Is This the Year?

So, are you ready for 2017?  What do you anticipate this next year to be like?

Are you excited about the transition from Obama to Trump?

For some folks, that thought creates fear and anxiety.  For others, it leads to rejoicing.

Nevertheless, this is the time of year that I encourage folks to pray through setting their annual goals in a variety of areas of life… spiritual, physical, financial, and career.

And, I want you to do that, but as I look back over 2016 and even some recent world events, I can’t help but wonder if 2017 might be the year our Savior comes for His Bride.

You see, all the key players are in place for the battle described in Ezekiel 38, there are many rabbis preaching that their Messiah is very near, and Israel is being pressured from all sides and by the UN.

Our world seems like a powder keg, and someone has lit the fuse.

So, I guess what I want us to ponder is the question: are we ready for the upward call of Christ Jesus?

What do we need to do to be ready?

First, we need to make sure that we are in a relationship with Jesus, which can only happen by repenting from sin and placing our faith in His shed blood to pay for sin.

Second, we need to surrender to His Life in us as His disciples.

It’s one thing to believe Jesus is the Son of God, but it’s another level of faith to choose to follow Him as Lord.

I believe strongly that this year could be the one that Jesus comes for His Bride — those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior.

So, I want to be found ready as a Jewish Bride would be, if she expected her groom to show up at any moment to sweep her off to the wedding ceremony.

I also don’t want to leave here with the regret of not sharing the gospel with the folks I care about.

How about you?

Are you ready for His return?

If not, what do you need to do this year to be ready?

Who do you need to share the gospel with?

What areas of your life need to be cleaned up with a lifestyle change?

Let me encourage us all to spend some time allowing the Holy Spirit to search us to see what changes He wants us to make, so that we can be prepared to share the gospel and to meet our Bridegroom in the air when His call comes.

I hope you’ll accept this challenge, and I hope you have a blessed 2017.

Happy New Year!

Robyn Henning

The Feast of Trumpets Part 2

Last week, I shared with you about the uniqueness of the start of the Feast of Trumpets.

No other Feast was linked to the start of the New Moon.

And, just as  the exact timing of the first sighting of the New Moon was unknown, so is the exact timing of the Rapture of the church.

While the exact day and hour of Jesus’ coming for His Bride is unknown, He still tells us to watch for the cosmic signs and world events that precede it.

When the disciples asked Him in Acts 1 if He was restoring the kingdom to Israel at that time, He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons…”

Now, the Jews would have seen the allusion in His use of the word seasons to point to the seven Feasts.

Yet, several years later, Paul wrote of the Rapture in his first letter to the Thessalonians saying, “of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need for me to write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.”

Today, we have the advantage as well as the responsibility to understand the season of history in which we now live.

We have the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

We have the list of ‘birth pangs’ like wars, famines. pestilence, earthquakes, comets to tell us that the season is truly upon us.

Jesus tells us that when we see these things to look up for our Redemption draws near.

Some folks say, “So what!  People have always thought the Rapture was near.”

Well, the point is that we have to live with the mindset that expects Him to call us upward at any moment.

If you thought this way, how would that impact your decisions, your relationships, your willingness to share the gospel?

Do you want to be on your way up thinking, “Oh No! I never shared Jesus with…”

The folks that are left behind are here for the Tribulation and reign of the Antichrist — the most horrific time in history.

Who do you want to be caught up with you?  Make a list.

Then, ask them for 15 minutes to share some good news.

If they give you the time, share the message of the cross with them.

• Romans 3:23  “for all have sinned and fal short of the glory of God.”
• Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”
• Romans 5:8  “For God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were yet sinner, Christ died for us.”
• Ephesians 2:8,9  “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not that of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one can boast.”
• Romans 10:9,10  “For if you confess with your mouth, Jesus as Lord and believe in your hear that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved….

It’s their decision to accept or reject Jesus and the Spirit’s job to work in their hearts with faith.

Our job is to share the good news and to live lives that are holy — different than the world around us.

Beloved, our Redeemer is drawing near.

Are you ready for His return?

Maranatha!  Come quickly, Lord Jesus!

Blessings!

