America. . . Are You Listening?

Hear this, America...

"Therefore I bring charges against you again," declares the LORD.
"And I will bring charges against your children's children. Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.)

But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.

Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror," declares the LORD.

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." [Jeremiah 2:9-13]

The situation in America today is similar and deteriorating rapidly. Your churches are weak and vacillating - few take seriously the Word of God. You take from Scripture what you feel comfortable with - that which fits your preconceived ideas, and ignore the rest.

But, be warned,
Wherever the Word of God is hidden or ignored, there will be certain destruction.

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked.
A man reaps what he sows. [Galatians 6:7]

Partly because the priests in Israel had failed to teach God's Word to the people, Israel suffered. There was no faithfulness, no love, and no acknowledgment of God in the land. Rather there was only cursing, lying, murder, stealing and adultery.

Like in ancient Israel, America today is guilty of forsaking God and attempting to create your own paths to heaven with broken cisterns. Few of you know what truth is anymore, replacing fact with feeling on the altar of relativism and ridiculing anyone who claims to have truth. When presented with truth, you naysayers throw up your arms and refuse to even listen anymore.

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” [John 3:19-21]

As most Americans are now living in darkness and refuse the truth, their consciences have been seared and like the brazen prostitute; they refuse to blush with shame.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. [Isaiah 5:20]

Silence is NOT Golden

God tells us in Psalm 50 that He will not tolerate hypocrisy and will judge the wicked. There is a day of reckoning coming. When we remain silent about the evil in our society, we are in effect joining the wickedness and are as guilty as the perpetrators of the crime (see v. 18).

But to the wicked, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you. When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers. You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit. You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son. These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face. [Psalm 50:16-21]

"Hypocrisy is wickedness, which God will judge. And it is too common, for those who declare the Lord's statutes to others, to live in disobedience to them themselves. This delusion arises from the abuse of God's long-suffering, and a wilful mistake of his character and the intention of his gospel. The sins of sinners will be fully proved on them in the judgment of the great day." [Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary]

When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. [Pslam 50:18 KJV]

If consenting with or agreeing with the thief is wicked, how much more wicked is it to support and defend unbiblical laws?

• How can the Christian "give to Caesar what is Caesar’s (income taxes), and withhold from God what is God’s (tithe),” and yet claim to be without sin?
• How can the Christian consent to the thieves (U.S. Treasury, Federal Reserve, and International Banks) stealing their wealth and the wealth of their children by putting their money in godless banks and using their usurious credit cards to buy things?
• How can the Christian continue to accept counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes (your dollars) in violation of Leviticus 19:35-36 and Deuteronomy 25:13 -16, and Article I of the U.S. Constitution and believe they will not suffer poverty?
• How can the Christian vote for politicians or support laws that promote same sex marriage and believe they are not equally in violation of God's laws regarding homosexuality?
• How can the Christian permit abortion to be provided in their cities and not know they are partakers with murderers?
• How can American Christians stand by as our country's Godly heritage is destroyed by godless collectivists and not understand they are being sold into slavery and will suffer the consequences?
• How can Christians abide by the 10 Planks of Communism while disregarding the 10 Commandments and not expect the judgement of God?

Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. [Romans 1:32]

It is time, indeed past time, for Christians to stand up and resist the satanic tyranny leading many to destruction. You must not remain silent any longer! Neutrality is synonymous with consent and will be judged by God.
The satanic inspired lie of "Tolerance" - where God's Word is not proclaimed because people fear insulting or offending others has so infiltrated America today that few people even recognize the destructive results that inevitably follow.
If you're one who has redefined sin using the tolerance yardstick, I guarantee you won't like what you read here. You will likely be offended by what you believe to be a narrow-minded, hate-filled, and intolerant viewpoint.

