Be Strong And Courageous - God Will Make A Way (With Videos by Don Moen)

There will be more words of encouragement in this article.  We all need encouragement even in "normal" times, and especially now when things such as the lock down have drastically altered our lives.

Our main encouragement should be from the good Lord and from His Holy Word, the Bible.  And do not forget to spend much time in prayer.  As stated many times previously on this blog, God and Jesus want to fellowship with us!  We do that, of course, by prayer and Bible reading.  The Bible is God's Love Letter to us, as well as His Instruction Manual.  From spending time in God's Word, we learn of His love for us as well as His many attributes and character, which in turn makes us love Him and Jesus even more.  The more we fellowship with Him, the more we will develop a strong, living and vibrant, and close relationship with Him - a relationship that will grow and blossom into something beautiful and lasting for all eternity!

Jesus tells us at Mark 12:30-31 : "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  And the second is like, namely, this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  There is none other commandment greater than these."

Yesterday I discovered that the singer Don Moen has his own you  tube channel.  My favorite song by him is "God will make a way."  Most of you are no doubt familiar with it.  Here it is for you :

Search for Don's you tube channel by entering there:  Don Moen tv

Here is a wonderful 8 minute sample of one of his devotions at his channel.

It is titled:  "Promises from God's Word  -  Be strong and take courage"

"Faith is not to get you out of a hard place but to change your heart IN the hard place."  -  Pastor David Wilkerson

"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked."   -    Psalm 97:10

"Trust in Him at all times; ye people; pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us." -  Psalm 62:8

"He only is my rock and my salvation.  He is my defence; I shall not be moved."  -   Psalm 62:2

Following is an encouraging devotion from Charles Spurgeon, based on the Scripture at Isaiah 51:5 which says, "On My arm shall they trust."

Spurgeon tells us: " In seasons of severe trial, the Christian has nothing on earth that he can trust to, and is therefore compelled to cast himself on his God alone.  When his vessel is on its beam-ends and no human deliverance can avail, he must simply and entirely trust himself to the providence and care of God.  Happy storm that wrecks a man on such a Rock as this!  O blessed hurricane that drives the soul to God and God alone!  There is no getting at our God sometimes because of the multitude of our friends,  but when a man is so poor, so friendless, so helpless that he has nowhere else to turn, he flies into his Father's arms, and is blessedly clasped therein !  When he is burdened with troubles so pressing and so peculiar, that he cannot tell them to any but his God, he may be thankful for them; for he will learn more of his LORD than at any other time.  Oh, tempest-tossed believer, it is a happy trouble that drives thee to thy Father !  Now that thou hast only God to trust to, see that thou puttest thy full confidence in Him.  Dishonor not thy LORD and Master by unworthy doubts and fears, but be strong in faith, giving glory to God.  Show the world that thy God is worth ten thousand worlds to thee.  Show rich men how rich thou art in thy poverty when the Lord God is thy helper.  Show the strong man how strong thou art in thy weakness when underneath thee are the Everlasting Arms.  Now is the time for feats of faith and valiant exploits.  Be strong and very courageous, and the Lord thy God shall certainly, as He built the heavens and the earth, glorify Himself in thy weakness, and magnify His might in the midst of thy distress.  The grandeur of the arch of heaven would be spoiled if the sky were supported by a single visible column, and your faith would lose its glory if it rested on anything discernible by the carnal eye.  May the Holy Spirit give you to rest in Jesus ....."

Very heartening and hopeful words above from this "Prince of Preachers", as Spurgeon has been called.  Hopefully his devotion and some Scriptures in this post will encourage you to keep on keeping on in today's troubled world.

"Don't let your focus move from God to your circumstances.  God always keeps His promise."   -  Dr. Charles Stanley

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."    -   Jesus at John 14:27

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.  And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know."  -   Jesus at John 14:1-4

Jesus' words above at John 14:1-4 gives us hope and helps us to endure until He returns to take us home to be with Him in heaven.  Which may be very very soon, the way His signs of the end times are now playing out -  found at Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.

