David’s Prayer

“David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying,

‘Praise be to you, Lord,
the God of our father *Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
you are exalted as head over all.
Wealth and honor come from you;
you are the ruler of all things.
In your hands are strength and power
to exalt and give strength to all.
Now, our God, we give you thanks,
and praise your glorious name'” (1 Chronicles 29:10-13).

*Jacob

As we open yet another (perhaps the last) great book of human history, *366 blank pages await the pen of God. Some of what will be written by this time next year, we can know through what has been foretold to us through Bible prophecy. Some of what we now anticipate will end up being simply speculation and will not appear. Most of what will happen in 2024, though, is unknowable to us. The exact future is known only by our Triune God.

*2024 is a leap year

This year, one thing that I do know will appear every day in my own journal is a prayer of thanksgiving.

I intend to give thanks not only for the good things God will bring my way but also for things that could be considered not-so-good or undesirable. Why? It is easy for us to praise the LORD Almighty when our lives are going well. However, it is a test of faith to continue to praise and love the One Who created all things, including us, when our lives become messy, when illness happens, when loss of job and income happen, when sorrow visits.

Prolific Christian writer and broadcaster Joni Eareckson once said, “Better to receive something from God’s left hand than nothing at all from God.” Eareckson has been bound to a wheelchair, paralyzed from a diving accident that happened when she was a teen. She says everything is a blessing, some of it disguised, to be sure, as a curse, but always working out for the glory of God when we do His Will.

The apostle Paul wrote, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s Will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thess. 5:18). Paul writes further in Colossians 1:12: “… and giving joyful thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.”

One day last week, during morning prayers, and while I was giving thanks for His abundance to us, the LORD opened space-time for a split second. It seemed as though the Father Himself was giving me either a Communion wafer or a piece of manna – it doesn’t matter what it was – and for that split second, my heart nearly burst from joy, love, and thankfulness. It was completely overwhelming and wonderful.

Some of you will have studied the Names of God and know that Jehovah-Jireh is the name of God the Provider.

In that split second, He made it known what exactly that means for us, His creatures.

Some, perhaps most of you, know this already, so it’s not a revelation by any means, but in case you are one who doesn’t know – every atom of all that exists comes from God — Father, Son, Holy Spirit. The smallest ort of food is to be given thanks for, for it is being provided by the One Who loves you forever, both when you are still a sinner and after you have repented. Each and every breath is worthy of praise. Every drop of water, also. The fact is, though, that in our time and place, God’s abundance is astounding. How can you not give thanks when food is so abundant in our land that people have to go on diets? At the same time, so many in other parts of the world are starving. Even so, when people’s hearts are right with God, He will provide even in the midst of famine and drought.

The news these days is full of hints that a great economic crash is imminent. We would do well this coming year to cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude and to determine to do the Will of *Jehovah-Jireh in all things.

*Jehovah-Jirah means God will see and will provide.

You might determine to pray David’s prayer from 1 Chronicles 29 each night before going to sleep.

Contemplate the words King David uses, which are all small and easy to understand. We do not need to have a PhD in Theology to know what to say to the LORD God. He knows our hearts and, we are told, rejoices when we want a relationship with Him.

The following comes from the Billy Graham Answers website:

Jesus said, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10).

Why do they rejoice? Not because they’re surprised but because a great victory has been won! Someone has been snatched from the jaws of Satan and death and hell, so why wouldn’t all heaven rejoice? Jesus’ words remind us of just how valuable we are to God and how much He yearns for us to be with Him in heaven forever.

Can we ever thank our God enough for what He has done for us? No. But we can thank Him constantly and with great gratitude.

The LORD provides all we need to live for Him and in Him. In the LORD’s prayer, which is a great daily prayer for all ages and those in all stages of their walk with Jesus, we say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Expanding on this thought, we can add, “And thank you, LORD, for it. Thank You also for the bread which feeds our minds and our souls — daily readings of Your Holy Word.”