Praise God! That means your conscience may still be intact.
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. [2 Chronicles 7:14]Bible Prophecy | Christian Apologetics at the Jeremiah Project

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It Is Going To Be A Rocky Road

by Chuck Baldwin
September 22, 2009

Let's face it: most Americans live in a world of false security. This is somewhat understandable, given the fact that the majority of the U.S. population was born after 1945. Few remember the dangers and hardships of World War II; fewer still remember the Great Depression. Few Americans know what it's like to not have some sort of "supercenter" nearby with shelves stocked with every kind of food imaginable, twenty-four hours a day. Few know what life was like before there were restaurants of all sizes and types on virtually every street corner in America. And only a handful remembers when most roads were unpaved, or when sports were truly a pastime and not a megabuck obsession.

Modern living within the world's only "superpower" has created a giant unsuspecting, soft, lackadaisical, and lethargic society. We expect the government to keep our streets safe, our roads paved, our stores stocked, our jobs secure, and our enemies at bay. However, in the desire to make government the panacea for all our problems, we have sold not only our independence, but also our virtue.

Where the federal government was contracted (via the U.S. Constitution) to accept limited power for the overall good of both states and people, it has become a monster of gargantuan proportions, claiming authority over virtually every liberty and right known to man. And in the process, it decided it didn't need God, either.

It is no hyperbole to say that the U.S. federal government has been on a "Ban God" bandwagon for the past 50 years. Whether it kicks prayer and Bible reading out of school, bars military chaplains from praying in Jesus' name, burns Bibles in Iraq, removes state supreme court chief justices from their positions for posting the Ten Commandments, or threatens high school principals with jail for asking the blessing, the federal government has invoked the judgment of Heaven upon our country as surely as did Old Testament Israel.

Although the comfortable, sports-crazed, TV addicts probably aren't paying attention, this country is on the verge of an implosion like you cannot believe. For anyone who cares to notice, the signs are everywhere.

First of all, Israel and Iran are on the verge of war. And right now, I'm not concentrating on the "why" or "who's right or wrong" of the equation. I'm simply telling you, war between Israel and Iran could break out at any time. And when it does, the chances that it will not become nuclear and not become global are miniscule. Yes, I am saying it: the prospects for nuclear war have never been greater. The CBS-canceled TV show, JERICHO, could become a reality in these United States in the very near future. (I strongly urge readers to purchase both seasons of JERICHO and watch them, because this could be our future.)

Secondly, America is on the verge of total financial collapse. By the end of this year, America's budget deficit will stand at around $2 trillion. The debt gap is many trillions more than that. But the nail in the coffin for America's fiscal health will be the decision by China to dump the U.S. dollar. Ladies and gentlemen, this will be the death knell for our financial stability (and a painful lesson in sowing and reaping).

It is estimated that China owns around one-third of all U.S. debt. If and when China dumps the U.S. dollar, there would be nothing left to stabilize it, and Weimar Republic/Zimbabwe-style inflation will ensue. America will be thrust into financial chaos. (If one doubts that China is planning to dump the dollar, consider that China is currently purchasing and stockpiling gold at an unprecedented level. This is why gold has suddenly surged to over $1,000 per ounce and why it will continue to rise.)

Third, the paranoia regarding the Swine Flu being demonstrated by both government and media spokesmen begs a giant push for some type of "government solution." If they keep hyping this "pandemic," mass hysteria and fear (created by the government and its lackeys in the media) will result. This would, no doubt, necessitate some form of forced vaccination, quarantine (maybe this is what all those internment camps will be used for), and martial law.

Exactly how and when all of the above will actually materialize is yet to be seen. There is no doubt in my mind, however, that within the next few months, the world that we know today is going to vanish. And most Americans are totally unprepared for what's coming.

If you are able to get out of debt, do it. If you need to scale down your lifestyle in order to be better prepared for difficult days, do it. If you don't have guns and ammo, buy them. If you have not prepared some sort of preserved food pantry, do it. If you don't have some kind of survival plan in place for you and your family, get one. If you are not physically fit, get in shape. If you are able to move to a more secure, out-of-harm's-way location, do it. (During any kind of financial or societal meltdown, urban areas will quickly turn into war zones. Can anyone say, "New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina"?) In other words, get your nose out of the boob tube, get your bottom off the easy chair, and get busy.