Luke 21:28 is where Jesus has been referring to the signs of the end times (which we are now living in)  and then gives us hope by saying "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

If you are not a true believer in the Savior, Jesus Christ, it is urgent that you consider that your eternity will be in hell, unless you repent and turn to Jesus in faith, and believe that His shed blood at Calvary can wash you clean.... wipe the slate clean, so to speak.  Your sins will be forgiven.  Salvation is not difficult.  We simply need to become as little children, who are trusting and humble and obedient to their parents.

"... Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."     -  Jesus at Matthew 18:3-4

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."    Jesus at John 3:16

Wake Up ! Urgent Times Are Upon Us! (Two Videos By Pastor J.D. Farag: One A Prophecy Update And The Other Proof Of The Pre-Tribulation Rapture)

In Pastor J.D. Farag's  Bible Prophecy Update of Sunday, January 19, 2020, which follows, he made a wonderful comment concerning true followers of Jesus..... that they have "a life assurance policy for eternity and that Jesus paid the premium !"  How awesome is that!

Romans 13:11-14 tells us: (11) "And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.  (12) The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. (13) Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.   (14) But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof."

Jesus' return is imminent.....it could happen at any time!  Pastor Farag believes that in 2020 God will get everyone's attention in any enormous way for them to realize that the present time is definitely the end times  prophesied in the Bible.   Following is the pastor's excellent prophecy update which is 32 minutes long:

Following is another sermon by Pastor J.D. Farag which gives a wonderful typology of how the ancient Jewish wedding was a picture of the soon Rapture of Christ's Bride (the Church).  It is a fascinating account and please listen to all of this 44 minute video which was also posted on Sunday, January 19, 2020. The main purpose of this following sermon is to prove  the Bible supports the Pre-Tribulation belief that the true followers of Jesus will be raptured before the Tribulation.   It is excellent information and presented so clearly that it grows your faith and understanding.

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 tells us:  (16) "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: (17) Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words."

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be:  but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."  -  1 John 3: 2-3

Think Russia, Turkey, Iran Alliance - Think End Times Upon Us (With Videos)

I have written often on various end time Bible prophesies.  Go to the above right on this page where you see the Search box and type in "end times,  the Rapture, the Tribulation, mark of the beast" and other terms pertaining to various Bible prophecies and previous posts on those topics will pop up for you to view. I write about such subjects because I feel the urgency of these perilous days we find ourselves living in now, and because believers are urged by the Lord to spread His Word.  Bible prophecy is approximately 1/3 of the contents found in God's Holy Word, and many have come to faith in Jesus upon learning we are in the last days, and that the Bible predicts the future and that much of what is happening now was foretold in its pages.  But, of course, also because Jesus is the only way to heaven, and those who put their faith and trust in Him, believing Him to be the Savior of all who surrender to Him, will have everlasting life. 

"Jesus said unto her,  I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this? "  -  John 11:25-26

Following is a  19 minute video focusing primarily on Ezekiel 38 and the recent alliance of Russia, Turkey, and Iran.  It features pastors Don Stewart and Jack Hibbs.  

Ezekiel 38:1-3 tells us, (1)" And the word of the Lord came unto me saying, (2) Son of man, set thy face against Gog the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, (3)  And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:"

Ezekiel 38 then lists the countries that will ally themselves with Gog to go against Israel in an effort to destroy Israel.  All of those countries are right now in place preparing to come against Israel very soon, by all indications.  If we are that close to the Ezekiel 38 and Ezekiel 39 war, then we must be ever so close to the time when Jesus returns to take us home with Him !!

I urge you to please read all of Ezekiel 38 as well as Ezekiel 39.

Following is another video (56 minutes in length), with a sermon by Jack Hibbs and also a sermon by Amir Tsarfati, which pertain to being ready for our "visitation" soon: the return of Jesus.  Both sermons refer to the recent alliance of Russia, Turkey, and Iran.  Amir Tsarfati reminds us that "The whole prophetic aspect of the Bible is all about Jesus."   He also warns us that, "People who don't know the time of their visitation cannot escape the calamity."

We should "occupy' until Jesus returns.  That means, besides normal activities such as your job, you should be busy telling others about Jesus and His soon return.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:  and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."  -  Matthew 28:19-20

Be watchful !  Be ready !

"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."   -  Luke 21:28

"Therefore, be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."                     -  Matthew 24:44