Just about anything you or I could experience in this life that is hard and unpleasant, including being publicly executed, Jesus endured in the flesh, in His humanity.

While watching a show on YouTube called ‘What Would You Do?‘, a show where they have actors mixed into real situations unawares to see what people would do in response, I came across an especially heart rending episode, and have posted it at the bottom of this article. It centered on a single mom with her two kids, and she could only afford one meal for them to share. Watching the overflowing compassion that strangers had for them in their situation swiftly brought tears to my eyes. And as I watched, the Lord spoke to me about trials, hardship and how He wants us all to grow in grace as we walk with Him.

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:14-16 (KJB)

How well I remember my own specialized trial from the Lord, one of many, back in 2013, when my lesbian manager at Citibank fired me on the spot when she found out I was the creator of Now The End Begins. Trusting in the Lord I quickly found a new position at Florida Blue, only to be fired from that job 5 days later, soon after I found out I was blackballed by the recruiter network in NE Florida. Imagine that, but true. Now I was about to find out what trusting in the Lord was really all about.

In just a few months I ran out of money, unable to pay rent, and found myself out on the street and homeless in Florida. One of my dear friends and fellow street preacher Steve took me in and for the entire summer, for the first time in my adult life, I was living on the charity of someone else, unable to pay my own way. Well the Lord ordered every step along the way, and I wouldn’t trade what He showed me during that time for all the money in the world. He used that trial to help me grow in His grace, not to hurt me. How about you?

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS AND THE BIBLE: STEP THREE BROUGHT ME FACE TO FACE WITH THE LIVING GOD OF THE UNIVERSE

Now The End Begins is a global ministry and we are in touch with saints all over America and all over the world. Many times people reach out for advice and prayerful counsel, and I am only too happy to give it. I have heard some tough, tough stories of what people go through on a daily basis, Christian people who love the Lord, and are finding themselves in situations they never could have foreseen. Job loved the Lord with all his heart, and he, too, never saw coming what the Lord intended to grow him with.

“And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.” Job 1:8-12 (KJB)

God allowed Satan to take Job’s children, all his wealth, his health, and finally had his wife tell him to “curse God and die”. Why would God allow that? Because Satan is the rod that God’s uses to “correct” His children when they have strayed, when they are backslidden, and when they need to have their faith tested and increased. In the verse below we see God using Satan who will be correcting the Jews during the upcoming time of Jacob’s trouble, and in the verses above that show God using Satan to grow Job about a few things. I bet they don’t preach messages like this in your church, do they? If they did, you wouldn’t be so shocked right now reading it, but it’s true and it’s bible.

“O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.” Isaiah 10:5,6 (KJB)

Attorney Horatio Spafford and his wife, Anna, had a wonderful family of four daughters. Tragically, the great Chicago fire destroyed most of his business in 1871. Then, two years later, his wife and daughters were aboard the ocean liner Ville du Havre when it was struck by another vessel. All four daughters drowned.

His wife survived and nine days later was able to contact her husband by telegraph with this question: “Saved alone—what shall I do?”

Spafford took the next available ship to join his wife. During the passage, the captain of the ship notified Spafford they were crossing the place where the Ville du Havre had sunk. After those moments of reflection and over the course of the rest of the journey, Spafford penned the words of the beloved hymn “It Is Well With My Soul“.

So what do you do when you’re going through a trial that puts you to bed in tears and wakes you up with anxiety? You do what Job did, what David did, what Joseph did, what Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane, submit to it and allow His will to have rule and reign over you. For the blood-bought, born again follower of Jesus Christ there is no other way. None at all.

“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” Matthew 26:39,42 (KJB)

Are you homeless? Jesus was homeless. Are you lonely and feeling betrayed? Jesus was also. Just about anything you or I could experience in this life that is hard and unpleasant, including being publicly executed, Jesus endured in the flesh, in His humanity. So when Jesus invites you to cast all your care on Him, He knows what He’s talking about, He knows what it’s like to have your particular problems, and He knows how to fix you.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (KJB)

You see, the Bible does not show us a God who gets you out of the storm, the Bible shows us God who gets us through the storm, time and time again. When the summer of 2013 was over, God began opening doors for me that were nothing less than amazing and awesome. I have never again worked as the highly-paid employee of a major corporation as I had done for 20 years prior, but I have never not had food on my table, clothes on my back, or a roof over my head, either. God is good, and if you’re saved, He wants to grow you in His grace and love. Trust Him. If you’re not saved, you can take care of your most pressing problem right now by clicking here.

