Last Updated on May 9, 2023 by OCF Communications
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing.… They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God.
—Isaiah 35:1-2
After a lengthy and severe drought that was followed by an unusually wet winter, the State of California is experiencing a “superbloom” of wildflowers. Even in desert areas, an explosion of brilliant technicolor has carpeted the landscapes, drawing visitors from around the globe to gather and gape at the glory of God’s creation.
It’s all about the timing, said scientists. After years of record drought, massive wildfires, and stringent water restrictions, the superbloom super show all over California was contingent upon the right combination of factors: when and how often it rained, how windy it would be or not, and if it got too hot too soon.
Over the last couple of years, countless Californians have lost homes, businesses, possessions, and loved ones while suffering through raging wildfires, massive flooding coming from this winter’s record rainfall, and hundreds upon hundreds of mudslides coming off bald hillsides scarred from the drought and infernos. And the spring melt of record snows in the Sierras has yet to begin.
Tom Hughes, a California pastor, leads the Hope for Our Times ministry that “focuses on the prophecies of the Bible concerning end times events.” He commented in a recent YouTube video about the distressing, turbulent times we’re living in and their impact, especially on Christians who serve Him in Spirit and Truth, who faithfully labor in kingdom work while also staying “dressed for action and keep[ing] your lamps burning … waiting for their Master to come home” (Luke 12:35-36).
The continual eroding in astonishing degrees of our society and values to abject godlessness, and the alarming compromise by far too many Christian churches away from biblical truth to the world’s lies has left a sense of always “waiting for the next shoe to drop,” Hughes said.
Despite the varied eschatological positions, those who are eagerly awaiting the Lord Jesus and His return mostly agree on this one point: there will indeed be a day when the Lamb of God returns as the Lion of Judah to reign and rule as the King of kings. He will fully usher in His kingdom of righteousness with all enemies at His feet—a return to Eden to restore us and all of creation in the springtime of eternity. One day our Bridegroom will call out to His own, “…the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come” (Song of Solomon 2:11-12).
In the meantime, we are called to persevere, persist, and keep our eyes on Jesus, “to feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation,” and “to have the full assurance of hope until the end… of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:9, 11-12).
OCF prayer warrior teammates—what are your prayer requests or praises?
Please pray Jesus Christ would carry out the following for you and us(Jung-won, Ui-seop, Ha-young, Ye-young, Eun-tae, In-sook):
1)Please set us and all those who are or will be related to us in anyway apart for holiness in the truth (your word), and please let them be gathered into heaven as our treasure without fail.
2)Lord Jesus, I ask you to make us all your true possessions. I want God to choose us as His peculiar treasure..
; “Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will certainly not turn away. No one can come to me unless the Father — the One who sent me — draws him.” - John 6:37,44
“Just as the Father raises the dead and makes them alive, so too the Son makes alive anyone he wants.” – John 5:21
“For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own special treasure.”- Psalms 135:4
3) Here we send our delegation to the Jesus Christ the Lord and seeks terms for shalom with Jesus, and here we ask you to be our only King.
;“Or else, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace.” – Luke 14:32
4) Sprinkle your water upon us, cleanse us from all our uncleanness and from all our idols. Take the stony heart out of our flesh and give us a heart of flesh, and put your Spirit inside us.(Ezekiel 36). Grant us the true freedom you promised.(John8:32).
5) I ask that the Son of God designate us as those who directly reveal the Father God. As a result, we all hope to have true knowledge of the only God of truth and of the King Jesus Christ whom He sent.
;“And eternal life is this: to know you, the one true God, and him whom you sent, Yeshua the Messiah.” – John 17:2-3
6) Please send your angels and command that your intended harvest be accomplished among us.
7) Grant us the sole advocacy of the one and only God against our adversaries.
8) May all our flesh live to keep the commandments of Jesus Christ and witness the Salvation of Elohim.
9) Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
10) Lord Jesus, please take all that we have requested and make it your own work, and may it be fulfilled according to God’s will, not man’s. May the will of the true God, who knows all our needs, transcends our personal will. Please, directly reveal the name of God the Father to us that we may clearly see Your glory that comes from the only true God.
;“I made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them.”- John 17:26