Am I worried or discouraged? Absolutely not! (But I am preparing.) The potential good that may result from all of the above is that perhaps God will protect and raise up a remnant of people who would be willing to rebuild a place where Natural Law is respected, constitutional government is revered, and where a ubiquitous, loathsome, overbearing federal government is far, far away. You know, like America's Founding Fathers did 233 years ago.

In the meantime, get ready. It's going to be a rocky road.

*If you appreciate this column and want to help me distribute these editorial opinions to an ever-growing audience, donations may now be made by credit card, check, or Money Order. Use this link:

http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/donate.php

© Chuck Baldwin

This column is archived as http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2009/cbarchive_20090922.html

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Minister Joe Wright's Prayer

Minister Joe Wright's Prayer

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual politically-correct generalities, but what they heard instead was a stirring prayer, passionately calling our country to repentance and righteousness. The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In six short weeks, the Central Christian Church had logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively. The church is now receiving international requests for copies of the prayer from India, Africa and Korea.

Commentator Paul Harvey aired the prayer on The Rest of the Story on the radio and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired!!

THE PRAYER

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, "Woe on those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We confess that:

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism.

We have worshiped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have neglected the needy and called is self-preservation.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn children and called it choice.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.

We have abused power and called it political savvy.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent to direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the living Savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

* * * * *

What awesome insight!!! With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called a Christian nation that fears the Lord.

Ellen Little

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The Prejudice of Atheists

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The Prejudice of Atheists

Written by Selwyn Duke
July 2009

Ever since the separation-of-church-and-state ruling in 1947, there has been an ever-intensifying effort to denude our public sphere of religious symbols and sentiments. The latest attack is a lawsuit to prevent "In God We Trust" and the Pledge of Allegiance from being engraved on the newly-built Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.

Filed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the suit claims that the mere presence of such engravings is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion. FoxNews.com reports on the story, telling us that the House and Senate passed resolutions earlier this month authorizing the engraving "in response to critics who complained Congress spent $621 million on the new three-story underground center without paying respect to the nation's religious heritage."

So now the other side is speaking. The question is, do they really believe what they're saying? I ask because their position on establishment strains credulity. The relevant part of the First Amendment simply states, "Congress shall make no laws respecting the establishment of religion." It says nothing about the "separation of church and state"; in fact, the principle is found nowhere in the Constitution. Sure, the phrase had been mentioned during the founders' time — such as in Thomas Jefferson's famous letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802 — yet many things were mentioned but never enshrined in the Constitution. And, like them, the separation of church and state never "made the cut." Why? Because it was a minority view when our nation was born.

Moreover, we should understand why Jefferson used the phrase. He was simply trying to reassure the Danbury Baptists that, should he ascend to the presidency, he wouldn't use federal power to impose his very unorthodox brand of Christianity on them. Jefferson's "wall" was a one-way filtration system. It kept government out of religion; it had nothing to do with keeping religion out of government.

Yet no amount of historical and legal argumentation can thwart the will of those bent on revising history and creatively "interpreting" law, and such sleight-of-hand will work if citizens consider suppressing public displays of religion a moral imperative. And people today do believe this for a simple reason: prejudice.

To understand this, consider the following example. Let's say that I'm obsessed with eliminating the many American Indian names dotting our map. And let's say that the cultural climate is conducive to this endeavor and I can thus find support and a legal basis for such a cultural rending. So I scour the nation looking for "offenses" and file lawsuits against Chappaqua, N.Y., Alabama, Illinois, and Kentucky as part of a long crusade. Would a clear-thinking person find this normal? Or, would he perhaps say I had a hang-up? In point of fact, it would be right to suspect that something very ugly, very secret — perhaps even sinister — drives me.

