"Faith And Prayer Move God" - Inspirational Weekend

The title of this post, "Faith And Prayer Move God", is a quote from E.M. Bounds.  In his book on prayer, he stresses that faith and prayer work together.  There is power in prayer!  There is power in faith!  "Prayer is simply faith", says Mr. Bounds.  It is said also that faith is trust in something....a belief, a conviction, and a hope.

"True godliness is just as true, steady, and persevering in the realm of faith as it is in the province of prayer.  Moreover, when faith ceases to pray, it ceases to live."   -  E. M. Bounds

In my own life, I have discovered that when God does answer my prayers, it serves to increase my faith whenever I reflect on those answered prayers in hindsight.  I have also learned that to wait on God is a strong demonstration of faith.  

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  -  Hebrews 11:1

The entire chapter of Hebrews 11 defines faith and mentions prophets and others, like Noah and Abraham (and many others), who proved their faith.  

"Faith is trust or commitment to what you think is true."    -  William Lane Craig

"Faith knows there will be delays in answering prayer, and regards such delays as times of testing, in the which, it is privileged to show its mettle, and the stern stuff of which it is made."     - E. M. Bounds

The power of prayer is the power of God.  He hears and answers all prayers, even if the answer is no.  

"And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."   -   Matthew 21:22

"Prayer is a shield to the soul, a sacrifice to God, and a scourge for satan."  -  John Bunyan

"Prayer - secret, fervent, believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness."  -  William Carey

"Prayer is the acid test of devotion."  -  Samuel Chadwick

Following is a beautiful hymn from 1740 by Charles Wesley.

So much could be written about faith and prayer; indeed, much has already been written on those topics.  In writing this post and in reading Scriptures on faith and prayer, I was very edified and I hope you are as well.

Following is an excellent sermon by Charles Spurgeon on the life and walk of faith :

In the above sermon, Charles Spurgeon stresses abiding in Christ always.  "Jesus is your all in all" and we should "find substance in Christ.....Ye are complete in Christ!"   Spurgeon is known as "The prince of preachers" and his sermons are deep yet explanatory.  I pray that you will listen to the entire message.

When you pray and have faith in the Lord, your priorities will change.   You will realize that the only important thing in this life is God and Jesus, and you will live your life accordingly, with the goal of being more like the Savior. 

Remember, when we pray, we need to ask according to God's will, or our prayers will not be answered.   Also, we need to repent of any and all sin so that we come to the Lord forgiven and clean, and He will listen to us with love and understanding.

"Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth."  -  John 9:31


Have a blessed and Christ-centered weekend !



"Be careful [anxious] for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."      -  Philippians 4:6-7

"Pray without ceasing."  -  1 Thessalonians 5:17

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."  -   Romans 10:17

"And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  If ye shall ask any thing in My name, I will do it."   -   John 14:13-14

Signs Of The End Times With Billy Crone (Video)

The Lemur above looks as if he just heard some thoughtful news !  He is very intent and alert in his gaze.   

We Christians have some exciting news to tell :  Jesus will return soon to rapture His Bride (true believers) to be in heaven with Him.  We are definitely living in the last days; the last hours of the end times the Bible tells us about.  The Bible is almost 1/3 prophecy and we need to take heed and take action relating to what that means for us:  to live a godly life and to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others.  

So many people shy away from prophecy, thinking it is all doom and gloom.  The best news we could possibly hear is the fact that Jesus could come back at any moment!!   We know this because the Bible -  Jesus -  tells us the signs to look for to take heed that we are in the last days; to know the season of His return.  Not the day or the hour, for no one knows that except the heavenly Father.  (Matthew 24:36)

Following is a video from ChristinProphecy channel on YouTube.  It's website is christinprophecy.org

Many end time signs are covered in this video featuring pastor and author Billy Crone.  They even mention and show photographs of some false christs in these last days.  That was one of the things Jesus proclaimed as a sign of the end times.   (Matthew 24:4-5)

The main thing is to be ready for the Lord when He returns !  That entails much prayer and much Bible reading and studying.  That in turn will enable you to have a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  That relationship will enable you live a life pleasing to the Lord.   You will know Him and He will know you.   You do not want to hear the Lord say in the Judgment,  

"And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."              -  Matthew 7:23

If you love the world; if you talk like, look like, and act like the world, then you probably are not a true Christian.  You are not born again; you are carnal still; you are not truly converted.