Robyn Henning

Are You a Prepper?

Are you a Prepper?

You know, the folks who have stockpiled MRE’s and such, in case the power grid goes down?

Now, I’m not here to mock these folks.

In fact, since my mom went on life sustaining oxygen, I am taking serious steps to have a generator ready to go to power her oxygen concentrator.

I also clearly remember the stress of being without power for five days because of Hurricane Sandy.

So, I’m all for preparing for emergencies.

However, there is something far more important to prepare for, and that’s Jesus’ return for His Bride, the Church.

Paul tells us in his second letter to Timothy that those who look and long for Jesus return shall receive the victor’s crown.

My question to you is, “Are you prepared spiritually to meet Jesus?”

First, have you acknowledged your sin and your need for Jesus’ blood to pay the penalty for your sin?

I hope you have, because you don’t want to be here on earth for the Tribulation years.

Second, for those who are followers of Jesus, are you living with the mindset that He could snatch us up to the Wedding Feast of Revelation 19 at any moment?

Jesus told His disciples that He was going to prepare a place for us and that He would return for His Bride, the Church.

Jesus frequently used the Jewish Bridegroom/Bride ritual to illustrate how He would treat the Church.

He is coming to surprise His Bride and steal us away to His Father’s house to celebrate His Wedding Week (7 years).

Are you prepared?

Are you looking for His return, or is life just business as usual?

Bible Prophecy is not meant to scare us; but, to prepare us.  If you’re not prepared, you will be scared!

Paul tells us to prepare by living out  of His grace which teaches us to say, “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.

Beloved, our Bridegroom is coming and world events are indicating that He is coming soon.

Ask the Spirit to show you any areas where you are compromising with the flesh.

Whatever He shows you, repent.

Ask Him to show you the lie behind the temptation and to speak His truth to the lie.

Then, acknowledge your dependence on Him to express His life through you for His glory!

Blessings!

Robyn

Be Bold!

Does sharing the gospel scare you?

Do you worry that you won’t have the right answers when people challenge the gospel?

Do you worry about being persecuted for your faith?

Then, you are in good company, because the Apostle Paul struggled with all three of these fears.

As he wraps up his armor of God illustration, Paul asks for his readers to pray for two things:

1. Utterance – having the right words to say

2. Boldness – the courage to speak God’s Word without fear of the consequences

I just read a news report today that in Canada, if a candidate held to Biblical moral platform, they were barred from running for public office.

How long before that happens here in the USA?

In this week’s Nugget video, I examine Paul’s two prayer requests and how we need to pray them for each other in the Last Days!

I pray that the Lord brings revival to His church and gives His children utterance and boldness to proclaim the gospel!

Blessings!

Robyn

Do you want to be sure of Heaven?

It’s inevitable. All of us are going to face death someday. Wouldn’t you like to know for certain that when you die, you will be going to heaven? Here’s a concise presentation of the gospel for you to share with your family and friends will help them understand how making Jesus the object of their faith assures them of heaven.

Blessings!
Robyn

Is the Sky Falling? by Robyn Henning

  

Did you see the footage of the meteor that landed in western Siberia?

It was amazing to hear the sonic boom and then see the effects of the concussion as buildings shook and windows shattered.

I can’t imagine the terror those folks felt when this happened without warning.

We had been told to look for the asteroid that was passing 17,000 miles above earth’s atmosphere, but no scientist saw the meteor coming or the one that passed over the U.S. Northwest.

An Associated Press report stated that the explosion of the meteor was equal to the force generated by 20 atomic bombs.  I have seen the footage of the bombing of Hiroshama, but I cannot even begin to comprehend such estimated force that this meteor generated.

The same article stated that the meteor was about the size of a bus and weighed approximately 7,000 tons or 14,000,000 lbs.

I heard a scientist from the Franklin Institute state that they have identified and named 10,000 asteroids of the estimated 1 million flying around in our galaxy.  That’s not exactly comforting statistics to me.

This scientist also admitted that their sophisticated equipment never detected the meteor that hit Russia.  It seems ironic that a small meteor made a bigger news splash than the highly anticipated ‘near miss’of the asteroid.

