Discerning the Times

When You See the Cloud Rising

Jesus said to the crowd in Luke 12:54: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”

Are we properly discerning the importance of our day and hour? What should our focus & priorities be at this time?

We are living in one of the most strategic times in the course of human history. The Bible has much to say about the times of the end. We are living closer to the end of the age than any other generation before us. In fact, the last days or end times is one of the most discussed subjects in Scripture.

No one knows the day nor the hour of Christ return. Jesus said in Matthew 24:36-44 (ESV): “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

During the 2016 election I began to sense that the Lord was calling the nations to return to righteousness. There has been a lot of upheaval about national leaders in different nations. In America, I heard the Lord say that Donald Trump is a rabble rouser. A rabble rouser is someone who stirs up the masses of the people. It could be for political reasons or for other reasons. God has a way of revealing to us what’s truly in our hearts. Bible says in Proverbs 16: 2: “All a person’s ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the Lord.” With each rally, each tweet, each news broadcast or article people hearts are being exposed.  They are stirred up and what’s in them is what’s flowing out of the them. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. All deeds are right in the sight of the doer, but the Lord weighs the heart.

Today, I believe that the Lord is moving to turn this nation back to righteousness otherwise judgment will come. Jeremiah 18:7-10: “If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it.

In a blog post “Vote for Righteousness”, October 2016” on another site, I wrote “As Christians, we must get out and vote.  But, how you vote will determine the hand of God and His grace over this nation.” In another post “It’s time to Move Forward as One Nation Under God” I wrote “God is continually releasing signs and markers in front of us trying to get our attention–signs that say,”Therefore tell the people: This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘Return to me,’ declares the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

We are called by God to discern the times correctly. Today, I strongly sense the Lord is calling this nation to cleanse our hearts and return to Him. This is not an option.  Throughout the Bible we see there are times when God calls Israel to cleanse or purify themselves:

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.” (Ezekiel 36:24-25)

“let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22)

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again,not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you. (1 Peter 1:22–25)

Note: All Scriptures are taken from the New International Version unless otherwise notes.

Blessings,

Dr. Francine