"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?  whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."  -  James 4:4

Those are strong words !!  Examine yourself, test yourself to see whether you are in the faith or not.

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.  Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"   -  2 Corinthians 13:5

We live in exciting times!  Prophetic times.  We Christians have a blessed hope (Titus 2:13).  

God is good!

Jesus loves you.

He is waiting for you to come to Him in faith and belief in Him as your Savior.

Don't delay!  

Don't wait until it is too late.

"Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."  -  John 14:6

"But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."  -  1 Peter 1:15-16

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: "     1 Peter 5:8

"And now, little children, abide in Him; that, when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."   -  1 John 2:28

   

"Let's Talk About Love" - Inspirational Weekend

This Christmas cactus was a gift from about 5 years ago from my son and daughter-in-law.  It blooms once every year about this time, although one year it bloomed twice, about a month apart.  The above photo was taken this week.

I "love" this plant !  I look forward to its salmon and white blossoms every year and take good care of it all year with fertilizing and pampering it, all the while anticipating what the results will be for all my efforts when it blooms again.   

People today use the word "love" loosely to apply to everything, it seems.   In English we only have one word for love, but in the ancient Greek some say there were 4 types of love, and still others say the Greeks recognized 6 varieties of love.  I will not go into detail about all 6 types, but I will mention them here.  

(1)  Eros,  or sexual passion; or romantic love.

(2) Philia, or deep friendship.  The Greeks valued this type of love far more than Eros.  Then there is  Storge,   which is another kind of Philia. and involves the love between parents and their children.

(3) Pragma,  or long standing love.  This mostly involves the deep understanding that develops between couples that have been married for many years.  

(4)  Philautia,   or self-love.  The Greeks recognized 2 types, one of which was an unhealthy narcissism, and the other which enhanced your ability to broaden your love to include others because you felt secure in yourself and cared for yourself and therefore had more love to give to others.

(5)  Ludus,  or playful love, as in children or young lovers.  It is seen in the flirting and teasing in the beginning stages of a relationship.

(6)  Agape,  unconditional love.   The love God and Jesus have for mankind, and the love that mankind (believers) have for the Lord.  And, of course, it is the love that Jesus has for His Father.

Most Christians have heard of these types of love, especially Philia and Agape.  Agape is the highest form of love, or charity, and we will focus primarily on Agape in this post.  Agape love never ends, no matter what the circumstances may be.  C.S. Lewis referred to it as "gift love."  Agape was later translated into Latin as "Caritas", from which we get our word "Charity", which, if you read the King James version of the Bible, is used extensively in 1 Corinthians 13:

"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself,  is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.  "    -  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

When a person is truly born again, He will have intense love for God and Jesus, especially when he recognizes what a sinner he is and that Jesus, in love, died on the cross so that by His shed blood we could be redeemed; washed white as snow in the blood of Jesus.  When we try to comprehend such an immense and sacrificial love, we are overcome with gratitude and love for all that our Savior has done for us.  For we are born again (John 3:3) and we are a new creation :

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things are past away, behold, all things are become new."  -  2 Corinthians 5:17

Out of our love and gratitude to the Lord for all He has done on our behalf, we need to cultivate a strong, personal and intimate love relationship with Him by much prayer and Bible reading.  It is rather like I pamper and take care of my Christmas cactus all year long, to reap the benefits and joy when it blossoms in all of its beauty and magnificence.  A relationship with the Lord needs attention and cultivation in order to bring forth fruit and to grow and blossom into a beautiful association of love and trust and obedience, with the final joy and reward of being with the Lord for all of eternity.   Let us also "blossom" with a radiance that befits followers of Christ; a heart full of love and compassion and true agape love for our Creator.  Reflect often on His care and love for you; it will enable you to appreciate Him and to love Him even more.  Pray often; read your Bible daily, for in so doing you begin to know Jesus better and to know Him is to love Him and to thereby live your life accordingly - a life that is pleasing to the Lord. 

"He loved us not because we are lovable, but because He is love."  -  C.S. Lewis

"He who loves with purity considers not the gift of the Lover, but the love of the giver."  -  Thomas A. Kempis

"Faith makes all things possible.  Love makes all things easy."     -  Dwight L. Moody

For more of my posts about love, please go to the Search Box in the upper right hand area of this page and type in "Love" and several articles will appear.  So much could be written about love.  The main thing is to be sure that the love of God and of Jesus is deep within your heart.  If that is true of you, then you will be empowered to live a godly life, a life that bears much fruit, and you can then resist temptations easily.

