Greetings and Happy New Year!!

January 1st, New Year’s Day, marks the one year anniversary of the public ministries of 100 Fold!

I have a question for you today – “Where were you in 1976?”

That was the year that Andre Crouch and the Disciples released a gospel song called “Soon and Very Soon”. Look through your record collection and see if you have this one.

If you’re too young to know the words, they are pretty simple. If you’re too old to remember the words – they are still pretty simple:

Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King,
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King,
Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King,
Hallelujah, hallelujah, We are going to see the King.

I think I said they were pretty simple! But if you add some vigorous clapping on beats 2 and 4 and the shifting of your weight back and forth on the same, then you are getting closer to feeling the music. Add to that a Gospel choir and maybe a swelling piano bass in the background, now it’s really moving you.

But you’re not done yet because the King has promises for you!

No more crying there, we are going to see the King,
No more crying there, we are going to see the King,
No more crying there, we are going to see the King,
Hallelujah, hallelujah, We are going to see the King.

And if that doesn’t capture your imagination linger on this next verse!

No more dying there, we are going to see the King,
No more dying there, we are going to see the King,
No more dying there, we are going to see the King,
Hallelujah, hallelujah, We are going to see the King.

We sing it so casually, as if being in the presence of the King doesn’t just blow us away. He wipes away all our tears and welcomes us into immortality – of course, we should be blown away.

Our experience here, in the here and now, is so different than the promises of Heaven, I don’t think we can wrap our brains around what it means to experience the glory of His presence, to be at perfect peace and to inhale celestial air.

Take for instance 2023:

• The Russian invasion of Ukraine marched into its second year
  
• Hamas committed unthinkable horror on the innocent and now almost two million people are without the food, water, medicine, and fuel they need to live
  
• A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey & Syria, killing tens of thousands, displacing thousands more
  
• The Hawaiian wildfires raged through Lahaina on Maui creating the worst natural disaster in Hawaiian history
  
• The Palácio do Planalto invasion of the Presidential palace threatened to destroy democracy in Brazil
  

Starvation, disease, and war – not so great. We need the good news of a King. A king powerful enough to quiet the hurricane that rages in our souls and brings to an end the war we are waging against God.

100 Fold ministries invites you deep into the gospel of the Kingdom – the central message of Jesus Christ. This gospel is not merely about individuals getting to go to heaven, though that, of course, is amazing. And it is not simply about my forgiveness of sin, though that gift of forgiveness stops me in my tracks. There is more set aside for you . . . Healing, Power, Community, Purpose, and shared Glory. And so much more yet. Don’t settle! Reach for all His benefits in Christ!

Stick with us here at 100 Fold Ministries in 2024, and let’s explore this gospel together, all the while remembering that soon and very soon, we will be seeing this King face-to-face!

This is Backyard Conversations, and I am Dave Scherrer, President. Happy New Year for you, your family and those you so desperately care about! Shalom!