Speaking of some of the saints who were temporarily restored to physical life to testify about Yeshua’s resurrection, after jealous Jewish leaders delivered Him to the bloody Romans to murder, we find, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit:

Matthew 27:53

…and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into THE HOLY CITY and appeared to many.

Paul, speaking of the imminent Third Temple, the holy TEMPLE OF GOD (the Temple of God – not just of the Jews or any other conspiracy theory that contradicts Scripture), that Europe’s wannabe divine emperor will pollute, coveting it since Satan knows (even if some religious folks don’t) it is the TEMPLE OF GOD:

2 Thessalonians 2:4

…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the TEMPLE OF GOD, showing himself that he is God.

Speaking of the imminent Third Temple and EU occupation of Jerusalem (whose days are numbered when they trespass upon the Temple Mount), and simultaneous ministry of the Two Witnesses, the apostle John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to foretell:

Revelation 11:1-3

1 Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ?Rise and measure the TEMPLE OF GOD [not merely of the Jews or of the Masons or Illuminati or whoever some slander], the altar, and those who worship there. 2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread THE HOLY CITY underfoot for forty-two months. 3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.

Speaking of the imminent clash between Catholic Europe and Islam with Jerusalem’s holy Temple Mount caught in the middle:

Daniel 11:40-45

At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

Jerusalem is holy in the biblical sense it has been called to fulfill its awesome calling to become the City of our God, the City of the Great King. It has been sanctified, set apart for a holy purpose that it will soon fulfill. It is holy, even though it is a sinful city, just like Israel and Judah are holy, set apart, sanctified, and need to learn to live holy lives.

The New Jerusalem doesn’t come down from Heaven until after the initial thousand year reign of Christ who will subdue all opposition and destroy all enemies, including death and Satan when the Earth is purified by fire. Then the Father comes with New Jerusalem – the Sabbath-keepingChurch of God is a type of it.

Meanwhile, we pray for Judah and intercede for Jerusalem:

Isaiah 62:1-2

1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace,

And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest,

Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,

And her salvation as a lamp that burns.

2 The Gentiles shall see your righteousness,

And all kings your glory.

You shall be called by a new name,

Which the mouth of the LORD will name.

Isaiah 62:6-7

6 I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

They shall never hold their peace day or night.

You who make mention of the LORD, do not keep silent,

7 And give Him no rest till He establishes

And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

These watchmen are the Two Witnesses of Revelation 11 — Two Witnesses who will testify in Jerusalem against Europe. They will announce to the cities of Judah and comfort captive Israel (all Twelve Tribes) that our God will come and save us.

Isaiah 35:4

4 Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

“Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

With the recompense of God;

He will come and save you.”

Isaiah 25:9

9 And it will be said in that day:

“Behold, this is our God;

We have waited for Him, and He will save us.

This is the LORD;

We have waited for Him;

We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Our bodies are amazing machines, but I think our hands might be two of the most amazing parts we have. With our hands we do many kinds of work. We shake hands to say, “Hello!” And it is said Italians couldn’t talk without them. But I think the best thing we can do with our hands is praise God. Psalm 63:4 says this: “I will praise you as long as I live and in Your name I will lift up my hands.” This is a perfect verse to teach to our little ones along with the names of their five digits: thumb, pointer, middle, ring and pinky, too! Try this fun Bible school activity that teaches how God wants them to lift up their hands in honor to His glorious name.

Here’s what you do:
Begin by saying the following to your preschoolers: Isn’t it wonderful that God gave us hands? Everybody put your hands way up so I can see all of them. Wow! Good job! Hands are wonderful! We use them to do lots of important things like color with crayons, bounce a ball, and give our friends high-fives. But do you know what might be the most important thing we can do with our hands? (Wait for response.) The best thing we can do with our hands is praise God with them.

At this point, you will want to read Psalm 63:4. You actually might just want your class to learn the second part of the verse, which says, “…and in Your name I will lift up my hands.” It’s shorter and will be easier for them to memorize. Have the children say the verse several times. Once you feel they are getting comfortable with it, say the following:

You guys are doing really well memorizing God’s Word. Now lets memorize the words that describe our fingers. Everyone hold up your thumb. (For each finger, show them which one you mean.) Now hold up your pointer finger. Now hold up your middle finger. Now hold up your ring finger. (Explain that the ring finger has its name because most married people wear a wedding ring on this finger.) Finally, hold up your pinky. Good job, everybody! Now let’s play a little game that will help us memorize Psalm 63:4 and that will give us a chance to praise God.

For this Bible school lesson you are now going to instruct your preschoolers to do different things with their fingers. For example, you might say, “Touch your pinky to your nose.” After each command, have the children raise their hands and say, “In Your name I will lift up my hands.” Below is a list of commands to get you started.

Touch your pinky to your nose.
Touch your middle finger to something blue (or any other color.)
Touch your ring finger to your hair.
Touch your thumb to something with the shape of a circle.
Touch your pointer to your shoulder.

We all remember when the disciples went out on the lake with Jesus and the storm came up while Jesus was sleeping. They woke Jesus and He told the storm to be still. Do you think that it can be the same way in your life when the storms come? Do you think Jesus can solve the turmoil in your life?

Life can be full of one hassle after another one. I am not sure about you, but my life seems to go from one hard and difficult thing to the next one and sometimes a storm settles in for the long haul and I am just suffering for a long time.

What do we do when the hard times come?

I have found that in the hardest times the best I can do is give the situation the Jesus in prayer and then praise Him through the midst of the storm. I find if I praise Him for the hard times, then I am more accepting of them, and Jesus gives me a measure of His peace in the midst of it.

I have read accounts of people of God who have gone through tremendous suffering and who have gone through all of it with the peace and the joy of the Lord. This is the sort of life that I want to have. To be able to be happy and full of joy even though circumstances and my life is full of darkness.

I really think that is why the story about Jesus in the boat is in the Bible. To let us know that Jesus is still in the boat with us. I feel it is there so that we can know that Jesus cares when we are having hard times and He is right there with us no matter how hard things get.

That’s what I think anyway.