Following is a wonderful sermon by Charles Spurgeon on "The Secret Of Loving God!"

"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."                                 Jesus at Mark 12:30-31

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."   -  John 14:23

The Judgment Of America - With Video

The year 2017 was traumatic and saw many Bible prophecies either being fulfilled or at least in the beginning stages as current events show Biblical signs of the end times beginning to converge all at once.   What in the world does 2018 hold for this planet, and for America in particular?

I am not a prophet, but I do follow Bible prophecy rather closely.  Could the Rapture of the Church happen in 2018?  Will America be destroyed as a judgment coming from God?  Will there be an electromagnetic pulse to shut down the power grid in America and set us back to how it was in horse and buggy days?  Many people are anxious and unprepared in a spiritual sense to deal with these perilous times  (2 Timothy 3:1-7).   Even members of churches are not prepared as they are, as a rule, not taught from the pulpit about end times events.  Most churches today are asleep as to the signs of the times.   

Following is a video about America's coming judgment and it features author and pastor Tom Hughes on prophecywatchers.com, which is hosted by Gary Stearman.

There are many explanations of the seriousness of our times given in the above 29 minute video and I urge you to view it in full.  

Now is not the time to be lukewarm like the church of Laodicea of which Jesus said He would vomit them out of His mouth because of their lukewarmness.   (Revelation 3:14-22)  Many in America's churches today are lukewarm, partly because they have not been taught the "meat" of the Gospel and Bible prophecy is never mentioned to them from the pulpit.   And, sad to say, many in the churches are not truly converted....are not true Christians, and they go to church for social activities instead of concentrating on a close, personal, and intimate relationship with the Lord.

It is all about Jesus !!

If you are on fire and in love with the Savior, you will be witnessing about Jesus.  Your life will show where your heart is.

Jesus taught that we should be salt and light:

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted?  It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men.  Ye are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."                -  Matthew 5:13-16

You cannot be salt and light if you do not have the Holy Spirit within you.  For that to happen you need to be born again (John 3:3).  To be born again, you must turn to Jesus in repentance, have faith in Him and believe He rose from the dead.  (Romans 10:9,10,13).  You must confess your sins and surrender your life to His will.   As time goes by, you will grow to spiritual maturity.

Time is short, folks.   The Rapture could occur at any time, or you could die before this day ends.  If you have not been born again, you will suffer all eternity in hell.   

Open your eyes to what is happening in the world and in America !  These are not normal times.  

Open your heart  and confess that Jesus is Lord.

You must have a close and personal and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ in order to spend eternity in heaven.  To do this, you need to pray constantly and get to know the Lord that way and by much time spent in the Word of God.  

Tomorrow may be too late !   

"Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."   -  Jesus at Matthew 7:21

"Then spake Jesus again unto them,  I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."  -  John 8:12

"Jesus saith unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."   -  John 14:6

"How To Be Blessed" - Inspirational Weekend

I felt blessed to capture this Mandarin Duck with my camera earlier this month at the Honolulu Zoo as I had always wanted to see one and take photographs of it.  

But this is not the sort of blessing I want to concentrate on in this post today.  Instead I want to talk about spiritual blessings.  One place to find out how to be blessed is to go to the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3-12.  Jesus in these verses, begins His Sermon on the Mount.  In the Beatitudes He begins each one by saying, "Blessed are....."  and ends each one by showing a reward.  The Greek word for "blessed" means "happy or blissful."  It literally means "to be enlarged."  In the Beatitudes, blessed does not mean a superficial and shallow happiness but, rather, a state of spiritual well-being; a deep joy of the soul.

Let's just concentrate on only two of the Beatitudes right now.   The first one is found at Matthew 5:3 and says, 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Although Jesus preached most frequently to the poor,  the above verse is not referring so much to monetary poverty as it is to spiritual poverty.  To realize you are a sinner and in need of a Savior; to realize we have no righteousness of our own.  Also to be willing to be in God's hands.  It is the opposite of pride and vanity and ambition.    And notice that the poor in spirit have as a reward the kingdom of heaven, which refers to salvation.  The kingdom of heaven is, of course, referring primarily to eternity in heaven with the Lord.  To sum it up, before we can enter heaven we need to recognize our inability to save ourselves by good works (Ephesians 2:8-9) and to recognize our own worthlessness and that only faith in Jesus can save us.

Let us now look at Matthew 5:8 which says, 

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."

