Genesis 9:12-13 “And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.”

There is something called a mnemonic, which is known as “ROY G BIV,” designed to help us remember the 7-color sequences of God’s rainbow that He lovingly displays in the clouds. They stand for R-red, O-orange, Y-yellow, G-green, B-blue, I-indigo, and V-violet. A combination of colors that, when seen blended together in the sky, is so stunningly beautiful when arrayed against the vast earthly backdrop of God’s magnificent canvas!

Genesis 9:14-15 “And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.”

Abba Father created this symbol to let us know that we are not forgotten by Him. He intended it as a ‘significant covenant,’ and it is definitely a special sign from our Creator and Almighty God! It was constituted and brought about by Him as a promise to us and every living creature on earth that He would never again destroy everything all at once during another catastrophic worldwide flood!

Genesis 9:16 “And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.”

Let’s talk about something that is often associated with rainbows for a minute, which undeniably are clouds. When we see or hear quotes about clouds, they are often about the ‘clouds of life’ This is meant as a type of metaphor describing negative situations we experience in life, such as the idiom which says, “Behind every cloud, there is a silver lining.” This implies that behind every negative setback in life, there are usually some positive or redeeming outcomes that can often come out from it.

Ezekiel 1:28 “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.”

Recently, one early morning as I was driving to town to run some errands, I saw the most majestic cloud formations along the backdrop of rolling hills, farmlands, and pastures! Along the way, the glorious morning sunrise was peeking through these clouds creating a spectacular array of glittering gold lining! It was so awe-strikingly beautiful that it was hard to look away while I was navigating my journey!

Revelation 4:3 “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”

It is said that much of communication is nonverbal. Upon research on body language, it has been determined that about 93% of communication is nonverbal, while only 7% is verbal. Mainly, that body language and varying tones of speech make up most of our daily interactions and communication! On that note, it is impossible to say that God doesn’t speak to us when He nonverbally speaks to us all the time, such as through His creation and through His divinely inspired and written Word!

Revelation 10:1 “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:”

For example, a few years ago, on my birthday, I remember leaving the house only to be met by a double rainbow at the end of our street, which happened to be splendidly hovering in the sky right in front of me as if my Abba Father was saying, “Happy Birthday”! God loves us so much if only we would pay attention! Thank You for Your great love, Abba!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow – partial lyrics: (By Israel Kamakawiwoʻole)

Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Once in a lullaby ii ii iii

Somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dreams that you dreamed of
Dreams really do come true ooh ooooh

Someday I’ll wish upon a star
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me ee ee eeh
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney tops
That’s where you’ll find me

Oh, somewhere over the rainbow
Bluebirds fly
And the dream that you dare to,
Why, oh why can’t I? i iiii

In recent weeks, another celebrity passed away. This person was a prominent and well-known journalist. As usual, I had to look up the faith and beliefs of this person, and once again, 9 times out of 10, they did not know the Lord. Unfortunately, this is what they had to say about the afterlife during an interview:

Barbara Walters on heaven – Beliefnet

From movies to pop songs, heaven has a huge hold on the popular imagination. Why do you think that is?

First of all, I think we’re all concerned about life on earth and if this is all there is. And because heaven has always been this wondrous, mystical place. Before we had airplanes and astronauts, we really thought that there was an actual place beyond the clouds, somewhere over the rainbow. There was an actual place, and we could go above the clouds and find it.

Is there a place somewhere?

Some of the religions think there is, that there’s absolutely a place. Some of them think it’s not a place, but it’s a spiritual feeling. The Buddhists feel that you are recreated as some thing, as an insect, or an animal, or a person, but that you’re not in some beautiful shiny place. -End Source

To this, all I have to say is whether worldly people want to believe in an afterlife, heaven, God, Jesus, or that a Creator designed something as spectacularly beautiful as a rainbow is irrelevant. Because once they die and leave this earth, they will finally come face to face with the truth that they chose to deny all along! This is utterly sad but also true.

No matter how much those who try and nefariously hijack God’s rainbow, in the end, everyone who ever lived will stand before God and His majestic display all around His magnificent throne! An arrangement of colors that He splendidly designed to be arrayed around our Lord Jesus Christ on that glorious day! There will finally be no more doubting, debating, or refuting when, what, where, and who this awe-strikingly beautiful creation truly belongs to. In the end, on that day, in the end!

Revelation 21:18-23

“And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

“And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.”