Now, if this would strike us as the ugliest of prejudice if the target were American Indian symbols and sentiments — or if it were Spanish or black symbols and sentiments — why don't we register the same revulsion when religion is placed in these crosshairs?

"Ah," says the critic, "But this is religion, not culture." Yes, and the Indian is a red man, not a white man. So? This is precisely the prejudice of which I speak. I'll illustrate my point.

I would ask atheist critics the following: if religious ideas really are handed down by the Creator of the Universe, the author of all, don't we have a duty to infuse our public square with them? Aren't we obligated to instill children with them in school?

Of course, we know atheists will respond with eye-rolling as they say, "Well, you may believe these ideas are divine, but we don't agree. They are just man-made." And from here checkmate is easy. Simply retort, "Okay, but if they're man-made, why do you discriminate against them? Why do you say that man-made ideas we happen to call "secular" may be in the public square, but man-made ideas we happen to call "religious" may not be? If they're all man's handiwork, good fellow, wherein lies the difference?

The point is, unthinkingly subjecting something to discrimination simply because it's labeled "religious" is no different than unthinkingly subjecting a group to discrimination because of its basic skin color. Sure, there can be legitimate discrimination, such as favoring 25-year-olds over 60-year-olds when hiring police or disallowing the false religious practice of human sacrifice in deference to the valid religious injunction, "Thou shalt do no murder." But the obsession with pushing religion to the back of the bus is nothing but blind prejudice. If you want to make a logical case for this bias, go ahead. If you want to play Christopher Hitchens' tune and say that "religion poisons everything," present your evidence. If you want to explain why man, a creature who has believed in gods for millennia, should suddenly make atheism the public default, marshal your arguments. Let's have the debate. But don't simply cite constitutional principles (illusory or not), as legality doesn't determine morality. And don't expect me to accept second-class status based on being the wrong philosophical "color."

Really, part of the problem is that militant secularists have so long heard the separation-of-church-and-state mantra that they've come to believe their anti-theistic prejudice is justifiable. In fact, they fancy it a virtue. It's much like a man who is raised believing that those of a given race are second class and have no right voicing their beliefs. He may feel quite righteous about stilling their tongues, but the fact remains he has a hang-up, an obsession with no basis in reality.

This prejudice is evident in the Freedom from Religion Foundation's lawsuit. Their position is, Fox writes, that "engraving them [the religious sentiments] at the entrance to the U.S. Capitol would discriminate against those who do not practice religion and unfairly promote a Judeo-Christian perspective."

Nonsense. Government institutions will always reflect certain values and ideas; it's just a question of what they will be. For example, most atheists have no problem indoctrinating children in school with multiculturalism, feminism, and environmentalism, which all involve values. Moreover, on what basis do secularists advocate them? If they would cite divine law, it would violate their own church/state separation principle. Yet, if these ideologies are just "man-made," why should we pay them any mind? It's a bit of a catch 22, isn't it?

In reality, value neutrality is a myth. And we won't determine what values are actually moral by denying the only one who could possibly be a credible author of morality: God. The Founding Fathers understood this, that only God can ordain with credibility. It's why, for example, they emphasized that people's rights are "endowed by their creator."

It's also why they had no problem with religious elements in government. What would have outraged them are the very things most atheists support, today's secular "isms," high taxation and liberty-robbing laws. And given that the founders launched a revolution over King George III's far milder trespasses, what do you think they'd tell us to do with our secular tyrants? I think I know, and they'd wish us Godspeed in our efforts.

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"P" and Me . . .

"P" and Me . . .

Most of us at sometime or another have felt the impulse to jot down a few profound thoughts or were prompted by a fellow salad-bar survivor to do so. In the minority are those that truly consider such a specious suggestion as being an actual possibility. If the thought is pondered more than a second or two the audacity of such a monumental task will often cause failure from the git-go.