The Pharisees of Jesus' day were not pure in heart. Oh, they had an outward purity, but deep inside their hearts were full of corruption and wickedness and hypocrisy.  A big part of the Jewish religion was the strict  outward washings and cleansings , and this they believed would enable them to one day see God and to enjoy eternal glory.  But the Lord is here saying that what is needed is a purification of the heart from all things wicked in order to enter into the kingdom of God.  A person must be delivered from all sin by the blood of the Lamb Jesus Christ in order to have Scriptural hope of ever being with God.   

And the reward for having a pure heart is that you will see God.  Granted, in a sense we (particularly unbelievers) will all see God as a Judge and not as a Friend.  (Revelation 1:7).  But in Matthew 5:8 to see God is spoken of as a special favor.   To see the face of someone, or to be in the presence of anyone, especially a king or a prince, was regarded by the Jews as a high favor and honor.  To the Hebrew, those that saw the face of a king were his favorites and his friends.   Therefore, in this verse, to see God means to be His friends and favorites, and to be with Him forever in His kingdom.

Since many Christians and others do not often read the Bible book of Revelation,  they may not be familiar with this verse below:

"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."   -  Revelation 1:3

This is the only time in the Bible where it says you will be blessed by reading one of its books, meaning Revelation.   But not only just reading Revelation, but by keeping those things written therein.  

"We should keep in mind those things which relate to the future and obey those things which are required as truth and duty.  The blessing results from the fact that  the truth is properly regarded and exerts a strong and desirable influence over our lives."

The book of Revelation consists of prophecies of future events.  It tells us about the antichrist, the New World Order, the one world religion to come during the tribulation period, the one world government, and the one world economy.   All of which are in the beginning stages at the present time.  How close then is the 7 year tribulation !   And, therefore, closer still the Rapture of the Church which occurs prior to the tribulation.   The book of Revelation speaks of the new heavens and the new earth and of the 1000 year reign of Jesus Christ on earth.   It covers all the plagues and woes to happen to the wicked who are left behind after the Rapture to face God's wrath and judgments. 

So the book of Revelation can bless you by making you aware of these judgments to come and to enable you to turn to Jesus in faith as your Savior.  It gives you hope to realize that soon this wicked and chaotic world mess will be gone forever, and that Jesus will reign in a paradise on earth and true believers have something to look forward to for all eternity. 

Notice that the end of Revelation 1:3 says that the time is at hand.  If that was true in the apostle John's day, how much nearer are these soon to occur events in our day and age !   We are living in the end times; the last days. 

Time is short.

Turn to Jesus as your Savior before it is too late !

Jesus loves you. 

He is waiting for you to come to Him in complete trust and faith.

Read the book of Revelation and you will comprehend just how terrible the 7 year tribulation will be with all of its woes and catastrophes and plagues.  You do not want to experience the great wrath of the Lord at that time. 

Yes, the reading of Revelation can save your soul and enlighten you to the point of accepting Jesus Christ as the Savior and surrendering your will and your life to Him. 

So to be blessed, you need to be saved and then live as godly a life as possible.  Read the Bible everyday and pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) in order to get to know the Lord better, and to have a close, intimate, and personal love relationship with Him. 

It is all about Jesus !!

Be blessed !!


Have a Christ centered weekend !


"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I seccoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"   -  2 Corinthians 6:2

"Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book."   -  Revelation 22:7

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."  -  Revelation 21:4

"It's All About Him" - Inspirational Weekend

Beautiful scenery, the ocean, the mountains, and even the clouds themselves remind me of the Lord and of how awesome He is.  Jesus created all of this, and He created you and me.  

"And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, Who created all things by Jesus Christ:"   -  Ephesians 3:9

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power:  for thou has created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."  -  Revelation 4:11

For a long time (before I was truly converted and before I began reading the Bible daily) I believed God alone created everything, but the Scripture in Ephesians 3:9 states that Jesus had a hand in creation as well.   The verse at Revelation 4:11 is speaking of God Almighty being the Creator. according to most commentaries.  This is no contradiction, since God is at the same time Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: "God in three Persons, blessed Trinity."  Since Jesus created you and me, He is our possessor, our Master, and deserves  our worship and obedience.    He came to earth just for us and to restore our relationship to God the Father.  Everything about Jesus' reason to come to earth was about saving us from our sins.  Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  (John 14:6)

Jesus is everything !!

It is all about Jesus !!

