will be by a multi-tasking army.
So some may start climbing that mountain and decide it is a little too steep and the trip is just not worth it, and ask “How do we even know anything is up there anyway?”
Some may have to stop on the way and reach down to help another back up and there may be times that we are carrying each other until strength returns.
You have to know why you want to climb that mountain, I determined long ago that I’d climb the bloody thing or I would die on the way up, because I know my motivation, I know my prayers to the only one who holds it all in his nail scarred hands, when I just want to tell him just how much I can’t do this, how I just simply cannot go one more step, I remember, I remember he was completely stripped, beaten beyond recognition and brutally nailed to a cross and displayed for the whole world to ridicule and he did it because he had a mountain to climb, the hill of the ultimate intercession, a hill named Calvary, the intercession to save all of mankind, and the only way for him to do that was to climb that hill.
Then I remember, he forever holds me, I have no strength in me, but through him I can do all things, and I ask myself what am I climbing for anyway?
I climb on behalf of every child that lives in horror and abuse, I climb for every animal tortured, I climb for every victim of ethnic cleansing after seeing the hollow soul stripped eyes on CNN of the genocidal rape victims of the Taliban, I climb for every elderly person that lives at the complete mercy of others in nursing homes and privately.
I climb out of my pain, the awareness that there are stripe scars on my soul so deep that they are my cross to be borne, and a very personal vendetta against hell itself, to see it brought to its knees and maybe the chance to scream a list of “things that are just not nice to do to people” at Satan when Jesus casts him and his angels into an eternal fire of hell.
If you could see this mountain in the spirit world, I think you would have to compare it to stairs, the light of that place being the soft glow of lamplight and a single file journey, an ascension upward of prayers, starting with the gathering censers of incense ( prayers of the saints) and as they persist, maybe feeling like they aren’t getting anywhere at first, oh, but it is, as they climb higher and higher, a change takes place, that cumbersome clothing will become robes, symbolic of the covering of the righteousness of God.

The censers of incense will become the effectual, fervent spoken prayer of the righteous offered up in the presence of God unlike anything some of them have ever known.
The Holy Spirit leads us, the Holy Ghost overtakes us, and while you know all that, there is a manifestation of his presence, just as when he came to the disciples and Paul, you may not see him but you will know he is standing right there.
On that mountain top, or after the ascension of those spiritual “stairs”, however you choose to relate to it, it will be “Ask and it shall be given” And if this is your desire, get your motivation, remember those you “climb” for, keep climbing till you reach the top.

Psalm 65:4:“Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts; we will be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple.”

Psalm 12:7: “For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, Now will I arise, saith the Lord: I will set him in safety from him that puffeth (torments) at him.”
Remember why you climb, and climb.

Ascension Part1 Night watchmen Ascension part 2 Intercession

June 15, 2019 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

“Grinding the ax” #4 “STRANGLE HOLD”

“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest thy be discouraged.” Colossians 3:21

Our fathers, the first and foremost man in our formative years. And if you have a good one, that is great and will be a guaranteed blessing over your entire life. But what about the fathers who are warned in the verse above?

This verse is actually almost verbatim in Ephesians 6:4:” And ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture (training) and admonition OF the Lord.”

So we are being told what NOT to do and exactly what we should do. Children who are constantly “ridden” by their parents, who are made to feel whether intentionally or unintentionally that they are never quite good enough, or “perform” well enough to “earn” the love that they should have naturally received from that parent.

I do know this verse specifies fathers, but we know the damage mothers can do is equally as damaging.

And we could pull a truck load of stats on the completely dysfunctional mother/son relationships that are often prominent among serial killers.

So what I want to focus on the relationship of fathers to daughters and the relationships that are formed later in life.

I also want to bring into the mix the fact that often when women have had extremely dominating fathers and whether that consisted of physical abuse alongside the obvious emotional damage that is caused, that seems to put the pattern in place.

But testosterone is a funny thing and soul debilitating dominance lorded over women is not ALWAYS by their fathers. It can come later in life through a boyfriend, husband, or even male friends who can become quite the material for a medieval tale of when black knights begin to suffer from white knight syndrome .

When “friendship” leads to the need to control your life, and demand answers for your every move that is no longer friendship, that IS control. Male dominance has been and is still our toughest battle regardless of what role that male has in our life.

But for some, it is a short path from growing up with a horrid father to marrying an even worse husband.

So how did it start? People taking the word of God and their DISTORTED view of God and applying THEIR carnality to it. Just as God answered it in his word:

Judges 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel: EVERY MAN DID THAT WHICH WAS RIGHT IN HIS OWN EYES.”

And things have certainly NOT been right and are still NOT right.

But with the revelation of Isaiah 33:22: “For the Lord IS our judge, the Lord IS our lawgiver, the Lord IS our king; HE WILL SAVE US.”

We know things can and must change. Cruelty and wickedness hiding behind the disguise of goodness and righteousness is nothing new.

The devil himself pretending through the serpent to be a friend to Eve, the wicked all through the Bible whispering into the ears of those who would hear, plans of how to destroy another and thereby having them also destroy themselves.