We recall those daunting essays in junior high school; the “What I Did Last Summer”, or “My Favorite Pet” stories. Two-hundred words or more about nothing when punctuation and spelling actually counted was a pretty tough assignment, even back then. I remember being assaulted by waves of cybernetic tummy toxins invariably arriving the evening before the assigned paper was due. Racking the brain, staring at a few pitiful words flagrantly scrawled across the mostly void sheet of loose leaf, all of my gray matter would be focused on “How to Be Sick Tomorrow.”

For many years my maxim in life has been “one should never do today what one can delay until tomorrow.” And my old buddy, “Procrastination” has always backed me up; one hundred percent of the time. Ah…yes! Slumming with the “Big P” is mastering the art and science of self-rescue by haphazardly mapping the shortest escape route; being routinely assisted by dogmatic selection processes within a selfish society which offers the spurious safety of disproportionate self-esteem. This society freely and without reserve, distributes its own politically correct assessment of one’s work.

My most dependable buddy “P” and I have hidden under a bushel basket of lame excuses while hugging memory ravaging delays as we smooched the cold cheek of our own impotence. Somewhere between the bloom and harvest I fell in love with the idea of wasting time. “P” and I have spent most of our time peeling another day, slicing through another month, and sectioning another year from the fruit of “my life.”

Until this day . . . Of course, you don’t know if it really is today, do you? Only “P” and I know that for sure!

Today, I send my old friend dawdling off whichever way he decides to go. I will use the dividing knife of time to prepare for you, a “real life” story; a beggarly buffet for public consumption. I intend to skin, slice, and bare my inner core in a wholly communal manner before my entire yield of fruit, seed and all, is devoured by “shouldn’t, couldn’t, can’t,” or “won’t”. Let the juice splash where it may!

It is my conviction, that even the slightest therapeutic value of spilling the contents of one’s anemic soul, of dumping one’s tiny puddle of tears and laughter into the immense polluted river of jettisoned journals and orphaned opinions must be reason enough to consider launching a pig. I invite you who may have fallen too soon, or maybe too far from the tree; some who may be bruised, slightly soft in places; those whom have observed the firmest more colorful and tasty fruit being chosen, while inadvertently you fell to the bottom of the barrel, please join me as I catapult from the author’s launch pad! I just have to see if this piglet will fly!

All of us have or will suffer tragedy in our lifetimes. The way in which we accept or refuse to accept these moments will determine the fullness of each of our lives. Will we struggle with anger, bitterness and hatred? Or will those we love, those we encounter see the larger picture of love, charity and forgiveness that is possible?

Casting “P” aside, my hope is that some will embrace this story as it is intended “a help in time of need”.

"PIGS FLYING ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH"

book coming soon!

Much Given . . . Much Required

“Duliece, if there was one thing you could change in your life . . . what would it be?”

Always missing the presence of two children, and both parents; considering the tragedy and brutality of their deaths and how difficult those times had been . . . recalling the sinful life led in my youth . . . I carefully answered : “I would change nothing.”

My boss looked at me in disbelief, shook his head . . . and walked away. Inwardly smiling, I thought of the many, many blessings I had received in my lifetime. I silently thanked God for giving me the correct, but no doubt confounding answer. To the materialistic, secular mind and heart, God's answers sound foolish. But one must consider all the facts, causes and effects, and possible outcomes, to even think about altering the history of one life. I would not assume the responsibility of changing a single moment in time.

Without loss . . . there can be no gain . . . without failure . . . no success. Without giving . . . none can receive . . . without forgiving . . . there is no forgiveness. For every action, there is a reaction . . . this is an undisputed, universal rule that applies in every circumstance and in every life. Reflection on the past is prudent, if one is to acquire wisdom for the future . . . else there is no future . . . only constant repetition of the past. To relive the past is useless.