Are you one who has not yet given your life to Jesus Messiah? Have you come to Rapture Ready out of curiosity, perhaps trying make sense of what is happening in the world? Well, brother or sister, the LORD God has brought you to the right place.

The coming year may well be the year the world is thrown into total turmoil because of the disappearance of millions of people. The Rapture is the next event in the timeline of God’s plan for humankind. According to *Scripture, believers all over the world will be snatched up to meet Jesus in the air, leaving behind a world in chaos.

After that, the foretold Great Tribulation will begin, and believe me, you will not want to be here for that, for the wrath of God will be poured out on those who remain in the worst time ever in human history. Jesus said that unless the days of tribulation are shortened, not one person will survive. It will be a worldwide event, so there is no escaping it should you be left behind.

*Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

The one escape route is to believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the One Who redeemed us from our sins by shedding His precious blood on the cross of Calvary, Who died and was buried, and Who rose again on the third day and ascended back into heaven. Jesus is the Son of God Who awaits the command from God the Father to return for those who believe in Him and who have repented of their sin.

If you decide today to change your life for the best it can be and to be ready in a split second for Jesus to take you out of harm’s way, to be with Him forever, please tell someone of that decision – a pastor or a Christian friend, and be willing to be guided to the safest place on earth – the arms of your Saviour, Jesus the Messiah.

God bless and Happy 2024, everyone. Looking forward to meeting you all at Jesus’ feet one day very soon.

Lynda Janzen

If anyone reading this article has not yet received Jesus as their Saviour, but God has touched your heart by His Holy Word, please email me (amadea0204@gmail.com) or find a Bible-believing local church and ask the Pastor what you must do to be saved in Grace.

In the meantime, please consider the ABCs of Salvation, and may GOD bless you.

A – Admit

Admit what you have done wrong and ask forgiveness.

Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Romans 6:23 “The wages of sin is death.”

I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

B – Believe

Believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose again as a payment for your sins.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

C – Confess and Choose

Confess and choose to allow God to be in charge of your life.

Matthew 16:24 “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.”

Romans 10:9 “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:13 “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

Tinfoil Hat Brigade – slang for aluminum or tin foil makeshift hat on one’s head; a nickname for the mentally deranged; describes people who have paranoia or belief in conspiracy theories; shorthand for saying someone is paranoid or crazy.

1 Peter 4:14 “If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.”

The True Bible Believers who actually walk the walk and talk the talk are often viewed as a type of “Tin Foil Hat Brigade,” especially by those who are on the outside looking in. Oftentimes, we will be labeled, accused, and dubbed by the secular world of so many things, from being self-righteous, legalistic, to unloving, paranoid, even hypocritical, prudish, and not to mention delusional for believing in the things that the Holy Bible teaches.

Mark 5:40-42 “And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.”

Some of these accusations could be true when it comes to certain attitudes or behaviors that we may have, but the main question is, “Are we truly ‘delusional or crazy’ for believing in what the Bible teaches?” To those who are on the outside of Faith in Christ, to believe in a virgin birth, a man walking on water, people rising from the dead, the sea parting, and the sun standing still for a whole day, among many other beyond fascinating biblical reports would seem ludicrous, especially to those who do not have eyes to see or ears to hear.

Once again, my honest inquiry would be, “Is it irrational for us to believe in these things specifically when it pertains to God and the spiritual realm?” Speaking of the supernatural, I and countless others, especially the eyewitnesses to the accounts recorded in the Bible, don’t or would not think it is in any way, shape, or form delusional and/or irrational for us to believe in such at all! In fact, the unseen realm is more real than what we can see right in front of us in the here and now, if you really want to boil it all down. “Believest thou this?”

John 11:26 “And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?”