What Would You Do?

Watch this episode all the way through, and see what it does for your attitude. It did wonders for me.

It Is Well with My Soul: Historical Origins of the beloved hymn

Several legends have grown up around the great Christian hymn “It Is Well.” The primary sources help establish a more accurate understanding of the origins of this hymn. Some versions overly sentimentalize the facts, gloss over Spafford’s doctrinal drift, or completely ignore the events surrounding the composer of the tune that accompanied the lyrics. The actual facts are moving enough even without sentimentalizing them. Nevertheless, the story of the writing of both lyrics and tune is a source of great encouragement and hope to those who struggle under the burden of overwhelming sorrow. May this video inspire you with that hope.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE:Click here to view our GoFundMe page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. Even all the way to South Africa. We even restarted our weekly radio Bible study on Sunday nights again, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

CLICK IMAGE TO ORDER YOUR BOX OF NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. If every one of the 13,131 people on our daily mailing list gave $4.50, we would reach our goal immediately. If every one of our 151,781 followers on Facebook gave $1.00 each, we would reach 300% of our goal. The same goes for our 14,500 followers on Twitter. But sadly, many will not give, so we need the ones who can and who will give to be generous. As generous as possible.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJV)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our GoFundMe page

When two local teens skipped school for a beach senior skip day, their adventure turned into a fight for their lives, and their savior was heaven-sent.

It’s the classic story of time-honored, end of year high school hijinks, two teens skip school on Senior Cut Day, and head on over to the beach for some fun. Only on this particular day, things took a deadly turn. Tyler Smith and Heather Brown, both 17 years old, swam out too far from the shore, and realized they didn’t have the strength to swim back. Fear began to set in as it dawned on them that they were in trouble a whole lot more serious than an after-school detention.

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isaiah 41:10 (KJV)

Faced with a rapidly-closing window on a now-uncertain future, Tyler and Heather began to pray to the God of Heaven, and that’s when their miracle happened. Believe it or not, a boat heading to New Jersey named ‘The Amen’ spotted the teens, and they were rescued in short order. God doesn’t always answer our prayers that quickly or that dramatically, but He always answers.

The greatest tool the born again believer has is access to the Throne room of God, where the bible says He hears and answers our prayers.

“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3 (KJV)

‘God is real’: Two teens stranded in the ocean rescued by a boat named ‘The Amen’

FROM ACTION NEWS JAX: Tyler Smith and Heather Brown, both 17 years old, have been friends since the fourth grade. They decided to swim offshore in Vilano Beach, but became stranded 2 miles off the coastline for two hours.

They began to pray.

“I cried out, ‘if you really do have a plan for us, like, come on. Just bring something.’” Smith said.  Then a boat sailing from South Florida to New Jersey spotted the teens in distress.

“I started swimming towards it. I was like, ‘I’m going to get this boat. Just stay here. I’m going to get this boat. We are going to live.’” Brown said.  Their prayers were answered in the form of a boat, a God send, named ‘The Amen’.

“No explanation other than God.” Teens stranded in ocean prayed for help, rescued by boat named ‘Amen’: 🙏 https://t.co/LBkzw0SDFF pic.twitter.com/SBFPHcB6M2

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) May 2, 2019

“The first words that came out of my mouth were, ‘God is real.’” The men in the boat brought the teens on board carried them safely to shore.

The teens are thanking God and the men who saved them. “There’s no other reason, no other explanation in the world other than God,” Smith said. READ MORE

BEAUTIFUL PORPOISE POINT IN VILANO BEACH, FLORIDA

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last days before the Rapture of the Church

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our GoFundMe page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the building of the recording studio, but it also goes to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. Even all the way to South Africa. We even restarted our weekly radio Bible study on Sunday nights again, thanks to your generous donations.

CLICK IMAGE TO ORDER YOUR BOX OF NTEB GOSPEL TRACTS

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. If every one of the 12,832 people on our daily mailing list gave $4.50, we would reach our goal immediately. If every one of our 151,781 followers on Facebook gave $1.00 each, we would reach 300% of our goal. The same goes for our 14,000 followers on Twitter. But sadly, many will not give, so we need the ones who can and who will give to be generous. As generous as possible.

