In Dwell With Jesus, I asked if we have what it takes to stand and be effective for the kingdom every moment we’re here, be it one more week or several more years. Admittedly, I don’t have what it takes. And I’m sure you’ll agree that you don’t either. Only in dwelling with Jesus do we have any hope of withstanding all that will be required of us as evil rises and the world grows only darker. We see the end is near, so close that the rapture could come at any moment or on any given day. We are quite possibly the generation who will see the rapture and with that comes the responsibility of to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48).

Last time as we considered dwelling with Jesus, we examined how Jesus knew the Word, obeyed the Word, and lived out the Word, and that we must do the same. Today we’ll see that in order for us to dwell with Jesus, we must also be where He is, among people. He created people. He came for people. He taught people. He died for people. Jesus loves and is about people.

With Jesus’ heart in mind, we each must ask ourself: Am I about people?

My honest answer: I’m often more about people than I should be and am called a micromanager at times. I’m about my people, my family and friends. I’m also about the people I teach and reach through online ministry, which makes sense considering I’m a discipler. The found are typically who the Lord places within my reach. But what about lost people; how “about them” am I considering I’m not among them as often? Honest again: Not enough and rarely comfortably. Continue reading…

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In my previous Rapture Ready article, Gather Up Courage, we considered our prepositional God, the One who is with us and in us and for us and how His proximity to us allows for us as believers to gather up courage in these final days.Whether we have one day, one week, or one year (plus) before the coming of the Lord Jesus for His church in the rapture, we must respond accordingly to the blessing of being part of that final generation by becoming God’s prepositional us, a people dwelling with Jesus and being about Jesus.

I’m sure we can agree that we have already seen more than our 2020 selves ever believed we would, and we don’t dare ask what more 2024 might bring for fear that the answer to that question may very well be a national refining like we’ve never known. Whatever is to come, we must ask ourselves if we have what it takes to stand and be effective for the kingdom every moment we’re here, be it one more week or several more years.

I’ve taken inventory of me, myself, and I and have found that I don’t have what it takes. But a tap, tap, tap from within reminds me that I have Who it takes, Jesus. This prepositional us, I in Him and He in me (1 John 4:13), changes everything. He will do in me what it takes to prepare me. He will be through me that which He asks of me. But His activity in me and through me is conditioned upon my willingness to yield to Him and be used by Him. So, what does it take to shape my will to His? It takes dwelling with Jesus. Continue reading… Continue reading →

Gather Up Courage

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

If there’s ever been a time when we need to know our prepositional God, that He is with us and for us, it’s now (Joshua 1:9, Psalm 118:6). We need to know that He is behind and before us, and that His hand is upon us in these final darkening days (Psalm 139:5). One of my teachers taught prepositions using a tree: in a tree, beside a tree, with a tree, above a tree, etc. Over the years, God has used His pre-position, where He has always been and will always be in relation to us as believers, as a way of assuring me we’re never alone in our suffering or pain or desperation. While we as rapture watchers are waiting for Him to come, we can find courage in knowing that He’s already here. He is Immanuel, God with us (Matthew 1:23). That never changes, even and especially when we see this world spinning out of control.

I think most of us would say that we thought He would have come for us long before now. The fact that the rapture hasn’t yet happened may have many of us reeling and feeling a little stunned to be seeing the rise of evil and the fall of our nation. Make no mistake; no candidate or party will or can save us. There is only one Savior, the One who is tarrying for perfect reasons that adhere to His perfect plan. We can trust that. We can trust in Him (Isaiah 26:3). Continue reading…

I seriously thought we would be out of here in 2020, then in 2021 and 2022 and 2023. Yet here we are, still waiting and longing and hoping. Might 2024 be the year? Or will we be called to endure another year, God’s gift of time offered to this lost and dying world? If another year is required of us, how might we better embrace the waiting?

I admit, I’m not the best at waiting patiently. I’m guessing you’re not either. If you’re anything like me, you’ve done more complaining than embracing along the way. How can we not with the sorrow and turmoil we experience in our families and in this world? Some days I find it hard to view our extended time here as we wait for the Lord as an opportunity for the lost rather than a burden to the found. I’m burdened. Every. Single. Day.

I host a group on Zoom for rapture watchers. Folks from all over the U.S. meet to discuss last-days topics (You’re always invited. See more here.). Last week, Nancy (aka my mom) closed us out in prayer. She thanked the Lord for our time here (on earth) and even asked that He leave us a little while longer to reach the lost. Jokingly, I told her we were kicking her off the prayer team for asking for more time. But deep down, her prayer struck a nerve with me. It’s something I’ve written about a few times, how they, the lost, are worth our extended time here. I know we all “know” that, but it’s still a tough prayer to pray. So thanks, Mom, for praying from your heart and piercing mine. Continue reading…

Below is an advance copy of my upcoming article for Rapture Ready. Share if you’d like.

The holidays are here, more aptly, the holy days, that time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. Set aside the arguments of when, specifically, the Christ child was born, and most believers will agree that December is a time when even those who don’t know Jesus as Savior are more willing to consider His birth. That’s a miracle in itself. There’s something special about this month in the hearts and minds of most, but what I’ve noticed over the years is how the trappings of the act of Christmas tend to overshadow the birth that Christmas observes. I’m as guilty of that as anyone.

We, as rapture watchers, need something true and excellent and lovely and pure to fix our eyes upon, something besides the evil of the WEF, the UN, the WHO, the IMF, the …, well, you get it. Can we take a break from the darkness rising and watch for that Christmas star signifying the coming King? I think our rapture-waiting hearts need it, to get caught up in the exquisite glory of God with us, Immanuel.