The most important laws of life can be the simplest ones to follow. These are great truths often overlooked in moments of grief or trauma, and in excitement or pleasure. The simple code that God instituted in His great Creation . . . the equations spoken into existence at the beginning of time . . . are universal laws that enable survival, one day at a time. These timeless rules can be absorbed and used in our race through this life; or they can be rejected and cast aside, leaving us at the starting line . . . always jumping the gun . . . repeatedly starting over . . . never reaching a destination . . . eternally seeking to finish and rest.

Realizing that the Word of God are not just vacant words written to baffle and confuse the ardent student of life, is a great joyful revelation. People really do reap what they sow. All things really do work for the good of them that love the Lord and seek His guidance. He will always make a way of escape, when we find ourselves in unbearable situations. We can forgive them that cause us great harm, just as He forgave us our trespasses against Him. God really does raise up a standard before us, when the enemy comes in like a flood. He will never leave us or forsake us, nor can anything or anyone separate us from Him, or His love.

God allowed the apple of His eye, His perfect Son, to be shamefully ridiculed and to suffer the agony and mutilation of His precious Body. He solemnly watched, as His only Child died in the most horrible, deprecatory manner as Jesus sacrificed Himself for the very people who hated and murdered Him. There is a reason why God chose this manner to pay the price for the sins of humanity. To take a childs place in suffering is the natural instinct of a parent. We would die for our own children in a heartbeat. To willingly hand over your own beloved child to those who would do them harm is an unnatural act. To let that child suffer humiliation and great agony, as you willingly stand by watching? This kind of love is completely foreign to us . . . an act beyond our comprehension. It is a wondrous thing, God’s solution for our sinful condition. He, Himself. . . perfection . . . was the price. So God willingly gave His Son, and His Son willingly gave His Life, for you and me ....so we could be with Him for Eternity.

Could I have knowingly, willingly handed over my only firstborn son, Robert, to the people who murdered him so brutally? Whomever took the life of my beautiful, young son and his friend . . . more than likely a person who never spent one moment wondering about the enormous pain and sorrow he caused; could I, with a sincere heart, ask God to forgive him? Could I hand over my perfect little Tina to be tormented, tortured, and murdered, then forgive the perpetrators who caused the death of that innocent, precious baby? We, as earthly beings cannot fathom the kind of love required to make such a selfless sacrifice. And what about Reba, the woman that killed my father? Could I refuse her entrance to heaven?

What if their salvation were left up to me? What if their salvation depended on my forgiveness? Could I deny a man the same grace that God has shown me? Could I question his right to salvation and negate his place in Heaven? As a true believer in the God given Word . . . I cannot. I cannot judge them . . . I cannot reject them. By His grace, I not only must, but do forgive the woman that murdered my dad . . . I do forgive the man that murdered my son. Through Him . . . I can do what is required of me . . . what He expects me to do. I forgive them in His Name, just as He forgave me. It is the desire of my heart that they will be saved and come into His presence with thanksgiving and praise, even as I do.

God pardoned much, when He pardoned me. His priceless Gift of Grace, prepared from the beginning of time, cost Him everything . . . and to whom much is given . . . much is required.

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THIS IS THE TRUTH

Please listen, read along, all the way through!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Rapture is Imminent

by Todd Strandberg

The pretribulation rapture is the only view that allows for the rapture to be imminent in its timing. All the other views require a number of prophetic occurrences to take place before the rapture can be declared imminent. To be looking for the imminent return of Christ, you have to believe in a pre-trib rapture.

Jesus repeatedly said that His return for the Church would be a surprise. The Lord even went beyond that by saying He would return “as a thief” when believers generally won't be expecting Him to come for them.

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only" (Matthew 24:36).

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing" (Matthew 24:42-46 KJV).

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh" (Matthew 25:13).

"And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power" (Acts 1:7).

Because we have no way to refute the fact that we will not know the timing of our Lord's return, the tribulation is a barrier to the rapture. More by Todd Strandberg