ARISE & SHINE
January 3, 2021 10:46 PM
Averine Pennington
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“ARISE & SHINE”
by Averine Pennington, January 3, 2020
This past year of 2020 was certainly one for the record books and I am expecting this new year of 2021 to be even more so. I know you may be asking, “How would I know?” Well, I’m so glad you asked. Let me share with you why I believe 2021 will make 2020 fade into oblivion by comparison. My answer . . . God is at work preparing the world and all that is in it for the soon return of His Son, King Jesus! The mockers and scoffers will say as usual that folks have been preaching that same prophecy from long ago for generations and nothing has happened yet. The operative word here is ‘YET’! Those who know their God and have read His Holy Word, know the kingdom of our Lord is at hand. These are not my words but come from the inspired, infallible Word of God in Hebrews 10:35-37: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36) For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37) For YET a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”
I woke up this morning praising God for yet one more day to tell others about His Son. However, I find myself in a bit of a dilemma. I do not get out much anymore. Frankly, with the world as we NOW know it, who does? So, then the question became, “WHO am I going to tell and HOW?” In January of 2020, I asked the Lord to sum up in one word a new year’s resolution that I could accomplish for Him. Almost immediately, the word ‘WRITE’ was placed in my spirit. I then asked Him, “WHAT would I write and WHO would even read it?” Through divine circumstance I was led to this site, 444prophecynews, and our dear brother Jonathan has posted over thirty messages that the Lord has given me to write. Praise God for His faithfulness and provision! He made a way when there seemed to be no way!
The last few months God has been leading me in another direction. If you’ve read any of my posts since the beginning of August, you will know why. Since that time the Lord has called me into deep Bible study and spiritual warfare. I thought He was preparing me for the battle ahead. Like many of you, I was expecting that battle to occur before the end of 2020. But God’s ways are not our ways. His timing is perfect . . . so He is teaching me to have patience while I wait to receive the promise. In the meantime, I have been praying how best to be ‘about my Father’s business.’ So today, I asked the Lord the same question. What one word sums up my new year’s resolution for the year 2021 to accomplish for my Savior? Almost immediately, the word I heard in my spirit was ‘SPEAK’! It brought to mind one of the verses I have recently memorized, Rev. 12:11: “And they overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the WORD of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.”
Now, my first inclination was to remind the Lord that I am not a public speaker. I am a writer. I can very logically put together sentences that make ‘sense’ on paper! But ask me to speak, and I stumble around with every other word being ‘uh’! Then the Lord reminded me that ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ He reminded me of His call upon my life to ‘Feed His Sheep’ . . . to assist in His great end-time harvest. He reminded me of His lost ones who have yet to HEAR His gospel. He reminded me of His last words before He ascended to His Father . . . what we refer to now as the ‘Great Commission.’ He reminded me that as He has lovingly and patiently taught me, I am to teach others also. He reminded me that the gospel must be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, for only then shall the end come. He reminded me that NOW is the time to ARISE & SHINE!
So all day long, I have been pondering on this one-word assignment, assuring my Lord that I am His obedient servant. I don’t know why I should be surprised as everything I have been studying of late is directly related to the gospel of the kingdom as preached by Christ himself, the apostles, and Paul. I believe He has been preparing me for this for quite some time. For the past couple of weeks I have been led to study about TRUTH. I awoke on 12-17-20 with this word from the Holy Spirit, “GIRD YOURSELF.” The next morning I awoke with the phrase, “GIRDED WITH TRUTH.” My first thought was the reference to a piece of our spiritual armor . . . ‘your loins girt with truth’ (Eph. 6:14). Instead, I was led to the conversation between Pilate and Jesus in John 18:33-38. Vs. 37-38a: “Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?”
I want to be better equipped to answer Pilate’s question. Very soon, multitudes in the ‘valley of decision’ will be asking that same question. I know I will never be able to memorize all of the scriptures I have scribbled down, but I am trusting the Holy Spirit is teaching me something and will bring it to my remembrance when needed in the future.