“Spare the rod, spoil the child” taken so far out of context and USED specifically as a Biblical justification for nothing more than truly sadistic people to senselessly beat children.

If you doubt me on that, web search a few cases of children being adopted and even born into supposedly christian families taken away, rescued out of horrendous abuse. People have even written books advocating these UNGODLY practices.

The old Testament ALSO had a law on stoning your son.. IF he were a drunkard.. how many little kids drink again?

Listen what Jesus told the Pharisees when they were hassling him about the OT marriage laws.

Mark 10:3-5; “And he answered and said,unto them, What did Moses command you? and they said, Moses suffered (PERMITTED) to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, (Because) For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.”

Meaning that they WERE given these severe laws because of their own hardness.

But God reveals His thoughts through His word, James 2:13: “For he SHALL have judgment WITHOUT mercy who hath shewed (shown) NO MERCY; and mercy rejoiceth against (TRIUMPHS OVER) judgment.”

It is like this, just because we are technically allowed to do something DOES NOT mean that is what God desires for us to do it.

Micah 6:8:” He hath shewed thee, O man, ( all people), what IS good; and what doth (does) the Lord require of thee, but to do justly and LOVE MERCY (loving kindness),and to walk humbly with thy God?

So if all of this coupled with stories such as when the angel of the Lord put the smack down on Balaam and lined him out for hitting the donkey (Numbers 22:27-33), doesn’t prove that God want us to ALL be kind toward each other and to also BE treated kindly, I don’t know what more could.

Just as treating children harshly came from the thoughts of people doing what they wanted.

We also got pulled into the “submission” trap. The Bible does truly say, “wives submit unto your own husbands” but again that is something that has been taken and RAN wild with, as if we were some sort of inferior creation that God placed here for men.

Oh I don’t think so.

Submission means to RESPECT your husband, to care about his feelings and not treat him like dirt, don’t make fun of him, and emotionally emasculate him by being that “brawling” woman spoken of in Proverbs.

God’s intentions for this was that the husband SHOULD be exactly what His word said for him to be.

And in this a husband was to be “submitted” to, as in a place of safety and a place of trust, such as that verse goes on to say “as unto the Lord”.

And I would love to hear the excuses that so many are going to try to give the Lord as to why they betrayed this TRUST that he had given them with their wives and children, and it’s not going to be a pretty picture!

So it DOES NOT mean we are subservient, or a lesser in God’s eyes.

It means that we SHOULD have that protective, nurturing, place if we ever need and at times we all do.

We covered His word in the last post of how He EXPECTS His daughters to be treated and seeing that even in a nation where women have many rights and “hold our own” we can all attest to our numbers of domestic violence, for all the strides we have made, in this area, we have gone backward!

We ARE more free. We HAVE more resources. We HAVE better laws and protection. So what went wrong? Why do we have these statistics that say we are NOT free by any stretch of imagination?

We are still trapped somewhere in our psyches by the lies of the past and the misogynistic teachings of generations before and we want to HIDE that pain and we are giving over to absolutely FALSE sense of shame by not speaking out.

That is what the enemy WANTS and just as he lied to Eve, he is lying to so many women about their past and keeping them in a “strangle hold” that prevents them from moving FORWARD.

Merriam-Webster definition two of the term “STRANGLE HOLD” is this: “A FORCE OR INFLUENCE THAT CHOKES OR SUPPRESSES FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT OR EXPRESSION.”

If we have that past or are presently living with dominance, harshness, physical, or emotional abuse that is exactly what is happening to us.

The reason the devil has perfected it is because if you have had these experiences with men, especially fathers or husbands, HOW on earth can you “submit” to a being who is male?

When women are brainwashed into BELIEVING that they are subservient and God hates them, why would they seek Him?

The devil bagged and tagged on this one and we have to stop him!

We stop him by NOT taking anyone’s word for who we are or who God created us to be. Study God’s word and discover for yourself!

And when you reach the verses stating that “women are to be silent” and “i suffer not a woman to teach…” STUDY the background with a good dictionary/history Bible and you will find that Paul was talking to a specific group of people AT THAT TIME. Because a group of women were “gunning” for him and trying to bring in false teachings and for that PERIOD IN TIME, he forbade them to speak so he could PROTECT the Gospel.

Need a little more reassurance, dig this, Galatians 3:23,28: “But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith that should afterwards be revealed.

Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

But after THAT faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For YE ALL ARE THE CHILDREN OF GOD by faith in Jesus Christ.

For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. There is NEITHER Jew nor Greek, there is NEITHER bond nor free, THERE IS NEITHER MALE NOR FEMALE; FOR YE ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST.”

That is a good verse to put to anyone who wants to argue Paul’s teachings with you…. he wrote that. He wrote the verses used to silence women and he wrote the verse that proved otherwise, all true, but taken out of context by those who WANT to twist those verses to justify their own prejudices.