This year, my question is: How can we dwell in the holiness of Christ-mas rather than being trapped by all its trappings? Continue Reading…

For Those Who Tune Us Out

I’ve warned family and friends so much about what’s happening in the world and the soon-coming rapture that most avoid me or tune me out. Can you relate? I can’t help but wonder how Noah kept warning and preaching all those years when just my small efforts have left me feeling beaten down and defeated. Lot, on the other hand, found out and took off in the same day of the city’s destruction. If you look at it from the sake of ease, Lot had the better deal than Noah. We can’t want Lot’s lot (sorry, I had to go there) and hope for ease. In that case, if we were to be warned and removed in the same day of the rapture, then our loved ones wouldn’t have our nagging voices in their heads, and our homes wouldn’t be filled with help and encouragement for the left behind.

So we, for an undetermined period of time, are stuck with Noah’s lot, trying to warn those who tune us out. Like Noah, we are to watch and wait and warn. If I’m honest, though, I’m far from being like Noah. I’m watching and waiting for Jesus every day, but I find my warnings have been waning, especially this past year.

I don’t get out much since I write from home. Other than grocery store runs and the same two or three restaurants I frequent, I don’t have occasion to interact with people as often as most, so it’s difficult to build a relationship with someone which would allow me to warn about the rapture. Sure, I could blurt it out while the check-out person does their beep, beep, beep scanning of my food, but that will only paint me as a lunatic. People are kind of funny about getting world news from a lunatic, so I hold back. I find myself frustrated that the world as we know it will soon tragically change, and I have no outlet for that information. Can you relate to that too? Continue Reading…

Hi Gathering Family,

I hope you’ve enjoyed the topic of embracing your design. This week, we will move into part two where you will take an introspective look at how God has uniquely designed you to determine how you might make an impact here at the end of the world as we know it. Continue reading →

Ready for some more heavenly hope? If you missed the first installment of this topic, you can find the Rapture Ready article here: “Heavenly Hope.” We rapture watchers sure do need an ample dose of hope most days to keep us hanging on. If you’re anything like me, you thought we would be outta here by now. While the world goes crazier than we ever thought we would see and attacks on us and our families only intensify, many of us are becoming battle weary and experiencing deep despair. Some days and some seasons, it all simply becomes too much to handle, our hope wanes, and we try our best to escape the battlefield.

Bad news alert: It’s only going to get worse. There’s not much I see on the horizon in the way of relief other than Jesus. The closer the devil gets to his foretold end, the more his demonic activity is going to ramp up and his attacks intensify. My family and your family are targets and will remain in the enemy’s crosshairs. Without hope, how are we to stand firm? The loss of hope can turn catastrophic in the life of a believer and allow the devil’s predictable opposition to become unforeseen oppression. We noted in the previous installment how opposition stands in our way, but is surmountable, whereas oppression stands on our head and sits us down. Continue reading…

Assaulted, that’s the word that would best express what I’ve felt so far in 2023. I’ve been under attack and under fire. The year started off in January with my father’s horrific suicide, a journey I conveyed in an article here on Rapture Ready titled When Darkness Prevails. At the time I was working on Heavenly Vision, a segment of what has become the “Heavenly” series. Even prior to my dad’s death, the Lord was challenging me to maintain heavenly vision rather than earthly vision, to fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith. When I do that, I know the story isn’t over, no matter what’s happening around me.

If I’ve ever needed that reminder, it’s here now in June. Since my dad’s death, in the past four months, my younger brother had two strokes, my husband lost his job, and my older brother, at only fifty-nine, was placed in skilled memory care for fast-progressing, early-onset dementia. He’s all but lost to us already. Seriously, my family and I have truly been under fire.

I know I’m not alone in this. You have been under fire too and have experienced family tragedies. I get emails from readers who are dealing with hardships and heartbreak, assaulted lives and homes and families. A common theme is our prodigal adult kids. I’m there with you on that one too. Our children, young and grown alike, are in the enemy’s crosshairs as he wages an all-out offensive against them. Continue Reading…

This Rapture Ready article will be used as the assignment for the Daybreak Gathering meeting on 6/15/23. Check out the DaybreakGathering.com page for more information if you would like to join the conversation.

A long time ago in a month far, far away, I began what I intended to be a “Heavenly” series. There have been starts and stops and starts again. This is a start-again moment. Often, what we see as interruptions at the time are later found to be God’s strategic interventions. I have no problem seeing that now in this start-again moment and find it’s nice to be back on track.

I began in the previous installment of this series, Heavenly Vision, reminding myself and you of the importance of preparing our hearts for the coming of the Lord, that time when we will all meet Jesus face to face. The article went on to address one massive distraction from our heart preparations, our tendency to focus more on the rising darkness of this world than on the soon-coming Light. We called this anxiety-breeding activity earthly vision. (That was a quick recap.)

So now we’re circling back around to the idea of preparing our hearts to meet Jesus face to face. Are we actually ready for that, to meet the Maker of the sun and stars? All we are and do and think will be laid bare before Him at that meeting. That gives me a bit of a queasy stomach, and the enemy could have a field day with doubts and questions if I didn’t know Jesus paid it all, and that there’s nothing I can do to be any more righteous in His sight than His shed blood has already accomplished. Still, when I get there, I want to kneel before Him knowing I’ve given all of me to my King here in the final whispers of this kingdom age. Continue Reading…