JaNina B.

“Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.” (Luke 15:22 ESV) I have carried myself around as someone who had no divine ownership. I’ve acted like a peasant and not a family member of God, accepting scraps because I thought that was my worth, when all along God has placed a robe of grace and love over my shoulders that I was blind to until now.  The love of God is like the love that the prodigal son’s father had for him. This father allowed his son to make choices that he knew were harmful because his son had the free will to do so. It was not that the son didn’t know better, he just lacked the maturity to know that that he belonged to a father that loved him. This goes beyond wealth; this is a family’s name that the son wanted to take off for a season in order to identify with a world that was never for his good in the first place. “Put a ring on his hand.” (Luke 22 ESV) The ring placed...

“Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ ” (Genesis 16:13) Hagar was unexpected. She was an Egyptian maid who turned into a baby mama, given to a man so that his wife could bear a son before her time of blessing had come. and she was a track star. My girl was a track star too. She got out of the house of Abram so fast when she became mistreated. Hagar never asked to be placed in the position to become a wife while still being called a maid. Her yes impacted her greatly and a ‘beef’ was the result.  Hagar knew the house rules, “We serve the big G and not the little g’s over here.” She saw Abram praying and observed him meeting with God, but then it happened. Sari commissioned her, and she was given to a man. Hager was never really asked, she was never really considered a wife and was more lik...

“Be still, and know that I am God”- Psalm 46:10a KJV Today as I was driving to work, anxious, knowing that I needed Jesus, I saw “In God I trust”, and “ Be still and know” on two separate cars, one after the other. I needed both things, and that is what I am clinging to. The past can make you feel as if you are in a track meet running from it. It seems faster and more advance within the race, but God says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Being still in a world full of thoughts is its own task, but the command of God is bigger than that. “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words.”                      -John 14:23a Above anything, God’s word is the answer. It is what halts the past and brings stillness instead of constant worrying. I considered Moses today. This man, who literally ran from his past, was asked to lead others to a future that God...

  “ The Spirit of the Sovereign  Lord  is on me,    because the  Lord  has anointed me  to proclaim good news to the poor.   He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,  to proclaim freedom for the captives   and release from darkness for the prisoners,   to proclaim the year of the  Lord ’s favor ,  and the day of vengeance of our God,  to comfort all who mourn,   and provide for those who grieve in Zion ,  to bestow on them a crown of beauty     instead of ashes,   the oil of joy   instead of mourning,   and a garment of praise   instead of a spirit of despair .  They will be called oaks of righteousness,  a planting of the  Lord   for the display of his splendor. ” - Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV   A vessel of God told me to write the real story. The one that was uncut, raw, and honest. I was to write the TR...