I believe I am to share a couple of dreams with you regarding the Lord’s admonition to Arise & Shine:
Dream # 1: Oracles of God
(received Tuesday, 12-01-20)
This seemed to be an endless dream in which I was viewing scenes throughout history and God was showing me mystery after mystery from His Word even as far back as Eden. Unfortunately, upon awakening, I could not remember any of those deep hidden mysteries that were revealed. I was allowed to remember the fact that throughout history He has used His children from every generation as His oracles. HIS STORY has been . . . and still is being . . . told through the lives of His children. I know this will not make much sense but it was as if I was a character on the pages of HIS STORY that is presently playing out and my life was passing as the chronicles on those pages were being read by ‘someone.’ The only thing was, the pages were beginning to turn so fast that it was as if I was in a whirlwind. I couldn’t live MY STORY as fast as HIS STORY was unfolding. It was as if time had sped up. Events were happening so fast that the ‘story’ coming behind my part of the story was overtaking me and I had to pick up the pace or get trampled. It was like being in the pages of a storybook while the book is still being written and the end is overtaking the beginning. A very strange dream indeed. The Bible passage I was led to read that morning was the entire book of Amos. I don’t know what relevance this has, but when I read Amos 9:13, it seemed similar to the dream . . . “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.”
Food for Thought: On Jan. 1st, my study included 1 Peter 4:7-11: “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8) And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves; for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9) Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10) As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11) If any man SPEAK, let him SPEAK as the ORACLES OF GOD; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth; that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (emphasis mine)
Dream #2: Finding Refuge & Feeding the Sheep
(received Saturday, 12-05-20)
In this dream I was leading a group of dirty, tired, ragtag people who had become believers in Jesus Christ. I think this must have occurred after the transformation of the remnant/first-fruits/harvest workers because these people followed me without question because I was what they referred to as ‘A Shining One.’ I was leading them into a remote Christian Camp that was deserted and dilapidated. It reminded me of a camp I attended as a youth. You had to forge the river to reach it and it was deep in the woods. The camp consisted of several cabins, an outdoor pavilion that was falling down, a larger building that was once the worship center, and another smaller building that was the mess-hall. The group of people I was leading was fairly large in number, maybe 40 or 50 people. Most of them seemed youngish, like teenagers to maybe early 30s, no older people at all.
As we arrived, I told everyone to spread out and choose a cabin and just go in and rest. Everyone was so tired from walking for days on end. It was perhaps mid-afternoon and the skies were dark and overcast. Everything looked gray, even the trees. The landscape was desolate, no leaves on the trees and a fine whitish-gray powdery dust covered everything. (Ash maybe ????) I told the group I would look for something to eat and that they should come to the mess-hall before dark.
Everyone scattered their different ways to the cabins with no words being spoken except my own. I found it strange that there was so much silence in such a large group. It was as if everyone was operating in stealth mode. There was no grumbling or complaining as to who took which cabin or any excitement about reaching our destination. Not like you would expect from a group of young people. (Maybe they were in shock ???).
The next thing I remember was being in the mess-hall and looking for food or anything I could prepare for them to eat. I found a large cardboard box and opened it. Instead of food it was filled with scriptures. Not a Bible, but loose pages and pieces of paper just jumbled up in the box, but it was full. I was glad to find what was in the box, but I looked up to heaven and asked the Lord, “What am I to do if there is no food?” I heard in my spirit, “Feed them this! Feed my sheep!” As I sifted through the papers in the box, the Holy Spirit would sort of ‘highlight’ to my spirit which ones I should pull out of the box for that particular meal. I somehow knew this would be what would happen for each meal going forward. I would be teaching God’s Word to this group of people. I would ‘Feed His sheep.” End of dream.
I don’t know if others are having dreams like this but I believe God is telling me that He is doing something with ‘TIME.’ Perhaps this is what Jesus meant in Matthew 24:22 when He said ‘the days will be shortened for the elect’s sake.’ As much as I would like to better understand heavenly things, there is so much I will not know until His appointed time. I am ever learning as I commune with Him each day. He has promised that if we draw nigh to Him, He will draw night to us.
The time is at hand. Be ready to ‘Arise & Shine.’
Yours for the Harvest,
Averine