***Beauty upon unspeakable beauty…. Oh, how I long to be there with my Savior who I shall finally see…. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!***

Until next time… Maranatha!

Sincerely & In Christ,

Candy Austin

(I have no Accolades….
I am just a Nobody
trying to tell Everybody
about Somebody who
can save Anybody!)

https://youtu.be/_wCTQdmXkUg

My Mission is to be ‘Salt and Light’ to a lost and dying world.
To be an Ambassador for Jesus Christ.
All for Him and His Glory!

The trend is indeed baffling to many casual observers, yet it is crystal clear. Churches in what is known as the free world are fast emptying. As a matter of interest, some nations have lost their Christian majority in their demography, notably England being in such a state of late. No one is surprised where North America is concerned; the latest statistics indicate an overall drop in church attendance – not forgetting an inherent exodus from the truth in the Living Word!

There is a sharp contrast in places where personal freedoms are severely curtailed. Despite heavy-handed repression, churches in these places have not died out. In some noteworthy instances, there is an exponential growth in the numbers coming to Christ. The fastest-growing Christian community happens to be in Iran. There may not be a physical presence in the form of churches. Yet the underground element is growing by leaps and bounds. Torture, extended periods of incarceration, and even the prospect of death serve as no dampener on the soaring numbers that accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour. The totalitarian regime is at wits end when their attempts to systematically eradicate the underground churches fall flat.

Is there a supernatural element? Yes! The Lord has continued to sustain these believers who stick to the faith. But for the supernatural to work, there has to be a one hundred percent commitment from the body of believers.

There is no doubt that this unquenchable commitment is there for the unbelieving world to see. These believers in Christ are more than prepared to suffer the consequences when it comes to standing for the faith. With this, there is a hand-to-mouth existence on a daily, if not hourly, basis. A cat and mouse affair for a greater part of their lives. Close to dodging fusillades from the people out to close them down. Some make it, but there are others who cannot evade the repressive dragnet. Despite the oppressive situation, there is no wavering – it is as good as in the days of the early church. Martyrdom at the very end!

Christians in the cozy comfort of the so-called free world find this really hard to swallow. They would be asking themselves this question: is it worth it all?

There is certainly one thing that is holding back a lot of practicing Christians if they were faced with such a challenge. Worldliness! There is too much at stake on planet Earth. Years spent indulging in the material good life simply conditions these folks to shy away from the prospect of suffering for Christ. Half-baked teachings from godless pulpits only aggravate the matter.

“For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another” (Mark 9:49-50).

Where is the fire for the faith when pastors give the congregation a feel-good message that massages their emotions? This is entirely opposite to the challenge that goes with living for the Lord. When specific truths for upright Christian living get almost zero focus, how prepared can the flock be when faced with the ultimate crunch?

Affluence is the venom that weakens many who profess to be followers of Jesus. It all ties in with worldly desires and passions. Too much of a good thing is not really a good thing where eternal destinies matter. For those who are pampered with what swathes of taken-for-granted liberties can offer, then the space and time for the matters of the Lord become more than patchy.

Having stacks of dollar bills and loads of time, idleness does set in. It is a spiritual idleness. Minutes and eventually hours slip away over one cup of tea after the other amidst unproductive debates inspired by destructive doctrines. At the end of the day, lukewarmness is the final outcome – more than enough to smother the fire which should be there!

One noteworthy characteristic that must be brought to mind is the fire for the Lord despite the circumstances. This applies to those underground churches in totalitarian countries. The luxury of time for worldly pursuits is a very scarce commodity. There is hardly any sliver of time that allows for mindless chit-chat over the likes of the la-di-da.

It is as good as an hourly struggle against the juggernaut of repression. On that note, these people are drawn even closer to the Lord. These individuals lean more on His infinite grace and mercy as they get by. Miracles and supernatural interventions become their daily staple.

These folks really have nothing to lose where their faith in the Lord goes. The place they are in has very little to offer other than heaps of broken promises. So they set their eyes on eternity – a truly glorious one with the Lord!

“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God” (1 Peter 4:1-2).

I strongly believe that the Lord has made things clear to these people we will meet at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They can see the proverbial forest from the trees. They are indeed imbued with Godly wisdom, being able to separate genuine hope from tainted promises. These individuals have truly counted the cost and considered the everlasting reward.

We can be partakers of this Godly wisdom. Question is – do we consider it worthwhile to take a stand when the crunch stares at us in the face?

For His Kingdom and Glory

Edwin

Contact me at edwinuk13@gmail.com