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJV)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our GoFundMe page

Kate McClure didn’t expect to run out of gas on her drive to Philadelphia last month. And she definitely didn’t expect that her misfortune would give her the opportunity to change someone else’s life.

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 (KJV)

EDITOR’S NOTE: I don’t know if the homeless Marine in this story, Johnny, is a Christian or not. Or if the women he so selflessly helped is, either. But the type of sacrificial giving they both extended to each other is exactly what the Bible teaches on how Christians are supposed to give when they see a need. The grateful woman, Kate McClure, set up an ambitious $10K GoFundMe page to see if she could get Johnny off the streets. So far she has raised $233,308. God’s timing is always the right timing, thank you Lord for reminding me of that. Semper Fi.

Pulled over on the side of I-95, Kate McClure, 27, was approached by a homeless man named Johnny. She was apprehensive at first, but Johnny told her to get back into her car and to lock the doors while he walked to get her help. He went to a nearby gas station, used his last $20 fill a can and brought it back to fill up her car.

Grateful, but without a dollar to repay him, McClure promised she would come back with something.

VISIT JOHNNY’S GOFUNDME PAGE

In the weeks since, she’s returned to the spot along I-95 where Johnny stays with cash, snacks and Wawa gift cards. Each time she’s stopped by with her boyfriend, Mark D’Amico, they’ve learned a bit more about Johnny’s story, and become humbled by his gratitude.

Eventually, the Florence Township couple knew they had to do something more.

“I would say, ‘I keep thinking about that guy,’” D’Amico said. And McClure was thinking about Johnny, too.

So they launched a GoFundMe campaign, putting an ambitious $10,000 goal and hoping to rein in a few hundred dollars to book Johnny a motel for a few nights where he could clean up, and start to get back on his feet.

As of Wednesday, November 22, 2017, the campaign has garnered more than $34,000 in donations, and continues to grow.

“It just blew up,” McClure said, noting that donors have come forward with $5, $10 or even several hundred after she’s shared the GoFundMe to various Facebook groups. Johnny, who’s 34, told McClure and D’Amico he has been homeless for about a year. He said he was previously a certified paramedic, and also served in the Marine Corps.

After moving around the country for a time, he came to Philadelphia a year ago with a job lined up and some money to buy a truck. But soon after the job fell through, leaving Johnny surviving off meager savings.

Later, he lost his paperwork, rendering him unable to work. One night on the streets turned into a week, and ultimately a year of homelessness.

“Driving into Philly one night, I made the mistake of thinking that I would be able to make it all the way down I- 95 with my gas light on. Needless to say, I was wrong. I never ran out of gas before, and my heart was beating out of my chest. I pulled over as far as I could, and got out of the car to head to the nearest gas station. That’s when I met Johnny. Johnny sits on the side of the road every day, holding a sign. He saw me pull over and knew something was wrong. He told me to get back in the car and lock the doors. A few minutes later, he comes back with a red gas can.  Using his last 20 dollars to make sure I could get home safe.” – Kate McClure

Learning his story, and sifting through his old Facebook photos, McClure and D’Amico said they were shocked to see how quickly Johnny’s life had changed from that of a working man who vacationed on the beach to one living off the streets of Philadelphia.

“It’s crazy, you can relate to that,” McClure said. “You look through and think, ‘that could be me.’”

Last week, they surprised Johnny with the campaign, telling him they had already raised $1,700 and planned to keep going.

“That changes my life, right there,” Johnny said of the $1,700, captured in a video McClure took. “I’ve honestly met more good people than bad,” he said of his time in Philadelphia. The couple understands how their help in reaching out to landlords and vouching for Johnny’s character will help him overcome some of those hurdles.

“If we just handed him the money, it’s not going to happen,” McClure said.

Johnny has started the process of getting his paperwork replaced, as he’s currently without identification or Veteran’s Affairs papers, McClure said. He hopes to get a job at the Amazon warehouse in Robbinsville, and down the road, hopes to take the test to become recertified as a paramedic in Pennsylvania or New Jersey.

And McClure and D’Amico are confident they can get him started on that path soon, hoping to place him in a room to rent in an apartment within two weeks as they continue to fundraise.

“When I still look at (the GoFundMe), it blows my mind,” McClure said. “It’s actually going to happen for him.” source

UPDATE: So far people have donated $210,305 to help Johnny get his life back.