Please listen to this beautiful song titled "It's All About You Jesus":

There is no one like Jesus !  He is God's Son and He is the Savior of the world.....to those that will believe in Him and have faith in Him and believe in His resurrection  (Romans 10:9-10,13).  

Think of His sacrificial and painful death at Calvary, so that by His shed blood that washes away our sins, we might have everlasting life if we truly believe in Him as the Savior.   Think of all He has done for you.  Then ask yourself, "What have I done for the Lord?"  He is your Creator, and therefore He has a claim upon you.  Think on some of the things Jesus does for us:  Jesus forgives sins (Luke 5:20; 7:48).  Jesus always lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25).  Jesus resurrects (John 6:40,44; John 11:25-26). And Jesus has done and will do so much more for His true followers.  Surrender all to Him and obey Him and be grateful and do as He said at Matthew 28:19-20 :

"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."

The last part of verse 20 above where Jesus tells us that He is with us always is very comforting and encouraging.   It encourages us to always do His will and to obey Him as well as endeavor to draw closer to Him.

Thinking of all Jesus has done for us and how much He loves us, ought to fill us with gratitude and joy and with much reciprocal love.  Jesus is the best Friend anyone can have, and He says that we are His friends if we obey His commands.  (John 15:14)   Good friends spend much time together and enjoy each others company.  Is that true of you where Jesus is concerned?  He longs to fellowship with you.  Show your love by spending time with Him and by much prayer to the Lord and much Bible reading and studying.  Someone has said that the Bible is rather like Jesus' biography.  Jesus is the Word (John 1:1) and therefore when you read the Bible you begin to know Jesus better, and when you know Him even better, your love and relationship with Him will grow and blossom into something beautiful and enduring.  You will feel His Presence and obeying His commands will be easier. He will fill every need.  He is all you truly need. 

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make our abode with him."    -  John 14:23

Church activities can be a good thing, but for some they are so busy "doing" this and "doing" that that they forget to spend time just "being" with the Lord and worshiping Him; and a vital and personal and intimate loving relationship with the Lord is most important; more important that a dozen activities that keep you from actual fellowship with Jesus.

But I digress a bit.  This was to focus on how "It's All About Jesus !!"   Yet discussing our interaction with Him deserves attention as well.  Our first and foremost focus should be on the Lord, and then everything else will fall into place.  Take time to be holy !

Have a Christ-centered weekend !

"And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world."                      -  1 John 4:14 

"Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."  -  Romans 5:9

"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. "  -  John 3:16

"For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved."  -  John 3:17

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."  -  John 3:3

The Future Is Not What It Used To Be (Bible Prophecy And Current Events) With Videos

Whoever said, "The future is not what it used to be", was very discerning.  Never before have so many Bible prophecies occurred all at one time like they are at the present time....a strong convergence here in these last days.   Jesus said that when we see "ALL"  of these end times signs appearing we would know that the end was near (Matthew 24:33).  Please read the entire chapter of Matthew 24.   

Here is a link to today's article by Jan Markell of olivetreeviews.org in which she discusses events of 2017 and the prophetic significance behind them.  She gives links to Scriptures as well as to various articles pertaining to the end times.

There is also a short 8 minute video included in her article.  If you have been keeping up with Israel and Syria and all the news concerning them, you know that the prophecy at Isaiah 17:1 will be fulfilled soon.... the fact that Damascus will be completely destroyed.  Jan mentions that as well as how Turkey's Erdogan has threatened to "wipe out all Jews" after the recent announcement by President Trump to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.  Jan Markell discusses various other events that happened in 2017 and gives many links you will want to take notice of.   

Following is a video update on Jerusalem and other topics by Amir Tsarfati, whom I often include in my posts.  He has a thriving ministry and is a Jewish believer in the Messiah and he lives in Israel and speaks informatively on Middle East events.  He is also very informed about American affairs as well.  

Remember that Israel is God's prophetic time clock.  He has not forgotten His chosen people.  In fact, the entire  seven year Tribulation is for bringing the Jews to recognize Jesus as their Messiah.   Of course, God will also be pouring out His wrath upon the earth and on ungodly people left behind after the Rapture of the Church.  

Amir says that after many, many years of silence we are the generation to see numerous prophecies begin to unfold.   "God is in full control", Amir assures us, and to "get ready for our exodus."

Following are words from our Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of all who will but believe in Him and have faith in Him.

"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

The following verses are also from Luke 21; verses 34 to 36:

"And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.  For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.  Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man."