As I watched the meteor footage, my thoughts turned to the scenes that unfold in Revelation 6 and 8.  Is this meteor a wakeup call from the Lord?

When the sixth seal is broken, there is a great earthquake along with the celestial signs of a solar eclipse and a blood moon.  Then John describes multiple stars falling on the earth.

Was he seeing meteors?

The impact of these falling stars is severe.  They seem to hit earth with enough force to rearrange earth’s surface topography.

People freak out, even national leaders seek to hide in caves and rocks in order to escape from the presence and wrath of the Lamb.

And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.  And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”  (Rev. 6:12-17).

Later in Revelation 8:10-11, John sees a great star which is called Wormwood fall from heaven like a flaming torch, and it leaves one third of the rivers and springs polluted and undrinkable.

“And the third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third of the waters became wormwood; and many men died from the waters, because they were made bitter.”

After seeing the effects of one meteor strike, I can imagine the sheer devastation and chaos that multiple meteor strikes would cause.

We serve the One true and living God who is in control of all things including meteors.  He has given us Revelation so that we will know that He is Who He claims to be.

We are moving closer to the events revealed in Revelation every day.  As His Bride, the Church, are we ready to meet Him in the air?  Are we boldly sharing the gospel or are we too afraid to speak to our unsaved friends for fear of rejection and harassment?

I don’t want anyone to have to be here on earth for the devastating disasters that we see in the Last Days.  I pray for one last great revival on the earth before Jesus comes for His bride.

Revival starts with individual Christians getting their lives in order before the Lord.  We need to evaluate whether we are truly ready for our Bridegroom and then seek to bring many more to a saving faith in Jesus before He comes for His Bride.

God’s Reason for all that He Does

“This day the LORD will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the LORD’S and He will give you into our hands. ” 1 Samuel 17:46-47

These last few weeks I have been teaching through Ezekiel 38-39 in my Ladies ABF class.  I noticed that the LORD repeats His reason for the events of the Battle of Magog eight times in these two chapters.

“They will know that I am the LORD,” is declared in Ezekiel 38:16, 23: 39:6, 7, 21-23, 28.

God’s whole purpose for this amazing battle, earthquake and supernatural destruction of Israel’s enemies is that all of mankind would know that He alone is God.

Then, in the course of my daily Bible reading, I read the famous narrative of the battle between David and Goliath.  Because the Ezekiel verses were fresh in my mind, the purpose of this battle jumped off the page at me – “that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.”

Very few adults have never heard of David and Goliath.  They may not be Christians, but they have heard of this story.

Suddenly, it struck me that the whole reason God shows us His power is that He loves us and wants us to know Him.

Throughout the Old Testament, we read so many accounts of God’s miraculous intervention on behalf of the nation of Israel.  In each case, He is revealing Himself to us in hopes that we will pursue an intimate relationship with Him.

What will be the spiritual outcome of the Battle of Magog?  I hope it is revival and a great harvest of souls into the Kingdom of God.

How will the world react to the LORD’s demonstration of His power and holiness?  Some will be angry at Him for all of the lives lost in the earthquakes, storms, and the battle itself.  Yet, some will come to faith in the Lord Jesus as their Savior as they see the fulfillment of this prophecy.  I hope that many of these will be Jews who embrace Jesus as their Messiah.

Are we, the church, ready to proclaim the gospel as well as minister to hurting people throughout the world as a result of the earthquakes and natural phenomenon?  I hope so.  This could be an unprecedented opportunity to show the love of God by helping the wounded heal and sharing God’s plan of salvation with the spiritually lost.

The situation has quieted down slightly in the Middle East – unless you live in Syria.  Putin plans on visiting Israel in June.  Mostly likely, he will seek to intimidate Netanyahu and Barak in an effort to prevent an attempt to take out Iran’s nuclear facilities.

It is hard to know what Obama’s real position is on Iran and Israel.  He seems to be willing to present a hard line now with the intent to soften his position after his re-election.

I find it comforting to remember that God is in control and not these world leaders.  And, I find it even more comforting that God’s reason for all of history’s events is that we might know that He is LORD!