On the flip side, if we want to talk about things that are ludicrous, delusional, absurd, foolish, strange, and downright preposterous, let’s talk about the condition that our society and the world at large are in right now! How about the fact that in recent years, people have subscribed to the belief that there are now more than 2 genders! Last I looked, which was a few years ago, btw, it was at around 32 variants! Today, in doing a quick search on the internet, it shows that they were up to 72 at one point. But that, my friends, is ‘old news’…. Now it is up to 81 on their ridiculous spectrum! Seriously, who are the deranged ones now?

John 9:28-30 “Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.”

How about the fact that our modern-day youth now believe that one can identify as anything they want on any particular day, from being a toaster to being a cat, depending on how one may feel at that moment or hour! Yes, you read that right; on any given day, one can now decide that they are no longer a 65-year-old man but can instead identify as a 5-year-old girl! (Insert long, incredulous, and mortified stare!)

Another anomaly in the last several years is that people have invited family and friends to witness themselves marrying inanimate objects like anything from a car to the ocean to life-sized dolls and even to themselves! Once again, who are the delusional really?

Just recently while shopping, we encountered a young man at a department store literally wearing a huge pearl necklace and earrings that couldn’t be any more obvious; then, as if that wasn’t enough, we came across a big burly man at another store with a full beard complete with heavy glittery eye makeup and nail polish that one couldn’t miss even if they wanted or tried to! That’s not all; we also ran into another young man at a home improvement store who wore a chunky diamond choker necklace with matching drop-down earrings all in pretty much the same day, too!

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

Gender confusion is truly a widespread and pervasive deviation from God’s sacred design of male and female, which is detailed in the book of Genesis, and sadly, it’s only going to get worse from here. Tin Foil Hat Brigade is a label given to a group of people who believe in so-called conspiracy theories about the government and/or are deluded and deceived about other matters as well. Basically, they are a group of “crazies,” if you will.

In our upside-down, topsy-turvy world, the ones who choose to believe in the Holy Bible and who want to live a holy lifestyle are the ones considered the ‘tin foil hat wearers.’ But the ones mentioned above who radically oppose God’s design for life, living, genders, marriage, children, morality, and truth are woefully given a ‘free pass.’ Basically, they are validated and considered brave for doing such things, but according to God’s Holy Word and righteous standards, these kinds of deeds, thoughts, and actions are actually an abomination to Him!

Does that matter to anyone anymore? Does angering Almighty Creator God of the Universe mean anything to people these days? Obviously and apparently not! Therefore, ready or not… judgment is coming, friends! #Maranatha!

BIBLE VERSES ABOUT ABOMINATION (kingjamesbibleonline.org)

I often wonder what our world will look like 20 years from now, and I’m afraid the fact of the matter is that it will not be good, much less even remotely sane! Unless more godly parents are able to steer their children away from this type of grooming through avenues such as secular cartoons, music, television, toys, and entertainment, the future generations to come will only consist of all of this gross apostasy and so much more absurdity and confusion than we are witnessing and seeing right now!

Maybe the point should be that we all were ‘true wearers of the proverbial tin foil hat’ at one point and time. Especially when we were under the ‘blinding cloak of the enemy’ before we came to the understanding of God’s Truth, which allowed His light to shine into our hearts and minds! A light and grace that was able to gently, graciously, and radically help to wake us up from all of the mess that we were lost in!

Even still, ‘Tin Foil Hat Brigade’ or not, and call us what they may, our job while we are here is to pray for those trapped in this confusion because we, too, were once blinded by the enemy as well! Once, we were blind, but now, we can see; once, we were lost, but now, we are found! Such amazing grace lavishly poured out on us from Abba Father God that saved not only a wretch like me but can save every single one of us… if only we will let Jesus in!

Amazing Grace Hymn Lyrics:

Amazing grace, How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come,
‘Tis grace has brought me safe thus far
And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be,
As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease
I shall possess within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’ve first begun.

If you haven’t already, try Jesus! Let Him set you free from the ‘tin foil hat mind-control captivity’ that we all have been or are in right now…. I promise that you will not regret it!

Acts 16:30-34 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.”

Until next time… Maranatha!

Sincerely & In Christ,

Candy Austin