It’s time to separate God from the men who claim to represent him! If you are dealing with these issues or dealing with the past issues, PLEASE talk to Him, talk to Him just as if he were in the room sitting there.

I promise He does hear and tell Him how you feel, TRUTHFULLY how you feel, if you end up in tears and “I HATE…” starts coming out of your mouth, LET IT COME because the only way we recover is through submitting that to God and HE KNOWS how we feel and when you have been hurt and are trying to work past it.

God is not going to hold that against you, it is normal to feel that way and once you let it go, you will NO LONGER feel that.

But you have to get it out, ALL of it, at His feet, Hebrews 4:15: “For we have NOT an high priest which cannot be touched WITH THE FEELINGS OF OUR INFIRMITIES…”

Which means Jesus suffered through all the things we do and HE DOES UNDERSTAND any possible thing you could tell Him and he understands with love, compassion, and gentleness toward you and He wants to take it away and give you peace and be those protective arms that hold you through your tears.

But first we must decide that we are slaves no more and no more will we live in the devil’s strangle hold.

There is NO shame in having been a victim and there is courage in admitting that you are a survivor. There is NO shame in needing out NOW and fear is perfectly normal when fighting for your freedom.

We just have to decide which we are WILLING to be. Think about these verses: Isaiah 53:4-6,11: ” Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed; neither shall thou be confounded (disgraced); for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou SHALT FORGET the shame of thy youth, and SHALT NOT REMEMBER the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

For thy Maker is thine husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and the Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

For the Lord hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused (suffered rejection) saith thy God.

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, (tormented and battered by ‘storm”) and NOT comforted. behold, I WILL lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy FOUNDATIONS with sapphires.”

He knows, and He alone can give us that comfort that we have not been given, He alone see the pain of every season we can go through.

And He alone can lay for us that beautiful foundation, built upon Him and His TRUTH. Trust Him, know Him and most of all, let Him know you!

“Grinding the ax” 2… “Real Love?”

“Grinding the ax” #3 “Anger Danger”

*Authors note* This series originally posted on “Alabaster Breaking”, my sister site, that no longer exists. I found it very difficult to maintain both sites and just transferred those most to this, my main site. Thank you

Εξυπνιζω NBJ 2017

Revisited post: 06/15/2019

March 5, 2019 by Rev. Nina Brown Johnson

The Immeasurable Magnitude of Mercy…

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36 Mercy, the greatest gift one can show another and none could ever come close to the kind of mercy Jesus shows and has shown and no mercy will ever compare to the mercy shown us when He took our place on the cross and took all the punishment, pain, and torture for the wrong of all mankind.

The age-old term of “mercy me” literally meaning “have mercy on me” and the dictionary meanings are many a splendid thing :), words such as “benevolence”, “compassion”, “kindness”, “forgiveness”, and the mac daddy of them all is “forbearance” Which means to tolerate beyond any reasonable expectation the behavior of another, and can be equated also to what Jesus spoke of when He said, “And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.”

Dealing with that teaches the double edge of mercy. Being merciful in not brow beating another for an innocent infraction and flip it over and forbear when we are browbeaten for that misquote.

We seem to be running a little crazy in society right now, we have mercy only in the areas that mean something to us.

I am so thankful that so many have joined the causes of animal rights and believe wholeheartedly in that and believe that God’s word is very clear on HIS thoughts on it, if you’d like you can read more about that in OF A DUDE, A DONKEY, AND A VERY ANGRY ANGEL so I certainly do not want to dismiss mercy shown by ANYONE to ANYTHING because the world needs help in ALL areas.

It was all gift ed to us from God and we have destroyed it and ourselves through wickedness.

But I fail to understand how one can love the trees, the wilderness, flowers, and butterflies and yet have no problem whatsoever with the slaughter of millions of babies, our OWN species, a year.

Certainly can’t understand the concept, which can be pretty predominant in certain crowds, of “don’t kill those babies, but string that murderer up” folks, we can’t have both.

And I will show you why in just a bit.

As a society these lines are becoming more and more blurred and the fight for perceived mercy and acceptance toward some is causing absolute mercilessness and hatred spewed at others that have different thoughts on the subject at hand.

What is this leading up to? Well, often the thought is the ends justify the means and people can become absolutely obsessed with their “cause” so much so, that cause becomes more of a militant mission and what can start off as a heart in the right place can turn very dark when met with anger and intolerance from the opposition, Regardless of what those disagreements pertain to.

Because right and wrong can only be truly measured by the Word Of God and His standards of behavior and justice, everything else is OUR human opinions and PERSONAL standards.

Often the wrong teachings of Him as hostile, and wanting to torch everyone has left many wide open to the tricks and snares of the devil and they run AWAY from God because they have seen things from those who profess Christ, that are in NO WAY true representations of Jesus Christ, as my favorite saying goes, “All that glitters is not gold” and just because someone says that are a “Christian” does in no way mean that they are following Christ.

Jesus told us that we would know them by “their fruit” a good tree can not bear bad fruit nor a bad one good, so we KNOW by their actions, which truly speak louder that words, where they really stand with God.